Plot
All three variants of the film show Robbie, a young boy of about 8 years old with a keen interest in both trains and football, being persuaded by his elder brother Bert to climb through a hole in the fence surrounding a nearby railway line and go onto the track. His elder sister Sally and his friend Jake join in. The three different editions continue as follows:
- Version 1 (non-electrified railway lines): As Robbie crosses the railway line, Jake falls over on the track. Robbie goes back to help him off the track and he puts his football boots down to help Jake up, which then get stuck in the tracks. Robbie tries to pull the boots free, albeit in vain. We then hear and see a train approaching. The shoelace then pops and Robbie stumbles back in time, but trips on the other tracks; whilst Robbie tries to free his feet off the track we then hear and see another train approaching.
- Version 2 (overhead electric line): To encourage Robbie to cross the train tracks Robbie's brother Bert snatches Robbie's football boots and throws them to the other side of the track. Unfortunately they get caught on the overhead electric line and when Robbie tries to retrieve them with a long metal pole he is electrocuted.
- Version 3 (third rail electrified line): Robbie accidentally steps on the electrified third rail and is electrocuted.
In the next scene, Robbie's mother Ruth is informed that Robbie has been seriously injured, and has had to have both feet amputated. The cause of the injury is not mentioned, because it is different in all three variants. The film ends with a disfigured Robbie confined to a wheelchair. He is watching some other children play football, with a commentary by the narrator about how he will never be able to play again. The final shot is of his football boots, which he will now never need again, hanging up on the back of his bedroom door at home.
An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, electric multiple units, trolleybuses or trams. The generic term used by the International Union of Railways for the technology is overhead line. It is known variously as overhead catenary, overhead contact line (OCL), overhead contact system (OCS), overhead equipment (OHE), overhead line equipment, overhead lines (OHL), overhead wiring (OHW), traction wire, and trolley wire.
The North London line (NLL) is a railway line which passes through the inner suburbs of west, north-west, north, and north-east London, England between Richmond in the south-west and Stratford in the east, avoiding central London. Its route is a rough semicircle.
A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway track. It is used typically in a mass transit or rapid transit system, which has alignments in its own corridors, fully or almost fully segregated from the outside environment. Third-rail systems are usually supplied from direct current electricity.
An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime movers, such as diesel engines or gas turbines, are classed as diesel–electric or gas turbine–electric and not as electric locomotives, because the electric generator/motor combination serves only as a power transmission system.
The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a 393-mile long (632 km) electrified railway between its southern terminus at London King's Cross station and Edinburgh Waverley via Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain running broadly parallel to the A1 road. The main line acts as a 'spine' for several diverging branches, serving destinations such as Cambridge, Leeds, Hull, Sunderland and Lincoln, all with direct services to London. In addition, a few ECML services extend beyond Edinburgh to serve Glasgow Central, although the principal London-Glasgow route is the West Coast Main Line (WCML).
Railway electrification is the use of electric power for the propulsion of rail transport. Electric railways use either electric locomotives, electric multiple units or both. Electricity is typically generated in large and relatively efficient generating stations, transmitted to the railway network and distributed to the trains. Some electric railways have their own dedicated generating stations and transmission lines, but most purchase power from an electric utility. The railway usually provides its own distribution lines, switches, and transformers.
The Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (LYR) built suburban electric stock for lines in Liverpool and Manchester. The line between Liverpool to Southport began using electric multiple units (EMUs) on 22 March 1904, using a third rail 625 V DC. Additional trains were later built for this route, and in 1913 incompatible stock for the route to Ormskirk. Lightweight units were built to run on the Liverpool Overhead Railway.
The Woodhead line was a railway line linking Sheffield, Penistone and Manchester in the north of England. A key feature of the route is the passage under the high moorlands of the northern Peak District through the Woodhead Tunnels. The line was electrified in 1953 and closed between Hadfield and Penistone in 1981.
Railway electrification systems using alternating current (AC) at 25 kilovolts (kV) are used worldwide, especially for high-speed rail. It is usually supplied at the standard utility frequency, which simplifies traction substations. The development of 25 kV AC electrification is closely connected with that of successfully using utility frequency.
An electro-diesel locomotive is a type of locomotive that can be powered either from an electricity supply or by using the onboard diesel engine. For the most part, these locomotives are built to serve regional, niche markets with a very specific purpose.
The British Rail Class 71 was an electric locomotive used on the Southern Region of British Railways. Unlike Southern Region electro-diesel locomotives they could not operate away from the electrified system.
The British Rail Class 76, also known as Class EM1, is a class of 1.5 kV DC, Bo+Bo electric locomotive designed for use on the now-closed Woodhead Line in Northern England.
The Borderlands line, also known as the Bidston–Wrexham or Wrexham–Bidston line, is a railway line between Bidston on the Wirral Peninsula in England and Wrexham Central in the north-east of Wales. Passenger train services are part of the Wales & Borders franchise and are operated by Transport for Wales Rail. The line connects to the Merseyrail network at Bidston, the North Wales Coast Line at Shotton and the Shrewsbury–Chester line at Wrexham General. Parts of the line in Wales are used by freight trains, serving Deeside Industrial Park and the Hanson Cement works to the south of Buckley.
An electric multiple unit (EMU) is an electric self-powered train, capable of operating in multiple with other EMUs and without the need for a locomotive; these are typically passenger trains with accommodation in every vehicle and a driving position at each end. The term can also be used to describe a train that is a permanent formation with a non-driving power car, such as the Advanced Passenger Train. As of December 2010, two-thirds of the passenger carriages in Great Britain are formed in EMUs.
The Manchester–Sheffield–Wath electric railway was an electrification scheme on British railways. The route featured long ascents on both sides of the Pennines with the long Woodhead Tunnel at its central summit close to the Woodhead pass. This led to the route being called the Woodhead Line.
The Manchester South Junction and Altrincham Railway (MSJ&AR) was a suburban railway which operated an 8+1⁄2-mile (14 km) route between Altrincham in Cheshire and Manchester London Road railway station in Manchester.
Railway electrification in Great Britain began in the late 19th century. A range of voltages has been used, employing both overhead lines and conductor rails. The two most common systems are 25 kV AC using overhead lines, and the 750 V DC third rail system used in Southeast England and on Merseyrail. As of October 2023, 6,065 kilometres (3,769 mi) (38%) of the British rail network was electrified.
A battery electric multiple unit (BEMU), battery electric railcar or accumulator railcar is an electrically driven multiple unit or railcar whose energy is derived from rechargeable batteries driving the traction motors.
An electro-diesel multiple unit (EDMU) or bi-mode multiple unit (BMU) is a form of a multiple unit train that can be powered either by electric power picked up from the overhead lines or third rail or by using an onboard diesel engine, driving an electric generator, which produces alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) electric power.
