Events

Buckinghamshire Railway Centre

There will be an informal gathering of Old Haileyburians and their guests at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre (the Centre) at Quainton in Buckinghamshire on Wednesday 17 September 2014 from 10.30 am.

Roland Gillott (A 61) is a volunteer at the Centre.  He and his brother, Humphrey (A 58) (until recently a Railway Chaplain), are the organisers of this event. There is no need to book in advance, but if you would like to let Roland know that you will be coming his email address is roland.gillott@btinternet.comor write to boxoffice@haileybury.com or telephone 01992 706355.

At the General Committee meeting in June, the suggestion was made that the Society is well placed to facilitate gatherings of OH's, some of whose family and work commitments will have become less than in their earlier years. This informal midweek event has been arranged with that in mind.

The Centre is a 25 acre Steam Museum with one of the UK’s largest collections of locomotives, rolling stock and railway memorabilia.  The Visitor Centre is a former railway station originally built just after the Great Exhibition of 1851, and using similar prefabricated components to those which had been used in the (now destroyed) Crystal Palace.  The collection includes a locomotive which is amongst the most powerful built in this country, an example of one of Charles Collett’s Hall class locomotives in the process of restoration and a coach used by Winston Churchill and Dwight D. Eisenhower for secret strategic planning meetings in preparation for D-Day.

In addition to the Visitor Centre, there is a re-created country station as it was in the heyday of steam travel, and the collection also includes a Travelling Post Office (TPO) which tells the story of moving mail by rail, and that will be open for part of the day. For more information about the collection, the Centre’s website is at www.bucksrailcentre.org

The day of the event will be a “restricted viewing” day, which means that there will be no steam trains in operation.  However there will still be plenty to see.

As it is restricted viewing, admission is £6 (£5 for senior citizens).  It also means that there will be no food available at the Centre, so it will be a case of everyone bringing their own picnic lunch.  However tea and coffee will be available at a nominal charge.  The Centre will close at 4.30 pm.

Although this event is likely to be of most interest to those within easy driving distance of Quainton, it may be that there are other OH’s who volunteer at other attractions, such as National Trust properties or stately homes, (or who just enjoy visiting them) who will be willing to host similar gatherings.  In that way a number of informal OH gatherings could take place in different parts of the country, within reach of different sections of the Society’s membership.

For this event,  the full address is Buckinghamshire Railway Centre, Quainton Road Station, Quainton, near Aylesbury, Bucks HP22 4BY.  The Sat Nav address is therefore HP22 4BY.  There is a map giving directions at http://www.bucksrailcentre.org/contact_us.php 

By car

The Buckinghamshire Railway Centre is signposted off the A41 Aylesbury - Bicester Road at Waddesdon and off the A413 Buckingham - Aylesbury Road at Whitchurch. Simply follow the brown signs! Junctions 7, 8 and 9 of the M40 are all close by and the M1, M25, M4 and M40 network makes the Centre easily accessible from London, the South East and the Midlands. Ample free car parking is provided for cars and coaches.

 

By bus

For bus information telephone Traveline on 0871 200 2233 and select England and South East on the menu.

Humphrey and Roland look forward to welcoming you for coffee at the Centre around 10.30 am on 17 September, followed by what they hope will be a day full of interest for those who come.

Originally Written: 02-Jul-2014 09:07, Last Updated: 17-Sep-2014 13:35