- published: 28 Jan 2017
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British Transport Films was an organisation set up in 1949 to make documentary films on the general subject of British transport. Its work included internal training films, travelogues (extolling the virtues of places that could be visited via the British transport system - mostly by rail), and "industrial films" (as they were called) promoting the progress of Britain's railway network.
It was headed by Edgar Anstey until 1974, and from then until its demise by John W. Shepherd. Initially it made films mostly for the British Transport Commission, but after that organisation was broken up in 1963 the majority of its films were for the British Railways Board. However it also made films for London Transport, the British Waterways Board, the travel company Thomas Cook & Son and the coach company Thomas Tilling.
Many of the unit's films celebrated the running of Britain's nationalised railway network; early titles such as Train Time, Elizabethan Express and Snowdrift at Bleath Gill aimed to document and celebrate the achievements and hard work of railway staff and their machinery. Others documented a particular aspect of running a railway, for example running a station as seen in This is York and later Terminus.
British may refer to:
Transport or transportation is the movement of people, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles and operations. Transport is important because it enables trade between persons, which is essential for the development of civilizations.
Transport infrastructure consists of the fixed installations including roads, railways, airways, waterways, canals and pipelines and terminals such as airports, railway stations, bus stations, warehouses, trucking terminals, refueling depots (including fueling docks and fuel stations) and seaports. Terminals may be used both for interchange of passengers and cargo and for maintenance.
Vehicles traveling on these networks may include automobiles, bicycles, buses, trains, trucks, people, helicopters, watercraft, spacecraft and aircraft. Operations deal with the way the vehicles are operated, and the procedures set for this purpose including financing, legalities and policies. In the transport industry, operations and ownership of infrastructure can be either public or private, depending on the country and mode.
Take the High Road (renamed to High Road from 1994 to 2003) was a British soap opera produced by Scottish Television, set in the fictional village of Glendarroch (exteriors were filmed in the real-life village of Luss on the banks of Loch Lomond), which started in February 1980 as an ITV daytime soap opera, and was dropped by most stations in the 1990s, although Scottish Television, Grampian Television, Border Television and Ulster Television continued to screen the programme until the last episode. The programme has developed a cult following.
ITV wished to have a Scottish soap for its daytime line up. At the time the only soap made by STV was Garnock Way, which ITV companies in the rest of the United Kingdom had no interest in, as they wished to have a soap, in their words, “with Scotch Lochs, Hills and purple heather”, a more tartan feel to the show. In late 1979, (partly because of an ITV strike at the time) Garnock Way was axed and production started on a new soap.
The High Road is the second studio album by American singer JoJo, released on October 17, 2006 by Da Family Entertainment, Blackground Records, and Universal Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during late 2005 to mid-2006 in California, New York City, Miami, and Atlanta. Lyrical themes involve relationships, young love, break-ups, forgiveness, self-acceptance, and faith. It features an eclectic array of styles, such as pop, alternative rock, and hip hop soul.
The High Road debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 with 108,000 copies sold in its first week. It also peaked at number 12 on the Canadian Albums Chart and at number 24 on the UK Singles Chart. The album received gold certifications in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, and has sold three million copies worldwide.
Three singles were released from the album. The lead single, "Too Little Too Late", peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming JoJo's highest-peaking single on the chart, while reaching the top 10 in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, and the UK. The second single, "How to Touch a Girl", was released on November 14, 2006 in the US. "Anything" was released as the album's third and final single on May 7, 2007, reaching number 18 in Ireland and number 21 in the UK.
