VALERIE'S UK VIDEOS
RAIL & STEAM

RAIL & STEAM MORE SPECIFIC TO AN AREA, OR TOWN

a small selection from the
MARSDEN RAIL range of titles

we are proud to offer this renowned list of heritage railway titles
all in this box, MR01 - 27 are available in NTSC for +£1 extra per title. A Great Deal !
MARSDEN RAIL TITLES 27 & 28 so far, are available on DVD at same price as for Video
we're looking forward to the whole list on DVD by the end of 2004 . . . an even BETTER deal !
add just £1.50 per title for UK post & packing

. . 1959-1968 . . Enjoy the atmosphere of a busy regional railway centre in the 1960s as it copes with both passenger and freight traffic.

Features over 50 steam & 15 diesel hauled trains around York during the 1960s, complete with sound track that was recorded at the time of filming. See also the decline of steam and emergence of diesel locomotive power during the period between 1959 and 1968, plus the complicated network of trackwork and associated signalling which has been swept away in the name of progress.

. . . 14 miles north of York, on the East Coast Main Line, Pilmoor had a constant procession of freight and passenger trains passing through. Pilmoor station closed in 1950 and its platforms demolished, which allowed the laying of a new southbound slow line, quadrupling the mainline from York to Northallerton.

In this 50-minute programme enjoy the passage of over 100 trains including 65 named locomotives, the largest weight-carrying truck ever built in this country, a permanent way crane at work and a Class A4 engine hauling three condemned Class A3 locomotives.

Plodding freight locomotives and newly introduced Deltic diesels were all captured on audio tape and full colour cinefilm between 1961-1968, demonstrating the change from steam to diesel power on the East Coast Main Line.

. . . Carlisle, a major railway centre on the West Coast Main Line, was a fascinating place in the early sixties and this DVD shows the scene before the diesels arrived in force. With extensive coverage of the station and MPDs as well as the trains approaching Carlisle, all manner of steam locomotives are represented.

Additionally, trips on the Silloth and Langholm branches are featured. During this 60-minute programme over 160 engines are featured - over half of them named!

. . . built and repaired locomotives from 1863 until its closure in 1966, and most locos featured in this DVD were built or repaired in North Road Works, then run-in from Darlington shed before dispatch to their home depot. Shown hard at work on journeys they performed for over half a century, are J27s and Q6s with K1s, WDs with 9Fs performing on the Consett iron ore trains.

After looking at A1s, A3s, A4s, V2s and B1s etc. on Darlington shed and Works yard, we ride on the Richmond and Catterick Camp branches, before move cross-country to Billingham. Boarding a DMU we travel up the coast line through Hartlepool and Sunderland to watch the numerous workings from South Docks shed.

Leaving the coast line at Washington, the iron ore traffic is seen before returning to Darlington via Penshaw.

. . . 1962-1967 . . The West Midlands in the early 1960's was a hive of activity with Stourbridge Junction yards handling large tonnages of freight both into an out of the Birmingham area. Power stations were still coal fired and even the small Buildwas power station had a daily train.

To the north west, Shrewsbury handled a constant flow of passenger traffic with the Western region running London to Birkenhead services plus through trains to the Cambrian coast. In addition. Routes had to be found for north/south expresses (Liverpool and Manchester to Cardiff and Portsmouth), local branch trains and stopping trains.

The steelworks at Brymbo is visited on the way to Chester, where the heavy North Wales Coast holiday traffic is seen along with freight competing for a path through the station.

. . .1961-1968 . . steam around Carnforth, to the North of Lancaster, was certainly a great place for watching trains with over 150 passenger, parcels and empty stock workings plus 80 freight workings in a normal day.

Many freights were routed into the extensive loop systems to allow faster trains to overtake, as well as allowing crew and engine changes to take place. In this DVD you will see some of the continuous freight activity which occurred in the miles of sidings, plus express passenger and fully-braked goods trains passing through Carnforth.

