Research help
Online research tools
National Railway Museum library catalogue
Our library catalogue is held on the website of the University of York. You can use it to find books and magazines to help you in your research, then come and read them in Search Engine.
Library catalogue (University of York website)
How to use the library catalogue (PDF, 218Kb)
Science and Society Picture Library
Looking for a photo or poster? Copies of any of the 50,000 images from the collections of National Railway Museum, National Media Museum and the Science Museum can be browsed or bought in a variety of sizes and formats.
Ingenious
Contains over 30,000 images which are used to illustrate over 30 different subjects, topics and debates from the collections of the National Railway Museum, National Media Museum and the Science Museum.
Access to Archives
These Finding aids for the following NRM collections:
- Doncaster Locomotive Works archive catalogue
- British Railways Standard Locomotive Drawing catalogue
- NRM "Guide to Photographic Collections"
Access to Archives
How to use Access to Archives (PDF, 122Kb)
Midland Railway Society Derby registers
The Midland Railway Society has computerised the Derby Photographic Registers (part of the NRM’s Photographic Collection). The website explains the project and how to use the registers.
Midland Railway Society Derby registers
Directory of railway websites
Staff from Search Engine have compiled this directory of railway-related websites to help researchers.
delicious.com/Librarian_at_NRM
Frequently asked questions
My ancestor worked on the railways. How can I find out about him?
Please see our Family History pages.
Family legend says that my ancestor drove the Flying Scotsman. How can I prove this?
Proving it will be tricky and you will need to ascertain whether you are referring to the locomotive or the train.
'Flying Scotsman' - the train has run since 1862 from London King's Cross Station to Edinburgh Waverley, mostly departing 10:00 from both ends of the line. The key sheds providing locomotives and crews for this service have been London Kings Cross in steam days; Finsbury Park in diesel days; and Gateshead and Edinburgh Haymarket in both steam and diesel days. Today, London Bounds Green and Edinburgh Craigentinny look after the trains for the expresses on the East Coast main line with drivers mostly from London or Edinburgh.
'Flying Scotsman’ – the locomotive, LNER no.4472, has a more complicated story. To drive the engine you would have to be a ‘Top Link’ driver working from a shed where Flying Scotsman (the engine) was based. These are:-
- Doncaster 1923
- Kings Cross 1928 (In use on the non-stop runs and fitted with a corridor tender June 1929 to Oct 1936)
- New England Mar. 1944
- Gorton (Manchester) Jul. 1944
- Kings Cross Oct. 1944
- New England Nov. 1944
- Doncaster Dec. 1944
- Leicester Jun. 1950
- Grantham Nov. 1953
- Kings Cross Jun. 1954
- Grantham Aug. 1954
- Kings Cross. Apr.1957
- After 1963 the locomotive is in private hands until 2004.
- From 1963 to 1969 it is based at Doncaster but runs all over the country on excursions
- When it returns from America in 1973 is based mainly at Carnforth
- After its return from Australia in 1990 it is mainly based in the London area at Southall and Stewart’s Lane depots.
- For a brief period of time in the 1990’s it ran on preserved railways including ‘Driver Experience’ courses where for a fee and under instruction, anyone could drive it.
- After 2004 it has been based at York.
During the preservation era drivers on the mainline would have come from wherever the locomotive was, particularly in the 1970s from the Carlisle and Leeds area, and from the 1990s from London depots with men with steam experience such as Marylebone, Old Oak Common or Stewart’s Lane.
If you have information on your relative being a driver and if the dates tally with those outlined above, then, yes, it is possible your relative drove the Flying Scotsman.
I’m building a locomotive model. How can I find an engineering drawing to help me?
Our engineering drawings are arranged by the company which produced them. Knowing the company will help you know where to look.
Some of our lists of drawings can be searched on the Access to Archives (A2A) website. For information on how to search and which companies are covered, please see our main library and archive centre page.
For other drawings not listed on the A2A website, a visit to Search Engine may be required. We have most of our drawings listed and staff can guide you on how to find what you are looking for. You can also order copies of drawings that you find.
We also have a wide range of books and magazines on all aspects to do with railway modelling. Browse our library catalogue for suitable titles.
If you get stuck or cannot find what you are looking for, email search.engine@nrm.org.uk and we’ll do our best to help.
I want to see a particular locomotive. How do I know where it will be in the country?
If the locomotive is part of the National Collection, you will be able to find out its current location by searching Locomotives & Rolling Stock.
Alternatively, a useful website is UK Heritage Railway. They detail railway events/excursions and you can look up the whereabouts of specific locomotives. It is always advisable to contact the organisation hosting the locomotive prior to travel in case of last minute scheduling alterations.
I want to find a photograph of a particular thing. How do I go about this?
If the photo you're after has been digitised, you'll find it on the Science and Society Picture Library website. You can purchase a copy from there, in a variety of formats.
For those collections which have not yet been digitised, please see our Copying Service pages for advice, and information on how to order copies.
