Video and Film Clips

The Sutton Coldfield Railway Disaster 1955
Its 23rd January 1955. A steam train has derailed in Sutton Coldfield station killing seventeen people and badly injuring a further twenty-five persons. (1 minute 34 seconds ©British Pathe)

Trent Valley Rail Crash
Various shots of wrecked carriages piled high on rail track with men clearing away debris. The Fleetwood to London fish train smashed into a local passenger train standing in Lichfield Trent Valley station. (0 minutes 44 seconds ©British Pathe)

Aftermath Of Trent Valley Rail Crash & Air Camera Footage 1946
Various shots of the people walking around rubble at scene of Trent Valley rail crash. Men working on clearing rubble, twisted metal, wood, broken wagons, seats etc. More shots of the destruction and people at work. (3 minutes 57 seconds ©British Pathe)

Lets Go To Birmingham: By British Railway's new Diesel Luxury Blue Train
A 1962 BTF film of the journey by 'Blue Train' from Paddington station to Snow Hill which has been speeded up in the manner of the noted 'London to Brighton in 5 minutes' film. The film shows the route from the driver's perspective recording all the station's enroute. Musical background with no narration. (5 minutes 36 seconds)

Lets Go To Birmingham: Unused Film
Snippets of footage that never made it into BTF's film "Let's Go To Birmingham" 1962. It covers the GW/GC line from Greenford - Banbury. The stations include Ilmer Halt, Haddenham, Ardley, Aynho Park Platform, Aynho Junction flyover, Banbury, Northolt, Perivale, Greenford, Northolt Junction, South Ruislip, West Ruislip, Denham, Denham Golf Club, Wycombe West, Saunderton and High Wycombe. (3 minutes 22 seconds)

Railway Roundabout 1959: 'Saltley Shed 1959'
Pat Whitehouse's and John Adam's S.L.S final shed bash of 1959 was a visit to Saltley shed on Midland Railway territory in Birmingham. (3 minutes 57 seconds)

Railway Roundabout 1959: 'Barnt Green to Evesham'
Featuring one of the Midland Railway's compounds of the early 1900s travelling on the Gloucester Loop Line to Evesham and onwards to Ashchurch. (4 minutes 37 seconds)

Railway Roundabout 1959: 'The S.L.S Special To Harborne'
A S.L.S special from Birmingham New Street to Harborne along the now closed Harbourne branch. (5 minutes 15 seconds)

Building a flyover at Rugby station
Film of British Railways building the Birmingham to Trent Valley flyover at Rugby station. (1 minute 23 seconds)

Last Days of Steam: Part Three - The LMS' lines
Midland main line around Leicester, the Lickey Incline, Rugby Midland and various West Coast lineside shots in 1963. (3 minutes 16 seconds)

Last Days of Steam: Part Four - The GWR' lines
Lineside shots West Country 1960, Birmingham Snow Hill station 1962 and Western meets Southern at Oxford 1964 (4 minutes 25 seconds)

1930's LMS Absolute Block Semaphore Signalling- Part 1
LMS instructional Railway video "Sentinels of Safety" outlining the Absolute Block Signalling principle. Recorded some time in the 1930's. Features lots of LMS signal boxes and the staff that used to work them.

1930's LMS Absolute Block Semaphore Signalling- Part 2
LMS instructional Railway video "Sentinels of Safety" outlining the Absolute Block Signalling principle. Recorded some time in the 1930's. Features lots of LNWR signal boxes and the staff that used to work them. (7 minutes 32 seconds)

1930's LMS Absolute Block Semaphore Signalling- Part 3
LMS instructional Railway video "Sentinels of Safety" outlining the Absolute Block Signalling principle. Recorded some time in the 1930's. Features lots of LMS signal boxes and the staff that used to work them including Atherstone. (7 minutes 33 seconds)

LMS On the Shed - Part One of Two
Various shots of an engine being prepared and serviced ready for its next trip. Includes actions and responsibilities of crew. (9 minutes 44 seconds)

LMS On the Shed - Part Two of Two
Various shots of an engine being prepared and serviced ready for its next trip. Includes actions and responsibilities of crew. (9 minutes 31 seconds)

"Wash and Brush Up" 1953
Shows the procedures that a steam engine goes through as part of its regular maintenance cycle. The locomotive being featured in the film is a British Railways Standard Class 5MT 4-6-0 No 73020 at 6D Chester (Midland shed. (25 minutes 19 seconds)

LMS General Repair - Part One of Two
First part of an LMS film showing how a steam locomotive goes through a full overhaul in under 2 weeks in the 1930's. (15 minutes 0 seconds)

LMS General Repair - Part Two of Two
Second part of an LMS film showing how a steam locomotive goes through a full overhaul in under 2 weeks in the 1930's.

