An 'Anything Goes' evening: big screen video, ciné, projected prints, or slides, presented by SWRS members and featuring transport subjects from Great Britain or further afield. (It's open to all, not just SWRS members!)

If you have films or photos to share with fellow enthusiasts, please bring them along on Friday. (And if you contact info@swrs.co.uk in time, we can advertise your contribution in advance.)

Frank Banfield presents another of his very popular evenings with a further selection from his extensive collection of archive 16mm ciné film, but with a bit of a festive twist.

Previous evenings have included documentaries, BTC publicity, vintage adverts, cartoons, and excerpts from home movies. Films mostly feature railway subjects, but trams, buses, canals, docks, heavy road haulage and air travel may also make an appearance.

There will also be party food (please 'bring and share')!

Yes! It's time for the Annual SWRS Photo Competition.

There is still time to enter. Please submit your photos by Thursday 14th December. See the Photo Competition page for categories and instructions.

There will be party food (please 'bring and share'), and further entertainment if there is time after the Competition.

Experience John Coke's unique style of auctioneering, join in the witty banter, and bag yourself a bargain, or ten... Yes! It's nearly time for the legendary SWRS Auction!! (raising money towards the upkeep of Slough Estates No.3).

So, dig through your cupboards, lofts and shelves for any spare railwayana, unwanted Christmas presents, and all those other things you never use.
Bring it along on the night, for us to sell...
...and don't forget your wallet: we need you to buy things as well!

Further Details: eg what kind of things to bring...

Friday 8th is the last day for entering prints for next week's Photo Competition.
(You have a little longer for digital entries.)
See 2017 Photographic Competition for further details.

John Laker bought his first ciné camera in 1974 and set about recording the changing London Underground scene. He is now the 'J' in 'J&K Video'; a company producing railway- and tramway-related DVDs, but particularly featuring archive film footage of London Underground trains.

John will be presenting video of the special events from recent years featuring steam haulage, including the Metropolitan Railway 150 celebrations in 2013.

The Windsor Link Railway is a proposal to connect the Great Western and South Western franchise areas (the Slough–Windsor and Staines–Windsor branches) and potentially link both to Heathrow Airport.

Businessman and promoter, George Bathurst, will be visiting to give us an update on this ambitious project.

This is a change to the programme published in the most recent Triangle magazine. Christian Wolmar's talk My Latest Book – Indian Railways has been rescheduled to 5th January 2018.

In March/April 2017, the LCGB organised a four week grand tour of South Africa, taking in the amazing 'Stars of Sandstone' event, followed by just about everything that survives steam-wise throughout the length and breadth of the country: working steam, museums, depots, 'plinths', and inevitably a few derelicts.

Our friend from the Locomotive Club of Great Britain, Colin Miell, makes a welcome return to The Manor for an entertaining evening about his steamy visit earlier this year, with a little on the Imber bus running day as a bonus.

PLEASE NOTE – Two additional changes to the programme (see box below).

NEWS – Keith Morley's funeral:
Slough Crematorium – Monday, 20th November, at 2pm.

The Statfold Barn Railway is a privately-owned 2-foot gauge railway near Tamworth in Staffordshire. Occasional running days are held, where invited enthusiasts can experience some of the many steam engines in action, and the other items of various gauges in the owner's collection.

And nuclear flask traffic? Well, spent fuel is carried by rail from nuclear power stations to reprocessing plants, such as at Sellafield. Special containers, known as 'flasks' are used to contain the radioactive material. (Can you tell no-one has let me know anything about this evening?)

PLEASE NOTE – Two additional changes to the programme (see box below).

NEWS – Keith Morley's funeral:
Slough Crematorium – Monday, 20th November, at 2pm.

Our very own John Coke has a large collection of vintage ciné film. In a change to the originally advertised programme, this evening features further transport treasures from his archive.

Join us for a film evening as it used to be: big screen, mechanical projector and all (none of your transferring-to-DVD nonsense here!)

PLEASE NOTE – Two additional changes to the programme (see box below).

Frank Banfield presents another of his very popular evenings with a further selection from his extensive collection of archive 16mm ciné film.

Previous evenings have included documentaries, BTC publicity, vintage adverts, cartoons, and excerpts from home movies. Films mostly feature railway subjects, but trams, buses, canals, docks, heavy road haulage and air travel may also make an appearance.

PLEASE NOTE – Two additional changes to the programme (see box below).

Author and historian Paul Joyce is well known to SWRS members for his talks about canal restoration and the railways around Reading and the south east.

