Ipswich [IPS]

On 12 August 2017 Class A1 Pacific 60163 Tornado arrives Thorpe Le Soken working a shuttle service from Colchester toWalton on the Naze.
On 12 August 2017 Class A1 Pacific 60163 Tornado arrives Thorpe Le Soken working a shuttle service from Colchester toWalton on the Naze.

Welcome to the RCTS Ipswich Branch founded in 1981. The branch meets every month between

September and May on a Monday afternoon or evening depending on the time of year.

Entrance to meetings is free for members(discretionary donation appreciated)and an invited

donation of £3.50 for non members. Free light refreshements are available during the interval and

a raffle is held. The branch sales stand will also be present. There is limited parking at our meeting

venue but alternative parking is available on adjacent streets.

The branch sales stand also attends local exhibitions and toyfairs.

Everyone will be made very welcome at all our meetings.

 

What's on

Venues

Click the venue name to see more

Contacts

Secretary
Bev Steele 40 Polstead Close STOWMARKET IP14 2PJ

Chairman/Fixtures Secretary

John Day

6 Sandiper Road

IPSWICH IP2 PHX

Meeting reports

Swindon Works Part Five 1960`s until closure by The Reverend Canon Brian Arman.

23 Mar 2024

Rev Canon Brian Arman, Society President, returned to the heart of Gt. Eastern territory to present the concluding part of his talks on the Gt. Western Railway’s (GWR) Swindon Works,…

Read More

Steam Days at Colchester by Dave Goodyear

23 Mar 2024

David Goodyear’s wonderfully illustrated, interesting, well researched show about “Colchester In The Age of Steam 1843-1962” was received to great applause. It embraced both the history and the memories of…

Read More

Roaming around London with a camera by Geoff Brockett.

20 Jan 2024

A well-structured, wide ranging, quick-fire photographic slide film presentation “ROAMING AROUND LONDON WITH A CAMERA” was provided by Geoff Brockett, who in retirement has made good use of the TfL…

Read More

Roaming around London with a camera by Geoff Brockett.

20 Jan 2024

A well-structured, wide ranging, quick-fire photographic slide film presentation “ROAMING AROUND LONDON WITH A CAMERA” was provided by Geoff Brockett, who in retirement has made good use of the TfL…

Read More

AGM followed by Images from the 60s and 70s by Keith Partlow.

16 Dec 2023

The Ipswich branch held its AGM on December 11th and after the usual formalities the committee were re elected unanimously. David Beecroft, retired as Chairman, but remains on the committee,John…

Read More

A life in Railways by Colin Fisher.

25 Nov 2023

Colin Fisher spoke about his interesting career in “A Life on the Railway” having joined the British Railways as young man in 1978. He started at Harwich Parkstone Quay, which…

Read More

Heinikin Days Part One by Andy Grimmet

01 Nov 2023

Our guest at the October meeting was retired train driver Andy Grimmett to present Heinekin Days Part One. Andy had recently retired from Ilford Depot and presented a railway miscellany…

Read More

Lost Railways of Suffolk

17 Sep 2023

On 11 September our guest was Nathan Dodd who presented Lost Railways of Suffolk. From the Sudbury to Haverhill Stour Valley route in the south to the Waveney Valley Tivetshall…

Read More

Railtours and Specials-The last forty years

30 May 2023

On 13 May our booked speaker was unable to attend so John Day stepped in to present Rail tours and Specials-the past forty years part one. The first special showed…

Read More

East Anglian Railways-The last Twenty Years.

25 Apr 2023

On April 3rd our guest was local photographer Ian Scotchman to present East Anglian Railways-20 years of change. Starting in 2004 after the change over between Anglia Railways and ONE,…

Read More

Swindon Works.The Hawksworth Years 1941 until closure.

16 Mar 2023

On 13 March Society President,Canon Reverend Brian Arman presented Swindon Works-The Hawksworth Years until closure. Frederick Hawksworth succeeded Charles Collett as CME at Swindon Works in 1941 until 1949 and…

Read More

A View from the Route

22 Feb 2023

On 13 February our guests were Sarah-Jane Crawford and Charles Baker from Network Rail to present A View from the Route. The Anglia area was described in detail together with…

Read More

AGM and Making Tracks in Mid Norfolk

21 Dec 2022

The branch held its AGM on December 12th and after the usual formalities the committee were re elected unanimously to serve another year although our chairman gave notice that he…

Read More

The Epping and Ongar Railway

21 Dec 2022

On 14 November our guest was Rodger Green to describe The Epping and Ongar Railway. The story of the line includes the relationship of nineteenth century railway civil engineers,George Bidder,…

Read More

The Borders Railway

21 Dec 2022

On 10 October Dave Pearce presented Over the Border or Ramble around The Cheviots. He described the history and route of the former North British line from Hexham on the…

