Description

When the original Rail Freight Today series first appeared in 1989 it caused a sensation. Never before, or since, has anyone looked in such detail at the rail freight scene.

Over the decades rail freight has changed out of all recognition – many traffic flows have been lost or have had to be adapted as customers responded to changing demands.

Based on our original material shot 20 years ago for the Rail Freight Today series, now re-edited in DVD quality with a brand new script from acknowledged rail freight expert Paul Shannon, this is a great way to look back at an era of enormous variety.

Locomotives, liveries have all come and gone and these scenes are now part of an important historic record. Originally each part of the UK was looked at regionally. However, this brand new series featuring a carefully chosen selection of material from the complete Rail Freight Today and Rail Freight Now series, concentrates on providing a complete overview of traffic flows by type.

With the benefit of time it’s now possible to evaluate all the most important changes; nowhere has this been more marked than in the transport of coal by rail. As we shall see in this programme twenty years ago Britain still produced a substantial amount of deep mined coal – today the bulk of our coal is imported, and most of the flows in this DVD have passed into history.

Featuring all the major coal flows from Wales, Scotland, North West England, the Midlands, the North East.

If you still hanker after the days when there was real variety of motive power including class 08, 20, 26, 31, 37, 47, 56, 58, 60, this brand new series will be of special interest.