The Decline of Steam 1967-68

A film made between 1967-68 showing the decline of Steam on the Settle to Carlisle Railway line. The film is from the Ken Ellwood Film Archive and has been digitised from 16mm cine film.
Hope you enjoy

[@tominnis8353]

Fantastic! Thank you. And just look at all the different types of freight which went by rail back then. (I remember it well - the roads were infinitely less busy).

[@salyluz6535]

Thank you for sharing your family films! I have wished for decades that we could watch the films my father made in the 60s and 70s. I don’t even know if they are in the condition which could be saved. But what memories there would be! 💙🌻✌🏽

[@themodelrailwayrepaircentr297]

Loved it. All done to the sound of Britannia 70041 Sir John Moore

[@ianpow4563]

A window into a lost world. The sound does not match the trains but seems to be there just to capture the general atmosphere. Great stuff, full of nostalgia!

[@peterfergusson4252]

agreed .. the rather poor commentary does not seem to match what's actually happening on the screen !

[@michaelmiller641]

Absolutely wonderful, evocation of a lost world! Family views, and ribblehead viaduct as we've never seen it before!

[@shb8124]

Some great footage here.

[@martianmagician6215]

Simply the best nostalgia railway film that I have ever seen, superb.

[@JR-SCOOT]

Excellent film, oh to be there during that period and its set in God's own county. Well done!

[@keithashley6298]

What a magnificent film, thanks for uploading.

[@dodgy1954]

These films are truly fantastic.

[@cardiffguy2007]

A brilliant record of a bygone age of steam. Wonderful to see.

[@adrianrosenlund-hudson8789]

Excellent. Sad to see how grubby and uncared for the steam locos are, but a great insight into the early use of diesel. I'm only a shade younger than the little chap in the film, so I've no memories of this time. All my earliest memories of rail travel are of the smell of diesel fuel and smoke, and growling engines. My father was stationed abroad during the last years of steam, which is basically my infancy, so sadly I probably never travelled by steam while it was the norm, but a grandfather who loved steam locos ensured my early indoctrination 😊 great film

[@paularowe7651]

I am now70 and lived in Truro, Cornwall. As children we used to stand on the footbridge at the western end of the station getting covered by the steam and smoke. I also remember in 1957 the 'City of Truro' parked in the Falmouth bay there, it had hauled a special introducing the new ITV service. You could walk through the train a d see videos of upcoming ITV programmes. Lovely memories!

[@coley1skipton]

A lot of changes around Skipton station over time , great film.

[@johnmay2786]

Beautifully atmospheric sunset shots of the Ribblehead Viaduct - magical.

[@paulwilson3083]

FANTASTIC, it siezes the atmostphere, with my own memories of steam I felt as if was there, all I need now is a smellyvision to watch it on, thank you so much for posting.

[@airailimages]

Nicely filmed. Thank you for the look back at British steam in the 60s. Thumbs up from the USA!

[@scooby2142]

I recognise every road and hillside camera spot because I have lived in the area for over 50 years although I would have been 5 years old when the film was made. Many thanks for uploading these superb memories.

[@NTSCuser]

Those "Black Fives" certainly earned their nickname!

[@Nivshin53]

A superb record of that time - and everything so clear as well. The surrounding landscape is also a joy to behold.

[@shortround551]

Love the shot at 19:20 followed by a “behind the scenes” shot haha!

[@johnriggs4929]

I have never seen any of this footage before - really brilliant quality - and the little boy in the shots really makes the whole thing come to life. Strange to think he'll be about sixty now.

[@PeterEllwood]

The films were not seen by anyone other than family until we had them digitised. The little boy is me and I'm still a mere youngster at 57! Thanks for your comment and please look through the archive on this channel! 😊

[@scooby2142]

@@PeterEllwood You are the same age as me Peter. My father did the same with me at that young age with the railways but he didn't shoot any cine film. He did however take some great colour stills in the 60.s - but also mainly in the Bradford to York area. Skipton to Settle is very local to me now and I recognise all the camera set up spots. Superb pal. Thanks for sharing.

[@davidreay5911]

'Newfoundland Head's The Waverley', is an Argo recording from The Settle and Carlisle Line.( KZbin). At 12.55 the scene took me back to my time at Loughborough Midland Station Signal Box in 1967. I put a comment on Don Coffey's KZbin channel, ( London St Pancras to Derby), about an incident which occured one early morning. As everyone has said, this footage is a reminder of times past. 'Gone But Not Forgotten'. Thank You.

