Pathe film ER/SR steam

[Mickey]

I stumbled on this short piece of Pathe film by chance that features steam around Kings Cross & Top shed as well as steam at a few locations on the southern region. First up though is a surprise shot of a southbound Up express south of the 20th Mile bridge fast approaching Hatfield probably in the late 1950s, the cameraman is standing with his back to traffic in the 6ft between the Down fast & Up fast lines on a curve for several minutes!!.

http://www.britishpathe.com/video/steam-trains

Mickey

[Eightpot]

I like to believe that it was only the camera there in the 1st scene, and the operator was a safe distance away!

[Mickey]

You may well be correct Eightpot on the other hand the cameraman may have had a 'lookout man' watching his back?. I suspect that if the cameraman did have a lookout man and where the camera is positioned in the 6ft between the Up & Down fast lines at the start or end of a 'long sweeping curve' towards or from Hatfield there may well have also been a 'distant lookout man' provided as well looking back along the straight towards Hatfield station?.

The railway scene looks fairly empty looking to me from a traffic perspective apart from the fast approaching Up express and it has the 'feel' of maybe it was filmed on a Sunday when the ECML was a fairly quiet place with not much traffic running back then.

Mickey

[giner]

I'd guess the camera was on a small tripod, set running at the first sight of a distant plume and then left to do its job on its todd.

[Mickey]

Where the Up express is first seen in the far distance the train is just passing under the 'Sandhole bridge' (the bridge was totally demolished prior to electrification work in 1974-75) anyway between the 20th Mile bridge (south of Welwyn Garden City) and the Sandhole bridge is the site of the January 1957 rear end collision between a early morning passenger train hauled by L1 no.67741 and a overnight scotch express hauled by A2/3 no.60520 Owen Tudor after she 'ran through signals' in foggy weather and ran into the back on the local passenger train with the express loco ending up laying on her side.

Mickey

[giner]

I remember that incident Mickey. I went down there later that morning out of morbid curiosity, I suppose. Oddly enough, some years earlier when I was very young, I can remember standing with my dad on the bridge just south of Cemetery box and seeing the ill-fated Owen Tudor lying on its side after it had derailed. Another early morning up scotch express, if I recall correctly.

Just had a second thought (yes, it does happen sometimes:)) but the New Southgate one might have been Duke of Rothesay - an A2, anyway.

[Mickey]

I remember that incident Mickey. I went down there later that morning out of morbid curiosity, I suppose. Oddly enough, some years earlier when I was very young, I can remember standing with my dad on the bridge just south of Cemetery box and seeing the ill-fated Owen Tudor lying on its side after it had derailed. Another early morning up scotch express, if I recall correctly.

Just had a second thought (yes, it does happen sometimes:)) but the New Southgate one might have been Duke of Rothesay - an A2, anyway.

Yeah your dead right giner the earlier accident happened in July 1948 between Cemetery (box) & New Southgate station and involved the A2/1 no.60508 Duke of Rothesay where she also overturned onto her right-hand side as well and on that occasion she was being driven by none other than driver Bill Hoole but tragically his fireman was killed.

Back to the film the southern region sequence features what looks like a B.R. standard 4 2-6-0 on a 11 coach passenger train formed of a mixture of coaching stock but mostly B.R.Mk1s at a unidentified location plus a Bulleid 'spam can' West Country no.34022 Exmoor arriving at a southern region station also it looks like the departure scene was filmed on one of the platforms at Waterloo and finally a ex-LSWR T9 'Greyhound' 4-4-0 on a 3 coach passenger train formed of 'bird cage brake' coaching stock filmed at the same unidentified location as the B.R.standard 4 2-6-0 and it's train.

Mickey