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The Train Now Departing, BBC 1988

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Journeyman

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I recently ran into all six episodes of this BBC series on YouTube, and it was a treat to see them again after many years. I was fourteen years old when they were originally shown, and didn't remember much beyond an evocative theme tune, and various bits of footage of steam specials. The show was made to mark twenty years since the end of steam, and it's interesting that so many features of the steam age railway survived back then - the first three shows covered the Settle and Carlisle, West Highland and Waterloo to Exeter lines, and at the time all three had loco-hauled trains with stock that would previously have been steam-hauled. It's funny that over thirty years have now elapsed since the show was made, and even the 1988 footage in it is now historic, showing a railway that no longer exists.

Anyone else remember it? Well worth a look.
 
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Cowley

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I recently ran into all six episodes of this BBC series on YouTube, and it was a treat to see them again after many years. I was fourteen years old when they were originally shown, and didn't remember much beyond an evocative theme tune, and various bits of footage of steam specials. The show was made to mark twenty years since the end of steam, and it's interesting that so many features of the steam age railway survived back then - the first three shows covered the Settle and Carlisle, West Highland and Waterloo to Exeter lines, and at the time all three had loco-hauled trains with stock that would previously have been steam-hauled. It's funny that over thirty years have now elapsed since the show was made, and even the 1988 footage in it is now historic, showing a railway that no longer exists.

Anyone else remember it? Well worth a look.
Absolutely loved it and someone bought me the accompanying book of the series too.
A couple of years later when I started volunteering at the Mid Hants I made friends with a wonderful guy called Mike who actually appears in the series talking about industrial railways in a section that was filmed at the Amberley Chalk Pits Museum. :)
Quality television @Journeyman.
 

yorksrob

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Yes, I particularly liked the S&C episode. The Waterloo - Exeter episode seemed a bit downbeat - I still use it as my holiday line !
 

Journeyman

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Yes, I particularly liked the S&C episode. The Waterloo - Exeter episode seemed a bit downbeat - I still use it as my holiday line !
Yeah, the guy they chose to feature in that seemed to have a particular downer on everything. My favourite was the West Highland episode, which featured a driver with a rather reflective and poetic personality - he really appreciated the landscape he drove through.

I wrote a blog post about the series here - The Train Now Departing (BBC TV, 1988) – Journeyman Online

Absolutely loved it and someone bought me the accompanying book of the series too.
A couple of years later when I started volunteering at the Mid Hants I made friends with a wonderful guy called Mike who actually appears in the series talking about industrial railways in a section that was filmed at the Amberley Chalk Pits Museum. :)
Quality television @Journeyman.
I've ordered a copy of the book, I'm looking forward to getting it! I particularly enjoyed the Amberley bits, as that was a favourite haunt of mine when I was a kid. I took my own children there too - happy days. :) I was glad to see the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway feature in the final episode too, as I now volunteer there. The station looked a bit bare back then - that was long before my first ever trip to Scotland, let alone the whole idea of living here...
 
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takno

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If I remember the title sequence was a "ken Morse on rostrum camera" special. Thoroughly enjoyed rewatching it on iPlayer a few years ago
 

Cowley

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Yeah, the guy they chose to feature in that seemed to have a particular downer on everything. My favourite was the West Highland episode, which featured a driver with a rather reflective and poetic personality - he really appreciated the landscape he drove through.

I wrote a blog post about the series here - The Train Now Departing (BBC TV, 1988) – Journeyman Online


I've ordered a copy of the book, I'm looking forward to getting it! I particularly enjoyed the Amberley bits, as that was a favourite haunt of mine when I was a kid. I took my own children there too - happy days. :) I was glad to see the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway feature in the final episode too, as I now volunteer there. The station looked a bit bare back then - that was long before my first ever trip to Scotland, let alone the whole idea of living here...
The West Highland episode is the one where the driver is out on a boat fishing with his wee doggies isn’t it?
I’m going to have to watch these again you know... :lol:
 

yorksrob

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Incedentally, the haunting theme tune is called "Bare Necessities" and is quite difficult to find anywhere on the internet due to the prevelance of a song of the same name from a Disney feature.
 

Ash Bridge

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Yes, I particularly liked the S&C episode. The Waterloo - Exeter episode seemed a bit downbeat - I still use it as my holiday line !
I haven't seen these in a good while but if this is the episode that ended its journey at Exmouth on a rainy day then I know exactly what you mean about downbeat Rob. It started off quite well but I found it quite depressing by the end!
 

yorksrob

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I haven't seen these in a good while but if this is the episode that ended its journey at Exmouth on a rainy day then I know exactly what you mean about downbeat Rob. It started off quite well but I found it quite depressing by the end!

Indeed. Perhaps he should have taken a couple of beers with him for the journey !
 

Journeyman

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Incedentally, the haunting theme tune is called "Bare Necessities" and is quite difficult to find anywhere on the internet due to the prevelance of a song of the same name from a Disney feature.
I found it fairly quickly on YouTube Music. The full version is nearly four and a half minutes, and it's beautiful.
 

hexagon789

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As far as I know the full series has been available on the BBC archives - where I first saw this series - and which you can access through iPlayer, for a few years.

There's a few other railway related programmes there as well.
 

Mag_seven

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As far as I know the full series has been available on the BBC archives - where I first saw this series - and which you can access through iPlayer, for a few years.

Just checked - it's on there as part of the BBC4 collection. That's my viewing for this evening sorted!
 

hexagon789

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Just checked - it's on there as part of the BBC4 collection. That's my viewing for this evening sorted!
Check out the other stuff as well, I can't recall precisely what's there but they added some things in April and June to augment what was already there.
 

yorksrob

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It was nice to watch the S&C one again as I'm getting cabin fever now and missing the whole area.

Amazing to think it was over thirty years ago !
 

yorksrob

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I can remember those days so the statement from the programme "20 years after the end of steam" really makes me feel old.

It certainly seems strange to see the line without a 158 in sight :lol:

It's about 20 years since my first trip along there come to think of it !
 

Cowley

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I can remember those days so the statement from the programme "20 years after the end of steam" really makes me feel old.
Looking back at it 1987/88 was a big time of change around my way with lots of things finally disappearing. Things like the yards at Whimple, Seaton Junction and other places, Newton Abbot being rationalised, but also Peaks, scheduled loco hauled trains to Barnstaple, loco hauled locals to Paignton and various other things.
I’m glad I saw all of it before it went I must say.
 
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