The new RailSoc website

The Edinburgh University Railway Society has a new website, where we'll be publishing our newsletter, blog posts, and other information for members.

Come and join us at https://railsoc.eu/!

See you soon,

Seb

Secretary (2025–26)

Railsoc AGM 2025 Agenda

 08:00 pm : AGM starts

• President Jason to give introductory speech
• Secretary Liam to present annual report/summary
• Treasurer Sam to present financial report
• Take attendance
• Present and then vote on constitutional amendments
• Introduction of Mascot as committee role
• Election of new Committee positions
• Start with the following as they have no candidates, but GCMs might want to uptake them
• Social Secretary
• Rail Advocacy Officer
• Vice President
• Model Railway Tsar
• Archivist
• Welfare Officer
• Treasurer
• Secretary
• President
• General Committee members
• Mascot
• Speeches
• Pubs

Railsoc Inverness: IMPORTANT INFO

Railsoc Inverness: Important information

Hello! Thank you for joining us on our trip to Inverness (and making sure I get my money back)! With just over a week to go, here is some important information and FAQs we thought you should know about:

·      What is the schedule?

We will meet in Waverley at 0800, at our usual meeting point at the pole between Costa and Pret-A-Manger on the main concourse in front of the waiting hall. If you’re still unsure where that is, we’ll post a story on our Instagram on the day or you can contact us through our social media/ phone numbers (at the end).

The train leaves Edinburgh around 0830 before getting into Inverness just after 1200.

We have around 5 hours in Inverness, and for the return journey we will meet at Inverness station just before 1700. We will board the train to Glasgow departing around 1720 before getting off the train at Perth at  around 1940. We will have around 40mins transfer time at Perth before boarding the train to Edinburgh just before 2020 and arriving back just before 2200.

·       Where is my train ticket?

I have it! Scotrail has given me one (!) ticket for all 25 of us so it is currently well taken care of in my flat (it is currently the most valuable thing in there). We have 25 seat reservations too which our ticket is only valid for (Edinburgh to Inverness and back to Perth on the way back) so make sure to sit in one of those seats. For the train from Perth to Edinburgh, there are no seat reservations so make sure you let one of us (committee) know where you sit on that train.

·      What are we doing in Inverness?

It’s up to you! We have no set plans for what to do while in Inverness, so do what you want (within reason!). 5 Hours isn’t long enough to go too far from Inverness unfortunately, but there’s plenty to do within the city. You are more than welcome to tag along with any of the committee members and come along with what any of us are doing. Just make sure you’re back at the station by 1700 :)

·       What if I cannot make the trip anymore?

Please let us know as soon as possible! You can let us know through our Instagram/Discord, email, or phone (details at the end). We will sort you a refund and allocate your ticket to the waitlist.

·       Can I leave early?

Unfortunately, not on your ticket. The type of ticket that we have only allows us to take a specific train. Scotrail giving me one ticket for all of us means that you will also have to travel with us. You can leave early if you arrange your own transport back from Inverness to Edinburgh. If this means that you no longer want to come along, please let us know immediately.

·      What if I have a question not on here?

Contact us using the details below! We will be more than happy to answer any of your questions.

 

Contact details:

If you need to contact us for any reason before/during/after the trip use the methods below:

·       Instagram: @railsocedi

·       Discord: https://discord.gg/e2g9KCbgy5

Use the #Current-Social channel in the Discord or ping one of us

·       Email: Railsocedi@gmail.com

·       Emergencies (including being late!!!):

Jason-Yūki: (+44) 7413211508

Sam: (+44) 7484356913

Liam: (+44) 7745828454

Thank you once again for choosing to come with us to Inverness, we will see you on the 22^nd!

Thanks,

Jason-Yūki and railsoc

RAILSOC AGM 2025

 

Good day Railsoc!

AGM season is upon us, and with us comes our extra special Railsoc AGM.

Please join us on the 27th of March at 20:00 in the Braid Room at pleasance to cast your vote and dictate the running of this society!

If you want to do more than vote by perhaps running for committee or proposing a constitutional amendment, please fill in the form below! This isn't compulsory, but it helps us plan ahead :)

Thank you!

CLICK HERE TO RUN OR PROPOSE AMENDMENTS!

Railsoc Minutes Archive

This is a list of links to minutes for each meeting in each year of the society's existence, for our committee and membership to view.

It will be updated as minutes become available.

Minutes 2022/23

Minutes 2023/24

Minutes 2024/25

Railsoc Newsletter February 2025

 Hello all and welcome to a bumper edition of the Railsoc Newsletter, we have plenty of news to share with you, so please peruse our pragraphs below :)

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Firstly, our... "February" trip is this Saturday!

We love the number 2 here at railsoc, so for our 2nd trip this semester we're welcoming back Birdsoc for a 2nd collaboration! This time it will be the rather lovely seaside town of Kinghorn. With a beautiful view from the railway, classic railsoc beach game™ and the chance to learn about and spot seabirds, what could be better day out!

Saturday the 1st of March is where to mark it in your calendar. Meet at Waverley station at 09:30. Return tickets will cost £7.50 with a Railcard or £11.30 without. Hopefully we'll spot Mallard (haha).

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And now follows a very important message from our president:

Hello Alle!

