Early train film - 'View from an Engine Front - Barnstaple' (1898)

[@number8485]

This is the trail from Barnstaple junction via Barnstaple town. Being my home town from 1949 onwards I remember the steel bridge and its removal. It's amazing to recognise many of the key features that don't seem to have changed all that much. As a boy in the 50's I travelled to and fro from Barnstaple junction to Swanage via Exeter (St.David's and Central) Templecombe, Stalbridge, Poole and Wareham firstly alone and dressed in a kilt! Can you imagine what that was like?

[@robtyman4281]

It's sobering to think that all this has gone - the railway that is, not the town! What on earth were we thinking of back in the 1960's? Such mindless destruction of a legacy handed down to us by the Victorians. I'm sure Barnstaple would be a more prosperous town now if it still had a railway station. It would definitely have more people visiting it Railways 'add' something to places, and this is still true today. That this footage is from the 19th century....wow. Great quality....and to last all this time without severely degrading. I'm guessing it must have been digitised, as the original film won't last forever.

[@AtariCrypt]

1898.... Wow!!!!!! Thank you for posting this video 👍🏻

[@lajole9501]

The Signalmen didn't look too pleased about someone sitting on the front of the train, with what must have been quite a large piece of equipment.

[@einsteinisgreat]

regardless of it's exact date this is an amazing and incredibly significant record of British railway operations of the period.Treasure it.

[@KempSimon]

Couldn't agree more! The footage must have been shot very soon after movie cameras were invented!

[@incongra]

Beautiful, I could watch this for hours. Thank you.

[@abigailwalmsley9955]

This beats modern TV and films. Could watch this for hours, thank you for uploading.

[@spiccybaby]

A bit more to this: the first (deserted) station at the end of the bridge is Barnstaple Quay (or Town and Quay) which had just closed. The second station is the then brand-new Barnstaple Town (not Barnstaple as I said earlier), built to accomodate the Lynton branch. (info from disused-stations org uk). It's a lovely bit of film.

[@KroovyMonsoon]

Wow ! I just went on a train ride through Victorian England ! This was truly fascinating to see.

[@corporallee44]

This took me back to my youth days, I was born in Devon 1941 and am a northerner now, but traveled down many a time on the train, MAIN LINE, that station is now a cafe I believe and there are flats in front of it, My mother ended up in one of them. I am going back down to visit the area this year, check out the farm I was born on. That's a golf course now...!

[@djburland]

Great length of film, good to see the signal man waving a warning flag.

[@jeanmicheljoffres6475]

Étonnant ! Thank you !

[@tom-sn4gd]

This has to be the first cabride in history !

[@grahamfrench340]

I was holding my breath then hoping a Lynton and Barnstaple train was in the platform! This was the year it opened how awesome would that have been!

[@britishfilminstitute]

@cliffocco British filmmakers were also active in 1895 (Google 'Birt Acres' or 'R.W. Paul' for more information), and the first British public screening of projected moving images was held on 14 January 1896, less than three weeks after the Lumière Brothers' equivalent. The new medium caught on so quickly that numerous British film companies sprang up over the next few years - the Warwick Trading Company, which made this film and many similar travelogues, was established in September 1897.

[@Godzilla473]

brilliant quality considering the age of the film ~ I've enjoyed viewing it, and that goes for all your BFI uploads ~ keep up the good work ~ many thanks

[@sightscreen66]

I do think that it was a great shame that during the Beeching closures in the early 60s, there was no policy of taking a 'portrait' of lines to be closed by running a 35mm on the front of a train (ideally in both directions).

[@Mortimer50145]

I've often thought how good it would have been if, in a parallel universe, the video camera and then the GoPro had been developed in the 1950s, *before* Beeching recommended the closure of all the lines, and there would be cab-ride footage of all the lines that were closed, as people like Don Coffey have made of modern-day lines. With the price of 8 mm or 16 mm film, it would have cost the earth to film a whole journey, so we just get brief excerpts.

[@bucherwurm5344]

@@Mortimer50145 I've often thought how good it would have been if, in a parallel universe, Richard Beeching didn´t exist!

[@ВалераХле]

@@Mortimer50145 Очень рад ,что в комментариях нашёл 2-го думающего.А то все только хлопают в ладоши. Одесса.

[@beez5793]

Never been there but this I find fascinating

[@KempSimon]

I can remember visiting Barnstaple as a child in 1975, when the bridge carrying the single-track branch to Ilfracombe over the River Taw was still intact. It's certainly not there now!