Paul visited The Manor in early June for 'Plymouth Ramble', relating the story of the Southern Railway at Plymouth. This is 'Part Two' of that talk.

Half of the show is relative to an article to be included in Back Track magazine next year, with numerous photographs by H.C.Casserley kindly supplied by his son.

Photo: Adams 02 class departing Friary station for Tavistock, 11th July 1924

Peter Groom is making a welcome return visit to The Manor, in a change to the programme published in the most recent Triangle magazine.

Always a popular speaker, Peter has previously given us evenings about the history of transport in London, but details of this evening are not yet available, so you'll just have to come along and have a nice surprise!

(The photo? London Underground 1938 Tube Stock at Baker Street Station, on a Queen's Park service in 1984. Not one of Peter's.)

Graham Stacey has given us several entertaining and educational evenings featuring select railway photographs from the historic Ken Nunn collection.

This time Graham will be drawing on his own collection of photographs of the Western Region of British Railways, taken during the 1960s. (Previous evenings have featured steam locomotives, but these were very rare on the WR then...)

This evening will mostly comprise films of model transport. (Cannot say 'films of models', as you might get the wrong idea!)

And there will be TWO competitions for members.

The first competition is for a transport model you have made yourself. This model could be from a kit, or scratch-built, and may be an individual model, a diorama, or a set of related items.

The second 'competition' is for a model which is special to you for some reason. It should not be a model made by you, but could be one you own made by someone else; and it could be kit-built, commercial manufacture, antique or commonplace, etc...

There will be prizes for each, although it is not known what criteria will be used to judge, nor who will be judging.

SWRS has a stand at the Eton Action Community Fair to raise funds.

We have enough bric-a-brac, but it would be great to have more people helping setup and sell on the day: the more the merrier! (It will mean a shorter stint for everyone concerned.)

If you can help, please contact John, John, John, John, or Grahame.

Rob Holder will be giving us a varied evening of transport-related subjects.

PLEASE NOTE: There are several changes to the programme published in the most recent Triangle magazine. Details will be updated on the programme pages later this weekend.

Graham Bilbe will be evaluating railway and other transport models and providing valuations. Graham will also speak about his work as a consultant in this area for an auction house.

Members are invited to bring one model along for Graham to examine.
(Well, you can bring several if you like, but you might only get one valued!)

'Anything Goes' evenings: big screen video, ciné, projected prints, or slides, presented by SWRS members and featuring transport subjects from Great Britain or further afield. (It's open to all, not just SWRS members!)

If you have films or photos to share with fellow enthusiasts, please bring them along on Friday. (And if you contact info@swrs.co.uk in time, we can advertise your contribution in advance.)

A chance to enjoy some food and drinks in the sunshine, chat to fellow enthusiasts, and watch the trains go by.

The Manor forecourt has a grandstand view of Slough Railway Station and the trains passing on the GW main line – an ideal venue for our annual barbecue, which this year has somehow morphed into a cream tea. (I don't think anyone wanted to cook the sausages!)

Leaving from Slough Station at 7:33pm (note the earlier time) our Mystery Rail Trip will cost you the price of a pint (or two!) plus the return fare to Bourne End. We'll be meeting at The Manor from about 7pm.

If you're feeling fit, you can optionally alight at Cookham for a walk with us to a 'mysterious railway-related objective', before continuing to Bourne End.

Can't give you any more details than that, or it wouldn't be a mystery*...

...but previous trips mostly included a visit to a pub, so it's worth coming along for a drink and a natter with friends, and a journey into the unknown!

*(Well, OK...to Bourne End, but where then?)

The Western Rail Link to Heathrow is a proposed branch line to provide fast and easy connections to the airport from the west. It is planned to start from a junction east of Langley station on the Great Western Main Line and run through a 3-mile-long tunnel to Heathrow Terminal 5 station.

Neil Stevens, from Network Rail, will be giving us a presentation on the project that is expected to generate £800m growth in the Thames Valley region.

In a welcome return to The Manor, Bob Bunyar will be taking us on a journey over two former 'Southern' lines on the route of the Atlantic Coast Express.

It will encompass the line to Bude starting at Okehampton, followed by a slightly longer journey from Halwill Junction to Wadebridge and Padstow, the latter being the furthest outpost of the Southern Railway from Waterloo. Also included will be a quick visit to the Wenford Bridge line that was used for china clay workings.

There will be photographs of both steam and diesel traction coupled with nostalgic views of the remnants of the routes today and a synopsis of the current activity aimed at reviving some of the old 'Withered Arm' railway line.

A varied evening of transport-related subjects featuring a mix of recent Society trips, with some other bits and pieces included for good measure.

