Australian Railway Historical Society

The Australian Railway Historical Society (ARHS) aims to foster an interest in the railways, and record and preserve many facets of railway operations. It had divisions in every state and the Australian Capital Territory, however since 1967 when each division incorporated, they have operated as separate entities. Each division still trades under the ARHS brand, except in Western Australia, where the division is called Rail Heritage WA. Individual membership exceeds 2,500.

Background
The Society was founded in Sydney in 1933 as The Railway Circle, shortly after becoming the Australasian Railway and Locomotive Historical Society. The society's name was changed to the present form in 1952. A division was formed in most states. Most divisions established a railway museum, namely:

In February 2015, the ACT division commenced operating scrap metal services from Fyshwick to Port Botany through its commercial division, Espee Railroad Services, with locomotives and wagons leased from CFCL Australia.
 * ACT - Canberra Railway Museum, Kingston
 * Queensland - Rosewood Railway Museum
 * South Australia - SteamRanger Heritage Railway operates the Victor Harbor line as a working museum
 * Victoria - Australian Railway Historical Society Museum, Williamstown North
 * Western Australia - Western Australian Rail Transport Museum, Bassendean

Railway Resource Centre
Located at the New South Wales division's Redfern premises, The Railway Resource Centre is a collection of historical material pertaining to Australian railways, managed by the Society and volunteers. Access to the collection is available to members and to the general public for private research only. It houses thousands of documents, books, periodicals, photographs and slides which the Society has acquired over many years. It is constantly being added to by acquisitions through donations and bequests from Australian Railway Historical Society members and others.

Books


Each Division has published and supported publishing of books and pamphlets about the history of regional railways. Significantly Divisions have been the main resource of expertise in creating centenary and other anniversary publications regarding rail history. The New South Wales Division has a shop in Redfern. The society also maintains the Railway Resource Centre. The centre houses the thousands of documents, books, periodicals, photographs and slides that the Society has acquired over many years.

Magazines
Each Division publishes magazines, at various frequencies. A dedicated magazine for the whole of Australia was also published for many decades - simply as the Bulletin (1952-2003), it is now called Australian Railway History. Prior to 1952, it was known as the Australasian Railway and Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin. It includes historical material from all states, published monthly by the New South Wales Division. The seven state and territory Divisions of that Society additionally publish magazines that vary in content and depth, but which provide items of local information about state railway history and activities.


 * NSW Division: Railway Digest, Australian Railway History
 * Queensland Division: Sunshine Express
 * SA Division: Newsletter
 * Tasmania Division: Tasmanian Rail News
 * Victorian Division: Members newsletter, Newsrail
 * WA Division: The Westland

The Tasmanian Division was originally a subdivision of the much larger Victorian Division, until 1965 when increasing interest and falling printing costs made a separate division possible.

Affiliations
Other societies and organisations with which the Australian Railway Historical Society is affiliated include:-


 * Australian Electric Traction Association
 * Canadian Railway Historical Association
 * Irish Railway Record Society
 * Light Railway Research Society of Australia
 * Light Rail Transit Association (UK)
 * Narrow Gauge Railway Society (UK)
 * National Railway Historical Society (USA)
 * New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society
 * Rail Motor Society
 * Railway Correspondence and Travel Society (UK)
 * Railway Society of Southern Africa
 * Royal Australian Historical Society
 * Trainworks Railway Museum
 * 3801 Limited

Other groups
Rail heritage is not the exclusive domain of the ARHS in Australia, and at various stages other groups of enthusiasts and individuals have endeavoured to create niches in the publishing and rail heritage businesses.