Vintage railway film - Freight and a city - 1966

[@martinjay3570]

1966 , my first year trainspotting at 8 year old, id love to go back and experience those days again.

[@Isochest]

Wouldn't we all.

[@neilbain8736]

The optimism that came with the Brutalist architecture is worth a study because of the severe depression and decline that came later.

[@terrysearley3599]

U

[@mikecarlson6416]

our understanding of human society is still very shallow by now, man must be so arrogant to believe that we can rule everything by our will

[@annother3350]

It did look good brand new though

[@buckodonnghaile4309]

I thought that was a design feature?

[@glpilpi6209]

It was a boom time in the 60s. The decline didn't come till the 70s onwards.

[@turboslag]

Sheffield, and many other once prosperous British cities, are now a far cry from when city planners and architects from all over the world came to marvel at the sheer excellence of their layout and organisation. Now just jobless, underdeveloped dumps due to the wonder of deindustrialisation. The manual jobs back then may have been hard, but at least they were jobs, with decent pay and the average worker could afford to live and buy a house. Such a scandal that we look back 57 years and compare life then to now and find it was better then in many respects!

[@terrybutler1231]

China not innocent

[@McRocket]

It is rather sad. The same thing happened in America in the Rust Belt. It was - in some respects - unavoidable. Labor costs were too low overseas. And if you put huge tariffs on imports, you would keep the jobs. But the cost of goods would rise for everyone/exports compared to those countries that had freer trade. However, there are other reasons for the decline outside of foreign competition. ☮

[@Isochest]

@@McRocket The slightly higher costs are a small price to pay for economic stability and a human needs based economy rather than Monopoly Profits. Not Socialism at all but a Capitalist system which puts the needs of its users first.

[@stickymoan]

@@Isochest I liked your comment. A Capitalist system should put the needs of its users first, but, unfortunately, doesn't always do so. That said, nothing would ever get done without some form of Capitalism, and 'Socialism' these days has become a by-word for something completely different.

[@UserUser-ww2nj]

@@McRocket Tarrifs like the ones chump is talking about don't hurt the exporting country, it's the end customer who ends paying

[@BJHolloway1]

A fascinating view of the Brave New World during the 1960s. 60 years on the world is totally different of course. Great video👍

[@traffic71]

I do enjoy these old documentaries. You’re right though. The world is very different now, and not all for the better.

[@andrewlangley9507]

This shunting method is still in use world wide. I’m not sure where it originated but it continues to prove its worth.

[@UserUser-ww2nj]

@@andrewlangley9507 It is a brilliant system , pity we can not go back to something like this and get a lot of the freight off the roads

[@jayillingworth1301]

Whilst it is a shameful indictment on current transport problems, I get terrible memories of accidents caused by loose shunting activities. Still, this film shows the great efforts to modernise the railways in the 1960’s and 70’s.

[@djtrainspotter]

What an excellent historical documentary. The shots from inside the wagons stand out. I do miss the Tinsley area!

[@mjstow]

Bloody brilliant. Thanks for uploading. Also, I've played "Train Simulator" but what I really want from the game is to be in charge of a marshaling yard.

[@flippop101]

It’s nice once in a while to hear the optimism of BTF. Great film, thank you for sharing it!

[@Devar]

That's actually fascinating, can't help but love the ramshackle human nature of the old system though.

[@LiliaArmoury]

it made for great inspiration for model railways

[@samw2195]

But it worked and people had manual jobs most where fit people to not like the slobs of today!

[@buckodonnghaile4309]

@@samw2195 exactly.

[@direktorpresident]

Amazing to see a shunting brakeman wearing a suit

[@ianp45]

Taking his life in his hands too.

[@northseawolf]

Can't help but think we actually took a step back in time closing all this and crowding our roads with freight once more...how ironic that all that manpower and mechanical nostalgia seems more. forward thinking than our so called smart motorways of today.

[@flybobbie1449]

Motorway can be solid lorries from end to end, railway, you are lucky to see a train every 10-15 minutes.

