BRANCH LINE - 3 - Sir John Betjeman

Part 3 - The final part of the 1963 BBC film. Sir John Betjeman completes his journey along the 24 mile branch line from Evercreech Junction to Burnham on Sea by taking a freight from Highbridge to the sea.

[@jerrytolley4473]

Betjemens words make my heart yearn for times long gone, even as a child I remember watching him in several documentaries and being fascinated by his beautiful almost singing lilting voice. Then when I discovered his poetry I realised that this man TrueType was a god of words.

[@Stipperstone]

Wonderfully, wonderfully evocative. Truly a vanished world.

[@watlingfen]

Sir John was so genuinely sincere about railways and architecture and our great little island, they broke the mould after they made him. Since this programme was first broadcast regrettably much of what he feared - closing of lines and stations great building (hotels , period houses etc) demolished - has taken place . We have to form 'action groups' to fight such destruction and desecration of history , but so few will help. God bless you Sir John Betjaman may your spirit live on .

[@jazzman1626]

@3:20 The way he runs along the track like a little boy having fun. I like people who know it’s ok to be a little silly once in a while, who have not lost their wonder of nature etc. He’s one of those instantly likeable people who I wish I’d met.

[@lennylaa1686]

If only that section of film had been shot in colour...the panoramic view looked stunning! Mention also of the paddle steamer from Barry to Burnham,...you'd need some sturdy sea-legs!

[@laggymam]

Brings tears to your eyes what we lost, Good times, proud to be an English man...ABROAD IN HIS OWN COUNTRY?

[@pastorflaps6819]

Poor England we miss you

[@jayarajjohnson2476]

Wonderful Nostalgia.

[@simonknott224]

I wonder what Sir John would make of Burnham and life in general, now? Give me 1963 any day !!

[@tallbillbassman]

You can sense the brightness and the colour of those times, confirmed by my childhood memory. Today's technology merely confirms how dull things have become.

[@silverbullet1759]

Here's a Britain we all deserve to live in, why are we living in such unenlightened times?

[@railwayman6901]

Wonderful to see these forgotten places but also very sad.

[@MarmiteCrumpets]

Delightful. Our corporate owned politicians are doing a great job of continuing to take away every vestige of life so treasured by us, and there's no sign this will ever stop, without them being absolutely stopped.

[@neildahlgaard-sigsworth3819]

MarmiteCrumpets did you vote for lower taxes? If so you are also culpable for the state the country is in.

[@andrewlong6438]

@@neildahlgaard-sigsworth3819Probably voted for lower taxes or a major expansion of the road network and later bought their own car because it made getting around easier. Car ownership means less travelling by train. This is why these lines lost a load of money and the were eventually closed.

[@LLLLLLLLLucas]

a true visionary, huge respect to you JB

[@falconoilcompany]

Brings a tear to the eye

[@WELLBRAN]

Yes when we had a railway service that ran on time, and the people that ran it were passionate about trains. Ok not as fast as now but it was bloody better all round

[@silver760]

Betjeman would puke in his hat if he saw the state of "Britiain" today.

[@Jaffa151]

Excellent !! :-) We've lost so many fond institutions - but this brought so much back to me. Thank You.

[@mapgugh7898]

"When the roads are so full we shall all be using the railways again" how prophetic!

[@timcasterton1017]

I noticed that comment as well - same thoughts!

[@briancook3546]

Would be nice but a lot of houses are built on some of the old track beds.

[@nemo6686]

Prophetic?? If we're all using the railways again then who's filling the roads?

[@alantraish3368]

@@nemo6686 Now a truism and the roads are still jammed

[@nemo6686]

@@alantraish3368 It's self contradictory: we can't "all be using the railways again" or there'd be no-one on the roads. It's that "all".

[@rexharvey8338]

Hear hear Scotty! No more S&D, John Betjeman, rubber macs and England as I knew and loved it, so sad it has all gone! Thanks for posting

[@localchap31]

Have this still on VHS but mot managed to watch it in years so many thanks for posting. What id do now to live back then. Whoever thinks progress is good needs their head testing!

