Railway Research - Useful Links

Note: These are only examples of the vast range of sources online, the tip of the iceberg. 

         No attempt is made here to recommend one source over another.

Specialist Bookshops/Publishers (Examples)

Robert Humm http://www.roberthumm.co.uk/acatalog/index.html
Bill Hudson http://www.billhudsontransportbooks.co.uk/
Crecy Publishing (Former Ian Allen/OPC etc.) http://www.crecy.co.uk/
Wild Swan http://titfield.co.uk/Wild-Swan/Subject-List.htm

Don't forget Amazon and eBay

Magazine Indexes (not necessarily up to date)


Model Railway Journal http://www.modelrailwayjournal.com/
British Railway Journal Index http://www.britishrailwayjournal.com/
Model Rail http://www.ukmodelshops.co.uk/ModelRail
Southern Railway (All) http://thegardnerfamily.org/magindex/contents.html
BRMNA List http://www.brmna.org/xrefs.shtml

Libraries/Public Archives

Network Rail Archives Link
National Archives http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ (see SE&CR Society list for examples of the type of documentation available here Link )
National Rail Museum Resources http://www.nrm.org.uk/researchandarchive/archiveandlibrarycollections
British Library http://explore.bl.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?vid=BLVU1
County Archives (e.g.) Nottinghamshire Archives  Link   Derbyshire Records Office Link

Maps

Google Maps https://www.google.co.uk/maps/
National Library of Scotland (UK Maps)  http://maps.nls.uk
Old Maps (UK Maps) https://www.old-maps.co.uk
OSNI (Northern Ireland Maps - link to 25 inch series) Link
OSI (Irish Republic Historical Maps) http://maps.osi.ie

Photographs/Prints

Google Search Link
Britain From Above https://britainfromabove.org.uk/
Colour Rail  http://colourrail.co.uk/
Rail Online http://www.rail-online.co.uk/
Science & Society Prints (NRM, Science Museum, MOSI etc)  http://www.ssplprints.com/
RCTS Photographic Archive http://www.rcts.org.uk/features/archive/
Picture The Past (Notts/Derbys Archive) http://www.picturethepast.org.uk/
S.W.A. Newton Collection GCR London Extension (Image Leicestershire) Link
Transport Treasury http://www.transporttreasury.co.uk/
Transports Of Delight (Photos) https://transportsofdelight.smugmug.com/RAILWAYS  
Flickr (Blandford1969 example) https://www.flickr.com/photos/29644579@N07/
DJ Norton (Mainly West Midlands Photos) http://www.photobydjnorton.com/
Am Baile (Scottish Highlands historic photos) http://www.ambaile.org.uk

Specialist Line Societies and Sites (Examples)

Historical Model Railway Society https://hmrs.org.uk/home
Southern E-Group http://www.semgonline.com/home.html
LNER Encyclopedia https://www.lner.info/ 
Great Eastern Railway Society (Including sales) https://www.gersociety.org.uk/
London & North Western Railway Society http://www.lnwrs.org.uk/
Midland Railway Study Centre (Closed for refurb) http://www.midlandrailwaystudycentre.org.uk/
Railway & Canal Historical Society (link to resources) http://www.rchs.org.uk/links-to-resources/ 
Great Northern Railway Society (link to archive details) https://www.gnrsociety.com/home-page/archive/
Colonel Stephens Society http://colonelstephenssociety.co.uk/
Cumbrian Railways Association http://www.cumbrianrailways.org.uk/

Signalling Record Society https://www.s-r-s.org.uk/home.php

Other Sites

Signalling
 
The Signal Box  https://signalbox.org   Forum http://forum.signalbox.org
Saxby & Farmer Info (Swedish Site) http://www.ekeving.se/tlv/Saxby/index.html
Lymm Observatory (Signalling diagrams)   http://www.lymmobservatory.net/railways/sbdiagrams/sbdiagrams.htm 
Derby Signalling http://www.derby-signalling.org.uk

Stations and Structures

 Disused Stations http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/
 Station Colours site http://www.stationcolours.info/

Engineering/Stock

Grace's Guide ('The Engineer' PDFs etc)  http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/

Individual Lines/Locations (random examples)


Syston & Peterborough Railway Pages http://www.systonandpeterborough.co.uk/
Great Western Archive http://www.greatwestern.org.uk
Lincolnshire Railways Gallery http://www.davesrailpics.bravehost.com/lincs/lincs.htm
Michael Clemens (GWR WTTs etc) http://www.michaelclemensrailways.co.uk/
Steve Banks (Misc prototype Info) http://www.steve-banks.org/
Warwickshire Railways http://www.warwickshirerailways.com/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com 

Misc

Old Railway Permanent Way http://www.oldpway.info/index.html
Ribble Valley Site (Old Bradshaw Timetables) Link 
Local History Groups

General Guidance On Research

RCHS Research Guide http://www.rchs.org.uk/research/
Railways Archive Guide http://www.railwaysarchive.co.uk/research.php
Nottinghamshire Heritage Gateway (Notts Research Sources) Link

Discussion Groups/Forums - Ask!

Yahoo Groups https://uk.groups.yahoo.com/neo  
RMweb http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?