In 1953 my father was in his first year at Bristol University studying Civil Engineering. He spent his entire career in the transport family, working all over the world with Freeman Fox and later Martin and Voorhees. He absolutely loved it. Thank you for a nostalgic look at the world my late father knew and loved so much.
Watching this just goes to show how insanely different the entire job market is these days to back then. Starting as a cleaner for example and working your way up rarely happens anymore. And the sort of training on the job that turns into a degree? You'd have to have the degree before even applying for the original base level position these days
Just 10 years later Beeching came along and emptied all this down the toilet. Thousands of men out of work, communities cut off. ruined stations everywhere.
Beeching closed no railways. He was given a very narrow brief by the government of the day, which was to make the railways pay. The brief specifically required that the social consequences of his recommendations were not to be considered. The government, and not Beeching, was responsible for the closures.
@@SteveW139 I don't care what the government guidelines were, or instructions given to this scoundrel, Beechings had a sidekick who owned a very large haulage company. He was as bent as a five bob note. Thousands of people out of work, thousands of communities stranded, roads full of heavy goods vehicles. And his sidekick with a big fat wallet. CORRUPTION!!!!!!
Fantastic film I was just 7 in 1953 it brought back some memories of my late Grandfather taking me to see the trains both in Liverpool and Southport he was a retired railway man ,I worked for a shipping Company Blue Funnel line and I too am retired but always like to see and still do like to see steam engines hard at work
Liked the comment, when his turn came he became a fireman. When I was at Hull Dairycoates shed in the early 1960s there were engines cleaners with 21 years service in.
@Alexander Challis I prefer to rely on my own experience of the 50's. I am a European Engineer (Eur Ing). Whenever I visited Germany on business and showed them my business card they would almost stand to attention and click their heels. Sorry but I am not going to respect your ass as instructed. I did a degree in Mechanical engineering from 71 to 74, I made several millions from that and I travelled the world. I thought it was pretty obvious by 65 that the aircraft industry in the UK was fading.
Private personal transport and commercial vehicles changed everything. It was almost unimaginable back then what would happen to the railways within 10 to 15 years of this film being made. This was the era I grew up in. Everyone wanted a car. Roads and road haulage grew exponentially as the railways withered away. Lines closed, became derelict and abandoned, then disappeared. It became 'common sense' that railways were old fashioned, dirty, inconvenient relics of a passing age. Everything Victorian was despised. Everything had to be modernised for the nuclear age of concrete and consumer convenience that was coming our way.. on TV. It all seemed inevitable, unstoppable. Life is like that. The only thing that is constant...is change...and we never know where it is going!
@@Quebecoisegal The best was actors who were obviously very middle class trying to speak like working class people, especially their versions of London cockney accents.
There is video of it on here Look up Rugby test plant and Locomotive testing station. There was one in Germany as well and I saw video of a working model of that one which showed a lot of detail of how it was set up and worked. I bet it was a scary thing when a locomotive was running at speed on it. you can see on one video how it is a lively ride.
The two policemen doing the disarming with a gun , reminded me of the Harry Enfield sketch of him overpowering a robber and the policeman taking him away , dead funny that one
Louie Anderson line in Coming To America," "Hey, I started out mopping the floor just like you guys. But now... now I'm washing lettuce. Soon I'll be on fries; then the grill. In a year or two, I'll make assistant manager, and that's when the big bucks start rolling in. "
Shots of the start of Liverpool Street electrics in 1949. The same equipment was installed on my local line, same e.m.u. design, same gantrywork, but that was 4/5 years later.
And imagine just how dirty their clothes would have been too! Took the dirt and grease on to public transport and onwards to home! No wonder women were cleaning, washing and scrubbing all the time! Cheers
Like most people , it was hard wearing , plenty of pockets, put a jumper on if it gets parky , farmers , road men , drivers etc , jacket and trousers , good pair of ammo boots and off you went .
