The Yorkshire Film Archive collects, preserves, and shows film made in, or about Yorkshire. Our collections are non-fiction, dating from the 1890s to the present day, and providing a rich and visually compelling record of all aspects of lives, cultures, landscape, industries, major events and everyday activities, many of which are available to watch, free of charge, on our website.
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Evening Stars
Behind the scenes at the museum, where a few of Britain’s great gift to the world, the steam locomotive, are enjoyed by millions.
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Overview
On the tenth anniversary of the National Railway Museum in York, YTV reporter Paul Dunstan interviews the major players at the Museum to investigate the state of the Museum and its plans for the future. The programme highlights the ongoing conflict between preservation and operation. Focusing on steam locomotive the Evening Star, the film looks at many of the items that have been restored for the Museum’s collection, and some nice archive film from the glory days of steam.
The ‘Evening Star’ (92220) was the last steam locomotive to be built by British Railways, in 1960, and the only one earmarked for preservation when built (it only ran for 5 years). However, it was not the last steam loco to be built in Britain: steam shunting engines continued to be supplied to the National Coal Board, until 1965, and the last one built in the UK, at Hunslett’s in Leeds, was in 1971, destined for the Trangkil Sugar Mill. Other steam locos seen, the A4 Pacific 'Silver Fox', the ‘White Knight’, the 'Guillemot' and the 'Golden Eagle', were cut up in the mid-1960s. The 'Green Arrow' and the ‘Evening Star’ remain, on plinths in the NRM. Thankfully, many restored locos are still running on heritage lines.
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