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Ref: VI261B

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What a great way to see Lisbon and its fascinating tramlines - a Driver's eye view!

This production starts with a brief history of Carris, the company first set up in 1872 to operate horse-drawn trams. The one-time extensive network of routes stretching into the Lisbon suburbs has been reduced over the years to just five. We take you over the two most popular and interesting survivors.

Firstly, we travel aboard one of the 1930's vintage wooden four wheel tramcars on Route 28, taking us from the outskirts of the capital right through the centre. You will see double and single line sections running through the narrowest of streets and the steepest of hills. This route in particular is recommended for tourists as it passes so many landmarks in the old parts of the City.

By contrast we then travel route 15 on board a modern Siemens articulated tram, one of ten dating from 1995. This is the longest of the remaining routes and, running close to the coast, passes many of the popular tourist sites. The 15 also runs past the tram depot at Santo Amaro which is little changed over the years. The depot also contains the Carris tram museum.

There are also two menu driven bonuses!

Bonus 1: The Carris Transport Museum. A look around the sheds at Santo Amaro seeing some of the older tramcars dating from the 1900s.

Bonus 2: The Bica Funicular. Being very hilly, Lisbon has three funicular tramways. We take a look at one of them, the cable-hauled Bica Funicular.

Picture format 16:9 widescreen.

Filmed in 2010

Availability: AVAILABLE
Narrated by: Rob Curling and Yves Aubert (French), written by Peter Middleton.
Classification: Exempt
Number of discs: 1 Blu-ray

Running Time: 85-mins (1hr 15min)

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Ref: VI260B

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Manchester Airport to Liverpool Lime Street

We travel aboard a Northern Rail class 156 Sprinter for an exceptionally smooth ride. This limited-stop service shows us the whole Airport Branch, the Stockport-avoiding line built as recently as 1909 and the approach and through platforms at Manchester Piccadilly followed by the elevated section through Oxford Road. We then join the very original route surveyed and built by none other than George Stephenson. The stone block permanent way has long since gone but the history is still there to be told by former Calendar anchor Alan Hardwick.

Chat Moss has gone down in railway folklore as one of George Stephenson’s greatest feats, laying a railway line across a seemingly impenetrable bog. See how little it has changed today from the cab and from a helicopter flying overhead! We then travel through Rainhill over the ground covered by Stephenson’s famous Rocket - the winner of the Rainhill Locomotive Trials in 1829. Edge Hill is another place long associated with this pioneering railway and from here the line descends into Liverpool Lime Street through a myriad of tunnels flanked by deep rock cuttings, seen best of all from the Driver’s cab. Filmed in 2010 before electrification.

Bonus Footage: Liverpool Road old Terminus, Rainhill Trials Exhibition.

Availability: AVAILABLE
Filmed by/when: 2010 before electrification.
Narrated by: Alan Hardwick, written by Peter Middleton.
First published on DVD: 2010
Classification: Exempt
Number of discs: 1 Blu-ray

Running Time: 65-mins (1hr 5min)

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Ref: VI314B

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The Hope Valley line seen from a class 185 DMU from Manchester Piccadilly on one of the hourly Transpenninexpress services to Cleethorpes, running via Stockport and the scenic Hope Valley route over the Pennines to Sheffield. From Sheffield the landscape changes from one of hills and heavy industry to the rural flatlands of North Lincolnshire.

One of the highlights of this journey of contrasts, is the much photographed array of semaphore signals at Wrawby Junction, viewed from the Driver's cab just weeks before abolition. Threading our way through the back streets of Grimsby Town on a single line, we finish our journey at the popular seaside town of Cleethorpes.

Filmed in the summer of 2015.

Availability: AVAILABLE
Narrated by: Alan Hardwick, written by Peter Middleton.
First published on DVD: June 2016
Classification: Exempt
Number of discs: 1 Blu-ray

Running Time: 127-mins (2hr 7min)

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Ref: VI305B

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Milan, the capital of the Lombardy region of Italy, has one of the largest tram networks in the world, dating back to 1881. Today there are no less than 17 routes covering a total of 71 route miles. There are various types of tram in daily use, both ancient and modern operating out of five depots.

This film is divided into four parts:

The Tram History: tracing the origins of the system from the first horse-drawn routes to electrification by the Edison company and the subsequent congestion of routes resulting in their complete reorganisation and closure of the central terminus.

