To Build an Island's Future

A film maker's attempt to record the last steam-hauled passenger and freight trains running along the West of England mainline from Waterloo

Testing times as we make a journey on board British Rail's High Speed Track Recording Coach.

Farewell to the faithful steam war-horse as modernisation brings diesel power to the railways of Britain.

Not-so-special special effects add the magic touch to this kitsch British Rail commercial.

A new luxury express is put through its paces. This film looks over the shoulders of the select band of craftsmen, engineers and operators, whose combined skills try to ensure that a train journey is a delightful experience.

A 1957 film examining the future for British Railways, and some of the opportunities provided by a new modernisation plan.

A last gasp for the British Army's cavalry: the skilled horsemen of the Leicestershire Yeomanry perform for a local audience.

A well-staged exit of workers from a Leicestershire manufacturer for the transport industry.

Victorian women workers (and a few men) hasten through the gates of the hosiery works after their shift.

The director of a documentary about British funk pioneers Cymande joins the band at BFI Southbank to talk about the film.

Plotting world domination, Devil Doctor Fu-Manchu steals plans for a new aero-torpedo in this earliest surviving thrill-a-minute serial instalment.

Filmmakers Jane Giles and Ali Catterall discuss their documentary Scala!!!, revisiting the legendary and inspirational cinema venue and some of the most notorious films that screened there.

Long thought lost, this Powell-directed promotional short for a veteran’s charity was only rediscovered in 2003.

A poignant, stirring letter from a recently deceased pilot to his mother is read by John Gielgud.

Former Bristol Poet Laureate, Miles Chambers reads a poem specially commissioned for the 75th anniversary of the NHS.