TV News

The Golden Age of Steam.

Episode 1 of 2
BBC4 Monday 10th December at 2100

Duration: 1 hour

Two-part documentary telling the remarkable story of a band of visionaries
who rescued some of the little narrow gauge railways that once served Britain's
industries. These small railways and the steam engines that ran on them were
once the driving force of Britain's mines, quarries, factories and docks. Then,
as they disappeared after 1945, volunteers set to work to bring the lines and
the steam engines back to life and started a movement which spread throughout
the world. Their home movies tell the story of how they helped millions
reconnect with a past they thought had gone forever.

 

Filming for some of the programme took place on the Talyllyn earlier this year and the BBC website had former Chief Engineer John Bate as the picture earlier today
BBC Four - The Golden Age of Steam Railways, Small is Beautiful

 

Missed this last night so just watched it via the link above. Some great footage in the program.

 

I particulary enjoyed the section on the Cadeby Light Railway and the Rev. Teddy Boston - it was good to show that Railway Preservation does not always have to be deadly serious (in contrast to the interview with Allan Garraway).

Suprised the BBC did not recognise Rev. Wilbert Awdry in the Cadeby cine footage! I would imagine it would have been great fun to have gone on one of those famous gricing trips with Messrs Awdry, Boston and Ivo Peters.

 

Me too. I pointed out the Thin Clergyman and the Fat Clergyman to my wife, who said she really enjoyed the programme.

 

Yes, it was the Cadeby bit that "came alive" for me rather than the rest of the programme, aided perhaps by memories of a night spent in Cadeby Rectory when I was woken up at dawn by an inquisitive cat! They might have given Jenny Agutter a few tips about Welsh pronunciation I feel.

Through Teddy Boston I got to know Ivo Peters and did go on one gricing trip but to Merehead quarry rather than the narrow gauge. By that time he had exchanged the Bentley for a BMW which I was quite unable to keep up with, but then I was not the erstwhile driver of an Alfa-Romeo Monza!

PH

 

I was pleasantly surprised at a tiny sequence of an 0-4-0ST crossing the river at Tutbury with a very new-looking Nestlé factory in the background. This only two miles from home and only the piers now remain.

 

CADEBY LIGHT RAILWAY RULES & REGULATIONS

...it has been found that these four rules are adaquate for safe and efficient operation:

1) At all times when the locomotive is moving under its own steam a 'passed driver' must be on the footplate.
2) When passengers are being carried the brake on the guards van must be manned by a qualified person.
3) Them that gets it off gets it on.
4) Them that makes a suggestion gets given the job.

Rev. E.R. Boston.

Simplicity!

 

As usual, not available in the US of A

 

Try this for the Teddy Boston film - it's a brilliant period piece. Ray.


East Anglian Film Archive: About Anglia: Rev. Boston's Railway, 1963

 

This is actually better than the recent programme.

Paul H.

 

The one major omission as far as personalities are concerened on the section featuring the FR deviation was Bunny Lewis, the Deviation Site Manager who died on April 28th 2006.

He was a top bloke.

 

Available Light, the independent production company responsible, has enough material for a four part series but the BBC wouldn't buy it so a lot of stuff remains on the cutting room floor.

 

What a shame. Perhaps they could be convinced to do a 'directors cut' on DVD?

That said, we ought to be grateful that the BBC has shown 2 hours of footage about railway preservation! I think someone at BBC4 likes trains (there was series of programmes in 2008 as well if I recall correctly....).

 

When BBC4 first had its golden age of steam night in 2008 with Ian Hislop on railways and the Tornado documentary it got its highest ratings to that point. So from a BBC4 perspective steam trains sell, though I imagine its like Top Gear, something the management tolerate but don't like.The BARB figures for these recent shows haven't been released. Will be interesting to see what they were.

 

It has been suggested to me that there is a "gender issue" in the way that the BBC commission programmes.

Emma Swain, Controller, Knowledge (Documentaries etc come under Knowledge)
Helen Blenkinsop, Commissioning Management, Head of Network Supply

See BBC - Commissioning TV - Who we are

And BBC - Commissioning TV - How we commission is the way it is supposed to work.

But as Francis Urquhart would say, "I couldn't possibly comment.".

 

You mean there are 11 men listed on the 'who we are' page, and 6 women. Your point being ...?

 

BARB viewing figures for the NG ep of Golden Age: 1.2 million people watched Monday and the Wednesday repeat, making it the most popular BBC4 show of the week.

 

Two women have primary management responsibility for documentaries. It is a plausible hypothesis that they are less sympathetic to commissioning programmes about the history of preserved steam railways.