Despite a serious fire in 1913, the old Town Works site continued in use. Repudiation of foreign debts by the Russian government in 1919 precipitated a financial crisis and forced Garretts into a merger with eleven other firms, the consortium trading as 'Agricultural and General Engineers' with a headquarters at Aldwych House, London. Of particular importance are the order books, specifications and drawings - many thousands of which survive. Some losses have occurred, for example due to the 1913 Pattern Shop fire and the removal of order records for the 1928-1931 period by the Receivers. The manufacturing records are extensively cross-referenced by engine number and order number.
Searches are almost always successful when the enquirer can supply the engine number.
However, in the absence of this information the name of the original customer, approximate date of purchase or the size and type of the engine, may be sufficient to trace an order. The drawing reference system used by Garretts was basically numerical. At present there is no detailed index to these pictures. A descriptive catalogue, prepared in 1995, is available at the Record Office and at the Long Shop Museum. Copies have also been supplied to the National Register of Archives and the Science Museum in London.