Rails Across the Moor
The GWR branch line from Yelverton to Princetown was one of the most loved and missed railway journeys in the West Country. Closed to passenger traffic in 1956, the line crossed the great national park of Dartmoor and navigated some 10.5 miles through some of the most rugged terrain in England. This film traces the history of the line from it’s inception to closure in 1956 and includes interviews with enginer drivers and guards that used to work on the line.
Description
YELVERTON TO PRINCETOWN – RAILS ACROSS THE MOOR
DVD – Colour/B&W – 58 minutes
The GWR branch line from Yelverton to Princetown was one of the most loved and missed railway journeys in the West Country. Closed to passenger traffic in 1956, the line crossed the great national park of Dartmoor and navigated some 10.5 miles through some of the most rugged terrain in England. This film traces the history of the line from it’s inception to closure in 1956 and includes interviews with engineer drivers and guards that used to work on the line.
The film opens with a history of the line and progresses onto the journey with movie footage and photographs. The next part is all movie footage of the entire journey with experiences from retired guards and drivers. Then we hear the experiences of some who lived around the line at Burrator, followed by other recollections. A now and then section follows, showing how the line looks today and finally, unique and beautifully filmed aerial footage of the entire track bed filmed in 1998.
In conclusion, we are taken back to the days of the Southern Region line from Plymouth to Exeter and unique footage of the last train from Newton Abbot to Moretonhampstead, thus bringing to a conclusion a pictorial history of how Dartmoor once enjoyed ‘Rails Across the Moor.’
Note: This film contains simulations and the 13 minute release ‘Shadows on the Moor’ produced in 1986.
Specifications
All the DVDs are produced, packed and sent directly from Aarchvie Films.
The original documentaries were made on S-VHS, in a 4:3 ratio, so on a standard TV/computer screen, will show black bars on both sides.
There is some very brief areas of ‘dropout’ when they were converted from S-VHS video to digital. We have done the best we can to reduce this, but it is still there.
All of the documentaries were produced by Roger Lilley of Aarchive Films, who passed away 20 years ago. Some of the ‘modern’ footage is from between 1995 – 2000, so some of the newer footage may look different now. Also, when Roger would would use the term ‘today’, this was written back in before 2001.
Digital Remasters
Some of the video have been digitally remastered, into a 16:9 widescreen format, with updated maps, sound, colour grading and more.
The new remastered versions are online only from our Patreon Page. The DVDs are still the original format above.
