Shows the special train on which mail is sorted, dropped and collected on the run, and delivered in Scotland overnight.
'Night Mail 2' - A documentary about Royal Mail operations including the Travelling Post Office. It was shown immediately after the famous 1936 original during the 'Going Loco' season on Channel 4 in the early 1990s.
A new luxury express is put through its paces. This film looks over the shoulders of a select band of craftsmen, technicians and operators, whose combined skills ensure that a train journey becomes a delightful experience.
From King's Cross Station, London to Waverley Station, Edinburgh, is 393 miles. The Elizabethan, a summertime express does this journey in 6.5 hours non-stop - the longest daily non-stop in the world to be timed at over 60 mph. This film is about one of these runs, and the men behind the service: the people who planned it in the first place; the men who maintain the engines; the men who build the coaches; the men who see that the track will stand the strain of 450 tons at speeds of more than 90 mph; the men who make sure that the train has a clear run. And there are the guard, the kitchen staff, the buffet staff, and the two sets of enginemen. This film captures the speed and excitement of one of those runs and, in verse by Paul le Saux, the characters of those taking part.
This is the story of one railway day which begins and ends with an operating conference telephone-linked from end to end of Britain. The film tells how a sudden demand for extra locomotives in West Cornwall may affect the tinplate traffic from South Wales; how fish from the Scottish ports is rushed south to the markets; how coal wagons are sorted in Toton Marshalling Yard; how the movement of cattle from Ireland may affect enginemen's working in the Midlands; how London's evening rush to the suburbs is dealth with.
Highlights of the Grand Steam Cavalcade held at Shildon, on the Stockton & Darlington line, on 31st August 1975, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the world's first public passenger steam railway.
A review of innovation and development within BR and its businesses, including: modernisation of freight facilities and service to new companies; progress of the Bedford/St. Pancras electrification project; paved track and permanent way maintenance; Sealink's "Galloway Princess"; Seaspeed's SRN4; and the Research department's magnetically levitated vehicle.
Cybernetica - aspects and examples of the science of Cybernetics, some grave, some gay, some beautiful. Three lovely girls converge on Paris exploring as they travel the wonders ot a new age, the new railway age in which computers defeat by the speed of their decision-making the contemporary evils of congestion, pollution and wasted space and time. "We can travel all we want yet leave the land, the air and the sunshine undisturbed." (Produced by British Transport Films on behalf of the Union Internationale de Chemins de Fer)
The dramatic story of the outstanding engineering feat of Thomas Andrew Walker in the the last century which enabled the building of the famous Severn Tunnel - the longest underwater tunnel in the world to be completed at this time. The film is in particular a tribute in sight and sound of the unique group of six magnificent Cornish beam engines which kept the tunnel free of water for over seventy years before being replaced by electric pumps.
A freight train travelling between Kirkby Stephen and Barnard Castle becomes snowbound in the Westmorland hills. The Motive Power, Operating and Engineering Departments go to work with the snowploughs to reach the trapped train. The team dig clear and thaw out moving parts, and finally two rescue engines help to clear the line.
Candid cameras follow the adventures of the staff at a Midland boot factory on their day off. They participate in the fun and pleasure of the train journey to Town, and in a sight-seeing trip round the capital. Lunch is followed by an afternoon cruise on the Thames from Richmond to Hampton Court, with tea in the Tilt Yard. Afterwards, amid the noise, the bustle and the lights of a West-End saturday night our party enjoy what few hours remain of their day.
Historical York, industrial York and the surrounding countryside form the background to this film; but the main setting is York station. We spend there the hours from dawn to dark on an autumn day. Our guide is the Station Master, who shows us something of the planning, hard work and human interest behind the scenes at a key point in the British railway system. A particular feature of the film is the new signalbox at York, then one of the most up to date of its kind in the world.
The main lines between London, Crewe, Manchester and Liverpool have been electrified. Britain's most modern rail route is also one of the oldest. Why is this first main line system in Britain to be converted to electric traction drawing its power at high voltage from the National Grid? This film shows, against the vivid and fascinating history of these lines from George Stephenson and the engineers he inspired to the Inter-City expresses and how they served the needs of the population and industry since they were first conceived. A fascinating story of this important main line. A comparison of the achievements of electrification with the work of the railway pioneers.
There are times in every woman's life when she feels like playing truant from her round of domestic chores, and taking a day off. She may go alone, or with others, and her adventures may take a variety of forms. This film shows how a random selection of women in Scotland, Northumberland, Lancashire, East Anglia, Wales and Southern England chose to spend days of their own.
From King's Lynn through the wide, flat fields of Norfolk to the unique, half timbered, unpostered station of Wolferton, the station for Sandringham. Then through a land of 'red farms and flint churches' standing 'amongst the silver birches' to Snettisham, with its name cut in a box hedge. And so to Hunstanton and the sea : an unusual and enchanting journey, illuminated by John Betjeman's engaging personality.
In the course of the journey, linked through commentary with the rich and evocative literature of the West, we see the Devon of the children's holiday and the multi-coloured pattern of the Devon countryside, the rivers, the moors, the old historic buildings of Totnes and Dartmouth and Exeter, the tiny ports of the merchant-adventurers, and the great naval docks of Devonport. Across the Tamar, Cornwall also provides long sandy beaches. It has its Arthurian legends and its little fishing ports with their warm and mysterious names.
Donald Houston posts a letter on the night mail train from Paddington and recalls boyhood memories of Wales. An imaginative production involving colour and black and white photography, and inspired score based on Welsh folk tunes by Barry composer Grace Williams.
A wonderful short film about travelling around Britain by bicycle - with the help of the odd train. An excursion train equipped with cycle vans takes a party of cyclists and their machines from Willesden and Watford to Rugby, where they split up into separate parties and tour the countryside of Warwickshire, Leicestershire and Northamptonshire. They visit, among other places, Kenilworth Castle, a country pub, the church at Stanford on Avon and the site of the Battle of Naseby, before returning home by train in the evening. Probably one of the first films to make reference to the cycling ‘bonk’, when a rider doesn’t take on enough food, this short film produced by British Transport Films provides a comprehensive guide to bicycle touring around Britain. The Cyclists' Touring Club featured here would go on to appear in a sequel of sorts to this film, Cyclists Abroad, which can also be viewed on BFI Player.
In a series of vivid sequences, this film catches all the atmosphere of a traditional holiday by the sea, together with the zest and good humour of ordinary people released from their everyday routine. The action moves at a rhythmic pace to the accompaniment of traditional jazz tunes played by Chris Barber and his band, and the rich variety of candid camera shots captures the behaviour and reactions of people having fun on holiday.