The Current Tram Fleet: consisting of a wide variety of approximately 300 trams of 6 main types dating from 1929 to 2010.

The Depots: We visit each of the main depots. Ticinese, Precotto, Leoncavallo, Baggio and the largest conventional depot of them all - Messina.

Driver's eye view: The main part of this film is a complete Driver's eye view of Line 1. We travel on board one of the Peter Witts-inspired twin bogie tramcars dating from 1929. With all cars being single ended, each terminus begins in a turning circle or loop. Line 1 begins at Greco in a one way street to the north of the City centre. The 55 minute journey takes us through the very heart of Milan, past many of the top tourist attractions. En route, we encounter the amazing tram infrastructure with both reserved track and street running while crossing numerous junctions and tram routes. A tree-lined avenue takes us to the turning circle and loop of the terminus of line 1 at Piazza Castelli.

Filmed in good weather in high definition, this is as near to travelling on a tram in the 1930s as it's possible to get.

Availability: AVAILABLE
Narrated by: Diego Porzio, written by Peter Middleton.
Classification: Exempt
Number of discs: 1 Blu-ray

Running Time: 85-mins (1hr 15min)

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Ref: VI315B

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CREWE to HOLYHEAD

The 21st century incarnation of the traditional Irish Boat Train running from London to Holyhead, nowadays takes the form of a handful of daily services run by Virgin Trains.

We join one such service at Crewe for a trip along the North Wales Coast. Our train is formed of a 5 car class 221 Super Voyager. The 1049 is the fastest service of the day. Our first stop is the City of Chester, after which we run non-stop to the popular seaside resort of Rhyl. Running along the scenic coastline via Colwyn Bay and Llandudno Junction we get some fabulous views, not least of which the Iconic Conwy Castle and the castellated bridge over the river.

After Bangor, we see the equally iconic Britannia Bridge crossing the Menai Strait. Ravaged by fire in 1970, the bridge had to be largely rebuilt and now we can see it from the Driver's viewpoint. The first station we pass through on the Isle of Anglesey has that famous name, the longest of all, Llanfair

pwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwyllllantysiliogogogoch. It takes Welsh-speaking narrator Arfon Haines Davies to pronounce it.

Arfon also tells us the history of the route, dating from 1848 and built specifically to convey the Irish mail from London to Dublin,

Following our train all the way from Crewe to Holyhead is a helicopter taking in some spectacular views from the air.

Filmed on a glorious summer's day in 2016 under a clear blue sky, this surely is a journey not to be missed?

Running time: 109-mins

Availability: AVAILABLE
Narrated by: Arfon Haines Davies, written by Peter Middleton.
Classification: Exempt
Number of discs: 1 Blu-ray

Running Time: 109-mins (1hr 49min)

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Ref: VI320B

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Skegness is a classic seaside town on the east coast of Lincolnshire. Ever since the railway arrived in 1873 the town has been a popular holiday destination. Today's train service is a far cry from the line's heyday when six platforms were in use at the terminus. Just one train an hour ply's the route from Nottingham these days. Filmed in the cab of a 3 car class 156/153 Sprinter combination, our limited-stop train calls at Grantham for connection with the East Coast Main Line. Here the train reverses and continues via Boston and Sleaford. Most of the route is still block worked with semaphore signals controlled by manual signal boxes overseeing traditional wooden level crossing gates. The history of the line is fascinating and former Yorkshire ITV news anchor Alan Hardwick narrates.

Availability: AVAILABLE
Filmed by/when: June 2017
Narrated by: Alan Hardwick, written by Peter Middleton.
First published on DVD: Late November 2017
Classification: Exempt
Number of discs: 1 Blu-ray

Running Time: 118-mins (1hr 58min)

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Ref: VI324B

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London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly.

Video 125's first ever TILTING Driver’s eye view.

Experience the thrill of riding in the cab of an iconic Pendolino tilting train, travelling over the West Coast Main Line, the UK’s busiest. We travel on board the 1220 Virgin Trains’ London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly service running via Stoke on Trent. It’s quite amazing to see the degree of tilt from the driver’s viewpoint and how easily the class 390 takes the curves at speeds of up to 125 mph!

