Fred Rich Archive
- Made:
- 1944-2004
- maker:
- Rich, Frederick
The archive of Frederick ("Fred") Rich (1930–2025), British railway engineer, testing engineer and railway historian, comprising diaries, notebooks, engineering papers and associated documentation recording his lifelong engagement with railways from the 1940s to the early twenty-first century.
The archive documents railway observation, locomotive workings, footplate experience, railway photography, engineering training, locomotive testing, technical study, professional development and railway historical research during a period of significant technological and organisational change within British Railways. Particularly strong in its documentation of railway engineering, railway operations and railway culture during the final decades of steam traction, the archive also preserves extensive evidence of Rich's personal record-keeping practices through diaries, logbooks, technical notebooks, photographic records and retrospective compilations.
The material records Rich's apprenticeship at Ashford Works and Brighton Works, employment in the Brighton and Derby Drawing Offices, work at the Rugby Locomotive Testing Station, and subsequent engineering and technical roles within British Railways. The archive also contains later historical research, retrospective analyses and technical papers reflecting Rich's continuing engagement with railway engineering and preservation.
Taken together, the archive provides a detailed record of British railway engineering, railway operations and railway culture, while also documenting the life, career and record-keeping practices of its creator.
Details
- Measurements:
-
whole archive203.00cm (Shelf length)
- Extent:
- 7 boxes
- Identifier:
- RICH
- Access:
- Access is provided in accordance with the Science Museum Group Collection Information and Collection Access Policy. Material from this collection is available to researchers through Search Engine.
- System of Arrangement:
-
Show
The archive is arranged in three series: Diaries (1945–1965); Notebooks (1944–1996); and Engineering Papers and Documentation (1958–2004). Within each series, records are arranged by function and chronology where appropriate.
- rights:
- Copies may be supplied of items in the collection, provided that the copying process used does not damage the item or is not detrimental to its preservation. Copies will be supplied in accordance with the NRM’s terms and conditions for the supply and reproduction of copies, and the provisions of any relevant copyright legislation.