We have an exciting update for BIG TRIP™

The society has spoken and we will be going to (drumroll) : Inverness!

Join us for a voyage to the capital of the Highlands whilst experiencing one of the most beautiful railway lines in the UK! For all the details, see the wonderful (as always) graphic Jamie has made above/below.

Priority access tickets go to our members (if you're reading this - that means YOU!) All things going well, tickets should be already for £20. Where else could you get £20 return rail tickets to Inverness?!?!! Plus, you get to do it with your favourite university railway society :)

Ticket inventory is limited (unfortunately Big EUSA didn't give us unlimited funds) so book now to secure your place. Member priority access lasts until Monday 3rd March, any unsold tickets will then be able to be bought by anyone and will be advertised on the society socials.

If you end up buying a ticket and later discover you are unable to make it, please let us know ASAP either through our Discord, Instagram or email (railsocedi@gmail.com). Conversely, if you want to come but are unable to get a ticket, let us know! We will set up a waiting list in case any tickets become available.

See you there,

Jason-Yūki

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Model railway news now:

We need YOU to help us build this railway! Our first ever planning session is taking place - our current stock of track will be brought across to pleasance where we will all decide on a layout and discuss an itinerary for the next few weeks.

If you are interested in teensy trains, or even if you're not sure, come and attend the Munro room at Pleasance on Tuesday the 4th of March at 18:15. (I may even bring biscuits...).

Yours, Liam

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Finally, keep an eye out for announcements early this march for our annual railsoc quiz! This exciting feature will get your cogs turning as teams battle to the death take home the prize! Don't miss it, keep up with our announcements on Instagram and Discord!

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That's all for now, thank you for reading this rather stuffed newsletter!

I wish you all a pleasant week and we hope to see you choo-choosing to join us soon!

Sincerely, the railsoc team

https://linktr.ee/RailSocEdi

Railsoc newsletter January 2025

Hello? Ahoy! 

Hope you all have had a good winter break and welcome to the (slightly more chaotic than usual) January 2025 edition of the Railsoc newsletter! In this edition! 

• BIG TRIP! BIG TRIP! BIG TRIP! 
• Railsoc goes to Falkirk 
• We acquired some trains! 

Full steam ahead!  

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BIG TRIP! BIG TRIP! BIG TRIP! 

I’m very pleased to announce that our wonderful treasurer Sam has managed to get Railsoc a Students Opportunities Development Fund grant from EUSA to put towards a big Railsoc trip! The trip will probably be a weekend in March and a bit further afield than our usual ones, so beware that you will have to be in Waverley earlier >:)

Unfortunately, since Big EUSA hasn’t given us a blank cheque, we will have to limit subsidised places - this probably coming in the form of a ticketed sale on our EUSA page. You will pay in the usual £20 and we will cover the rest of the ticket with priority being with our members at the University of Edinburgh. But fear not! If you’re reading this it probably means that you are one of our esteemed members :)

And the destination, you ask? Well that’s also up to you! We have narrowed it down to 6 possible destinations:

• Highland main line and Inverness
• Cumbrian coast line
• Settle to Carlisle line
• Kendal and Windermere
• Penrith and Keswick

But the choice is yours, dear members! The link to vote will be at the bottom of this newsletter :)

And keep an eye on your inbox folks ! We will let you know when we put the subsidised places on sale.

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Railsoc goes to Falkirk

For the trip this month we will be heading to Falkirk on Sunday the 26th. Falkirk is a nice town approx 45 mins NW of Edinburgh and we will be visiting:

• The falkirk wheel (very cool)
• Callendar House and gardens (19th century Chateau and gardens)
• Alexander Dennis plant (for you bus nerds)
• SPOONS! (Another one to tick off as visited)

We hope to see you on the first Railsoc trip of 2025. More details (and Jamie graphics!) to come on Instagram and Discord soon.

You don't have to be an engineer to see how cool this sh*t is

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Railsoc model railway

Unfortunately, our efforts to get Big EUSA to acquire ex-LNER class 43 powercar 43006 have presumably failed. However, here is society secretary Liam Francis Astill to share some good news about some trains we did get:

Hello all, Mr. Liam the Secretary here to announce that I am now in possession of 00 Scale model electric trains and track! I'm keen to try and create regular modelling sessions and construct a communal model railway with our members. If you are interested in attending some or all of these potential sessions (dates/times tbd), please tick the box in the google form (same one as the trip ranking).

If yes, I'd also like to know in the form if you would want to contribute modelling supplies or donate some coins, since unfortunately it's not cheap. As a group though it should turn out very affordable, especially with university supplies like free 3D printing, and at the end of it who knows? Maybe we will be displaying it at Model Rail Scotland! 

Yours, Liam.

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And that’s all from us, this train terminates here! Thanks for reading, and we’re always open to suggestions or something to put in the newsletter - just message us on Instagram or Discord.

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Voting form for BIG TRIP! (Uni of Edinburgh login required) : https://forms.office.com/e/W1BA5cLSxg

Get (FREE!) Railsoc membership here: https://www.eusa.ed.ac.uk/activities/view/railwaysoc

Railsoc Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/railsocedi/

Railsoc Discord (UoE students): https://discord.gg/e2g9KCbgy5