I've looked at all sorts of organisations of late that look out for passengers and interested community parties in various way ... one that's slipped under the forum thus far is the Railway Correspondence and Travel Society. Any members / anyone been to meetings or on their trips?
https://www.rcts.org.ukMany years ago went to a meeting of RCTS at a venue in Tyndall's Park Road here in Bristol and my first 'exploration' of the Central Wales Line was on a RCTS special from Bristol.