[@billykegs8782]

Stunning. I have the same problem. Born 1966. Missed it by inches. Also my parents were useless. I have one photo of myself before I was six. Heartbreaking.

[@BrianSeaman]

What I find so amazing about films from this era, is how close the public (including children) could get to the locomotives and trains without being yelled at. I know Health and Safety is paramount, but back in the 60's it appeared so much more relaxed. Thanks for sharing such great footage!

[@rsqyoung]

Don't get me started!

[@islandhopperstuart]

Truly sensational. We had relatives who lived at both Settle and Ingleton and so I got to love the S&C and Ribble Valley. Settle, in particular, always seemed to echo to the sound of steam, whistles and clanking wagons. But, of course, being a child of the late 1950s, my focus was on 'The New' Diesel traction, and didn't have an interest in steam traction until it was too late. Oh for a time machine. Thanks for sharing this wonderful quality footage with us.

[@islandbridgejunction8221]

Superb footage, and I particularly like the way your father is torn between focusing on you and on the trains. The things he loved - one going away and the other growing up.

[@john111257]

Wonderful beasts, sadly missed

[@edmundcarew7235]

This is a brilliant KZbin feature. Quality is terrific, and for Australians like me who've been fortunate to travel on the Settle and Carlisle and who are a similar age to the subject lad, very evocative. Thankfully (apart from COVID) the UK still in 2021 has the best preserved railway scene worldwide.

[@mrangry1960]

Great video. I was the about the same age as you were then, and I remember watching Black 5s and 8F s and WD s at Bury then. Love the atmosphere of it, with the children and glorious scenery. Brings back memories of a joyous 60s childhood

[@saltspringrailway3683]

One of the best vintage steam videos I've seen. Crisp and full of interesting activity like the brake van moving by gravity and the various humans including the little kid. Can't beat Settle - Carlisle shots as an added bonus in winter with lots of exhaust. Thanks for posting.

[@rmlectronicsuk2410]

Again, a fabulous film of those halcyon days!

[@cliverichards2017]

A truly remarkable film this must go down as a classic,happy days.

[@PeterEllwood]

Thanks for this great comment. There is more to come!

[@macca8562]

The sound of a steam train is beautiful music to my ears, so many memories of my childhood.

[@jackdavidson2612]

Pity it didn't match the movement of the engine.

[@selwyncarter3227]

Some really incredible film footage of ‘the day’ and for the decline in steam! Horrors! What were they thinking? Steam shall return!!thank you for sharing.

[@nigelduckworth406]

Fabulous footage by your father, Peter. He was a real expert with an eye for the dramatic. Slightly confused at first with the diesel express making a steam sound, but then I got it. Thank you.

[@PeterEllwood]

Sound is to add atmosphere. It's from an old recording so no copyright. All films are 16mm silent so I encourage viewers to turn sound down if they're not music lovers! 😊

[@nigelduckworth406]

@@PeterEllwood Sorry Peter. What I meant was that I didn't get it at first but then I did. It was brilliant to show a diesel hauled train but to superimpose steam sound on it to illustrate the point about the decline of steam. And I just love the other videos where you have superimposed music over the video to give atmosphere and a sense of nostalgia

[@johnbrown9092]

Superb film😊

[@djburland]

A great film, very atmospheric, the small boy pushing a lever in the signal box, just like my young son who got to do that in the 80's 👍

[@kevinwalton4538]

Wonderful!

[@modeltrainsandtracks]

Thank you! Excellent quality digitisation and well put together - really captured the atmosphere of those last few years.

[@Galatea5690]

Superb video great composition. Intrigued by the shunting punting the guards van down the line

[@David330ify]

Great video. Great memories.

[@Andy-SharlstonEastgate]

Hi Peter, what an absolutely fantastic treasure you have in these films. I wasn't quite born when this footage was shot and it's a pleasure to see these lovely engines at work (and in such a quality picture). Reminds me of being out & about photographing steam around Yorkshire with my Uncle Robert in the 70's. Thank You so much for sharing. Regards, Andy

[@PeterEllwood]

Thanks Andy, I've really enjoyed doing it and although I'm not 'real' railway buff, I have been drawn in by watching my dad's films and visiting the film locations when I can. It has also got me more interested than film in an age when everyone can produce HD videos and edit them on the 'hoof' using their smart phones! Thanks for your comment - it makes all the more rewarding!

