Welcome to the Cornwall Railway Society
A little bit about the Cornwall Railway Society
At a gathering of railway enthusiasts held at the Falcon Restaurant, Redruth in November 1977, it was decided to form a railway society headquartered in Redruth. The meeting was chaired by Mr Gordon Dobbs and a small committee elected to set up the organisation of a ‘Railway Enthusiasts club’.
At the first committee meeting, various names were discussed for the new club – it was proposed and agreed that it should be called the ‘Cornwall Railway Society’. At the outset the society was funded by loans from various committee members, from these funds our room rental was paid and a small book stock purchased. We also produced a magazine, this was at first printed using a Gestetner machine but after the first few issues we were very fortunate in obtaining the use of a photocopier in a committee member's office. Over the years the magazine has developed into a 40 page A5 professionally printed publication with colour covers. The content is varied, a variety of topics being covered, and these are well illustrated using photographs, sketches or maps. The magazine is produced three times a year.
From these very small beginnings the Cornwall Railway Society rapidly began to increase in size, which was good, but provided us and the owner of the Falcon Restaurant with concerns as we had become far too big for the relatively small upstairs room which we were using. An early switch was made to the Redruth Ambulance Hall, Basset Street, where our numbers continued to grow. Meetings were peaking at attendances of well over one hundred. The Ambulance Hall had a kitchen which was manned by our own members, the mid evening break for refreshments became a feature of our evenings enabling members to socialise over a cup of tea and visit the bookstand. The kitchen operators later attended hygiene courses to be fully qualified.
The society visited the local traction engine rally with our stock of books and good profits were made with further publicity distributed from our stand. The stand was easy to find by virtue of a signal post on which two half-size semaphores were mounted together with the society's headboard – more on the headboard in the outdoor events, history section. We also attend other functions such as Trevithick Day and various model railway exhibitions held around the county. We are most grateful to our devoted volunteers. See below:-
Further income was produced by various minibus excursions and railtours. The former produced little income as these were offered at fares just covering the cost. However, the charter trains we ran gave a very good return, and financed an annual feast at the mid-evening break of the January meeting. However, those days are past now, and the New Year is celebrated with a pasty supper.
Sadly the Redruth St John Ambulance hall was suffering from serious structural problems which subsequently caused its closure and we reluctantly had to change venues a second time, this time to the Community Centre in Foundry Row. This accommodation has again a kitchen enabling a mid evening break and also is provided with comfortable padded chairs. The light early autumn and late spring evenings caused us problems with projection but these have been overcome by means of a digital projector.
There are a number of outdoor events held each year, visits to places of interest, guided tours and also an annual week away using rover tickets to explore various regions.
We have an active and enthusiastic committee, why not come along to our meetings and attend our events – you’d be made most welcome.
