Riding the Class 20 Snowplough Move - available to pre-order now on DVD & Blu-ray.

Early in 2012 a number of refurbished snowploughs had to be moved from Kilmarnock to various locations around the UK. Known as ‘Beilhacks’, TOPS code ZZA, these former Class 40 bogies are normally attached to the front and rear of a pair of diesel locomotives when in plough mode.

DRS had the job of moving the ploughs to their new homes and three trains ran in January and February. The first of them, on 12th January featured the unlikely combination of a Class 20 and a Class 57 pairing!

On what was a fine sunny winter day – with not a flake of snow to be seen – we joined the train at Kilmarnock, filming from the cab of 20303 for the entire journey. Departing Kilmarnock we travelled via the GSW route passing New Cumnock, Dumfries and Gretna and the various junctions, signal boxes and semaphore signals. Upon joining the West Coast Main Line the train was routed via the freight-only Up Arrival Flyover road, Up reception sidings and into Kingmoor depot at the north end.

Filmed with the full assistance of Direct Rail Services, a special ‘thrash cam’ recorded the sound of the Class 20 hard at work. As per all our cab rides, it was filmed in 16:9 widescreen.

This title is due for release on 28th May 2012. Order your copy now and we will post it out to you immediately we receive it into stock.

New for summer 2012 are three fascinating documentary collections - these are sure to be popular titles so reserve your copies today.

Britain's Railways at War - The Home Front Documentary Collection 1941 – 1946
A comprehensive collection of original archive documentaries covering the wartime role of railways on the British home front and featuring a wonderful variety of period steam locomotives. Includes the following short films: Newspaper Train; Shunter Black's Night Off; The Army Lays The Rails; Decontamination And Repairs To Damaged Track; Salving Our Scrap; Bundles For Berlin; The Burning Question; Gang Warily; Carrying The Load; Service For The Services; Women At War; Peep Behind The Scenes.
201 mins - £19.95 (SE012) ...read more

Rescue From Crashed Aircraft 1945-1987
A fascinating chronology of archive training films featuring staged demonstrations of the correct methods of rescuing aircrew and passengers from crashed military and civilian aircraft. This is both an in-depth look at the intricate preparedness of rescue teams in the event of an emergency and a nostalgic reminder of when these now much loved heritage aircraft types were in the frontline of active service.
180 mins - £19.95 (SE013) ...read more

London Airport (Heathrow) -  A Short Films Collection 1949-1965
The most comprehensive DVD compilation of short films, mostly previously unreleased, to cover the early years of international air operations at London Heathrow Airport during the BOAC and BEA years. Includes: London Airport (1949); London Airport Aircraft Recognition (1949); Wings Over The World (1950); In On The Beam (1951); Air Crossroads - London (1958); Airport (1965).
120 mins - £16.95 (SE014) ...read more

Our brand new Summer 2012 Catalogue is available now as a free download or for if you would prefer a free printed copy, just contact us with your address and we'll put one in the post.

Our Summer 2012 DVD catalogue and a special edition to coincide with the 9-day Railfest event being held at York from 2nd to 10th June.

In this issue we have all the latest steam and diesel releases plus a special mini-feature on the various Settle and Carlisle line DVDs.

New releases this summer include an unusual cab ride on a Class 20 on a snowplough move from Kilmarnock to Carlisle; ‘Vac Attack’ features a pair of Class 50s from Glasgow to Crewe; if you like railway signalling there’s an excellent new DVD called ‘Focus on Signal Boxes and Semaphores’ plus various other superb steam and diesel titles to choose from.

We often get asked to recommend archive steam titles. B & R have covered just about every location in the UK with steam footage from the 1950s and 1960s. Have a look for code ‘BR’ in the list at the back. Also, Cinerail and Marsden Rail DVDs are crammed full of archive steam from the final years. These are codes ‘CR’ and ‘MR’. If in doubt, please ask!

