Collections
Donating to the NRM collections
The collections of the National Railway Museum have been built up over the past 80 years and are very rich, although some gaps still exist. The costs of caring for the collections are high and it is important that we do not duplicate material or objects that fall outside our collecting policy and in view of this, we are not able to accept everything that it offered to us. Instead we need to know more about the item(s) being offered before we can decide whether or not they are suitable for the collection.
You may be wondering why we don’t just accept straight away. This is to ensure that your donation is cared for correctly right from the start and receives the full attention of the curatorial staff. The decision on what material should be retained in the permanent collections of the Museum is the remit of a Collections Development Group in consultation with the individual member of Knowledge and Collections staff responsible for the care of the collections.
If you would like to offer something to the Museum please contact the Museum in writing or by telephone before bringing in objects offered as donations, since staff often work at different sites and may not always be available at short notice. If you cannot visit the Museum in person, it would be useful if you could send a snapshot so that we can see what the objects look like.
It may be that your donation is exactly what we have been looking for as it fits in with our Collecting Policy, is in good condition and has a full history. In this case it will be accepted into our permanent collections. It may be that your object would be useful for work with education groups for example, in which case, with your permission, it would not be accessioned but would form part of our valued “handling” collection.
However, it may be that for a variety of reasons we cannot accept your offer. Please do not be offended. It could be that we already have a similar example in the collection. It could be that your object is simply too big or that it is of a type that we do not collect (but another museum might). Our staff will be able to advise you in this case.
Hopefully your object is just what we are looking for. However, it may not be put on display for some time. The Museum cares for around 4 million objects. Exhibitions and displays have to be carefully planned, often years in advance.
In the meantime your object will carefully stored and may be drawn upon for special exhibitions or lent for exhibition at other registered institutions. It will also be available for research and education purposes.
Please note:
- The Museum does not normally accept material on long-term loan.
- Material is not accepted with specific conditions attached.
- Hazardous substances will not be accepted under any circumstances (eg firearms, detonators, objects containing asbestos, mercury or radioactive material).
Downloads
Collecting Policy (Word Document 120KB)
Advice on how to leave something to the Museum in a will (Word Document 23KB)
Contact information
If you would like to offer any material to the National Railway Museum please direct your enquiry to:
Helen Ashby
Head of Knowledge and Collections
National Railway Museum
Leeman Road
York
YO26 4XJ
tel 01904 686231
fax 01904 686233
email helen.ashby@nrm.org.uk