London to Brighton in 4 minutes BBC interlude

[priapus56]

I must be odd or something..but I actually would like to watch this at normal speed.

[jnisb29]

this is fantastic. my dad recorded this off the tv when it was on years ago, ive grown up watching this!

[defoekeane]

fantastic

[superjock68]

CAB RIDE MANCHESTER TO CHESTER GO TO

jQ4BsoNaFy4

[kafcan]

I can remember those days very well. I had forgotten though that everyone dressed smartly in those days! Good film.

[bymacorg20]

time-lapse rulez!! Do you know you can make time-lpase movies with any camera with this device: (copy address to browser): tempusALL.bymac.org

Works with ANY camera! ckeck it out :P

[MayBellez02]

Lol, I might be too tired but I fell asleep.

[accadaccasuperstar]

oh wh y must a bleeding diesel pull the train? steam engines are the best, especially the gwr!

[davidsan01]

@scotsman60163 anyone looking at the clip from outside the station at London can tell you its way earlier than 1967 just by looking at the cars!

[davidsan01]

who was the presenter at the beggining?

[MrBriancollison]

this was 1953

[dw13970]

Looks to me like they get on the Brighton Belle but get off a different train!

[BeTheDeathOfMe]

Woah. Check out that smog. Battersea power station is a shadow in this.

[Dristarg]

Anyone else remember "Southern Belle", a mid-80s steam train simulator for microcomputers? You controlled a "King Arthur" type loco on the Victoria-Brighton run (the demo mode was a high-speed run, obviously inspired by this film). Some of the detail was amazing; lineside features included Battersea Power Station, a windmill near Hassocks, Clayton Tunnel's castle-like portal. And when the next station sign said "Three Bridges", you passed under two bridges and over a third!

[ecologist96]

A question that really bugged me during this entire video: what kind of motive power are we talking about here?

[benthejrporter]

Try this! Turn the sound down and then open a new tab and play The song "Land of Confusion" by Genesis. Doesn't it make a good soundtrack for this film?

[minotaur878]

Wow they can speed it up.

[Soralella71]

I wish it could go so fast! I live in Brighton.

[kitkat6026]

traveled this route many times would love to watch normal spead to see the changes

[39machine]

Attention all passengers! Please do NOT put out your cigarettes and pipes when you board! Thank you for smoking!

[jonaspollard]

I think this video would be good with Queen's 'I want to break free' ..if you start the music at 28 seconds in to the film it just about fits, make sure you mute the video :P then play the music in another tab or window or what ever....

[Clairenna]

I felt like I was still in motion when we stopped at Brighton - took me a while to adjust! Was interesting to spot my town's two stations, however they look no different to how they do now.

[FlamingIceCubez]

The best part was at 5:23

[ratcliffave]

i didnt know trains could do 550 mph in 1950?, the driver didnt even look scared.

[BeTheDeathOfMe]

Hahah. Gatwick airport is basicly non-existent in this.

Strange comparing it now.

[butti9249]

well, well... crazy ...

[bonnie43uk]

My father used to stand on one of the bridges with a breeze block.

[LJJ23ARSRUL]

look at the smoke form battersea powerstarion !! wow

[Castrovalva3]

I wonde if this ever became a blockbuster in the cinema... Hahaha, I love that everything has been sped up.

[Taisykis]

The worlds first fast forward video? :D Skip the boring part! :D

[MrTalayHo]

London-Brighton film was made about 1950 and was always a popular BBC request item, but it was never used as an interval or spare time filler. There are a couple of discontinuities in it: first, the passengers are clearly seen leaving Victoria in the Brighton Belle, but when they alight at the other end there isn't a Pullman car in sight; second about half way down the line the camera became dislodged from its mounting - which is why there are a couple of 'noddy' profile shots of the driver.

[DLPBurke]

why did they always have that annoying music? Every damn old feed has that silly narration and daft music.

[DADRENO]

The music is on the original sound-track - that's why.

[DLPBurke]

That isnt what I asked.

[ThatPhagg0t]

lolz i put on yakety sax in the background

[kludd28]

Very cool, I got routed here from an interaction w/ other subscribers watching 'Rush Hour (1970)' on BFI films. Also reminds me of The Chemical Brothers - Star Guitar, check them out if you can, you may enjoy them.

[Starryvideos]

The times when telly was worth watching and everything was desant.

[searleflesher]

if u look here on youtube you can see the film of the nitemail

[Scousar]

There was another one, very similar to this except that it had a guy with a BBC accent, naratting, almost singing, a rhyming limerick. The rhyme pertained to motion and speed and trains, but was spoken in a sort of monotone voice, it was amazing and I never did actually see it all, I was born in Liverpool in 1959.

[drzozzy]

Yes, that was a film about the night train carrying post and milk across the country, it's bound to be on here somewhere

[BarnacleGooseInvalid]

@drzozzy are you serious? surely that's the night mail crossing the border bringing the cheque and the postal order? i thought that was as well known as the fucking lord's prayer

[briggerful]

@drzozzy That was "Night Mail" It's on DVD from Ebay or Amazon. No milk though.

[david552]

@drzozzy @Scousar - the poem you're talking about is "This is the night mail" - WH Auden, if you search on YT for that title you'll find a copy of it.

[danlefou]

It's called "Night Mail", made in 1936, with poetry by WH Auden and music by Benjamin Britten.

Various versions are on YouTube, and it's well worth finding.