The people of the Highlands live in small communities set in landscapes of unsurpassed beauty. This film shows some of the aspects of their life today, linking present developments in industry, agriculture and transport with the country's dramatic past - well symbolised by the striking interior of Glamis Castle. Two distinguished Scots, Moray McLaren (commentary and Cedric Thorp Davie (music) have contributed to this film.
No film can present a complete picture of any one of the English counties, and Northumberland in particular offers such a variety of scenery and of history, such a rich fullness of life to its residents and to its visitors that choice of subject matter is more than usually difficult. In making Any Man's Kingdom the producers have attempted to include aspects of the county which not only illustrate this variety, but which may also conjure up something of the heart warming Northumbrian atmosphere.
A sketch of the emotional quality of life in a great city. The Glasgwegian is the product of historical tensions; this film traces his development from the inhabitant of a Clydeside hamlet to the beneficiary and victim of a unique industrialisation
A.L. Rowse, the eminent historian has written, 'The Elizabethan Age is not something dead and apart from us... Wherever one goes in England there are visible memorials of what thise men and women were when they were alive, the houses they built and loved and lived in, the things they made and wore, the objects they cherished, the patterns they imposed upon the very landscapes.' Some of the visible traces as well as something of the spirit of that England of Elizabeth, of Drake and Raleigh and of Shakespeare, are recorded in this film. 'Such stuff as dreams are made of, outlasting the years'. The camera conjures up Tudor England.
A party of schoolchildren visit London to spend three crowded days in the capital. The adventure starts with a railway journey, and once in London new impressions are collected thick and fast - the streets, the parks, the museums, the shops, the hotel which becomes their temporary home, the Changing of the Guard, St. Paul's, the Tower of London - and, at night, the crowded pavements and the bright lights. There is time to visit London Airport and Windsor Castle and to travel by river launch to Greenwich and the Pool.
That area of England which is most English - gentle hills, shut-in valleys, picturesque villages, historic towns - these make up the Cotswold countryside, the heart of England. The delicate changes the seasons bring to this are seen first in early spring, with the harrowing of the rich fields, the first buds on the trees, the blossoming orchards. Later come the Three Counties Show at Hereford, cricket at Cheltenham or on the village green, and finally the harvest and the traditional fairs. Here are the little towns with the great stone churches, rich in English history, and Tewkesbury, and Shakespeare's Stratford-upon-Avon
From The Wash right round to Southwold in Suffolk runs a coastline ideal for the children's seaside pleasure and the skill of the offshore fisherman. The open country of Norfolk is a delight to the gardener and the naturalist, while south Suffolk has that intimate lushness which Constable made famous. In both counties, the churches and the old history-soaked houses are among the finest in the country; and then there are the Broads, the home of sails and windmills and quiet waterways
The Firth of Clyde is a wonderful place for a holiday. This film sets out to capture the delights, as seen through the eyes of Bernard Braden who, with his customary Canada dry humour, tells of his pursuit of an ancestor in the land of his parents. Furnished with a Runabout Ticket, he travels around by train and steamer. Finally, he comes to Arran, and finds the 'Scotland in miniature' whence his grandmother sailed for the New World
London Bridge is the oldest of London's railway stations and the focal point for a great complex of suburban and coastal services covering the South East. A film showing reconstruction of the station and its approaches to provide easier, more reliable services for the thousands of people who travel by way of London Bridge
An account, in human and non-technical terms, of the electrification of the West Coast main line railway from Crewe to Glasgow; the logical completion of the Liverpool-Manchester-London electrification of 1966
With this film, we are taken into the traditional exciting world of railway Civil Engineering. Here we see a length of rail heated until, quite suddenly and dramatically, it buckles. There, a bridge is tested for metal fatigue. The film shows some of the opportunities which British Railways Modernisation is providing for the young Civil Engineer
Of the 51,000 miles of railway lines in Britain, over 1,800 miles are renewed every year. No longer is each rail manhandled by the men of the permanent way. Mobile cranes remove the old track, complete with sleepers, and replace it with prefabricated lengths. This has made the work less arduous, and the period during which the line is closed to traffic is considerably shortened. This account of the work as seen from the point of view of the crane inspector
An account of the development of British Rail's experimental Advanced Passenger Train, designed to run at speeds of up to 155 miles per hour on existing track and to take curves some forty per-cent faster than conventional trains. The film explains in simple terms some of the many novel design features of the APT, including the guidance system, the tilt mechanism and the hydro-kinetic brake, and shows the train in action during its trials
A model of the proposed Terminal which will serve the Channel Tunnel demonstrates the facilities it will offer and show the possibilities of an age-old dream, a dry land crossing between England and France.
Robert Stephenson's Britannia Bridge across the Menai Strait was almost completely destroyed by fire in 1970. The reconstruction of the bridge, with steel arches supporting and eventually replacing Stephenson's wrought iron tubes, is the subject of this film.
On the concourse and platforms of a large railway station you can hear the rhythm of the city and watch the most poignant moments of private lives become public property: grief and joy, meeting and parting, high comedy and near tragedy. Here, for a brief moment, the traveller may confront the station staff with a personal crisis while his neighbour looks on, or passes by to catch a train. To the accompaniment of Ron Grainer's music, and Julian Cooper's songs, this film captures the atmosphere of London's Waterloo station.
How an express freight train links manufacturers with their customers at the other end of Britain. The fast moving fully fitted freight train, the 4.48 pm Bristol to Leeds, provides a typical example of merchandise being transported at high speed by British Railways. We learn something, too, about the men who do the work as well as the goods they handle.
The true story of a farmer who decided to sell his land in Yorkshire and move his entire stock - cattle, pigs and poultry, machinery, ploughs and tractors - south to Sussex by rail in December, on - as it turned out - the coldest night of the year.
... and a hungry litter basket, what's more. Every day, the people who use railway stations drop hundreds of tons of litter all over the place, while me and my mates have to stand by, empty and starving. Until, one day, we get so desperate, we go foraging for ourselves. And what happens? Take a look at this film. It makes me weep to think of it. I nearly gave up all hope, untill - but wait and see! This heart-cry by Steward McAllister on behalf of the world's litter-baskets is a tiny masterpiece.
Sam Smith is taught to drive an electric locomotive. He learns the new job without difficulty, but one day his train breaks down and Sam summons up three sides of his character to deal with the emergency: 'First Sam' couldn't care less; 'Second Sam' flies into a terrible panic; but 'Third Sam' solves the problem!
With your head still bursting with trains and people asking you a question every minute, it isn't always easy to remember that passengers are people. But when, through the eye of an often candid camera, you see yourself dealing with them, it is only too obvious that they are - 'people like us'.
British Railways of the future and some of the opportunities they will provide as a result of the modern equipment and methods being intruduced in signalling, in marshalling yards and goods depots, in mechanised track-laying and in diesel and electric traction.
