Amongst comparable technological systems, the railway ranks highly both in terms of longevity, and the vigour of its continuous development over time. This longevity is very much the crux of the challenge in dealing with the cultural heritage of the railway system: How do we deal with the large and varied volume of material and data gathered over the preceding 170 years? 

In this article we present a framework for structuring the long development of the railway system, intending to support effort towards analysing and serving, in practical terms, the preservation of railroad-related cultural heritage. 

The article brings onboard research from the cultural heritage field connected to the different time periods, and close out by discussing some important and relevant research questions for future investigation.