1969: ALL CHANGE on the RAILWAYS | Tuesday Documentary | Retro Transport | BBC Archive

The curiously named documentary Engines Must Not Enter the Potato Siding looked the changing face of the UK’s railway network amid developing technology, and spoke to some of the railwaymen who had found their vocation dedicating their lives to the business of trains.
Clip taken from Tuesday Documentary: Engines Must Not Enter the Potato Siding, originally broadcast on BBC One, Tuesday 4th November 1969.
The music used has been changed and shortened from the original broadcast version.
The complete documentary Engines Must Not Enter The Potato Siding can be viewed on iPlayer. www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode...
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[@thecaveofthedead]

Those interviews with those railway workers are priceless.

[@davewalker7126]

I used to work 25 hours a day and live in a hole in the ground..

[@robbflynn4325]

I was born in Wigan in 1967. Taking a train journey when I was young was always something very special. More frequently, I rode the bus and loved sitting at the very front on the top deck! Often passed under railway bridges, and half duck thinking the bus would strike the underside of the bridge!

[@jasonayres]

(10:50) Something that was built (with pride, with effort, with foresight) that was built to last "100 years". It lasted more than "125", and even then, it took great effort to be destroyed. They had a hard time in tearing it all down. Rather like a railway network, my mind went off in several different directions, listening to this last sobering statement. It's kind of prophetic. It speaks volumes, in my opinion.

[@Faulty720]

At last, an old rail film I haven't seen yet. BBC Archives are probably one of, if not the only good thing left of the BBC

[@5nowChain5]

Most of it got sent to landfil or wiped.

[@yorkyswe]

Tinsley Marshalling Yard was never used to full capacity, and road freight and the decline of manufacturing in the 1970s sealed its fate, It was closed in 1984. I'm firmly of the opinion that had British Rail not been sold off, and enjoyed the investment and subsidies the franchises were given, our rail network would be hugely better and cheaper than the mess we have today. Privatisation: the gift that keeps on giving (to the shareholders).

[@analogueman123456787]

To some extent I agree. British Rail, in it's day, suffered from under-investment (from all political parties) and p*ss-poor decision making from government and civil servants. (Semi)-privatisation in the mid-90s on the other hand has gifted us a public service which fundamentally puts profit before the passenger. That foundation causes more issues on a day-to-day basis than the travelling public realises. Into the future, we have the dubious prospect of Great British Railways (GBR), which I can't help thinking will end up being a combination of the worst of both the above. What the industry (and the passengers at large) really needs is a fundamental change in culture. Sadly, I'm not optimistic I'll see that in my lifetime.

[@analogueman123456787]

@@Denis.Collins - Much the same could be said in terms of idealogical differences between sides for numerous industries between the start of the 60s and end of the 80s. The railways certainly didn't have a monopoly in opposing stances, be they political or otherwise. As for being a 'national joke', I still chuckle when I think back to Ronnie Barker or Les Dawson making cracks about the British Rail pork pie and curly ham sandwiches. 😄

[@matthewtrow5698]

"Privatisation: the gift that keeps on giving (to the shareholders)" In fairness, it was probably more to do with the rapid rise of car ownership and the rapid construction of motorways, shunting a huge amount of freight off rail and onto road. Hindsight is twenty-twenty - it seems like a bad idea now, but in the 1960's, with car ownership still relatively low and motorways making journeys shorter, it must've looked like a fantastic future. The fate of much of the railways was sealed 10 years before this footage was filmed, with the completion of the M1. Privatisation was absolutely another blow, but the glory days of rail were fading in the 1950's.

[@matthewtrow5698]

@@analogueman123456787 Oh, how I fondly recall BR of the late 70's into early 80's! I started secondary school and had to catch the train each day, which for an 11 year old, was incredibly exciting. It certainly was a running joke. Most of the seats were taped up because they were ripped to shreds. Bits of flaking crusty foam oozing out the gaps. Everything was filthy. The floors were a mess of cigarette butts and litter. Chewing gum stuck all over the place, even on the windows. It frequently stank in the carriages, so me and my mates would always try to get the "two-seater" one. That was chaos, we'd lean out the windows and spit. Scruffy little oiks one and all. In winter, we'd try and pile up the carriage with snow and throw snowballs out the windows. It was in a shocking state, was BR - just about holding together, no investment ploughed into it at all. When people look back with rose tinted specs at the days of nationalised rail, the only things I can possibly consider as to why they do that are: * They are bonkers * They had zero experience of what it was like * They are looking much further back and thinking of 1st class travel * They were young kids like me, alone with mates on the train, having a blast.