VHS edited by British Film Institute. Digitally Remastered. 1) ELIZABETHAN EXPRESS. 1954/b&w; (00:21) 2) SNOWDRIFT AT BLEATH GILL. 1955/b&w; (19:53) 3) TRAIN TIME 1952/b&w; (29:31) 4) FORWARD TO FIRST PRINCIPLES. 1966/colour (58:04) Following the nationalisation of transport in 1948, the British Trasport Commission set up its own in-house film production and distribution system to cater for all the requirements of the various undertakings, such as Bristish Railways, London Transport, Docks and Inland Waterways, British Transport Hotels, and certain bus and road haulage companies. Launched on 1st May, 1949, and led for 2 years by Edgar Anstey OBE (one of the pioneers of the British Documentary Film), it became one of the largest industrial film units in Britain. The range and quality of the f...
A film showing a day in the life of York Station in 1953. When I was a young man working for British Rail I used to show this film as a BR projectionist (princely sum of £5 per visit!) to Women's Institute groups, etc.
The classic British Transport Films production about a cycle excursion to the Midlands, from 1955. I thought it needed a higher-resolution upload.
The story of how newspapers were distributed during the Blitz, stressing the importance of an accurate and objective press on the home front. Digitised from the collection of the Imperial War Museum. Narrated by American journalist Merrill Mueller, this film tribute follows the daily newspaper chain of delivery, kept alive through the dedication of those responsible for its circulation. Even under the strain of relentless bombing, readers are kept informed about wartime developments, helping to keep a check on hearsay and the spread of negative propaganda. The IWM Film Archive is the oldest film archive in the UK, holding over 20,000 hours of film, video and digital material and covering the two World Wars and all conflicts involving British or Commonwealth Forces since the start of the ...
Road Transport Midlands. A lorry laden with pallets and empty crates leaves the British Road Services depot, pan across depot showing red lorries parked in rows and warehouse buildings. Another two lorries leave - their model insignia - 'Guy' clearly visible. A lorry driver and foreman (wearing a suit) walk up to a lorry, lorry departs depot, small yellow crane-truck seen in background. Lorry pulls out of depot onto a main road. View from the cab of the lorry of wide main road in a suburban area showing a few cars and a bus approaching. Lorry approaches, lots of pylons and power lines in the background, a Morris Minor car drives by, tall streetlamps line the single-lane road. Morning sunshine reflects on the wet surface of a tree-lined suburban road. A Triumph Herald car reverses out of ...
Part 2 of 4 of this nostalgic haulage movie from British Transport Films - They Take The High Road. Following the lives of various drivers and transport crew in 1959 in Scotland. Featuring the daily delivery of sacks of cement from Killin railway station to the site of the new Giorra Dam at Loch Daimh Perthshire. Watch all four parts for the complete story.
British Transport Films Collection Vol5 Off The Beaten Track They Take The High Road. More info on Trucksplanet.com
A look at domestic and export locomotives constructed by British railway industries. This film made available courtesy the UK National Archives - http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk S88TV1 - Transport, technology, the best of British steam and general interest movies from the past - newsreels, documentaries & publicity films from the Prelinger Archives, NASA, US & UK National Archives and other "Last of the giants" public domain film sources.
British Transport Films Collection Vol5 Off The Beaten Track They Take The High Road. More info on TrucksPlanet.com
Part 1 of 2; 1952 British Transport Film "Journey To The Sea". telling the story of a British Road Service Atkinson with drag trailer's journey from the North of England via Preston, Chester and Welshpool to a boatyard somewhere on the Welsh coast, possibly Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, to deliver a ships / trawlers propeller. Including a stop at a greasy spoon cafe and a breakdown caused by an incident involving a horse drawn Romany caravan!
The modernisation of British Rail in the 1960s. Uploaded for educational purposes.
Our railways were built by giants. Richard Trevethick, George and Robert Stephenson, Isombard Kingdom Brunel and George Hudson, they were citizens of the world. As their inventions took shape, mercifully, they could never have foreseen the end. Their creations seemed everlasting symbols of power. Great locomotives became famous as the heroes of myth and legend, and were so named; King Arthur, Nelson, Columbine, and Flying Scott. Now, they are a legend themselves. The age of steam has passed but its tumultuous vision was caught in this film, made in 1963, just a few years before the vision faded. ----------- Gran vídeo, un excepcional documental de 1963 que nos narra las evoluciones del vapor desde su nacimiento hasta su agónica muerte a manos del soplete. Gran calidad de imagen -en blanco...
