West of Inverness

An intimate insight into the servant culture and lifestyle of the Viceroy of India and family, as they visit Simla (Shimla) and Lahore.

In the first half of the 20th century, America's railroads were radically transformed by the innovation of gargantuan steam locomotives. Pushed by the need to haul ever longer and heavier trains, the nation's locomotive works responded with the invention of awe-inspiring articulated engines. Delivering up to 7,500 horsepower, these steel behemoths could haul mile-long, 15,000-ton trains. In this riveting program, journey back to the golden age of steam for an up-close look at these legendary locomotives. See the Union Pacific's famed "Big Boy" in action and ride the rails of the Chesapeake & Ohio and Norfolk & Western railways. Meet the men who drove engines like the Allegheny and Yellowstone, and visit the museums and yards where the largest steamers ever built remain preserved in time. THE HISTORY CHANNEL' proudly presents this rollicking retrospective, sure to set any rail fan's heart pounding

Final Line

America's Railroad℠ marks 40 years of service with this exclusive look inside the company. From the making and building of Amtrak to its plans for the future, this is the definitive story.

A group of people are standing along the platform of a railway station in La Ciotat, waiting for a train. One is seen coming, at some distance, and eventually stops at the platform. Doors of the railway-cars open and attendants help passengers off and on. Popular legend has it that, when this film was shown, the first-night audience fled the café in terror, fearing being run over by the "approaching" train. This legend has since been identified as promotional embellishment, though there is evidence to suggest that people were astounded at the capabilities of the Lumières' cinématographe.

Neil Oliver and Tony Pollard set out to solve one of the biggest puzzles in battlefield archaeology. 700 years ago, Robert the Bruce's overwhelming victory over the English at the Battle of Bannockburn helped seal Scotland's future as an independent kingdom, although the actual location remains a mystery. With the help of leading battlefield archaeologists, stuntmen, computer-generated graphics and some digging, Neil and Tony go in search of both the real and imagined Battle of Bannockburn.

A day in the city of Berlin, which experienced an industrial boom in the 1920s, and still provides an insight into the living and working conditions at that time. Germany had just recovered a little from the worst consequences of the First World War, the great economic crisis was still a few years away and Hitler was not yet an issue at the time.

Eilish McColgan is running in the footsteps of her mother, Liz. This documentary shares their extraordinary journeys as Eilish tries to break her mum's final record - the marathon.

On the Train captures from the birth to the last moment of the railway, 98.2 kilometers long and opened in 1992, crossing southern Taiwan.

Filmed mostly on a Mini DV camera Gavin has thought of a quick way to become successful and be the master of the world but he has to wait for it all to fall into place… he has to wait for the postman to start production documenting the process of being master of the world.

A light and somewhat satirical look at the problems and pleasures of Continental holiday travel. A passenger on the Hook Continental Express from Liverpool St. imagines the possible destinations of his fellow passengers.

A British Transport Film, in German!

When a business tycoon allows himself to be 'snared' into seeing some films in a railway traffic manager's office, there must be a reason for it. In this case, it's a particularly giant-sized transport problem. But before he's convinced that the railways can help him solve it, there is an atmosphere of battle in the room, and some interesting and unexpected facts are hurled about in the course of the argument. Made to promote the use of railways to transport raw materials and finished products.

Take a breathtaking train a ride through Nothern Quebec and Labrador on Canada’s first First Nations-owned railway. Come for the celebration of the power of independence, the crucial importance of aboriginal owned businesses and stay for the beauty of the northern landscape.

Using dramatizations and reenactments accompanied by expert commentary, this riveting documentary recounts the story of Robert Roy MacGregor -- aka Rob Roy, Scotland's answer to the legendary Robin Hood. After the Duke of Montrose confiscated MacGregor's property and wealth in 1712 to settle a debt, he became a brigand revered among the poor and downtrodden for his alleged generosity (at the expense of the rich).

Canadian Pacific I is made up of a series of slowly dissolved shots done from the same framing over several months. The camera frames a window with a railway yard in the foreground, a bay in the space behind it, and misty mountains in the extreme distance. Trains occasionally pass by in the foreground. Huge ships move across the bay. Blue mists hover over the mountain heads.

Canadian Pacific II is designed as a companion piece to Canadian Pacific I. Shot from a window two storeys higher and in the building adjacent to the artists’s studio of the previous year, one enters into a dream state… an involvement with a vocabulary of seeing and feeling by subtle transitions of the passage of time

Scotland is a country of three distinct regions—the highlands, the islands, and the lowlands. These regions are examined, showing how the isolated people contact the outside world with their use of channel boats called “Puffers,” how they observe the customs of the seasons, and how the various clans and regiments celebrate their history at the Edinburgh Festival.

Documentary telling the story of Balmoral, the royal family's most private residence. For over 150 years this Scottish castle has been home to royal traditions of picnics, stag hunting and kilts. From prime ministers to Princess Diana, life at this tartan-bound holiday home has not appealed to everyone. But there is another story of Balmoral, of how the royal family has played a role in shaping modern Scotland and how Scotland has shaped the royal family. Queen Victoria's adoption of Highland symbols, from tartan to bagpipes, helped create a new image for Scotland. Her values, too, helped strengthen the union between Scotland and England. Ever since, Balmoral has been a place that reflects the very essence of the royal family.

A family embarks on an annual tormenting journey along with 130 million other peasant workers to reunite with their distant family, and to revive their love and dignity as China soars as the world's next super power.