[@thecaveofthedead]

It's a certainty. Privatisation was a scam.

[@fozzyami]

Why on earth would bosses put holes in shovels to stop drivers cooking a bit of breakfast? The most mean spirited thing I've ever heard. Low pay, terrible hours, how else can we make our employees lives difficult, ah yes stop them enjoying a bit of hot food.....

[@simonf8902]

Typical ghastly managers.

[@simonf8902]

And they destroyed the Euston Arch.

[@simonf8902]

And all those trains are on the scrap heap now.

[@kevinnorfolk1710]

Incredibly mean spirited. Fascinating film though.

[@shaunsiz.itsbetterbytube2858]

O look darling we are being filmed. For a documentary. O God I hope my wife doesn't watch this what do you mean darling I am your wife .🥵🥵 ha ha only joking darling

[@Londonechoes]

Great video! It’s a shame there aren’t many toilets in the Underground stations anymore. I know there are security risks etc, but it’s a nightmare on long journeys when you need to go

[@Jagaan90]

Also if you go to a coffee shop outside the stations it’s ‘Customers only’

[@matthewbland8765]

There's a map on the TfL website showing where you can find a toilet on the network. tfl.gov.uk/help-and-contact/public-toilets-in-london

[@johnbarthram2761]

Always remember going up to my Aunts in Stoke-on-Trent about 68 69 out of Euston, that's where I fell in love with modern image period. I worked on BR in the 70s Stratford East London loco depot, Railway people are are very special breed of people.

[@alantraish3368]

Extract from: Engines Must Not Enter The Potato Siding (BBC1, 4 November 1969)Kenneth Allsopp narrating

[@waynejarrell1]

Fast forward to 2024, and the service is diabolical...

[@DewtbArenatsiz]

It wasn't better then, there were far fewer trains and those coaches were bone shakers

[@ryanohara476]

Thank you BBC Archive! Can we please have more of your archive television relating to anything regading British Railways, BR etc The APT-E, Class 41 HST prototype, Inter-City 125 first entering service from October 1976, APT-P, InterCity 225, Eurostar, Class 92 etc?

[@Buff_Cupcake]

Can we all take a moment to appreciate the glorious hairstyle on display at 8.00 minutes in?

[@analogueman123456787]

Worth seeking out the full 1969 documentary (it's available on KZbin, iPlayer and other platforms).

[@davidcarrol110]

6.37 point was a major influence on Monty Python's 4 Yorkshiremen Sketch.

[@joe_seppi]

It is, fantastic isn't it

[@petergivenbless900]

Beautiful "travelling" music, I wonder who the composer was?

[@phiberoptick]

This really is a fantastic channel.

[@IssacLHunt]

You do own a TV license to view this BBC KZbin channel.

[@njd2342]

"Never had it so good did thee?" Harold MacMillan

[@CricketEngland]

2:26 2hours 30 mins and now in 2024 it’s 2hours 6 mins on the quickest trains

[@neilbain8736]

It's a revelation to to see the positive attitude of the times of which we now cringe at.

[@CricketEngland]

“Double Seat, Double Seat. Gotta get a Double Seat” - Ben Elton

[@brianhepke7182]

Great looking train.

[@DasTubemeister]

Bacon and eggs cooked with shovels. Luxury! We had to make do with sucking on a piece of stale bread crust , while slaving away on a 16 hour shift greasing axles at Doncaster sidings. Then we went home to bread and dripping and a bed for the night in the doss house.

[@HughTVDX]

Sounds like Kenneth Allsop narrating.

[@syedalamgir5838]

Nice

[@AndreiTupolev]

It's always been Correct Thought to hate Euston, but I always used to find it exciting coming up the escalator onto concourse, precisely because it was so much like an airport. It had a particular atmosphere probably because it was, until BR started using HSTs into it in the late 80s, entirely electric, and the sound of a Class 86 or 87 pulling up to the buffers was very evocative

[@perrystalsis55]

1:20 "the Great Central"?! Does he think he's at Marylebone?! 😂

[@swaneknoctic9555]

Can’t believe I was born 11 years after this. Why do these clips look like they’re from 100 years before they’re actually recorded? 1869 not 1969.

[@mickeydodds1]

Black and white filming seems to put on 50 years on the footage. If it was filmed in colour - which just got started in 1969 - the film would seem merely '1970s' old, like a repeat of Monty Python.

