I hope you’ve been enjoying the recent videos and blog posts here on Aarchive Films. It feels wonderful to be creating again. Editing is my happy place — there’s something deeply satisfying about sitting down with old footage, restoring photographs, and bringing family stories back to life. Over the past month, I’ve poured a lot of time and heart into updating one very special project: Plymouth to Exeter – The Southernway.
The Original 1996 Film
Back in 1996, my dad and I created the original video together. Dad had collected a wonderful selection of movie footage of the old Southern Railway line. He wrote the script with expert help from Anthony Kingdom, Colin Bastin, Bernard Mills, and Paul Fox — all of whom knew the railways of the South West extremely well.
The route took us through Tavistock, Okehampton, and some of the most stunning countryside in Devon. It was a real labour of love even then.
Keeping Dad’s Wonderful Narration
At the centre of the updated film is still my dad’s original narration. His voice — warm, knowledgeable, and full of quiet passion — guides viewers along the line just as it did nearly thirty years ago. I’ve produced new narration for other recent videos and I’m pleased with how it’s developing, but nothing quite matches what Dad achieved. Keeping his voice is especially meaningful to me. He passed away 25 years ago, and hearing him speak again brings an instant smile to my face.
He also tucked in little private “Easter eggs” that only the two of us would notice. This film truly feels like a personal time capsule of our time together.
A Hitchcock Moment
Dad and I grew up watching films together — from Alien to Zulu, we saw them all. He was a huge Alfred Hitchcock fan and loved adding what we called a “Hitchcock Moment” to our videos.
In The Southernway, we stopped at Bere Ferrers station, which had been beautifully converted into a private house. With the owners’ kind permission, we discovered they had kept the original ticket counter and ticket machine intact.
Dad decided this was the perfect spot for his Hitchcock scene. He pretended to buy a ticket and walk through to the old platform. We filmed it over ten times because he kept overacting every single take! He would “buy” the ticket, examine it with a big smile, and stroll off dramatically.
I kept asking what on earth he was doing — it looked wonderfully silly. I still laugh about it today. He was brilliant behind the camera, but acting in front of it? Not so much. Bless.
New Music, Cleaner Sound, and Foley Effects
One thing that always bothered me about the 1996 version was the music. Back then, before the internet, our choices were very limited — and some tracks were, let’s be honest, pretty terrible. They made me laugh as much as they annoyed me.
Thankfully, modern editing software now includes clever voice isolation tools. This allowed me to carefully remove the old music and sound effects while perfectly preserving Dad’s narration.
I then spent time selecting fresh, fitting background music from YouTube’s library. I also added subtle foley sound effects — birdsong, gentle wind in the leaves, and other natural ambiences. If I’ve done it well, you won’t even notice them consciously, but they help bring the journey to life.
Just a note on this, the voice isolation is the only AI tool I use. All of the images and movie footage is all edited and restored by me. AI has it’s uses, but not when it comes to images from the past, they need to stay as close to the original as possible.
Restored 8mm Footage and Modern Updates
We originally shot and compiled The Southernway while living in Plymouth. It involved months of filming, transferring 8mm home movies, and careful script writing.
I later found more 8mm footage in Dad’s belongings, much of it from the Plymouth to Exeter line. In the 1990s we transferred everything to Super-VHS — the best quality available at the time. Today, using a professional digital film scanner, the results are dramatically sharper and cleaner.
Around 75% of the original footage has now been beautifully restored and upgraded. I’ve also replaced some of the “modern day” scenes from 1996 with brand new 4K footage, including occasional drone shots that add a wonderful new perspective.
It’s amazing how much technology has changed. We once filmed with a huge shoulder-mounted Super-VHS camera, a heavy tripod, and sometimes even a car battery. Now my entire kit — 4K camera, drone, and 360 camera — fits easily into a small bag.
Station by Station – Then and Now
As I continue making new videos for the channel, I’m planning more filming trips this year to capture how the stations and line have changed over the past 25+ years. In the next week or two, I’ll head to Exeter Central and Exeter St David’s (an easy train ride from my home in Yeovil). I want to create some lovely “then and now” comparisons using old photos.
Once Plymouth to Exeter – The Southernway is complete, I’ll move on to cover more stations along the old Plymouth to Launceston branch, including Tavistock North, Okehampton, and Bow. I’m looking forward to seeing these places again through fresh eyes and sharing the updates with you.
Coming Soon – May 2026
The updated Plymouth to Exeter – The Southernway will be released on the Aarchive Films YouTube channel in May.
I’ve put a great deal of love and care into this project, and I truly hope you enjoy the new version. Whether you remember the Southernway in its heyday, love railway history, or simply appreciate personal family stories preserved on film, I think it will bring back some wonderful memories.
If you haven’t already, please subscribe to the channel and turn on notifications so you don’t miss the upload. Thank you for following along on this journey — both the one on the rails and the very personal one of preserving Dad’s voice and our shared memories.
