A Steam Train Passes (now published in 4K
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ส.ค. 2024
- See link for 4K version • A Steam Train Passes
From the Film Australia Collection. Made by Film Australia 1974. Directed by David Haythornthwaite. Generally regarded as Australia's finest railway film and winner of many awards the world over, A Steam Train Passes is a nostalgic, imaginative essay on one of the majestic but now retired C38 class steam locomotives. This fine locomotive has been restored at the Newcastle State Dockyard. The documentary was filmed on one of its final journeys from Sydney to a series of country railway stations.
Now published in 4K here th-cam.com/video/5VC_RcNyF_g/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for the 4k scan of the 35mm original
Thanks John. Glad you enjoyed it. It's a big improvement - even with the compression limitations of TH-cam.
I’m loving memory of my dad!! Who passed away on the 28th of December 2022 thanks to this upload my dad who loved heritage trains particularly NSW in his last 24hrs of his life I was able to play this to him, there would have been no other way, only this upload to TH-cam
To any Aussie steam enthusiast this film is a masterpiece.
And in the credits you might have noticed the cinematography was done by none other than the great Dean Semler.
This is possibly my favourite film of all time.
They managed to tell a majestic, heart-breaking story about this legendary locomotive without any dialogue at all (except for the beginning). Moving music, great cinematography and camera angles and it shows that retired engines like this one still have strength and steam in them all these years later.
The National Film and Sound Archives are a National treasure...literally.
We should support their cause by paying a visit every time we are in Canberra.
I will buy that . It is exceptional .
@@flamingfrancis Absolutely. Documenting our history!
The first time I ever saw this film, it had an extra introduction where veteran driver Jack Sparks was telling a group of people “how wonderful it would be to see 3801 running in the year 2000”. It certainly is an amazing feat. Even more amazing is that 3801 is still alive and well in the year 2020. Once the Covid-19 all clear is sounded, I can’t wait to see this magnificent locomotive back again.
And it's back!
Just Australian Trains. I had that pn VHS
@@Ravaloxianthunderbird the exact one!!!
Ah this is blissful, the nostalgia romance of steam in all its magnificent splendour of 3801 powering its way through another day of toil and duty is something I have been passionate about since I was a little kid.
I just love it.
Instant favorite, thank you. I live in the US and have never seen this before.
Black Watch Audio Great, glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the comment. We have other old train films too.
3801 is Australia’s most famous locomotive
I finally realised .... This went backward in time ..... To bring people forward in time ..... Perhaps to an uncertain future .....
The man with the overnight bag .... Was he widowed ... And going to live with his kids ?
The boys .... Off to war .... ?
The married couple .... Had he leave to get married ... Then HE went off as well ?
The mother with the kids .... Had her husband been killed in the war .... Was she making a new start somewhere ?
For the first time this little film did my head in ...... :(
A Steam Train Passes
And, it's still going in 2021!!
Love the sound she makes as she climbs through the cutting at 8.15, and the brekkie being cooked on the shovel.
Old lapstone zig zag it’s not there anymore it’s now a walking track
i remember this. I still have it on video somewhere.... For the first time this little film did my head in. But I remembered 3801 and this amazing.... a little story told in it's own way....
Remarkable film! So relaxing. 2 great loves: steam trains and the beauty of Australia!
Great, thanks for letting us know you enjoyed it. We are currently scanning the original film components at 4K and will release them here soon. 0+> ;)
@@NFSAFilms Thanks very much! I'm very pleased that you're scanning the film into 4K. That's extremely good news for posterity.
4K here: th-cam.com/video/5VC_RcNyF_g/w-d-xo.html 0+>
OMG I cannot believe I found this, thanks so much for posting. My train addicted brothers used to watch this over and over again in the 80s. They were fascinated by the way the driver cooked his bacon and eggs. I now have a 3 year old who also loves trains. I didn't think it would be possible to find this and show it to him...but here you are! Thank you!!!