British Transport Films Collection Vol7 - Age Of The Train - The Finishing Line Remember These Films are Old and Not Upto date but they are Just as impacting if not better then our modern Dont Walk the tracks Rubbish
A collection of short films showing various means of transport in Britain, including trains, trucks (lorries), cars, ferries and buses. . CharlieDeanArchives - Archive footage from the 20th century making history come alive!
Made by British Transport Films in 1950, Berth 24 is a semi-dramatised account of the discharge and turnaround of the Swedish steamer S.S. Bravo at the Port of Hull. from the BFI website (www.screenonline.org.uk): 'The film's primary purpose is to depict the dockyard's various operations (a recurring visual motif consists of vertiginous shots of planks, barrels and crates being swung aloft by frail-looking cranes and cables), and does this through the eyes of two principal characters. 'One is George Moore, the foreman, whose job is to assemble a crew and ensure they perform the work as quickly and efficiently as possible, and the other is an unnamed Swedish passenger, played by Richard Huson, who travels over from Gothenburg to purchase farming machinery, but is so taken with a prize bu...
VHS edited by British Film Institute. Digitally Remastered. 1) ELIZABETHAN EXPRESS. 1954/b&w; (00:21) 2) SNOWDRIFT AT BLEATH GILL. 1955/b&w; (19:53) 3) TRAIN TIME 1952/b&w; (29:31) 4) FORWARD TO FIRST PRINCIPLES. 1966/colour (58:04) Following the nationalisation of transport in 1948, the British Trasport Commission set up its own in-house film production and distribution system to cater for all the requirements of the various undertakings, such as Bristish Railways, London Transport, Docks and Inland Waterways, British Transport Hotels, and certain bus and road haulage companies. Launched on 1st May, 1949, and led for 2 years by Edgar Anstey OBE (one of the pioneers of the British Documentary Film), it became one of the largest industrial film units in Britain. The range and quality of the f...
A film showing a day in the life of York Station in 1953. When I was a young man working for British Rail I used to show this film as a BR projectionist (princely sum of £5 per visit!) to Women's Institute groups, etc.
The classic British Transport Films production about a cycle excursion to the Midlands, from 1955. I thought it needed a higher-resolution upload.
The story of how newspapers were distributed during the Blitz, stressing the importance of an accurate and objective press on the home front. Digitised from the collection of the Imperial War Museum. Narrated by American journalist Merrill Mueller, this film tribute follows the daily newspaper chain of delivery, kept alive through the dedication of those responsible for its circulation. Even under the strain of relentless bombing, readers are kept informed about wartime developments, helping to keep a check on hearsay and the spread of negative propaganda. The IWM Film Archive is the oldest film archive in the UK, holding over 20,000 hours of film, video and digital material and covering the two World Wars and all conflicts involving British or Commonwealth Forces since the start of the ...
Road Transport Midlands. A lorry laden with pallets and empty crates leaves the British Road Services depot, pan across depot showing red lorries parked in rows and warehouse buildings. Another two lorries leave - their model insignia - 'Guy' clearly visible. A lorry driver and foreman (wearing a suit) walk up to a lorry, lorry departs depot, small yellow crane-truck seen in background. Lorry pulls out of depot onto a main road. View from the cab of the lorry of wide main road in a suburban area showing a few cars and a bus approaching. Lorry approaches, lots of pylons and power lines in the background, a Morris Minor car drives by, tall streetlamps line the single-lane road. Morning sunshine reflects on the wet surface of a tree-lined suburban road. A Triumph Herald car reverses out of ...
Part 2 of 4 of this nostalgic haulage movie from British Transport Films - They Take The High Road. Following the lives of various drivers and transport crew in 1959 in Scotland. Featuring the daily delivery of sacks of cement from Killin railway station to the site of the new Giorra Dam at Loch Daimh Perthshire. Watch all four parts for the complete story.
