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Newsreel 1966

Steam trains large and small and summer time fetes and fairs feature in this amateur newsreel from 1966.

Amateur film 1966 14 mins

From the collection of:

Logo for London's Screen Archives

Overview

It's the end of an era in transport history as the last steam train to visit Harrow-on-the-Hill station puffs out of sight in this newsreel filmed by the local cine society. Other items making the news in 1966 highlight community spirit and fun-packed summer days and the Eventide Garden Fete at Priory Close, Stanmore, reminds us of a time when hats were an essential part of every smart outfit.

This nostalgic amateur newsreel tells part of the story of the end of steam traction in Britain following the 1955 Modernisation Plan. It also captures quirky scenes of students during Rag Week, the annual fair at Pinner Village with the traditional Ferris wheel and swing boats, a veteran vehicles rally at Knightscote Farm, Harefield, and the yearly Easter Sunday opening of the Harrow and Wembley model engineers' society railway, proving that for some steam still ruled supreme. This film is from the collection of Harrow Local History Library, a member of the London's Screen Archives Network.