DMU Diesel Train Driver - Part One
Part One, an Introduction To The Diesel Train. A training film made in the 1950s to teach train drivers about the then new diesel multiple unit railcar trains being introduced to replace steam trains. A class 114 Derby DMU when new at Lincoln shed. (7 minutes 20 seconds).

DMU Diesel Train Driver - Part Two
Part Two, Training the driver. A 'blow by blow' guide on the procedures drivers must follow when starting up the DMU and leaving the depot. Locations include Wickenby level crossing box on the Lincoln to Market Rasen line with the train arriving at Skegness. (18 minutes 33 seconds)

DMU Diesel Train Driver - Part Three
Part Two, Dealing With Faults. An insight into the job of a driver of the early DMUs. It has the irony of the DMU being rescued by an old GER 'Claud' steam loco. Wymondham and County School Stations are seen in their 1950s glory with some immaculate uniforms about too! (35 minutes 51 seconds)

DMU Diesel Train Driver - Part Four
Part Four, Operating Requirements. The final training film dealing with the operational requirements of driving the DMU and the everyday jobs required of the driver. Coupling cars together is just one of the many procedures dealt with. (17 minutes 12 seconds)

Night Mail 1936
Night Mail is a 1936 documentary film about a LMS mail train from London to Scotland, produced by the GPO Film Unit. A poem by English poet WH Auden was specially written for it, used in the closing few minutes, as was music by Benjamin Britten. (22 minutes 39 seconds)

The 1937 Coronation Scot record run
A film of the 1937 Coronation Scot Record Run by 6220 Coronation including shots of when she leaves the fitting shops. (3 minutes 2 seconds)

Shunter Joe Black's night off - 1941
Trains & Railways during World War Two. Southern Railway worker Joe Black is enjoying an evening at home that is interrupted by a Luftwaffe raid on the marshalling yards. A train catches fire and it is up to Joe and his co-workers to save the day. (7 minutes 1 second)

The Royal Scot - Engines Must Not Enter the Potato Siding (1920s/b&w/silent)
Relive the golden age of steam with the Royal Scot in this BBC documentary film. (1 minute 17 seconds ©YFA)

Steam Trains - Everybody's Doin' It (1930s/b&w/sound)
Old locomotives steam across the countryside. (52 seconds ©BBC)

Cholera - Engines Must Not Enter the Potato Siding (1969/b&w/sound)
Twenty eight railway workers were killed by a cholera epidemic in the 1840s after working in the wild countryside above Penistone. (3 minutes 14 seconds ©BBC)

Great Central Line - Engines Must Not Enter the Potato Siding (1969/b&w/sound)
An extract from a BBC documentary film about the Great Central and Midlands lines. (1 minute 9 seconds ©BBC)

A Driver Remembers - Engines Must Not Enter the Potato Siding (1969/b&w/sound)
A train driver reminiscing about how he started working in the railways as a junior cleaner before moving his way up to driving a steam train. (1 minute 37 seconds ©BBC)

Wonders of Steam - Engines Must Not Enter the Potato Siding (1969/b&w/sound)
Relive the wonders of steam and hear engine cleaners reminiscing about the smell of the steam locomotives. Watch the rail workers arguing about the merits of steam in relation to diesel (1 minute 56 seconds ©BBC)

York Station - York Travelogue (1920s/b&w/silent)
Crowds of rail passengers at York Station in the golden years of steam travel. (29 seconds ©YFA)

Signal Workers - The Signal Works (b&w/silent)
Signal workers hammering and welding at the signals factory in York. (47 seconds ©YFA)

Inside the Signal Factory - The Signal Works (b&w/silent)
Go inside the signal works and watch the workers assembling the signal levers at the York signal factory. (2 minutes ©YFA)

Putting on Anti-Gas Suits - Mustard Gas Attacks (1939/b&w/silent)
Wartime safety on the railways and see workers dressing in anti-gas suits designed to deal with a mustard gas attack. (3 minutes 27 seconds ©YFA)

Repairing Rails - Mustard Gas Attacks (1939/b&w/silent)
Rail workers trying out different anti-gas suits. (3 minutes 36 seconds ©YFA)

Buffer Tests - Railway Workers (1939/b&w/silent)
Railway workers running safety tests on rail carriages to check the risk of derailment. (1 minute 4 seconds ©YFA)

