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Branch Meetings
Programme of evening meetings 2007 - 2008
Birmingham
Manchester
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Portsmouth
Bristol
Edinburgh / Glasgow
(Meetings resume in October)
Birmingham (Midland Branch)
Meetings are held on the first Wednesday of the month in the Thinktank Theatre, which is on level G0 (G zero) in Thinktank, the Birmingham Science Museum at Millennium Point, Curzon Street, Birmingham 4 (the entrance to the car park is from the north or Jennens Road side of the site). Doors open at 6.30pm for the meetings at 7pm. There is a pay-bar with snacks and drinks available in the building before the meeting. Visitors are welcome and admission is free with, from 5.30pm, a small charge for parking on site.
| Wed 3 October 2007 | Joint meeting with the West Midlands ICE: Thomas Telford: his life and works by Roger Cragg (Member). |
| Wed 7 November 2007 | The House of Webley - Gunmakers by Richard Milner. |
| Wed 5 December 2007 | The Early Days of Plastics in the West Midlands by Dr John Russell (Vice-President). |
| Wed 2 January 2008 | The St Lawrence Seaway by David Harrison (Member). |
| Wed 6 February 2008 | Eight Hundred Years of Coal Mining on Cannock Chase by Dennis Jackson (Cannock Chase Mining Historical Society). |
| Wed 5 March 2008 | John Wilkinson and His Transport Interests by Neil Clarke (Broseley Local History Society). |
| Wed 2 April 2008 | The Midland Potteries - a technological enigma by Dr Malcolm Nixon. |
Newcastle (North Eastern Branch)
Unless otherwise stated, all meetings will be held in the Science Maze, 2nd Floor, Discovery Museum, Blandford Square, Newcastle upon Tyne, starting at 6.15 pm. Visitors are welcome and admission is free.
| Tue 25 September 2007 | Annual General Meeting followed by: The History of the WWII Liberty Ships and the SS Jeremia O'Brien by David Aris. |
| Wed 24 October 2007 | Visit: The Newcastle High Level Bridge Repairs - details to be announced. |
| Tue 20 November 2007 | Joint meeting with ICE Northumbria: Heritage Engineering - High Level Bridge, Gateshead, Newcastle by Tim Abbot and Leslie Ayling. |
| Tue 15 January 2008 | The Steamship SS Bedlington - Rail Ferry and Feeder Ship by John Dobson. |
| Tue 18 March 2008 | Joint meeting with IMechE Tyne & Wear: The Engineering of Replacement Joints - Past, Present and Future Developments in Artificial Joints for the Human Body by Professor Tony Unsworth. |
Manchester (North Western Branch)
Unless otherwise stated, meetings are held at the Museum of Science & Industry in Liverpool Road, Manchester and start at 6.30pm. Parking is available on site. Members and guests meet beforehand for a meal at a nearby restaurant from 5pm. Visitors are welcome and admission is free.
| Wed 26 September 2007 | Joint meeting with ICE Manchester Branch: The Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal by Jamie Gray. (NB Meeting to be held in the Renold Building, University of Manchester, at 6 pm). |
| Wed 31 October 2007 | Emile Bachelet, Developer of the Magnetic Levitation Train by Miles Macnair. |
| Tue 27 November 2007 | Iron in Classic Structures by Tom Swailes (Member). |
| Tue 29 January 2008 | Joint meeting with Manchester Association of Engineers: Henry Maudslay, Founder of Modern Manufacturing by Richard Maudslay. |
| Tues 26 February 2008 | Joint meeting with Manchester Regional Industrial Archaeology Society: Shude Hill Mill and Its Engine by Mike Nevell. |
| Tues 25 March 2008 | Acid Towers and the Control of Chemical Pollution 1823-1876 by Peter Reed. |
Bristol (Western Branch)
Unless otherwise stated, meetings will be held in the GWR Boardroom, British Empire and Commonwealth Museum at Temple Meads Station, Bristol at 7.30pm. Access to the Boardroom is via the stone arch on Temple Gate. There is some car parking space (Pay and Display) available through the entrance arch. Visitors are welcome and admission is free.
| Thur 18 October 2007 | Presidential Address: A Light to Lighten our Darkness: the development of lighthouse optics from candles and simple reflectors to the sophisticated and brilliant glass refracting lenses of the 19th century by Miss Julia Elton (Immediate Past President). |
| Thur 15 November 2007 | RAF Hixon, Staffordshire by Malcolm Garner. |
| Thur 17 January 2008 | Members Evening: A joint meeting with the Bristol Industrial Archaeology Society hosted by BIAS. |
| Thur 21 February 2008 | The History of Westinghouse Brake and Signal Company by J D Francis (Head of Research) and Mark Glover (Sales and Marketing Manager). |
| Thur 20 March 2008 | Steam Under the Sea - The K class Submarine of World War One by Chris Hodrien (ISSES). |
| Thur 17 April 2008 | Life in a 1950s Drawing Office by Clive Ellam (Past President). |
Portsmouth (Southern Branch)
Unless otherwise stated, meetings will be held in Room 0.27 in the Portland Building of the University of Portsmouth commencing at 6.30pm. The Portland Building is in St James Street off Queen Street, Portsea. Free parking in adjacent University car parks from 4.30 p.m. Visitors are welcome and admission is free.
| Tues 16 October 2007 | Weirs, Sluices and River Engineering by Henry Gunston (Member). |
| Tues 20 November 2007 | Portsmouth Harbour as a World Heritage Site? by Celia Clark. |
| Tues 11 December 2007 | Presidential Address: A Light to Lighten our Darkness: the history and development of the Fresnel refracting lens - the basis of modern lighthouse engineering by Julia Elton (Immediate Past President). |
| Tues 15 January 2008 | The Ill-fated K Class Submarines of World War 1 by Jim Hatfield. |
| Tues 19 February 2008 | Brunel's Block Making Machinery - An Appraisal by Ray Riley. |
| Tues 11 March 2008 | Thomas Brassey, Nineteenth Century Railway Contractor by Roger Cragg. |
| Tues 15 April 2008 | The Titchfield Canal? A Problem of Interpretation by John Mitchell. |
| Tues 20 May 2008 | William Gravatt, I K Brunel and Bridges in Somerset by David Greenfield. |
Edingburgh / Glasgow (Scotland Branch)
At present the Branch is without a regular meeting place. If any member knows of a suitable location please contact the Branch Hon Secretary.
| Wed 14 November 2007 | Joint meeting with Panel for Historical Engineering Works: The George Bennie Railplane and the Hugh Fraser Airrail Systems of Transport by Malcolm Thwaite. Venue: The James Clark Maxwell Foundation, 14 India Street, Edinburgh. 5.30pm for 6.15pm. |
| Wed 19 March 2008 | Joint with Panel for Historical Engineering Works & Scottish Hydraulic Study Group: Stevenson's Lighthouses - how they were built and how we look after them by Bob McIntosh. Venue: the James Clark Maxwell Foundation, 14 India Street, Edinburgh. 5.30pm for 6.15pm. |