British Transport Films Collection

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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 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.

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.

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)

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.