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Trail of The Iron Horse

Shy and testy retired signalman Wally Trigg chats to amateur filmmaker and railway enthusiast Chib Thorp, as Micky the Collie happily ambles along the overgrown railway line.

Amateur film 1966 37 mins

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Overview

On a breezy summer's day in 1966, railway enthusiast Chib Thorpe, along with wife Edna and their Collie dog Micky, document the now extant railway line between the Woodham Ferrers and Maldon West Railway Stations, meeting with retired relief Signalman Wally Trigg. Wally Trigg worked the line thirty years previously, and Chib encourages the shy and often testy signalman, in the company of Edna, to talk about his days working on the line.

Edward Beach Thorp, known as ‘Chib’, an undertaker from Leigh on Sea, spent his weekends throughout the year visiting the rural railway lines in East Anglia with wife Edna and their dog Micky, either travelling on the train or by car, to explore the countryside either side of the track. Chib, a keen amateur filmmaker as well as railway enthusiast, always took along his 8mm camera, a good supply of Kodachrome film, and a tape recorder, to document their trips. He filmed trains at the stations, signal boxes, and of course the railway staff. Chib would edit the film himself at home, have a magnetic stripe added to the film, and on his Kodak projector, which had a recording facility, he would record a commentary.

Genres
Amateur film
Released
1966
Country
United Kingdom
Location
MaldonSouth Woodham FerrersWoodham FerrersCold Norton
Language
English

Subjects

Railway tracks Railway workers Rail transport Border collies Train services Beeching Plan