Learning to Steam

Hauto to Pen Argyl, Pen Argyl to Bath and the Allentown, Bethlehem & Catasaqua branches.

The cement belt from Bath to Martins Creek and main line operations from Pen Argyl to Maybrook.

End of line railroad operations. Abandonment and sale of equipment, operations under the LNE Railway, Lehigh Valley, Conrail and Norfolk Southern.

A film about winter railroading in the Canadian Rockies and the men who keep the lines clear. The stretch between Revelstoke and Field, British Columbia, is a snow-choked threat to communications. The film shows the work of section hands, maintenance men, train crews and telegraph operators.

Filmed in 1987, this documentary chronicles the journey of Via Rail's The Canadian as it makes its way across Canada.

After the last train at night and before the first in the morning, 800 people are hard at work behind the scenes making London's Underground fit to travel on. Including brushing dust from ventilation ducts, ‘fluffers’ cleaning up rubbish, routine rail replacement and fixing a broken rail discovered at 3.30am.

The History of American Railroads: The Era of Diesel examines the golden age of America’s passenger railroads, traveling across the United States on legendary trains of the East, South, and West. Featuring routes such as the New York Central, Pennsylvania, B&O, Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis, Atlantic Coast Line, Rio Grande, Santa Fe, and Union Pacific, the documentary also explores the difficult transition years of the 1960s and 1970s as America’s great passenger trains made their final journeys.

1906, produced by Charles Urban, cinematography by Frank Ormiston-Smith.

First transmitted in 1969, this documentary follows the construction of the world’s most advanced underground system. Macdonald Hastings narrates the story of one of the most complex tunnel engineering feats of its time. He reveals the isolation felt by the miners who spent six years burrowing deep beneath the streets of London, shows what they did beneath one of London's most famous department stores and explains why the ground at Tottenham Court Road had to be frozen during the hottest weeks of 1966. The result is a brave new world of transport with automated trains, two way mirrors, automatic fare collection and closed-circuit television, all choreographed by a computer programme played out by an updated version of a pianola located in a control room somewhere near Euston station.

In the 1870s Victorian politicians debated the virtues of constructing a 20km-long railway through Melbourne's east, simply to circumvent a privately-owned railway from South Yarra to Flinders Street Station. By 1878 the private railway had been purchased by the Victorian Government and there was no longer a need to build the orbital railway. But greedy politicians pushed legislation through parliament, authorising the construction of the railway through their own private land holdings. This is the story of Melbourne's Outer Circle Railway.

A short documentary following two rail enthusiasts as they track a steam locomotive from station to station, and discuss what the hobby means to them.