Catalogue description The Whitworth collection of railway photographs

Attempting to photograph every locomotive operated by Britain's major railway companies, Whitworth photographed large numbers of pre-grouping and Big Four engines. These are characteristically images of static locomotives, with little attempt to capture the engine's surroundings and there are few views of moving trains.

Whitworth, William Henry, 1891-1957, dentist, railway photographer, Vice President of the Stephenson Locomotive Society, of Manchester

Whitworth's negatives feature on the Real Photographs lists and can be identified by their 'W' prefix. A small number of these photographs were taken by P J Cooke. There are reference prints for most of the negatives available for consultation in the Reading Room.

Whitworth was an active member of the Stephenson Locomotive Society and was for many years Secretary and Treasurer for the North Western area, becoming Vice President in 1946. Whitworth's negatives were sold to Real Photographs, and were acquired by the NRM in 1992 as part of the Ian Allan collection.