[@James-dv1df]

I think other countries used rail freight more than the UK. I think Germany for example has more freight going via train

[@UserUser-ww2nj]

@@James-dv1df Ukraine still uses trains for moving a lot of goods around , still have big marshalling yards on the outskirts of Kharkiv and other mayor cities , you dont see anywhere near the same amount of lorries on the roads as you do in the U.K

[@gdwnet]

@@flybobbie1449 Not anymore. We don't have enough drivers for that! :D

[@flybobbie1449]

@@gdwnet Well it's what i observe when flying overhead.

[@Wasserfeld.]

It's strange to see exactly the kind of thing my grandparents would've seen 100-ish miles down the Midland in the 60s. What's considered modern and cutting edge, now feels archaic. Calling the concrete flats "good flats in nice surrounds" and seeing people trackside without any protective gear really shows how times have changed. And that building at 15:11 doesn't even seem real! Got to say though, the Double Arrow really is a timeless classic. 21:10 could've been today just with higher quality. Glad it's coming back to full prominence soon.

[@marvwatkins7029]

On the cusp of computerization, but still with steam about (admittedly for just two years): amazing and incredulous.

[@johnd8892]

Interesting to see the nearly forgotten Capstan used for shunting a single wagon at 7:03.

[@TheGodsrighthandman]

9:54 Loco No.61315 was a Thomson B1, built by North British, Glasgow, in April '48 and was withdrawn February '66. The Shed she's emerging from is likely 40E Langwith Junction, her last shed, and she was 'dealt with' at Hesslewoods, Attercliffe, one of 13 loco's they scrapped. Interestingly, Hesslewoods still survives to this day . . .

[@terrybutler1231]

This level of automation in 1966 is just incredible.

[@squeaksvids5886]

I’ve always wondered how the automated sorting worked, thanks for posting this.

[@1800astra]

Great post, thank you. Just goes to show that there’s nothing so old as old tech and it’s here in bucketloads. Gravity marshalling yards, miles across? Check. Punched tape input, and Addo comms? Check. Every outdoor worker wearing a hat? Check. Jesus, you can smell the Carbolic and Diesel, but everyone here knew the value of their contribution. Not so much today. Thanks, algorithm, for suggesting something meaningful

[@chrissyhenderson2427]

Thanks for posting this great video, very optimistic,it's a shame what happened to Sheffield though, like in Threads everything is gone.

[@Mounhas]

Those men running alongside the trucks have my praise. What a dangerous job.

[@ianp45]

Unbelievable.won’t be allowed today.

[@garethparr9482]

Why don’t they make informative interesting short films like this anymore instead of love island and the like. Speaks volumes about the times in which we live I suppose. Loved that

[@SirReginaldBlomfield1234]

Young woke snowflake millennials dont want to learn anything historical they're all for the present and just dream of being famous on tik tok, you tube etc etc.. sad.

[@Thesupermachine2000]

@@SirReginaldBlomfield1234 indeed, the boomers had it terribly hard all their life. Being able to get a job without any education and buying a house at 20 sounds like a really hard chore. Please stop old man. Times have changed.

[@admiralcraddock464]

Yes us boomers had it easy. Just as well as you delicate little flowers wouldn't be here now.

[@peterberesford193]

I was 16 years old when this film was made, remember those times well, and lived in a different - but similar - midland city. What I had quite forgotten was how grubby and depressed everything still looked in those days. If the date wasn't given (and we didn't see the 'modern' railway equipment and architecture) I would have though this film was made in the early 1950s.

[@davidcrook5511]

Was this a good suggestion for me asked You Tube? Goes without saying! Classic British Transport Film! (PS I have it on DVD thanks to the members, management and staff of Exeter Golf & Country Club thank you so much, EGCC!!)

[@davidcrook5511]

Present from the Club to mark my 30 years working on the Housekeeping team complete set of BTF films!! Wasn't that kind of them? 😊

[@gcfcos]

Great film, very interesting. Looked like everyone in work and jobs for everyone. I wonder if life was much simpler in those days 🤔

[@TheScotsalan]

I was born in 68 in Scotland, and while the old man could leave a job on friday and start a new one on monday, the pay was poor. Gosh, this brings back memories 👍. Such as rented televisions. Both parents worked full time, and we could not afford to buy a tv 😳

[@rjds1800]

Fascinating stuff, from Sheffield but only saw the end of the new developments shown in this film.

