THE WATERLOO BRIDGE HANDICAP

GB
1978
21mins
Dir: Ross Cramer
Starring: Leonard Rossiter and Lynda Bellingham

A commuter’s race to work narrated in the style of a horse race

This short little comedy is rather amusing, with plenty of early scenes taking place at stations and on trains, the majority of which are blue and grey-liveried Class 423 4 VEP’s. The film opens with commuters waiting on platform 1 at Surbiton station where we see a train arriving on headcode 10 with unit 7720 leading. We then see unit No.7735 departing with an older plain blue EPB or similar on the front with another train of SR express stock approaching in the distance. There then follows a lengthy scene filmed onboard which sees the cameraman do well in keeping movement to a minimum as the train bucks and rolls its way towards London! Views out of the window during this sequence show passing blue-liveried 2-car EPB’s and a train of London Underground D stock at Wimbledon before an arrival into Waterloo where we see more trains, in this case a departing service formed of Class 421 4 CIG’s and another VEP arriving in the form of unit 7748 on headcode 63. The railway scenes conclude at Waterloo with commuters rushing to get out of the station although not too much of the actual station is shown. There is one final scene on the South Bank somewhere, with a blue 4 EPB passing behind Leonard Rossiter as it works a service towards Charing Cross.

Commuters buzz about impatiently on platform 1 at Surbiton. The service arriving is headcode 10, Woking-Waterloo, with 4 VEP unit 7720 leading.
This view is looking north east from Surbiton station. On the left, a blue-liveried 2 EPB or similar is leading a blue and grey 4 VEP in the form of unit No.7735. On the right is an approaching train formed of more BR express stock.
A view out of the window just north east of Wimbledon and a blue 2-car EPB passes a London Underground train of D stock on a District Line service. The headcode on the front of the EPB looks like 34 (Waterloo-Wimbledon Park).
As we arrive into Waterloo a Class 421 4 CIG unit is departing
In this view from the platforms we see two VEP’s. The one on the left is unit 7748 coming in with a headcode 63 service from Kingston via Strawberry Hill.
Commuters jostle for space at Waterloo having alighted from the 4 CIG standing in the platform
As Leonard Rossiter begins his race for work a blue EPB passes behind him on its way into Charing Cross