The Geoff Holyoake Collection (3 DVD) Boxset - Description
Geoff Holyoake is a legend
among railway enthusiasts. He had a passion, skill and determination to capture
the age of steam on film before it was too late, ensuring that, today, we have
an incredible archive of footage showing the great locomotives, the historic
lines and the beginning of the preservation movement. Geoff Holyoake was one of
the small elite who used 16mm film rather than 8mm, producing films for
commercial sale under the Meteor Films banner. This three-DVD box set brings
together some of the most exquisite footage from the Geoff Holyoake Collection
Sixties Southern
The last years of steam on
British Railways have been well documented, particularly in photographs. During
that time moving picture recordings were rare with only the most dedicated
enthusiasts being able to afford the use of cine film. Geoff Holyoake was among
that number, and this DVD features some of the most evocative sequences he
captured. Geoff’s home was near the South Western Main Line of the Southern
Region in the 1960s and he recorded the last days of steam on what was to
become the last steam main line of all, filming the King Arthurs, Charlies and
Bulleid Pacifics as well as some of the final examples of the pre-grouping
engines that worked there. This is his record of his own favourite railway in
the Sixties - the South Western lines.
Southern Region from East to
West
The Southern Region of
British Railways was one of the last parts of the national railway network to
use steam locomotives from the days of the pre-grouping companies. These helped
maintain the atmosphere of each of the main constituent parts of the old
Southern Railway well into the 1960s. Geoff Holyoake’s professional 16mm colour
cine films bring the Southern Region of the 1960s back to life - from the Eastern
Division through the Central and the Western Divisions. Here we can see once
again push-pull Hs and M7s, Brighton “Terriers” and Radial tanks, as well as
the Pacifics, Moguls and BR Standard classes that all went to make up the
most varied selection of steam motive power on British Railways in the 1960s.
Western Region in the Sixties
During the 1960s the railways
of Great Britain
were undergoing a fundamental change. British Railways was rapidly scrapping
the faithful steam engine and replacing it with modern diesels and electric
locomotives. As a result, the followers of steam tried to preserve its legacy
in as many ways as possible - notably by running special trains to commemorate
the passing of old friends, preserving individual locomotives, rolling stock
and complete railways, and, last but not least, capturing everyday sights on
film, both in photographs and on moving film. This DVD is devoted to Geoff
Holyoake’s record of steam locomotives on the old Western Region and the early
preservation of former GWR lines and stock as the preservation movement got
under way.