A swift journey across Britain reveals some of the changes taking place under the British Transport Commission's plan for an improved transport system. At Woodhead a century-old tunnel is being replaced by a new one, where a single electric locomotive will soon replace the work of up to four steam engines on the heavy coal trains across the backbone of England. Further north, Argyllshire is the scene of an experiment in a co-ordinated road haulage service. At Whitemoor in Cambridgeshire the marshalling of wagons is being speeded by radio communications; while in Bristol bus operators are analysing the problems of congestion that beset most modern cities. Between Calais and Dover, the Golden Arrow steamer, running into mid-Channel fog, is brought safely into harbour by radar.
After 16 days in traffic, number 73020, a standard Class 5 locomotive, goes back to the sheds for cleaning inside and out and a detailed mechanical check-up. A team of men, each with his special job, sets about the task. The parts are inspected and reassembled. Steam-raising begins again. After vacuum tests by the crew, coal is taken on and water topped up. Then, less than 27 hours after entering the sheds, 73020 is back on duty.
People will always need transport and transport will always need people. Addressed particularly to boys of school-leaving age and to young men completing their military service, this film shows some of the wide variety of careers British transport has to offer, whether in railways or at the docks, on the roads or on the nation's network of canals. The good transport worker, we learn, combines individual initiative with teamwork, and the work of the transport team is vital to the nation.
As the electrification of the line extends from Shenfield to Southend, the last steam train leaves Liverpool Street and stands down to make way for a new stage in modernisation plan for British Railways. Service for Southend shows how it was done and the men who did it.
The forward-looking windows of the new diesel multiple-unit trains reveal a new world of signs, signals and railway sights to those who ride behind the driver - and the children on board are particularly fascinated. This film communicates something of their excitement and wonder as well as some of the wry, unintentional humour with which their pertinent and amusing questions and comments are so often interlarded.
In 1952 the BBC produced a short novelty filler under the title London to Brighton in Four Minutes. Filmed from the front of a train at two frames per seconds and then run at the standard 24, it gave the illusion of a spectacularly high-speed journey. This technique proved so popular with audiences that it was copied many times by other film units. Let's Go to Birmingham was British Transport Films' first attempt. To the accompaniment of Johann Strauss's Perpetuum Mobile, the film speeds the viewer from Paddington to Birmingham Snow Hill in five and a half minutes - at about 960mph! Inside the train, passengers eat and drink, sleep or read, oblivious to the giddy speed at which they seem to travel. Shot from the cab of one of British Railway's new 90mph Diesel Luxury Express Blue Pullmans, this film is a wonderful time capsule from the steam-to-diesel crossover period, as seen from the driver's view.
In 1961 the railways were under close public scrutiny and the House of Commons commissioned several committees to investigate whether and how the network could make money. Alongside the Select Committee report, a unit of businessmen known as the Stedeford Group argued that the railways could and should be run as a commercially profitable undertaking. The solution, in their eyes, was to break up the unwieldy British Transport Commission and put the railways under a board that would be commercially driven and directly responsible to the Transport Minister.
Railways have existed in Britain for more than 300 years. In the nineteenth century the railway spread across Britain and changed the geography, history, economy and the entire life of the nation but primitive lines had already been moving coal and other minerals from the pits and quarries up navigable water and roads. This film scans the present and the past to show how these economic principles that governed the early railways have been rediscovered as a basis for modern freight trains.
Sheffield is renewing itself, but until recently the city's railway network exemplified the confusion and inefficiency created by competitive railway expansion in Victorian times.Now British Railways has swept away the small depots and the conflicting lines, and has centralised its goods operations in a new freight terminal, a diesel maintenance depot, and on one of the most modern marshalling yards in Europe, providing freight services fit for Sheffield's needs.
Electrification, and the railwaymen of Rugby adopt new methods and use new machines. In this film they tell in their own words of the struggle to adapt to great technological changes. As with seamen and farmers, railwaymen even today remain curiously close to nature - and gain flexibility of mind from the relationship.
The New Tradition shows how the Freight-liner has become integral to the British economy, speeding daily up and down the country carrying goods ranging from royal holiday baggage to fat-stock beef.
Aspects of the precision and drama of locomotive manufacture, composed to form a lively pattern in picture and sound.
Number 12 in the series of films that includes The New Tradition, illustrating commercial and technical developments on British Rail, new freight loads, air-conditioned carriages, and ultrasonic test train for checking the permanent way, a lecture train, and a new station for motorists.
With specially composed music by David Gow and no commentary, Overture: One-Two-Five was the last complete production to be shot on 35mm film by British Transport Films. It was produced to mark the new Inter-City 125 High Speed Train services between Paddington and Bristol. One of the last big budget productions, it was treated to a coat of Technicolor and a theatrical cinema release.
Southampton, a deep-water port with four tides a day, is an ocean terminal for the world's largest liners. Their coming and going, and the people who work with them are the subject of this film as they reflect in their personal lives some of the drama and romance of its situation. Among them are a tug skipper and his crew, a stewardess on a Cape ship, an assistant wharfinger in charge of handling baggage and freight, a taxi driver, and a pilot taking a great liner down Southampton water at night.
The transporting of a distillation column, 137 feet long, 500 miles by road from Greenwich to Grangemouth in Scotland. The commentary, spoken by the rigger in charge and one of the tractor drivers, expresses the humor and resourcefulness with which these transport workers tackle their job; and the camera has captured moments of beauty as well as some amusing episodes in this journey of the longest load to travel by road in Britain.
Twenty-four hours in the story of the British Railways Channel ferryboats, the 'link spans' directly joining the roads and railways of Britain with those of France and all the Continent. The Lord Warden laden with an assortment of road vehicles from Dover, and the Night Ferry from Newhaven carrying passengers bound for Paris, Vienna or Rome are two of the ferries illustrated in this film; and freight is not forgotten.
An impression, from daybreak to midnight, of the life of the industrial valleys of South Wales centred on Pontypridd and of the growing part played in that life by bus and railway. The free verse spoken by Donald Houston acts as a link on the sound-track between various arias, choruses and orchestral interludes from Handel's Messiah sung by the Pontarddulais Choir that utter their own comment, lyrical, ironic or humorous, upon the pictures of Welsh life and landscape that they accompany.
Spring comes to Selborne in Hampshire where the Reverend Gilbert White made his classic record of the wild life in his parish : rook and dabchick, frog and slow worm, hedgehog, mole and vole; pussy willow, catkin, celadine, primrose. Two centuries later, in much the same inspiring way as White must have witnessed it, a patient and sensitive camera describes a wonderful diversity of wildlife and joyful spring activity, patiently recorded by probing camera by renowned wildlife cinematographer Patrick Carey and evocative words of the poet, Laurie Lee.
