RPG Annual Convention
RPG 2024 Annual Convention (Saturday 8 June)
(optional steam train trip on Sunday 9 June)
VENUE
KIDDERMINSTER RAILWAY MUSEUM, Station Approach, Comberton Hill, KIDDERMINSTER DY10 1QX. If arriving by rail or bus access to the museum is through the booking hall of the Severn Valley Railway station, then across the concourse turning right and it is directly in front of you. For those arriving by road the car park is located to the right of the SVR station (NB. see car park instructions below). The RPG Convention will be held in the 1st floor room, which is accessed by turning left after you enter the museum then proceeding to the end and up the steps.
The KRM building was a warehouse built by the Great Western Railway in 1878. It became disused and subsequently derelict in the early 1980s. The museum houses a vast range of railway artefacts.
BOOKING
Convention Attendance is FREE TO RPG MEMBERS. Morning & afternoon tea/coffee will be provided, as well as a buffet lunch on Saturday. NOTE – members book own accommodation.
CLICK HERE to view the ATTENDANCE BOOKING FORM
PROGRAMME
The Convention will commence at 09:30 on 8th June with lunch 12:30 – 13:30 and is expected to conclude at 16:30. The AGM will take place from 13:30 to 14:00. There will be 9 displays covering a wide range of topics. The programme will be sent to participants in April and posted on the RPG’s website and facebook pages.
CLICK HERE to view the full PROVISIONAL PROGRAM
CAR PARK
The SVR car park costs £4 per day. It operates on an ANPR system. Pay at the parking machine located at the start of the footpath to the station. NB this machine accepts cards only. You must enter your vehicle registration number. No tickets are issued. Alternatively, pay at the booking office by card or cash and obtain a code and enter this on the smart screen in the booking office then your vehicle registration.
TRANSPORTATION
Kidderminster station is served by frequent trains from Birmingham Snow Hill & Moor Street as well as Worcester Shrub Hill & Foregate Street with connections to London Paddington and Hereford.
- For those travelling from London it is recommended that you use Chiltern services from London Marylebone and change at Moor Street for Kidderminster.
- For those travelling from the north, east or west (of Birmingham) travel to Birmingham New Street then the 10 minute walk to Moor Street for trains to Kidderminster. (Some trains between Birmingham and Wolverhampton stop at Smethwick Galton Bridge (low level), in which case alight there and up the steps to the high level platforms for trains to Kidderminster, which saves the 10 minute walk in Birmingham.)
ACCOMMODATION
- There is a Premier Inn in the town itself at Slingfield Mill, Weavers Wharf, Kidderminster DY10 1AA, which is within walking distance of the venue. Typical cost £110/night, parking only free between 6pm and 8am.
- Travelodge to the west of the town by the river at Park Ln, Kidderminster, DY11 6TL. Typical cost £44/night with free parking.
REFRESHMENTS
Mid-morning and afternoon tea and coffee will be provided to the delegates and a buffet style lunch on the Saturday.
OPTIONAL SATURDAY EVENING GROUP MEAL
An optional informal meal is planned for the Saturday evening at Bistrot Pierre, Unit 1-4 Riverside, Exchange Street, Kidderminster, DY10 1BY. This is planned for 6:30pm so that those who have travelled by public transport can get home at a reasonable time. Typical cost of a 2-course meal (without alcohol) £30.
OPTIONAL STEAM HAULED TRAIN TO HIGHLEY on the SEVERN VALLEY RAILWAY
If there is sufficient interest a trip on the SVR will be organised on the Sunday (9th) to Highley and the Engine House. As the name suggests this is a museum housing locomotives and rolling stock. There is a café there for lunch. Please indicate if you wish to participate and the number. Times of trains and cost for a group booking will be advised to those who complete a Booking Form when payment will be requested. Current price of return ticket £14.
About RPG Conventions Generally
The RPG Annual Convention (plus AGM) is usually held in late Spring / early Summer each year. It is open to RPG members, but visitors are also welcome. The Convention format normally alternates from year to year. One year it will be a one-day event, and the next year it will be a weekend event, with the venues being chosen from different regions around the country.
Members give talks and displays on various topics of RPG interest, with plenty of friendly discussion and chat – you always learn something new! There are also display competitions in various classes (see below), with some rather grand trophies to be won! There is also often a Swap Shop. It is always enjoyable, so why not come along and see?
Displays
In the months before the Convention, members submit offers to the Convention Coordinator to present railway philatelic displays on topics of their own choosing. There is not usually a set theme and the variety of presentations offered is often one of the attractions of the event. The displays take the conventional multi-page form and ‘tell a story’ about the main topic through philatelic items and a connecting narrative. A data projector and laptop computer are normally available for the use of anyone presenting a talk who wants to use a computer-based series of images (such as a PowerPoint display) to support his/her paper-based presentation.
CLICK HERE to view some displays presented at previous Annual Conventions
Logistics
Attendance at Conventions is usually FREE to RPG members, but we need to know in advance how many people are coming and so ask people to register in advance with the Convention Coordinator.
