Railman

Berlin: Symphony of a Great City

September 1927 •German

A day in the city of Berlin, which experienced an industrial boom in the 1920s, and still provides an insight into the living and working conditions at that time. Germany had just recovered a little from the worst consequences of the First World War, the great economic crisis was still a few years away and Hitler was not yet an issue at the time.

Wish Us Luck

March 2013 •Thai

A one-month-journey of twin sisters from London back to their home, Bangkok, by train. They traveled via the famous trans-Siberian route through many countries such as Germany, Russia, Mongolia and China, with many stories to tell.

The Station

January 1952 •Italian

A day in the life of a train station.

TGV Paris-Bordeaux, la ligne de tous les records

November 2021 •French

The Great Train Robbery

October 2012 •English

It was one of the greatest heists in British history. £3 million – worth over £40 million today – stolen from a moving train by a gang of thieves who almost got away with it.

A&C to S

June 2014 •English

As the modernisation of London Underground continues, long serving A-Stock and C-Stock trains have been withdrawn from service, and their differing characters will slowly become a memory. London Transport Museum commissioned Geoff Marshall to record the transition between old and new trains.

Trains of Thoughts

December 2012 •English

An audio-visual essay, which reflects upon & compares metro systems around the world. It is an exploration of a world inside the world as well as feelings, fascination, obsession, fear and themes - of survival, control & silence.

3rd Ave. El

January 1955 •English

Impressionistic picture of the Third Avenue Elevated Railway in Manhattan, New York City, before it was demolished. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2010.

Christmas with the Desert Children

January 1974 •English

A short documentary about Father Christmas' annual six-day trek through the Australian desert aboard the Tea and Sugar Train.

The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat

June 1896 •French

A group of people are standing along the platform of a railway station in La Ciotat, waiting for a train. One is seen coming, at some distance, and eventually stops at the platform. Doors of the railway-cars open and attendants help passengers off and on. Popular legend has it that, when this film was shown, the first-night audience fled the café in terror, fearing being run over by the "approaching" train. This legend has since been identified as promotional embellishment, though there is evidence to suggest that people were astounded at the capabilities of the Lumières' cinématographe.

Zugkraft mit Strom – Die Hightech-E-Lok

July 2022 •German

A Train Arrives at the Station

January 2016 •English

“This film was a gift to me. I make no claims for it, nor do I offer any apologies. It comes from work on The Thoughts That Once We Had. There was one shot we had to cut whose loss I particularly regretted. It was a shot of a train pulling into Tokyo Station from Ozu’s The Only Son (1936). So I decided to make a film around this shot, an anthology of train arrivals. It comprises 26 scenes or shots from movies, 1904-2015. It has a simple serial structure: each black & white sequence in the first half rhymes with a color sequence in the second half. Thus the first shot and the final shot show trains arriving at stations in Japan from a low camera height. In the first shot (The Only Son), the train moves toward the right; in the last shot, it moves toward the left. A bullet train has replaced a steam locomotive. So after all these years, I’ve made another structural film, although that was not my original intention.”

The White Pass Journey

April 2017 •English

Includes all new footage which captures the WP&YR experience and history from Skagway, Alaska to Fraser, B.C. and from Fraser, B.C. to Carcross, Yukon. Fully narrated with insights and historical context.

Trains: Two Centuries of Innovation

February 2017 •French

Nearly 200 years ago, the train revolutionized our lives. It redrew the maps of states and nations, and changed concepts of distance and time like no other invention before. What visionaries imagined the development of the railroad? How did we get from the first chugging locomotives to the smooth giants of speed we see today? How does France's extensive rail network keep running smoothly, 24/7?

Gare du Nord : La Plus Grande Gare d'Europe

July 2018 •French

Best of Video Track 73 & 74

September 2020 •English

Class 31s in Kent, Last 31s on Bedford to Bletchley line, Scottish 117 DMUs, Last 37s on China Clay in West Country, Freightliner 66s, Class 92s on West Coast duties, Yarmouth loco haulage, West Coast convoys with 37s, 73s and 31s, Sandite Class 37s, Welsh Rugby Specials, Dumfries Diversions, Class 66s News, Deltic and ‘Ixion’ specials, Bo’Ness Preservation, Dereham Anniversary, ‘Hastings’ unit on Yarmouth Special,Class 56s in decline with Ketton Cement, 56007 on engineers, Class 37 variety with double heading on steel workings, Sandite 37s, Freight News with Norfolk Freight, Green 101 unit, Double headed 37s on MGR and Baglan Bay Tanks, Freightliner 66s, Eurostars on test on ECML, Royal Train, Modernisation on Cromer Branch, ‘Crompton’ Special, West Somerset Autumn Gala, ‘Hastings’ unit, Extra trains to Rugby International at Cardiff with Deltic.

Strangers for the Day

January 1962 •English

This short documentary shows the reactions of European immigrants as they land in Halifax at the beginning of the 1960s. From the port, we follow them on a snowy journey by train to Montreal.

When Giants Roamed: The Golden Age of Steam

January 2005 •English

In the first half of the 20th century, America's railroads were radically transformed by the innovation of gargantuan steam locomotives. Pushed by the need to haul ever longer and heavier trains, the nation's locomotive works responded with the invention of awe-inspiring articulated engines. Delivering up to 7,500 horsepower, these steel behemoths could haul mile-long, 15,000-ton trains. In this riveting program, journey back to the golden age of steam for an up-close look at these legendary locomotives. See the Union Pacific's famed "Big Boy" in action and ride the rails of the Chesapeake & Ohio and Norfolk & Western railways. Meet the men who drove engines like the Allegheny and Yellowstone, and visit the museums and yards where the largest steamers ever built remain preserved in time. THE HISTORY CHANNEL' proudly presents this rollicking retrospective, sure to set any rail fan's heart pounding

Engineering Tragedy: The Ashtabula Train Disaster

December 2022 •English

The Ashtabula train disaster and bridge collapse was the worst train disaster of the 19th century, claiming the lives of 97 people. The engineering and structural failures that caused the collapse of a bridge that stood for over a decade, also took down the most luxurious train of the day, “The Pacific Express #5.” The accident happened in Ashtabula, Ohio on December 29, 1876 during a raging blizzard, sending the luxury train crashing 70-feet into a river gorge and costing the lives of 97 people. The disaster shocked the nation, yet it’s a story that’s been lost in the pages of history. In a strange twist of fate and intrigue, the bridge disaster also became the backdrop to the still unsolved murder of Charles Collins, the railroad’s chief engineer. It also contributed to the eventual suicide of millionaire Amasa Stone, the president of the railroad and the designer and builder of the bridge.

The World's Most Famous Train

December 2015 •English

During its nine-month-long season, the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express makes over 60 journeys, covering 150,000 kilometres, with the majority of trips between London and Venice. The train is comprised of 17 unique 1920s carriages that have transported a host of elite individuals across Italy, Switzerland, and Turkey for more than a century. This documentary follows the stories of the staff and passengers as the train makes its way across Europe, with some customers having paid more than £2,000 for the privilege.