British Transport Films Collection Vol5 Off The Beaten Track They Take The High Road. More info on Trucksplanet.com
A look at domestic and export locomotives constructed by British railway industries. This film made available courtesy the UK National Archives - http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk S88TV1 - Transport, technology, the best of British steam and general interest movies from the past - newsreels, documentaries & publicity films from the Prelinger Archives, NASA, US & UK National Archives and other "Last of the giants" public domain film sources.
British Transport Films Collection Vol5 Off The Beaten Track They Take The High Road. More info on TrucksPlanet.com
Part 1 of 2; 1952 British Transport Film "Journey To The Sea". telling the story of a British Road Service Atkinson with drag trailer's journey from the North of England via Preston, Chester and Welshpool to a boatyard somewhere on the Welsh coast, possibly Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, to deliver a ships / trawlers propeller. Including a stop at a greasy spoon cafe and a breakdown caused by an incident involving a horse drawn Romany caravan!
The modernisation of British Rail in the 1960s. Uploaded for educational purposes.
Our railways were built by giants. Richard Trevethick, George and Robert Stephenson, Isombard Kingdom Brunel and George Hudson, they were citizens of the world. As their inventions took shape, mercifully, they could never have foreseen the end. Their creations seemed everlasting symbols of power. Great locomotives became famous as the heroes of myth and legend, and were so named; King Arthur, Nelson, Columbine, and Flying Scott. Now, they are a legend themselves. The age of steam has passed but its tumultuous vision was caught in this film, made in 1963, just a few years before the vision faded. ----------- Gran vídeo, un excepcional documental de 1963 que nos narra las evoluciones del vapor desde su nacimiento hasta su agónica muerte a manos del soplete. Gran calidad de imagen -en blanco...
British Transport Films Collection Vol7 - Age Of The Train - The Finishing Line Remember These Films are Old and Not Upto date but they are Just as impacting if not better then our modern Dont Walk the tracks Rubbish
A collection of short films showing various means of transport in Britain, including trains, trucks (lorries), cars, ferries and buses. . CharlieDeanArchives - Archive footage from the 20th century making history come alive!
Made by British Transport Films in 1950, Berth 24 is a semi-dramatised account of the discharge and turnaround of the Swedish steamer S.S. Bravo at the Port of Hull. from the BFI website (www.screenonline.org.uk): 'The film's primary purpose is to depict the dockyard's various operations (a recurring visual motif consists of vertiginous shots of planks, barrels and crates being swung aloft by frail-looking cranes and cables), and does this through the eyes of two principal characters. 'One is George Moore, the foreman, whose job is to assemble a crew and ensure they perform the work as quickly and efficiently as possible, and the other is an unnamed Swedish passenger, played by Richard Huson, who travels over from Gothenburg to purchase farming machinery, but is so taken with a prize bu...
VHS edited by British Film Institute. Digitally Remastered. 1) ELIZABETHAN EXPRESS. 1954/b&w; (00:21) 2) SNOWDRIFT AT BLEATH GILL. 1955/b&w; (19:53) 3) TRAIN TIME 1952/b&w; (29:31) 4) FORWARD TO FIRST PRINCIPLES. 1966/colour (58:04) Following the nationalisation of transport in 1948, the British Trasport Commission set up its own in-house film production and distribution system to cater for all the requirements of the various undertakings, such as Bristish Railways, London Transport, Docks and Inland Waterways, British Transport Hotels, and certain bus and road haulage companies. Launched on 1st May, 1949, and led for 2 years by Edgar Anstey OBE (one of the pioneers of the British Documentary Film), it became one of the largest industrial film units in Britain. The range and quality of the f...
A film showing a day in the life of York Station in 1953. When I was a young man working for British Rail I used to show this film as a BR projectionist (princely sum of £5 per visit!) to Women's Institute groups, etc.