The fascinating and colourful marine life of shoreline and rock pool. Filmed in the intertidal zone of a typical and attractive rocky shore of south-west Britain. The diversity of creatures must be seen to be believed: periwinkles, top-shells, starfish and lumpsuckers, the self-concealing flatfish, the gaper and razorfish and the commuting and breeding seabirds.
A 200-ton transformer is moved by road from Hayes, Middlesex, to Iver, Bucks. Behind the story of the journey there is another tale: the problems which had to be solved before the task could be undertaken. This background story is told by the voices of those responsible for the various aspects of the operation, until the transformer is placed within a 'bee's wing' of its intended position.
Set in Scotland, this film tells, amongst other road transport things, the story of the team of four British Road Services drivers who lived and worked together for two years, loading and transporting 20,000 tons of cement in 7 1/2 ton loads up craggy mountain roads from the little railway station at Killin to the new Giorra Dam. A concentrated effort, relying on hard, conscientious work, good fellowship and the support of B.R.S.'s nationwide organisation.
Ardnamurchan peninsula on the beautiful coast of Argyll is a place rich in wildlife. Down by the sea loch, many shore birds care for their young as spring turns into summer. On the hills above, the wild cat and the red fox prowl, an eagle soars and the young ospreys patiently wait for their parents to return with food. Summer becomes autumn, and on the high tops, the red stags, challenge one another, watched by their hinds.
Hawaiian Ne Ne, Chinese Mandarin Ducks, Red Crested Pochard, African Cotton Teal, African Pygmy Goose - these names hint at the fascination which wildfowl possess. These and many other species can be seen at the comprehensive wildfowl collection at Slimbridge in Gloucestershire. This film, produced in association with the Wildfowl Trust, shows Slimbridge and other wild places in Britain where the Trust teams work through the year. Wildfowl research, catching, ringing, breeding and protecting are shown by Peter Scott to be part of the struggle for survival.
On the shortest journey you pass a church or two. Out of the 20,000 churches in Britain, the artist, John Piper, whose work contributes to the glory of England's churches, selects and describes a church built in each of the last nine centuries, from Norman times to the present day. Accompanied by the music of Peter Racine Fricker, he reveals the beauty and riches of architecture, decoration, carving and sculpture aged in mellow stone and weathered glass; the art of the wood carver and the sculptor, and in doing so finds that through the centuries the portrayal of the human face and figure has been an unfailing source of inspiration to all who have brought their talents to the service of the Church.
The last steam train crossing the Pennines, and an Edwardian music-hall song "Watching the trains go out", cause Sir John Betjeman to reminisce. In his own nostalgic verse and prose, he remembers the great trains of old and looks forward to railways for ever as he moves through a photographic exhibition in Kingsway. The film makes extensive use of coverage of the final steam specials on BR on the 11th of August 1968, and provides a quirky look at steam and those who follow its progress.
As a training exercise for apprentice cameramen, British Transport Films used waste lengths of film to record the daily round as seen from the high roof of their building in London's Marylebone. The material has been shaped to Vaughan Williams London Symphony.
Britain was the cradle of the Industrial Revolution, which transformed the lives of millions and ushered in the modern world. Throughout Britain are the tangible remains of that period when British inventors were unequalled in the fertility of their ideas and the significance of their discoveries. A film reflecting the continuing interest in our industrial heritage.
The advantages and pleasures of crossing the channel by Hovercraft. In this film a sales executive, with his car and engineering samples, travels to Lille for a business appointment; and a family goes to Paris for a holiday. The former's journey is via Dover/Calais, and the latter's via Dover/Boulogne. Both demonstrate the benefits of using this modern, speedy method of reaching Europe. An impressionistic look at the hovercraft journey across the channel with no commentary, using the same footage was used to produce Seaspeed Hovercraft.
The Yorkshire Dales - 'from which no traveller wishes to return'. Sheltering under the Pennines, the Dales have escaped the human ravages of time. There is magic here; skysweeping hillsides and weirdly weathered rocks; Wensleydale cheese; ruined abbeys and castles and standing drystone walls; fellracing and potholing, photography, traditional songs and a commentary spoken by Robert Shaw.
Light verse and gay music make their own comment on the holidaymakers of the Yorkshire coastline. Between Tees and Humber thousands each year enjoy the sea and the sands, the funfair and the ballroom: for a row or romance, there's something for each!
Sussex - A country rich in scenic beauty and history. South Down and Weald - open space and green woodland. This is Sussex, a county rich in scenic beauty, seaside resorts and international events; peaceful downland villages and fertile weald. History shows itself everywhere, right back to the threshold of legend - The Long Man of Wilmington and Chanctonbury Ring. All this the traveller can see and enjoy, together with the present-day delights of, for example, the Petworth Show, Goodwood Races, polo at Cowdray Park, Glyndebourne, and the fun of the Sussex coast.
This short, evocative account of the poet's life is set among contemporary scenes of the people of south-west Scotland as they grow from children to manhood. A representative selection of his songs takes on fresh significance when heard against a background of the people and the countryside he knew and loved.
In the cities of Britain we can travel in time as well as space. This film chooses the England of Hogarth, Gainsborough, Robert Adam and Captain Cook. As the camera moves across outstanding monuments of their work and relics of their achievements from Syon House to Greenwich, members of the Old Vic Company speak appropriate passages from the literature of the mid-eighteenth century.
Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Shropshire - eleven Midland counties which can offer the holidaymaker a variety of pleasures and some of the lovliest English countryside.
Approximately 40,000 people use the Waterloo & City Underground line every day. For years they had walked to and from the platforms at the Bank by a steep passage known as the 'Drain'. But know, they can ride up and down on the first moving pavements in Europe - the Travolators. This film shows the construction of the Travolators which was achieved without disrupting normal traffic.
This is the story of a lorry's solitary journey with a new propeller for a trawler laid up in a port on the rugged sea-coast of Wales. For the lorry-driver and his mate it is all in a day's work; minor mishaps are overcome on the journey from Preston through the beautiful Welsh countryside. The story ends with the trawler on its way to sea.
Impressions of a great city from daybreak to dusk. A roving camera and smooth theme music say more than words. London's traditional sights - Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, the Royal Parks, the Zoo, etc., await their visitors in the early morning. While a young motor-cyclist hurries by, to work on the pleasure boat he conducts along the Thames; a Beefeater goes on duty at the Tower; and the visitors hurry into London by bus and coach. The film conjures up the mood of a variety of London scenes and events throughout the day until a sightseeing-bus tour gives the visitor a last chance to catch up by night on anything he may have missed during the day.