[@christopherbraiden6713]

Thanks for the video totally loved it. I was under 2 years old at the time so missed out on a lot of steam!!😎🚂🚃🚃🇬🇧

[@johncourtneidge]

Thank-you!

[@philipholt9112]

Hi,Peter my name is Phil I did 50yrs on the footplate I started at edgeley shed on the 4th of April 1961 in 1962 I was made a fireman I finished my time out at 9A as a driver but on the 19th of February 1973 I fired the flying Scotsmen from Manchester to derby works and on the 25th of August 1973 I fired lender from derby to Manchester it was red then Regards Phil.

[@PeterEllwood]

50 years on the footplate - that's few steam miles! Amazing achievement and the Flying Scotsman to boot! ☺

[@allanideson5659]

wow .brings back memories ..great film

[@SuperDALLAMAN]

Superb quality, looks as good as 35mm.Many thanks for posting

[@30453trains]

Magnificent collection, so atmospheric.

[@johndodd6575]

Absolutely stunning footage, thank you for sharing your father’s film Peter. It must be strange and wonderful to see yourself as a young(er) lad!

[@flippop101]

A very nice film with some great locations and clean coaches.

[@d803albion]

Wonderful videos Peter. Thank you for sharing

[@IJHougfhton]

The little lad will be about 60 now..great footage

[@PeterEllwood]

Not quite! But in 4mths I will be!

[@IJHougfhton]

I know cause im nearly there and remember the last days of steam watching trains with my dad ,pity we could never afford a 16mm cam.

[@nigelpearson6664]

When I was about 10 I saw a loco like these draw into Oxford station on the down line. I became very frightened. A lets say 30 year old spotter sensing my fear said not to worry as it's safety valve would have been tested or even replaced for a last trip. Barry Island it's voyage ? 1966?

[@factorscrinium]

Great video, although tinged with sadness: not just that it was steam's swansong, but also to see the deplorable state of neglect that these locomotives had been allowed to fall into. Plastered in filth, rusty, steam leaking from places it shouldn't, caked in limescale. Somehow these noble machines seem to have been robbed of their majesty and dignity in their final days.

[@GRAHAM1514]

One of the best i have seen in years ,thanks for sharing

[@PeterEllwood]

Thank You- make sure you have a look through the others!

[@paulnicholson1906]

Amazing how much boiler scale and crap is on the outside of some of these engines. They must have been priming and or foaming like crazy.

[@ItsRainingDonuts]

brilliant stuff, good on you and your family getting these films transferred they look fantastic ! really great to watch. strange that some of the really colourful parts looks like they could have been shot last week! (the close up of you on the fence for instance) where did you have the films digitised if you don't mind me asking?

[@PeterEllwood]

images4life.com/cine-trans-1.html Thanks for your comment! Images for life above did the transfer. Would thoroughly recommend them. Some of my Dad's film used on their website. It was not cheap but previously YTV had transferred many of the films to VHS which seemed the right thing to do in the late 80s but inferior quality. So digitising from 8mm or 16mm is the way to go. The films were only viewed and handful of times so pleased that so many enthusiasts out there can now enjoy them! 😊

[@timspiers6225]

Wonderful stuff Peter. I'm assuming that you are the little lad in the film. Must make you nearly 60 by now. I've subscribed, looking forward to seeing more. Many thanks.

[@PeterEllwood]

That's me, and I remember it well. Before I started school, but I'm only 56!

[@timspiers6225]

@@PeterEllwood I'm a couple of years younger than you and steam only had a year to go in our area when I was born so I don't have any memories of the local stuff. I do remember being taken to Patricroft Shed to see the engines in what must have been late 67 and early 68.

[@charlie8970]

Just how a train should look and sound bring them back

[@christopherbarnett5554]

Who wrote "the Flying Dutchman" on the boiler of that Black 5 ?

[@BadRavenFPV]

Great film(s), thanks! The shot of an extremely mistreated priiming 45095 (with the 4 on the cab side not cleaned!) has the quite tidily done naming "DER VLIEGENDE HOLLENDER", alias the flying dutchman, on the boiler side. Any ideas on reason/origin/length that loco carried that please anyone??

[@BadRavenFPV]

Between 1950 and 1960 45095 was mostly listed as shedded at Patricroft

[@PeterEllwood]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/i6mkmWNqhN2lqZYsi=s_FiqYnObZD1h6az Think it may tell you more on this DVD that was produced by Telerail.