Our railways were built by giants. Richard Trevethick, George and Robert Stephenson, Isombard Kingdom Brunel and George Hudson, they were citizens of the world. As their inventions took shape, mercifully, they could never have foreseen the end. Their creations seemed everlasting symbols of power. Great locomotives became famous as the heroes of myth and legend, and were so named; King Arthur, Nelson, Columbine, and Flying Scott. Now, they are a legend themselves. The age of steam has passed but its tumultuous vision was caught in this film, made in 1963, just a few years before the vision faded. ----------- Gran vídeo, un excepcional documental de 1963 que nos narra las evoluciones del vapor desde su nacimiento hasta su agónica muerte a manos del soplete. Gran calidad de imagen -en blanco...
A collection of short films showing various means of transport in Britain, including trains, trucks (lorries), cars, ferries and buses. . CharlieDeanArchives - Archive footage from the 20th century making history come alive!
British Transport Films was launched in 1949 as the Films Section of former British Transport Commission to produce staff instruction, documentary and travel promotion films. Led for many tears by Edgar Anstey, one of the pioneers of the British Documentary film, their products have won many awards over the years, both in Britain and Abroad. Over a century and a half ago Britain invented the steam engine and introduced a new transport system. THE DRIVING FORCE (1966, colour) (00:16) By the late 1950’s there were over 15000 steam locomotives serving the British Rail network. During the next decade new technology produced diesel and electric motive power to replace them. This 1966 film shows the transition from steam to the new forms on motive power and its effects on railwaymen and passenge...
see also Somerset Steam Loco Driver Colin Forse Memories RIP ASLEF - Yatton, Strawberry line http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awetFcELrCo Work In Progress (1951) 25 minutes - and available to buy here http://www.amazon.co.uk/British-Transport-Films-Collection-Reshaping/dp/B000IMVMHU If you enjoyed this do please see this highly recommended page analysing the powers behind the Beeching Cuts - IMO it was the Oil Industry and Tory Transport minister Ernest Marples, as well as an orchestrated rail strike in the run up to the 1955 general election that destroyed Britain's top notch transport system. We have to bite the bullet, grasp the nettle and get Britain back to its pre 1955 Socialist/Capitalist balanced state. To do that we need to nationalise the banks & clean up the Treasury but that's ...
British Film Industry (BFI) | The British Transport Films Collection | Volume 8 | Points and Aspects | 1974
This is a film from British Transport Films made for British Waterways in 1968. Canals for commerce and pleasure are promoted along with angling. The film can be downloaded at http://canal.eavb.co.uk
A superbly detailed account by three railway enthusiasts of the Settle to Carlisle line which is now so famous but was, perhaps, almost unknown to those outside the area until this film won a 'Ten Best Award' organised by the magazine Amateur Cine World in 1964. When the Awards show was presented at the National Film Theatre, it was decided that it was too long to show in full, so an 18 minute extract was prepared and screened to great acclaim. Although the full version was shown later at the NFT, there is now some doubt as to whether the full version still survives. (this is it though! - ed) Shot on 16mm Bolex camera, the full film covered the whole line from Settle, to Horton-in-Ribblesdale, Ribblehead, Dent, Garsdale, Kirkby Stephen West, Appleby, Appleby West, Culgaith, Armathwaite, Co...
Groundwork for Progress is a straightforward survey of the preparatory work involved in laying new lines, with some impressive sequences showing the . 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 . (French audio) LE MAGAZINE DU RAIL N°21 - les techniques de porte a porte Door-to-Door Techniques shows demonstrations of modern railway cargo .
A film by the British Transport Film Unit released in 1956. The film shows aspects of life in the Isle of Wight that would appeal to tourists and shows how rural the Island was at the time. This 16mm print is in Technicolor and has been restored to it's original colour rendition which has taken many hours to achieve. The film lasts for 24 minutes and has a spoken commentary by Ralph Wightman and Uffa Fox. Featured in the film is Wolverton Manor from the start.