[@petergivenbless900]

​@@mickeydodds1 yes, shooting on 16mm black&white film was standard at the time, and had been since TV broadcasting started, so the footage has a look that is effectively indistinguishable from the 1940's; only the fashions reveal the era in which it was recorded.

[@-_James_-]

@@mickeydodds1 It's strange colour TV took so long to be adopted. John Logie Baird demonstrated the world's first colour TV transmission back in 1928.

[@tangerinedream7211]

Containerization meant dockers couldnt nick the load .

[@philipkay8116]

Proper food on the train. People who knew how to hold a knife and fork. MSLR Manchester, Sheffield and Lincoln Railway AKA money sunk and lost. Became part of the GCR Great Central Railway. AKA gone completely. It was good to hear the old railwaymen acknowledging the support from their long suffering wives.

[@user-ub1dz8js7s]

ah yes the superloo at Euston station, I knew it well. Ten years ago it was 20 pence with a metal turnstile - I mean how tight can you get with money ? where does one spend a penny if you do not have a penny at the station ? And just outside the station Euston, Camden Town and Somerstown (see the Shane Meadows movie about it) - not the nicest places in London.

[@amandaJ7449]

They have changed it now, it's 'free to pee'

[@MrDastardly]

When we had quality services.

[@thomasm1964]

You are joking, right? ASLEF, the NUR and the RMT were avowed communist and held this country to ransom during the seventies. There were bever off the news. Trains were dirty and unreliable and I am old enough to remember without rose-tinted glasses.

[@nottmjas]

And great quality programmes on TV

[@neilmcfarlane5644]

Did he say it's faster than "flood"?

[@davidcarrol110]

1969 was probably the last year of functioning public services. The '70s were horrible with strikes and poorly maintained lines. Thatcher and Major both heavily privatised the trains and it's been terrible ever since.

[@stephenchappell7512]

That's the Boomer generation for you

[@DewtbArenatsiz]

You seem to forget that in the first twenty years of public ownership, 2500 stations and 22k miles of track were ripped up

[@CricketEngland]

2:57 you be lucky to get a cheese sandwich even in first class today

[@mattdavies7398]

I had three courses on LNER First Class recently.

[@CricketEngland]

@@mattdavies7398 yea, a can of pop, the cheese sandwich and a packet of stale crisps

[@CricketEngland]

6:57 not in 2024 it ain’t

[@neilmcfarlane5644]

And where are those statues now?

[@matthewtrow5698]

Struggled to watch the beginning of this with the wobble 🤮 Settles down after 2:40 though. So, Euston to Manchester in as little as 150 minutes? 55 years later ... guess what? It takes 150 minutes 😆

[@WallaseyanTube]

It sounds like Michael Goodliffe provided the commentary.

[@WallaseyanTube]

Actually: Part of "Engines Must Not Enter the Potato Siding" (1969). Narration provided by Roger Snowdon.

[@nottmjas]

It does indeed sound like him but it's narrated by Roger Snowdon.

[@WallaseyanTube]

@@nottmjas OK thanks.

[@WallaseyanTube]

@@nottmjas Agreed. I went and checked it after I made the original post and found the details regarding Roger - see my post above.

[@tominnis8353]

Euston re-built: what an appallingly sterile and soulless mess!

[@kevinmothers904]

Typical BBC using old footage, 45546 was withdrawn and scrapped in 1962.

[@blackjockofmangertonpele]

Thanks for such a valuable contribution 🎉

[@toomanycables996]

I too am an incredible fan of Elizabeth Marie. With my current portfolio, I was able to buy a small colony on Mars. Unfortunately those pesky Venusian’s will not leave my sector alone but I am confident with her investment advice, my depleted account will once again bare abundance and the mighty Western Martian colonies will finally be able to vanquish the disgusting Venusians. Hail Mars!!

[@toomanycables996]

Or maybe, like your robot advice, that’s just bollocks?

[@Hackney_Boy-DoesntReadReplies]

If you want a better train service, keep the Tories away from it. London is doing just fine since we took our railways back.

[@ste2442]

Keep all politicians away from the rail infrastructure

[@DewtbArenatsiz]

Only because you get five times the spending cf the provinces.

[@robdubz1510]

😂 and they are safe in london.

[@MannyAntipov]

While the video takes place at the tail end of the Beeching Axe, which most lines were closed under the Labour government…

[@spankflaps1365]

2:00 “Not as heroic as the Royal Scot” - there are two Royal Scots still steaming, now 97 years old, I saw one a few weeks ago.

[@flirtwithdanger_les]

"faster and cleaner" until privatisation