Look at Life Vol 01 Transport Draw the Fires 1963

The railways are changing, with coal-powered steam being phased out and replaced by diesel engines by 1972. Crowds pay their respects to the Flying Scotsman's last departure from Kings Cross as it is replaced by a 33-horsepower diesel. The network is being modernised by new signalling, longer continuous track on concrete sleepers and flyovers, and controversial closures of lines.

[@Pearmain2009]

Many thanks for posting this. My grandfather was the BR representative who handed over the Flying Scotsman to Alan Peglar and spotted him briefly in the film.

[@bernardwallace4165]

Looking at these old films, they all exude confidence and optimism. Features not so common these days.

[@ukar69]

Amazing to think a lot of those diesels are still working the main lines.

[@nigelh3253]

A great documentary from 1963 capturing the changes from steam to diesel and other technology in the system. As usual Tim Turner's narration driving things along at speed!

[@mathewgreen4099]

Many thanks for posting, these Look At Life films are a great visual record of a certain point in time. I loved the ‘backroom boys’ testing out their prototype chair in their flannels & sports jackets.

[@gerrywatson261]

Thanks for posting! I only caught the very last death throws of steam on BR as a young child whilst on holiday in Dorset 1966/67. Fascinating how fast the railways change in one decade - had to smile when the narrator said steam would be gone by 1972!

[@timbunker4529]

M mi in m8

[@megamanmuppet]

Well he was right to be fair!

[@gerrywatson261]

@@megamanmuppet Steam officially ended on B.R. August 1968 a lot sooner than he predicted.

[@AndreiTupolev]

0:25 is particularly rare, that's DP2, not a Deltic

[@downhilltwofour0082]

Funny, the clickity-click is one of the things I loved about rail-travel!

[@johnmehaffey9953]

It still puts me to sleep whether on the train or listening to a post

[@chubeye1187]

Where have you ridden with unwelded rails?

[@downhilltwofour0082]

@@chubeye1187 LOL Actually was back in 1949 From Chicago to Portland and back.

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

@@chubeye1187 there are still stretches on the national network, on the rural local routes, such Sleaford to Boston (or at least it was in 2019).

[@daystatesniper01]

Rare clip of DP2 in action

[@jacksugden8190]

I remember steam trains in service, much of this now was either outdated or up to date, or an old life seen through rose-tinted glasses.

[@peebee143]

And in the last moment of the video is Prof. Eric Laithwaite with whom I shook hands at the unveiling some years back of RTV 31 at Railworld, Peterborough.

[@chubeye1187]

Still no maglev trains, just like in 50 years time, they won't be

[@gerrywatson261]

Funny how the Chinese have managed to do it though!!

[@raythirkettle4155]

Yup. He helped me with my school project!! great guy.

[@lobo241us]

I see The Flying Scotsman is still around and has been to several countries.

[@ajbonmg]

3,300 horsepower, not 33-horsepower! :) (In the description)

[@saltspringrailway3683]

Those old fashioned steam engines, he said three yrs after Evening Star came out of Swindon. I've read recently that the reason we built 1000 steam engines in the 50's was to cut out diesels and go straight to electric using coal to generate the power.

[@HowardLeVert]

That was the intention, yes. Those steam locomotives you refer to were expected to last until something like 1975-80, by which time the major lines were meant to have been electrified. You'll notice that in the commentary 1972 is mentioned but as we know, there was an indecent haste to get rid of steam in the late 60s.

[@Jason-io5bu]

We have Evenings Star or one off them at my place off work

[@gerrywatson261]

Maybe B.R. realised that with the upcoming rock n roll generation they might have had a problem getting young men to commit to life on the footplate of steam locomotive day in and day out!

[@Mercmad]

Deltic! what an amazing Machine!

[@AndreiTupolev]

Of course, many of the "old steamers", the Standards and A1s, were not much more than 10 years old by then

[@rjhtrucking5429]

How did it all go so wrong.

[@docker5468]

£3000 for the flying Scotsman !

[@gainsbourg66]

Propaganda from start to finish. What actually happened was service standards and comfort declined. They ripped out all the romance and ornametation. railways were uglified. Victorian railways stations and buildings needlessly demolished and rebuilt in concrete. Modern trains are plasticky and have a cheap feel - as do waiting rooms. A visit to any heritage line will quickly show you how superior older coaching stock was. These days there are few onboard buffets. Motorised carriages have replaced locomotive hauled trains. There are hardly any seats at mainline stations. The biggest joke is that steam travel was not dirty or noisy. It was an artform that previousd generations were fortunate to experience.

