Welcome to our powerful search tool. You can specify as little or as much as you like to find what you are looking for.

• Colour - Black & White, or both, and Format - Download, Slide, Print or any combination
• Reference - if you know the reference number of the view that you want, just type it in.
• Class - see drop down menus
  • Diesels & Electrics- by the TOPS designation or if the class was extinct before TOPS was introduced, search on ‘unclassified’
  • For all other items e.g. stations or independent railways, see the drop down lists.
• Locomotive number - as carried on the engine or unit at the time the picture was taken, free text field. Please note - you must select a class in order to search by locomotive number.
• Date - this can be just the year e.g. 1968, month and year e.g. Sep-68 or the exact date e.g. 14/09/1968. Please note- many views are undated. By selecting a date or even a year, you may exclude a large number of images.
• Location - usually a station, shed or junction, free text field
• Description - this field contains any other information about the picture. E.g. if you want a snow scene then just type ‘snow’ or if you are looking for a Pullman working then enter ‘pullman’. In some cases more than one engine appears in a view. To find these shots enter ‘plus’ in this field.
• Area Search - you might want to find all of our photographs taken in a particular area. We have divided the country into 20 arbitrary areas - see the map. NOTE: The boundaries are not precise and in some cases overlap e.g. the former WR and LMS routes in the midlands. If you are looking for a location near an area boundary, we recommend that you also search in the adjacent area.