[@DavidFraser007]

Really interesting the old technology that made this complex operation work. How we've progressed to having long convoys of articulated lorries on crowded motorways.

[@eddherring4972]

Reminds me of the start of The Full Monty.

[@CCMqueretaro]

Amazing how clean the streets and public spaces were

[@09weenic]

Compared to the traction power and rolling stock 😂

[@acciid]

You're kidding aren't you? My folks grew up in a northern working town. There was a permanent player of coal dust everywhere. It was in their hair, under their nails. Large parts of the town were rubble. The difference now is the litter from fast food and the graffiti. But at least those don't fill your lungs.

[@chriso8485]

@@acciid what town?

[@acciid]

@@chriso8485 South Shields. But there are plenty of others in the North East.

[@coloradostrong]

They should have taken a bath.@@acciid

[@davidcorbett62]

Am just wondering how reliable that system was because of there is one thing in this world which will let you down it’s new technology lol Like many of those films it creates an air of optimism and pride which was very prevalent in those days when most things where manufactured in the Uk. Sheffield Steel was the watchword for quality in those days, now it’s cheap imports which rust after a few months. Sheffield lost its mantle of suppliers of steel to the world long ago, like most of the manifactureing it was sold off to foreign investors by criminal politicians more interested in their back handers than the countries workforce or manufacturing capability. I used to love listening to wagons being shunted at night, a sound no longer possible as politicians closed the railway decades ago which led to the closure of Many local factories and the decline of the town. Yes it may sound to many as triumphalist propaganda now, but then it was how many saw the UK. As world leaders

[@scooby2142]

I often wonder what ever happened to all the money the government made from selling us all down the river. The 70's full of power cuts and 3 day weeks. The 80's full of unemployment. Then the credit crunch that caused many people to lose their homes. Then the SECOND so called credit crunch...etc etc. And now it's virus upon virus upon virus... One day these people will run out of excuses to keep us down. Meanwhile the Uk is apparently bankrupt a thousand times over. Bank 0f England has no gold in it anymore... keep printing those £20 notes you fkrs...

[@davidcorbett62]

@@scooby2142 Ever seen a poor politician? Or one who retires but does so into luxury? There’s your answer

[@royfearn4345]

At last I understand Tinsley Yard, except of course it's all history now - come and gone in my lifetime. God, that makes me feel old and redundant!

[@ronalddevine9587]

It would be very interesting to see all of this in modern times. Does Sheffield even make steel now? Here in the USA, our industrial center, the mid west, is now called the Rust Belt.

[@thomasthornton2002]

Can’t be certain but I’d doubt it, very little steel is made in Britain these days.

[@ronalddevine9587]

@@thomasthornton2002 Same here. Japan started killing our industry, now China is hammering the nails in the coffin. We did this to ourselves. Very sad

[@thomasthornton2002]

@@ronalddevine9587 can’t compete with cheap labour and cheap shipping,

[@hunty28]

Yes we make high grade special steels and alloys in Sheffield

[@abloogywoogywoo]

@@hunty28 No? You getting your facts from a corrupt MP? Sheet fabrication and automated factories are NOT steelworks. They don't have blast furnaces, rolling mills, there's no iron making, no steel making there anymore. The steelworks in Rotherham closed in 1993, Stocksbridge has been mothballed thanks to Tata getting into trouble with the Fraud Office and Liberty Steel trying to buy the site going into administration thanks to the collapse of Greensill Capital this year. British Steel is dead thanks to Europe, China, cheaper imports, and the looney lefty climate change cult. Only Scunthorpe and Port Talbot remain.

[@nascar0509]

The old Scammell Scarab...

[@OliverWoodphotography]

All these great railway projects ... Tinsley, Healy Mills etc are now already just wastelands or new housing estates. Very sad when you think of the amount of work and investment that went into these major railway projects.

[@mikewatt8706]

Cheap imported steel

[@chairmakerPete]

@@mikewatt8706 plus cheap imported cars and everything else made from steel. Take away the manufacturing, and much of the rest collapses in short order. We should have been better at making stuff at a good quality and competitive price. Sadly, to this day, it's the foreign companies that have to show us how to do that.

[@darrenlavery]

China.