The photo shows Corpet-Louvet no. 1234 (built 1909) an 0-6-0 metre gauge tank locomotive at the Steam Festival at le Chemin de Fer de la Baie de Somme (the Baie de Somme Railway, also known as CFBS) at St Valery-sur-Somme, France.

Or, "Why Britain Has No Transport Policy".

Transport is key to our daily lives. Vast sums are tied up in it and spent trying to resolve congestion and delays. And yet it is a most neglected field of politics. Britain has never had a coherent transport policy.

Christian Wolmar, transport author and journalist for over two decades, will give us an entertaining explanation why politicians have failed to balance transport needs with environmental considerations. Solutions are at hand and successful examples can be seen elsewhere in Europe but courage and clear thinking are needed if they are to be implemented.

Experience John Coke's unique style of auctioneering, join in the witty banter, and bag yourself a bargain, or ten... Yes! It's nearly time for the legendary SWRS Auction!! (raising money towards the upkeep of Slough Estates No.3).

So, dig through your cupboards, lofts and shelves for any spare railwayana, unwanted Christmas presents, and all those other things you never use.
Bring it along on the night, for us to sell...
...and don't forget your wallet: we need you to buy things as well!

Further Details: eg what kind of things to bring...

Author and historian Paul Joyce is well known to SWRS members for his talks about canal restoration and the railways around Reading and the south east.

Paul will be relating the story of the Southern Railway at Plymouth. Half of the show is relative to an article to be included in Back Track magazine next year, with numerous photographs by H.C.Casserley kindly supplied by his son.

Photo: Adams 02 class departing Friary station for Tavistock, 11th July 1924

Shaun Bradbury is showing DVDs of several heritage railway lines in the UK including the Bluebell Railway in Sussex and the Mid-Hants Railway ('The Watercress Line'). In addition there will be coverage of selected tramways in the UK and Switzerland.

John Penfold is, or was, associated with Brunel University. In 1988 he published a book "Craft, Design & Technology: Past, Present & Future" covering the evolution of teaching, post-WW2, of non-academic subjects beginning with handicrafts like woodwork and metalwork.

No preview information was available for this talk, and it's quite a departure from our usual Friday evening transport subjects, so the best thing to do is come along and find out what it's all about for yourself!

Terry Ridgley will be bringing along a number of 'bygones' – artefacts from industrial and transport archaeology – for us to attempt to identify in a 'quiz with a difference'. (No pressure, no prizes!) After the 'quiz' he will tell us what they are and how they were used.

John Penfold is, or was, associated with Brunel University. In 1988 he published a book "Craft, Design & Technology: Past, Present & Future" covering the evolution of teaching, post-WW2, of non-academic subjects beginning with handicrafts like woodwork and metalwork.

No preview information was available for this talk, and it's quite a departure from our usual Friday evening transport subjects, so the best thing to do is come along and find out what it's all about for yourself!

Several Society members will be giving illustrated talks on their recollections of recent SWRS visits to heritage railway sites. This will include the trips abroad to France, covering the French National Railway Museum at Mulhose and the gala day at the narrow gauge heritage site at Baie de la Somme.

Nearer to home, last year’s trip to the lost railways of the Isle of Wight, the Brecon Mountain Railway and the Middleton Railway in Leeds will be covered.

John Coke has acquired a large collection of vintage ciné film taken by a railway enthusiast in the 1960s. This evening will include the now largely forgotten Isle of Wight steam railways from this era.

Join us for a film evening as it used to be, mechanical projector and all (none of your transferring-to-DVD nonsense here!)

Our own John Fowler has been on several New Zealand holidays in recent years. Despite the photo John has provided, steam preservation is alive and well!

This talk, featuring both still photography and video footage, will cover the variety of railways in NZ, including preserved and running steam locos and the current scene, plus 'some other eclectic sites'.

Author and historian Paul Joyce is well known to SWRS members for his talks about canal restoration and the railways around Reading and the south east.

Paul will be taking us on a journey from the far-off mysterious east...       ...coast, towards London, by who knows what forms of transport?!

Frank Banfield presents another of his very popular evenings with a further selection from his extensive collection of archive 16mm ciné film.

Previous evenings have included documentaries, BTC publicity, vintage adverts, cartoons, and excerpts from home movies. Films mostly feature railway subjects, but trams, buses, canals, docks, heavy road haulage and air travel may also make an appearance.

All members are encouraged to attend this important meeting. Further details here.

The aim, as always, is to finish the official business of the evening by half-time, so that in the second half (after 'drinks and nibbles') we can enjoy entertainment provided by John Coke.