Amazing how things have changed so much and so quickly. No mention of the ladies, they're in their kitchens preparing food for their menfolk and looking after the children presumably. Are these the good old days I wonder?
The question the commentator asks, "what do all these people do." It was obvious then. Ask the same question now with another 20-30 million in the country, and I am not able answer that question.
Nowadays health and safety would have nightmares with all those unguarded moving parts but back then workers had common sense and did not need to be told to be careful.
A lot of the safety rules we have today are common sense rules. They're only in place because people are stupid. One rule Im familiar with is to not wear loose clothing when shunting, why? Because it can get caught and you'll get seriously injured or even killed. This one guy was shunting in a yard and his hi-vis vest was caught on a passing locomotive, he was dragged halfway up the yard before the drivers noticed. Also, all this "oh back when workers had common sense". This is survivor bias, just because you survived doing dumb, dangerous stuff doesnt mean everyone did. What about all those who were injured or killed?
@@ItzDecster@geordienufc3132 “During the 12 months to 31st December 1951.. 46 fatalities to railway servants who were struck by engines or trains whilst working on the permanent way. Compared to an (annual) average of 59 for the five years 1946-50. The final figure for 1952 is not yet available but will be about 60” - Hansard, February 1953. “There were 2 workforce fatalities in the year April 2022 to March 2023” - Rail Safety, ORR.
@@geordienufc3132 Health and safety legislation is the greatest tool the working man has from unscrupulous managers from allowing unsafe practices and allows all of us who work in dangerous environments to go home each day, safe and sound.
If they did you would be struggling to get any of today’s generation willing to do them. It’s got to be fancy paid , gender balanced jobs that can be “done from home” without getting your hands dirty and with loads of holidays.
If it's the same film I'm thinking of, they reused footage from a training reel the LMS commissioned in the 1930's; the lad's name in that was Harry Truett.
The problem was,that the British Railways,was unable or unwilling,to put air,or vacuum brakes on all of it's freight stock! There were 500,000 wagons braked by hand brakes,and the lose of time and energy was incalculable! No one would ask the coal mines to upgrade their facilities,and pay them to do it! And train speeds were also affected,as an average non- vacuum freight would only average a speed of 25 to 30 miles per hour,and stopping at the top of any heavy gradient! When the US Congress in 1895,put the requirements of air brakes,and knuckle couplers on the railroads,Parliament should have paid heed,as they literally lost the First World War,because of it! It took another 50 years to catch up to the rest of the world 🌎,.Why?
@@roberthuron9160 The blokes running along side the wagons to brake them, were doing so in a shunting yard as the wagons are pushed over the "hump". Air brakes or not, they are not used here. Now days that is accomplished by retarders in the track that pinch the wheels and slow them down as the come down the hill.
There was a time,also in the US,when switching was done,minus brakes! In hump yards,and in many cases,flat switching,the air brakes weren't used,as gravity,and a bit of a shove was sufficient! Also,in parallel with British operations,poling was used to move cars,as roping was used in Britain! There are some old movies on TH-cam,very interesting! Anyway,hope the information is useful,as most people are unaware of the history! Thank you 😇!
Unfortunately, once other people caught up they realised we were making overpriced bad quality crap. But we had a good run for a long time so cannot complain ❤🤘
Men men men...the men the men...chaps chaps.... Imagine if you run an industry today with men only...advertising for men or a man. Seeing the people work inches from spinning machines, no guards in place....
1953, they were still used to working together as team. Then came the baby boomers and wanted to do things differently, even worse their spoilt children, even worse worse the millenials, and now the WOKES. Down and down and down.
Absolutely brilliant video. And that is what I call real work and team commitment.
Still loving these old films. And I wasn't even born when this one came out!
same!
This is the world I was born into. I've seen it all change. Even nostalgia ain't what it used to be!
In 1953 my father was in his first year at Bristol University studying Civil Engineering. He spent his entire career in the transport family, working all over the world with Freeman Fox and later Martin and Voorhees. He absolutely loved it. Thank you for a nostalgic look at the world my late father knew and loved so much.