[@stevesmith4771]

and to think that it's all gone!

[@modelrailwaynoob]

Great film thx

[@johnbradshaw7525]

Tinsley Marshalling Yard, the most modern marshalling yard in the world that closed down from 1985 onwards. The Tinsley TMD closed in 1988.

[@Johnconno]

1985? The same year Britain began closing down.

[@robtyman4281]

All that investment and work with hat went into this....and the place lasted just over two decades. Pathetic. But very sad aswell.

[@Johnconno]

@@robtyman4281 And completely unnecessary. A country of slaves.

[@Thornaby37]

It was actually March 1998 when Tinsley TMD closed An absolutely shameful waste of such a good facility

[@Cliffjumper24]

Did you mean 1998?

[@markamusprimetime]

This country could have been so much.

[@paullacey2999]

Now theres a shortage of lorry drivers,perhaps we should be seeing a comeback of freight trains.......

[@simonf8902]

The new shunting yard was obsolete when it was built. Tiny wagons gave way to containers in a few years.

[@tominnis8353]

So crazy. The size of these wagons was much more appropriate for most roads - even now.

[@Rockinravie]

Just a little factoid. This films director, Bill Mason, was the father of Pink Floyd drummer Nick. There are other transport films he directed.

[@abloogywoogywoo]

Very sad to see this city's growing pains. Change happened too fast for the railways and their antiquated structures to cope with. By the time modernization happened, it was already too late to save its industrial heart.

[@Isochest]

I would love to go back to then. My England. Well run even though we didn't think so. Built on trust. Mutual trust.

[@FM60260]

10:45 Was that raw audio or was it dubbed with a random diesel sound? If it was the former, it could be a rare clear audio recording of a Mirrlees JVS12T working.

[@grahamariss2111]

Sadly all these new automated marshaling yards failed to deliver the savings, as the collapse in this sort of rail freight with loads in individual wagons was lost to road transport by the time they were commissioned. Money would have been getter spent on bulk and container handling, where the railways remained competitive.

[@Cliffjumper24]

The modernisation plan came along at the same time motorways were being built, which robbed the railway of wagonload freight. Of course hindsight is 20/20!

[@McRocket]

And today, for better or worse, this marshalling yard is almost completely gone. Kinda sad. ☮

[@schwarzalben88]

I remember The Wicker Goods Burning down. Broad Steet ( ex LNWR Goods depot) was demolished when they built Park Hill Roundabout.

[@soulenoid6701]

"And her prosperity stems from her greatest industry... Steel" *earrape*

[@alanrobertson9790]

Even the new one closed. Tinsley was a railway marshalling yard, used to separate railway wagons, located near Tinsley in Sheffield, England. It was opened in 1965 as a part of a major plan to rationalise all aspects of the rail services in the Sheffield area, and closed in stages from 1985 with the run-down of rail freight in Britain.

[@MarkInLA]

It's been a hard day's night !!!

[@sirierieott5882]

Those huge connected blocks of flats became, famous, then infamous, then condemned, then refurbished, then desirable! Ahhh, the circle of life…

[@danw1374]

Most of them became run down dens of iniquity full of crime and drug addicts.

[@mce_AU]

Nice. For those interested, investigate "West Tower Hump Yard" in Melbourne.

[@andykirk2514]

Fascinating.

[@mickd6942]

The boiler looked more like a refractory tower for a chemicle works

[@johnd8892]

Was hoping this was the film I saw horses being used for single wagon shunting on British Railways. But must have been in some other video. Can anyone suggest where,,,?

[@johnnew3096]

Having just written a reflective for the SLS Journal on the Beeching report as March is the 60th anniversary of publication one significant factor was either overlooked, or overly discounted, regarding these concentration depots. Hindsight indicates that once an originator had to put it on a lorry to get it to the rail hub there was little incentive to take it off again for re-handling rather than use the lorry right through to the destination.

[@trainandbusfan5706]

Tinsley was a great place a huge shame it had such a short life.

