Movies: British Transport Films

  • 1963
    Snow

    Snow (1963)

    Snow

    6.21963HD

    Comprising train and track footage quickly shot just before a heavy winter's snowfall was melting, the multi-award-winning classic that emerged from the cutting-room compresses British Rail's dedication to blizzard-battling into a thrilling eight-min...

    Snow
  • 1961
    Terminus

    Terminus (1961)

    Terminus

    7.01961HD

    This fly on the wall-style documentary from 1961 won an Oscar for best documentary, and shows the changing patterns of human emotions during 24 hours in the life of Waterloo Station....

    Terminus
  • 1977
    The Finishing Line

    The Finishing Line (1977)

    The Finishing Line

    5.61977HD

    When a schoolboy's day-dream of a fantasy sports day includes events where acts of vandalism and trespass are required, dire consequences ensue. Originally created as an educational film, this somewhat surrealist short has a serious message at its co...

    The Finishing Line
  • 2010
    London's Railways in the 1960s

    London's Railways in the 1960s (2010)

    London's Railways in the 1960s

    02010HD

    The British Railways modernisation programme of the 1960s radically changed the rail network, and the British Transport Films unit and the TV news were there to capture it. Compiled here is never before released colour footage of Southern steam at Wa...

    London's Railways in the 1960s
  • 1969
    How They Dug the Victoria Line

    How They Dug the Victoria Line (1969)

    How They Dug the Victoria Line

    01969HD

    First transmitted in 1969, this documentary follows the construction of the world’s most advanced underground system. Macdonald Hastings narrates the story of one of the most complex tunnel engineering feats of its time. He reveals the isolation felt...

    How They Dug the Victoria Line
  • 1979
    Robbie

    Robbie (1979)

    Robbie

    61979HD

    Young Robbie, a keen footballer and a railway enthusiast, is persuaded by his big brother to go through a hole in a railway fence on to the track for some reason. His laces become caught on the tracks and he has an accident so serious that he will ne...

    Robbie
  • 1969
    Rail Report 9: Top Levels of Transport

    Rail Report 9: Top Levels of Transport (1969)

    Rail Report 9: Top Levels of Transport

    01969HD

    Report No. 9 in a series of 13 topical films, covering: Euston; ships - Freightliner II, Antrim Princess; container handling Parkeston Quay; Merry-go-round coal trains; permanent way lining and tamping machine; off loading cable troughing; strengthen...

    Rail Report 9: Top Levels of Transport
  • 1974
    Points and Aspects

    Points and Aspects (1974)

    Points and Aspects

    01974HD

    The re-signalling of 1000 track miles from the River Weaver to the Clyde brings the whole line from London to Glasgow under one system of push-button control and colour light signals, and completes the main line electrification. The film follows the ...

    Points and Aspects
  • 1970
    People in Railways

    People in Railways (1970)

    People in Railways

    01970HD

    A compilation film about the complex railway systems of Great Britain, demonstrating the work and individual responsibilities of many departments....

    People in Railways
  • 1963
    Thirty Million Letters

    Thirty Million Letters (1963)

    Thirty Million Letters

    5.81963HD

    Thirty Million Letters is a 1963 short documentary film directed by James Ritchie and made by British Transport Films. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short....

    Thirty Million Letters
  • 1954
    Elizabethan Express

    Elizabethan Express (1954)

    Elizabethan Express

    61954HD

    Originally intended as an advertising short, this film follows The Elizabethan, a non-stop British Railways service from London to Edinburgh along the East Coast Main Line. A nostalgic record of the halcyon years of steam on British Railways and the ...

    Elizabethan Express
  • 1957
    Holiday

    Holiday (1957)

    Holiday

    6.71957HD

    Lively holiday in Blackpool, with jazz accompaniment....

    Holiday
  • 1967
    Rail

    Rail (1967)

    Rail

    7.31967HD

    "Rail" captures British Railways at a major turning-point in its history. In certain respects, this was a period of considerable upheaval and loss. There was a facing-up to the increasing need for a big modernisation drive. Full and speedy electrific...

    Rail
  • 1966
    The Driving Force

    The Driving Force (1966)

    The Driving Force

    91966HD

    Britain operates the most experienced diesel and electric railway in tne world. A century and a half ago she invented the steam engine and introduced a new system of transport; and in only nine years British Rail and the British locomotive industry d...

    The Driving Force
  • 1953
    The Elephant Will Never Forget

    The Elephant Will Never Forget (1953)

    The Elephant Will Never Forget

    51953HD

    A fond farewell to London's trams - whose peculiarly endearing qualities were discovered only at the threat of their disappearance....

    The Elephant Will Never Forget
  • 1956
    A Day of One's Own

    A Day of One's Own (1956)

    A Day of One's Own

    61956HD

    A random selection of housewives around the UK take a day off from their traditional domestic chores....

    A Day of One's Own
  • 1952
    Ocean Terminal

    Ocean Terminal (1952)

    Ocean Terminal

    61952HD

    Southampton, a deep-water port with four tides a day, is an ocean terminal for the world's largest liners. Their coming and going, and the people who work with them are the subject of this film as they reflect in their personal lives some of the dram...

    Ocean Terminal
  • 1965
    Wild Wings

    Wild Wings (1965)

    Wild Wings

    61965HD

    Exploration of the Slimbridge Wild Fowl Trust in Gloucestershire, England, which boasts the largest collection of living wild fowl in the world....

    Wild Wings
  • 1952
    Channel Islands

    Channel Islands (1952)

    Channel Islands

    01952HD

    The Channel Islands have had a varied and exciting history. Jersey and Guernsey are ideal places for holidays. Jersey offers a wide variety of attractive bays for sport and relaxation; Guernsey still preserves something of an eighteenth-century atmos...

    Channel Islands
  • 1957
    Every Valley

    Every Valley (1957)

    Every Valley

    71957HD

    A look at the transport system in the South Wales Valleys and how it effects peoples livelihoods and everyday lives....

    Every Valley