The WCML from Preston to Carnforth in the early 1960's is shown in addition to scenes at Morecambe, Heysham and Wennington plus local services from Barrow and Windermere.

. . . the prosperity and the growth of it's rail network was due to the county's once extensive coalfields with many mines still open until the late 1960's, their rail traffic operated by Class J27s, Q6s and WDs steam locomotives.

In addition, superb film taken at a variety of locations shows National Coal Board locomotives hard at work. Continuing the coastal journey from Billington to Newcastle - started in Volume 4, 'Darlington'- the River Tyne is crossed before moving South on the ECML.

A narrow gauge clay-pit railway locomotive being delivered behind a traction engine is featured, together with Durham's most Westerly branchline - Weardale.

. . . The railway map of Birmingham and the west Midlands was extremely complicated with the Midland, London North Western and Great Western railways competing for traffic.

This DVD looks at the area's disappearing rail network of the 1960's, from the Lickey Incline in the south to the Trent Valley line in the north and from Hatton in the east to Oxley in the west.

. . 1962-1967 . . The Midland Route North - we see the area around Leeds, Skipton & Hellifield, with workings from Wellington & City stations, Manningham shed, Bradford's Forster Square station, Grassington Branch, Bolton Abbey & Ilkley stations.

. . . Sheffield Victoria to Nottingham Victoria - features Sheffield, Woodhouse, Sutton in Ashfield, Nottingham Victoria, Annesley & Bulwell.

. . . If you liked the ex-LNER 'Pacific' then Doncaster was the place to be! In addition to A1s, A2s, A3s and the legendary A4s, Britannias, Bullied 'Pacifics' and even an ex-LMS 'Coronation' make an appearance.

Doncaster's locomotive works - 'The Plant', and the nearby shed are visited with a wide variety of classes shown including B1s, K1s, J50s, N2s, O1s, O4s, V2s, WDs, BR 'Standards' and early diesels.

Together with lineside footage at Rossington, Hatfield and Retford, this programme is a fascinating reminder of East Coast operations in the 1960's.

. . 1957-1968 . . features rail action in and around Hull plus several other forms of transport on this archive-packed DVD.

Main line into Paragon, docks traffic, etc. In 1960, there were seven different rail routes radiating from Hull, then a prosperous port on the north bank of the Humber. This DVD programme based primarily on film taken by local cameramen, shows the once extensive rail network of the 1960's with large numbers of freight and passenger workings - mostly still steam-operated.

The city's trolley buses are featured, together with deep-sea trawlers, Humber paddle-wheel ferries, the busy docks, a local rugby match and the railway route to Withernsea.

. . . 1962-1966 . . features some of North Yorkshire's long-lost Country Branchlines, including a ride on the daily pickup goods train from Malton to Whitby in '65 on a glorious winters day.

Straight through the middle of "Heartbeat" country. Final part features a ride on a DMU from Whitby to Scarborough on the much missed Coast Line.

. . . Nottingham and Southwards. Covers the period from 1962 to 1966 and includes a look at Staveley GC shed.

Join 4472 Flying Scotsman at Nottingham Victoria on 15/6/63 and travel down the London Extension to Marylebone, pausing to look at passing traffic at Ruddingon, Leicester, Rugby and Woodford Halse.

After looking around Marylebone we commence our journey home behind Flying Scotsman and a Stanier Class 5 Loco.

. . . 36 miles north of Leeds on the former Midland railway route to Carlisle, the junction station of Hellifield was a very busy location in the late 1950's and early 60's.

Anglo-Scottish services, Heysham boat trains, local passenger services plus an endless procession of freights kept station and engine shed staff fully occupied!

Scenes at Gargrave and Bell Busk stations are also viewed as we travel on a Jubilee-hauled service from Skipton to Hellifield in 1963.

. . . 1960-1968 . . The East Yorkshire town was at the centre of a rail network linking York, Bridlington, Driffield, Beverley and Selby.

