These will all be downloaded as PDFs and will require Acrobat or another PDF reader to view them. If you don’t have a PDF reader you can download a free copy of the Acrobat Reader here
Free Samples
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Handbook Supplements
- List of common abbreviations used in IRS Publications
- West Yorkshire Preliminary Draft – Index of Locations & Owners
- Indices to the “India & South Asia” Handbook
The author prepared a comprehensive set of indices for this book, but due to their size (110 pages) and the fact that the book already exceded 550 pages, it was felt that including them would make the book too large & expensive.
However these indices are now available as a downloadable single file. - North Wales (NW) amendments
- Index of all amendments to IRS Handbooks that have appeared in Bulletins up to No.600
Books and Articles
The Industrial Railway Society has a well deserved reputation for the quality of its research and its publications, as well as the range of books it stocks, often titles which are difficult to obtain. This purpose of this section is give an indication of that range, and the level of thorough research, particularly important now that social media tends to disseminate so many unfounded claims and distorted facts.
As a guide to the scope of what we offer, this lists the books (excluding used books) that we had in stock in January. These come from a variety of publishers, including a number which are now out of print.
Industrial Railway Record
This provides a summary of the contents of the Industrial Railway Record, Volumes 1 to 22, (November 1962 to June 2025). It also identifies the articles which can be downloaded free of charge
An example of how much research has gone into the regional Handbooks is provided by this one entry for a relatively minor site on Teesside. Click on the image to see the text
Vacant Plinth
The IRS is keen to encourage research. If you have produced an article based on primary research (as a guide, to the same kind of standard as the 1213 article) or have original documents (subject to copyright) relating to industrial or private railways which you think would be of interest to a wider audience you are welcome to send a copy to bulletin@irsociety.co.uk to assess whether it would be of value to include in this box,