This is indeed a brilliant video. I would even go as far as to defy any to put forward a contending rival of equal invigorating footage for any other London railway terminus. They all had as much activity some like the Southern with their steam somewhat diminished with suburban and express emus, but even making allowance for this it seems doubtful any could reward the viewer with such a satisfying example of beautiful footage. But why not, for each had more or less a similar number of trains? Of course, the Great Western was a great railway company for steam, and a superbly individual organisation too leading at times one to wonder whether the other three of the Big Four had more in common with each other than with the GWR. Or can it be reduced to the perfection obtained by this film’s creator ie could he have produced similar brilliance at other London termini? Personally, I find it not easy to imagine so. But I most certainly wish it were so! And I raise my glass to the Great Western: thanks for the memory, for it was worth it!
My first visit there in the early fifties left me with the image of two grimy 5700 pannier tanks at the buffers having brought coaches in, and blowing off very,very loudly.
Does anyone remember the model Great Western loco - King or Castle? - that stood beneath a glass case in the forecourt inviting pennies to the slot to see the movement for perhaps thirty seconds? I often wonder became of it and indeed what its purpose was if only to see its wheels turn and the coupling rods too. This must have been during the 1940s.
Pendennis castle is currently at didcot and it’s no longer mainline certified it’s now only be used for running around didcot railway centre and of course allowed to visit heritage lines around the uk
Fantastic video and thanks for uploading. By the way, I hope you don't mind me suggesting that you look up "de-interlacing".... it would eliminate the combing effect.
The UK did well with steam. We should have had overhead wires spreading out from the Capital and cross country by the mid 1930s but the 1923 Grouping stopped that!
Ian Allan special the driver was Alf Perfect and the fireman was Brain Green they failed because the fire bars melted and when interviewed the driver said I could have cryed
Inside valve gear was largely a case of tradition but the GWR did get a bit complacent after Churchward, when he resigned they had the best engines in the world and under collet saw no need to really innovate. Maybe without nationalisation Hawksworth could’ve brought modernisation but who knows
The 1960s was a dreadful decade with the Beeching closures and with that British Railways was never the same again. There were too many Beeching closures leaving a fragmented and dysfunctional railway network across the country.
Interesting how the GW is much greater represented today in preservation thanks to Dai Woodhams wise thinking, rest his soul which proves BR got peanuts from scrap sales in the 60s.
Besides wasting perfectly good quality locos in open scrapyards. One of the ugliest episodes in BR history that produced such sad images few want to remember today.
Hi, I'm interested in licensing your footage for an upcoming UK TV programme, on the channel Dave, following the journey of a GWR 1501 being transferred from Severn Valley Railway to South Devon Railway. I think your footage would look great in the show and you would be credited at the end of the episode. If you're interested, please contact me at paris.wilder@back2back.tv. Thanks!