[@MrKeith1943]

l

[@Bryanguy999]

brilliant brought back lots of memories when i was a child

[@TrainmasterCurt]

Dont let Dr.Beeching take it away from you. I love that quote, how many shortsighted politicians have cost us what would be efficient and economical passenger train service, now it will cost more to build, but soon less people will drive cars, and streetcars will come back, but in a modern look, there is much hope yet, they cant always take from us.

[@peterbaxter2913]

My goodness; how agile he was in 1963. There again, so was I.

[@kushkagirl]

so charming

[@martm216]

So evocative, brings a tear to my eye. I can just about remember when Burnham-on-sea looked like this. Although I am not sure whether I remember the railway line. My mother's family came from Burnham and we always stayed with my grandparents for two weeks for our summer holiday. I still go back every year for several days, although of course it is not quite the same now.

[@naja46]

Sir John was a 'bloddy good egg'

[@robertcook2623]

Top class in every respect.

[@fordson51]

The truth of then is reality now. I love railways and hate to see them wasted like the Somerset and Dorset. He was right.

[@soundnicetome]

All of you ,do not despair.WQe of the older indigenous population know only too well what has happened to our once great country.If the older generations stood together,nobody would be able to stop us getting our country back,even at this stage ??

[@ThomastheE2engine]

this is great! it involves 2 of my favorite things. british steam and british railways.

[@lopzilla]

likeaslowburn - we have taken a greater interest in other nations and other cultures, our colonial past is now a legacy to haunt us. I know of no other country that has changed to such a greater extent than the UK. Happy to have grown up in the 1950's when Britain was more insular and isolated.

[@davidparish2343]

My great uncle, Charlie Jones, worked on that branch, between Highbridge and Glastonbury all his working life. At one stage he was based at Basin Bridge. My brothers and I went by rail from Highbridge to see him there on one occasion. Wonderful memory.

[@Utubestolemylife]

This looks like a pleasant and civilised country. Where is it, please?

[@Gotthard68]

Don't let Dr. Beeching take it away from you...

[@idle44]

@TrainmasterCurt Beeching was an accountant. He did not care for culture or a way of life. His vision was constrained by red figures and he had no idea how to turn those numbers black. He also did for the Assize Courts as well.

[@brooklynroad8581]

brill. what a shame its all gone

[@msgeorgedv]

I live there! It's a lot diferent now unfortunately. Not even the ruins exist anymore - a very prosperous place that has gone seemingly down hill since the sixties :-(. I'm glad I didn't know the place in it's prime - it would be hard to accept now

[@20PhantoM07]

I mourn our beloved railways.

[@geatwolf3679]

Benjamin Francis, M14A4BulldogTank, Damien Egan: I think the music is from the 'Lincolnshire Posy' suite by Percy Grainger - the first excerpt from 4:26 is 'The Brisk Young Sailor' and the second from 5:54 is 'The Lost Lady Found'.

[@malcolmtaylor518]

Wonder what he would have made of a 15 minute city? You feel in your bones a desperate yearning for the world he moved in.

[@SBCBears]

The railroads disappeared in the US, too. All that is left, for the most part, are large trunk lines. Passenger service is nil. Of course, the problems presented by greater distances and sparser population make their disappearance more reasonable, but they are missed. In the UK, tho, the loss is more profound. And your island is more easily swamped by outside influences. I hope the pendulum is swinging back now.

[@SimonGardiner-bj3pq]

These streets of once proud terraced town houses, once stood proud, but now have sunk to host the thousands who prefer to beg rather than work - which Mr. Stride now says is fine for the next year or two.

[@pycroft]

" All gone , all gone "

[@FaerieCrone]

Makes me very sad that it's all changed so much actually.

[@7607987600]

the heart braking thing is he did take it away and somebody thought long and hard how can we balls this up so it cant reopen

[@scopex2749]

Now the government are wanting to REOPEN close lines due to gridlock on the roads.......so WHY NOT REOPEN THE S&DJR. Chuck all the people OFF the track bed that nicked land! Flatten all those awful housing estates and factories and bring back RAIL to Somerset! 👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🇬🇧 RIP Sir John.

[@barleyarrish]

modern world, you ask me to believe in you, but i only see decay...

[@benbisley]

Thank you so much for posting this. I recall the level crossing at Highbridge vividly. Is any footage of the Cheddar - Yatton railway still extant?