South Wales is an area of great natural beauty - from the Brecon Beacons in the north of the area to the rugged coastline of Pembrokeshire in the south. It is a land of attractive market towns and ancient castles, of hill and forest landscapes. This film covers many aspects of life in a region whose abundant attractions for the holidaymaker are made readily accessible by rail and road.
A cautionary tale of a typical holiday suitcase. Crammed beyond its capacity, imperfectly fastened, inadequately and confusedly labelled, the railways transport it from station to station, seeking its true abode. Finally, one of its owners comes to the nightmare tribunal where those who maltreat their luggage are dealt with. Did it happen? Was it a dream? Be warned. See this film. Avoid making yours 'a desperate case'.
A coasts of contrasts - yet each aspect offering something to the holidaymakers arriving by train or coach. You may choose the gaeity and excitement of the national Beauty Contest finals held annually at Morecambe, or you may prefer the world's largest flower show at Southport. You can walk on the lovely quiet coast of the Lake District at Grange-over-Sands or claim a seat on the roller-coaster at Blackpool. You can fish, go sand-yachting at St. Annes, play golf or watch the wild fowl on the lonely Pilling Marshes.
Two visitors enjoying Scotland, an enthusiastic but inexperienced golfer improving on the world's greatest courses; his wife exploring spectacular places visited by the first known lady golfer in history - Mary, Queen of Scots. The commentary of Scot's actor Andrew Crawford links romantic past with sporting present in a film which captures the flavour of the country and its national game.
Keeping pace with rapidly developing social and industrial needs is the aim of modernisation on the North Eastern Region. The building of new marshalling yards, the improvement of passenger and freight facilities and the design of modern aids for speed and safety on the track are among the features shown.
An insufferable journey by 'The Pain Train' shows how seconds lost by staff, for one slight reason or another, can quickly add up; causing a train to be seriously late even on a relatively short journey.
The London Motor Club members, with their families, took their cars by Motorail for a contest with the Torbay club, and the camera was there to record a victory for the home team.
With Peter Purves, of television 'Blue Peter' fame, as our guide, we are taken on a rapid but very full tour of railway activities. Starting off in the comfort of the High Speed Train, we then move on through electrification, track relaying, rush hour at Waterloo, freight trains and Sealink, and enjoy a glimpse of railway history. A fascinating introduction to the subject of trains.
A report on the progress of the Bedford / St. Pancras suburban electrification scheme.
Report No. 11 in a series of 13 topical films, produced since the far reaching plan for the modernisation and re-equipment of British Railways in 1955 started to take effect, to log the many developments - new services, equipment, techniques - wherever these have been introduced. They provide a unique pictorial record of the progress of British Railways. Because 1970 was European Conservation Year, this issue of the Rail Report Series was devoted to examples of what railways in Britain are doing to help conserve and improve our national environment. The conversion of former railway property - including that trendy temple, the Round House - is shown, yielding Nature Trails for children and training runs for race horses. Railway architecture, old and new, still makes its important contribution as does contemporary design.
Explains the benefits of rail travel in Britain. Intended for American audiences.
Made for school children, Old Sam reminisces over the old days of the railways and tells of the modern railway of today and how modernisation has brought new level crossings. He explains how they work and how to use them.
A lively and sometimes evocative account of a mixed bag of passengers enjoying in their various ways a typical Inter-City journey. A cheerful and very colourful pastiche of live action with combined graphics set to the music of Muir Mathieson. This film typifies the image British Rail was keen to transmit during the early part of the 1970s. It marked the start of the age of the train, when 100mph running became standard and travelling inter-city took you from 'city to city - heart to heart'.
The majority of railway vehicles are fitted with cast iron brake blocks which, although relatively cheap to produce, wear rapidly in service and need frequent replacement. The film shows how an investigation into some of the problems associated with these blocks led to the development of a new type with a higher phosphorus content which gives better performance and has a longer life.
The film tells the story of the building of a new generation of high speed Inter-City trains. As well as providing speed and air-conditioned comfort, the design philosophy behind the trains was to extend the modular replacement concept as far as possible. Complete engines, alternators, cooling and brake systems, and electronic controls had to be modified so that they could be disconnected quickly and replaced, thus allowing fast, easy maintenance with a high degree of reliability.The film was made for the equipment manufacturers and British Rail.
In a world growing ever shorter of energy, railways are well suited to satisfy the world's future transport needs. This is the story of the new railways in Japan, Britain, Germany, France, Poland and Italy.
The demand for Aggregates is steadily rising. The film explains the Railfreight option: its successes both environmental and financial and future developments within this strictly commercial operation. The benefits of co-operation between interested parties are stressed and specific examples are illustrated. A film made to promote the new Rail freight sub-sector marketing scheme to other large companies. It featured helicopter aerial photography and state of the art computer graphics. A little dated in appearance today but certainly impressive and modern in 1982.
The film takes place in the imagination of a schoolboy. As he looks over a railway bridge he thinks of the idea of a school sports day on the railway track. There are four events, all activities which children regularly participate in when trespassing on the railway: breaking the railway fence, last across the tracks in front of a train, throwing stones at a passing train and the Great Tunnel Walk. In the film though, we see the tragic results, including a badly injured driver, the result of a heavy stone shattering his cab windows. The film was horrible, made to shock and be remembered. The controversy it caused was great for bringing the issues to the public eye but it was quickly replaced by "Robbie" in 1979.
Young Robbie, a keen footballer and a railway enthusiast, is persuaded by his big brother to go through a hole in a railway fence on to the track. He has an accident so serious that he will never play football again. A film for showing to eight to eleven-year old children and their parents, which points out the folly of breaking railway fences and trespassing on the line, and illustrates the immediate dangers.
A gastronomic journey from Yorkshire to London on board a special train - made up of vintage restaurant cars, and steam hauled. This was to celebrate a hundred years of train catering. The Chairman of British Rail, Sir Peter Parker, was there to cut the cake!
The BR chairman in conversation with the popular broadcaster.
The operational procedures necessary for the working of traffic of a double line over a single line of rails during repairs.
A film giving instruction in the normal maintenance tasks which have to be performed by a permanent-way gang of four men. It shows how all types of fastening on both bullhead and flatbottomed track are maintained; details the maintenance of rail joints; shows how 'hanging' sleepers should be repacked, and deals with the preservation of correct cant and alignment on curves.
Continuing the study of the normal tasks performed by a permanent-way gang, this film deals with the maintenance of switches, common crossings and obtuse crossings. These are the fundamental units from which all track layouts, however complicated are built up.
A film - not only for school leavers - about one of the most responsible and professional jobs on British Railways. Practical work in shop and signal box, on gantry and by trackside, coupled with instruction in mechanics, electricity, electronics and draughtsmanship, lead the apprentice into the intricacies of design, the excitement of research and experiment, and the intense satisfaction of being in on a big 'changeover' from old semaphore signalling to a new colour-light scheme
The operating procedures necessary for protection on a double track in the event of a mishap to a train which fouls the opposite line. The film also illustrates steps to be taken by station staff in such an emergency, and then shows how normal working is resumed.
