Rail (1967)

There is something almost visceral about the first ten minutes of this short feature that really captures the thrills, speed and even the filth of steam railways. Maybe it’s the high-speed score, or the rapid-fire editing or just the sheer pace as these steam trains race, always quite precariously I felt, along the tracks. With the drivers exposed to the elements and their back-breaking shovelers constantly topping up the fiery furnace with coal the passengers have their lunch or a read or a snooze as the steam pours out of the engine. It’s scintillating stuff to watch. The last few minutes offer us a more civilised, and sterilised, look at more modern and comfortable carriages and freighters as the diesel trains take over. Cleaner, longer and safer, no doubt, but somehow these don’t make the same mess, the same noise, the same impact as we watch them more sedately cover the country enclosed and more comfortable. Nobody tries to narrate this, it is just left to some nifty film-making and a bit of nostalgia. Worth a watch.