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.

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).

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!