West of England [WEN]

RCTS-RAB-DHM

Welcome to the pages of the West of England Branch of the RCTS, which is a geographically extensive branch, covering the area from Taunton to Penzance, we are based in Exeter, and hold meetings on the Second Saturday of the month, from October to April. At present meetings are limited as things return to normal following the pandemic. Past members of the branch have been Terry Nicholls, Peter Gray who regularly entertained us with excellent presentations and we have many other members who have continued this tradition. If you have any questions feel free to contact the Chair, David Mitchell or Secretary, Charles Woodland

2023-24 Programme of events

October 14th October 202 David Hunt Railways in the 1970’s
November 11th November 2023 Bernard Mills Waterloo to the West Country in the Diesel Era
December 9th December 2023 Steve Crowther Hydraulic Delights
January 13th January 2024 AGM followed by Stuart Hammond In Search of Steam
February ***3rd February 2024***** Please note change of date David Mitchell The Barnstaple & Okehampton Branches through the years
March ******9th March 2024****** Please note owing to a concert at the Mint, no on site parking possible please contact the Chair or Secretary for details of alternative parking John Medley A Medley Medley 4 – Diesels in the 1970s and 1980s
April 13th April 2024 Amyas Crump Diesels in Devon

What's on

Venues

Click the venue name to see more

Contacts

Secretary
Charles Woodland
tel: 07768 662331
email: westofengland@rcts.org.uk
1 Iolanthe Drive Whipton Exeter EX4 9DZ

Chairman

David Mitchell
tel: 01392 431264
email: woechair@rcts.org.uk
12 Colleton Mews, St Leonards, Exeter, EX2 4AH

Treasurer

David Hunt

Web Co-ordinator

David Dornom
tel: 01363 84385
email: woeweb@rcts.org.uk
Larkhill, Yeoford, Devon EX17 5JF

Meeting reports

John Medley : A Medley Medley 4 09/03/24

29 Mar 2024

In recent years John Medley has presented several traditional slide shows of his own photos to the branch, and at our meeting on 9th March he showed the latest of…

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David Mitchell : The Barnstaple & Okehampton Branches through the years 10/02/24

29 Mar 2024

On 3rd February David Mitchell presented a digital show entitled “The Barnstaple & Okehampton Branches through the Years” which followed the two lines in journey order, with at least one…

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Stuart Hammond : In Search of Steam 13/01/24

29 Mar 2024

Our AGM was held on 13th January with twelve members present. The last year was considered to be reasonably successful with attendances at branch meetings varying in number from thirteen…

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Steve Crowther : Hydraulic Delights 09/12/23

29 Mar 2024

On 9th December we welcomed Steve Crowther who presented a show of his own slides which focused on the last years of the Class 52 Western diesel-hydraulics, although other contemporary…

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Bernard Mills : Waterloo to the Atlantic Coast in the Diesel Era 11/11/23

29 Mar 2024

On 11th November Bernard Mills presented a show entitled “Waterloo to the Atlantic Coast in the Diesel Era” which comprised his own scanned slides that were mainly taken from the…

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David Hunt : Railways in the 1970s 14/10/23

29 Mar 2024

Our new programme commenced on 14th October with a healthy number in attendance to see a traditional slide show presented by member David Hunt. He revealed that he first started…

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AGM followed by Alan Hopkins :‘From Euston to the North in the Days of Steam’

09 Jan 2022

On 8th January we held our AGM which 15 members attended; however as it covered a period when there were no branch activities due to the pandemic, there was little…

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Westcountry Blues, Barry Jones

15 Dec 2021

On 11th December we welcomed Barry Jones who gave us a digital presentation entitled ‘Westcountry Blues’. As suggested by the title, this mainly comprised scans of slides taken of BR…

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‘From the River Tamar to Tiverton Junction through the Years’

07 Dec 2021

We held our first meeting since March 2020 on 13th November, and as our previous venue is currently not available we used a new location which proved superior in every…

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14th March 2020 · ’49 Not Out’

19 Mar 2020

Presenter: Bob Bradley On the 14th March West of England Branch member Bob Bradley presented a traditional slide show entitled ’49 Not Out’, the title referring to him having taken…

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8th February 2020 · ‘Changing Landscapes

08 Feb 2020

Presenter: Barry Jones On the 8 February the West of England Branch welcomed Barry Jones for the first time when he showed a PowerPoint presentation entitled ‘Changing landscapes’. After a…

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11th January 2020 · Branch AGM followed by ‘Railways of North Staffordshire’

11 Jan 2020

Presenter: Alan Hopkins The West of England Branch AGM was held on 11 January with ten in attendance. Much of the agenda was followed with relatively little comment though once…

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14th December 2019 · ‘Railways in a Yorkshire Landscape’

14 Dec 2019

Presenter: Stephen Gay Stephen Gay is always a welcome visitor to the West of England branch and on 14th December he paid his eighth visit since 2001 to present “Railways…

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9th November 2019 · ‘Backtracking around Plymouth’

09 Nov 2019

Presenter: Bernard Mills On 9th November Bernard Mills took the West of England branch ‘Backtracking around Plymouth’, a talk based on one of his books that covers the western side…

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12th October 2019 · ‘From Whiteball to the River Tamar’

12 Oct 2019

Presenter: David Mitchell On 12th October David Mitchell presented ‘From Whiteball to the River Tamar’ to the West of England branch. This was a photographic tour along Devon’s main line…

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11th May 2019 · ‘Strictly Freight Only Part 2’

11 May 2019

Presenter: Brian Ringer On 11th May the West of England branch welcomed the return, after exactly a year, of Brian Ringer with Part 2 of his ‘Strictly Freight Only’ talk…

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13th April 2019 · ‘Saltash Auto to HST’

13 Apr 2019

Presenter: Terry Nicholls On 13th April the West of England branch welcomed the return of one of our founding members when Terry Nicholls presented ‘From Saltash Auto to HST’. As…

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