Briefing
Established in 1985 Railfilms have over the years been involved in all manner of film and video production – all connected to the fascinating world of railways!
Born out of a passion for the subject and with professional training and extensive experience in the world of film and video production, Railfilms has established itself today as a leader in the field of this specialist programme-making genre.
Success is in understanding the subject and having an empathy with the viewer and their special interests. Mainline steam, unique historical archive, narrow gauge, miniature railways and more are all within the Railfilms production portfolio and covered on a worldwide basis. With over 30 years of experience the viewer can be certain of a great variety and assured value from the Railfilms catalogue of DVD titles.
New titles will continue to come to the small screen. Whether it is archive films with carefully chosen and synchronous effects, fascinating interviews or steam locations around the world, the Railfilms collection will continue to offer great choice. In the future the range will expand as the market demands and will include re released titles with advanced soundtrack options and previously unseen footage. All Railfilms titles can be purchased direct through distributors Telerail.
In DVD format the programmes provide a tangible and “collectable” reference on railways in all their diverse forms. The subject matter could be limitless!
The quest is to continue to strive for excellence at all levels. The Railfilms winning team have produced titles that have received extensive praise from the critics through their carefully photographed, professionally scripted and well-edited work. …..
Those who know Railfilms will quite likely know that it was born out of a passion. By way of confession I would have to put my hand up and say, yes, I was and still am responsible.
Back in childhood I enjoyed the sight and sounds of steam like many others. Yes its clichéd and yes it’s a romantic notion but it was important to me.
The distant sound of an 8f lumbering along the CLC towards Northwich in the dead of night, the clanking of tank engines in Trafford Park, the first vestiges of preservation at the Ffestiniog Railway all encouraged a curiosity to learn more about the world of trains.
As an eight year old in the early 1960s I had plenty to ask and pursue outside the school classroom. Others had like minds and wanted to know where the Northwich trains had come from, where were they going and why? And what of the great steam locomotives that hauled them.. Why had someone chalked sad faces and legends on their blackened and corroding bodies? What was happening to this scene that in vision and sound was so dramatic?
I was too young to appreciate it all but a fire was lit and along with others, and for whatever psycho reason, it meant something … and it stuck. When the trains were no longer steam hauled I was sad. But in a breath I would appreciate that new technology could be just as interesting and for those on the footplate a great deal more acceptable in terms of working conditions. The railways were offering me so much of interest … I could pursue so many avenues of fascination.
There has never been a more intense period in history when technological advances have affected everyday life so readily.
The coming of the first telephone, the introduction of the motorcar and even the discovery of electricity itself all brought about important material change to peoples lives. But today technology is itself breeding at an incredible rate as experienced evidentially through the developments of electronic gadgets that now seem to be defining our pace of life and feeding our insatiable demands.
Whatever pods we live in or pads we carry in the years to come there will always be one aspect of humanity’s history and development that changed lives more than any other. Railways.
The current inconsequential ride of electro mania will end just as the age of steam did. A final gasp, an exhausted battery, a shortage of parts and a desire to move on will end the laptop age at some point – but I believe thereafter we will still have railways.
So rejoice that railways are with us and have been for so long and celebrate their technology and worldwide application. Rejoice at their speed, their artistry and their contribution to the solid and permanent development of mankind over the years. It is after all called the “permanent way” - and so it should be!
