Derby Locomotive Drawing Lists Description: The collection consists of approximately 6000 drawings, plus 135 registers and lists. They cover the period from 1874 to 1961. The drawings relate to the construction, modification and rebuilding of locomotives of the Midland Railway, London Midland & Scottish Railway and British Railways, with occasional drawings from other railway companies and contractors. The drawings are mainly on linen with some blueprints, as well as Ozalid and paper copies. Each drawing has a number and/ or a letter code. These letter and number codes also relate to the registers, schedules and lists. The significance of these codes is explained in the ‘System of Arrangement’ section below. System of Arrangement: The drawings are arranged in the archive in five series and are listed as such in the catalogue. 1. Main Series. These are organised by drawing number in numerical sequence. Most drawings have a two number date prefix that usually relates to the year in which the drawing was produced, but may sometimes relate to the year the drawing was entered in the register. 2. D Numerical series. These are also organised by drawing number, but prefixed by the section reference, such as D1, D2, D3, D4 or D5. 3. Diagrams and Sketches. These are also organised by drawing number, but prefixed according to the section reference code, such as DS, DD, S, D or ED. 4. BR Standard Drawings from Derby. These drawings are proper to the main collection of British Rail Standard Drawings, but were found with the main Derby Works sequences. They are numerical with the prefix SL/DE. 5. Crewe Works Drawings from Derby. These drawings are proper to the Crewe Works and were produced for use at Derby and therefore found with the main Derby sequence. They are numerical with the prefix C. The numbering system for the Main Series is that devised by Samuel Waite Johnson from 1874. He started the practice of numbering by a year prefix, plus a continuous numerical series beginning at 1. This system continued for the main drawings produced by Derby Drawing Office following absorption of the Midland Railway into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. It was replaced by new practices when the Derby Works was absorbed into a new structure under British Railways in 1947. There is evidence that some drawings were numbered retrospectively during the early decades, consequently there is not always a perfectly chronological sequence. An interpretation of the supporting series of drawings and their numbering system can be found in the addendum to this introduction in the list of abbreviations. It is important for those researching in the catalogue to understand that terms commonly used by enthusiasts to describe particular types of locomotive (such as ‘Black Five’) were not used in drawing offices and do not appear in the catalogue or registers. The best approach is to thoroughly research the locomotive in question for its proper descriptive terminology and then consult the registers, schedules and lists for details of the appropriate drawings. It will then be relatively simple to check the catalogue to identify whether or not a particular drawing has survived into the collection, by its number. Prefixes to Drawings: 04-5710 drawn 1904 sequential number 5710 (applies from 1874) CRS Crewe Rough Sketch C31015 Crewe drawing in sequential order D Derby 'D' sketch D1/U2/48 Unit drawing system - D1 is main sketch U2 is sub section 48 is sequential number N.B. All parts on the unit system plus sub and main assemblies have a separate drawing DD Derby diagram DN-E-62232 Standard locomotive, Doncaster E section DS Derby sketch Number of drawing usually S-1207 only ED Standard Engine Diagram LMS but used from later MR days EU 415 Euston development drawing H21125 Horwich drawing in numerical sequence RCH Railway Clearing House, standard component drawing etc SL/DE/20522 SL – standard locomotive DE - Derby drawing office 20522 – sequential number Other centres: - DN Doncaster, BR Brighton etc., SW Swindon, SX St Rollox. Each drawing may include the drawing title, date of drawing, tracing and checking, and details of locomotive class or type, order numbers, dates, additional information and numbers of related drawings. Many drawings are signed by the Chief Mechanical Engineer. Further information may be obtained from the run of drawing registers, which covers the period 1874 to 1956. The later entries in the registers are more detailed than the early ones. There are a substantial number of schedules relating to particular engine orders. These give the numbers of drawings that were used for each part of a vehicle. The titles of the drawings given in the catalogue are generally the title as transcribed from the drawing itself. Where this has been lost or is unreadable, information has been taken from the register. The dates of the drawings have been taken from the drawings themselves. The amount of information on the drawings may not always be sufficient to identify the classes or types of locomotive. In cases where the cataloguer has been able to add further information this has been indicated in the Additional Notes column. Further identifying details may be found through the registers, lists and schedules. System of Arrangement: The drawings are arranged in the archive in five series and are listed as such in the catalogue. 