Elizabethan Express (1954)

Directed by

Tony Thompson

Genre

documentary

Country

United Kingdom

Runtime

20 min

Rating

6.7 of 10 from 3 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This short film follows a non-stop steam train on its journey from London to Edinburgh. A poetic commentary and lively music capture the spirit of 1950s British rail travel.

nostalgicbriskpoeticcheerfulformalobservationaltransportive

What happens

Elizabethan Express is a 1954 British Transport Film that follows The Elizabethan, a non-stop British Railways service from London King's Cross to Edinburgh Waverley along the East Coast Main Line. Although originally intended as an advertising short, it now acts as a nostalgic record of the halcyon years of steam on British Railways and the ex LNER Class A4. It was directed by Tony Thompson, with a tongue-in-cheek poetic commentary written by Paul Le Saux. It is also notable for its music by Clifton Parker, who also wrote the score for Blue Pullman and several other British Transport Films. He was later to write the music for the 1959 version of The Thirty-Nine Steps, which also features an A4. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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