[@Daggerbone]

great posting a fantastic portal to a century plus ago!! amazing!!

[@thomas1140]

Great Video ! Interesting to see the old buildings like Shapland's factory, the museum & buildings on the strand as they were . I dont know why they demollshed the iron bridge after it had been unused for so long, it wasn't a shipping hazard & would have made an attractive restored feature if only as a footbridge away from the main road . Still, I understand that another superstore is planned near to the site so that will be nice to see & visit won't it ? Thanks for posting - love this stuff.

[@c2757]

If it stays there, someone has to pay for its upkeep and take responsibility for ensuring that it doesn't fall down or injure anyone. If it serves no purpose, much simpler to get rid of it and bank the scrap value. It's a good idea to wait until the pice of scrap is high before selling the material.

[@Mortimer50145]

1898 - only 10 years after Louis le Prince shot what is thought to be the first moving film (as opposed to Muybridge's multiple-camera footage of a horse galloping). I've visions of a camera strapped to the front of a loco on a baulk of wood between the buffers. When the train arrives at the station, the camera can be seen to be lower than the platform edge. Given that the motion is jerky and the brightness varies (varying exposure) I imagine the camera was hand-cranked, rather than being driven by clockwork, so there must have been a brave cameraman perched at the front as well.

[@LizardLoungeRadio]

Take me back to these times, pls.

[@elizabethlafuente5583]

I would’ve liked to been born to seeing this it looks good

[@tamumalone1718]

Been seeing this and alot of 1800s stuff in my dreams and we talk😂😎🙃🚉

[@Isochest]

Good video. This echoes the fact signallers in many countries still flag their trains unlike the UK nowadays:-)

[@phaasch]

Cant help wondering, seeing all those flagmen along the way, and the final, indignant looking signalman, if this little gem wasnt shot by some local bandit on a "borrowed" P Way trolley, and theyre all desperately trying to get him to "Geddorf the bloody track, the express is due!"

[@pabob2008]

With the number of signalmen on that short stretch no wonder the lines were losing money, if repeated throughout the country, sad loss though

[@MK55A]

Someone as mentioned 'Broad gauge track' i think they mean the 'guard rail' which was placed in certain areas because of the sharp curve(s) on the rails

[@KempSimon]

Check rail, actually .....

[@VOXS2]

wow nice... interesting and since it was the year 1898. Bring more videos like this of the 1800s.. Great footage and tis quality.

[@LearnSwissGerman]

Great stuff. Good old days!

[@urbanimage]

Amazing stuff.

[@spiccybaby]

Excellent stuff, interesting to note that the station is named Barnstaple rather than Barnstaple Town, and that the bay platform is in use (the bay starter signal is pulled on as the camera passes), which means that the Lynton and Barnstable narrow gauge line had just opened (May 1898). The signals and bridge are all LSWR, the GWR had their own line from Taunton to Barnstaple (Victoria Road) with running rights over a short section to Barnstaple Junction.

[@dickhelling3529]

Amazing film. And good job, spiccybaby, to spot that signal returning to danger. That ought to mean that a narrow gauge train has just pulled out, and I had been going to speculate that, since there is no sign of a train (and various gangers about the place), they were perhaps testing prior to the actual opening. But am I wrong; is there really no sign of a train? At 1:24, just before the signal moves, what is that fluffy white shape at treetop level between the signal and the station nameboard; which, as our perspective changes with the movement of the 'cam train', moves behind the legs of the nameboard and momentarily seems to have a white vertical column beneath it - can that be a steam locomotive exhaust? That would be about the right angle of departure for the L&B line, and about the point where a driver, having eased his train over the points outside the station with very little exhaust, opens the regulator. Of course, there were plenty of other steam-powered machines in late-Victorian England, so it could be anything, but with the movement of the signal as well.... We're allowed to dream, anyway!

[@mujawooja]

Great film, facinating to watch seeing the railway workers and signalmen go by,it's great to see these films on youtube. thumbs up from me bernie

[@steamybrian]

Nice view (at 50 seconds into the film) of the first Barnstaple Town station closed in 1898

[@yves-noel-mariegonnet1043]

Très intéressant. J'aime beaucoup. Merci.

[@applecounty]

Yep - looking again I strongly suspect those signals of GW pattern, plus they drop as opposed to pointing up.

