The East Anglian Film Archive, the first and largest Regional Film Archive in England, was established in 1976. Since 1984, EAFA has been owned and operated by the University of East Anglia, Norwich (UEA), to support research and work to preserve our moving image heritage. More than 250 hours are freely available online as examples of the wide range of film which attracts interest the world over.
This film is part of Free
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.
From the collection of:
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.