Reference Sources

[Seasaltchap]

Drawing Office records of major locomotive & carriage works are a valuable reference source for historians and scratch builders.

In the UK there are many preservation projects for this purpose, NRM York(National Railway Museum), HMRS(Historical Model Railway Society) and GWS(Great Western Society) to name a few. Most interest groups serve researching and retaining original DO records, as the SDT(Somerset and Dorset Trust) and others.

UK scratch builders are spoilt for the amount of  records just waiting to be explored.

Many scratch  builders in the UK would love to have access to such wealth of information on American prototypes.

Are there repositories in the US for similar resource of drawings and information?

[Seasaltchap]

This is a serious request.

Is everyone just too busy playing trains?

[Atlantic Central]

Stewart,

Such information does exist here in the US, but, because of the large number of different builders, and, since many of those builders where the railroads themselves, these records and their preservation, is not centralized, but is spread over dozens or even hundreds of museums and historical groups around the country.

One would have better luck by saying "I need drawings for a C&O H8, does anyone know where I can get a copy?"

The overwelming scope of your question may have slowed the responses.

Thousands of desgins on hundreds of railroads over a period of about 100 years.

Sheldon

[SteamGene]

A large number of railroads, whether still in existence or a fallen flag, have an historical society.  They would be a good place to start.  Another good source would be a major railroad muesum, like the B&O or the Pennsylvania. 
Gene

[glennk28]

Overall--the best archive is the Baldwin Archive at the DeGolyer Library at Southern Methodist University at Dallas.  All files are by construction number.  Sometiomes a large class will be represented by the first loco in the class.,  Copies of erecting drawings are available, as well asspecifications.  A copy of the specification class ledger sheet(s) can often help find drawings for similar locos to your choice in the cases when that particular drawing is not available.  There is a charge for a negative when one does not already exist for the erecting drawings.

Alco and Lima also have archives although not as complete. In some cases a photo collection is held by one museum and the drawings vy another.

gj

[Seasaltchap]

glennK28 : Thank you.

The "Best Friend of Charlston" thread reveals that there is a "National Railway Historical Society" in the US.

I will pass all this on.

Regards

[GlennW]

Most US railroads also have their own Historical Society. Thru mergers, some of them adopt the Fallen Flags. Some University Libraries may hold a state's collection of material. The Library of Congress holds many US Government documents.

The Country Music Hall of Fame holds some 200,000 recordings. They have a huge project to protect & archive the material. This work can be very time consuming & is not cheap. The work is a race against time to be sure the old records can be transferred to a modern media. Some day it may be more readily available.