[@sammipink1]

the good old days every one was friendlier

[@GaryNumeroUno]

I don't know why but I can imagine Buster Keaton just sitting on the front buffer beam with a movie camera in hand. That is the type of thing he would do!

[@bingola45]

Or Roosevelt.

[@TRINZINI]

The obvious inspiration for the train sequence in THE FRENCH CONNECTION ! ;)

[@adamxmada]

amazing to see Barnstaple as it was with the railway there

[@willswomble7313]

Railway is still (just) there.

[@jimififul]

You can see the old Shapland and Petter factory by going to A3125 Sticklepath Terrace EX31 2AX on Street View. I haven't been up there for a while but I think they're trying to save it. The road follows the track of the railway. This might have been filmed for the opening of the new station in 1898. The old station was Barnstaple Quay just after the bridge. The 'new' station was just after the signal box. It closed in 1970.

[@britishfilminstitute]

@sanderrodijk In the case of films dating from the early 20th century or before (i.e. before film archives started to think about preserving them), it's a case more of blind luck than anything else. Some films only survive (if at all) as scratched, blotchy fragments, while others are almost pristine. Age has little to do with it - some of the best-preserved silent films can be found in the Mitchell & Kenyon collection (approx. 1900-1910), because the original camera negatives still exist.

[@modelearth]

is this still there? amazing!!!

[@jega1102]

It feels like I am transported to a mysterious place, 😯

[@mattdow9039]

Forgive me if this question has already been asked, but is there a modern day version of the same route (or as near as can be, if everything has been demolished) ?

[@glendakirby5579]

I expect you have already found the answer to your question,but just in case the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway has a website.Gradually the old line and rolling stock is being bought and restored.This has to be in the running for the most beautiful narrow gauge railway.The dream is to restore the line in full.There is lots of old film and new and things to purchase from their on line shop.

[@johnbrown9092]

I could smell the engine!

[@dfcvda]

superb.

[@nikoandrikopoulos8900]

very nice I Like this Old Time!

[@JONNOG88]

I was born in Barnstaple btw.🙂.... Regrettably *not* on a Train though. 😔

[@petersparkes1083]

a great film

[@cliffocco]

I really have doubts that this dates from 1898.The Lumiere Brothers first film wasn't shot until until 1895, after all. My guess would be more likely something from the early 1900s. That having been said, still a fascinating piece of film

[@hofnerman1]

It sure was quite back in those days. lol

[@3mikewright3]

@Blauendorn You would need to swim. The bridge went years ago

[@hjordisbergsdottir6645]

Interestin to be abel to see what the orginators were doing in the early days of filmmaking.

[@transporttimeagain3632]

Note the signal man with the flag

[@kgcyoutubeaccount879]

Wow how can you prove this was from this long ago. Yes the footage is very very old but I didn't think there were videos back then

[@MrCutsteel]

Then educate yourself, because there was indeed an early form of video back then.

[@johncraske]

MrCutsteel Yes, the early form of video was called film...

[@simontaylor2319]

The heyday of the railways!

[@marioandrikopoulos2158]

Oh man I want to Drive in this Train... But I need a Time Machine 🤔

[@michaelsandford1015]

Or was it filled from the break van and the film played backwards

[@likklej8]

Ilfracombe full of bloody cars was the result of this closure didn’t the powers that be think of tourists.? Could have electrified the line and ran steam specials in the summer.

[@applecounty]

Wasn't there something similar posted by BFI last year? I thought the bridge over the river was a Great Western structure, I am not sure if there was joint working rights into the LSWR station or not. The flag waving is being done by the Signalman, probably an 'advance with caution' signal - not being familiar with LSWR S&T practices of the period I stand to be corrected.

[@thelegends1141]

How train changes the track still wondering question of mine ?

[@grahamestroud8271]

Did not know we had trains then

[@clairenoon4070]

Eh? The first public, commercial railway line in Britain was opened in 1830 (the Liverpool to Manchester route - my local station is on it). Within the following 20 years, most of our rail network had been built.

[@TheConorsmithusa]

a relaxing music score would go well over this

[@elijahroyce737]

Can anyone from 1896 vouch that this is what it looked like?

[@boryna11]

What is the engine behind the camera

[@transporttimeagain3632]

How was it filmed

[@DaveSuperThomas]

With a hand-cranked cine camera shooting 13fps in monochrome with no sound!

