The Railway and Canal Historical Society was founded in the United Kingdom in 1954 to bring together all those interested in the history of transport, with particular reference to railways and waterways in Britain, its main objects being to promote historical research and to raise the standard of published history.

[1] The Journal of the Railway and Canal Historical Society, containing the results of original research, has been produced regularly since 1955.

This has been achieved since 2004 by an annual awards ceremony, in which authors of leading works in the areas of railways, canals and transport are recognised.

Winners receive a certificate, a silver cup, and a cash award funded by a bequest from publisher David St John Thomas.

[3] The Society arranges events nationally in the form of meetings, real and virtual, and trips and also has regional groups which organise meetings and trips to places of interest, and special interest groups organised nationally covering railway history, railway chronology, early railways, waterways history, roads and road transport, air transport, modern transport, and pipelines & materials handling; most operating primarily through online circulation of material.