Resources for Transport Research
in the United Kingdom.

This listing has been compiled from a leaflet entitled “Resources For Transport Research”, published jointly by the National Railway Museum at York; the National Tramway Museum at Crich, Derbyshire and London’s Transport Museum at Covent Garden, London.

Click on the blue text below to access any of the following external websites.

National Railway Museum, National Tramway Museum, London’s Transport Museum

The libraries and archives of the three museums, listed above, hold outstanding sources for the study of transport technology and its impact on social and economic history.

The museums each cover different aspects of transport history so enquiries should be addressed to the relevant one.

Each museum has public research facilities that are open to visitors by appointment. They also have informative websites that provide information about their subjects and collections. Brief enquiries can be answered by telephone, but detailed ones are best dealt with in writing, or by visiting to undertake personal research.

Railways:-

National Railway Museum, York

The National Railway Museum Library and Archive, which is soon to become known and available as Search Engine, is one of Britain’s major reference sources for the study of railway history. It contains important collections of books, maps, archives and photographs. These represent a major reference source, not only for the study of railway history and technology, but also for the social and cultural changs sparked by the transport revolution.

What do the collections contain?

  • The Printed Book Collection contains over 17,000 titles on railways in Britain and includes some works on overseas railways.

  • The Periodical Collection of over 500 titles, includes transactions of professional institutions; railway industry journals; journals of railway study societies and magazines of general railway interest.

  • The Timetable Collection contains both working and public timetables from the 1840s to the present day. A good series of Bradshaw’s timetables is also held.

  • Government Publications include Board of Trade Returns, Railway Clearing House Reports and official railway accident reports.

  • The Photograph Collections contain some 1.4 million images dating from the 1850s to the present day. The variety of topics covered by the photographers reflects the considerable diversity of railway operations. A large selection of images can be consulted in the Reading Room either using reference prints or the Image Access System.

  • The Poster, Notice and Handbill Collections contain over 7,000 items dating from the early nineteenth century to the present day. Reference prints of the collection can be consulted.

  • The Archive Collections consist largely of technical material concerning the development of locomotives and rolling stock and include specifications, reports, correspondence and drawings.

  • The Pictorial Collection contains paintings, paintings, prints and engravings illustrating railways from the early nineteenth century onwards. Photographic reference prints of the collection can be consulted.

  • The National Railway Museum at York is the world’s largest railway museum and is part of the National Museum of Science and Industry.

The old National Railway Museum Library Reading Room and Research Centre closed to the public on Friday 27 January 2006. This was to make way for the extensive building works which will create its successor - Search Engine.

The new Search Engine centre will open on the museum’s Great Hall balcony at the end of 2007. Search Engine will give us much more space for users of the NRM’s extensive library, archive and image collections, and will transform the storage and conservation facilities for these collections. Read more about Search Engine.

Tramway and Light Railway Systems:-

The National Tramway Museum or Crich Tramway Village at Crich, in Derbyshire, England has the following resources:-

The John Price Library and Archive holds a unique collection of books, reports and Acts of Parliament, periodicals and photographic images covering the history of tramways worldwide, from horse traction to the latest rapid transit. Many of the sources contain material on buses, trolleybuses, metros and inter-urban railways, so the development of a town’s transport can be studied in totality. The wider technical, social and economic background to urban transport and its relation to town planning can be studied.

What do the collections contain?

  • The Printed Book Collection contains descriptions of the world’s tramways and light railway systems. There is also supporting material on transport law and traffic management and the manufacture and installation of vehicles, track and traction power.

  • The Periodical Collection includes historical titles such as Tramway & Railway World, The Light Railway & Tramway Journal, The Street Railway Journal (USA), Electrician and Electrical Review. Magazines of contemporary transport study and preservation are held and there is an extensive foreign language section.

  • The archive holds some records of transport operators, including British Electric Traction, and of industry bodies such as the Municipal Tramways & Transport Association. There are collections of workshop drawings, technical pamphlets, maps and guides, timetables, tickets and general ephemera.

  • The Photograph and Film Archive covers the mahor tramway systems of Great Britain and the world. The Museum holds the negative collections of the photographers H.B. Priestley, M.J. O’Connor, D.W.K. Jones; Dr H. Nicol and others. These negatives, and the extensive postcard collection, are currently being digitised to improve access.

  • The web site (at www.tramway.co.uk ) offers access to the main library catalogue, a journal index and many of the digitised photographs. Keywords enable searches to be made on many technical, economic and social subjects associated with urban transport.

  • The National Tramway Museum or Crich Tramway Village holds the national collection of British tramcars, examples of which are in operation.

The John Price Library and Archive is open Monday to Friday from 0900 to 1700. To book an appointment please telephone 01773 853787/852565, Fax 01773 852326.

For further information on the Museum write to: National Tramway Museum, Crich Tramway Village, Crich, Matlock, Derbyshire, DE4 5DP or visit the website at www.tramway.co.uk

Transport in London:-

London’s Transport Museum is part of Transport for London.

The Museum’s Reference Library holds a unique collection of material relating to the history and development of transport in London. It is the only Transport for London library that is open to the public and provides a comprehensive research facility. Information is available through on-line databases and catalogues. These are accessible to Museum visitors in the London’s Transport Museum Learning Centre.

What do the collections contain?

  • The Reference Library holds books, journals, pamphlets, documents and archive records on all aspects of London’s transport history. Substantial collections are held relating to the development of London, the history of Transport for London and its predecessors, architecture and design. Special collections include the Reinohl Collection, consisting of 188 albums documenting the history of bus routes and the companies which operated them and the Frank Pick Archive, containing Pick’s personal lecture notes and correspondence and a remarkable set of scrapbooks put together and heavily annotated by Pick himself.

  • The Photographic Library includes over 100,000 black and white images covering the last 150 years, as well as 20,000 colour photographs. The collection documents every aspect of London’s public transport, including construction of the Underground, bus and tram operations and street scenes. Reproductions can be purchased from the Photo Library.

  • The Film and Video Collection mostly consists of documentary footage made by British Transport Films and videos produced for promotional or training purposes, including the construction of the recently extended Jubilee line. Videos can be viewed by appointment.

  • The Ephemera Collection includes maps, timetables, tickets, Transport for London publications and a stunning poster collection dating from 1908. Over 5,000 poster images are available for viewing on-line in the Museum.

  • The Drawings Collection consists mainly of engineering and architectural drawings and is stored at The Depot together with the poster and art collection.

For further information on the Museum write to London’s Transport Museum, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 7BB. Telephone: 020 7379 6344, Fax: 020 7565 7252 or visit the London’s Transport Museum website at: www.ltmuseum.co.uk

All enquiries about this page should be made by E-mail to Daniel McIntyre.
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This page was last updated on 4th October 2007.
© Daniel McIntyre 2007.