Railways’ silver jubilee

Rob Foxon marked 25 years of presenting the archive film series, Railways Remembered, at the Palace Theatre, Newark, with a programme entitled East Coast Mainline.

The first film was shot by Roger Paul in 1896 at Wood Green Station, North London. There were other films showing the top link ECML services like the Flying Scotsman and Silver Jubilee.

Other highlights were the opening sequence of Will Hay’s film, Oh Mr Porter, filmed at North Hertfordshire station, a 1959 BBC Railway Roundabout film of a Kings Cross locomotive shed and documentary Elizabethan Express.

Of local interest was footage of the 1983 visit of the steam engine The Flying Scotsman where it stopped to take on water at Newark Northgate.

He then returned with Age Of Aviation which featured aircraft in wartime. It began with a Ministry of Information film from 1940, entitled Fighter Pilot. It described a typical day in the life of a second world war fighter pilot. Another one from 1945 called Mosquitoes In Making showed the construction of the all-wooden aircraft.

Ferry Pilot, a 1941 film, described in documentary style the working day of the Air Transport Auxilliary whose task it was to move aircraft around the country.

Canada Carries On was a 1944 film subtitled Target Berlin which featured the construction of Lancaster Bombers built under licence.

There was then a short colour documentary showing the making of the flight sequence from the feature film Battle of Britain, shot over seven months in England , France and Spain — PAS.