About RailDB

RailDB is a free, community-driven database of UK railway photography. Our mission is simple: to build the most comprehensive and accessible archive of British railway images on the internet, maintained by and for the people who love the railway.

Whether you photograph Avanti West Coast Pendolinos tearing through the Midlands, Northern Class 195s calling at rural Pennine stations, or heritage steam locomotives on a preserved line, there is a place for your images here.

Every photo on RailDB is tagged with the relevant unit number or category, making it easy to search by class, fleet, operator, or location and find exactly what you are looking for.

RailDB covers the full breadth of the UK rail network, including:

• Train operating companies including Avanti West Coast, Northern, LNER, Great Western Railway, CrossCountry, Thameslink, Southern, Southeastern, TransPennine Express, ScotRail, Transport for Wales, c2c, Greater Anglia, Chiltern Railways, East Midlands Railway, South Western Railway and more
• Freight operators including DB Cargo, GBRf, Freightliner, Colas Rail and DRS
• Rolling stock from modern electric multiple units and diesel multiple units through to locomotive-hauled coaching stock and heritage traction
• Infrastructure including stations, signal boxes, depots, maintenance facilities, level crossings and lineside structures
• Heritage and preserved railways across England, Scotland and Wales
• Network Rail infrastructure including on-track machines, departmental stock and engineering trains

Every photo can be tagged with the unit number of the vehicle or vehicles depicted. The site uses a hierarchical tag system that groups individual units by class, so browsing Class 158 will return every photo tagged with any 158-series unit in the database.

Photos can carry multiple unit tags, which is ideal for multiple-unit formations, coupled pairs, or photos showing several different vehicles.

In addition to unit numbers, photos can be tagged with general categories such as stations, depots, infrastructure, heritage railways and more, so the archive is useful even when a specific vehicle is not the subject of the shot.

Anyone can browse the gallery without an account. By creating a free account you can also:

• Upload your own railway photographs and contribute to the archive
• Choose a Creative Commons or All Rights Reserved licence for each photo you share
• Build a public profile showcasing your railway photography portfolio
• Like or dislike photos from other contributors
• Be part of a growing community of UK railway photographers and enthusiasts

Whether you are a seasoned lineside photographer with years of photos to share, or a first-time visitor who snapped a train on the platform with your phone, your contributions are welcome here.

Photographers retain copyright over their own images. When you upload a photo, you choose the licence under which it is shared, ranging from open Creative Commons licences that allow free reuse, to All Rights Reserved for those who wish to keep full control. You can read more on the Licensing page.

We take copyright seriously. If you believe any content on the site infringes your rights, please use the report function on the relevant photo or profile page.

RailDB grows with every photo uploaded and every new member who joins. If you have railway photographs sitting on a hard drive, this is the place to share them with a community that genuinely appreciates them.