Branch Lines of Warwickshire DVD

Description

Due to an abundance of footage, we have decided to make a double DVD feature for Branch Lines of Warwickshire, with a total running time of over two and a half hours!

1st Take’s ever popular series of films on the Branch Lines of England now reaches the very heart of the country, as we explore the old railways of Warwickshire with railway historian and author Colin Maggs.

Although many lines eventually became part of the Great Western Railway (GWR), some belonged to the London, Midland & Scottish (LMS) network.

They were constructed between the early 19th century and the first quarter of the 20th, performing a wide variety of roles.

Towards the north is the London & Birmingham Railway, later became part of the London & North Western Railway, and other routes included the Midland Railway’s main line in the area, which ran from Bristol and Gloucester through Birmingham to Derby.

You will discover how and why they were built and, providing comparisons with rare historic photographs, we visit the scenes as they are today.

Our tour extends from the bustling big cities of Birmingham and Coventry to delightful remote rural stations, and encompasses listed Victorian buildings, stunning viaducts, and a line which was crossed by the longest canal aqueduct in England.

There is a comprehensive feature on the history of railways in the area around Stratford-upon-Avon, which is enhanced by a visit to the town’s railway museum.

Other branches featured include those from:

Water Orton to Streetly, the Kingsbury branch, the Stonebridge Junction Railway, Monument Lane to Harborne, Kenilworth to Berkswell, Coventry to Nuneaton, Rugby to Leamington and Warwick, Flecknoe to Marton Junction, Studley and Astwood Bank to Salford Priors, Wilmcote to Shirley and Bearley to Alcester.

We also take a ride on the Shakespeare Express, a steam-hauled train which runs in each direction from Birmingham Snow Hill to Stratford on a line which may well have been lost forever, but for the defiant campaign to save it.

In addition we visit the charming Echills Wood Miniature Railway.

This special tour of Warwickshire, based on the book by Colin Maggs, is packed with interviews, fascinating location film, maps and excerpts of wonderful colour archive footage.

Colour and black/white.

Approx. 160 minutes (on two discs).

This DVD is being sold on behalf of and with full permission of the copyright owner – 1st Take.