NRS-22606 | Glass Plate Negatives (Full Plate), Single Number Series with "Z" Prefix

Full description

This collection of glass plate negatives features signal boxes and rooms, signal machinery and diagrams, and circuit diagrams. Also included is a series of photographed drawings of the English rail line (circa 1830s) and a poster commemorating the opening of the worlds first public railway in 1825 - Darlington, England, and also photographs of various railway stations, rail shed construction and rail maintenance.

Note: Many of the negatives in this series are damaged from having become stuck together while in storage. Series and item start and end dates are circa only. Arranged numerically using a 'Z' (Signals Branch negatives) numbering system (Z9-Z409).

Custody History

From 1955 until 2000 the State Rail Authority of New South Wales maintained an 'in house archives' consisting of the archival records of the Authority, its predecessor agencies and the private railway companies taken over by the government. The date ranges of the records were from 1849 until 2000. When the decision was made to close the 'State Rail Archives' the parts of the collection that were required as State archives were transferred to the State Records Authority of NSW. Those record series were incorporated into the State Records series system of archives control and were re-numbered.

This series was formerly part of the State Rail Archives collection where it was identified as series R508. It may have been viewed in the State Rail Archives as series R508 and could have been previously cited as such in notes by researchers at State Rail Archives or in publications or unpublished works.