News
10.12.2016
Northwest Mainline Steam
2016 Out Now
We're pleased to
announce that the latest in our Northwest Mainline Steam series of
films is now available. It's been an usual year, with the S&C
closed from early February, but with the return of some big names -
Flying Scotsman and Royal Scot no less. Nevertheless, we've been
busy and had no trouble in gathering material. It's also given us
the opportunity to explore some less familiar but equally
worthwhile haunts - such as the Newcastle-Carlisle line (as
featured above from a visit in 2010).
08.03.2015
1-in-100 The Settle &
Carlisle Explored With Steam Out Now
Our 8 year project
on the S&C is now complete, and officially released. I never
thought it would take 8 years, but the more we got into it, the
more we seemed to need to film. I don't know how many hours we
shot, but it must be over a hundred- scary! The original aim was
established in 2003, and having started the project once, was
re-started with the advent of High Definition technology in 2007.
The earliest material is from February of that year, and the latest
from February of this. In truth, the project was perhaps
unknowingly started by my father in 1978, when he photographed 4771
Green Arrow at Ribblehead. That photo features in the film,
alongside many others of his, showing many of things which have
disappeared and changed in the years since then (and other facets
which happily remain). The vast majority of the shots (over 95%)
were recorded for this project, and the film aims to therefore not
be a compilation of material from other releases, but the result of
dedicated planning and shooting. I'm pleased that we are now also
able to provide it in Blu-Ray format, enabling viewers to see the
material as we do. If you buy it, I hope you enjoy it for many
years to come.
02.12.2013
Northwest Mainline
Steam 2013 Out Now
The next in our annual series is now available. At 105 minutes in length, the DVD covers steam at work in the region from Todmorden in the south to Mallaig in the north. There is detailed coverage of Galatea's incredible return and a wide variety of other material with 45407, 44871, 60009, 46115, 46233, 61306, 44932, 62005, 5043, 45231, 61994, and 70013 all featuring.
14.01.2013
Northwest Mainline Steam 2012
We are proud to announce the
release of our first annual review, covering all of the key
mainline events from 2012. 14 locomotives are captured at work in
the region, from Preston in the south to Carstairs in the north.
Click here
for full details.
15.09.2012
Busy summer helps us
progress Settle-Carlisle DVD
With all of the Fellsman, Cumbrian Mountain Express, and Waverley railtours this summer, in addition to other one-off charters, we've made real in-roads into our next release, dedicated to steam on the Settle-Carlisle railway, and including footage dating back to 2007. The DVD plans to be around 2 hours in duration, and an Easter 2013 release date is planned. Watch this space!
08.04.2012
New Sample For 'Uphill and Down Dale' Now On YouTube
To see a sample for the new DVD, of the profile on 46115 Scots Guardsman, click here.
31.03.2012
Successful S&C Winter Season Filming
After 8 fairly self-indulgent
Saturday's, we have loads of new material for the forthcoming
Settle & Carlisle DVD. Check back soon for updates as this nears
completion, due for release later this year.
14.02.2012
Positive Feedback Rolling
In
It has been great to have such
positive feedback for our new, and first, DVD 'Uphill and Down
Dale':
'Got the disc today-absolutely
stunning. Ignoring the subject matter, the scenery is wonderful and
the camera work top notch. You obviously have been very careful in
selecting locations' (Tom,
New
Jersey,
USA).
'The editing is spot-on, the
commentary (I’m no fan of commentaries) is concise, informative and
well-delivered, and even the title music is rather good (I suspect
this may be composed and performed by the producers, though there’s
no credit). It’s a cut above the machine-generated “Smart Sound”
rubbish that some producers are content with.
Of course, all this technical quality and fine presentation is
as naught unless the raw material is up to snuff. There’s no need
to worry on that score. The camera work and choice of locations are
of equally high standard. Pans and zooms are used sparingly and are
always smooth and deliberate: no wobbles, no hesitations, no
changes of mind part-way through, the subject always perfectly
framed. Classically lit front three-quarter views are contrasted
with contra-jour lighting, and lineside-fence shots are
counter-balanced by long views from distant hill-tops. As much care
has been taken over recording the sound, too. The microphones are
kept out of the wind and rain yet still record every detail. I
didn’t detect any overloading, and no interference from overhead
lines – remarkable, given the number of shots on the WCML.' (Mark
Fry, Steam Age Pictures, Oxfordshire).
27.01.2012
2012 filming
begins
Looking forward to the double
headed pairing of 45407 and 44871 over Shap and the S&C on the
28th - our first filiming outing of the New Year. Heavy snowfall on
Shap last night - here's hoping it stays!
26.01.2012
Ready to
go!
Well, following nearly 5 years
of filming, and 4 months of editing, the new DVD is ready to go! We
hope that people have as much enjoyment watching it as we did
gathering the footage. Looking back, we have enjoyed such a rich
and varied period of Mainline steam. Perhaps 46115 has stolen the
show, but with superb performances from Tornado, the Duchess, the
Duke, Lizzie and even the much under-rated 8F, it's hard to judge!
We also cannot fail to forget that despite the cull of British
Railways in the 60s and 70s, we are very privileged to still see
steam over Shap, Beattock and Ais Gill - as well as on some fairly
remote sections of mainline, such as those north of Ravenglass on
the Cumbrian Coast.
Long may it continue!