1. Main Series. These are organised by drawing number in numerical sequence. Most drawings have a two number date prefix that usually relates to the year in which the drawing was produced, but may sometimes relate to the year the drawing was entered in the register. 2. D Numerical series. These are also organised by drawing number, but prefixed by the section reference, such as D1, D2, D3, D4 or D5. 3. Diagrams and Sketches. These are also organised by drawing number, but prefixed according to the section reference code, such as DS, DD, S, D or ED. 4. BR Standard Drawings from Derby. These drawings are proper to the main collection of British Rail Standard Drawings, but were found with the main Derby Works sequences. They are numerical with the prefix SL/DE. 5. Crewe Works Drawings from Derby. These drawings are proper to the Crewe Works and were produced for use at Derby and therefore found with the main Derby sequence. They are numerical with the prefix C. The numbering system for the Main Series is that devised by Samuel Waite Johnson from 1874. He started the practice of numbering by a year prefix, plus a continuous numerical series beginning at 1. This system continued for the main drawings produced by Derby Drawing Office following absorption of the Midland Railway into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. It was replaced by new practices when the Derby Works was absorbed into a new structure under British Railways in 1947. There is evidence that some drawings were numbered retrospectively during the early decades, consequently there is not always a perfectly chronological sequence. An interpretation of the supporting series of drawings and their numbering system can be found in the addendum to this introduction in the list of abbreviations. It is important for those researching in the catalogue to understand that terms commonly used by enthusiasts to describe particular types of locomotive (such as ‘Black Five’) were not used in drawing offices and do not appear in the catalogue or registers. The best approach is to thoroughly research the locomotive in question for its proper descriptive terminology and then consult the registers, schedules and lists for details of the appropriate drawings. It will then be relatively simple to check the catalogue to identify whether or not a particular drawing has survived into the collection, by its number. Prefixes to Drawings: 04-5710 drawn 1904 sequential number 5710 (applies from 1874) CRS Crewe Rough Sketch C31015 Crewe drawing in sequential order D Derby 'D' sketch D1/U2/48 Unit drawing system - D1 is main sketch U2 is sub section 48 is sequential number N.B. All parts on the unit system plus sub and main assemblies have a separate drawing DD Derby diagram DN-E-62232 Standard locomotive, Doncaster E section DS Derby sketch Number of drawing usually S-1207 only ED Standard Engine Diagram LMS but used from later MR days EU 415 Euston development drawing H21125 Horwich drawing in numerical sequence RCH Railway Clearing House, standard component drawing etc SL/DE/20522 SL – standard locomotive DE - Derby drawing office 20522 – sequential number Other centres: - DN Doncaster, BR Brighton etc., SW Swindon, SX St Rollox. Each drawing may include the drawing title, date of drawing, tracing and checking, and details of locomotive class or type, order numbers, dates, additional information and numbers of related drawings. Many drawings are signed by the Chief Mechanical Engineer. Further information may be obtained from the run of drawing registers, which covers the period 1874 to 1956. The later entries in the registers are more detailed than the early ones. There are a substantial number of schedules relating to particular engine orders. These give the numbers of drawings that were used for each part of a vehicle. The titles of the drawings given in the catalogue are generally the title as transcribed from the drawing itself. Where this has been lost or is unreadable, information has been taken from the register. The dates of the drawings have been taken from the drawings themselves. The amount of information on the drawings may not always be sufficient to identify the classes or types of locomotive. In cases where the cataloguer has been able to add further information this has been indicated in the Additional Notes column. Further identifying details may be found through the registers, lists and schedules Physical Characteristics: The engineering drawings survive on cartridge paper, paper prints and plastic film, the majority of which are on wax linen.