British Transport Films

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.

Packaged holidays for the elderly: a party of 'senior citizens' (60-plus) on a holiday which includes a special train from Newcastle to the Isle of Wight.

Time lapse photography shows the swarm of commuters at London Waterloo station racing about at top speed.

In the Hull Docks, the steamer S.S. Bravo arrives from Gothenburg with cargo.

Through the forward-looking windows of the new diesel multiple-unit trains reveals a new world of signs, signals and railway sights to those who ride behind the driver. For children, particularly, find this is a fascinating experience. This film communicates something of their excitement and wonder as well as some of the wry, un-conscious humour with which their pertinent and amusing questions and comments are so often interlerded.

Two keen hostelling youths, Ken Moody and Brian Cotton, convert a boat in their native Selby into a youth hostel, and get the chance to air their views on the direction that hostelling is taking in the mid-1960s.

Features the 07.55 from Sheffield to St Pancras. The camera follows to Leicester, where a young man is late for a job interview thanks to a variety of incidents including a freight train blocking the line and an improperly secured door at Derby. The film is a modernised version of an older theme for British Transport 'Right Time Means Right Time', where the accumulation of many minor delays on the part of BR staff soon add up down the line to make a train very late.

"Rail" captures British Railways at a major turning-point in its history. In certain respects, this was a period of considerable upheaval and loss. There was a facing-up to the increasing need for a big modernisation drive. Full and speedy electrification, or the wider promotion of diesel-power on remaining lines, became a matter of top priority. Geoffrey Jones recorded a rapidly disappearing world of everyday steam travel, with its labour-intensive rail workforce : some of the footage in "Rail" (recognisable from "Snow") dates from around 1962.

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 for some reason. His laces become caught on the tracks and 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. Part of BFI collection "The Age of the Train".

Comprising train and track footage quickly shot just before a heavy winter's snowfall was melting, the multi-award-winning classic that emerged from the cutting-room compresses British Rail's dedication to blizzard-battling into a thrilling eight-minute montage cut to music. Tough-as-boots workers struggling to keep the line clear are counterpointed with passengers' buffet-car comforts.

Industrial film showcasing Hull’s status as a thriving international port.

An Englishman has just got off the train at St. Enoch Station and is asking a cab driver to show him around Glasgow. Naturally, the cab driver is happy to oblige and the visitor gets to see the City first hand.

A BAFTA award winning documentary focussing on how drivers are trained to drive new electric trains in the UK.

Intended as a sales tool for manufacturers, this short film details the production installation and maintenance for long welded track in use on British Railways.

Documentary from British Transport Films

First transmitted in 1969, this documentary follows the construction of the world’s most advanced underground system. Macdonald Hastings narrates the story of one of the most complex tunnel engineering feats of its time. He reveals the isolation felt by the miners who spent six years burrowing deep beneath the streets of London, shows what they did beneath one of London's most famous department stores and explains why the ground at Tottenham Court Road had to be frozen during the hottest weeks of 1966. The result is a brave new world of transport with automated trains, two way mirrors, automatic fare collection and closed-circuit television, all choreographed by a computer programme played out by an updated version of a pianola located in a control room somewhere near Euston station.

A film looking at the first 100 years of the Underground Railway in London from 1863 to 1963. A range of well known people and senior managers speak alongside some excellent archive film.

A journalist chats on the unusual excursions possible from nodal stations on Europe's train networks. Douglas Browne, journalist and traveller, takes us about Europe re-telling his experiences of many countries (Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Spain) and letting us into the secret of making the journey over land and see an exciting part of a holiday or business trip.

Collage film about the history of trains set to music.

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.