British Transport Films Collection
Specials
TV-G
The complete British Transport Films Collection is a fond look back at the history and evolution of the locomotive. Spread over nine volumes, the BFI's celebrated series provides a fascinating insight into the changing social history of Britain from the 1950s to the 1980s.
Where to Watch Specials
7 Episodes
- A Nation on Film SpecialE1
A Nation on Film SpecialAfter World War Two, a group of film-makers were paid by the government to persuade people to use public transport. Some of their critics called their work expensive propaganda, but the British Transport Film unit produced some of our finest post-war documentaries and captured a golden era on the railways, before the Beeching cuts. - The Wealth of the World Transport
E4The Wealth of the World TransportTransport was one of the first four films produced by British Transport, and made by Pathe's documentary unit. It is an argument for nationalisation under the 1948 Transport Act, not just of railways but of roads and waterways as well. - The Site in the Sea
E5The Site in the SeaThe construction of a new harbour at Port Talbot in South Wales, a 3% year, £20 million project. Engineers working day and night in all weathers to build the first harbour in Britain designed to unload 100,000 - ton iron ore carriers. and provide the British steel industry with facilities equal to any in the world. - Thirty Million Letters
E6Thirty Million LettersEvery Day the minds and emotions of Britain's citizens are changed by the coming and going of thirty million letters. This film shows the magic of the mail. A look at some of the familiar and unfamiliar services provided by the Post Office, how it is done, who does it and what they think about it, whether it be a postmen in the Outer Hebrides, a sorter on the postal special out of Euston or an engineer supervising the working of a new automatic letter-facing machine. - The Changing Face of Railways a Bygone Era in Colour
E8The Changing Face of Railways a Bygone Era in ColourDocumentary about the changes made to the railway network as a result of the 'Modernisation Plan' implemented by British Railways. With previously unseen archive footage taken from the British Transport Films unit, the programme features the Blue Pullman, the Golden Arrow, the Night Ferry, the Metropolitan Railway, the Victoria line and more.