[@chubeye1187]

Yeah right 🤪 I bet you voted brexit 🤯

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

Ignoring the facts again. Between 1923 and 1939 the Big 4 closed around 1,300 miles of passenger railways (either completely or by withdrawing passenger services). After the war BR continued the closure plans of the Big 4 and closed a further 3,318 miles between 1948 and 1962. During the 1950s as car usage increased after the removal of petrol rationing and other restrictions, BR suffered the treble whammy of falling passenger numbers, rising costs and government imposed freezes on fares which along with the falling share of freight transportation resulted in losses per day of around £300,000 by 1961.

[@philnewstead5388]

I'm afraid you really are seeing the past through rose tinted spectacles, I love steam engines, I visit heritage railways when I can and see as much mainline steam as I can but to suggest that steam trains could possibly still have a place on today's railway is just fantasy. Steam locomotives and sheds were labour intensive, dirty, unhealthy dangerous places to work, as spotters bunking sheds we all thought they were wonderful places and wanted to work there but the reality was quite different. Whilst I agree much of the romance and spectacle has gone out of rail travel I'm afraid the reality is that the railways are a business and you have to accept that there is no place for sentiment in a commercial environment and whilst I agree that there were many secondary routes and branch lines maybe with the benefit of hindsight should not have been closed much rationalisation was needed as many of the lines that closed had never and would never make money either through lack of traffic or the maintenance costs. I do sometimes question the wisdom of doing away with loco hauled stock as fixed formation sets do remove the flexibility of being able to add extra carriages at peak times and if a power car fails it results in the whole unit being taken out of service. I think one thing we can all agree on is that trains are not as comfortable as they were in the fifties but a recent article in Railway Magazine pointed out that a BR Mk 1 coach would not meet a single modern safety regulation and much of the reason that modern carriages are the way they are is to meet modern crash and fire regulations. I like you miss the buffet/ restaurant cars but given that at most major stations there are usually about half a dozen fast food outlets I don't see how you could justify them, two years ago I passed through King Cross and on the train I would think at least 40% of the passengers were eating or drinking a product from one of these outlets. To suggest that steam trains are not noisy and dirty is just a ridiculous thing to say, what I would question is having decided to phase out steam why it was done in such a hap hazard and chaotic way with steam locomotives being scrapped at less than five years old and never recovering their build costs and the plethora of unsuccessful diesel designs that were rushed into service to replace them.

[@neiloflongbeck5705]

@@philnewstead5388 the problem with hindsight is that it takes a long time to come into focus. In some cases 40 or more years. As for spare coaches the Beeching reports pointed out that 6,000 coaches were used 18 or fewer times in 1959 (2,000 of them were used only 10 times). Those cost BR £3.4 million and earned them only £0.5 million, the coaching fleet was culled by almost 6,000 coaches since 1959 and the introduction of reserved seats and price differentials for travel at peak times.

[@philnewstead5388]

Neil of Longbeck My comments were aimed at the original post and I broadly agree with your reply to it. I agree that with personal transport usage increasing and the falling passenger numbers that there was a huge over capacity of coaching stock with as you say thousands of rakes only being used for football specials and the like and that clearly was not sustainable but I still stand by my assertion that fixed trainsets remove the flexibility and it would certainly be useful to be able to strengthen peak time trains and reduce the capacity of off peak services. As you hindsight can take a long time to come into focus but a bit of vision would have been good. I now live and work in France and many of their lines that were closed in the late sixties and early seventies were mothballed rather than ripped up and as late as four years ago some were still being reinstated and unlike the UK hardly any of the trackbeds have been built over so they could be reinstated if needed. The problem with the idea that if you do away with a branch line that people will drive to a mainline station and park their car (at huge cost nowadays) and continue their journey by train is flawed. Many people and I'm sorry to say I am one once they get in their car will drive to their destination so may some branch lines should have remained open as loss leaders and as we are now seeing some could have returned to profitability. It is all conjecture really as anything in which any government is involved with can only plan as far as the next general election when what is needed for the railways even today is a fairly rigid ten year plan and a more flexible fifteen to twenty year plan as most businesses operate.

[@TrainFan_95]

I love it how when the narrator is talking about "fast trains....that run to time", the class 40 is shown being overtaken by a lorry, and also as he describes how "it's possible now to ride on trains and keep your clothes clean", the locomotive is seen gushing out smokey fumes.