The Depot - The Layout of Locomotive Depot Facilities (b&w/silent)
Visit York Station and watch routine maintenance work being carried out. See engines being turned around and watch the rail workers labouring in the coal depot. (1 minute 43 seconds ©YFA)

Cleaning out the Slut and the Slag - The Layout of Locomotive Depot Facilities (b&w/silent)
Locomotive maintenance workers clean out the slut and slag from engines at York Station. (2 minutes 45 seconds ©YFA)

Greasing the Engine - The Layout of Locomotive Depot Facilities (b&w/silent)
Behind the scenes at York Station, watch the railway workers greasing a steam engine." (2 minutes 26 ©YFA)

Steam and Water - The Layout of Locomotive Depot Facilities (b&w/silent)
A short film about railway workers at York Station filling up a steam engine with water. (1 minute 47 seconds ©YFA)

Steaming Ahead - The Layout of Locomotive Depot Facilities (b&w/silent)
Railway workers turn around an engine, couple it and prepare the train for a journey. Join the engine as it steams off on its journey from York. (3 minutes 38 seconds ©YFA)

Packing Sleepers - Railway Workers (1948/b&w/silent)
Railway workers lay sleepers on the tracks. The film compares this old style of putting down sleepers with new machine-based technology in the shape of the Marisa Automatic Tester. (3 minutes 33 seconds ©YFA)

Laying the Troughs - Water Troughs (1950/b&w/silent)
Railwaymen lay water troughs in the middle of railway tracks so steam engines can take water from them. (2 minutes 2 seconds ©YFA)

Laying the Lines - York Station (1928/b&w/silent)
Gangs of railway workers laying tracks at York Station in spectacular footage of major rebuilding works at the station. (3 minutes 20 seconds ©YFA)

Timetabling - Transport 1950 (1950/b&w/sound)
Railway company staff draw up new timetables for the trains. (4 minutes 38 seconds ©BBC/British Transport)

Just On Time - Transport 1950 (1950/b&w/sound)
Rail workers deal with train delays and the knock-on effects of late trains on other services. (2 minutes 51 seconds ©BBC/British Transport)

Heavy Snow - Snow On the Tracks (1947/b&w/silent)
Relive the harsh winter of 1947 with railway workers toiling on the tracks to clear heavy snow falls to enable trains to run. (2 minutes 40 seconds ©YFA)

Snow Blasting - Snow On the Tracks (1947/b&w/silent)
During the severe winter of 1947 railway lines were blocked with heavy snow and railway workers had to blast the snow away so rail services could run smoothly. (1 minute 58 seconds ©YFA)

Repairing the Damage - Snow On the Tracks (1947/b&w/silent)
Gangs of railway workers as they repair the damage to the track caused by heavy snow and flooding. (1 minute 24 seconds ©YFA)

Aftermath of Heavy Snow Falls - Snow On the Tracks (1947/b&w/silent)
Heavy snow falls in 1947 wrecked havoc on the railway lines - railwaymen worked to restore the lines and ensure that services were up and running after snow and flood damage. (2 minutes 38 seconds ©YFA)

Derailments - Safety Testing (1942/b&w/silent)
Railwaymen laying track to make accidents happen in this derailment testing film from the Second World War. (1 minute 42 seconds ©BBC)

Track Layers at Work - Laying the Tracks (1942/b&w/silent)
Railwaymen working on the tracks using new machines during the Second World War. (2 minutes 3 seconds ©BBC)

Rails Put in Place - Laying the Tracks (1942/b&w/silent)
Railwaymen laying curved sections of track during the Second World War. (1 minute 20 seconds ©BBC)

Huland's Quarry - Stone Blasting (b&w/silent)
Visit Huland's Quarry in Barnard Castle where stone was blasted for ballast for LNER railways. Watch the workers digging and filling wagons. (1 minute 53 seconds ©YFA)

Blasting - Stone Blasting (b&w/silent)
Men blasting stone for ballast at a quarry in Barnard Castle in County Durham. Take cover as the explosives are set in place, the fuse is lit and the workers shelter from the massive blast." (3 minutes 25 seconds ©YFA)

From Quarry Face to Crusher - Stone Blasting (b&w/silent)
Visit Huland's Quarry in Barnard Castle and watch the progress of the blasting stone as it makes its way from the rock face to the stone crusher. (2 minutes 6 seconds ©YFA)

Loading - Market Weighton Station (1960s/colour/sound)
A farming company loads railway trucks at Market Weighton Station. (1 minute 10 seconds ©Marsden Collection)