Hi Kelly, great find. Thank you for the feedback. It is a very popular film with train aficionados. The bacon and eggs scene is a beauty. We have a whole lot of train films here: th-cam.com/play/PL30B498C5DE275129.html
@@NFSAFilms Do you know the location of the station where they refilled the water tanks and cooked food at?
Wallerawang. Near Lithgow. You can now see this film in 4K th-cam.com/video/5VC_RcNyF_g/w-d-xo.html
Although uncredited, my grandfather Cecil Barnes is the fireman at 19m0s and for only about 5 seconds. As mentioned in other comments, the movie goes back in time and he told me that he and the driver (can't recall his name) in that last scene driving out of Milthorpe are intended to be the same pair who start the movie (Chris O'Sullivan and Harold Fowler), but as young men.
Hi Digby, interesting information thanks for letting us know.
Station in that scene was Blayney. Millthorpe was not used in this movie.
Can’t wait for a high resolution version of this film, I love rewatching this and film and wish it went longer
We now have a 4K version scanned of this film and will upload to TH-cam soon.
4k excellent version released a few hours ago.
4K here: th-cam.com/video/5VC_RcNyF_g/w-d-xo.html
4K here: th-cam.com/video/5VC_RcNyF_g/w-d-xo.html
Imagine how challenging it’d be to try and make a film similar to this
Certainly would be, however I'd be up for the challenge 🤣
@@VT29steamtrain Try it then.
@@DillonTrinhProductions I will one day! Just wait and see
The cat is so cute
Its long dead ya know
This production is EXCELLENT ALL ROUND! The engineering, the cinematography, soundtrack, editing and the CONCEPT of the storyline! WOW!
My pop was a fireman on a 57 or 59 class. My mum got me into trains very young and I first saw this film on VHS when I was about 8 or 9. Thank you so much for putting this on TH-cam! It brings back so many memories ❤️
+Nathan Simpson You're very welcome Nathan. Glad it has good memories for you.
One of the very best rail films ever.
5:41 awh just listen to that music its so reminiscent of when u wake up in a rural place and get prepared for the next journey!
this movie is timeless in so many ways. 3801 retuned back to THirmere yesterday from Chullora after a refit. Ever since this movie came out, i have always been fascinated by the storyline. I am not sure if this has been discussed elsewhere but its as if the more the film progresses, the further back in time it seems to go. Very clever if this was indeed the intent.
You got it in one Johnwt1. If you remember; the film starts with the Newsreel story and footage of the building of the train in 1943. The film then cuts to the 'present-day' and shows the start-up procedure carried out by the modern-day crew. The train then sets out and commences its journey. As you point out; each set of passengers, and railway infrastructure/procedure and staff, is a little further back in time each stop; ending with the final passengers including a group of Australian soldiers in WW2 Uniform and Kit (1943). A very clever concept!
First class photography and story line. Very enjoyable. Thanks.
You're welcome.
i have to give the film director a round of applauds for what he had to do
A beautifully-made film. I'm so glad I watched it through.
Happy 50th anniversary a steam train passes one of my favourite train films
As a resident of Hill Top NSW I love the vision at 8min 15 sec of the steam train passing through Big Hill Cutting on the old Loop Line at Hill Top. At one point in time that was the deepest railway cutting in Australia. It still brings chills to my spine watching those magic few seconds!
Great, thanks for letting us know the location.
Old Hill Top boy here. I learned to abseil in that cutting. I hope the talk of restoring the old Loop Line comes to fruition, would be great to see trains steaming through the cutting again.
It is a wonderful film and beyond all of its many attributes it contains some priceless scenes of a railway that has changed so much. The sequence at Polona signal box is beautiful, although I did think the signalman was cutting it fine by getting the electric staff out of the instrument when the train was so close! Polona closed in 1977 and no trace of the box remains. Also, most of the sidings in the yard at Wallerawang (where they stopped for water and breakfast) have long since been removed. The visual record of these and other locations are priceless.
