The Railway Study Association was formed in 1909, and commissioned a book to commemorate its centenary. The book, 'A century of change', is one which I have just finished and found fascinating.

The underlying message - change is constant, and will continue - is hardly surprising.

The book illustrates this by reference to themes pervading presentations made at its regular meetings - presentations usually made by senior figures in the railway or transport industry. These are enlivened by the presence at these meetings of other figures in the transport industry, senior and junior, who are clearly interested in their profession.

It makes the point that the decade between 1960 and 1970 was the one where change really accelerated, where it was really apparent.

And this was my railway. I joined BR in 1963 (the family firm - my father worked on the railways for 45 years, as did one of his brothers), and reading this book really took me back across a long and fascinating career.

But it's not just nostalgia. There is serious stuff in this book: it is well worth reading.

And one thing which almost unintentionally emerges is the danger of the loss of corporate memory. In 1970 the name of the organisation was changed from Railway Students Association to Railway Study Association. The book is vague about why, merely commenting that the word student had negative connotations around that time. So it did: student riots, revolts, sit-ins and so on were certainly making the headlines. But the reason I remember is the confusion and embarrassment it sometimes caused to visiting speakers who hadn't been fully briefed. They sometimes came expecting teenage students (and with a presentation geared to their expected level of knowledge and experience), and were clearly taken aback by finding the room full of people with the same level of seniority and expertise as themselves!
The book is excellent, as is the Association (of which I have been a member for over 40 years).

You might like to look at their web-site, www.railwaystudyassociation.org