After Closure - Market Weighton Station (1960s/colour/sound)
The bulldozers move into to demolish Market Weighton station. (1 minute 15 seconds ©Marsden Collection)

Steam Engines - Marsden Collection (1960s/colour/sound)
Classic rail engines steam through the countryside including the Darlington K1 engine and the Flying Scotsman. (3 minutes 51 seconds ©Marsden Collection)

Engine Scrap Yard - Marsden Collection (1960s/b&w/sound)
Remnants of old trains lie around an engine scrap yard. (2 minutes 39 seconds ©Marsden Collection)

Steam Engines - Marsden Collection (1960s/colour/sound)
Steam engines relive the golden age of steam. (2 minutes 30 seconds ©Marsden Collection)

Scrap Yard - Marsden Collection (1960s/colour/sound)
The railway engine scrap yard near Barnsley was the last resting place for a wide variety of old cut-up locos. (3 minutes 39 seconds ©Marsden Collection)

Old Locos - Marsden Collection (1960s/colour/sound)
Old steam trains are scrapped and shunted around a Yorkshire rail yards. (3 minutes 13 seconds ©Marsden Collection)

Sheffield - Engines Must Not Enter the Potato Siding (1969/b&w/sound) Watch a short film about the importance of Sheffield as a railway city. A tenth of all freight once started in Sheffield and 7,300 men once worked in its railways" (2 minutes 25 seconds ©BBC)

Signal Man - Engines Must Not Enter the Potato Siding (1969/b&w/sound) Go inside the signal box with signalman Michael Gatonby and find out about one of the loneliest and busiest jobs on the railway line. (2 minutes 1 second ©BBC)

The Scotsman Revisited - Still in Steam: The Flying Scotsman (1963/colour/sound) The Flying Scotsman makes its last trip from King's Cross to Doncaster for British rail before passing over into private hands. (2 minutes 51 seconds ©Alan Pegler)

Flying Scotsman in Action - Still in Steam: The Flying Scotsman (1960s/colour/sound) The Flying Scotsman makes a special celebratory trip, demonstrating why it was king of the steam engines." (3 minutes 23 seconds ©Alan Pegler)

Journey's End - Still in Steam: The Flying Scotsman (1960s/colour/sound) The Flying Scotsman relives its glory days after its restoration by Alan Pegler and his team. (1 minute 53 seconds ©Alan Pegler)

Restoration - Still in Steam: The Flying Scotsman (1960s/colour/sound) The Flying Scotsman is restored to its former glory. (3 minutes 19 seconds ©Alan Pegler)

The Flying Scotsman Reborn - Still in Steam: The Flying Scotsman (1960s/colour/sound) The Flying Scotsman steam train is restored to full working order in Doncaster. (49 seconds ©Alan Pegler)

The Welsh Tour - Still in Steam: The Flying Scotsman (1960s/colour/sound) The Flying Scotsman takes to the rails for a commemorative tour of Wales. (2 minutes 53 seconds ©Alan Pegler)

On Tour - Still in Steam: The Flying Scotsman (1960s/colour/sound) The Flying Scotsman goes on its first public tour since its restoration. (3 minutes 2 seconds ©Alan Pegler)

Hauling the Flying Scotsman - The Flying Scotsman: USA Tour (1969/colour/sound) The Flying Scotsman goes to Liverpool Docks to be loaded aboard a ship for a journey Stateside. (4 minutes 39 seconds ©Alan Pegler)

Winching the Flying Scotsman - The Flying Scotsman: USA Tour (1969/colour/sound) The Flying Scotsman is carefully winched onto a ship at Liverpool Docks ready for a transatlantic crossing. (4 minutes 32 seconds ©Alan Pegler)

The Panda Pullman - Tender Memories (1960s/colour/sound) The Flying Scotsman steams out of London on a special UK tour. (3 minutes 10 seconds ©Alan Pegler)

Sabotage on the Scotsman - Tender Memories (1960s/colour/sound) The Flying Scotsman breaks down as it tours the country. (3 minutes 18 seconds ©Alan Pegler)

Express Run - Tender Memories (1960s/colour/sound) The Flying Scotsman breaks another speed record twice in one day. (2 minutes 50 seconds ©Alan Pegler)

Making an Advert - Tender Memories (1960s/colour/sound) The Flying Scotsman becomes a celluloid star when it stars in an advertisement. (3 minutes 10 seconds ©Alan Pegler)

The Lakes and Fells Tour - Tender Memories (1960s/colour/sound) The Flying Scotsman takes a trip to Cumbria and Yorkshire through snowy landscapes.. (3 minutes 27 seconds ©Alan Pegler)