Although the main traffic was freight, the summer months witnessed many seaside excursions passing through. In addition to scenes at Market Weighton, York station, the busy Bridlington line, and Beverley with its historic North Bar also feature.

The local pick-up goods were recorded on film, before they too succumbed in the wake of the Beeching cuts, scenes of closure notices and last-day services bringing the DVD to a close. You can smell the hay . .

. . . south of the River Tyne, we start with a trip on the ECML in the cab of a Class V2, hauling freight from York to Newcastle's Tyne Yard. At Gateshead, freight trains to and from Dunston cross the King Edward Bridge en route to Tyne Dock and Sunderland, followed by scenes at Felling Station, Bolden Station and Colliery, Pontop Crossing and Tyne Dock shed.

In addition to views of numerous freight workings, the famous iron ore workings to Consett are shown in detail plus unique film taken in 1957 of a Class T1 4-8-0 tank loco rescuing a stalled freight!

. . . On the ECML, twenty miles south of Doncaster, lies the small market town of Retford, which until the 1960's was an important rail junction.

The ECML was crossed by a freight route, which carried huge amounts of coal, linking Sheffield and the West Riding of Yorkshire to East Anglia and the port of Harwich. Thrumpton (GC) and Retford (GN) engine sheds are featured together with the building of the Retford 'diveunder'.

Other locations shown are Gainsborough, Doncaster depot and works plus a journey on a steam hauled stopping train from Retford to Sheffield, where the city's Victoria Station is viewed with 1500 volt dc electric locos and the short lived Sheffield Pullman.

. . . 1961-1967 . . steam in and around Leed's three stations; Central, Wellington and New, with many suburban stations, engine sheds and goods depots.

A wonderful evocation of the city as it used to be.

. . . This programme complements Marsden Rail No 1 on York (above), but contains no film from the earlier DVD. In addition to the regular ECML traffic, more unusual traffic in around York is viewed; such as the sugar beet factory locomotive at Popplteon and the arrival of Billy Smarts Circus at Holgate cattle dock!

Filmed locations include the locosheds and workshop, Leeman Road Engineers Yard, Skelton New Yard, plus the former excursion platforms south of the station where immense volumes of traffic passed on leaving and entering York.

. . . Part 2 . . complementing No. 8 in the Marsden Rail archive DVD series.

We open at a bustling Snow Hill station, with steam much in evidence, before leaving for Stourbridge Jct. via Soho and Winson Green, Handsworth and West Smethwick. Scenes at Stourbridge are followed by a return to the industrial Midlands, where trolleybuses still occupy the streets of Wolverhampton and Low Level station is host to Halls, Patriots and newly-built 'Western' diesels.

WCML traffic at Lichfield finds Duchesses, Jubilees, and Britannias 'under the wires' in the company of blue electrics and the LMS-designed diesel no 10001, while to the north-west, Codsall, Shifnal and Shrewsbury are featured.

The Lickey Incline is also included and views at Bromsgrove emphasise the scale of the gradient and the challenge it posed to steam traction.

. . . the most famous gradient in England - over 2 miles at 1 in 37.5 - and lying between Birmingham and Gloucester, it posed major operating difficulties during the steam era when banking of northbound trains was required.

The programme begins at Stourbridge with a steam-hauled 'Carpet Special' in the station, plus views of the climb from the Town Goods Yard to the junction; followed by scenes at Kidderminster, with gravity-shunting in the extensive yards. At Worcester, the practice of combining the Hereford and Worcester portions of Paddington expresses is seen and at Ashchurch Junction main line expresses speed through as the Tewkesbury Branch train engine, a Midland Railway 3F, shunts its solitary coach.

The Lickey Incline poses few challenges to modern diesel traction, but in this programme - filmed between 1960 and 1966 - the most modern locomotives seen are British Railways Type 3 and 4 diesel designs!

However, the banking of all but the lightest of trains is why the Lickey Incline was fascinating and a range of steam classes, from the humble Jinty to the mighty 9F, are seen carrying out this arduous work.