Mid-morning and afternoon tea and coffee is normally provided for delegates, as well as a buffet style lunch on the Saturday. Attendees will arrange their own accommodation and any evening meals. However, the Convention Coordinator is usually able to advise on the choices available locally, and frequently a specific hotel is chosen as a recommended base so that members can socialise outside the Convention programme.
Competitions
The RPG will run Competitions annually, subject to there being sufficient entries. Each event has its own magnificent trophy – which the winner will keep for a year (and have his/her name engraved alongside some of the great RPG names of the past!). The competitions run may vary from year to year – here are some of the Competitions which may be run:
Railway Postal History – including TPOs, RSOs, Station marks etc (Doncaster Cup)
Railway Stamps – Parcel, Newspaper, Letter (old-style & modern) (Turner Jackson Cup)
Railway Thematics (Malin Cup)
Open Postal Competition (nine A4 pages or equivalent)
Any railway philatelic subject (Ewen Trophy)
CLICK HERE to view the RPG COMPETITION RULES
CLICK HERE to view GUIDELINES for PREPARING ENTRIES
CLICK HERE to view the JUDGING CRITERIA for COMPETITIONS
Non-Philatelic Programme
Members often attend Conventions with their partners, and Convention venues are selected so that there is usually a wide range of attractions within easy reach that may be visited by the partners of attendees while formal activities are taking place. Partners are also most welcome at any dinners or other social events within the programme (and, of course, at any of the Convention events should they wish to attend!).
RPG Annual Convention 2023 – ENDED
The 2023 Annual Convention was a great success.
The following details will be left online until details of the 2024 have been fully worked out.
The 2023 AGM and Annual Convention will be held in central London on Saturday 22nd April at The Model Railway Club (MRC) (www.themodelrailwayclub.org), the oldest model railway club in the world . Keen House, the home of the MRC, provides clubrooms where their members can work on the club’s famous layouts as well as pursuing their own modelling activities. There may be some opportunities to view these artefacts during breaks in our Convention programme.
(a) GETTING THERE: The venue is easily reached by rail (main line to King’s Cross, St. Pancras or Euston), by underground (nearest underground stations King’s Cross or Angel), or by bus (Services 30, 73, 205, 214, 476). For those travelling by car the venue is presently just outside the Congestion Zone and there is some on-street parking nearby but this is reduced by local building works: parking charges apply until 1.30pm on Saturdays.
Our Convention will take place in the Hall, which is a half-floor above the Keen House entrance lobby. There is no lift and access is only by means of a short staircase.
(b) WHAT’S ON?: Our programme includes specialist displays of railway philatelic material as well as talks by senior figures from the British Library (Philatelic Collection) and the Postal Museum. The RPG’s Annual General Meeting will take place before the lunch break, when there will be some time for informal discussion. (There will be no competitions this year.)
As we have a very full programme, proceedings will start promptly at 10.30 am. We would request that all attendees arrive at Keen House between 10.15 and 10.30 am on the day of the Convention since they will need to sign in at the door. Later arrivals may need to contact the Convention organisers to gain admission.
CLICK HERE to view the PROGRAMME (opens in a separate window)
(c) REFRESHMENTS: Short refreshment breaks have been built into the programme, but the MRC steward will be in attendance throughout the day and should be able to assist with any additional requests from the bar menu. The RPG will provide some refreshments as indicated on the programme, but attendees can supplement these at their discretion.
(d) LET US KNOW IF YOU ARE GOING TO ATTEND: In order to help us plan the event (setting out the required number of chairs, ordering the right amount of food etc), we aneed to know how many people will be attending. Therefore, if you plan to attend please let us know by emailing newsletter@railwayphilatelicgroup.co.uk
Nevertheless, we will endeavour to ensure that anyone arriving without prior notice will still be able to attend – though they may have to make their own refreshment arrangements.
(e) INFORMAL/OPTIONAL GET-TOGETHER (FRIDAY NIGHT): No formal social programme has been arranged. However, as a number of participants will be travelling to London the day before, an informal get-together for those who are then in town is proposed at The Mediterraneo restaurant (112 King’s Cross Rd, London WC1X 9DS) at 7 pm on Friday 21 April. It will be helpful if you can let us know in advance whether you will be attending this Friday night get-together.
Most likely, some attendees will wish to dine together on the Saturday evening, and it is suggested that people make suitable bookings on the day.
(f) STAYING OVERNIGHT?: If you wish to stay overnight on the Friday or the Saturday you will need to book your own accomodation, but nearby accommodation is plentiful.
(g) POSSIBLE EXTRA EVENT: If enough members are interested, a group visit to the Postal Museum (https://www.postalmuseum.org/) may be possible. Again, it will be helpful if you can let us know in advance whether you might wish to talke part in such a visit.
You can also use the CONTACT US facility to find out more about the 2023 Annual Convention, or to indicate that you might be interested in attending.
Past Annual Conventions
CLICK HERE to read about the RPG Annual Convention 2017
CLICK HERE to read about the RPG Annual Convention 2019