Railway and Canal Historical Society facts for kids
| Formation | 1954 |
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| Location |
The Railway and Canal Historical Society is a group in the United Kingdom. It started in 1954. This society brings together people who love learning about the history of transport. They especially focus on trains and canals in Britain. Their main goal is to help people research history and make sure history books are well-written.
What the Society Does
As the society grew, it needed a more formal way to operate. So, it officially registered as a company in 1967. This helped them manage their activities better.
Publishing and Awards
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Abbreviated title (ISO 4)
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J. Railw. Canal Hist. Soc. |
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| Language | English |
| Publication details | |
| Publisher |
Railway and Canal Historical Society (United Kingdom)
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Publication history
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1955–present |
| Frequency | Triannual |
| Indexing | |
| ISSN | 0033-8834 |
| OCLC no. | 637489628 |
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The society publishes a magazine called Journal of the Railway and Canal Historical Society. This magazine has been coming out regularly since 1955. It shares new research about trains and canals.
They also publish books, like A Biographical Dictionary of Railway Engineers. To encourage good writing, they have an annual awards ceremony. Since 2004, they have given awards to authors who write excellent books about railways, canals, and transport. Winners receive a certificate, a silver cup, and a small cash prize. This prize money comes from a special fund set up by David St John Thomas, who was part of the David and Charles publishing company.
Groups and Projects
The society has local groups that organize meetings and trips. These trips go to interesting places related to transport history. There are also national groups that focus on specific topics.
One of these special groups is the Tracking Railways Archives Project (TRAP). TRAP's goal is to find and record information for studying railway history. It started as a group of railway societies and joined the Railway and Canal Historical Society in 2008. Their website lists archives that have railway materials that might be hard to find otherwise.
The National Railway Museum has recognized the society as important. They said it was one of the groups that helped shape how railway history is studied and preserved. A bookseller named Robert Humm called it "the top British society for serious transport research."
Ottley's Important Work
The society now looks after a huge collection of work by George Ottley. He created a detailed list of books and articles about British railway history. His first list was published in 1966. A new part was added in 1988. Then, ten years later, a second new part was published. This part had 17,000 entries! The society and the National Railway Museum worked together on it. After George Ottley passed away in 2006, the society became the guardian of his amazing work.