[@beagledottie]

Same can't be said for the houses nearby. Briar Bank was built in the early 50s. The backs of the odd numbers and the front of the even number are black with the smoke from Kingmoor which is approx 1 mile away.

[@chubeye1187]

Relatively cleaner, though looking at a new bridge in a station the other day, 2 or 3 years old, black where the locos have been idling.

[@AndreiTupolev]

7:00 "They talk of fast trains" : as the EE Type 4 is overtaken by a lorry 😁

[@mikeyb4610]

If that RED BUTTON fails there’s always the RED BRICK WALL! ....

[@clivelee4279]

York museums changed a bit.

[@andrewoliver8930]

Steam trains are for young boys to look at. The diesel trains were far better for the drivers and passengers. Stood in the cold on a foot plate sounds romantic but it's crap compared to a warm cab and an engine that responds to a lever.

[@thesickrobot6924]

Nobody asked, nobody cares.

[@andrewoliver8930]

@@thesickrobot6924 Thomas the tank engine was pathetic compared to Diesel. You know it and the world knows it.

[@thesickrobot6924]

@@andrewoliver8930 And I thought alcohol killed brain cells lmfao.

[@heathstjohn6775]

Yes, romanticism is beautiful. Many romantics become artists; but romantics have helped to industrialise, too. I'd say there's a case to think of Brunel as a romantic, in the sense of someone believing in dreaming; thet cut a romanric figure. But they, too, want to leave King's Cross on time.

[@SBCBears]

3:14 YIKES! This is why we have Health & Safety, I guess.

[@bwghall1]

some naughty boys used to take the light bulbs out and throw them out the window at the wall in box tunnel somerset, they went off with a bang, that was back in the mid-1940s. they were playing throwing hand grenades, The war had just ended.

[@EtonieE25]

Yep we were even reprobates back then 😆

[@peebee143]

At around 0:36 that is DP2 (the Cl.50 test bed) running parallel to the road. Not a Deltic, notice the radiator vents are toward the far end. The loco, here, must have vertically mounted radiator units, unlike Deltic which had roof mounted canted units.

[@CaseyJonesNumber1]

Also briefly appears at 3:57

[@michaelgoodliffe4795]

6.15..46200 The Princess Royal stored in a line withdrawn crabs at Carlisle, awaiting preservation by Butlins ,which unfortunately never came.

[@aganwisnu]

5:40 beautiful 😃

[@coldbreeze6344]

When we was proud to be called British

[@ilovenitnat]

Were not was. 👍

[@Steven_Rowe]

@@ilovenitnat cold breeze, you have 500 lines. Right out When we we're proud to be called British. The days when you got 6 of the best

[@heathstjohn6775]

@@Steven_Rowe ...instead of the number they truly deserve, and more.

[@Steven_Rowe]

@@heathstjohn6775 nothing quite like 6 of the best on a freezing cold winter's day. At least you had a warm backside for a day or two.

[@heathstjohn6775]

@@Steven_Rowe Yes, it should be done though only with the parents' joint permission. Two, perhaps three, incidents when they should have received it, but permission had been withheld, should result in something like borstal, or litter-picking, something like that. For further infractions, you could consider increased national insurance contributions, and/or, loss of any benefits, for the parents, and for the child, should he ever find a job, perhaps ?

[@bendavidson3595]

Those ‘back room boys’ a pre cursor to the backstreet boys?😂

[@williamr3840]

2:37 '"Press-button dullness of today."' :0/

[@jackjohnson7396]

Great hairdo...

[@tinytonymaloney7832]

Sad but unfortunately that's progress for you.

[@rameshbhattacharjee4374]

We Have To Move On, Steam Belongs To Yesterday, Great Britain Has Stagnated, The PRC Has Much Better Trains Than Great Britain

[@AndreiTupolev]

This commentary really is hilarious; I wonder why journalists in Britain have always had this sneery, condescending attitude to the railways - "As the old iron horses chuff off to the scrapyard" 🤮

[@andyelliott8027]

The narrator was Tim Turner who was not a journalist, he was an actor who appeared in a number of films. One of those films was " The Dam Busters" where he played Flight Lt J F Leggo DFC.

[@cycleSCUBA]

8:04 stereotypical boffins !!

[@MrLmao37]

They still can't get trains to run on time