What a beautiful film. Thank goodness for the NFSA.
jsbach4141 Thanks for the comment. There are so many films we hope to publish from the collection.
Used to watch this on VHS over and over. I was a child at the time some 2 decades ago. It is a beautiful piece of film making I have come to love and understand more as an Adult. Thank you NFSA Films for sharing to TH-cam. Warmest Regards from the other side of the world here in the UK.
Twenty years before this, British Transport Films made the equally evocative, but contemporarily-grounded 'Elizabethan Express', relating with similar romantic solemnity a steam-hauled journey of a non-stop run between London King's Cross and Edinburgh, with a rhyming commentary script that compliments the feelings in a point in time where it was uncertain whether the immediate post-war atmosphere in Britain depicted would stay the norm. You may watch it elsewhere on TH-cam. On a side-note, my first exposure to this film was as a child when I saw what I now realize was an edited-down release with German titles and the historical references absent, included in an assortment of short European railway films on a video tape. Several years later I got a second-hand railway VHS containing original Australian railway documentaries, and for the first time I saw the complete original cut. It never fails to endure. Regards, Samuel Farris.
Thanks for your kind responses. Yes, folks, this is an "art film" disguised as a railfan movie. Even the music can tell you that -- elegiac, with long, sorrowful oboe passages and weeping violins; and when there's someone new preparing to board the train, you hear the bass viols playing ominous notes. This is sort of like a requiem. But don't let it get you down -- nothing lasts forever, and we're still here!
By the way, I first saw this film when I lived in Sydney in the 1970's. I went to the "cinema" to see some other movie, and Steam Train Passes was one of the short subjects. I don't remember what the main feature was, but Steam Train stuck in my mind and I have never forgotten it. Also, I saw the 3801 and some other preserved steam locomotives in the roundhouse near Sydney where they are (or were) kept in NSWGR's historical collection. It is a truly beautiful engine.
You might care to credit George Dreyfus for his inspired music.
3801 is currently being restored to operation. She’s due to steam early 2018. There were a lot of technical delays due to wrong fitment of a brand new boiler made in Germany. The firebox was oversized for the cast frame, so the old boiler is being rebuilt to last until remedial modifications are made to the new boiler.
I saw the 3801 in person when it visited Perth for the Bicentennial celebrations.
A magnificent sight.
5:44 This should’ve been Henry’s theme.
Hmm now that’s a grand idea don’t get me wrong the theme we got for Henry was spectacular but if rev w awdry saw this film I’m pretty sure things can change
That's some beautiful footage there, a great piece of film work.
I found this film at my local library, It started my love of railways. I suddenly remembed this had a look around and found it! I wish that the roundhouse at Eveliegh and Enfield still exist today, with all those locos, However some in the roundhouse are actual preserved pieces such as 3526 seen in its blue livery and 1709 in red and 3642 on the left in its iconic green. Such amazing pieces if history
How interesting, son of a bastard.
@@Caerulis by that you mean?
@@nicholasfitzsimmons7311 it’s me (nik)
@@Caerulis ?
3642 was in black with red and white lining when this was done in 1974, and you can see this at 5:44;and it was not in running order at that time . It was in that colour scheme until 1981 when it was overhauled and the boiler changed at Goulburn locomotive depot to return it to running order when the first green colour scheme was applied.The green 36 you saw was 3616; if you look at the films 'out takes' on TH-cam it has a closer view on the turntable
A good old Australian film. Thank you for sharing this with us.
Hi Tom, you're welcome. Thanks for the feedback.
I first saw this film when I was a kid, my late father was a rail enthusiast and he had it on vhs.
I grew up in Melbourne and I still have fond memories of my dad taking me for a ride on 3801 when it visited Melbourne in 1988 and 1993.
If only we had kept at least one of our streamliners instead of scraping them.
@@xr6lad Not sure if you are being ironic or not?