[@jkirk888]

Very interesting

[@Zer0kbps]

that dowty system is bloody genius

[@becconvideo]

When I came to the UK for the first time in 1991 the most striking experience was the almost complete absence of freight trains. That might have changed meanwhile (as they extended the loading gauge on some main lines to accomodate standard containers on flatbeds allowing multimodal freight) But the same here in Germany and all over Europe: the railway which is perfect for hauling goods is used for passengers and on the motorways we have lorries like a string of peals. Government rail.

[@bigdmac33]

It makes you wonder what real benefit privatisation and computerisation has brought.

[@chairmakerPete]

What privatisation? Letting of monopoly franchises to the highest bidder for a few years isn't privatisation - it's merely contracting out the running of the service as dictated by the Civil Service to the highest bidder, who in turn will need to charge the highest fares to recoup the money. What trains must run, how many carriages must they have, and so on. Trains still have drivers, and they're essentially still controlled by shining coloured lights at the drivers. The rail industry is about as ambitious and visionary for its own future as a retired librarian.

[@bingbong7316]

Tinsley was home to a unique class of hump shunter locomotives, basically a pair of 08 shunters boshed together operated from a single cab. These were originally called "master and slave" units, but early PC sensibilities led to the 3 examples simply being called Class 13.

[@SirReginaldBlomfield1234]

Think there was 3 sets but my memory is a little shaky.

[@russellgxy2905]

There was also the Cow & Calf name, which fits better IMO. Y’know since both units are actually doing the work lol. I like how you could see a precursor to that with two shunters, I’m presuming 08’s, working in tandem but with both seeming to still have their cabs

[@antonyhobbs1144]

4:45 It's now Tesco supermarket

[@MrStabby19812]

Tesco seem to like building on old railways they have 3 sites off the top of my head they built on in my city.

[@frenchsteam7356]

Tinsley was one of Gerard Fiennes idea -especially the Dowty system - See his book "I tried to run a Railway"

[@johnhopkinson695]

The road at 4.17 is Main Road, Unstone.

[@johnroberts1768]

So it is, I drive to work on that bit of road every day and didn’t recognise it at first

[@johnhopkinson695]

@@johnroberts1768 I lived in Unstone at the time the film was made, on this road.

[@markgoddard2560]

Sheffield drew architects from all over the world. Too right it did. Anyone who could draw a box was employed and millions were made miserable in their homes all across Britain. Never again.

[@nemo6686]

How apt that Park Hill should be shown to a narrative of public-sector achievement.

[@bro70]

I assume now it is more akin to a scene from Charles Bronson's Death Wish.....?

[@nemo6686]

@@bro70 It was until recently, and even featured in movies as such, but has since received something of a renovation - private sector.

[@doorhanger9317]

@@nemo6686 only it's not really the private sector. It's a public private partnership where local government is still going to foot the bill for social housing while the private company gets to flog "luxury" apartments which are probably still just as crap as they were before but with fancy furniture and a huge rent markup.

[@nemo6686]

@@doorhanger9317 Yay - hipsters!?!?!?!?

[@doorhanger9317]

@@nemo6686 nothing to do with hipsters. Same old story since the 80s of private companies robbing the assets and tax money of local areas at the behest of "pro-business" national government.

[@marvwatkins7029]

Love seeing those period road vehicles, but a lot of those freight railway devices look absurdly primitive and long obsolete even in 1966. But if they work...hey.

[@JB1978]

Look at that smog! o.O

[@CMD_Line]

Such a shame all this industry has gone. Britain offers nothing now and we’re all consumers of others subpar manufacturing.

[@koko2bware]

This is the UK people loved back then! Now with its demography completely ruined, it is totally unrecognisable today because of traitors!!

[@greigs9384]

Literally all the rail scenes are gone, like the steel sites.

[@dmedlin8118]

I somehow think that the title of "Hump Inspector" has disappeared for good. Outside of a therapist's office anyway.

[@GreatBarrWolf]

I think if this antiquated system was still in place today the back log of undelivered goods would be collosal!

[@marvwatkins7029]

Unfortunately that 'today' was long since yesterday.

[@flyingporker100]

The technology was cutting edge at the time. Shame about the elderly wagons with either no brakes, or the pitiful vacuum brakes.

[@laszlofyre845]

But we made it work, and it did so, for quite a long time, and I was part of it in its dying days too. Wasn't our world more interesting back then? I saw all this, and can't believe it now. Great to watch, but heartbreaking.

