The Railway map of Birmingham and the West Midlands was extremely complicated, with the Midland, London North Western and Great Western Railways all vying for the area’s trade. In this programme, filmed between 1962 and 1966, semaphore signals sprouted at every junction and station, slow moving freight trains carried vast tonnages of raw materials as well as collecting finished goods. Most localities still had their station in good working order with sidings and branches to serve the smallest works. 

This programme looks at the disappearing scene; from the Lickey Incline in the South to the Trent Valley Line in the North and from Hatton in the East to Oxley in the West. The main line Diesel had not invaded the area in 1963, so we see ex-LMS and ex-GWR locomotives hard at work on variety of workings, from long distance freights to the local ‘pick-up goods’.