We wish all of our members and visitors to our web site a very happy 2026 and thank our members for your continued support throughout 2025. We have designed a freely downloadable printable calendar reflecting the Vintage Trains tours with both steam and diesel traction throughout the year, although we couldn’t quite get them to match up by month unfortunately. Please have a look and do download and print it as a reminder of the wide range of tours that Vintage Trains offer throughout the year.
Other recent highlights of Friends activities, with a link in each case to more details, include:
- Our social on 4 September at the Kidderminster Rail Museum had a last-minute change of speaker when Anthony Coulls from the National Railway Museum. was unable to join us for personal reasons.
We were very fortunate that John Austen from the Guild of Railway Artists stepped in at very short notice and was in conversation with Les Ross, well known to many of our members. This turned out to be a most lively and entertaining couple of hours, continued over a complimentary buffet followed by an opportunity to visit the exhibition by the Guild of Railway Artists that was held on the same day. - Our 2026 Annual General Meeting will be held on Sunday 22 March 2026 at the Tyseley Working Mens Club. We have conformed that there will be no clash with the Vintage Trains Community Benefit Society AGM for this and future AGMs.
- Our 2025 Annual General Meeting was held on Sunday 23 March 2025 at the Tyseley Working Mens Club, directly opposite the depot. This included a complimentary finger buffet followed by a presentation on The Great Train Robbery.
- Thanks to Geoff Middleton and Peter Jeffs the 30 May 2025 Stock List and the 10 June 2025 In The Works List and are now available on our Publications page.
- A low-resolution copy of the Autumn 2024 edition (Issue 55) of Steam in Trust is now available from the publications page. Steam in Trust is the Friends’ flagship publication, circulated in printed copy to all members twice a year – the low-resolution on-line copy of Steam in Trust is made available on this site approximately a month after the printed copies have been circulated, although reading on-line or printing the PDF cannot reflect the quality of the printed publication. If you are not a member of the Friends please have a look at this and consider if receiving a high-quality printed copy, and other benefits, would warrant the modest membership fee. This issue of Steam in Trust has an article by Rob Ferris Great Western Railway Automatic Train Control Part 1 where the references were omitted due to space constraints – part 2 of this article will be in the next Steam in Trust. These references are linked from the publication page.
- Chris Schroeder has contributed a video that he took of a VT run up the Lickey on 14 October 2001 with a pannier banking. The video quality is not the best but the sound is very good.
This video was filmed in 2001 and you will notice that there were many heads and shoulders leaning out of the door droplight windows of the coaches. Back in the early days of the 21st century when this video was shot the ‘Do not lean out of the window or open this door when the train is moving’ notices on every door were often ignored, especially on steam hauled excursions.
You will not see any heads leaning out of windows on today’s excursions. The Office of Rail Regulation has put in place specific rules for mainline excursions using carriages which have doors with opening windows prohibiting passengers leaning out of opening windows or standing in coach end vestibules near to doors. These rules are strictly enforced by Train Operating Companies such as Vintage Trains Ltd;.Vintage Trains have updated all of their carriages to enforce compliance with these regulations. - The volunteer Archivist for Vintage Trains has kindly agreed to provide articles based on items in the Tyseley archives that will, we hope, be of interest to all members of the Friends. These can be found on our publications page.
Please revisit this page for updates on these, and other, events for the Friends.
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This page was last updated on 18 December 2025