Search England, Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway Company
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Did your ancestor help transport the coal that powered Victorian industry? Delve into this collection of staff registers from the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway Company (MS&LR). The records, originally held by The National Archives, reveal your ancestors’ occupations, wages, the station they worked at and more. The records include appointments as early as 1833 and through to 1931.
Learn about these records
What can these records tell me?
Once you search the records, you can review the original images and/or a transcript of the vital records. Next, you can add the information directly to your tree or copy to your clipboard for your own records. The transcriptions will include the following facts:
Name
Year
Occupation
Age
Birth year
Birth date
Residence
Station
Year of appointment
Last year
Last date
Archive and Reference
The images of the original records will provide you with even richer detail about your ancestor, such as
Career progression
Remarks on character
Salary
Illness
Death date
Discover more about these records
Delve into these railway records and discover more about your ancestor’s locomotive occupation. The original records are held at The National Archives (RAIL 463/210-249, 305-315) and are available here to search. The collection documents employees of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway, a company formed in 1847 that became the Great Central Railway in 1897.
The records can reveal appointment dates, wages, promotions, transfers, illnesses, retirements, disciplinary matters and character remarks, helping to trace an ancestor's railway career and working life.
The collection also includes a diary of daily events covering 1879–1892 (RAIL 463/249), providing a fascinating glimpse into the day-to-day operation of a railway that carried passengers, coal and other minerals between the industrial north and markets in London and the south. Under the ambitious leadership of Sir Edward Watkin, the railway expanded significantly and played an important role in Britain's industrial growth before changing its name to the Great Central Railway.
These records offer a rare opportunity to move beyond names and dates and discover the experiences of ancestors who helped keep Victorian Britain moving.
Available records
RAIL 463/210
Staff Register: Audit Office
RAIL 463/211
Staff Register: Audit Office
RAIL 463/212
Staff Register: Goods Audit Office
RAIL 463/213
Staff records
RAIL 463/214
Staff Register: Accountant's Office Volume 1
RAIL 463/215
Staff Register: Accountant's Office Volume 2
RAIL 463/216
Staff Register: Accountant's Office Volume 3
RAIL 463/217
Staff ledger: Audit Office (Great Eastern)
RAIL 463/218
Staff ledger: Audit Office (Great Eastern)
RAIL 463/219
Staff Register: Accountant's Office Volume 4
RAIL 463/220
Staff Register: Accountant's Office Volume 5
RAIL 463/221
Staff Register: Accountant's Office Volume 6
RAIL 463/222
Register of officers
RAIL 463/223
Register of officers
RAIL 463/224
Register of principal staff
RAIL 463/225
Register of staff: Accountants' Dept., General Office
RAIL 463/226
Staff register in sections
RAIL 463/227
Staff register: Joint Lines
RAIL 463/228
General index to staff registers, entries 1 - 1299
RAIL 463/229
Staff register: 1300 - 1641 No. 3
RAIL 463/230
Index
RAIL 463/231
Staff register 1642 - 2343 No. 4
RAIL 463/232
Index
RAIL 463/233
Staff register: 2344 - 3040 No. 5
RAIL 463/234
Index
RAIL 463/235
Staff register: 3045 - 3386 No. 6
RAIL 463/236
Index
RAIL 463/237
Staff register: 3387 - 3992 No. 7
RAIL 463/238
Index
RAIL 463/239
Staff register: 3993 - 4342 No. 8
RAIL 463/240
Index
RAIL 463/241
Staff register: 4343 - 4844 No. 9
RAIL 463/242
Index
RAIL 463/243
Staff register: 4841 - 5342 No. 10
RAIL 463/244
Index
RAIL 463/245
Staff register: 5343 - 5742 No. 11
RAIL 463/246
Index
RAIL 463/247
Register of staff at joint agencies:1 - 206 No. 1
RAIL 463/248
Index
RAIL 463/249
Staff register kept at Sheffield (includes diary of events from 1879 to 1892)
RAIL 463/305
Accountant's Records: Staff register 1
RAIL 463/306
Accountant's Records: Staff register 2
RAIL 463/307
MS & L Railway & Canal general staff book (clerks)
RAIL 463/308
MS & L Railway & Canal general staff book (exclusive of clerks)
RAIL 463/309
MS & L Railway & Canal general staff book
RAIL 463/310
MS & L Railway & Canal general staff book
RAIL 463/311
MS & L Railway & Canal general staff book 2
RAIL 463/312
MS & L Railway & Canal general staff book
RAIL 463/313
Accountant's personal staff list
RAIL 463/314
Accountant's personal staff list
RAIL 463/315
Accountant's personal staff list
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