The Train Now Departing - EP 1 The Long Drag (1988) 

The theme music for this is so haunting and so appropriate - to me it just suggests "ending".

Watched this as a 13 year old. Watching this as if I watched it yesterday. Still amazing to see.

Very good production. Looks very similar to The Settle and Carlisle that I edited in 1983 at Border TV. Happy Days.

the opening Shot was filmed by the Late, Great Ivo Peters at Low Gill. Its on the old 'Little' North Western Line from there to the 'Other' Clapham Junction. The train in it is a Ballast Train, filmed after the line had been Closed to Regular traffic in 1964. You can still see the old viaduct from the M6 motorway and the West Coast Main Line.

Wow I used to have these on video as a child (born 1985) I watched them endlessly as a child. It’s amazing to see it pop up on my feed, thanks and subbed!!

What a superb series this was ! Remember it so well - thank you for sharing, watching it again after all these years brought back so many memories for me ........... Thank god for Michael Portillo .........

Watched this as a ten year old child fascinated by railways. Excellent series. Now I am a train driver in Scotland, living the dream, railways forever!

How I love this piece of film! Thank you.

Fantastic watching this again, this line is a national monument alongside of Hadrian's Wall and Durham Cathedral; it should go on and on...

I simply love trains. Best means of transport - comfortable and least damage to the environment. It's got rhythm and vitality, yes. These people ought to appreciate the infrastructure which is already there. This is a beautiful documentary.

Although I didn't work for the railways, I had a lot to do with the staff of all grades. I was told that the Ribblehead Viaduct needed repair and it was going to cost over £1m. The Chinese whispers started among BR staff. Suddenly it was £2m then "over £2m" and soon it reached the sum of £7m just to repair the viaduct. I don't know how much Laing charged BR to bring it up to standard, but I believe it was below the original estimate of "over £1m"

Brilliant video my dad worked on the aisgill box and dent head also 👍 in the steam days .

For those who are interested the Blea Moor signalman’s house is up for sale. It needs a LOT of work doing to it. Water has to be tankered up, electricity from windmill and generator, cooking with Calor Gas, heating with multi fuel stove, no vehicular access unless you pay the farmer £125.00 per year and then only with a 4 x 4. Yorkshire 3 Peaks trail comes right past the front door and is always very, very busy with hikers. Yours for £250,000.00 March 2023.

Settle to Carlisle line remains open, and thriving in 2024, with Blear Moor signal box still manned 24/7 365 days a year...... Trains passing over Ribble Head viaduct are now restricted to 30 mph, in order to preserve the integrity of the viaduct.

Gosh, I didn't recognise Adrian! Still going strong although much greyer now.

Hello all. This is the song played in the beginning. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-mWOGeE0b5T8.html

omg this music just hit me in the feels, I forgot about this show. thank you posting. 😥

This brought back so many memories, I fired this loco, 4498, and driven it;'s sister 60009. The shots in the tunnel on the footplate are a flashback of my railway life, Happy days!

The viaduct in the opening titles actually linked all the way across to settle junction.

Great to find. I had the pleasure of meeting some of these older retired (and some now passed on) staff whilst I worked as a signalman on The Ling Drag at Settle Jn, Blea Moor, Garsdale and Kirkby Stephen.

This is an epic piece of filmmaking, and I especially enjoyed this episode from the series. Thanks for sharing it. (Incidentally, for anyone who may be wondering, the music is called „Bare necessities“ from the Album „English country dances“ by Bare Necessities)

Michael Portillo may not have had many fans as a politician, but it was he who refused BR permission to close the line as Transport Secretary.

Thanks for this. It is great watching it and knowing that, for once, people power worked and that the whole idea of closing the line (using the same time-worn excuses used by Beeching) was proven to be utter fallacy.

Great to see this series again, which reminded me that I still have boxed Video set, may have to explain to youngsters what a ‘Video’ is lol.

I've found it!!! My dad had an episode of this recorded from TV onto VHS in the late 80s (I was about 7). I liked this theme tune and it has stuck with me note for note for nearly 30 years. But the video has long since gone and I never knew the name of the documentary. Thanks for sharing!

I wonder if that minister has any idea of how loathsome he sounds with his "class" accent among the people who actually work for a living?

Thank you for posting this, sheer magic

As an American, I would love to have traveled on this railway. This is an excellent example of history needing to be seen in the future for those not knowing of the past and the effort it took to get to this presence. Keep this video alive and well for all to see and hear!!!! Thanks for caring to share this video.

According to the BBC Genome website, this series got repeated about 4 times during the early-mid 90s. Does anyone know if the Train Now Departing series was ever shown on Channel 4? specifically during the Going Loco season in Sept 1990?.

The opening scene with the train slowly disappearing and the sad music, it is almost too much. How could this country have been so short sighted?

A present from my grandmother in 1951: a English Signal Box with a Semaphore. Now in front of me on a bookshelf. All is left from early ages. Today I was in the Dutch town of Brielle; On the first of april 1572 the English an Dutch navy kicked the Spanish army out of town. In 1920 there was a station of the the RTM railway. The RTM is gone and the station is a Chineese take away. The railway track is gone; now there is a dubble lane for the bus.

It was terrible how Railways were treated by Government after 1979. Thatcher and her clan hated railways, and their Unions. But she was proved to be massively wrong, when traffic used the S & C line, when wires were down on the WCML.

It is just sad that there are no Inter-City services on this main line. Leeds and Carlisle are cities, after all. According to British Rail, Inter-City trains have to serve London.

It’s not often I congratulate myself about anything, but at the age of 38 I VHS’d all editions of this programme, including this one, and am I glad I did? I still have the tapes, and they are valuable additions to my old VHS library, as they would be to any guy who was weaned on steam.

Great days, trouble is there are other forces trying to take England away from us.

Sir Nigel gresley 4498

Excellent film the S&C is certainly the most beautiful in England remaining but the Midland line now gone in the Peaks was the most beautiful of all.

Lovely Series. One questions though; Where was the opening shot of the steam hauled freight taken that appears in the opening sequence?

Britain's pride and glory of the railway kind, across the hilly backbone spine of northern England. Each time I travel the route I spy something different which I missed previously, so much varying variety of scenery and sights to view, is quite remarkable to think of the great effort put in to create it, that we may ride its route in comfort and style, most of us who don't even bat an eyelid whilst travelling its length. Truly one of the best of British victorian engineering feats.

A steam locomotive is at its best when it's working hard uphill With a long heavy train behind it

Hi any idea what the theme music is called from the start please thanks

glad that the lines friends won the line is now booming and ribblehead viaduct was repaierd and steam trains still do excursions so nice to see old videos like these

whot make,s you obsolete !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, them do !!!!!!!!!!!.

Living Settle so pleased that this line is still open and busy. God send to us locals.

The Train Now Departing - EP 1 The Long Drag (1988)

12:05 - A Border Collie that herds trains!

Thank you so much!

Hi, Do you know where the opening is filmed? The bit was where the line is no more.

Excellent.

🙂🚂🚂🚂

Is this not now the North Yorkshire moors heritage line?

Do you have any more episodes? I really love this series.