[@obroni]

14:14 This was actually just a paper shredder!

[@Paulie52UK]

Please allow 28 days for delivery.

[@flybobbie1449]

Does Sheffield produce any steel these days?

[@colinstewart1432]

Expect to see Fred Dibnah pop up any minute 👍

[@bobtudbury8505]

i wonder now how great it would have been if labour had not closed all the lines in the 60's?

[@CHINZIG_UK]

11:07 - 15:06 There's something about this type of industry that I love. The trains inside the loading shed, handballing wagons, the little vehicles zooming about the place, the logistics of it all. It's just so..... cool! Efficiency, timekeeping, modernisation and money has sadly rendered these railway industry aesthetics useless. Out with the old in with the new system. Not good.

[@thomasohare8552]

I've seen this before somewhere, is it played at the National Railway Museum, or have you published it before? I absolutely adore it and I'm very happy to see it again. The bit I really remember is the lorry driver at 13 minutes with no indicators sticking his arm out of the window.

[@zacm.2342]

A number of the BTF videos here have been up on other channels before which seem to have gone now (far as I'm aware), so that's probably why you recognise it.

[@leonardgoldberg2879]

An England lost.

[@jekanyika]

Time always moves on. This video is about moving from Victorian technology to 20th century technology.

[@yescharliesurfs]

This was previously on youtube, and was taken down. I bought a BTF box set just to watch it, and now it's back on bloody youtube! What a stupid website eh!

[@HyperBlueWolf]

What happens if the computer goes HAL9000 and starts lobbing waggons around at 90mph?

[@rsqyoung]

What happened to the future growth?

[@alan-sk7ky]

And to think somewhere in there is John Shuttleworth, Jarvis Cocker, most of Def Leppard, Paul Heaton...

[@stickymoan]

Not to mention The Human League and Heaven 17.

[@philclennell]

Fascinating technology but sadly all too quickly overtaken by the privatisation of the road transport system. Billions of pounds invested by BR went quickly down the drain,

[@hughs591]

Wow, scary way they stopped the trucks back then . . .

[@marvwatkins7029]

All pre-container, of course.

[@johnd8892]

Lots of containers on railways back to the 1850s. What the container revolution was , was the international agreement to develop the ISO container system and replace smaller containers that were just standard to a business or country.

[@foxontherun6082]

Lack of H and S u gotta love it!!!

[@rassyconkerhead5548]

​@Aussie Pom Let's all get life changing injuries at shitty low paid jobs. OK gammon.

[@brianhepke7182]

Great insightful film. However, I think the Americans were the first to have these sort of marshalling yards; going as far back as the 50's.

[@jammin023]

British Rail: "We need to build this freight infrastructure to allow for the future growth of manufacturing in Sheffield." Thatcher, 15 years later: "About that..."

[@Isochest]

I remember going christmas shopping in Sheffield. Everything then made in the UK. How it should be in the UK.

[@tominnis8353]

Thank you Margaret Thatcher.

[@Isochest]

@@tominnis8353 Thatcher was one of the Early Pawns of the Globalists. But she was an angel compared to the uniparty political whores of today. I say this as a One Nation Conservative who admired the principles of Labour regarding the consensus policies of the 1960s that made Britain thriving

[@ssss-df5qz]

Back when it was GREAT Britain - not the sorry excuse that it is these days. Where is all our industry? Pfff.

[@56independent]

It's Great Britain not because its Brilliant, more rather, when the Breton people settled here, they refered it as Great Breton, which eventually changed to Great Britain through linguistic changes.

[@bobtudbury8505]

all closed etc after joining the eec , eu. as planned

[@sisi2484]

All the work in the 50s and 60s. Then, in less than 10 years came the rationalisation program. In other words, a type of 'Uber beeching cuts' just for Sheffield and the wider region... what a waste of money

[@redrb26dett]

All gone thank you Maggie there is a call centre there now undercutting India

[@ZephyrKnight76]

The horrid brutalist buildings of the 1950s/1960s

[@emjackson2289]

Just before Threads happened. . . . .

[@Ghozer]

This is the city where I live... and honestly, it's still an unplanned rushed mess of a place that sinks money into projects without thinking.