Great Western Railway collection

This is the largest collection in the Midlands. It includes maps, minutes, correspondence, plans, personal journals, timetables, circulars, instruction books and architectural drawings relating to the Great Western Railway.

The Great Western Railway (GWR) was founded in 1833 and ran its first trains in 1838. The company ran trains that linked London with the south-west, west of England, most of Wales and the Midlands. The lines were engineered by Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

The GWR earned the nicknames “God’s Wonderful Railway “and the “Great Way Round”. It was well known as a holiday line and many people started and ended their holidays on a GWR train.

The Great Western Railway was finally wound up at the end of 1947 when all train companies became nationalised and it was then incorporated into the Western Region of British Railways.