. . . Scenes at Gloucester focus on the wide variety of services at both Eastgate and Central Stations, together with the attendant locomotive depots of Barnwood and Horton Road.

A journey to Severn Tunnel Jct. shows the now demolished Severn Rail Bridge and at Severn Tunnel Jct steam and diesel traction is featured, including a SR ‘Z’ class on the shed. Gloucester was also a port, and traffic is shown on the Gloucester and Berkeley Canal.

In addition to mainline traffic, ex-GWR autotrains are shown in the Golden Valley between Gloucester and Chalford, and railbuses are shown on branchline journeys from Kemble to Cirencester and Tetbury.

Finally, a journey to Bristol Temple Meads, with a mixture of ex-GWR and LMS locomotives on view, closes the programme.

. . . Starting at Bristol, the programme travels to Bath, the northern terminus of the 72-mile former Somerset & Dorset Joint Railway. After views at Bath Spa and Green Park Stations, and the locomotive depot the line south to Evercreech is followed, and from here the route to Glastonbury and Highbridge is traced, plus views at Wells and Witham.

Rejoining the main line, Templecombe Jct. follows, where the S&D passed under the LSWR London to Exeter route, and the complex everyday shunting movements between the Upper and Lower Stations are shown.

Following the line south, scenes at Poole, Parkstone and Branksome precede arrival at Bournemouth, and here, film of the West and Central Stations, together with the former L&SWR loco depot is complimented by street views that show the once-extensive trolley bus system.

. . . Starting at Waterloo, and filmed between 1958 and 1965, the programme follows the mainline to Exeter and Plymouth, pausing at many locations including Basingstoke, Salisbury, Templecombe, Yeovil, Axminster, Chard, Chard Central, Seaton, Sidmouth and Exeter.

After scenes at Exeter and Plymouth the rural scene is highlighted with film of Bude, Halwill Jct, Barnstaple, Padstow and Wadebridge.

. . . On 16 October 1965, the ‘Midland Loco Requiem’ railtour, headed by 43953, one of the last Midland Railway Class 4F 0-6-0s, left Nuneaton. The tour followed the ex-MR line through Shackerstone and Gresley to Burton–on–Trent, from where it took the freight-only route to Trent Junction.

Leaving north from Trent Junction the tour headed for Kirby–in–Ashfield, Mansfield and Staveley, after which it journeyed down the Bolsover and Glapwell Colliery branch. From here it ran via Chesterfield to the Erewash Valley en route to Pye Bridge and Ambergate, where filming of the tour came to an end due to failing light.

The programme also features many scenes at Derby and Nottingham, where trolley buses were still an everyday sight. The programme’s focus is on the wide variety of steam classes that still operated as the 1960s unfolded. From tank locos on the rail network that served the breweries of Burton-on-Trent, to BR-built ‘9F’ 2-10-0s on coal trains through the Trent Valley.

‘Black 5s’, ‘4Fs’ ‘8Fs’ and ‘Scots’ also feature in a programme, which is a reminder of the once immense rail traffic that characterised the East Midlands.

. . . Film taken between 1963 and 1967 shows vividly the rugged Pennine landscape, together with many of the numerous viaducts and tunnels that gave the S&C its unique appeal. In addition, views of the line's larger stations at Carlisle, Settle and Appleby are shown, plus many of the stations which succumbed to closure in 1970.

These include Horton-in-Ribblesdale, Ribblehead, Dent, Garsdale, Culgaith and Little Salkeld. At Kirkby Stephen, both the town's West and the former North Eastern Railway East stations feature, together with sequences on the long-closed Stainmore Route from Barnard Castle.

Early diesel classes such as 'Peaks', Sulzer Type 2s and diesel railcars are shown, but it is the sight and sounds of the steam locomotive in the form of Black 5s, Jubilees, Britannias, 9Fs, plus the occasional 'Crab', Austerity 2-8-0 and 4F hard at work on passenger and freight at a wide variety of locations between Hellifield and Carlisle that make this programme a fascinating visual record. And on DVD.