I think he’s referring to the Victorian S-class steam trains that were all scrapped
I love the start up of the 38 it’s so relaxing
Beautiful. No other way to describe it.
I used to watch this on videocassette as a kid... It's what got me loving steam trains!
This is the best train vid I have ever seen ....... Tears ..... SO evocative ......
Yes it's a classic. Glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the feedback.
Having listened to Dean Semler discuss his cinematography on this classic live, and listened repeatedly to its equally admired musical score, I'm so thrilled to find it here! Thank you for posting
Glad you enjoyed it! We have recently scanned the film to 4K and will be re-posting here soon.
I have always had a soft-spot in my Heart for this film, probably because of Dean Semler's cinematography [Semler went on to win an Oscar® for "Dances With Wolves"] and George Dreyfus' superb music score.
I remember this from a NFSA VHS as a kid, other films about Puffing Billy, and some narrated pieces by Patsy Adam-Smith. This was the standout though, the score is stunning; but the uniquely orchestral firelighting process, building to a crescendo when she reverses out of the shed...simply amazing, I would love to see this remastered.
Hi HotFlaps thanks for the feedback and sharing your, extensive, Film Australia memories. Shades of Puffing Billy is on here th-cam.com/video/wOopJzYBrqM/w-d-xo.html The Patsy Adam-Smith film is The Railway th-cam.com/video/EZCMwrMOV9Y/w-d-xo.html She also did some links on the Just Australian Trains compile. Steam Train Passes is a classic though and we will be doing a 4K transfer of it soon. In the meantime check out all of our train films in our On The Rails playlist th-cam.com/play/PL30B498C5DE275129.html
The video you were referring to is “Just Australian Trains.” I believe it’s still available on DVD but you can google it to find any secondhand DVD’s. This was my very first VHS tape I ever bought way back in 1982.
Just Australian Trains was my first VHS too.
Great to see this online at last. I owned a Super 8 print of it back in the 1970s and ran it regularly for friends. It went a long time ago although I still have the double-sided promotional wall poster. There is a better tribute to the 38, though, and it's called "Moss Vale Train", shot and recorded by the late Jim Powe in 1969. It features brilliant sound and photography.Sadly, it doesn't appear to have made it to DVD.
It’s the 21st century. It should’ve in dvd now given how few people have them. The archive should make it available (at a fee) for digital downloading.
Moss Vale Train is rare as, most likely only surviving in VHS format. A lot of Jim Powe's 3801 footage appears in the 1988 ABC produced doco 3801 - A Legend in Steam th-cam.com/video/NgPU5KjdT1I/w-d-xo.html
Yes available as a digital download mp4 and now in 4K th-cam.com/video/5VC_RcNyF_g/w-d-xo.html
13.50, cmon boys, scull those beers!!!
14:35 I like the Morris 10 series M, possibly pre-1940 looking at the grille.
6:50 crossing Parramatta Rd at Granville. modern cars give the game up. In the background making the word WARDS was the old Granville theatre converted by Sid Ward to handle air frieght Wards Air Cargo.
ps im pretty sure the people back in 1974 would be clapping in the theatre fun fact this film was made when my mother was born the same year
Always loved this film. And just a couple of days ago (19/1/2020) 3801 steamed again for the first time in over 10 years!
That film is very good, my grandfather was a train driver on coal machine like this, thank you !
It must have been hard work
Whoa, I know lots about Australia Steam Locos for many years!
I remember seeing this when i was a kid..My dad learnt his trade as a fiitter & turner working on steam trains.
I love the way that locomotive 🚂 backs out at 4:51-4:52 what power 😉😀
An excellent clip of old NSW trains enjoyed watching it.
I remember watching this as a kid long ago
One of the best railway films ever created.
Capable of 85mph but track limits them to 70. Somethings never change, except the limit is probably 50 now.
They don’t make films like that anymore, classic.