1953 - A place in the team
*2023 - Zero hour contracts*
Watching this just goes to show how insanely different the entire job market is these days to back then.
Starting as a cleaner for example and working your way up rarely happens anymore. And the sort of training on the job that turns into a degree? You'd have to have the degree before even applying for the original base level position these days
Like the police
Just 10 years later Beeching came along and emptied all this down the toilet. Thousands of men out of work, communities cut off. ruined stations everywhere.
Blocked, polluting and dangerous roads.
Think how much calmer the roads would be today if freight still went by rail. Thanks Dr. Botching, sorry Beeching.
Don't forget to mention Beechings side kick. Who owned a large HGV road transport business. Total corruption.
Beeching closed no railways. He was given a very narrow brief by the government of the day, which was to make the railways pay. The brief specifically required that the social consequences of his recommendations were not to be considered. The government, and not Beeching, was responsible for the closures.
@@SteveW139 I don't care what the government guidelines were, or instructions given to this scoundrel, Beechings had a sidekick who owned a very large haulage company. He was as bent as a five bob note. Thousands of people out of work, thousands of communities stranded, roads full of heavy goods vehicles. And his sidekick with a big fat wallet. CORRUPTION!!!!!!
Fantastic film I was just 7 in 1953 it brought back some memories of my late Grandfather taking me to see the trains both in Liverpool and Southport he was a retired railway man ,I worked for a shipping Company Blue Funnel line and I too am retired but always like to see and still do like to see steam engines hard at work
Liked the comment, when his turn came he became a fireman. When I was at Hull Dairycoates shed in the early 1960s there were engines cleaners with 21 years service in.
Their choice generally , show an interest and you'd have been put into training at Guildford shed , but if you were happy where you are , stay there
I did ok! 38 years railway service with just about 3 to go. Been an enjoyable time.
It was a nicer time back then. People had more respect for each other, and appreciation that the war was over and rationing was ending.
@Alexander Challis I prefer to rely on my own experience of the 50's. I am a European Engineer (Eur Ing). Whenever I visited Germany on business and showed them my business card they would almost stand to attention and click their heels.
Sorry but I am not going to respect your ass as instructed.
I did a degree in Mechanical engineering from 71 to 74, I made several millions from that and I travelled the world.
I thought it was pretty obvious by 65 that the aircraft industry in the UK was fading.
nothing could make you sound more like an entitled white male....piss off all the way.
@@blpblp-tj7ux no u
Private personal transport and commercial vehicles changed everything. It was almost unimaginable back then what would happen to the railways within 10 to 15 years of this film being made.
This was the era I grew up in. Everyone wanted a car. Roads and road haulage grew exponentially as the railways withered away.
Lines closed, became derelict and abandoned, then disappeared. It became 'common sense' that railways were old fashioned, dirty, inconvenient relics of a passing age. Everything Victorian was despised. Everything had to be modernised for the nuclear age of concrete and consumer convenience that was coming our way.. on TV.
It all seemed inevitable, unstoppable. Life is like that. The only thing that is constant...is change...and we never know where it is going!
Ah nostalgia things were much better back then, I think they were
Love the very Queens spoken English commentary on the films,takes me back to Rock n Roll childhood days
I believe that because the commentary was invariably in Q.E. it meant that most could understand it, unlike the strong regional dialects.
@@Quebecoisegal The best was actors who were obviously very middle class trying to speak like working class people, especially their versions of London cockney accents.
@@likklej8 Yes, I've heard them. Awful. And as a spoof: th-cam.com/video/tQWPR9TM0Gk/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for a great post, new one on me, I don't recall seeing the shots of the Fell diesel before.
BTF films are brilliant.
What a delightful video!
Good to watch for appreciate the easy life of our days.