[pompeytid1970]

@Scousar This is the night mail

[SwanningAbout]

@Scousar You might be thinking of "Night Mail" by W H Auden

[BRANDY60rocks]

@Scousar Its called Night Mail

[Steve7508]

It's great, even if you're not a train-obsessive. the speed makes it very entertaining and kind of hypnotic.

(thanks FARK)

[way2fast14]

Hey a fellow FARKer....and yes the speed does make it hypnotic.

[xj14y]

So how long would this trip usually take?

This is oddly fascinating. I even enjoyed watching the bug splats add up on the glass. Whoever came up with this idea was a genius.

[ya13er]

Nice, wanna be a driver

[stokepogue]

This must've been so great to see this occasionally on old British TV.

[VL8M]

Good!

[HydraVipa]

i went on this at the NRM. IT WAS SOOO FUCKING FAST!!!!!!!!!!

[areyoureceivingme]

I take this journey often. The landscape, bridges etc - wow, how different it seems. Would be great to see a modern-day colour version just to compare, frame by frame!

[TashkentFox]

I've got a copy of this on an 8mm reel.

[danlefou]

Actual maximum speed of these trains was 75mph.

[danlefou]

The train at the start is the Brighton Belle, a supplemented-fare Pullman express that ran non-stop between London and Brighton, 52 miles, in exactly one hour. It probably got into the high 70s or 80s in open country.

The object the lady is carrying may be a special delivery of cans or boxes for an expensive shop, restaurant or hotel in Brighton. With Pullman service, not a bad job!

The train seen at Brighton is an ordinary Southern Region set.

[fordlandau]

Has the Brighton Belle been preserved?

[Deadfox7777]

yes

[Jonsimzadi]

Gosh! This brought back childhood memories. I rememeber being enthralled as a child when they used to show this.

[AlanMcB]

Wow! 765 mph imagine that,enough though its fastforward.

[beagle3341]

Someone should put this to the Madonna soundtrack- '4 minutes to save the world (before we get to Brighton)'

[Redshift21]

I wish someone would post the potters wheel interlude.

[bigimprint]

railtrack pissed all the money away!

[ay76]

Not watched this in years,Great stuff!!

[bigimprint]

sounds better with 'one of these days' by pink floyd as soundtrack

[ay76]

cool!!

[bcm409]

this is at the national rail museam in the simulator in york

[searleflesher]

I live on the line too i reckon those of us near the line shud arrange a meet lol it is amazing seeing how it looked in the 50's

[penfloyd]

Those were the days.....You can almost smell the smoke!

[jsl151850b]

I'm guessing the majority of the commenters here are Brits. Howdy!

Was this used in an episode of the Gerry Anderson "SuperCar"? The episode with the atomic train?

[thinWhiteDuke73]

i love this !! i alwas travel from Victoria, London to my home in Preston Park, Brighton, though not in the 1950's and not at that speed. the last tiny station just before the terminus is my local right by my home !!

[lopzilla]

Gone are the days of well educated articulate presenters, anyone, any colour any grunt will do now. The interval time also allowed for the TV cameras to cool.

[Owentheguitarist666]

WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE­EEE let go again let go again lol

[muteswan53]

So, why does it take about an hour today? Privatisation I suppose.

[rosielappy]

bland propaganda!!!!!

[sw1q]

victoria station exterior photo is different today because the foreground leftbuilding has been demolished; while waiting for construction there is a good wide view of the several station buildings.

hurry!

[NickRatnieks]

I remember seeing this as a kid about 1961 by which time it had a soundtrack using the instrumental "Wheels" the tune that "Silver Statue" fellow on "Opportunity Knocks" used to move his muscles too- anyone care to upload that!

[justpassing]

It was made in 1952. Most of the stations and other landmarks on the route are recognisable still, though there have been some changes. What is the woman at Victoria (first through the ticket barrier) carrying?

[sw1q]

a gay box !

[jeka3000]

What is year?

[drzozzy]

Er, 1950's at a guess. Perhaps someone else can tell us?

[RJ4960]

A real find - haven't seen this for years. Thanks.

Shame about the quality, though; can anyone do better?

[drzozzy]

Hi RJ4960, the strange thing is, the quality of my original is good. When I uploaded it to youtube, they compressed it so much that the quality is rubbish.

[RJ4960]

Shame - but there might be an answer (apart from asking YouTube why this happened)... you could try encoding it yourself as an .flv file, the format they use. Google 'FLVplayer' and you'll find a great freebie download which will cross code video files. I'm thinking that the smaller your file size then the less the system will mangle it by compressing it once you upload it. Worth another try, I feel.

Good luck, and thanks again for the post.

[anotherindiekid]

@drzozzy

I have been trying to download a 50mb version that is presumably better quality with no success. Many thanks for this it is the next best thing.

[benlu123]

I can remember for a Windmill production, this and another modern version were merged together with music. I have a copy somewhere on video but can someone try and upload it??

[aristophanes2000]

Well, the London, Brighton & South Coast had overhead electrified suburban lines before WWI, but the Southern Region's been all 3rd Rail since the 20s. London Underground uses a 4th Rail system; whilst electrified lines north of London are 25kV AC catenary.

[glenrea]

The overhead catenary of the Channel Tunnel link has ruined the Kent countryside.

3RD RAIL RULES!

[LeamingtonSteve]

Southern Region as far as Hampshire was 3rd rail- beyond Bournemouth etc it goes non- electric to Exeter and the former lines to Devon and Cornwall- Barnstaple, ilfracombe etc...

[nostromoau]

I always thought that , contrary to LT..BR always ran electric services through overhead cables? Isnt that a third rail system?