MYSTERY surrounds how drawings from the Swindon Works will soon end up in Derbyshire after historians in the town were left in the dark about their whereabouts.

The Science Museum Group published its object disposal list back in July, detailing objects that are no longer appropriate for the National Collection.

Interested groups and organisations had until September to express an interest in taking ownership of the items but this week it has come to light that no one in Swindon knew about plans to dispose potentially thousands of dyeline/blueprint carriage and wagon drawings from the historic railway era.

According to the Science Museum Group, which has a museum at Wroughton, the drawings show standard locomotives, standard carriages and standard wagon components.

For the past few years, the historic illustrations have been held at the National Railway Museum in York. But now, it has been confirmed that Historic Model Railway Society in Derbyshire will soon take ownership of the drawings – to the dismay of locals in the town.

A spokesman for Swindon Borough Council said no one at the Steam museum was aware of the disposal list, and neither was Richard Jefferies Museum director Mike Pringle.

He said: “It is just a shame. The thing that strikes me is the sadness of ‘here we go again’. Our museum struggles and we have this big bid going on with the new museum and art centre. Meanwhile our history is being lost.

"Something doesn’t seem to be joining up somewhere. I don’t know if that is decades and decades of heritage not being on top of the agenda or what.”

It was on February 25, 1841, that GWR directors authorised the establishment of the railway works in Swindon, after the town was identified by Daniel Gooch as being the ideal place for GWR’s central repair works.

Over the years, the Swindon Works became a well-established and crucial part of the railway network, expanding in 1867 when the company decided to build its new carriage and wagon works at Swindon.

After Britain’s railways were nationalised in 1948 the GWR soon saw its demise and the works closed their doors for good on March 27, 1986.

The drawings will be shipped 143 miles away from their origin town in the next few weeks

Local historian Graham Carter, who co-founded Swindon Heritage magazine, believes more should be done to ensure the town’s history stays in Swindon.

“The drawings should really stay local in going to Chippenham, although Steam have got their own collection,” he said.

“It is a bit of a shame that no one heard about it. There doesn’t seem to be any plan about what happens with Swindon’s heritage and it happens on an ad hoc basis.”

The team at the Wiltshire and Swindon History Centre in Chippenham were also unaware of the disposal plans.

A spokesman from the Science Museum Group said: “The items being transferred are blueprint or dyeline copies of original carriage and wagon drawings that are duplicated or represented elsewhere in the national collection. The documents are currently held at the National Railway Museum in York and not in Swindon.

“They have gone through the Science Museum Group’s Board of Survey and Board of Trustees and are scheduled to be transferred to the Historic Model Railway Society based at the HMRS Museum & Study Centre in Derbyshire where the drawings will be cared for and made available to the public.”