British Transport Films Collection

The work of completely modernising and remodelling the track and signal approaches to Paddington.

The Ninth Rail Report compendium covers a wide range of subjects showing how technology was assisting British Rail to move forward as the UK was posed to enter the 1970s.

This delightful little travelogue follows 35 girls from Skipton High School in North Yorkshire as they embark on an end-of-term adventure to Interlaken, Switzerland, with two of their teachers.

Rail Report No. 10 presents in glorious Technicolor the many aspects of modernisation and development of 1970.

Narrated by Michael Aspel, the film shows some of the things that go on during a typical SELNEC day, from daily bus operations to parcel delivery and bus/coach hire.

Britain's attempts to cement recently formalised reliationships with its Continental European neighbours are in evidence on this 1974 celluloid collaboration with the British Tourist Authority, which invites them to get in the their cars and have a holiday in Britain.

British Rail adapted many of its coaches to comply with the new international standards in order to offer its unique Inter-City Conference and Exhibition Services, which are showcased in this short film.

Perhaps one of the biggest surprises in the British Transport Films story is the production of several films for the new metro system in Hong Kong.

Safety procedures in track maintenance work are the focus of this film. At the time, British Rail was running 18,000 trains every day and their smooth and safe operation started with an excellent permanent way.

This film, a reconstruction of real events that resulted in the death of two railway track workers, serves as a reminder to all rail personnel engaged in track maintenance of the importance of complying with rules.

Create in the mid-1970s, TOPS (Total Operations Processing System) was a series of computer controlled, automated processes to improve the efficiency of the Railfreight shipping operation.

Television personality Peter Purves takes a trip on the prototype Advanced Passenger Train and meets some of those responsible for its development and testing. This introduction to the tilting Advanced Passenger Train (APT) was aimed at the general public.

Aimed at screening for eight to eleven-year-old children and their parents, the film skilfully points out the folly of breaking railway fences and trespassing in the line.

The announcement of the go ahead for the channel tunnel allowed BTF a final opportunity to shine and look to the future, where a direct link to Paris or Brussels for passengers and freight trains would be Tomorrow's Way.

Des Johnson is having a bad day. He's a young Ford Capri-driving, up-and-coming executive and yet again he's stuck in a traffic jam on his way to an important meeting in the north of England. This was shot and produced on video instead of BTF's usual use of film.