This film is part of Free
Train Time
Examining a day in the life of what was then the busiest railway system in the world – British Railways.
Overview
This film examines the operation of what was then the busiest railway system in the world – British Railways. This is the story of a typical day, which begins and ends with an operating conference, linked via telephone from one end of Great Britain to the other. We see how a sudden demand for extra locomotives in West Cornwall may affect tin-plate traffic from South Wales; how fish from Aberdeen is rushed south to the markets; how coal wagons are sorted at Toton Marshalling Yard; how the movement of cattle from Ireland through Glasgow may affect enginemen’s working in the Midlands; how London’s evening rush to the suburbs is handled. Through the night the work of moving freight continues, while in the marshalling yards and sidings a traffic census is taken to provide essential information for tomorrow’s operations.
Train Time travelled on release with The Gift Horse, a World War II drama starring Trevor Howard, and achieved 538 cinema bookings in its first year.
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