W latach 1949 -- 1982 wytwórnia „British Transport Films" produkowała około 1000 filmów na temat kolejnictwa w Wielkiej Brytanii. Wytwórnia ta była własnością Brytyjskiej Kolei Państwowej i jest wielce zasłużona dla promocji kolei. Przedstawiamy dwa ciekawe filmy: „Śnieg" z 1963 roku oraz „Pociąg Męki" z 1969 roku. Between 1949 -- 1982 wytwórnia „British Transport Films" produced about 1000 films on British Rail. This film company was owned by British State Rail and has great achievements for promotion of rail. We present two of their films: "Snow" from 1963 and "The Pain Train" from 1969. Zwischen 1949 -- 1982 produzierte die Filmgesellschaft „British Transport Films" etwa 1000 Filme zur britischen Eisenbahn. Die Gesellschaft gehörte der Britischen Staatsbahn und hat sich um die Promot...
We revisit Britain's railways during the era of nationalisation. For all its bad reputation today, the old British Rail boldly transformed a decayed, war-torn Victorian transport network into a system fit for the 20th century. With an eye firmly on the future, steam made way for diesel and electric, new modern stations like Euston were built, and Britain's first high-speed trains introduced. Made with unique access to the British Transport Films archive, this is a warm corrective to the myth of the bad old days of rail, but even it can't hide from the horror that was a British Rail sandwich.
1951 - British Transport Film Directed by: Michael Clarke The film starts on the Woodhead Route where a century-old tunnel is replaced by a new one. Farther north, Argyllshire is the scene of an experiment in co-ordinated road haulage service. At March Whitemoor Yard in Cambridgeshire, marshalling of goods wagons is being speeded by radio. In Bristol bus operators are analysing the problems of congestion that apply to most modern cities. The famous Golden Arrow runs between London and Dover
The Fish Run - 1950s Haulage. Archive footage of the then most arduous road transport run in Britain; the 700 mile round trip from Aberdeen to Manchester with fresh fish. https://youtu.be/Vyn-Yosuf2w The C.A.V Company devopled a new diesel injector pump which was trailled over two years and 250 thousand miles on 'The Fish Run'. A fasicinating and charming post-war film about life in the 1950s haulage industrry, before the days of articulated lorries, motorways and traffic jams. The Way It Was - The Fish Run - Grampian TV Documentary talking about the film Gerry Davis https://youtu.be/TX3krYsti98 In the 1980s and '90s Grampian TV ran a series called the Way It Was, where presenter Gerry Davis ran a clip from an old film about Scotland and talked about it in a contemporary context. I've...
British Transport Films Collection Vol7 - Age Of The Train - The Finishing Line Remember These Films are Old and Not Upto date but they are Just as impacting if not better then our modern Dont Walk the tracks Rubbish
VHS edited by British Film Institute. Digitally Remastered. 1) THIS IS YORK. 1953/b&w; (00:20) 2) FARMER MOVING SOUTH. 1952/b&w; (20:27) 3) YORKSHIRE SANDS 1955/colour (36:41) 4) NORTH TO THE DALES. 1962/colour (50:36) 5) FULLY FITTED FREIGHT. 1957/b&w; (01:08:58) Following the nationalisation of transport in 1948, the British Transport Commission set up its own in-house film production and distribution system to cater for all the requirements of the various undertakings, such as British Railways, London Transport, Docks and Inland Waterways, British Transport Hotels, and certain bus and road haulage companies. Launched on 1st May, 1949, and led for 2 years by Edgar Anstey OBE (one of the pioneers of the British Documentary Film), it became one of the largest industrial film units in Britain...
One of a handfull of films that were saved from the demolition rubble following a fire at the engineering dept building at Exeter St Davids. We have cleaned and repaired these survivors and are making telecine copies for posting online, We would be pleased to hear from anybody who can tell us more about these films