 |
| Items in store ready for cataloguing |
The Harry Collection was bequeathed to STEAM after
the death of Mrs Janet Harry in September 2011.
The items had belonged to her husband, Brian Harry, who had died six
years earlier. It was clear that Mr
Harry was a prolific collector and had an eye for historically important
material. Mr Harry had collected these
pieces for many years and the wealth of the items that were transferred to
STEAM was substantial. Amongst the
collection (that was collected on a snowy December morning!) are nine locomotive nameplates, 72 locomotive numberplates, over 150
cast iron signs, 15 locomotive tender plates, eight signal box nameboards,
40,000 photographs, and a vast range of archive material. Other objects include silverware, signalling instruments, a clock, oil cans, lamps, a bench...and much much more!
 |
| Malmesbury Railway map from the 1870s on display at the Festival |
The nameplates and numberplates are from some iconic
locomotive classes, including Castles and Kings, and Stars and Manors. There are also some early numbers, such as
Nos 15, 77, 90 and 96. The majority of
the nameplates in the Harry Collection have a corresponding numberplate, and in
the case of Baydon Manor we have the smoke box plate a well. This must be the envy of many railway collectors around the World!
The archive material that makes up the Harry Collection
has also been surprisingly important.
Among the items are a number of large ledgers that detail the costs and
components of locomotives and rolling stock built in the mid and late
1800s. The ledgers are really quite
insightful and are going to be of huge value to historians and railway
enthusiasts. Also included in the
collection are several staff registers.
The majority are from Swindon Works and list the names of foremen and
staff from the Drawing Office. A Drawing
Office staff register from the early 1900s lists the name of F.W Hawksworth who
went on to become the GWR’s last Chief Mechanical Engineer in 1941.
 |
| Volunteers working on some of the 40,000 photographs |
The Curatorial department are currently sorting and
cataloguing the items in the collection, and are still finding some
surprises. Whilst sorting some Rule Book
appendices the Museum’s Collection Officer, Elaine Arthurs, found a folded up
drawing. When she unfolded it she
instantly recognised a signature that was signed at the top of the drawing; it
was that of Isambard Kingdom Brunel! The
drawing is a colour wash plan of the Birmingham Tunnel on the Birmingham and
Oxford Junction Railway. It is dated
1856, and would have been some of the last work Brunel took part in before his death
three years later.
There is still a huge amount of work to do on the Harry
Collection. The Museum's staff and volunteers have been busy beavering away cleaning, sorting, identifying, cataloguing and storing the material. The collection of the 40,000 photographs will keep the Library and Archive volunteers busy for many months to come, but once fully catalogued it will be a valuable resource.
For more information on the Harry Collection please contact the Curatorial Department on 01793 466607 / 466608 or email steamlibrary@swindon.gov.uk