. . . after views of Leeds' Central Station, Bramhope, Arthington Jct. and Pool-in-Wharfedale feature, followed by Harrogate, which in 1964 was a busy rail centre, handling both freight and passenger traffic.

Diverging from the Ripon line on the northeast outskirts of Harrogate was the line to York, and on this route Starbeck and the Boroughbridge branch are shown. North of Harrogate, workings are shown at numerous locations, including Nidd Bridge and Ripley Jct.: most stations between Ripon and Northallerton plus a journey from Ripon to Melmerby Junction and Masham.

In the programme are ex-LNER classes including A1s, A3s, A4s, B1s and K1s, plus diesel types ranging from shunters and DMUs to Type 4s and ‘Deltics’. Filmed between 1961 and 1967, the programme is a fascinating visual record of a through route that has now passed into history. And on DVD.

. . . This is the second programme in the Marsden Rail series to feature steam locomotives at work on the Southern Region of British Railways and complements Volume 25 ‘Southern Region Steam – Part One’.

The programme starts at London’s Waterloo Station and is followed by views at Vauxhall and Clapham Junction. Also included is a journey on the last scheduled regular steam service to operate from Clapham Junction to Kensington Olympia.

Leaving the capital on the former London & South Western Railway’s route to Southampton, we witness scenes at Guildford, Woking and Worting Junction with a wide variety of steam classes at work. From Guildford’s Peasmarsh Junction, the line to Christ’s Hospital and Shoreham is traced, with almost every station on this now-closed route featured. Services in and around Eastleigh and Southampton then precede a crossing of the Solent on board a British Railways ferry to the Isle of Wight.

At its peak, the Isle of Wight’s rail system could boast a route network totalling more than fifty miles served, until 1966, entirely by steam. This fascinating network of island services was handled by ex-LSWR Class ‘02’ 0-4-4 tank locomotives and pre-grouping stock which created an almost “Edwardian” atmosphere. The Isle of Wight scenes, captured on film from the late 1950s until steam traction ended in December 1966, are a major highlight of this absorbing programme.

. . starts at Sheffield, with film taken at the now-closed Victoria Station between 1932 and 1979 showing a wide variety of steam traction, ranging from Great Central Railway and Great Northern Railway designs through to British Railways ‘Britannia’ Pacifics. The unique 1500dc-electric system that linked Sheffield to Manchester via the Woodhead Route is also featured, with the BR-built electric locomotives shown at various locations on the tortuous line, which closed in 1981. Another electrically-powered transport system could also be found in Sheffield in the 1950s, in the form of the city’s original tram system and a film made in 1958 from Beauchief to the city centre is an interesting reminder of the period.

Sheffield is left behind on board a steam-hauled service in 1964, with a detailed film sequence that traces the 25-mile route from the city’s Midland Station to Chinley in the heart of the Derbyshire Peak District. A famous feature of the area’s rail system was the Cromford and High Peak Railway which, together with film of the route from Parsley Hay to Ashbourne, highlights the diversity of rail operation that existed until the closures of the 1960s.

From the rural setting of the Peak District, the programme goes onto feature the industrial town of Chesterfield, where a stud of Midland Railway-built tank locomotives was still active until 1965. Next to be highlighted is the Nottinghamshire town of Worksop, with film taken in the early 1960s showing the scale of the town’s freight and passenger workings. Finally, a fascinating film made by the British Transport Commission in 1961 shows Sheffield’s outdated rail system and outlines the ambitious plans drawn up for the modernisation of the city. And on DVD.

. . . The programme starts in 1962 at Goole, with an ex-Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway 'Pug' at work in the docks and the town's engine shed still home to a large number of steam locomotives. From Goole, the focus moves to Hull, where trolley buses still operated in the city's streets while rail services maintained links with the coastal resorts of Hornsea and Withernsea. Journeys on both these routes are featured.