What a magnificent piece of engineering. NSW's state locomotive with it's picture of a strawberry!, (Waratah, NSW's state flower), on the front
I love the Steam locomotives class pulling the coach of the filmmakings and sound effects.
5:41
Believe it or not, you can see 3642 to the left.
And don't forget the wonderful, evocative music by George Dreyfus.
What a beautiful film.
Quite spooky tbh: the way all the passengers were waiting and specially earlier r on seemed to be waiting but you never actually see them get on but ‘disappear’ on as if it was a ghost train plying its old long closed line picking up the ghosts of past passengers. Like waiting rooms of spirits. And it was going to end with a shot of an abandoned overgrown station and track with the sound of a whistle….
Dean Semler ACS, who won an Academy Award for "Dances With Wolves," was the DP on this film. A classic.
Simply majestic!
+Patrick Currie Yes a wonderful film. Shot by Dean Semler.
A classic film..... hats off to John Sparkes ....and 3801....
From 4.40 to 6.20 , the magnificence of 3801 is enigmatic.
i love this film it deserves to get a sequl like a steam train passes 2 or another steam train passes like to you agree
The fireman's and the engine driver's life seem pretty lonely
Any chance of getting a HD version of this?
Hi thanks for your comment. Yes, it is in line for a 4K scan from original film components. We will upload it here when it's done.
@@NFSAFilms Very exciting! Can't wait!
They well-earned that breakfast @ 10:38
Unusual, given that the first five of the C38 class (3801-05; the "streamlined" ones) were built by Clyde Engineering at Granville. Oh well "that's Hollywood".
They certainly are elegant locos. We travelled on an excursion out of Sydney in 1973 behind 3801. Although it says the film was made in 1974 it looks like all the shots were taken in the mid to late '60s...correct me if I'm wrong!
Note that the cinematographer is Dean Semler who would later win an Acadamy award for "Dances with Wolves"
with all of Australia's coal reserves you'd think steam would still be used, seeing as they more eco friendly than modern deisels due to their fuel source not coming from overseas, was ending steam a mistake. Some may see it as "Un-modern" but steam is much more soul enriching and has a certain honour to it than souless box like a desiel.
thanks for the film. :)
3801,is the steam train in Australia ,i be glade when she is back in full service again.
I went on an excursion train from Brisbane to Casino and back in 1988 after seeing this film on VHS. Great trip.
This film remains my all time favourite, from when I first saw it many many years ago. I know its nostalgic, but is it so wrong to long for a simpler life as was enjoyed then?
Can a railroad film be a work of art? This one is! Look at the visual cues. When the train leaves the city (Sydney, I think) it passes a cemetery. Hello. Then different people from the 40's era get on. The alkie, the soldiers, the newlyweds, the waiting room full of travelers who look like refugees. When they are gone, the waiting room is dead empty, except for the burning fire. These aren't real people -- they are ghosts. And the train, that long, plume of steam, is an apparition, a remembered journey into the past. At last it goes off into the night -- into the eternal darkness. This works on different levels. Our life, as Eugene O'Neill put it, is a long day's journey into night. On a steam train, it's sad but beautiful, too. Get it?
Hi Charles, so glad you enjoyed the film and thanks for giving such a profound reading of it. The Film Australia Collection may be made up of government propaganda films but the film makers were certainly artists.
Hello! I just wanted to say that your thoughts were a rare, and perceptive insight into this film. I grew up with this film - my Dad had a copy of it on VHS. The images and music are burned into my mind as a result, and though I've seen it many times and always felt there was something deeply melancholic about it (and even vaguely sinister at points) I'd never thought of it in quite that way. Thank you for your incisive comment - surely the fact you caused me to discover a new layer of meaning in the film after knowing it so well *proves* that this is a work of art? Masterful direction, photography and lighting. The beginning has always thrilled me in the way it evokes some enormous beast coming to life! A wonderfully moody and thought-provoking film.
Yes, that's Sydney.