At 2 hours and 6 minutes, our journey is shown virtually in real time. As well as the usual cab cameras, we see the eleven coach train at dozens of locations, including Milton Keynes, Stoke on Trent and Stockport stations. We even take a brief look inside the Rugby ROC (Rail Operations Centre).

Narration is by BBC Radio 3’s Ian Skelly. He recalls the fascinating history of the ‘London and Birmingham’, Britain’s first long distance intercity railway, engineered by Robert Stephenson and opened in sections from 1837.

Our train then travels over the Trent Valley line before diverging at Colwich Junction onto the “Notty”, the North Staffordshire Railway, a company that remained independent for 75 years right up until the railway grouping.

Bluray version

Availability: AVAILABLE
Filmed by/when: Peter Middleton, Summer 2018
Narrated by: Ian Skelly, written by Peter Middleton
First published on DVD: Mid March 2018
Classification: Exempt
Number of discs: 1 Bluray

Running Time: 126-mins (2hr 6min) , Colour, Stereo sound
.

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Ref: VI300B

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This Driver's eye view is the South West Trains service for London Waterloo. Calling at Earley, Winnersh Triangle, Winnersh, Wokingham, Bracknell, Martins Heron, Ascot, Sunningdale, Virginia Water, Egham, Staines, Feltham, Twickenham, Richmond, Clapham Junction and London Waterloo. This is the service from Reading. This train is formed of eight coaches.

This busy commuter line has a minimum half hourly service throughout the day including Sundays. Almost all the trains are formed of Alstom Junipers and we follow ours from three signal boxes. Surprisingly, Wokingham signal box is still operated from a traditional lever frame. Our train is then passed to Feltham power 'box. From Richmond, control passes to Wimbledon PSB which takes our train all the way into Waterloo.

This Driver's eye view was filmed in the summer sunshine of 2013. High Definition bluray version. Also available on standard definition DVD)

Availability: AVAILABLE
Filmed by/when: Summer 2009
Narrated by: Rob Curling, written by Peter Middleton.
First published on DVD: 2009
Classification: Exempt
Number of discs: 1 Blu-ray

Running Time: 76-mins (1hr 16min)

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Ref: VI332B

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A unique look inside over 70 signal boxes taken from Video 125's archive filmed over a period of 30 years. Features 'boxes of all shapes and sizes, all kinds of operating methods from 19th century mechanical lever frames to 20th century panels to 21st century state-of-the-art Rail Operating Centres.

The video is divided into 5 main chapters:

• England

• Scotland

• Wales

• Ireland

• Underground

This is not an Open University-style production, more an interesting and entertaining visit to each box in turn. There are useful explanations of the workings in many cases and simple observations in others. Much footage is new, some seen before, but in most cases, further extended from the original rushes.

High-definition production with sections of older footage filmed in standard definition.

Signal boxes featured: Abergaveny Station Signal Box, Ashford IECC, Baker Street (Bakerloo), Baker Street (Met), Banavie, Barrhill, Birmingham New Street, Bootle, Cardiff ROC, Carnforth Station Junction, Carrick on Suir, Castlerock N.I. Church Street L/C Marks Tey, Clonmel, Cobourg Street, Crediton, Cromer Beach, CTC Dublin, Dromkeen L/C, Dunragit, Edgeworthstown, Elgin West, Exeter, Exmouth, Feltham, Girvan, Glenwhilly, Grange L/C Mooncoin, Greenford East, Haltwhistle OOU, Haltwhistle Portacabin, Harrow on the Hill, Haven Street, Haydon Bridge, Hexham, High Wycombe, Insch, Kennethmont, Kilkerran, Lentran, Limerick Junction North, Little Mill Junction, Liverpool Street (LUL), Machynlleth, Marble Arch, Marylebone, Muir of Ord, Mullingar, Nairn, Northumberland Park Depot control tower, Old Oak Common, Oxted, Pantyffynnon, Park South, Plymouth, Princes Risborough, Reedham Swing Bridge, Rugby ROC, Ryde St Johns Road, Salisbury, Sandhills IECC, Sellafield, St Marys L/C Stroud, Waterford Central, Waterford West, Waterloo (& City), West of Scotland ROC Cowlairs, West Ruislip, Westbury, Wimbledon, Wokingham, Wood Lane, Yeovil Pen Mill.

