Photographs, DAP and Shared Copyright
Over the years, GNSRA has acquired a large collection of photographs, some by purchase and some by donation. This includes several significant photographic collections, including those of:- Sandy G Murdoch, from Maud in Aberdeenshire and founding member of GNSRA. Sandy published a series of small photographic books, including All Rails Lead to Inverness, Peterhead Train, Cock o'the North and All Rails Lead to Aberdeen. Sandy loved the GNSR and much of his material concentrates on the railways of North East of Scotland, where he was a well-known figure with local railwaymen. Norris Forrest, another founding member of GNSRA and active on its Committee until his untimely death in 1989. A familiar sight on Scottish rail tours, sporting national dress. An active photographer from 1959, he captured many aspects of the railway scene, including stations, signal boxes and other parts ignored by other photographers. Early this century, GNSRA embarked upon its Digital Archive Project (DAP). All photographic material was to be scanned into digital form. To continue the success of the DAP, GNSRA also initiated an innovative approach to additional material. Owners of photographs relevant to GNSR were offered a shared copyright service. In exchange for the return postage and an agreement to share copyright, photographs (slides, negatives or prints) sent to GNSRA would:- be scanned at high resolution have their digital images expertly “cleaned-up”, with a speedy turn-round have the original photographs carefully posted back to them, with a free CD of the restored image(s) The DAP now contains tens of thousands of images from more than 90 sources, including both shared copyright material and newly-acquired collections, including those of Hamish Stevenson, John Emslie and Colin Brown, plus images from the recently broken-up H.C. & R.M. Casserley collection. A tiny proportion of DAP contents is used - at limited resolution - to illustrate this website. Anyone wishing to take advantage of the GNSRA shared copyright service should, in the first instance, click here to contact our Photo Archivist by email and/or download this application form. Good quality scans are also solicited, but - if there is a choice - original photographs are preferred. Work is also currently proceeding - in conjunction with the other four Scottish Line Societies - on making on-line access available to a shared database of images. This is a multi-year project and is expected to contain in excess of 40,000 images. Access will be available to all members of GNSRA.