The photograph collections of the Association have been assembled mainly by gift or bequest since the early years of the organisation. The collection totals over 48,200 images which give good coverage of the area, particularly since 1950, but supplemented by the important Pattinson Collection which records much of West Cumberland as it was in the 1930s. Subjects include trains, locomotives, stations, and rail-served industry.

The Association is engaged in a programme of scanning the collection to create digital images which will improve access to the collection and ensure long-term preservation of fragile material. An improved catalogue is also being created to aid image retrieval.

Details are given below of sections of the collection for which new listings have been produced. Searches for particular subjects and locations can be undertaken.

Additional photographs for the Association's collection are always welcome.

To email for information or enquiries please click HERE.

Most of the data in the lists will be readily understood. For the last four columns the following notes will help:

"Date": usually shown in order of yyyymmdd. This is to enable sorting of the database.

"Source": the initials of the photographer, or in some instances "copy".

"Status": the degree of confidence in the identification of location.

"V" - high confidence of identity

"Q" - doubtful identification

"U" - identity not known. Any information on this gratefully received.

"Quality": a subjective assessment on a scale of a to d.

Note that pdf photolist files are fully searchable.

Click below to download our Copyright and Conditions of Supply document.

Click below to download a Photo Order Form with prices.

Photographs are printed to order using a Canon printer and Canon Photogloss II paper. Matt paper may be available by request. All photographs are printed 'as is'; they are not cropped or altered in anyway. Most people prefer this as they do not lose any definition or detail. This may mean that they do not fill the full printable area and/or they might have marks and defects shown, or are lighter or darker than they otherwise would be if they had been altered using a photo processing programme. If you require 'perfect' prints then as an alternative you may purchase digital images and edit them to your requirements.

A large number of photographs are available to view on our photograph site at Zenfolio where copies of prints can be purchased directly.

This collection was acquired by the CRA in the 1980s and mainly cover the Lancaster & Carlisle and Settle & Carlisle lines and branches. Taken during the early 1960s its subjects are mainly locomotives and trains. Click belows to download the pdf list (190 images listed on 4 pages).

Walter Dendy was Goods Manager at Workington with British Railways in the early 1950s. The collection covers lines in West Cumberland as well as some interesting images of the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway. Click below to download the pdf list (169 images listed on 6 pages).

Kevin Hughes lived all his life in Kendal working for the Post Office and later BT. After early retirement he and his wife ran a guest house in Milnthorpe Road but Kevin also became a Railway Chaplain travelling widely throughout the North West. This collection includes many images of the railway and its infrastructure, rather than trains, and mostly post-dates the steam era. Mostly monochrome with some colour images identified with a "C" suffix.
Click below to download the pdf list (700 images listed on 22 pages).

Scanned mainly from Midland and British Railways official photos, showing construction works in the early 20th century, and two generations of electric trains for this small network. A selection of these is shown on our Zenfolio photo website. Click below to download the pdf list (161 images listed on 7 pages).

This is a list of Cumbrian images, mainly stations, which are available from this collection. For details of prices, how to purchase and so on, go to the Lens page at Warwickshire Railways. Click below to download the pdf list (over 250 images listed on 8 pages).

Alec Mayor and his father were Kendal-based and worked for the Westmorland Gazette. The collection of negatives and prints was donated to the CRA after Alec's death and concentrate on the Lancaster & Carlisle and Settle & Carlisle lines, with good and rare coverage of the Windermere branch. Mostly monochrome with a small number of colour images which have a "C" suffix. Click below to download the pdf list (over 500 images listed on 13 pages).

This was the first collection acquired by the Association in the late 1970s, taken by Richard L Pattinson whose father had been chairman of the Cockermouth, Keswick & Penrith Railway. Taken during the 1930s, mainly in West Cumberland, most of the views are of rolling stock, station buildings and the general railway infrastructure of the period, then little changed from pre-grouping years. Locomotives and trains feature, but not prominently and some are copies from earlier photographs. Click below to download the pdf listing (1360 images listed on 37 pages).

This contains the work of the brothers Ian and Alan Pearsall. They were most active as photographers from about 1947 to the death of Ian in 1982. There are over 13,000 images of railways and shipping, mainly in the UK but including some European subjects. Also listed in this database is a small collection from the work of the Rev John Jackson, a close friend of the Pearsalls. As well as the Cumbrian and North Lancashire railway scene the collection has important specialisms in East Anglia, Scotland, Northern Ireland and elsewhere. he lists currently available cover only a fraction of the material in this extensive collection. More will be added in the near future. CRA Pearsall Hincaster Branch. Click below to download the PDF listing (46 images listed on 2 pages).

CRA Pearsall Lancaster-Morecambe ex LNWR lines. Click below to download the PDF listing (over 800 images listed on 41 pages).

CRA Pearsall Lancaster-Morecambe ex MR lines. Click below to download the PDF listing (over 240 images listed on 12 pages).

CRA Pearsall NWR Wennington-Lancaster. Click below to download the PDF listing (54 images listed on 3 pages).

CRA Pearsall Settle to Carlisle. Click below to download the PDF listing (over 150 images listed on 9 pages).

The collection of photographs taken by former CRA member Bill Shillcock is of great significance to railway modellers, including images of local scenes and copy photographs of old locomotives and rolling stock. Images date from the 1920s to the 1950s. Click below to download the pdf list (603 images listed on 16 pages).