[@sunbeamtalbotmkii]

I could be wrong but i'm fairly certain that it is one of the movements from Ralph Vaughan Williams "English Folk Song Suite" you can look it up on KZbin, the whole thing is a lovely piece but this song doesn't play until about 5.00min into the piece, so be patient but it is well worth it.

[@billcobbett9259]

I find that Vaughan Williams' music is itself a reminder of happier and more peaceful times

[@trondog8503]

I wonder what Sir John would think of HS2 ? The destruction of 60 woodlands, 19 of them centuries old, historical houses raised to the ground, many businesses and livelihoods wiped out. I think I know the answer.....

[@Turnerspaintbrush]

I like the sound of the Ford Anglia accelerating across the level crossing at 1.04

[@fiveshorts]

It's impossible now to yearn publicly for a return to these values without being labeled a racist, nationalist or at best fogey. Yet I'm none of these. The decline and disappearance of greatness is not a UK-only problem. It's a disease of the human population. We were never meant to be able to communicate so rapidly. Yet here I am, on KZbin, using the reason, to lament. Now we have Lady Gaga. Where did we go so wrong?

[@lennylaa1686]

If only this delightful and nostalgic film had been shot in colour! Just so beautiful. @ 3-51...seems there was indeed a paddle steam ship service began in 1905 from Burnham to Barry but when did it cease? Not for me thanks....should imagine most passengers would have been horribly sea-sick, the Severn Estuary being often choppy and also dangerous currents and rip tides...UGH! LOL!

[@ThomastheE2engine]

here here

[@MiLLwallpaul231258]

"don't let dr beeching take it away from you".....guess what,he did

[@jonathanmarsh7561]

Sir John must be tired out of turning in his grave

[@karn9evil]

Fans of modern prog rock might like to check out the wonderful song 'The Permanent Way' by Big Big Train - who use audio from this clip to great effect. These musicians have a love of working British life and steam trains - and capture the melancholy of this film perfectly in a pastoral way reminiscent of early Genesis. Check it out on album 'English Electric - Full Power (2013) and other very listenable albums

[@blazingday8596]

+David Edwards you are quite right. The Permanent Way drips with beauty and nostalgia. I often watch this and then immediately put Big Big Train on and I'm always struck by just how well they capture that world that I can only see through black and white photos in expensive railway books!! BTW, it took me ages to make the link between The Permanent Way and this film. I'm surprised it wasn't made clear in the 'insight' section of the BBT website.

[@jconnor55]

I love this one. I remember watching the "Burnham Flyer" going up the tracks to Burnham. I lived about 4 houses fron the rail line. Anyone have more video of this area/dates?

[@fordson51]

What is the song played at the end of the show when he is on the beach?

[@fordson51]

What is the ending music in this part of the film?

[@Jeffybonbon]

@epcotcentre I think most sain folks do miss it

[@michaelsandford1015]

Poor sir John

[@M14A4BulldogTank]

Any idea what the music at 6:24 is ?

[@TrainmasterCurt]

@likeaslowburn I agree with that

[@TrainmasterCurt]

Too many automobiles and pollution, we need more tracks rebuilt, not just for tourist railways, but for passengers and commuters, the future is rail again! Beeching and Mulroney and Chretien all made mistakes, but we can correct them now.

[@DocterGeko]

1:58 (Just a bookmark for me)

[@porno6361]

it all went pear shaped when we joined the union back in '73,been a downward spiral since then and even more thanks to labour from '97

[@WOLFROY47]

i said no the first time, i foresaw what would happen, and i was right, had to wait 30 odd years to say no again, compared to maggie. beeching was a pussycat, our politicians have sold us down the river, whilst lining their own pockets, and now we have corporate law, replacing maritime law, why do you think everything was written in capitals

[@RobinCarmody]

@likeaslowburn at least some of those words are not your own, unless you actually are Peter Hitchens.

[@paulbroderick8438]

I have only one thing to say: Enoch Powell was right all along! Think about it. The British Railways Board + Beeching + Thatcher = Disaster.

[@chrishogg8293]

N

[@WOLFROY47]

dont bother, asking for a pot of tea, you will get a tea bag, and silver service ? whats that

[@martinhall60]

What a great railway program. I still buy DVDs and j wish I could buy this on DVD. 👍🚂🚃