Video 125

The original Gotthard railway tunnel through the Swiss Alps, took ten years to build and cost 147 lives. It was a mammoth undertaking and required the construction of long ramps on either side totalling 85 miles. Dozens of tunnels, viaducts and bridges were necessary. The ruling gradient of 1 in 37 was deemed to be just about the maximum that the original steam locomotives could handle, even then, trains were usually double-headed and even had banking engines attached at the rear! In order even to keep to this severe gradient, the engineers had to construct a number of additional spiral tunnels to gain height, hewn out of solid rock…

Unprecedented cooperation from Eurostar enabled Video 125 cameras to film a high speed journey from the Capital of Belgium to the Capital of England via the Channel Tunnel. Riding with the driver at speeds of up to 300 kilometres an hour, or 186 miles an hour, is an exhilarating experience. Just click on the preview to see what we mean. The entire route is shown in virtual real time.* As well as calling at Lille Europe and Ebbsfleet International, we follow our class 373's progress from the five control centres which are responsible for our train as it passes through Belgium, France, the Channel Tunnel and England. There are two bonus features: Temple Mills Depot, opened in time for the start of services into St Pancras. Comings and goings at Brussels Midi. While our cameras were set up on the platform we filmed a dozen or more trains to show the diversity of traction and rolling stock.

Filmed from the Driver's cab of a class 385 EMU we travel on a ScotRail express from Glasgow Queen Street to Edinburgh Waverley via Falkirk High, then from Edinburgh to Glasgow Central via Shotts.

Experience the thrill of riding in the cab of an iconic Pendolino tilting train, travelling over the West Coast Main Line, the UK’s busiest. We travel on board the 1220 Virgin Trains’ London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly service running via Stoke on Trent. It’s quite amazing to see the degree of tilt from the driver’s viewpoint and how easily the class 390 takes the curves at speeds of up to 125 mph!

One of the least well-known areas of Britain, we travel to the Cumbrian Coast by means of two different trains. Firstly, we board a North West Regional Railways Express (class 156) which traverses the former Furness Railway via Grange-over-Sands and Ulvertston to Barrow-in-Furness. There we change to a class 153 for the most scenic section of the route along the coast from Bootle to Maryport, filmed in what can only be described as 100% perfect weather - not a cloud in the sky! Apparently you only get one day a year like that along the coast and we were there! As signalling expert David Allen says in his script; "this line is a mecca for semaphore signalling enthusiasts". Filmed in 1997.

Originally filmed and released in two parts on video cassette, we can now see virtually the whole of the WCML on the one DVD. Part one covers the leg from Euston to Preston, scheduled to run non-stop at a maximum speed of 110 mph behind a classic class 87 electric loco - now nearly all consigned to the scrap heap. The former LNWR main line takes us via Watford Junction, Milton Keynes, Rugby, Stafford and Crewe. Due to a broken rail the train takes an unscheduled diversion onto the slow line for a few miles north of Watford. Part two covers the second leg of the 401 mile journey to Glasgow Central, running via Lancaster, Carnforth, Oxenholme, Penrith, Carlisle, Lockerbie, and Carstairs. Our class 87 manages to maintain a speed of 90 mph over the legendary 1 in 75 banks up to Shap and Beattock summits - an achievement that would have been unimaginable in steam days. Filmed in 1995/1996

Ramsgate has been on the railway map since 1846. Eventually two rival companies served the town for over fifty years until the Southern Railway built a connecting line between the two. At the time of filming there were two main routes into the town, one via Ashford from Charing Cross and the route we are taking via Chatham into London Victoria. This Driver's eye view was filmed before the introduction of SouthEastern's high speed Javellin services into St Pancras. It therefore shows our 4 coach class 375 Electrostar starting off as the hourly fast service calling at selected stations to Faversham. Here we join up with a similar 4 car set from Dover. We then call at Sittingbourne and the Medway Towns of Rainham, Gillingham, Chatham and Rochester. Once over the Medway itself, our 8 coach train runs fast to Victoria calling only at Bromley South.

The Newcastle & Carlisle dates right back to 1825, one of the earliest railway schemes in Britain. It opened in stages from 1834 initially to carry minerals. The railway roughly follows the course of Hadrian's Wall, marking the northernmost border of the Roman Empire in 122 AD. The railway has become an important link between the East and West Coast main lines.

Our 1973 stock train, takes you right through the centre of the capital and out into the North London suburbs. Emerging from tunnel at Arnos Grove our train continues to Cockfosters in Hertfordshire. The section between Acton Town and Hammersmith is unique in being the only 'tube' line to feature express running - leaving the parallel District line to provide the stopping service. We then return to Acton Town and board another 1973 stock train for a drivers's eye view of the Heathrow Airport branch, running via Terminal 4 to end at Terminals 1, 2 & 3. This line, much of which was built by the District Railway, has another unique feature for a tube line, a quadruple track section from Acton Town to Northfields. As well as seeing four closed stations from the driver's cab we also pay a visit to Aldwych, the terminus of the short branch which ran from Holborn but closed in 1994.

Driver's eye view of the GWR from Exeter St Davids to London Paddington from the cab of a brand new class 802 Intercity Express Train.

