Ronald Shephard
Ronald Shephard was a resident of Linchmere. He ran a firm which patented a bottle stopper embossed with a shepherd's crook, which may be familiar to older generations who drank Tizer.
He was a member of the Permanent Way Institution and acted as an advisor during the Second World War on the defence of narrow gauge railways.
By acting as a reviewer, Ronald Shephard received and amassed a vast collection of railway books, which he bequeathed to West Sussex County Council.
He was consulted frequently by two other famous railway authors, namely OS Nock and C Hamilton-Ellis.
He was President of the Linchmere Model Railway Club and had an extensive 0 Gauge model railway in his garden.
The collection consists of:
- 700 books
- 154 volumes of national and local press cuttings
- 27 volumes of postcards
- 1,500 photographs and negatives of standard and narrow gauge railways.
Of particular note are the series of:
- Railway Magazine 1897-1973
- The Locomotive Magazine 1897-1955
- photographs of many lines which have long since disappeared.
The book collection has now been transferred to Hampshire Libraries Special Collections. The collection of photographs remains at the Record Office and the catalogue is available on our Search Online facility, where you can also view images.
Available to buy
We have several steam railway DVDs available to buy from the Record Office shop.