A curious film from 1960

[Malc]

Full of good railway shots, but the banjo playing gets on my nerves. I spent many an hour on Darlington station in my youth, not train spotting, just waiting for trains. In those days Locomotion 1 was still exhibited on the platform. Shown early in the film.
http://player.bfi.org.uk/film/watch-darlington-railway-1960/#

[Bealman]

Sounds familiar... I too spent a lot of time there in me youth and can remember Locomotion parked at the end of the bay platforms.

I'm currently on the road at the moment and battery nearly flat on phone.

Looking forward to having a look! 

George

[Ditape]

The Film was good but I agree the folk music was nerve irritating.

[Newportnobby]

A great film but should have been made as a silent movie, methinks.
Thanks for that, Malc.

[Chetcombe]

Bu**er "This video is not authorized in your location"

I wonder why the BFI blocks it for us foreigners?

[D1042 Western Princess]

Maybe its because I was a railwayman but I enjoyed the film (even the music); thanks for sharing.
Glad that the songs mentioned the '8 hour day' (long ago vanished to become an 10.5 hour one*) and 'wives and girlfriends' (husbands and boyfriends too these days), who have a very poor way of life thanks to the stresses and demands of the job. Rail workers have some of the highest divorce rates in British industry because of it.

* Officially based on a '7 hour day' (35 hour week) with some turns of only 6 hours, but many, many more were longer with a maximum of 10.5 hours on FGW (for traincrew). Having said that we were only required to work a 4 day week but you were so tired after all those 9 hour 50 minute plus turns at awkward hours much of that time off was spent catching up on sleep.

Not complaining, just mentioning the realities of rail work under private ownership!

[André-NL]

Great piece of film and a nice soundtrack ( ).
Love that old footage.

The link doesn't work over here, also got the "This video is not authorized in your location".
But found it on Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qBvd-dr_o88

André

[triumphdude]

That's a great bit of footage, I loved every minute of it. Banjo and all. It was a hard life and you have to wonder what the miners were thinking when the diesel went past, Coal played a large part of the railways systems back then.

Chris

[Agrippa]

A good piece of film despite the  singing and banjoing.

[railsquid]

The banjo singing makes a change from the pompous voiceovers one gets so often on documentary films from that era. Interesting film.

[Komata]

Absolutely fascinating; thank you Malc and Andre'-NL for bringing the clip to our attention. 

However, a question arising:  At 3.51-4.20 a 'Motor Trolley' is shown.  This is one aspect of BR operations which I have never seen mentioned in any BR-related books and documents that I have perused over many years.

The 'Motor trolley' (if that is in fact it's correct designation; the Americans call similar vehicles 'Speeders', while in New Zealand we knew them as 'Jiggers') appear to have been totally overlooked in favour of the far more glamorous locomotives, wagons and other more obvious things.

On this basis, what can the membership tell me about BR 'Motor Trolleys'?

Thanks in advance.

[Bealman]

Yes, thanks.... a curious little film indeed. Didn't mind the banjo, but the corny singin' I could have done without.

Thanks for posting, although I too, could not watch the original. Thanks for the YouTube version, Andre! 

[D1042 Western Princess]

Absolutely fascinating; thank you Malc and Andre'-NL for bringing the clip to our attention. 

However, a question arising:  At 3.51-4.20 a 'Motor Trolley' is shown.  This is one aspect of BR operations which I have never seen mentioned in any BR-related books and documents that I have perused over many years.

The 'Motor trolley' (if that is in fact it's correct designation; the Americans call similar vehicles 'Speeders', while in New Zealand we knew them as 'Jiggers') appear to have been totally overlooked in favour of the far more glamorous locomotives, wagons and other more obvious things.

On this basis, what can the membership tell me about BR 'Motor Trolleys'?

Thanks in advance.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wickham_trolley

I think this will answer your question Komata.

Now here's another question - how do we motorise, and DCC/sound chip one in N?   

[railsquid]

Absolutely fascinating; thank you Malc and Andre'-NL for bringing the clip to our attention. 

However, a question arising:  At 3.51-4.20 a 'Motor Trolley' is shown.  This is one aspect of BR operations which I have never seen mentioned in any BR-related books and documents that I have perused over many years.

The 'Motor trolley' (if that is in fact it's correct designation; the Americans call similar vehicles 'Speeders', while in New Zealand we knew them as 'Jiggers') appear to have been totally overlooked in favour of the far more glamorous locomotives, wagons and other more obvious things.

On this basis, what can the membership tell me about BR 'Motor Trolleys'?

Thanks in advance.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wickham_trolley

I think this will answer your question Komata.

Now here's another question - how do we motorise, and DCC/sound chip one in N?   

Maybe one of these would make a good starting point (the one on the right, I mean )

I haven't investigated the mechanism yet, but I can tell you the cab is empty. Either that or nick the mechanism from a Kato Portram. The DCC circuitry you could simply incorporate into the body. Did these things make any sound apart from an electric whirr?

[D1042 Western Princess]

When you think British N is 1:148 because we couldn't fit the early N gauge motors into prototypes at 1:160 it makes you realise how much has improved that way.
As for using it as the basis for a Wickhams trolley though, I suppose you could (just) get away with it if the canvas sides were 'rolled down' but I'll leave that to those with better sight and more expertise than me, thanks.