Archive
Curated from the Institution’s archives, the Virtual Archive showcases models, items, drawings, notebooks, photographs and documents about the history of engineering and the Institution.
3D interactive versions of artefacts are available, many of which have never been seen in public before. Themes cover automobiles, engines, industry, Institutional history and railways. Users are already able to search and view hundreds of images and more will be added throughout the year.
Notable items include a notebook on Peugeot racing cars - with notes on Sunbeam and Rolls-Royce vehicles - by George Henry Roesch, who was later the chief engineer at Talbot.
Discover Frederick Lanchester’s treasure trove of drawings, as well as his own notebook, which shows the construction of early Lanchester Motor Company cars. Photographs of D Napier & Son’s iconic Lion engine and Boulton and Watt engine drawings are also available to search and view.
Users can access Charles Algernon Parsons’ steam turbine notebook, the circular letter which effectively founded the Institution, and the story of the world’s first railway to rely exclusively on steam power - the Liverpool and Manchester Railway.
Photographs reveal how the Bhore Ghat incline was constructed and show where workers lived.
Artefacts include a wind tunnel test model of the Golden Arrow land speed record winning car - which was then painted up and presented to its driver, Sir Henry Segrave – as well as unique carved railway tokens used by George Stephenson to travel the railway lines he helped to build.
Every object and item in the Virtual Archive has a story to tell. By bringing them together in this way, users are able to create a history of mechanical engineering relevant to their own perspectives and interests.
Search the Virtual Archive now.