Read More

A Railway Quiz

20 May 2022

On 9 May we welcomed branch member Glen Richards to present his Railway Quiz. This was a series of ninety six questions in eight categories based on his nationwide travels…

Read More

The HST 125 Story

22 Apr 2022

Our guest speaker on 11 April was John Zabernick to present The HST125 Story. The history of the project was outlined from original concept in 1969,the design and construction of…

Read More

Tebay from E Bay

14 Feb 2022

At our February meeting we welcomed Dave Pearce to present more Tebay from Ebay images. This was a selection of the above purchased from the online auction site and featured…

Read More

AGM followed by Member`s Choices

15 Dec 2021

On December 15th the Branch held its AGM which was combined with the previous AGM which had been postponed owing to the pandemic. The Branch committee were re elected en…

Read More

A DMU Miscellany

10 Nov 2021

10 November 2021 On November 10th our guest was Robert Warburton to present a DMU Miscellany. The original units were introduced by the Great Western in the thirties but under…

Read More

Preserved Railways.Past,Present and Future

11 Oct 2021

11 October 2021 Our guest on October 11th was Peter Smyth to present Preserved Railways, Past, Present and Future. The origins of the Railway Preservation Movement were described including pioneers…

Read More

Northern Rails Past and Present

13 Sep 2021

Our branch meetings recommenced on 13th September with Steve Batty presenting Northern Rails Past and Present. Starting our journey at Selby we saw a wide variety of workings across Yorkshire…

Read More

Swindon Works-The Collett Era Part 2

09 Mar 2020

9 March 2020 On 9 March we welcomed Society President Brain Arman to present Swindon Works The Collett Era Part 2. Having been appointed CME in 1922 to succeed Churchward,…

Read More

The Alan Valentine Collection

10 Feb 2020

10 February 2020 On February 10th our guest was Brian Dyes from the Ipswich Transport Museum to present The Alan Valentine Collection. Alan was a native of Ipswich and a…

Read More

Modern Traction in the 1960`s

05 Feb 2020

5 February 2020 On February 5th our guest was David Percival to present Modern Traction in the 1960s. This was a selection of images taken nationwide featuring a wide variety…

Read More

13th January 2020 · ‘The Harwich Branch’

13 Jan 2020

Presenter: Dave Goodyear On January 13th our guest was Dave Goodyear to present The Harwich Branch. The eleven mile route from Manningtree to Harwich, now promoted as ‘The Mayflower Line’…

Read More

9th December 2019 · ‘Branch AGM & Members’ Presentations’

09 Dec 2019

On 9 December the branch held its AGM and the treasurer reported a healthy set of accounts and recommended that membership donations at meetings be reduced. This was accepted and…

Read More

4th December 2019 · ‘East Midlands Memories Collection’

04 Dec 2019

Presenter: Geoff King Our speaker on 4 December was Geoff King to present East Midlands Memories Collection. The history and development of the routes in the Leicester Area was described…

Read More

11th November 2019 · ’50 Years of Scottish Railways – Part 3′

11 Nov 2019

Presenter: David MacLean Our guest on November 11th David MacLean, a retired senior signalling engineer, presented 50 years of Scottish Railways Part 3. The History of the Highland main line…

Read More

6th November 2019 · ‘Lt. Col. Holman F. Stevens – The Man and His Empire’

06 Nov 2019

Presenter: Hugh Smith On 6th November our guest was Hugh Smith to present Lt. Col Holman F. Stephens-The Man and his Empire. He was born in 1868 and trained as…

Read More

14th October 2019 · ‘T’ebay – Part 2’

14 Oct 2019

Presenter: Dave Pearce On 14th October we welcome back Dave Pearce from Norwich for the second instalment of his T’eBay presentations. All the images were sourced from the web-based eBay…

Read More

9th September 2019 · ‘That Was the Week, That Was – 1963’

09 Sep 2019

Presenter: Geoff Plumb On 9 September our guest was Geoff Plumb to present ‘That Was the Year That Was-1963′. After seeing childhood family images, it was clear how his enthusiasm…

Read More

8th April 2019 · ‘West Country in 1960s and1970s’

08 Apr 2019

Presenter: John Cashen On April 8th , John Cashen presented his talk “West Country in 1960s and 1970s” comprising steam and diesel in black and white and colour. His talk…

Read More

4th April 2019 · ‘A Tribute to the Late Hugh Ballentyne’

04 Apr 2019

Presenter: John Chalcraft The images were mainly black and white from 1952 to the mid-sixties and showed the rail network countrywide, including some of the secondary and rural routes such…

Read More

11th March 2019 · Swindon Works -The Golden Years- Plus [From 1914]

11 Mar 2019

Rev Canon Brian Arman (Bristol) On March 11th Society President Brian Arman paid a return visit to present Swindon Works-The Golden Years plus(1914 onwards) . We started with The Trip,…

Read More