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

Got any footage of steam loco scrap cutting?

[@PeterEllwood]

No, sorry. Think that may have been too painful!

[@PreservationEnthusiast]

@@PeterEllwood Ah, OK. It's a subject not too much seen on the net.

[@reluctantanorak]

If you are adding sound in future, only BR Standard Class 6 and 7 and the early Standard Class 5s had chime whistles, and certainly not anything of LMS design like Alberta or Black 5's

[@PeterEllwood]

Sounds are from an old 45 of locomotive sounds. Not intended to be accurate. You have the choice of muting the sound as it is a 16mm silent film as captured by my father. More than happy for people with large sound library to spend a day or so adding sounds and to send me the final result free of charge of course! 😉

[@70053morayfirth]

Very good film but the dubbed sound bears no resemblance to the pictures and would be best left off.

[@PeterEllwood]

That's great just press mute if you prefer. My dad didn't record sound though the sounds added for atmosphere are from a 1960s 45 record of the decline of steam.

[@salyluz6535]

@@PeterEllwood ​: I appreciate the soundtrack, as someone who never experienced steam engines in my childhood outside of perhaps one tourist ride at a very young age. Thank you for adding it!

[@rarerufus8864]

Great film, nostalgia personified, such a pity about the disjointed soundtrack.

[@PeterEllwood]

The films are all silent 16mm films. The sound track is from an old 45 which is out of copyright and is used to generate atmosphere. It is not meant to be an accurate. I would welcome any of your suggestions especially if they are copyright free!

[@rarerufus8864]

@@PeterEllwood I'm a bit of a purist Peter and would rather listen to an appropriate musical soundtrack if there is no available original, more like your 'Liverpool Manchester to Carlisle' film which is dubbed much more sympathetically. But that's just me. Still wonderful films, superb viewing.

[@austinmetro6317]

Is that you in the video? And your Dad behind the camera?

[@PeterEllwood]

Yep!

[@keithsanders6554]

Lovely footage. Spoiled only by the inappropriate soundtrack, eg every steam loco seemingly having a Britannia chime whistle and exhaust beats not related to the exhaust from the chimney. Might work better as a silent movie ( I am trying to be positive).

[@PeterEllwood]

All the films in my dad's archive are 16mm with no sound. You have the choice to have sound or off using 'mute'. I enjoy adding sound for atmosphere but don't have an extensive library of loco sounds etc.

[@keithsanders6554]

@@PeterEllwood I appreciate that you were attempting to add an extra dimension with sound and for the most part it worked. I love a Britannia whistle but it did rather spoil the experince when it seemingly came from a Black 5. As you say, I can turn the sound off. I was not trying to be negative, I really enjoyed the footage. Regards

[@rsqyoung]

In future, historans will claim these images to be fake! I can assure you they are not. Gaslighting does not work with me, i was there....just, aged 12.

[@willhovell9019]

Nothing to be too nostalgic about , poor dirty working conditions and unreliable traction. Britain should have electrified rail in the 1950s and 1960s like West Germany, France and the low countries. Heritage railways are very entertaining and a good thing, but a modern society can't live in a museum. HS2 3, 4 & 5 along with new northern powerhouse lines now , for jobs interconnectivity and the electrification of all West Country and Welsh lines now. HS lines from Glasgow to London now , and start planning for an HS line to Cardiff ,Swansea and Fishguard

[@iandocwra1169]

The film quality is excellent (16mm helps!) and is well shot, but the sound is rather pointless as it is so removed from the action. I'd prefer silent, but that's just a personal preference.

[@salyluz6535]

If you don’t enjoy it obviously you are free to turn your volume down! For those of us who never experienced Steam, it is helpful.

[@Goffic]

Nostalgic film excellent but dubbed soundtrack is completely mismatched with what's happening on screen. Would be so much better if resubmitted without sound and maybe with some location data on screen.

[@PeterEllwood]

The films were silent cine films. The mute button can be used if you feel the sound does not add to the film. There are two versions of this already but always happy to try different things without the benefits of a large SFX library. The soundtrack was taken from and old 45 which was copyright free.

[@salyluz6535]

@@PeterEllwood: I hope the negative criticism has not become too much for you! Again I’d like to say that I appreciate you adding the soundtrack! It is very helpful for those of us who have little to no experience around trains at all. Passenger trains were gone from the US landscape before I was born, except for between some very large cities.

[@mariadelrosariorangel358]

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