Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS) Railway Resource Centre, Sydney

Identity area

Identifier

daa/40

Authorized form of name

Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS) Railway Resource Centre, Sydney

Parallel form(s) of name

Other form(s) of name

  • ARHS Railway Resource Centre
  • Australian Railway Historical Society (NSW Division) Railway Resource Centre
  • ARHSnsw Railway Resource Centre
  • ARHSnsw RRC

Type

  • Community

Contact area

 

James Dalton

Type

Address

Street address

67 Renwick Street, Redfern

Locality

Sydney

Region

New South Wales

Country name

Postal code

2016

Telephone

02 9699 2736

Fax

02 9699 1714

Note

Description area

History

The Australian Railway Historical Society (NSW) was established in 1933 and, as such, is the longest running society of railway enthusiasts and historians in the country. Its aim is to be a source of connection between those interested in railways.

Geographical and cultural context

Mandates/Sources of authority

Administrative structure

Records management and collecting policies

The Railway Resource Centre has the country’s largest collection of railway-related photos, diagrams, drawings, official documents, books, periodicals and reports. All material relates to Australian railways (1850 to the present) and particularly those of New South Wales. A large proportion of the collection has been digitised and catalogued. This collection has been amassed from private collections and state records since the inception of the Australian Railway Historical Society (NSW Division) in 1933.

Donations of material relevant to the society in the form of photo and/or slide collections, books and documents are welcome.

Buildings

The bookshop, primary collection and reading room is at our Redfern site. A second site in Alexandria is a repository for original and uncatalogued materials.

Holdings

The Railway Resource Centre collection includes:


  • Over 350,000 photographs and slides of locomotives, carriages, wagons, stations, depots, signalling and other infrastructure (1850 to the present).
  • Official (internal) publications such as:

+ public timetables and working timetables
+ special train notices
+ composition books
+ rules and regulations and general and local appendices to the rules and regulations
+ annual reports and reports of Public Works and Parliamentary Committees
+ internal correspondence including weekly notices.

Similar material pertaining to other Australian state railway systems is also part of the collection.

Finding aids, guides and publications

Access area

Opening times

Open every Saturday 10am-3pm and Tuesdays 12 noon-4pm. Other times are by arrangement only. A bookshop selling overseas and Australian railway books is at the same address and is open six days a week.

Access conditions and requirements

Charges apply for access and for supply of files, prints and research services. Access is free for ARHSnsw members.

Accessibility

Services area

Research services

Research assistance can also be provided by arrangement for those unable to visit the Railway Resource Centre.

Reproduction services

A4 and A3 size black and white and colour copies are available in our reading room. Larger copies are available by arrangement.

Public areas

The Mal Park reading room is a public area equipped with PCs for private research.

Control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

Rules and/or conventions used

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation, revision and deletion

Revised 24 March 2018

Language(s)

Script(s)

Sources

Maintenance notes

Access points

Access Points

  • Built Environment (Thematic area)
  • Communication (Thematic area)
  • Geography (Thematic area)
  • Industry, Manufacturing and Commerce (Thematic area)
  • Labour (Thematic area)
  • Local Studies (Thematic area)
  • Natural Resources (Thematic area)
  • Politics and Government (Thematic area)
  • Science and Technology (Thematic area)
  • Transportation (Thematic area)
  • Travel and Exploration (Thematic area)
  • Clipboard

Primary contact

67 Renwick Street, Redfern
Sydney, New South Wales 2016