BFI The Finishing Line (1977) kids on railway line DISASTER

This is a public safety film made in 1977 teaching kids not to play on railway lines. It is a schoolboys daydream of a sports day based on the railway where the events are vandalism and trespass which ends up in injuries and death. Railways are dangerous places, even more so now with electric third rails and overhead electrics which have enough power to fry a person alive. Original footage courtesy of the British Film Institute (BFI) under the terms of the Creative Archive Licence.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• BFI
• the
• finishing
• line
• British
• rail
• diesel
• locomotive
• DMU
• railway
• railroad
• public
• safety
• film
• kids
• children
• sports
• day

[SpikePapp]

wow, a great way for officials to handle a disaster.

1st place - Red

2nd place - Yellow

3nd place - Green

4th place - Blue who is disqualified because one of their team member got run over by a train.

[MrBooojangles]

@SpikePapp LOL yes. If you get to see the full length film nearly all the kids get run over by the train in the tunnel at the end and those kids lose the competition.

[darkyoda]

@MrBooojangles Is it just me or do you find it Ironic that "blue" is the team who got run over. Considering BR colours were Blue and Yellow?

[MrBooojangles]

@darkyoda LOL maybe the drivers saw the blue colour on the trains so much that they just didn't see the kids on the track in blue clothing or maybe it was BR's way of promoting their corporate colour in some way.

[dangerousandy]

@MrBooojangles. The Age Of The Train vol7 is the only one I have at the moment. It's excellent (especially the film on the Intercity 125) and I really enjoyed the full length version of 'The Finishing Line'. Has anyone got a copy of 'Killing Time' as there is very little information about it (released in 1992, written by Sue Read and narrated by Tom Conti) and I'm sure it was the PIF I would have seen at school (I was 10 in 1992), although I think I saw the Keith Chegwin version of Robbie too

[MrBooojangles]

@dangerousandy If you like old rail films like on vol. 7 you won't be disappointed by the others in the set.

[Wehategod]

You know having The Pythons in this one would have made it more entertanting

[spongebobpaul]

I had never played on the railway tracks

[toposebi95]

This race looks like something out of Sparta.

[KrillLiberator]

This is awesomely brilliant. I think that kids then and now are easily smart enough to understand the surreal horror of this satire and that's one hell of a message. Put any reckless or antisocial behaviour into the context of an organised and acceptable event with harrowing consequences and it'll do the trick. I really think they should make films like this nowadays.

[dilwich123]

They would never be allowed to show such a graphic film today on mainstream TV because it my offend someone.These 70s PIF's got the message across because i remember being frightend of these films growing up.

[BMC1100]

The blue team only lost by a foot.

[womenworship1]

i used to play on train tracks all the time as a kid.

[rojblake82]

The girl who gets run over ends up dead.

[DonnoJohnstonProject]

There is a bit missing from the beginning that tells you I kid dreamt it up