Moving north to Bridlington, a steam-hauled special working is joined for a journey to Filey, Whitby and Scarborough, where summer excursion traffic from Lancashire and the West Riding was still in the hands of steam traction. From Scarborough, the enthusiasts' special used the coast line to Whitby and it was filmed at a variety of locations on this long-closed route.

Another long-closed route from Whitby is also featured - the thirty-five mile-long line to Pickering and Malton. In addition to scenes on the route as it crosses the North Yorkshire Moors, rare film shows a diesel shunter retrieving wagons at Pickering prior to closure of the line, together with the arrival of the Royal Train at Pickering after the station's closure!

Moving nearer to York, the Derwent Valley Light Railway is shown, together with views of the city centre and the busy East Coast Main Line. In the city's streets, the numerous buses of the former West Yorkshire Road Car Company highlight the intense competition faced by British Railways to retain passengers on its network.

Views of the Clayton West, Holmfirth and Meltham branches are a reminder of the local network that was swept away in the 1960s. Moving west to Halifax, the High Level branch from Holmfield to Pellon and St. Paul's is shown, followed by scenes on the Queensbury route and the Worth Valley branch in pre-preservation days.

The final section includes a journey in 1962 on the line from Wilpshire to Hellifield and, at Hellifield, a variety of scenes reflect the intensity of traffic that used the junction. Moving north on to the Settle and Carlisle route beyond Hellifield, impressive film shows double-headed Class '9Fs' at work, sharing the route with 'Jubilees' from Leeds Holbeck depot in their last years of service.

1940s and 1960s views in King's Cross Station and the 'Top Shed', before leaving London behind 'A3', 60106 'Flying Fox'.

Next, Peterborough is featured in the late 1940s and early 1960s, followed by a journey from Grimsby and Spalding to the ECML at Werrington Jct., with 'Britannia' Pacifics hard at work. Numerous ECML locations are shown including Essendine, Stoke Bank and Retford, which is host to the last ex-GC 'J19', on a railtour.

At Doncaster, film taken in the 'Plant' in the 1940s shows locomotives under construction and a wide variety of steam and early diesel traction is shown in the station.

Finally, fascinating scenes at York filmed between 1931 and 1965 bring to a close this first of a two-part programme featuring the ECML between London and Newcastle in the days of steam.

This programme continues the northward journey of Marsden Rail Volume 32 from London's King's Cross Station and features the East Coast Main Line, in addition to several branch and secondary lines that served the York to Newcastle route.

The first location is York, with film taken between 1945 and 1965 illustrating why the city held such an attraction for railway enthusiasts. Even in the early 1960s, an immense variety of motive power could be found with expresses headed by ex-LNER 'Pacifics', along with numerous steam-operated freight workings. Early diesel types also contribute to the mix of traffic that gave the city's railways their unique appeal.

Thirty miles from York is Northallerton where the branch to Hawes left the main line at Castle Hill Junction - and many parts of the branch, including Hawes, are featured in the 1960s. At Eryholme Junction, eight further miles north, the branch to Richmond and Catterick left the main line and is shown just before closure.

Next is Darlington, with its two stations, locomotive works and steam depot reflecting the town's importance as a major rail centre, which was still evident in film taken in the 1960s. A journey on board a DMU from Darlington to Bishop Auckland in 1965 is followed by journeys to Middleton-in-Teesdale, Barnard Castle and Kirkby Stephen over the long lost Stainmore Route.

Continuing north, scenes at Shincliffe on the Leamside Line are followed by film taken at Durham in 1962, with a variety of 'Pacifics' and Type 4 diesels competing for ECML workings. After scenes at Low Fell and Bensham on the approach to Newcastle, Central Station, Gateshead Depot, Manors and Heaton Junction feature – together with trolley buses in the city centre. Once again, film taken in the 1960s shows steam in charge of most workings, from J72 and V3 tank locomotives on empty stock workings to V2s, A1, A3 and A4 'Pacifics' on main line workings.