Abandoned Railways from Above,new C4 series.

[Spartacus]

7/10 score intially -reduced to 3 by the end. Too much time wasted in endlessly showing you the map , and hyping up the "value" of traffic - not surprised that the flow of several milk tankers a day , and some bundles of cloth compared to the operating costs and infrastructure caused the lines demise. Largest settlement of 2,000 in Lampeter and a trickle of visitors to the impressive remains at Strata Florida.

Annoying and superfluous "tooting" of trains in the narrative.

Apart from that - some very fine colour archive film.

A green desert of territory - as far as population density is concerned. A billion or so to restore ? ....

I know the route very well having family along it and it's very obvious that restoration of a route that never operated at profit, through a sparsely populated area, with many population centres away from the line, already with pretty decent bus links that are no slower than a reopened line would be, serve the towns themselves, not a remote station, and require no significant infrastructure investment, which is very windy and slow, and would be very hard to make any better, is a complete basketcase. It's just crayoning in because some people would rather not go by rail via England or take the bus.

Ironically the bypass isn't quite the impediment it first looks, there is JUST room for a line, though a handful of houses very close might have to go, but not one thing about the line is a good case for reopening other than most of the formation still existing.

I'm actually quite glad people are seeing the folly of rebuilding it, too often when I've criticised the plans people don't really get just how bad a case for reopening it has.

 

[Edgeley]

I take it no one watched the 3rd episode on the Scarborough to Whitby line then?

I did, and I enjoyed it. I think the series gives a reasonable overview (metaphorically and literally) of the lines it covers. There is more railway content than a Portillo programme which would have him getting off a train and then heading to the kitchen of a local restaurant. We need to bear in mind that TV programmes are aimed at a general audience; there's plenty of stuff on YouTube if you want an anorak fix.

 

[Bishopstone]

I am watching every week and quite enjoying it.

In terms of production values, it feels - no doubt unfairly - like something assembled in large part by AI. Notably the narration, mapping and generic tone.

If I was told the interviews with local notables were also conducted by an unmanned drone, flown down to Lampeter from a new media outfit based in a warehouse in Walthamstow, armed with a list of questions…. then I wouldn’t be surprised.

 

[kwrail]

Watched the first two episodes. Some really good footage, especially the Ivo Peters film and many of the interviews. I get the need to appeal to a wider audience than us anoraks, but the commentary is aimed at 7 year olds. I am starting to count the number of times I hear the words 'Our Line' and it is getting really irritating.

 

[TheTallOne]

I'm glad I'm not the only one irritated by "our line"

 

[SLC001]

I am enjoying the series and not being an anarak type, it probably appeals more to me than those whose interest is in railways. However, the series looks what it needs to be, a cheap production which appeals to as broad a group as possible with the script derived from Wikipedia entries. The west Wales program made me chuckle. £1bn to restore the line and that is possibly based on the last study in 2018? I guess with inflation, the cost of materials etc., that will be much, much higher. And we have a national budget deficit of just £20bn! Credibility is lost introducing items like that as a realistic possibility. Nevertheless, the programme is really pleasing showing a part of the country I have never visited.

 

[geoffk]

The programme on York - Hull had a lot about George Hudson and at one point his legacy was compared with that of Boris Johnson and Donald Trump - a bit unfair on Hudson I thought as at least he achieved something of value, even though his business methods ultimately led to his downfall. Again the somewhat unrealistic idea of reopening the line was given coverage. Also the existence of an alternative route from York to Hull was never mentioned.

 

[simonw]

I think the less one knows about the particular railway the better the programme may seem as one learns about the line.

As a result the S&D was poor for me, and York to Hull quite interesting.

 

[SLC001]

Was it Rob Bell who did the York to Hull route on one of his walks? Therefore this latest episode was repeating much of the route and of course the story about George Hudson. However, it was more sympathetic towards him, a different and imho balanced analysis.
I enjoyed the episode and as usual followed it on Railmap online.

 

[Peter Sarf]

Was it Rob Bell who did the York to Hull route on one of his walks? Therefore this latest episode was repeating much of the route and of course the story about George Hudson. However, it was more sympathetic towards him, a different and imho balanced analysis.
I enjoyed the episode and as usual followed it on Railmap online.