Don’t forget our excellent mail order service matched with our easy-to-use website. Remember, unlike some other DVD retailers we do not charge for postage. If the DVD you want costs £14.95 then you will be charged £14.95 – not a penny more.

Any DVD, anywhere in the UK – post free - guaranteed!

Click here to download the catalogue (approx. 11Mb pdf)

Traditional signal boxes controlling semaphore signals once dominated Britain’s Railways. In this programme we explore the world of mechanical signalling and look at the workings and details of a once common aspect of the railway scene.

The Programme Comprises:
Semaphores - A look at the various types and configurations of semaphores on the National network. Includes upper and lower quadrants, signal gantries, bracket and shunting signals, a Midland lower quadrant signal, a Midland signal post and centre pivot signals. Includes film taken throughout the network including Cornwall, Scotland, Cumbria, the Welsh Marches, East Anglia  and the South East. 

Signal Boxes - An exploration of the National network past and present with a wide range of designs including LNER, LMS, Gt Western, Gt Eastern, Furness Railway, South Eastern & Chatham, Southern Railway, Caledonian Railway, LNWR, Great Central, North Eastern and British Railways. 

Exeter West Box - The preservation, removal and rebuilding of this important signal box at the Crewe Heritage Centre. The workings of the box are recreated in detail, with typical trains of the steam and diesel era signalled through the station area and along the incline to Exeter Central . The recreation of the box is completed using archive film from the days of steam and diesel traction. 

A Main Line Signalbox - the workings and procedures at Quorn box on the Great Central Railway. The ‘switching in’, ‘switching out’, bell codes, instruments, levers and signals are all explained as trains are signalled through the station area.
Order Focus on Signal Boxes & Semaphores

The Western Region of BR adopted diesel hydraulic traction rather than diesel electric. Nearly 400 examples, both express, mixed traffic and shunting were introduced from the late 1950s. By 1977 they had all gone, save for a few preserved examples.

We start with the original A1A-A1A D600 Warship Class 41 and a short black and white sequence of D600 leaving Paddington with an express and then passing Par. A D6xx in green with a yellow warning panel passes Lostwithiel and along Dawlish Sea Wall. Green D601 'Ark Royal' on shed contrasts starkly to a later scene on the Barry scrap line with blue liveried D600.

The Class 42/43 Warships, in both maroon and green, are seen on the GW Main Line and in the West Country including scenes at Dawlish, Penzance and Par. Over to Waterloo for Warships of all colours including a short cab ride in D809 'Champion' as it departs. Back to Paddington for Warships double-heading, a blue Warship crossing Saltash Bridge and green D850 at St.Erth.

Inside Swindon Works for views of Class 52 Westerns being built. A rare shot of Desert Sand 'Western Enterprise'. The comings and goings of a vast variety of maroon and blue Westerns on expresses at Paddington, out on the GW Main Line, Bristol, Dawlish Sea Wall, Newton Abbott, Plymouth and Penzance plus freight trains in the snow and china clay trains. Also featured are a number of rail tours such as 'The Western Talisman' from Kings Cross and the 'Western Finale'. Over 30-mins of pure Western nostalgia!

On to Class 35 Hymeks and with black and white film we peek inside the Beyer-Peacock works during their construction. Out on the main line and green and blue Hymeks on a variety of passenger trains including double-heading with steam. We see NBL D63xx Class 22s shunting at Coleford and Boscarne plus extensive footage of D6346 shunting at Charlbury! Scenes from a bygone era.

Finally, Class 14 0-6-0 'Teddy Bears', and shunting at Coleford Junction and Lydney with D9555. Many Class 14s were sold into industry and we feature No.28 in industrial use. We close our film with a Western, heading into the sunset.

Apart from a few scenes in black and white, most of the footage is in colour and the film has an extensively researched commentary with an authentic soundtrack
Order Diesel Hydraulic Heyday

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