RMweb Premium melmerby Posted February 18, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 18, 2017 I quite liked it, its was an easy watch and I like Chris Tarrants upbeat presentation style, It moved the show along quickly and didn't get bogged down in to much detail on early railways (I find UK Georgian and Victorian Railways as dull as dish water). I really liked the music used in the show. I enjoyed it more than the Full Steam ahead show. I didn't expect any sort of in-depth detail with it being a general easy watching show on regular TV so enjoyed it for what it was. Some was previously used in "Railways: Making of a Nation" a series with a very similar remit shown on BBC4 last year and done much better! This latest series comes across as just a cheaply made, inaccurate and confused programme. Keith Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted February 18, 2017 Share Posted February 18, 2017 ...Nostalgic though I am for the sheer drama of traditional steam locos (Miles Kington described them as ham actors!) I can't help thinking that if they'd been developed much further they'd have ended up looking very much like diesels... If coal fired steam does make the grade economically for bulk freight haulage over electric traction or diesel at some point in the future, then I suspect we may be looking at a 'twin box' solution of water tube boiler unit and turbine-electric generator and condensor unit. Both running on electric motored trucks with electronic traction control using industry standard designs to provide both the control and absence of hammerblow that the modern rail industry would demand. None of the drama of reciprocating steam direct drive, and the mighty noise of wasted thermal energy; romance be damned, thermal efficiency and proven control is king... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wonderbolt Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 Some was previously used in "Railways: Making of a Nation" a series with a very similar remit shown on BBC4 last year and done much better! This latest series comes across as just a cheaply made, inaccurate and confused programme. Keith In fairness most modern tv shows which tackle the issue of early railways are all the above. The topic of early railways is just to large and detailed to do perfectly on regular tv as it would be to boring for the average viewer. Railways building of a nation was very good but still used wrong locos in shots (forgivable as right ones don't exist) and was very much a show relating to the region each respective show was originally broadcast on BBC one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted February 19, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 19, 2017 If coal fired steam does make the grade economically for bulk freight haulage over electric traction or diesel at some point in the future, then I suspect we may be looking at a 'twin box' solution of water tube boiler unit and turbine-electric generator and condensor unit. Both running on electric motored trucks with electronic traction control using industry standard designs to provide both the control and absence of hammerblow that the modern rail industry would demand. None of the drama of reciprocating steam direct drive, and the mighty noise of wasted thermal energy; romance be damned, thermal efficiency and proven control is king... Ah, 'Jawn Henry' rides again, or probably not - http://www.american-rails.com/jawn-henry.html Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmann Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 One of the Freeview channels cuts into commercial breaks with short stories about aircraft and are generally interesting, yet railways are always discussed in a nerdy fashion............. "This is a Burryport & Potatofarm two-two-two with double link motion and single thrust crank, works number 77984 built by Horndapol & Heljanmann in 1842". Z-z-z-z-z-z-z. Peter Waterman is yer man! Every interview I have seen with him has been entertaining yet informative. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
34theletterbetweenB&D Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 Ah, 'Jawn Henry' rides again, or probably not Just as with any technology, it will only 'fly' if there is either sufficient economic or performance pressure present to make it happen. Coal fired steam turbine came remarkably close on the basis of technical art now seventy and more years out of date, and oil prices are only going one way. Whether the coal fired turbine is in a massive and static plant, or on a rail vehicle, the economics will decide. (Of course if we could send the juice through the running rails it would be a no-brainer.) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hroth Posted February 19, 2017 Author Share Posted February 19, 2017 As a point of comparison in programme making, I've just caught the end of the last part of "Locomotion: Dan Snow's History of Railways" on the Yesterday digital channel, and it reminded me that you CAN make a TV series for general consumption about railways without completely losing the plot. The 3 programme sequence is being repeated later today between 17:00 and 20:00. Compare and contrast. What do you think? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombatofludham Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 Peter Waterman is yer man! Every interview I have seen with him has been entertaining yet informative. Absolutely not. I find him annoying, and given he and the equally brick-at-screen irritating Christian Wolmar seem to be on speed-dial for any number of lazy producers wanting a railway sound bite, I'd rather put up with a z-list celebrity presenting knowing you are going to get a load of verbal vomit than listen to Waterman or Wolmar. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisf Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 So the Grouping happened in 1932. Not a lot of people know that. Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold russ p Posted February 20, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 20, 2017 I heard that too Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chubber Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 Personally, anything tagentially appropo railways is better than 'Housewives of Anywhere', 'Casualty City', 'More interesting (?) animals from somewhere', 'Cooking in a Geordie accent', 'Watch obnoxious people pretend to buy houses', 'Discover that some demi-celebs great great great great grandfather was a pork butcher in Wandsworth' et Al..... Bring back Open University lecture broadcasts in B/W, I'm sure there's a Beta max in the loft somewhere! Doug Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hroth Posted February 20, 2017 Author Share Posted February 20, 2017 Against my better judgement, I watched.... It was like watching Dr Who and the Daleks from behind the couch, peeking out when it might be safe again! Apart from the 1932 flub (couldn't believe my ears there), I also enjoyed the description of "Mallard" breaking the steam speed record, over aerial shots of "Coronation"! At least they admitted that Mallard ruined her inside bearings in the process. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold russ p Posted February 20, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 20, 2017 Wish they'd get the sound track right A LNWR EMU with a steam sound? Modern HST with valenta scream are they embarrassed they don't do that anymore? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 The one thing that really stood out was Tarrant's breathless promotion of a "Win A Stay In A West Sussex Hotel" in the advert break. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Joseph_Pestell Posted February 21, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 21, 2017 I would much rather we had no railway programmes on TV at all than poorly edited stuff like last night's episode. Reminded me of one of those coffee table railway "encyclopedias" that are published for the Xmas market. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsetan Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 So the Grouping happened in 1932. Not a lot of people know that. Alternative facts. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Enterprisingwestern Posted February 21, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 21, 2017 Alternative facts. Or media lies in Trumpland. Caught the back end of last nights programme, what a load of twaddle, not be bothering again. Mike. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
coachmann Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 I did tell you..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium melmerby Posted February 21, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted February 21, 2017 I gave it a miss and kept 60mins of my life Keith Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonny777 Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 Against my better judgement, I watched.... It was like watching Dr Who and the Daleks from behind the couch, peeking out when it might be safe again! Apart from the 1932 flub (couldn't believe my ears there), I also enjoyed the description of "Mallard" breaking the steam speed record, over aerial shots of "Coronation"! That might be because there is no film footage of Mallard breaking the steam speed record; and, if the production company had found aerial shots of an A4 at high speed (and never mind the expense of gaining the rights to show them), a number of 'enthusiasts' would have spent all night re-watching the clip in slow motion in order to inform everyone that it was not actually Mallard, but Golden Fleece; the clip could not have been filmed in the 1930s because the train included a Thompson brake composite; and the footage was not of Stoke Bank but at a point 10 miles north of York, and therefore the programme was complete rubbish. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hroth Posted February 21, 2017 Author Share Posted February 21, 2017 That might be because there is no film footage of Mallard breaking the steam speed record; and, if the production company had found aerial shots of an A4 at high speed (and never mind the expense of gaining the rights to show them), a number of 'enthusiasts' would have spent all night re-watching the clip in slow motion in order to inform everyone that it was not actually Mallard, but Golden Fleece; the clip could not have been filmed in the 1930s because the train included a Thompson brake composite; and the footage was not of Stoke Bank but at a point 10 miles north of York, and therefore the programme was complete rubbish. But the Flying Bathtubs are completely the wrong shape when compared with a Streak.... You'd have thought that even the bozos in production might have noticed the difference! Yes, its all completely rubbish, down to the use of exactly the same stuffing clips as last week (and to using the same clips several times in different sections of last nights programme for completely different subjects). HOWEVER its good enough for entertainment purposes, even if its not quite the entertainment the producers imagined it would be. Alternative facts. Post-Truth, actually...... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
avonside1563 Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 Well there were some lovely shots of Bellerophon and the North Staffordshire Railway coaches at Foxfield, not quite sure why they kept doing cutaways to intersperse that with later stuff... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold 81C Posted February 21, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted February 21, 2017 What a load of Cod's Wallop. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSB Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 So the Grouping happened in 1932. Not a lot of people know that. Chris I'm glad it wasn't just me who thought he said that! Generally I found the programme quite entertaining although I wish they'd taken the trouble to match the snatches of old films with what he's actually talking about! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wonderbolt Posted February 21, 2017 Share Posted February 21, 2017 The errors really did stand out in this one like the grouping date and the coronation rather than an A4. Let down by poor research I guess. But I still enjoyed it, a TV show that's positive about railways is not to be sniffed at. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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