Collections
The Archive Collection
The Archive Collection is an accumulation of mainly paper documents, from a variety of sources. These sources include material from many of the railway companies, nationalized industries, associated industries and from members of the public.
The collections cover a wide range of material:
- railway manufacturers papers
- technical specifications
- engineering drawings
- collections of papers of notable people in the industry
- enthusiasts' personal collections
- railway workers associations - pension funds,
sickness funds, convalescent homes
musical and debating societies - working papers of railway companies - instructions,
notices, working tickets - proformas exemplifying working practices
- celebratory material - opening of lines, bridges, docks, war memorials
- itineraries and working instructions for royal journeys
- hotels and dining car documents
This share certificate dates from the early 1840s, the period of the 'railway mania' when a fever of speculative investment in raliway schemes swept the country. The Wear Valley Extension of the Stockton & Darlington Railway is still in existence today. This certificate was issued to Henry Pease, a member of the Quaker banking family, which was the driving force behind the Stockton and Darlington Railway.
Image reference number CT 980264
Much of the archive material has been collected on an ad hoc basis, often as individual documents, and so covers many of the less well-known railways, though not always in much depth. The Archive Department has records of the societies set up by, or on behalf of, railway employees, both leisure groups, e.g. Choral Societies, and self-help groups, e.g. pension and hospital funds. However, the nature of these collections covers working papers and rarely includes more than the barest minimum of personal records. The NRM has no holdings of staff records. Lists and material from the Archive Collections is available in the Museum by appointment.
These include:
- Locomotive Manufactures Association
- North Eastern Railway Station Masters and Agents Association
- Papers relating to the demise of the British Transport Hotels Ltd
- Accounts and receipts of Sir John Rennie
- Wiltshire Somerset & Weymouth Railway Company and the Melksham Turnpike Trust
- Papers of John Click, locomotive engineer
- Papers of E S Cox, locomotive engineer
- Diaries of G P Neele
There is a continuing programme of cataloguing to make more material available. As a result, some collections have only interim lists, and others are not yet available.
It should be noted that, although there is a programme of conservation, certain documents and collections may not be available, due to their fragile condition.
You can find out more about the history of the British railway posters from our online exhibition on the subject.
This is a single page from a notebook prepared for Sir Daniel Gooch, Locomotive Superintendent of the Great Western Railway from 1837-1859. This tiny volume includes finely detailed drawings, specifications and costings for the locomotives he designed for the GWR from 1840-1862.
Image reference number NRM_DS061166