Marsden Rail .8 Dvd: Birmingham, Part 1

Description

The Railway map of Birmingham and the West Midlands was extremely complicated, with the Midland, London North Western and Great Western Railways all vying for the area’s trade.

In this programme, filmed between 1962 and 1966, semaphore signals sprouted at every junction and station, slow moving freight trains carried vast tonnages of raw  materials as well as collecting finished goods.

Most localities still had their station in good working order with sidings and branches to serve the smallest works.

This programme looks at the disappearing scene; from the Lickey Incline in the South to the Trent Valley Line in the North and from Hatton in the East to Oxley in the West.

The main line Diesel had not invaded the area in 1963, so we see ex-LMS and ex-GWR locomotives hard at work on variety of workings, from long distance freights to the  local ‘pick-up goods’.

Between 1959 and 1968, railway enthusiast and cine-cameraman, Michael Marsden, recorded views and sounds of the rapidly changing face of Britain’s rail network.

For over twenty-five years after steam ended, he captivated audiences throughout the country with his unique film collection that captured steams’ last decade and the full emergence of the diesel locomotive.

The blending of this film and that of other cameramen with true sounds of the era, plus an informative narrative, has resulted in the creation of a superb range of railway programmes detailing the last decade of British mainline steam operations.

Approx. 55 mins.

Region 0/Region free. NTSC versions are available on request.

This dvd is being sold on behalf and with full permission of the copyright holder – Marsden Rail 2004.