How to find a movie

The A-Z list is laid out in an easy to read format alphabetically and with each entry then divided into six sections. The phrase alphabetically is taken literally, with the number of a film title appearing as if written. Therefore 28 appears before 24 as e (for eight) comes before f (for four) even though numerically they are the other way around! When running alphabetically, the words ‘The’ and ‘A’ are always dropped from film titles (though ‘Les’ or ‘I’, the French and Italian equivalents are included). The terms ‘St’ (the abbreviated form of Saint) and ‘Dr’ (the abbreviated term for Doctor) appear in the relevant section alphabetically. There are a surprising number of foreign films with UK railway scenes and these are shown under their generally accepted release name from their country of origin, usually with an English translation. Other titles by which films are released are placed in parenthesis after the term ‘aka’ (also known as) and these titles are then shown in the main listings in italicised font, with a cross-reference to the name by which they were generally released in the UK. It is hoped that this will be a handy cross-referencing aid should anybody have in fact watched a film under a different title, only to then think that it isn’t on the website. Four sub-sections then appear beneath. These refer to the country of origin (for which I have produced my own system of letter codes), the year of release (and not the year of production which is often different), the running time (which can vary slightly but which is generally that of the un-edited version), the name of the director/s and two members of the principle cast (usually one male and one female). This is followed by a brief synopsis of the film and then the details of the film itself, concentrating of course on its railway content. This is not a website about the history of feature film, though certain history has been included for the most important films where relevant. I have also found that a good number of films are based on novels and the titles of these and the names of the authors are added as an extra reference. The locomotives are listed as they would have been at the time of the films release. This means that an A4 ‘pacific’ in a 1946 film is listed as an LNER Class A4, but one which appears in a 1959 movie will be listed as an ex-LNER Class A4, even if it is in LNER livery. All locos built after the 1948 nationalisation are designated BR. Some overlap has been given to the LMS / BR Stanier / Ivatt tank loco designs, locos which share an undoubted common heritage and a similar situation is given over to the BR Class 08/09 diesel shunters, which are virtually impossible to differentiate from a distance. This is not as much of a problem with the near-identical Class 45 and 46 ‘Peak’ diesels. The 46’s never worked Midland services, so a ‘Peak’-hauled express at St Pancras will be a Class 45, though one at Bristol Temple Meads could be either. The term ‘pre-War’ when referencing Southern Railway EMU’s refers to the period pre-WWII (i.e. vintage EMU’s) and nothing more specific. Finally, there will be no distinction between the Met-Camm Class 101/102/111 DMU’s as all these units were near enough alike in appearence, the difference being largely of a mechancal nature (before anyone mentions that the Class 111’s were buffet equipped, the buffets were ‘floating’ vehicles diagrammed into different sets as required therefore spending as much time running in 101 sets).