The material housed at Leatherhead has been acquired over many years, much of it by donations from members of the Society.
From its formation in 1928 the society has published a monthly magazine – ‘The Railway Observer’ (for the first few months its title was ‘Railway News’). A complete set of bound volumes is housed at the library and for most years there are several copies.
In 1935 the Society published its first book – ‘The locomotive stock of the main line companies of Great Britain as at 31st December 1934’. Since then the society has continued to produce books on railway subjects, many of which have been detailed histories of locomotives of British railway companies. Copies of all titles are kept at the library.
For many years the society organised rail tours, sometimes in partnership with other societies, and there is a very full collection of the itineraries which were produced for these. A listing of these is available and the contents of this collection are in the process of being digitised.
Administrative records of the society are also held at the library.
There is a stock of upwards of 8600 volumes covering all aspects of railways, including a significant number concerned with railways overseas, some of which are in French, German or Spanish.
Included in the collection are reference books, annuals, yearbooks, and largely complete collections of the series published by Oakwood Press and Middleton Press. Copies are held of the books of detailed track plans published by Quail and others, many of which cover ex Great Western and Southern Railway lines. Copies of the reports of traffic surveys carried out by various groups, including the RCTS, are held – these date mostly from the 1950s and 1960s and were usually carried out on Saturdays in summer when many extra passenger trains were run to cater for holidaymakers.
Over the years the Society Librarians have had to be selective in adding to the stock, although a significant proportion of what has been published in this country since early in the 20th century is included. Books consisting largely of illustrations have not usually been collected.
The library holds 3360 bound volumes of periodicals on railway subjects and continues to receive several titles regularly.
The collection includes magazines and journals published by preservation societies and specialist groups, as well as more general titles. There is a complete set of Locomotive Magazine, Railway Magazine, Trains illustrated/Modern Railways and a considerable holding of Railway Gazette. There are volumes of magazines concerning overseas railways including those of affiliated societies in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. Other material originates from South Africa, Canada and USA.
We have a collection of reports of accidents in Great Britain published in earlier years by the Railway Department of the Board of Trade, later by the Health and Safety Executive and now by the RAIB.
The reports mainly concern events in the twentieth century but there are some earlier ones and listings are available. There are also copies of some accident reports from USA.
In addition to published books and magazines, the society has acquired a collection of manuscripts, internal documentation and reports, mainly by donation from members.
It includes notebooks of observations by various individuals from the 1930s onwards, British Railways locomotive and rolling stock records at various dates from about 1970, track plans and drawings. This is a very mixed collection and a detailed catalogue of this material is in preparation. Meanwhile all the material is accessible for browsing on the shelves.
Within this category are two particularly notable sets of documents.