[@transporttimeagain3632]

But how do he stand on the front or the local motive with out falling of

[@transporttimeagain3632]

No such thing as health and safety if I had my way I would put the camera man in the back of a guards van of a goods train

[@MK55A]

Hope that wasn't a red flag the signalman was waving ?

[@KempSimon]

Hard to tell with black-and-white film!

[@GaryNumeroUno]

No, it was light grey!

[@transporttimeagain3632]

Lol how would the signal man react to a modern class 66 coming to him ,he would sh.t him self lol

[@WhiteCamry]

What was the track gauge? It seems a little wider than standard.

[@KempSimon]

It looks rather like Broad Gauge to me! Definitely wider than Standard!

[@Thunderer0872]

It is standard gauge, I think it's the camera used and where it is on the loco/van being so low it look wider then standard.

[@glendakirby5579]

You have probably lost interest by now.However for any who are interested the gauge of the track was 1 ft 111/2 ins,the carraiges overhung the rail by 2ft 9ins.The Lynton and Barnstaple Railway have a website,with lots of great photos and an on line shop.Proceeds help with their plans to restore the line,and they already have one station some track and a lot of restored rolling stock that runs on part of the original line.

[@peterleffler2062]

@@glendakirby5579 1 (one) ft 11 and 1/2 inches would be a very narrow gauge I would have thought? I'm not a train buff or historian but I think that might be an unintentional typo? Or a misunderstanding on my part?

[@glendakirby5579]

@@peterleffler2062 Hi Peter. I'm no expert, and have returned again to books I purchased from their website, I quote 'As the gauge of the track was only 1ft 111/2 ,the carriages overhung the rail by 2ft 9ins, and passengers on passing trains only 2ft 6ins apart.' In another book,' To save costs and to allow for tighter curves as it climbed the shoulders of Exmoor- and perhaps also to prevent through trains from London- the line was built to a gauge of one foot eleven an a half inch'

[@michaelsandford1015]

Sorry, how did they get film camera on the front of the locomotive.

[@TyrSkyFatherOfTheGods]

@sammipink1 Depending on your social class.

[@TrainmasterCurt]

Wow, look how well kept England and their Railways were back then, back before the Saracens decided to move into OUR country!

[@martinhenderson5529]

What a pathetic comment...

[@transporttimeagain3632]

Mugic

[@alexishamer6427]

This happened in the year 1898 is a black ⬛️ and white ⚪️ film 🎥 where on the right is a narrow gauge line to Lynton happened for a short life for 37 years from 1898 to 1935. Trains 🚂 ran from Barnstaple to Ilfracombe via Braunton from July 1874 until 1970 is 96 years almost 😅 100 💯 years nearly a century. It was a good 👍 service. At the time it was called Barnstaple Junction because it is an interchange by the old Brian Fords now Tesco since 2011. A lovely 🥰 railway 🚃 line is steam trains 🚂. Ran via Mortehoe and Woolacombe used to be called Once Upon a Time 🕒. The train 🚊 ran via the countryside. It’s sad 😢 that trains 🚊 don’t run between Barnstaple and Ilfracombe via Braunton anymore. Now on the old Barnstaple to Ilfracombe line via Braunton is called Tarka trail where people can walk on it 🫡 everyday. British Rail agreed to stop 🛑 running trains to Ilfracombe via Braunton between it was a loss of money 💵 making from customers. Ilfracombe railway 🚃 station 🚉 was staffed. In Ilfracombe it is called Pall Europe. In the north Devon area is plenty of rural area with countryside. Perhaps 🤔 it is a thing of the past that trains 🚆 run to Ilfracombe via Braunton. If trains 🚊 are unlikely to see themselves to Ilfracombe at anytime in the future when the time 🕘 comes, don’t worry 😉 about it. 😐😀😃😄👍

[@youngsteph1]

Impressive, & miles better than the dross Edison & his disciples like James White used to pour out.

[@troybot14]

Barnstaple don't look like that know more

[@KempSimon]

Parts of it still do!

[@thehusketeers4319]

No SJWs in 1998

[@CleoGamingROBLOX]

Please remember that god is with u and he would love to meet u, god loves u and all people spread the message!❤️❤️❤️❤️🙏 It was my mission to send this have a great day! Amen.❤️✨

[@AtheistOrphan]

Nah. (Comment reported to KZbin for spamming).

[@elizabethlafuente5583]

I would’ve liked to been born to have seen this it looks good