HISTORICAL MODEL RAILWAY SOCIETY

About the HMRS

The Historic Model Railway Society (HMRS) was formally inaugurated at a meeting in Chessington on 3 June 1950 with a membership of just 24. Originally these members were mainly professional model makers, professional railwaymen or professional railway researchers. More information about the history of the society can be read under ‘Society/History’. For 70 years, the HMRS has been helping to record and preserve material on the history of Britain’s railways from the early 1800s up to the present day and more importantly to make that material available to modellers, researchers and students. Today it is an active society and educational charity, offering benefits for all who seek to understand how railways have contributed to British geography, industry and culture. We collaborate with railway line societies and public museums to further the growth of historical knowledge. We supply information, drawings, photographs and products to private individuals, bookshops, model manufacturers. See the ‘Services’ menu and under ‘Society/Purpose’. The Society is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation and is managed by Trustees elected by the members annually. The Society has a permanent Museum and Study Centre at Swanwick Junction, Derbyshire where (in normal circumstances) visits can be booked to view the documents we hold. We hold collections of over 300,000 engineering drawings and over 200,000 photographs and many timetables and railway archive material. Work continues with these growing collections to catalogue and make them accessible through the internet or by direct access. We continue to receive new collections for the library, photographic, drawing and archive collections as well as models and modelling history papers. The Society runs some local Area Groups, some of which meet regularly in person and online and are open to the public. We also have a members’ email discussion forum, sponsor students of railway history and support student and adult education in various ways.