![The Fall and Rise of Britain's Railways [DVD] [Edizione: Regno Unito]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51s7ZF3EpBL._SX300_SY300_QL70_ML2_.jpg)
![The Fall and Rise of Britain's Railways [DVD] [Edizione: Regno Unito]](https://images-eu.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81SN+RAvX4L._AC_UL116_SR116,116_.jpg)
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This eight-episode documentary on the history of Britain's rail system between the 1920s and 1980s was bought blind, but I am so glad I did. It is a truly fascinating series.
Each episode lasts about fifty minutes and takes us chronologically through the changes that took place. The titles of each episode give a flavour of the story: 1. `The Inheritance of War'; 2. `Nationalisation'; 3. `The Railway Crisis'; 4. `The Modernisation Schemes'; 5. `The New Railway'; 6. `Retrenchment'; 7. `Elimination of Steam'; and 8. `The Corporate Era'.
The narration by Jeremy English (from a script by James Foster) is well-presented but there is perhaps too much to take in at times. But the detail is welcome. It's not just locomotive numbers and classes. In addition, there is much about dieselisation, signalling, routes, shunting, accidents, freight, and working conditions. By no means is this a work of nostalgia, but rather a serious attempt to place the railways within the economic and social life of the country in the twentieth century.
The filming consists of non-stop archive film, including newsreels and official films of the time. All parts of Great Britain are covered, but what the series lacks is the presence of any maps that might have aided elucidation of the changes of routes, especially around the Beeching era. I felt there could also have been more time spent placing events in Britain within the wider European context. (For example, did France and Germany also have a Beeching moment?)
Without a hint of any dumbing-down, this is an intelligent series with much meat on the bone for rail enthusiasts. But is the title justified? Did Britain's railways really rise? Did they really decline? The argument of this programme is that the difference between 1955 and 1970 was pronounced, with two very different railways operating: at the later date Britain had new trains, new stations, new uniforms, and new signage; it was a leaner and fitter system.
The series ends with the APT and the introduction of the Inter-City 125s. The latter are now forty years old, of course, and one wonders what the judgement of the authors of this series would be of the period from 1980 to the present day.
There are, alas, no extras. The script as a .pdf document would have been helpful.
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Nicholas Casley
An Intelligent Series with Much Meat on the Bone
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