British Railways - English Branch Lines and Byways (DVD) - Description
Branch lines and secondary routes have always had a special appeal. This programme recalls many such English byways in films made in the 1950s and '60s. The railways portrayed ran through landscapes which ranged from the green and pleasant shires of rural England to the very heart of the Metropolis. Among the routes featured are: in the Western Region, auto trains on the Gloucester to Chalford service and branch lines to Princetown and Ashburton; in the Midlands the lines from Stamford to Essendine and Seaton are recalled; steam byways around London include the Stanmore branch, the service from Ealing Broadway to Greenford and the West London line. Among the Southern Region branches and secondary lines visited are those to Lymington, Swanage, Hayling island, the Guildford to Horsham service and the network of lines centred on Tunbridge Wells West, which served Oxted, Hailsham and Lewes. Films of the former Midland & Great Northern joint system in East Anglia, where closure in 1959 was the first major portent of the drastic cuts which were to be made to the railways of England in the 1960s, and that ultimate in byways, the roadside tramway, which ran from Wisbech to Upwell, conclude the programme. Most of the lines covered in this programme had been closed by the end of the 1960s. Those who knew these lines will have pleasant memories revived by the films and for those who did not get the chance to travel on them in their heyday, this will be a revelation of a lost era. All connoisseurs of minor railways will find this programme a welcome addition to their collection.