These days we all love a rogue apparently ?.

By being open minded and not expecting railway perfection I find this series bearable to interesting.

 

[Ashley Hill]

The trouble is that it has descended into 40% about the railway concerned and 60% about things near the line that are not necessarily railway connected.

 

[Peter Sarf]

The trouble is that it has descended into 40% about the railway concerned and 60% about things near the line that are not necessarily railway connected.

Still better than a lot of the alternative programs. EastEnders anybody ?.

 

[co-tr-paul]

Actually enjoyed this week's Waverley route !

 

[DDB]

Overall the series has convinced me that Beeching was often right! It makes me cross that money is being wasted even pretending to look into reopening some of these routes that carried noone even when they were open, have tunnels that are soaking wet and are so pretty because they go through countryside where no lives to this day! We should be getting on with reopening/opening lines from big towns to allow them to join the network.

 

[geoffk]

Actually enjoyed this week's Waverley route !

The interview with David Steel was interesting as he was on the last train in 1969 and also one of the first to ride on the reopened line. I didn't realise he was still alive.

 

[Ashley Hill]

Actually enjoyed this week's Waverley route !

Yes I agree,very interesting.

 

[DelW]

Having forgotten about it last Saturday I caught the repeat on Four-Seven yesterday evening, and I agree that the Waverley route coverage was interesting. The off-line items which are common on these travelogues were mostly related to the railway, and the footage of what's left of Riccarton, and the military facilities, and of the surviving viaducts, were particularly interesting to me.

Overall I've enjoyed the series despite odd niggles, and considering they were made for a mainstream channel they had a decent railway content. I wonder if viewing figures will be sufficient to justify a second series?

 

[TheTallOne]

If it is, can we have a different narrator next time, or at least drop all the OUR lines.

 

[75A]

If there as another series i'd give it another go, but please please a different voice.

 

[eastwestdivide]

If it is, can we have a different narrator next time, or at least drop all the OUR lines.

What's wrong with 'our' ? Seems a perfectly normal way to describe 'the line we are featuring in our programme', acknowledging that the narrator is one of a team of people.

 

[Peter Mugridge]

What's wrong with 'our' ? Seems a perfectly normal way to describe 'the line we are featuring in our programme', acknowledging that the narrator is one of a team of people.

I'd agree; if any of us was chatting to a group about a line, this would be how we would say it and that's the context in which the series was made.

A lot of other things are presented in this way on various channels.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

The interview with David Steel was interesting as he was on the last train in 1969 and also one of the first to ride on the reopened line. I didn't realise he was still alive.

Tsk, tsk! David Steel is very much alive and well and aged 86. He would have been aged just 30 on the last day of service along the Waverley Route back in January 1969.


(Pic of front cover of "Waverley Route" (2012 book) by David Spaven, featuring then MP David Steel on the cover.)

 

[Peter Sarf]

I think "this line" or "the line" is better then "our line". The narrator is making it sound like they (and the whole team) own the line !. It is so cringeworthy.

 

[Falcon1200]

I think "this line" or "the line" is better then "our line"

It doesn't sound any worse to me than 'our NHS', which politicians of all hues are now obligated to say!

I enjoyed the series, especially as per others the last episode.... and I rather like the narrator's voice too.

 

[TheTallOne]

I think "this line" or "the line" is better then "our line". The narrator is making it sound like they (and the whole team) own the line !. It is so cringeworthy.

I think it's trying to make out that we the viewers own the line. Kind of a bring us along on the journey, include us. But it's just annoying

It doesn't sound any worse to me than 'our NHS', which politicians of all hues are now obligated to say!

I enjoyed the series, especially as per others the last episode.... and I rather like the narrator's voice too.

Yeah to be fair the narrator was fine except for all the emphasis of and usage of "our line"

 

[Ashley Hill]

Perhaps a present/narrator with a passing interest in railways would have helped.

 

[eastwestdivide]

But people say ‘my home town’ without being mayor, and ‘our country’ without being king and queen, so the possessive doesn’t necessarily imply possession, so to speak!

 

[75A]

How about Tim from Secrets of the London Underground?
He'd be the perfect Presenter in my opinion.