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British Movietone Newsreel of LNER Gresley Pacifics (1932)

Posted: Mon Apr 18, 2016 5:47 am
by 2745CaptainCuttle
This is a newsreel dated May 2, 1932 (by the Movietone Website) called, "Flying Scotsman to Beat Time-Table." As far as I've been able to tell, it doesn't feature 4472 but it does feature footage of several A1/A3 locomotives. There's no narration, just pure footage of Gresley Pacifics doing what they do best, hauling passenger services along the East Coast Main Line. I'll try to identify the locomotives whenever I can.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWgIST1ehQ8

The engine leaving the station at 0:20 is A3 2599 Book Law. There's epic wheelslip and you can hear the screech of the LNER bell whistle. The bell whistle on Book Law sounds a lot like the bell whistle that's on Flying Scotsman now. The bell whistle Flying Scotsman used to have sounded more like the bell whistle that's on Tornado. I wonder if the design of the bell whistle was altered at some point to make the whistle more audible. Maybe someone here can key me in.

The engine rushing by the camera at 1:42 appears to be Gresley A1 2552 Sansovino. It's difficult to tell because the number is blurred due to the speed of the train.

The profile shot of the engine running at 1:50 seconds is difficult to identify due to the quality of the video transfer. The blisters on the smokebox indicate that this is an A3. I have a difficult time making out the number. The first part of the number is 25 but I can't make out the last 2 numbers. My best stab at the number is 2599, making the engine Book Law. Again, this is just my best guess.

The engine roaring over the camera at 2:01 is Gresley A1 2549 Persimmon.