Northern Ireland Screen's Digital Film Archive is a free public access resource for teachers, students, historians and anyone who has an interest in moving images. Spanning from 1897 to the present day, the films in the Digital Film Archive cover all aspects of life in Northern Ireland and includes everything from dramas to documentaries, newsreels and features, animation to amateur footage.
This film is part of Free
Full Steam Ahead to Dublin
Take a stroll through a forgotten Belfast on your way to catch the steam train to Dublin. Experience the city centre before it is reshaped by violence and regeneration.
From the collection of:
Overview
Return to 1966 with Peter, filmed by his father A. H. Martin. Green UTA buses jostle for position with electric trolleybuses led by their antenna. Travel up York St past the Conor Hall. Look up from the altered shops and Belfast is still recognisable. Turn into a radically changed Great Victoria St, only the Grand Opera House remains. Board a steam train and speed across the border to Dublin. Familiar landmarks flit by until the Boyne viaduct signals this journey is near an end.
Introduced in 1947 the Enterprise connected Belfast and Dublin with a non-stop service. The last 'official' steam train travelled between the two capital cities on 29th October 1966. In this same year UTA split into three state-owned companies. The Belfast trolleybus system was the second largest in the UK and the only one in Ireland, ending two years after this film. Built on the site of a former linen mill in 1848, Great Victoria Street was Belfast’s first railway terminus. Two years after this film it was demolished and the Europa Hotel took its place. In April 1976 the final rails were removed. There would be no railway services from here for nearly 20 years, until the present station opened in 1995.
Related
Watch for free
Wexford Railway Station (1902) Wexford Railway Station (1902)
Non-Fiction 1902 2 mins Silent
A flurry of activity at Wexford Railway Station as passengers alight an Edwardian steam train.
Watch for free
Bicton Woodland Railway Bicton Woodland Railway
Current affairs 1976 2 mins Silent Location: Bicton Park
Bicton Woodland Railway reopens to passengers for the summer season
Watch for free
Godfrey Davies: The Last Train from Peterchurch Godfrey Davies: The Last Train from Peterchurch
Amateur film 1953 5 mins Silent Location: Peterchurch
Railway services on the Golden Valley line in Herefordshire slip into history.
Watch for free
Train Ride to Devil's Bridge Train Ride to Devil's Bridge
Travelogue 1964 11 mins Location: Aberystwyth
12 miles of magic as we journey on the Vale of Rheidol Railway, one of the Great Little Trains of Wales
Watch for free
This Is York This Is York
Travelogue 1953 21 mins Location: York
The Stationmaster at York guides us through a typical day, from dawn to dusk.
Watch for free
A Letter for Wales A Letter for Wales
Drama 1960 22 mins
Cinema star Donald Houston recalls his memories of railways and the romance of the Welsh landscape.
Watch for free
Food for Thought Food for Thought
Advert 6 mins Location: Belfast
Hangry animals demand better grub in this bizarre advert by E.T. Green
Watch for free
Kennedy's Bread Kennedy's Bread
Advert 1960 0 mins Location: Belfast
This family favourite is guaranteed to have you singing all the way to the bread bin
Watch for free
Launch of the "Celtic" Launch of the "Celtic"
Non-Fiction 1901 1 mins Location: Belfast
Seawards heads a great ship, the biggest of its day
Watch for free
Belfast Street Scenes 1890's Belfast Street Scenes 1890's
Non-Fiction 1898 2 mins Silent Location: Belfast
A view down the High Street featuring the Albert Clock, a shot of Queen's Bridge and the docks
Watch for free
Disabled Access in Belfast City Centre Disabled Access in Belfast City Centre
Current affairs 1981 20 mins Location: Belfast
Join Belfast’s first female Lord Mayor and reconsider how disabled people navigate the streets of Belfast.
Watch for free
Talking Telephone for the Deaf Talking Telephone for the Deaf
Current affairs 1976 7 mins Location: Belfast
Witness Northern Ireland’s first telecommunications device for Deaf people
Watch for free
China O'Brien: The Reunion China O'Brien: The Reunion
Documentary 2024 60 mins
Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton and Keith Cooke reunite three decades on from the groundbreaking martial arts classic.
Watch for free
Women in Action Panel Discussion Women in Action Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 28 mins
Action Xtreme - the UK's leading action film studio - hosts this panel discussion with four leading women in action cinema - Soo Cole, Jo Rolison, Jadey Duffield and Ioanna Karavela.
Watch for free
Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 24 mins
Daniel Kokotajlo talks to Nia Childs about Starve Acre, his folk horror about a couple digging deep into grief in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.
Watch for free
Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 30 mins
Sky Peals director Moin Hussain and lead actor Faraz Ayub talk to Tomisin Adepeju about their magic realist drama.
Watch for free
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell
Documentary 2024 42 mins
Documentary exploring the BFI National Archive’s role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell.
Watch for free
Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels
Short documentary 2024 12 mins
Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of a series of comic travelogues, and Michael Powell's involvement in making them.