This loco's whistle, is reused for Indonesian independence war movie that released back in 1981
When this was released on Super 8 sound, I'm pretty sure there were two versions, one with and one without the orchestral track.
Hi John. Not sure about that but will check it out. I wonder why they would do that.
I think they figured the average steam fan didn't want the orchestral sound to override the steam loco. The best source for confirmation would be the NSW RTM journal "Roundhouse". Sadly I can't find my mid-70s issues.
John T
Let us know if you turn anything up.
I believe this is true ....
Thank you for bringing back this film
amazing as of how this is very award winning!
Next station is echo hill
12:08 - Wait, what happened to that man? Drinking whiskey, the change of tone in the music, and his dissapearance in the next shot... VERY interesting!
He's on the train at 19:23 all right
Either the train stopped for him or he could run very fast.
Excelente
best meal to be had anywhere bacon and eggs fried on a steam engine fire nothing beats it
The engines on the side at 6:20 looked as if they were greeting the c38 like goodmorning c38 have a great day
Oh man, what would you give for a chance to walk through the roundhouse at the start of the film? As an old Hilltop boy it was great to see the shot of it steaming up Big Hill cutting.
This is so cool. Kinda reminds me of "Rocky Mountain Express."
Sensational film of a time when Australia wanted to stay out of a lunatic world.
Great shot at 6:51.
Might have been released in 1974, but there is no way all that footage was 1974!
This is a very fine quality transfer! Was it done from a 35mm print? One little thing - the sound cuts out at 19:42. It should continue, because there is a final whistle as the train disappears into the distance. Another strange thing to me, is that the film was shot in full screen 4:3 and this is how it is seen these days. Any reason why it wasn't in widescreen? I will never forget the early mornings in July 1974 when we were up at sparrow's chasing her. The shooting was supposed to be a closely guarded secret, in fact when we arrived at Westmead, there was no one else there! After a few days of course, every man and his dog was out chasing and filming. Wonderful days and a wonderful film!
This version was telecined from a 35mm Inter-positive component. The sound cutout at the end does seem a little abrupt so I will investigate that on older versions of the film. The 4:3 ratio was common on most of the CFU's 35mm films. Only a few were done in wide screen aspects. Thanks for you comments.
Oh thanks for the reply. I only just saw it! Re the sound cut out, it continues as it should, right through to the last mournful whistle, on my print and also on the commercial DVD.
It has been asked around if you will release a BluRay of this? Would be wonderful.
Finally, do you hold the complete Cinesound Review "Monarch of the Rails"? I understand it is quite a bit longer (Eg 10 minutes) than the short excerpt that FA put at the beginning.
Will look into the different audio duration. Thanks for the tip. Will suggest a BluRay of Steam Train Passes to our Sales team. Will need to do an HD transfer of some kind first, but a worthwhile task. A 4K scan would be awesome. Monarch of the Rails is held in the NFSA collection but we don't hold the rights for the Cinesound collection.
@@NFSAFilms it’s the 3rd decade of the 21st century. We have moved on from DVD 10 years ago. Blu-ray even more. You may as well be releasing it on Super 8. By now things should be being released as digital downloads in places like iTunes etc otherwise they’ll end up worthless and unwatched and you will have lost money that could be used by the NFSA to preserve other things.
Thanks for your comment. This discussion was some 5 years ago though. It is now available as a digital download. And republished on youtube in 4K. th-cam.com/video/5VC_RcNyF_g/w-d-xo.html
At 12:56 the train looks and moves like a rollercoaster
18:00 The legendary Australian Rail figure, Steam Train Driver and Motive Power Inspector , Jack Sparkes, a liason on the film,appears in a cameo as the Stationmaster.
Hi Roy, thanks for the great information.
Jack Sparkes was not legendary nor revered. He was a snitch and a dog, railwaymen hated him.
I can imagine at 6:13 the engine going chuff chuff chuff chuff
3801 looks like it was in the 1980s and 90s plus 2000 and it was 36 years old that steam engine in 1974
3801 wow