For the first meeting of the 2026-27 season, we welcomed Barry Coward to present a selection of British Transport Films. Barry was archivist for the BTF collection from 1986-1996. BTF made over 700 films.
We were treated to a selection of excerpts from less well-known titles, including one on waterways, rerailing V2 60828 following the Barby derailment on the Great Central in 1955, a quirky film about litter on the railway, the Blue Pullman, a shoe works outing to London from Leicester, last day of London trams, Journey into Spring (the BTF made a number of natural history documentaries and won an Oscar with one) and Every Valley, about trains and buses in the South Wales valleys.
Barry’s presentation style was a bit understated, but it was thoroughly enjoyable and very good to see something other than This is York and the Elizabethan!
We had an attendance of 29.
RCTS East Midlands branch
