Research & Archives
Search Engine
The National Railway Museum’s brand new Library and Archive Centre. Opening up the Museum's hidden archives. 
At Search Engine you can
- Visit Case Studies - an exhibition featuring some of the hidden gems of the archives.
- Browse railway books, magazines and archives (these will be gradually added over the coming weeks).
- "Drop in" and get help with railway related questions.
- See previously unseen archives and artefacts.
- Find a quiet area for study or to access archival material (available early 2008).
Search Engine is open 10am - 5.30pm seven days a week.
Completion of the building work is only the opening chapter in the Search Engine service. We now need to bring all the archives, drawings and photo collections back from deep storage. Visitors to Search Engine will play a vital part in helping us to reach this goal and to deliver a worthwhile information service. We will be therefore actively seeking feedback during Search Engine’s opening months and throughout this first year.
Find out more
The background to the Search Engine project
Launch our Search Engine Interactive
Enquiries
If you have any questions about any aspect of Search Engine, or if you have any enquiries to do with railway history or our collections please contact us. Responses to enquiries are normally sent within 20 working days.
Please use our online enquiry form below or contact us at
Search Engine
National Railway Museum
Leeman Road
York
YO26 4XJ
Fax 01904 611112
search.engine@nrm.org.uk
Alternatively, you may be able to find the answer to your question online.
Further information on Search Engine and its services will be added to this site as operational progress continues.
Inreach
We also have a new ‘Inreach’ team run by The Friends of the National Railway Museum that has been set up to assist those who have a complex or time consuming query but cannot devote the time and resources to visit Search Engine in person..
In return for a contribution of £20, which will be used to support further projects to increase access to the Museum’s comprehensive collections, the team will undertake a day’s research on the enquirer’s behalf. The fee includes the first day’s research in Search Engine and an initial response; if further research proves to be necessary, an additional fee will be negotiated with the enquirer according to the work involved.
The research team consists of experts on most aspects of the railway industry, and can even help the public to track down members of the family that worked on the railways in bygone years.
For more details of the Inreach service, please contact the Inreach team via the National Railway Museum, Leeman Road, York, YO26 4XJ, search.engine@nrm.org.uk, or directly by emailing inreach@nrm.org.uk