A History of
the Roy F Burrows Midland Collection Trust

The Trust was a registered charity formed in September 2000 to make the comprehensive Midland Railway collection assembled by Roy Burrows accessible to the public for educational purposes. Roy started collecting in the early 1950s. When the Trust was formed, it was estimated there were around 20,000 items in the collection, but after a number of years cataloguing it was found to be rather more than this! Further acquisitions have also been made over the years of the Trust’s existence and there are now in excess of 42,000 items: all are catalogued. The collection is probably the largest of its kind in the UK being devoted exclusively to a single pre-grouping railway company and its constituents.

A small part of the collection formed the basis of the acclaimed “Midland Railway 150” exhibition held in 1994 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the formation of the Midland Railway Company. This exhibition went on public view initially at the Midland Hotel in Derby, then at the Derby Industrial Museum (now Derby Silk Mill - Museum of Making) and finally at the National Railway Museum in York. It was as a result of this exposure that the historical significance of the collection was recognised and the consequent need to preserve it as an entity for future public benefit.

The vast majority of the Trust’s collection is now located at the Midland Railway Study Centre in Derby Silk Mill and is accessible to the public (by appointment) for study and research. The Study Centre was established in 2004 by three organisations working in partnership - the Trust, the Midland Railway Society and Derby Museums. In February 2016, the Trust merged with its partner organisation, the Midland Railway Society.

The Midland Railway Society's collection, as well as the items transferred from the Trust, will be known in perpetuity as the Roy F Burrows Collection.

Roy Burrows, who sadly passed away in March 2021, surrounded by his collection in the Midland Railway Study Centre in 2007.

Items from the collection have also been made available on loan to various sites throughout the UK from time to time. Examples of these are:

• As well as holding the majority of photographs from the RFB collection and supplying prints on request Kidderminster Railway Museum also has a recreation of the Alvechurch Booking Office which effectively portrays a period booking office scene using material from the RFB Collection.
• The Friends of the Settle and Carlisle Line have several items from the collection on display at Settle Signal Box.
• The Settle and Carlisle Railway Trust have a wonderful display at Ribblehead station, also incorporating items from the RFB Collection.
• The St Albans Signal Box Preservation Trust have a number of collection items displayed in and around their St Albans Signal Box.