SHANKLIN TO RYDE PIER HEAD (electric) SMALLBROOK JUNCTION TO WOOTTON (steam) Filmed in 2010

This Driver's eye view begins with a brief look at the unique street-running Weymouth quay "tramway" from a class 73 Electro-Diesel Locomotive. It is unlikely that this line will ever see a train again so it is also included on the DVD as a menu driven bonus. Our main line train is a class 442 Wessex electric still in Network SouthEast colours. We head out of Weymouth and climb up towards Dorchester South, the 5 coach train taking all the power available from the third rail. Turning east the train calls at the intermediate stations as far as Poole and Bournemouth, with their classic causeway approaches. Speeding up, we call at Brockenhurst (for connection with the Lymington branch) and pass through the delightful stretch of unspoilt New Forest to Southampton. We then run non-stop at up to 100 mph along the former LSWR quadruple track main line via Basingstoke, Woking and Clapham Junction into Waterloo. Filmed in 1994

The 13 .5 mile narrow gauge line was originally built to carry slate and for many years was worked by gravity. We travel aboard one of the famous double Fairlie steam engines - "Merddin Emrys" for a ride that is typically rocky in places. The terrain changes from the wide open "Cob" at Porthmadog, to the fertile wooded valley in the vale of Ffestiniog and the Snowdonia National Park, to the slate capital of Wales itself, Blaenau Ffestiniog. Within the first mile of the former LNWR line, on board a class 101 DMU, we pass amongst the old mine and quarry workings and enter the 2¼ mile long Ffestiniog tunnel. At the end of the tunnel is the wild and remote Lledr valley. After Betws-y-coed the line levels out and we dash along the Conwy Valley to Llandudno Junction, on the Holyhead main line. Finally, we traverse the three mile long double track branch to Llandudno, in 1991 still block-worked with semaphore signals. Filmed in 1992

This video begins at Stanmore, having been opened by the Metropolitan Railway but subsequently taken over by the Bakerloo. After four stations, we join the multiple tracks of the Metropolitan and Chiltern Lines. At Finchley Road the old cast iron Bakerloo tunnel section begins and with additional lighting you will see the tunnels in the best possible light. At Baker Street, the Jubilee proper starts, with the original opening to Charing Cross as recently as 1979. As this is a Video 125 production we couldn't avoid the temptation of seeing what has become of the old Jubilee terminus, now abandoned but still retained in the event of an emergency. Our train then diverges at Green Park and takes the new Jubilee line extension through Waterloo and Docklands.

This Driver's eye view is the South West Trains service for London Waterloo. Calling at Earley, Winnersh Triangle, Winnersh, Wokingham, Bracknell, Martins Heron, Ascot, Sunningdale, Virginia Water, Egham, Staines, Feltham, Twickenham, Richmond, Clapham Junction and London Waterloo. This is the service from Reading. This train is formed of eight coaches. This busy commuter line has a minimum half hourly service throughout the day including Sundays. Almost all the trains are formed of Alstom Junipers and we follow ours from three signal boxes. Surprisingly, Wokingham signal box is still operated from a traditional lever frame. Our train is then passed to Feltham power 'box. From Richmond, control passes to Wimbledon PSB which takes our train all the way into Waterloo. This Driver's eye view was filmed in the summer sunshine of 2013.

This is the original Driver's eye view filmed in 1992 from 1962 stock trains, still operating with crews of two, one of the very last years of train guards on the Underground. It was also one of the last years of the Ongar branch.

The Welsh Highland narrow gauge steam railway runs from coast to coast through the mountains of the Snowdonia National Park, and what better way of seeing it than from one of the Beyer Garratt steam engines. This is more than just a Driver's eye view. With cameras mounted on the buffer beam and around the cab, we can see the line and the scenery even better than the driver does. Our ride begins at Caernarfon close to the famous castle, venue of the investiture of Charles the Prince of Wales. We not only see the railway from the locomotive, but also from the stations, the trackside, the carriages and even from the air. The 25 miles of scenic line was only reopened throughout in 2011 and Arfon Haines Davies's narration gives all the fascinating facts and chequered history of the line. This is your chance to see this magnificent route as never before.

Since 2007, Eurostar high-speed passenger trains have been running over HS1 into London St Pancras International. All services transferred there with the completion of High Speed One - the UK’s first high-speed railway line (running between the Channel Tunnel and London). Prior to that, from 1994 to 2007 Eurostar trains ran over the former Southern Railway lines into Waterloo International. In 2004, Video 125 produced a Driver’s eye view of the route from Paris Gare du Nord via Lille and the Channel Tunnel and the first section of HS1 but running into London Waterloo International via Fawkham Junction. As Video 125 produced a NEW Driver’s eye view in 2007 showing the current line into St Pancras International (from Brussels Midi) we withdrew the Waterloo production from sale.

We see virtually the whole of Brunel’s route from Exeter St David’s to Newton Abbot including the notorious seaside section at Dawlish. From there we head inland to Totnes, over the infamous banks at Dainton and Rattery, through Ivybridge on the very edge of Dartmoor and into Plymouth itself. We finish with a driver’s eye view of the Royal Albert Bridge at Saltash. Filmed in 1986 just weeks before the semaphore signals were abolished for ever.

Dingwall to Wick and Thurso