Quick guide to searching

Powerful, easy to use Searching is at the heart of the Archive. It would be pointless having lists of photographs available if visitors to the site cannot find them the pictures they are looking for. We have taken considerable care in devising and developing the search facility.

We start with the premise that whether you have only a general idea of what you are looking for, or that you know very precisely which photographs you are trying to find, or even if you are just browsing, the Archive should guide you quickly to the pictures you want to see.

Each photograph is given a number of “keywords” or “tags”which allow the collection to be searched using the Search box which is always shown in the top and bottom right-hand corners of the screen. These keywords cover:

Company : LMS, LNWR, LYR, MR, SDJR, CR, HR, NSR

Category : Steam, Diesel, DMU, EMU, Infrastructure

Class name:

   Location:

You can also select a locomotive number. Also note that you do NOT need to worry about Capital Letters – the searches are not case sensitive.

The Search operates such that each word you type in narrows down the list of results. Also note that it searches automatically on keywords, tags, image names and captions.

Example

If you are looking for pictures of 6220 at Crewe North, you can start with just 6220, refining it by adding crewe, and then further refining by adding north. These three terms could be entered in one string in any order to give the same outcome.