This book is a comprehensive, illustrated guide which opens up to genealogists and railway enthusiasts the vast range of unique information stored in the documentary archives of the railway companies of England and Wales. It describes in detail the sources available for the researcher and how to gain access to them, giving examples of the many different types of records, and includes an alphabetical listing of all the known railway companies which existed prior to nationalisation together with their dates of opening and the location of their staff records. The book offers an illuminating perspective on the social and industrial history of Britain and provides an indispensable handbook for family and railway historians.