Railway with a Heart of Gold

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Railway with a Heart of Gold
Directed by Carson Davidson
Produced byCarson Davidson
Music by Judd Woldin
Release date
1965
Running time
15 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Railway with a Heart of Gold is a 1965 short documentary film about the Talyllyn Railway in Mid-Wales, filmed by American filmmaker Kit Davidson. [1] Filmed in 1953, it portrays the operation of the railway and experiences of the volunteers in the early years of its preservation.

Contents

Background

Loco No. 2 Dolgoch in 1951, showing the neglected state of the track at the time. By the time of filming some improvements had been made, but much work was still required. Abergynolwyn station geograph-3278263-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg
Loco No. 2 Dolgoch in 1951, showing the neglected state of the track at the time. By the time of filming some improvements had been made, but much work was still required.

The Talyllyn Railway is a 2 ft 3 in (686 mm) narrow-gauge railway, opened in 1865 to carry slate from the quarries at Bryn Eglwys to Tywyn (then spelt Towyn) on the Welsh coast. By the late 1940s the quarries had closed and the railway was in very poor state of repair; very little maintenance had been carried out for many years. [2] The owner of the railway, Sir Henry Haydn Jones, died in 1950 and the railway looked likely to close. However the world's first railway preservation society was formed to take over the railway by volunteers, or in Davidson's words: "'It's too nice to scrap,' they said. 'Please, couldn't we have it instead?' And they could." [3]

Locomotives

At the time of filming, three locomotives were operational on the railway: the original No. 2, Dolgoch, and former Corris Railway Nos. 3 and 4, Sir Haydn and Edward Thomas, though Edward Thomas does not appear in the film. Dolgoch, referred to in the film as "The Old Lady", was badly worn out, and after filming was almost never used before its boiler was condemned and the loco was sent away for a protracted rebuild. [4]

Content

Derailed: a screenshot from the film, depicting Sir Haydn off the track after Davidson recorded the derailment. Derailed - a screenshot from Railway with a Heart of Gold.png
Derailed: a screenshot from the film, depicting Sir Haydn off the track after Davidson recorded the derailment.

The film captures various aspects of the early preservation era, and many of the people appearing in the film were genuine volunteers. The driver of Dolgoch, however, was played by an actor, Peter Assender. [5] In the opening scene, the driver is shown to throw away a piece that fell off the engine, as he did not know what it was. Davidson later admitted "The falling off bit was fictitious, and I'd never do it now. Corny, as we say in the States". [4] Despite this, most of the film was a true record of the day-to-day operation of the railway at the time. One genuine incident was the derailment of locomotive Sir Haydn on a down train due to the poor state of the track. [4] This was captured unexpectedly by Davidson whilst he was attached to the side of the train, [4] and as such has a "homemade" feel. The rest of the film is of far higher quality than most British railway documentaries made by enthusiasts at the time. [6]

Among the volunteers who appear in the film are John Snell, who was the driver of the derailed train and later became managing director of the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway, [7] and John Bate, who later became the Talyllyn's chief engineer. [8]

Filming

Davidson decided to make the film after he discovered the Talyllyn Railway whilst on holiday in Wales. [5] The film was produced, directed and shot by Davidson over a period of six months in the summer and autumn of 1953, though it was not released until 1965. [4] It was produced on 16mm colour cine film, with music composed by Judd Woldin. [5]

Reception

Chris Leigh wrote of the film: "[Davidson] deserves our gratitude, for he has produced a fine record of the start of preservation, absolutely unique, the reality behind The Titfield Thunderbolt , which itself was inspired by the early days of the Talyllyn." [6]

In 1990, David Potter described the film as "by far the best on the TR so far". [1]

The film has been shown on national television and at Edinburgh and Venice Film Festivals, [5] and was preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012. [9] [10]

The title of the film has been adopted as a slogan of the Talyllyn Railway, and appears in their literature and promotional material. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corris Railway</span> Narrow gauge railway in Wales

The Corris Railway is a narrow gauge preserved railway based in Corris on the border between Merionethshire and Montgomeryshire in Mid-Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Talyllyn Railway</span> Narrow gauge railway in north Wales

The Talyllyn Railway is a narrow-gauge railway in Wales running for 7+1⁄4 miles (12 km) from Tywyn on the Mid-Wales coast to Nant Gwernol near the village of Abergynolwyn. The line was opened in 1865 to carry slate from the quarries at Bryn Eglwys to Tywyn, and was the first narrow gauge railway in Britain authorised by Act of Parliament to carry passengers using steam haulage. Despite severe underinvestment, the line remained open, and in 1951 it became the first railway in the world to be preserved as a heritage railway by volunteers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aberllefenni quarries</span> Three slate quarries in north Wales

Aberllefenni quarry is the collective name of three slate quarries, Foel Grochan, Hen Gloddfa and Ceunant Ddu, located in Cwm Hengae, just to the west of Aberllefenni, Gwynedd, North Wales. It was the longest continually operated slate mine in the world until its closure in 2003. Foel Grochan is the quarry on the north side of the valley, facing Ceunant Ddu and Hen Gloddfa on the south; all three were worked as a single concern throughout their history. Rock was mainly extracted underground, though all three quarries had open pits as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Haydn Jones</span> British politician

Sir Henry Haydn Jones was a Welsh Liberal Party politician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British narrow-gauge railways</span> History of British narrow-gauge railways

There were more than a thousand British narrow-gauge railways ranging from large, historically significant common carriers to small, short-lived industrial railways. Many notable events in British railway history happened on narrow-gauge railways including the first use of steam locomotives, the first public railway and the first preserved railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bryn Eglwys quarry</span> Disused slate quarry in north Wales