Two and a half million passengers every day all over the country; thousands of trains, each to be cleaned at the end of its journey. This film shows in detail the various types of cleaning undertaken at stations, between journeys and at cleaning depots.
This is the story of the founding and development of the BRS General Haulage trunk services. Through the eyes of a driver who has been on the road for 30 years we see the development of the services and the introduction of the latest ideas and equipment, including radio control of vehicles, sea-going ferries, the BRS teleprinter network and the building of 'glass' lorries. The story ends in the evening when the 'trunkers' report for duty at Hampstead depot to take their vehicles off once more on the long night haul to the North
St. Christopher's - for the children of Railway Servants. About a hundred children are cared for here and this film gives a selection of scenes from a typical day: the breakfast mail, a boy with a problem, a girl with a worry, a visit from two widowers, a birthday tea-party. And most problems are solved by the time the little ones are tucked away in bed
The tale of an extremely difficult piece of transportation. A transformer, weighing 123 tons, is required for a remote site at Blaenau Ffestiniog in the Welsh mountains. First the rail and road journey must be planned, then the transformer designed to cope with the complexities of the route; and finally the special transportation equipment and experienced crews must carry the job through
The Channel Islands have had a varied and exciting history. Jersey and Guernsey are ideal places for holidays. Jersey offers a wide variety of attractive bays for sport and relaxation; Guernsey still preserves something of an eighteenth-century atmosphere, and is a place for quieter enjoyment. It is an ideal centre for exploring the other smaller islands, and the film ends with a journey by boat to Herm
The electrification of the London Midland Region main line between London, Manchester and Liverpool at 25KV AC, using overhead wires and drawing supply from the National Grid, was a major undertaking involving civil, electrical, mechanical and signal engineering of a complex and advanced nature. This film depicts some aspects of the problems involved and of the unprecedented operations which were carried out
The re-signalling of 1000 track miles from the River Weaver to the Clyde brings the whole line from London to Glasgow under one system of push-button control and colour light signals, and completes the main line electrification. The film follows the intricate production of equipment, and its installation over, under and between trains. The whole project adds up to a piece of modern technology unsurpassed anywhere in the world.
Believe it or not, ski-ing, canoeing and pony trekking are major sports in Scotland. Not yet comparable with fishing, perhaps, or sailing on the Clyde. As for the mountains, the Black Cuillin of Skye calls to rock climbers the world over, as Gleneagles calls to golfers. All these sports are not only matters of colour, excitement and humour, but also of knowledge and skill
Berth 24 describes the 'turnaround' of a ship - the SS Bravo - which plies with freight and passengers between Hull and Gothenburg. For an army of men, from river pilot to stevedore, each turnaround is a test of professional skill, and a race against time if tides are to be caught and schedules kept. The film tells the story of what this means to George Moore, a foreman docker, and to a Swedish passenger who comes to England as a buyer of our goods.
The Peak District waits invitingly within a sixty-mile reach of half the population of England. To this green centre of a great industrial area, the first of the National Parks, holidaymakers come throughout the year to enjoy a wide variety of scenery and of pastimes. Some visitors come to glide, others to go 'caving' or climbing, boating or fishing. The lovely surroundings vary from the windy flat tops of heath with their rocky outcrops to the lush sheltered dales of the Manifiold, the Derwent and the Dove; from the simple stone cottages of the quiet villages to the historic architecture of Ashbourne, Bakewell and Buxton, and the great houses of the past like Chatsworth and Haddon Hall.
Based on instructional material, this film explains the preparation and procedures for the operation of a then modern AC electric locomotive, also taking in diesel haulage and shots of steam traction. The opening sequence features an early use of the double-arrow BR logo.
Give Your Car a Holiday...and yourself too by travelling on Motorail and the car ferry ships of British Rail. A film to entice those who have yet to enjoy the pleasure of letting someone else do the driving, and to whet the appetite of those accustomed to putting their cars aboard.
Travel by train is for holidays, travel by train is for work, and travel by train can be a pleasure in itself. Howard Marion Crawford advises us in verse to take advantage of all three possibilities and shows us impressions of a wide variety of journeys, destinations and amenities. A selection of railborne experiences include the luxury of Pullman travel, the thrill of arriving at the seaside, and a journey through the Highlands
A large area of England - Cumbria, Northumberland, Durham, Yorkshire - contained in a short film. Scenic splendour everywhere, from the Lakeland Fells to the Yorkshire Dales. Historic castles and mansions; sandy beaches. Ideal country for walking and exploring; a place to lift the spirit
Whether it is a paddle in the sea or a visit to some Roman remains, a day spent watching the countryside go by or an afternoon's inspection of a famous house, a party outing by hired coach can be a real day out. Away For The Day is the story of some coach parties enjoying a wide variety of trips all over England and Wales, and an impression of the places they visit.
In every industry men still need skill and knowledge, but the addition of a dash of imagination will often mean more pleasure from the job as well as greater efficiency. The film presents four examples: the invention of a ratchet device for turning rails; reshaping worn spanners at a locomotive works; speeding up the replacement of old escalator slats by means of an attachment to a drill; and finally, the thoughtful porter working at a country station who goes out of his way to warn a regular passenger of a change in the timetable.
'It ain't what you do, it's the way that you do it' - the popular song is particularly apposite when you lift heavy weights, as many railwaymen know to their cost. The wrong way can produce aches, pains, strains, sprains, and even slipped discs. With the help of a young weight-lifting lady (Joan Rhodes - a famous strongwoman act in the dying days of Vaudeville theatre, but also made several films and appeared in several Bob Hope shows) this film shows how to avoid all the strains and make the job easier into the bargain.
Lost, Stolen, Damaged - the constant £2 million a year problem of claims against British Railways is debated in this film, in which railwaymen, transport police and businessmen put their different points of view vividly and sometimes provocatively.
Whether you want a quiet holiday touring churches in Norfolk, or a more active one enjoying Blackpool in Autumn, or a cultural one at Stratford-upon-Avon, or the many pleasures of North Wales, these are all available and close at hand for those who travel in comfort by train.
It takes all sorts of people to make up a Railway, both passengers and staff and we meet a variety of them in this film. We see a number of common everyday incidents which staff regularly meet and different approaches are used to deal with these problems. Each of these different approaches is examined and analysed. A training film aimed particularly at station staff.
