Railway films

[Philip]

Two interesting railway films from the 1950s, the first detailing what happens when there is an accident and the second a ride on a DMU.

Do people miss the days of trains of character, porters, railway staff wearing caps and suits, proper signals and signal boxes? It all looked very mellow back then. Being able to see into and out from the driver/guard cab is also a good thing that is missed now.

 

[Ashley Hill]

Without looking (old phone) they look like Mishap and Diesel Train Ride Both films are if course staged. Mishap was carefully planned and looked to be using genuine staff. If it were a real incident I doubt they'd be so calm. Diesel Train Ride of course is a publicity film so life will look rosy for those showing their enjoyment of the modern DMU. Some of the footage from this film also appears in Diesel Train Driver in B/W form.
I hope these were the films or I shall look silly!
I suppose that's why people go to preserved lines to re-live or experience the past.

 

[WesternLancer]

Two interesting railway films from the 1950s, the first detailing what happens when there is an accident and the second a ride on a DMU.

Do people miss the days of trains of character, porters, railway staff wearing caps and suits, proper signals and signal boxes? It all looked very mellow back then. Being able to see into and out from the driver/guard cab is also a good thing that is missed now.

2 more excellent BTF films on youtube there - thanks for posting.

Mishap is a staff training film

If you have not seen it before this is worth a look - the webpage does not open with direct URLs but if you look under 'Films' you can look them up - the entry for Diesel Train Ride includes filming location info

British Transport Films

 

[John Webb]

"Mishap" is a BR training film from 1958 and as Ashley Hill says, was staged as such. It was not originally meant for public release.
"Diesel Train Ride" from 1959 was a publicity film extolling the then new DMUs, and dodges about the country somewhat!
Both were released by the BFI (British Film Institute) as parts of a collection of DVDs "The British Transport Films Collection" released a decade or so ago.

 

[Philip]

2 more excellent BTF films on youtube there - thanks for posting.

Mishap is a staff training film

If you have not seen it before this is worth a look - the webpage does not open with direct URLs but if you look under 'Films' you can look them up - the entry for Diesel Train Ride includes filming location info

British Transport Films

Thanks for this!

 

[tbwbear]

Wasn’t the Mishap one filmed on the ( now closed) Cheltenham to Banbury line around the tunnel towards the Cheltenham end ? That rings a bell.

There is a similar one somewhere filmed on the old S&D - training film about wrong line working.

All excellent stuff !

 

[Ashley Hill]

Wasn’t the Mishap one filmed on the ( now closed) Cheltenham to Banbury line around the tunnel towards the Cheltenham end ? That ring

One of the versions on YouTube inserts 'present' shots into the footage as the film runs.

 

[Inversnecky]

They don’t make ‘em like this chap any more: looks more like a stern headmaster to me!


This was about 1972.

Without looking (old phone) they look like Mishap and Diesel Train Ride Both films are if course staged. Mishap was carefully planned and looked to be using genuine staff.

You can see they’ve just employed a few Dutch angles on the steam engine to give the impression of a derailment.