The RCTS:then and now
SINCEits formationthe Railway CorrespondencaendTravelSociety (RCTSh)asrecordedthe railwayscene at homeandabroadthrough the eyes of its members,providingnewsand featuresfor TheRailwayObserver.
Duringthe BritishRailways team daysit wasa mineof information about allocationsw, ork, overhaulsand withdrawalsV. olumeXVIII,for instance, is a veritablecornucopiaof the events of 1948.
It isalsothe first volumeto record 'happeningsu' nderthe Western, LondonMidland,EasternS, outhern, North-Easternand Scottishregions.
Thevolumealsoholdssomegems of informationaboutthe Locomotive Exchangesheld betweenApril andthe beginningof Septemberd, espitemuch havingbeenwritten aboutthesetests by CJ Allenand O SNock
Within the 254pagesof Volume XVIIIthere aresomenotablearticles, the precursorsof the acclaimedRCTS's 'Locomotivesof the ..... . 'series.
Written by memberssuchas DavidTee,KenHoole,'Clausentian; FJTaborandothers,someof the foremostauthoritiesin their field,their essayshaveformedthe basisof many laterhistories.
DavidTeewassteepedin the historyof the MidlandRailwaya, nd in the Februaryand March1948ROshe publishedthe seminalaccountof the 80Johnson'Belpaireo' r'3P'4-4-0sT. hey were introducedin 1900,rebuilt by the FirstWorldWarandwithdrawn between August1928and September1952.
Theywerearguablythe bestof the laterJohnson4-4-0s,andtheir longevity wastestimonyto their usefulnessw, ith 22 entering BritishRailways tock,and it wasthis that preventedthe history to be completedat that time.There wasconsiderablefeedbackfrom the membershipwith a numberof letters that addedmuchto the originaltext.
Inthis waythe RCTSwas ableto tap into the knowledgeof its membership,manyof whom wereprofessionarlailwayment,o accumulatesufficientmaterialto produceits unparalleledhistoriesof the locomotivesof the pre-Groupingand the'Big Four'companies.
Thebookson the LMSarestill a work in progressw, hile the five-volume seton the BritishRailwaysStandards, publishedbetween 1994and 2012,is arguablythe definitivehistory.
Lookingcloselyat Volume90, No.1095featuresan articleby Roger Darsleyon the GeneraEl lectric44-ton Bo-Bo'sbuilt between1940and 1956.
Thesefound favourwith the USATC during the SecondWorldWarand found themselvesat work acrossthe world. Aswith the British-built'WDs'and 'Austerity'0-6-0STesxamplest,hese generalElectricdiesel-electricshave survivedway beyondtheir expected working lives.Apparentlyno fewerthan 25 of the Bo-Boshavebeenpreserved. Despitethe sevendecadesthat separatethe DavidTeeand Roger Darsleyarticles,both add to our knowledgeof the developmentof our railwaysW. ithoutthe dedicationof its membershipand the quality of the researchthe ROwould be all the poorer.
Likemanysocietiest,he RCTS needsyoung memberswith the interest and ability to continuethe work of the volunteerswho put the ROtogether eachmonth,andto alsofill the bootsof the likesof DavidTeeand KenHoole.
■ Forinformationon the societyvisit: www.rcts.org.uk