Bryn Eglwys quarry was a slate quarry and mine near Abergynolwyn, in Merionethshire, Wales. More than 300 men worked at the site, making it the principal employer in the area. Two veins of slate, known as the Broad Vein and the Narrow Vein, were worked. The geology continues eastwards towards Corris and Dinas Mawddwy, and westwards towards Tywyn. It was one of many quarries that worked these veins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tywyn Wharf railway station</span> Railway station in Wales

Tywyn Wharf railway station is the western terminus and principal station of the Talyllyn Railway in Tywyn, Gwynedd in mid-Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dolgoch railway station</span> Railway station in Gwynedd, Wales

Dolgoch railway station is a station on the Talyllyn Railway between Tywyn and Abergynolwyn, Gwynedd in north-Wales. It is 4 miles 72 chains from Tywyn Wharf. Unlike most places on the line, the station was built for tourist traffic, for visitors to the local Dolgoch Falls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abergynolwyn railway station</span> Heritage railway station in Gwynedd, Mid-Wales

Abergynolwyn railway station is a station on the Talyllyn Railway near Abergynolwyn, Gwynedd, in Mid-Wales. It is 6.55 miles (10.54 km) from Tywyn Wharf. The name 'Abergynolwyn' means 'Mouth-of-the-River-with-a-Whirlpool'.

<i>Talyllyn</i> (locomotive) Welsh narrow gauge steam locomotive

Talyllyn is a narrow gauge steam locomotive. It was built by Fletcher, Jennings & Co. in 1864 and is one of the oldest locomotives still in active service. It was delivered to the Talyllyn Railway on 24 September 1864 and continues to run on this railway.

<i>Dolgoch</i> (locomotive)

Dolgoch is a narrow gauge 0-4-0 well tank steam locomotive. It was built by Fletcher, Jennings & Co. and is one of the oldest locomotives still in active service. It was delivered to the Talyllyn Railway in 1866 and continues to run on this railway to this day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giesl ejector</span> Steam locomotive exhaust system

A Giesl ejector is a suction draught system for steam locomotives that works on the same principle as a feedwater injector. This ejector was invented in 1951 by the Austrian engineer, Dr. Adolph Giesl-Gieslingen. The Giesl ejector ensures improved suction draught and a correspondingly better use of energy. The existing blastpipe in a locomotive is replaced by several, small, fan-shaped, diverging blast pipes, from which the diffuser gets its flat, long, drawn-out shape.

<i>Sir Haydn</i> (locomotive) Preserved British steam locomotive

Sir Haydn is a narrow gauge steam locomotive, built by Hughes's Locomotive & Tramway Engine Works, Loughborough in 1878. It operated on the Corris Railway in Wales, until closure in 1948, and since 1951 has operated on the nearby Talyllyn Railway. It has carried the operating number 3 under four successive owners.

<i>Edward Thomas</i> (locomotive) Preserved British steam locomotive

Edward Thomas is a narrow gauge steam locomotive. Built by Kerr Stuart & Co. Ltd. at the California Works, Stoke-on-Trent in 1921, it was delivered new to the Corris Railway where it ran until 1948. After that railway closed, the locomotive was brought to the Talyllyn Railway in 1951, then restored, and remains in working order at the heritage railway. It has carried the operating number 4 under four successive owners.

<i>Tom Rolt</i> (locomotive) Preserved steam locomotive

Tom Rolt is a narrow gauge steam locomotive constructed by the Talyllyn Railway, using parts from an Andrew Barclay locomotive built in 1949 for Bord na Móna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dolgoch quarry, Gwynedd</span> Disused slate quarry in Mid Wales

Dolgoch slate quarry was a slate quarry in Mid Wales, approximately halfway between Bryn-crug and Abergynolwyn. The quarry was named after a nearby stream, the Nant Dolgoch. 'Dol goch' is Welsh for 'red meadow'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carson Davidson</span> American filmmaker, writer, and editor

Carson "Kit" Davidson was an American filmmaker, writer, and editor. His filmmaking career spanned four decades, during which he made more than a dozen short films, two of which were nominated for Academy Awards.

References

  1. 1 2 Potter, D. (1990). The Talyllyn Railway. David St John Thomas. p. 143. ISBN   0-946537-50-X.
  2. ↑ Rolt, L. T. C., ed. (1965). Talyllyn Century. David & Charles. p. 50.
  3. ↑ Davidson, Carson (1965). Railway with a Heart of Gold. 3 minutes in. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Fuller, Martin (2017). Talyllyn & Corris Steam Locomotives, Volume 2: Early Preservation and Locomotive Rebuilds. Sara Eade Publishing. pp. 96–98. ISBN   978-0-9935828-3-7.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Holmes, Alan (2009). Talyllyn Revived. The Talyllyn Railway. pp. 50–51. ISBN   978-0-900317-07-1.
  6. 1 2 Huntley, John (1993). Railways on the Screen. Ian Allan Ltd. p. 140. ISBN   0711020590.
  7. ↑ "Register: John Snell". The Times . 25 February 2015. p. 50.
  8. ↑ Bate, J. H. L. (2001). The Chronicles of Pendre Sidings. RailRomances. p. 38. ISBN   1-900622-05-X.
  9. ↑ "Preserved Projects". Academy Film Archive . Archived from the original on 8 August 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  10. ↑ "Railway with a Heart of Gold". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  11. ↑ For example the Main Page of the Railway's website
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