Down the Line

Since 1863, the underground has served London , this started with the opening of the Metropolitan Railway from Paddington to Farrington. 150 years later, Steam returned to help celebrate the opening of this line - the world's first underground railway. Join us as we take a look at these celebrations...

Arfon spent a week on the Great Central Railway finding out everything a trainee footplate member needs to know. Starting at the bottom, just as a real trainee would have done on BR, Arfon first becomes a cleaner then gradually progresses up the ladder with ex-Fireman Ray Martin teaching him the art of firing. Ex-BR Driver Bill Gwilt then takes over to explain how to oil and prepare the loco followed by how to drive. Arfon then takes the controls of Clun Castle in charge of a seven coach “express” running from Loughborough Central to Rothley. If you have ever wondered how a steam engine works or how they are maintained or driven, this best selling video is for you.

Nearly 200 years ago, the train revolutionized our lives. It redrew the maps of states and nations, and changed concepts of distance and time like no other invention before. What visionaries imagined the development of the railroad? How did we get from the first chugging locomotives to the smooth giants of speed we see today? How does France's extensive rail network keep running smoothly, 24/7?

In a mountainous region of Sichuan, best known for pandas and earthquakes, there are no roads, no cars, no buses. But there is … a train. This documentary tells the story of the last working narrow gauge steam railway in China.

A special two disc edition from the Steam Scene of Summer 2016

Most movie fans know that the first filmmakers liked to shoot trains entering stations. This example by Sussex film pioneer George Albert Smith illustrates why. The train's rush towards the audience brings movement and visual drama. The flurry of human activity offers plenty for the audience to engage with - who are these people and where are they going? And the time pressure exerted by the fact that the train must soon depart adds narrative tension - will everyone get on and off in time?

Comedy in which a bungling railway worker is given the job of stationmaster at a rundown station in rural Ireland, where his sidekicks are a toothless old gaffer and a portly young loudmouth. Hilarious adventures ensue, including a locomotive chase after gunrunners make off with a train.

The Tramp is an escaped convict who is mistaken as a pastor in a small town church.

Genius Belgian detective Hercule Poirot investigates the murder of an American tycoon aboard the Orient Express train.

Narrated by Sir Derek Jacobi - star of the landmark television series "I, Claudius" - this documentary explores art and culture around the Bay of Naples before Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD 79. The bay was then the most fashionable destination for vacationing Romans. Julius Caesar, emperors, and senators were among those who owned sumptuous villas along its shores. Artists flocked to the region to create frescoes, sculpture, and luxurious objects in gold, silver, and glass for villa owners as well as residents of Pompeii and other towns in the shadow of Vesuvius. The film concludes with the story of the discovery of Pompeii and Herculaneum from the 18th century onward.

From One World to Another is an intimate documentary, a human and sensory journey through grief and friendship. After the accidental death of his best friend, actor Jérémie Renier begins a journey of contemplation thanks to the encounter with a French explorer, Loury Lag, who travels through uninhabited territories in extreme conditions. They will set off together across the Arctic ice floes. Left to their own devices, the two men will test each other, until they become alive again. An initiatory quest, which explores the territories of life, where the hostility of the world refers to death.

Kiki Kirin's Izakaya Grandma

Pete and Toshi Seeger, their son Daniel, and folklorist Bruce Jackson visited a Texas prison in Huntsville in March of 1966 and produced this rare document of of work songs by inmates of the Ellis Unit. Worksongs helped African American prisoners survive the grueling work demanded of them. With mechanization and integration, worksongs like these died out shortly after this film was made.

Author Christoph Boekel reconstructs his father's wartime deployment in 1941, when Germany attacked the Soviet Union, which at the time included Ukraine.

Making of the movie Southland Tales

Discover the shocking truths buried within America’s untold history in this groundbreaking documentary. Featuring stunning visuals and expert analysis, “Lincoln’s Quest for Empire” explores Christianity’s pivotal role in American history, the fate of the Puritan faith in the North, and the rise of Northern heretical movements. Delve into the unexpected causes of the Civil War, the concealed story of antebellum slavery, and the Emancipation Proclamation’s ulterior motives. Uncover the true face of Abraham Lincoln, a man revered as a national saint but led over a million Americans to their deaths. Prepare for an eye-opening journey that will change how you see America’s past and present.

With a pair of scissors and some paper, he turned his art into a weapon the Nazis feared. A look back at the eventful career of satirist John Heartfield (1891-1968), pioneer of photomontage and modern graphic design.

Chronicles Jimi Hendrix's transformative journey from an unknown sideman to a revolutionary guitar icon, exploring his arrival in swinging 1960s London, his breakout and how he ignited a cultural shift that changed music history.

In 1977, after a fourteen year dry spell, the novelist Barbara Pym was nominated for a Booker Award for her novel, Quartet in Autumn. This drama documentary biopic sees Patricia Routledge as Pym and follows the day of the prize presentation, as she observes people and reminisces about life and love.

Documentary about the Yale Puppeteers. A bit eccentric, certainly off beat and creative, the puppeteers and their story - as well as their place in history - is meticulously documented and tugs at the heartstrings.