Over 5 million people in Britain have some sort of physical disability. This film, addressed primarily to railway staff, demonstrates some of the problems encountered by hanicapped people when they travel by train. It then shows how sympathetic and practical handling can turn a daunting prospect into a pleasurable experience. A motivational programme for staff to introduce them to the disabled traveller and how they want to be treated - just like the rest of us!
A day-long look at that vast undertaking, London Transport, and at all those - commuters, shoppers, excursionists, theatregoers, and the rest - who rely upon it. This is a film about London as seen by London Transport. Starting at dawn we see the slow build-up to rush hour and afterwards the mid-morning lull. The scene changes to Saturday afternoon, the hurly-burly of sport and pastime, then on to the evening gaiety of the West End, while below the surface men are tunnelling the new tube line from Victoria to Walthamstow
This film is shown to all new recruits to London Transport's canteen service. It opens by revealing the complexity of the canteen organisation. After this, conditions of work in various canteens are contrasted and explained, the aims of training are dealt with, and the new employees are shown how they should fit in with their fellow canteen workers. Advice is given about coping with some of the difficulties which arise on the job, and the film ends by emphasising the importance to transport workers of efficient and friendly canteens.
Just off the High Road at Chiswick is the works where all engines, electrical and mechanical parts from London Transport buses are completely reconditioned and given new life after years of arduous service. A multiplicity of engineering processes and skills are combined into an efficient and tightly economic operation which keeps London's bus fleet on the move
The Nine Road is the busman's name for one of London's oldest and most used bus routes, running between Mortlake and Liverpool Street. The film takes us along the route on a summer's day, and shows the operation and control of the Number Nines from early morning until past midnight.
Day in, day out, throughout the year, the passengers on London's buses and Underground leave behind them enough property to keep a large staff of sorters and storemen permanently busy and often amused. How the lost property is collected, sorted, warehoused and, in most cases, restored to its forgetful owners is shown in this film which reveals an unusual aspect of London Transport's service to the travelling public, gaily described by John Slater
The complete network of Underground and Bus routes that keep 'London on the move'. A big industry with big problems as the working population and the volume of traffic grows. This film gives some insight into how London Transport is facing a busy future.
After the last train at night and before the first in the morning, 800 heroes are hard at work making London's Underground fit for people like you and me to travel on, and taking in their stride (and having plenty to say about it) a broken rail discovered at 3.30am.
Strategically sited throughout London Transport's railway system, at immediate call, are Power Signal Linemen, ready to put right any faults that may occur. The film, which is part of London Transport's training course for power signal linemen, shows a possible fault, and how the lineman makes repairs. It emphasises the conditions of urgency and stress under which a lineman must work, and the patient, methodical skill he must nevertheless bring to any problem if it is to be solved successfully as well as speedily.
A film produced to mark the 150th anniversary of the first London Omnibus. It traces the origins and development of the London Omnibus, taking us on a journey which starts with George Shillibeer's elegant three-horse bus in 1829 and leads through the years to the familiar red double-deckers of today.
Part 1 : Chiswick - On The Skid Patch describes a visit by BBC Television to the bus-drivers' training ground when new cars from the Motor Show were demonstrated to viewers. Part 2 : Overhaul At Acton shows how London Transport trains are stripped, cleaned, examined and made ready for another period of service. Part 3 : Croydon Food Production Centre shows how food is prepared in quantity for London Transport canteens
An animated short film explaining how to use new automatic fare barriers
The London street would be colourless and incomplete without the world-famous red buses. Less well known is the means by which standards of service are maintained, and this film shows the rationalised dismantling and re-integration of 44 buses each week at London Transport's Aldenham Works. One of the most up-to-date plants of its kind in the world. Alderham maintains by flow-process techniques the world's largest fleet of 7,500 buses.
A Central Office of Information film made by the Crown Film Unit in 1947 illustrating the scope of London Transport activities at their most extensive including bus, underground, trams and trollybuses.
The latest developments in British Transport - whether it be in London buses or in railway sidings at Margam steelworks, in the construction of a canal lock between Nottingham and the Humber ports or in the use of modern equipment at BTC laundries or continuous foundries - all such new things bring an echo from the past. The work-songs and popular ballads of yesterday serve to bridge time and remind us that the history of transport is continuous - that history is being made today just as certainly as it was made a century ago.
A light-hearted history of Britain's railways, seen through old prints, photographs and rare pieces of archive film as well as modern material to tell the story from Stephenson's Rocket to the new expresses. The film was made originally for a national children's competition. Pop-singer Joe Brown, a former railwayman, gives a happy-go-lucky narration as he comperes his group as they play railway songs in the Museum of British Transport at Clapham, where many of the most interesting items of railway history could then still be seen.
A feast of first generation diesel locomotives show the variety of motive power employed by British Railways, from the small diesel shunter to the mighty Deltic locomotives of the East Coast Main Line. By 1965 British Railways operated the largest diesel fleet in Western Europe. Close co-operation between the locomotive manufacturers and the railways had led to the development of many different types of engine for different purposes - providing enthusiasts with a much-missed variety of traction compared to today's railways.
Report No. 6 in a series of 13 topical films, produced since the far reaching plan for the modernisation and re-equipment of British Railways in 1955 started to take effect, to log the many developments - new services, equipment, techniques - wherever these have been introduced. They provide a unique pictorial record of the progress of British Railways.
Britain operates the most experienced diesel and electric railway in tne world. A century and a half ago she invented the steam engine and introduced a new system of transport; and in only nine years British Rail and the British locomotive industry designed, built and tested enough diesel and electric locomotives to replace fifteen thousand steam engines. The transition from steam to new forms of motive power, and its effects on rallwaymen and passengers, is the subject of this film. Produced in association with the Central Office of Information, the British Locomotive Allied Manufacturers' Association and the British Electrical Manufacturers' Association.
The newest Southern electrified route, London-Southampton-Bournemouth, is the subject of this film. After a glimpse of the old days of steam, we follow travellers of all kinds as they experience the pleasures of travel which is clean, quiet, fast and frequent.
Introducing the new electric services between the West Midlands, Stoke, London and the North-West. A service which started 6th March 1967 which is second to none in this country, and indeed of its type, second to none in the world. Bringing with it a number of new facilities for the passengers together with speed, frequency and electric reliability. Moving travellers across the country at 100 miles an hour much of the time.
Traces the development of the Freightliner services and introduces customers with differing freight problems, who describe the advantages the system has for them over other forms of transport. The story of the Ford Company train which daily links factories at Liverpool and Genk, in Belgium, and examples of the growing influence of the Freightliner system and the company train in the export field. Produced for Freightliners Limited and British Rail Shipping & International Services Division.
The star of this film, Norman March, is following a family tradition for he is a craft trainee at the Swindon railway workshops. As the chief instructor helps him to decide his future career, we are taken on an interesting and dramatic tour of the many places where Norman may one day work.
