[John Webb]

According to a catalogue update received today from The Signal Box in Anstey, Leics., BFI will be releasing Volume 6 of their BTF collection on the 12th of November. It is called "Art of Travel".

Regards,
John Webb

 

[dwb]

Thanks for the "heads up" on this one John. Given the way previous titles have been given, it looks like railways may be peripheral in this set. What do you think?

David

 

[John Webb]

I think this one will have more railway in than Volume 5 had. At least half the films listed by The Signal Box in their DVD News appear in the late John Huntley's 'Railways on the Screen' book. It may be worth looking at www.bfi.org.uk/video for more detail - I haven't had the chance to do so yet.

Regards,
John

 

[dwb]

Volume 5 was a particularly "thin" offering for railways - enjoyable certainly - but not quite enough for me.

Thanks for the link - I've the checked the site which seems a lot better than the last time I looked. This is the webpage to keep an eye for updates, or be the first in your local HMV store and buy the one and only copy they get - that's how I got volume 5.

David

 

[John Webb]

My cheque has gone off the The Signal Box, where I got volumes 4 & 5 from. They were very helpful and don't charge postage on UK orders over £15. The previous three volumes I'd bought mostly from stands at exhibitions, although they tended to sell out very quickly, so I sometimes had to wait for a while after issue.

Regards,
John

 

[John Webb]

Right! My copy of Vol 6 arrived at lunchtime today. Following material taken from the booklet.

The contents are described as a 'Second look at the travel documentaries produced by BTF' and goes on to comment that 1950s films hardly mentioned trains, but by the 1970s they included comments about luggage in advance and stressed how you could leave your car behind.

Contents (all colour unless marked b/w):
Disc 1:
North to the Dales - 1962 - a look at the Yorkshire Dales
Yorkshire Sands - 1955 - Yorkshire coast
Down to Sussex - 1964 - South Downs, Weald, seaside and sports
The Land of Robert Burns - 1956 - Scotland and the poet's life
Journey into History - 1952 - A look at the mid-18th Century, Hogarth, Gainborough, Captin Cook and others
Midland County - 1974 - a look at eleven Midland counties
The Travolators - 1961 (b/w) - the then new travolators at Bank Station.

Disc 2:
Journey to the Sea - 1952 (b/w) - Lorry carries propeller from Lancs for a trawler stuck in a Welsh port
London for a Day - 1962 - looking at aspects of the capital
The Beacons and Beyond - 1979 - Look at the Breacon Beacons and south to the coast of South Wales
A Desperate Case - 1958 (b/w) - How not to pack your suitcase!
Lancashire Coast - 1957 - Morecombe, Blackpool etc.
Golfers in a Scottish Landscape - 1971 - past and present golfing matters

Regards,
John Webb

 

[John Webb]

Right, I've had a look at all the tracks. This new volume is very similar to Vol 2 'See Britain by Train'. The railways are peripheral to the main subjects of the film, but are the means (generally) of getting there. They are glimpsed rather than studied. But some of the glimpses are very interesting, particularly in 'Down to Sussex' which includes the 'Brighton Belle' and a short period on the Volks Electric Railway at Brighton.

What the films do show are the fashions and motor vehicles (or lack of them!) of the particular times of each film, which could be very useful for the fine detail of a period layout.

I found them fascinating having grown up through the fifties and sixties.

Regards,
John Webb

 

[dwb]

Thanks for that brief review, it sounds like I would enjoy it.

David