I'd love to learn more about that steam locomotive dynometer. Looks completely mad
There is video of it on here Look up Rugby test plant and Locomotive testing station. There was one in Germany as well and I saw video of a working model of that one which showed a lot of detail of how it was set up and worked. I bet it was a scary thing when a locomotive was running at speed on it. you can see on one video how it is a lively ride.
The guy checking for lose tappets at 5:58 is good. Doubt the Safety Officer would allow that now.
The two policemen doing the disarming with a gun , reminded me of the Harry Enfield sketch
of him overpowering a robber and the policeman taking him away , dead funny that one
Love the term "efforts" when referring to the new locomotives that would replace the steam engines !
I feel that I'm traveling in time machine enjoying the world before I was born.
19:33 Is this a reference to Granpuff?
Superb
Sammy Brown is Harry Truman / Men of the footplate (LMS)
Louie Anderson line in Coming To America," "Hey, I started out mopping the floor just like you guys. But now... now I'm washing lettuce. Soon I'll be on fries; then the grill. In a year or two, I'll make assistant manager, and that's when the big bucks start rolling in. "
Shots of the start of Liverpool Street electrics in 1949. The same equipment was installed on my local line, same e.m.u. design, same gantrywork, but that was 4/5 years later.
love the trian videos.
Gotta love the different accents.
19:32
Engines come,
Engines go,
And grand puff goes on forever
Does anyone else find it fascinating that even the workers laying track were dressed in suits and ties?
The first thing I noticed
Yes, no his vis or hard hats.
And imagine just how dirty their clothes would have been too! Took the dirt and grease on to public transport and onwards to home! No wonder women were cleaning, washing and scrubbing all the time! Cheers
Like most people , it was hard wearing , plenty of pockets, put a jumper on if it gets parky , farmers , road men , drivers etc , jacket and trousers , good pair of ammo boots and off you went .
Amazing how things have changed so much and so quickly. No mention of the ladies, they're in their kitchens preparing food for their menfolk and looking after the children presumably. Are these the good old days I wonder?
Those were the days, you think we've made it sio much better?
@@TheBroomwagon I think the UK is a much nastier place today.
Yes.
I would go back to their values at the drop of a hat. You can keep todays gender mess. It is worse now.
Training was given to matured people,that was fantastic,that was why the British transport was copied the world over.
👍 Thank you, BBR, R 😎
PS. I was two years old when this was released. Springburn, Glasgow. *Mallard Forever!* Stay free, 💚
Ten years later, they were about to dismantle it all.
The question the commentator asks, "what do all these people do." It was obvious then. Ask the same question now with another 20-30 million in the country, and I am not able answer that question.
How do you get around copyright showing all these BTF films on here?
Aesthetic
interestingly, a bunch of these clips came from lms transport films from the 30s. e.g. The part about sammy becomming a driver.
That’s Harry not Sammy! I watched that one you speak of too !
...I was wondering why there were so many locos and wagons in pre-grouping and private owner liveries in 1953
Who were the wicked swines who back then thought we must change this society and bring it to wrack and ruin.
It was a nicer world. No social distancing, no masks, no insidious government regulations.
Nowadays health and safety would have nightmares with all those unguarded moving parts but back then workers had common sense and did not need to be told to be careful.
A lot of the safety rules we have today are common sense rules. They're only in place because people are stupid. One rule Im familiar with is to not wear loose clothing when shunting, why? Because it can get caught and you'll get seriously injured or even killed. This one guy was shunting in a yard and his hi-vis vest was caught on a passing locomotive, he was dragged halfway up the yard before the drivers noticed. Also, all this "oh back when workers had common sense". This is survivor bias, just because you survived doing dumb, dangerous stuff doesnt mean everyone did. What about all those who were injured or killed?
@@ItzDecster@geordienufc3132 “During the 12 months to 31st December 1951.. 46 fatalities to railway servants who were struck by engines or trains whilst working on the permanent way. Compared to an (annual) average of 59 for the five years 1946-50. The final figure for 1952 is not yet available but will be about 60” - Hansard, February 1953.
