This is the original forum of the Bristol Railway Archive that existed between 2003 and 2013. I finally rescued it after it seemed unrecoverable after a large crash. I have made it available for viewing. It is locked, all posts to the new version please!
Use this forum to talk about the railways in and around Bristol, or for any off-topic stuff you want to share. Also request photos and information that you are missing.
Since I last posted there has been much research done much of it proved to be wasted I briefly flirted with the idea of doin something on Swindon works, i even went and visited the archives there but there jus wasn't enough primary sources available. My tutor has now suggested I write something on Sir George White and the Bristol Tram system as the Bristol records office has a large collection of his things. Does anyone know anything about this subject? If so is it interesting????
Horses for courses really. There's a couple of books on the bloke in the Central Library. I suggest you go and have a read and decide if there's enough there to interest you.
One interesting snippet is that he founded Filton Airport because there was nothing to see at the northern point of his tram system. From that small (if rather expensive) acorn, he founded British Aerospace.
What do you mean by there's not enough primary material on Swindon Works? There's probably been about ten times the amount of published work on the place than there has been on George White!
Well as i said I went to the works and the archive room and whilst there were lots of random primary sources in terms of workers magazines and meeting minutes, orders, and so forth there wasn't anything in the way of diaries, correspondance etc which is what i'd need. Whilst there have been loads of books written about Swindon works (most of which were in the archive room) they were all secondary sources and cannot be used to base a dissertation on unfortunatley. Im not too sure about the whole George White thing as trams aren't really my thing althought the record office has a massive collection of his papers. I really did want to write it on something to do with railways but finding the right sources in a handy location is proving very difficult
All of Brunel's papers, and I'm talking thousands, are held at Bristol University. They are available to the public.
Daniel Gooch's papers are there too. Or at least the ones where he replied to Brunel. You could ask at Steam in Swindon what they have apart from this:
Problem is there just isnt enough on Swindon in Brunel's collection. Having been to my library archives (Bristol University) and extesively looked through the catelogs and spoken with the archivists there just isnt anything really to go on. Steam was the same they have hardly anything from the beginning of Swindon works or anything really substancial. Anything I could use appears to be either at the Public Records office in Kew which is too far away of the National Railway Museum again which is too far away.
I briefly flirted with the idea of doin something on Swindon works, i even went and visited the archives there but there jus wasn't enough primary sources available. My tutor has now suggested I write something on Sir George White and the Bristol Tram system as the Bristol records office has a large collection of his things. Does anyone know anything about this subject? If so is it interesting???? 
