BritishTransportFilms

The operating procedures necessary for protection on a double track in the event of a mishap to a train which fouls the opposite line. The film also illustrates steps to be taken by station staff in such an emergency, and then shows how normal working is resumed.

Not quite a British Transport Film production but worthy of inclusion on the channel.. John Betjeman gives a guided tour of the Metropolitan Line from Baker Street in London to Verney Junction in Buckinghamshire, and of architecture of the suburbs and villages that grew up along its length since the line was opened in the 1890s.

Deals with the St. Christopher's, a Transport Commission home for the children of railway servants.

Donald Houston plays a Welshman who tells the story of what it's like to live in small town Wales and how the train service helps.

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.

A BTF BBC East Anglia co production from 1962, John Betjeman goes on a train journey from King's Lynn to Hunstanton in Norfolk, extolling the pleasures of traveling on a rural branch line.

A journey 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.

This is the story of the founding and development of the BRS General Haulage trunk services. Through the eyes of a driver who has been on the road for 30 years we see the development of the services and the introduction of the latest ideas and equipment, including radio control of vehicles, sea-going ferries, the BRS teleprinter network and the building of 'glass' lorries. The story ends in the evening when the 'trunkers' report for duty at Hampstead depot to take their vehicles off once more on the long night haul to the North.

impression, from daybreak to midnight, of the life of the industrial valleys of South Wales centred on Pontypridd and of the growing part played in that life by bus and railway. The free verse spoken by Donald Houston acts as a link on the sound-track between various arias, choruses and orchestral interludes from Handel's Messiah sung by the Pontarddulais Choir that utter their own comment, lyrical, ironic or humorous, upon the pictures of Welsh life and landscape that they accompany. Director:

This film comes via CinestarVisuals The weekly cycle of operations covers pre-assembling of new sections at the depot, the removal of old track from the site and its replacement by new. Timing is arranged to cause least interference to the running of trains. The film also shows measuring up on the site and how the data is employed as the basis of pre-assembly. There is a version of this film for public audiences under the title Making Tracks.

Based on instructional material, this film explains the preparation and procedures for the operation of a then modern AC electric locomotive, also taking in diesel haulage and shots of steam traction. The opening sequence features an early use of the double-arrow BR logo.

Set in Scotland, this film tells the story of four British Road Services drivers who lived and worked together for two years, loading and transporting 20,000 tons of cement in seven-and-a-half-ton loads up craggy mountain roads from the little railway station at Killin to the new Giorra Dam. The job relies on hard, conscientious work, team spirit and the support of BRS’s nationwide organisation. The idea of living with one’s colleagues for two years in a coach at the local railway station is unheard of in the modern commuting world, and the feats achieved in this film make spectacular viewing, with tiny lorries hauling sacks of cement weighing several tons up fantastic Scottish mountain tracks. Many of the haulage scenes are ‘edge of seat’ viewing, as the sheer drop over the side of the road implies potential disaster. Shot in Technicolor, They Take the High Road is one of the few films made by BTF for British Road Services while under the guise of the British Transport Commission.

The 51,000 miles of railway lines in Britain, over 1,800 miles are renewed every year. No longer is each rail manhandled by the men of the permanent way. Mobile cranes remove the old track, complete with sleepers, and replace it with prefabricated lengths. This has made the work less arduous, and the period during which the line is closed to traffic is considerably shortened. This account of the work as seen from the point of view of the crane inspector is a version for public audiences of the staff instructional film Mechanised Renewal of Plain Line.

In this British Transport Films production we follow an SMT coach tour from Edinburgh to the Highlands. The route taken meets the Highlands at Killin, and then goes over Rannoch Moor and through Glencoe to Ben Nevis, the entrance to the Great Glen. Here we meet the West Highland railway line, and follow it on its journey through the Bonnie Prince Charlie country to Mallaig. Returning to the Great Glen we rejoin the coach route out through the Glen Foyne and Glen Shiel to the Kyle of Lochalsh, and take the ferry over to Skye.

If a passenger journey is romantic and evocative, a freight service is purely utilitarian - but also vital to the successful running of the economy. Here, an express freight train links manufacturers with their customers at the other end of Britain. This film shows how an express freight train links manufacturers with their customers at the other end of Britain. The fast-moving fully-fitted freight train, the 4.48pm Bristol to Leeds provides a typical example of merchandise being transported at high speed by British Railways. We learn something, too, about the men who do the work as well as the goods they handle.

A classic British Transport Film from 1952, a dramatised depiction of a day in the life of Southampton Docks showing the drama and romance in the lives of those working at the Docks

A training film from British Transport Films for British Railways showing the best ways for staff to handle parcels traffic.

A great wee rarer, short training film from British Transport Films for British Railways that demonstrates the correct method of loading and handling various types of freight carried on British Railways daily.

A British Transport Films Travelouge, Two visitors enjoying Scotland, an enthusiastic but inexperienced golfer improving on the world's greatest courses; his wife exploring spectacular places visited by the first known lady golfer in history - Mary, Queen of Scots. The commentary of Scot's actor Andrew Crawford links romantic past with sporting present in a film which captures the flavour of the country and its national game. This film won the Gold Camera Award at the 1973 US Industrial Film Festival, Chicago,

A British Transport Film extolling the virtues of the omnibus and its varied uses as rural and city Transport.

Marks an era of rail advancement in Scotland 1979/80, in both passenger and freight markets. For showing to opinion formers in local government, and potential customers. A film, narrated by actor Iain Cuthbertson, setting out a plan for an integrated road and rail transport structure in Scotland, to make it a modern, efficient country while keeping it "a land fit for folk to live in".

Lost, stolen, damaged - the £2,000,000 a year problem of claims against British Railways is debated. Railwaymen, transport police and businessmen put their different points of view.

A classic From British Transport Films about what and what not to do when handling parcels traffic on the railways. Staff instructional film

A British Transport Films production for British Railways, a training film for gangers and men who worked the line and how to maintain railway line at points, crossovers etc.

A British Transport Films production for British Railways, a training film for gangers and men who worked the line and how to maintain plain railway line.