The Railway and Canal Historical Society was founded in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

in 1954 to bring together all those interested in the history of transport, with particular reference to

railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

and

waterways A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other languages. A first distinction is necessary ...

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

, its main objects being to promote historical research and to raise the standard of published history.

Activities

As the activities of the society increased, a more formal structure was needed, and it registered with Companies House on 14 November 1967 as a

private company limited by guarantee In British, Australian, Bermudian, Hong Kong and Irish company law (and previously New Zealand), a company limited by guarantee (CLG) is a type of corporation used primarily (but not exclusively) for non-profit organisations that require legal pe ...

with no share capital. The ''Journal of the Railway and Canal Historical Society'', containing the results of original research, has been produced regularly since 1955. The Society also has a book publishing programme and aims to raise publishing standards by rewarding excellence. This has been achieved since 2004 by an annual awards ceremony, in which authors of leading works in the areas of railways, canals and transport are recognised. Winners receive a certificate, a silver cup, and a cash award funded by a bequest from publisher

David St John Thomas David St John Thomas (30 August 1929 – 19 August 2014) was an English publisher and writer who founded David & Charles. Early life and career The son of writer Gilbert Thomas (1891–1978) he shared his father's enthusiasm for railways, partic ...

. The Society also publishes an annual bibliography of transport history, partially in continuation of George Ottley's bibliography of British railway history. The Society arranges events nationally in the form of meetings, real and virtual, and trips and also has regional groups which organise meetings and trips to places of interest, and special interest groups organised nationally covering railway history, railway chronology, early railways, waterways history, roads and road transport, air transport, modern transport, and pipelines & materials handling; most operating primarily through online circulation of material. As of 2021, the society is developing the RCHS On-line Media Archive (ROMA) to make available online its archive of historic photographs and other material, of which the most notable is the Bertram Baxter collection of tramroad material. The

National Railway Museum The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the Science Museum Group. The museum tells the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It is the home of the national collection of historically significant r ...

have cited the society as one of the "bodies that shaped railway preservation and historical study," and it has been described as "the premier British society for scholarly transport research" by the bookseller Robert Humm in an interview for ''

The Bookseller ''The Bookseller'' is a British magazine reporting news on the publishing industry. Philip Jones is editor-in-chief of the weekly print edition of the magazine and the website. The magazine is home to the ''Bookseller''/Diagram Prize for Oddest ...

'' magazine.

Bibliography

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Railway And Canal Historical Society Non-profit organisations based in the United Kingdom History of rail transport in the United Kingdom Transport organisations based in the United Kingdom Railway societies Waterways organisations in the United Kingdom

Activities

See also

Bibliography

References

External links