“There were 2 workforce fatalities in the year April 2022 to March 2023” - Rail Safety, ORR.
@@geordienufc3132 Health and safety legislation is the greatest tool the working man has from unscrupulous managers from allowing unsafe practices and allows all of us who work in dangerous environments to go home each day, safe and sound.
None of those jobs exist anymore.
If they did you would be struggling to get any of today’s generation willing to do them.
It’s got to be fancy paid , gender balanced jobs that can be “done from home” without getting your hands dirty and with loads of holidays.
The one man in the 1950s who sounded different
Oh wow the train dyno !!
Sammy was Jimmy in an earlier film. Someone needs to investigate why Jimmy changed his name to Sammy. Sounds suspicious to me.
If it's the same film I'm thinking of, they reused footage from a training reel the LMS commissioned in the 1930's; the lad's name in that was Harry Truett.
He real name was "Fred." (Maybe)
I thought it was Harry or something.
Very little of what we now call "Health & Safety".
Running after moving vehicle to apply brakes - what were they thinking?
@Bill Meredith "as old as me" I'd never have guessed
The problem was,that the British Railways,was unable or unwilling,to put air,or vacuum brakes on all of it's freight stock! There were 500,000 wagons braked by hand brakes,and the lose of time and energy was incalculable! No one would ask the coal mines to upgrade their facilities,and pay them to do it! And train speeds were also affected,as an average non- vacuum freight would only average a speed of 25 to 30 miles per hour,and stopping at the top of any heavy gradient! When the US Congress in 1895,put the requirements of air brakes,and knuckle couplers on the railroads,Parliament should have paid heed,as they literally lost the First World War,because of it! It took another 50 years to catch up to the rest of the world 🌎,.Why?
@@roberthuron9160 The blokes running along side the wagons to brake them, were doing so in a shunting yard as the wagons are pushed over the "hump". Air brakes or not, they are not used here. Now days that is accomplished by retarders in the track that pinch the wheels and slow them down as the come down the hill.
There was a time,also in the US,when switching was done,minus brakes! In hump yards,and in many cases,flat switching,the air brakes weren't used,as gravity,and a bit of a shove was sufficient! Also,in parallel with British operations,poling was used to move cars,as roping was used in Britain! There are some old movies on TH-cam,very interesting! Anyway,hope the information is useful,as most people are unaware of the history! Thank you 😇!
@@roberthuron9160 I thought we won world war 1 in spite of our dodgy breaks?
Not a women in sight - except the canteen scene
Omg flying Kipper.
Troublesome trucks.
Is it always dark and or cloudy in the UK?
no its just the film quality
neat
Unfortunately, once other people caught up they realised we were making overpriced bad quality crap. But we had a good run for a long time so cannot complain ❤🤘
Super high tech
,,,
, ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Railway Law Enforcement Officers.
And sadly all these people are dead!
I was 14 years old when this was made, the same age as the kids in this film. I'm very much alive and intend to remain so for many more years..
@@rjmun580 god bless my friend
Men men men...the men the men...chaps chaps....
Imagine if you run an industry today with men only...advertising for men or a man. Seeing the people work inches from spinning
machines, no guards in place....
When men were men and women were women. Now we haven’t a clue who’s who in our LBGT dominated society.
No limp wrists either.
Nice to see Jack Hawkins back again... although now sammy
Nickname I'm sure...
Sid Vicious good point ..... that’s whom I meant 🤦🏻♂️
sounds like frederick h grisewood speaking mmmmmmmmmmm
1953, they were still used to working together as team. Then came the baby boomers and wanted to do things differently, even worse their spoilt children, even worse worse the millenials, and now the WOKES. Down and down and down.
Not a single non-white face to be seen. We managed perfectly well without outside interference.
All those lost jobs; perhaps too much technology is a bad thing.
Cannot stop progress and keep some false ecnomy going.
Much of that technology ended up creating jobs rather than destroying them.
Its thomas the tank engine bulgy the bus.