The film follows the fortunes of several groups of visitors as they travel by train around Britain able, in most cases, to reach distant destinations and return, within the day.
A film, narrated by actor Iain Cuthbertson, setting out a plan for an integrated road and rail transport structure in Scotland, to make it a modern, efficient country while keeping it "a land fit for folk to live in".
Explaining new developments in civil engineering survey work, and the latest methods of preparing accurate and highly detailed drawings.
A journey from London King's Cross to Peterborough on the fastest Inter-City Special - at a speed of well over 1250 mph!
A passenger train suffers a series of small delays caused by lack of communication, thoughtlessness and unsound judgement which aggregate into an embarrassingly late arrival at its destination.
Under the British Railways modernisation plan, diesel traction began to replace steam at a significant pace on many rural lines during the late 1950s. Great emphasis was placed on staff instruction to bring large numbers of locomotive crew up to speed on the new diesel multiple unit rail cars being introduced. A series of films screened in mobile instruction coaches and in motive power training schools helped to teach footplate crews (who were used to a very different environment indeed how to drive these new multiple unit diesel trains. This particular episode in the series deals with the real meat of the training - getting to grips with your train. A Derby 'Heavyweight' unit and a training trip to Skegness are on the cards for us.
Electrification for the passenger meant a more reliable service and faster journeys. For the railway electrical engineer, however, there were some significant hurdles to think about, such as substations, feeder stations and strategic neutral sections to prevent overload on the National Grid. The civil engineers had their hands full too, with considerable bridge and lineside structure rebuilding to be carried out - all while keeping the lines open to everyday traffic. This film examines the trials, tribulations and learning curves that British Railways underwent as it proceeded to install a modern overhead electrified railway. It presents us a technical explanation of just some of the apparatus involved, and difficulties overcome, in a new field of railway engineering at the industrial frequency of 25kv AC.
The seventh in a series of 13 'progress report' - style films made since the ambitios 1955 plans for re-equipping and modernising the railways had started to become reality.
A compilation of driver's-eye footage assembled to highlight the dangers posed to track gangers and permanent way staff when unaware of approaching trains. Have they seen us? Have they heard us? Can they get clear in time?
In the mid-1970s, due to an increased volume and frequency of trains travelling in excess of 100mph on the main lines both through and across junctions, it was necessary to make signal modifications.
Not all British Transport Films were highly polished cinematic masterpieces and it's fitting that the example presented here focuses on the ubiquitous British Rail second-generation rail car, or Rail Bus as they were marketed. Just as the Rail Bus was a low-cost example of public transport, the Audio Visual Tape Slide Presentation was a low-cost example of media presentation. The first generation of rail car was presented in the Diesel Train Driver series but here times have changed and an idea of sampling technology from the road to solve the problem of keeping rural railway lines operational and within budget is shown.
This film features the workhorses that are the train-ferries. These are specially adapted ferry boats capable of taking trains of specialised wagons, allowing them to roll on and roll off at terminals with link-span railheads running right up to the dock side, and connecting into the major rail networks. We see all manner of goods being transported this way as the film illustrates the huge range and volume of bulk trade between the UK and continental Europe, routing between Dover and Dunkirk or Harwich and Zeebrugge up to 10 times a day.
This staff instructional film from 1978 although primarily aimed at those who kept trains clean and tidy for their living, also formed an integral part of the BR strategy around providing a pleasant environment for those using its services, whether for business or pleasure.
A musical journey through the Great Britain and British Rail of the late 1970s, designed to entice and attract foreign visitors to sample the delights of a landscape of castles, lakes, history and romance.
This film takes a look at some of the usually unseen and unsung work of British Rail Parcels Division.
An Inter-City 125 High Speed Train with a streamlined front nose will cut through the air at 125mph, whisking its passengers across the network. However, if that train breaks down and needs a helping hand from another locomotive you are presented with a problem.
Railways in Britain have enjoyed a good reputation in passenger terms for safety, based on the expansive network and the number of miles travelled.
This short feature covers what was a fast-growing part of rail freight business, launched in 1977 under the Speedlink banner and focusing on rail wagon traffic to boost capacity, reduce transit times and provide a dovetailing scheduled service to the continent.
After World War Two, a group of film-makers were paid by the government to persuade people to use public transport. Some of their critics called their work expensive propaganda, but the British Transport Film unit produced some of our finest post-war documentaries and captured a golden era on the railways, before the Beeching cuts.
In Rail, Geoffrey Jones elaborates the style, abstraction and excitement of his earlier Snow (1963) with an astonishing tonal palette. The film glides effortlessly from hushed reverence to giddy exuberance to elegiac restraint as it evokes the vitality of steam travel and its imminent passing. Though the film evolved from an earlier commissioned project on British Rail design, the famous blue mid-1960s rolling stock is represented only in a three-minute coda - a sort of tagged-on ending on behalf of the new in which the speeding electric trains go by as barely registerable blurs. "I think perhaps I was a little nostalgic for the railways as they were," admitted Jones, "and not all that keen on diesel and electric traction."
The third and final film made by Geoffrey Jones for British Transport Films (following Snow, 1963 and Rail, 1967) was commissioned to mark the 150th anniversary of the introduction of the Stockton to Darlington Railway, the birth of one of the greatest transport revolutions in human history. The same year, BTF's Rail 150 (d. Ronald Craigen) recorded a celebratory steam cavalcade.
Transport was one of the first four films produced by British Transport, and made by Pathe's documentary unit. It is an argument for nationalisation under the 1948 Transport Act, not just of railways but of roads and waterways as well.
The construction of a new harbour at Port Talbot in South Wales, a 3% year, £20 million project. Engineers working day and night in all weathers to build the first harbour in Britain designed to unload 100,000 - ton iron ore carriers. and provide the British steel industry with facilities equal to any in the world.
Every Day the minds and emotions of Britain's citizens are changed by the coming and going of thirty million letters. This film shows the magic of the mail. A look at some of the familiar and unfamiliar services provided by the Post Office, how it is done, who does it and what they think about it, whether it be a postmen in the Outer Hebrides, a sorter on the postal special out of Euston or an engineer supervising the working of a new automatic letter-facing machine.
Snow was Geoffrey Jones' first film for British Transport Films (BTF) but it owes its existence to a happy twist of fate. In September 1962 Jones began his research for a film about design for the British Railways Board. Armed with a 16mm camera, he travelled throughout the country, shooting film 'notes' of anything he found particularly interesting.
Documentary about the changes made to the railway network as a result of the 'Modernisation Plan' implemented by British Railways. With previously unseen archive footage taken from the British Transport Films unit, the programme features the Blue Pullman, the Golden Arrow, the Night Ferry, the Metropolitan Railway, the Victoria line and more.