Availability: AVAILABLE
Filmed by/when: Peter Middleton
Narrated by: Jonathan Kydd
Written by: Peter Middleton
First published on DVD: June 2021
Screen aspect ratio: 4:3 & 16:9 SD/HD
Classification: Exempt
Number of discs: 1 DVD
Origination: AV/DV

Running Time: 128-mins (2hr 8min) , Colour
.

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Ref: VI319B

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The very best of preserved and working steam trains in Southern Africa filmed over a four year period by enthusiast and cameraman Jean Dulez.

Living in South Africa, Jean was uniquely able to travel throughout the African sub-continent to seek out the most spectacular locations to film preserved steam at its best. He was also able to record the amazing spectacle of some of the last pockets of working industrial steam trains in the 21st century in Botswana and Zimbabwe.

It takes an ardent enthusiast and expert photographer to compile a series of sequences of such high quality. Producer Peter Middleton was simply blown away when he first saw the spectacular sequences contained within. The scenery, the weather, the wide variety of steam action over main lines, branch lines, the so-called Cape Gauge (3ft 6ins) plus narrow gauge lines all combine to make this a steam spectacle not to be missed.

The film starts with a brief history of railways in Southern Africa followed by detailed maps and graphics throughout. This is a spectacle that you will want to watch and listen to over and over again, so we have added a commentary off button to allow you to listen to the wonderful stereo sounds of steam engines hard at work without interruption.

Availability: AVAILABLE
Filmed by/when: Between 2013 and 2017 by Jean Dulez
Narrated by: Jonathan Kydd
First published on DVD: Mid September 2017
Classification: Exempt
Number of discs: 1 Bluray

Running Time: 112-mins (1hr 52min)

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Ref: VI253B

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This is a Driver's eye view of the LGV Est, the high speed line from Eastern France. Filmed in 2011 before the final section was built, we benefit from seeing the scenic classic main line for about half the length of this production. Our journey begins in the capital of the Alsace wine-growing region of France. Our train is a classic TGV Réseau, the original and iconic high speed train. This is the 1203 to Paris Gare de l'est.

For the first half of our journey we travel over the traditional main line towards Nancy. Our TGV has just one intermediate stop at Saverne. Maximum line speed is 160 kmh or 100 mph. We travel through an exceptionally scenic part of France running alongside the Marne-Rhine canal and through a number of tunnels. After approximately 115 kms, we join the LGV Est. Now our speed doubles to 320 kmh or 200 mph as we leave the control of lineside signals and come under the control of the TVM 430 in-cab signalling system. This is overseen by the control centre at Pagny sur Moselle where we partly follow the progress of our train number 2424.

Now we experience the unique sensation of travelling at this very high speed, uninterrupted other than the usual shots of the driver and those taken from the trackside. Eventually, the TVM 430 tells driver Peter to begin to slow down before joining the classic main line at Chenay-Gagny, 16 kms from Paris. Finally, down to 30 kmh we enter the 26 platform Gare de l'est running about 30 seconds late! (Yes, seconds).

Availability: AVAILABLE
Filmed by/when: 2011
Narrated by: Jonathan Kydd (English) and Yves Aubert (French), written by Mike Hill
First published on DVD: 2011
Classification: Exempt
Number of discs: 1 Blu-ray

Running Time: 103-mins (1hr 43min)

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Ref: VI311B

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Paddington to Greenford

Slough to Windsor

Maidenhead to Marlow

Twyford to Henley

This is an opportunity to see four of the GWR Thames Valley branch lines from the driver's cab.

We start at Paddington for a run along the Greenford branch taking us over the Great Western main line via Ealing Broadway, the line terminating at Greenford sandwiched between the tracks of LUL's Central Line.

We then travel over the Windsor branch from Slough into the one-time showpiece Royal station facing Windsor Castle. Unusually we return part of the way to show the junction arrangement at Slough.

The Marlow branch is the fascinating legacy of the one-time through route to High Wycombe requiring a reversal at the constricted junction at Bourne End.

Finally, we travel over the line to Henley on Thames. All trains on the four branch lines consist of 2-car class 165 Turbo DMUs.

Filmed in the summer sunshine of 2015.

Narrated by Rob Curling and written by Peter Middleton

Running time: 72 minutes

Availability: AVAILABLE
Classification: Exempt
Number of discs: 1 Blu-ray

Running Time: 72-mins (1hr 12min)

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