In previous years, John has usually shown ciné or video on the big screen, featuring Slough Estates No. 3, local railway happenings (eg railtours), or historical footage of Society activities. (But it could be anything...)

Thanks to adventures in the Colonial era, stories about Kenya's railways, such as the "Man-Eaters of Tsavo", are well-known to tourists. The railways are still clearly influenced by British practice, with some UK-built locos still in traffic.

This talk by Geoff Warren illustrates the railway scene over the last 25 years, including the occasional resurrection of steam tourist trains.

What does it take to plan a mainline railtour in 2017? Hopefully, Matthew Hills will be able to tell us on Friday. (Not had any preview information yet...)

Library picture shows the new-build Peppercorn A1 60163 Tornado on a railtour at Carlisle station in 2009. Several of the enthusiasts seem unprepared (and deafened!) as the driver lets off steam through the draincocks to clear any water from the cylinders before setting off.

It is 25 years since the opening of Manchester Metrolink, the first of Britain's 'second generation' tramways. Since then, further systems have been built in Sheffield, Birmingham, London (Croydon Tramlink), Nottingham, and Edinburgh, with others planned, and Blackpool's has been modernised.

John Laker is an official of the Light Rail Transit Association (LRTA). He is also the 'J' of J&K Video (producers of rail traction DVDs), and will be making a welcome return visit to The Manor. The evening of high-definition video will include several second generation systems, Blackpool's trams, and tramway museums.

Jim first visited Poland in 1975 and has made several visits since then, the last being in 2016. He will briefly review the changes that have taken place both in the loco stock and the country in general.

Experience John Coke's unique style of auctioneering, join in the witty banter, and bag yourself a bargain, or ten... Yes! It's nearly time for the legendary SWRS Auction!! (raising money towards the upkeep of Slough Estates No.3).

So, dig through your cupboards, lofts and shelves for any spare railwayana, unwanted Christmas presents, and all those other things you never use.
Bring it along on the night, for us to sell...
...and don't forget your wallet: we need you to buy things as well!

Further Details: eg what kind of things to bring...

Derek Spicer, from Reading Transport Group, is a retired engineer who is now a professional filmmaker and video producer.

Details of this event are sketchy at present (well, no-one's told me anything yet!) but it should certainly feature "Britain's Railways in the 1960s", arguably the most dramatic and varied decade in the country's transport history.

A colour slide presentation of pure steam nostalgia on the sub-Continent, and all shot on Kodachrome 25!

Our friend from the Locomotive Club of Great Britain, Colin Miell, makes a welcome return to The Manor with what is possibly the longest title for any SWRS Friday night meeting.

A varied evening of transport-related subjects featuring a mix of Society trips to the Isle of Wight, Barrow Hill Roundhouse Railway Museum, Fifield, and elsewhere, with some other bits and pieces included for good measure.

Railways and holidays, particularly seaside holidays, have been intrinsically linked since the very earliest days of the railway companies. Many of us owe the summer vacation of our younger days to the steam excursion to the seaside. It transported us to a hotel, boarding house, campsite, holiday camp or even a camping coach by the rail side.

Come on a nostalgic journey back to that time and experience a bit of summer sun on a cold frosty night!

Jim is our resident expert on industrial railways, Eastern Europe, boilers, and surviving steam-hauled railways worldwide. A frequent winner of the SWRS Photographic Competition, Jim will be sharing stories and (digital!) photos from his travels during the past 12 months.

Gordon Adams hails from the area and will be giving us an illustrated presentation covering the history of main line railways in Southampton from 1841 to the early 1970s.

In parallel we will be looking at the development of Southampton Docks under the management of the London and South Western Railway and the Southern Railway.

Can Slough & Windsor Railway Society re-claim the coveted 'Rocket' trophy, the spoils of the annual battle of railway knowledge between the two ferroequinologist behemoths of the Thames Valley?

Come along on Friday to support your team and find out!

The second half of the evening will be an illustrated talk by members of Reading Transport Group, so even if quizzes aren't your thing, it'll still be worth joining us – besides, will probably learn something new during the quiz (and if you don't, because you already know everything, why aren't you on our team??)

Author and historian Paul Joyce is well known to SWRS members for his talks about canal restoration and the railways around Reading and the south east.

The Basingstoke Canal was built to connect Basingstoke to the River Thames at Weybridge, via the Wey Navigation. Never a commercial success, the canal fell into disuse early in the 20th century, but after considerable volunteer effort, the eastern 32 miles has since been restored to navigable status.