🎬BBC South 50 years: Episode 15 The Brighton Belle. A series of 19 mini-features made by BBC South at Southampton in 2011 to celebrate the station's 50 year history.

Episode 15 The Brighton Belle. One of a series of features celebrating BBC South's 50 years of broadcasting. Southern Railway's London to Brighton service, The Brighton Belle offered electric elegance in an age dominated by steam. Danielle Glavin meets Don Hitchings, who drove the last train in 1972, and watches as part of the train is brought back to Brighton. Some footage (c) Pathe

NFG are indebted to the BBC staff at Southampton for their help in sourcing items for the archive. See more episodes in the Category - BBC South.

🎬Great British Railway Journeys, Winchester to the Isle of Wight. Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with a copy of George Bradshaw's Victorian Railway Guidebook. Portillo travels the length and breadth of the country to see how the railways changed us, and what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.

Following in the footsteps of Queen Victoria, Michael uses the railways she often rode from Windsor Castle to her country getaway on the Isle of Wight, from where his journey continues west to Portland.

Michael experiences the magnificent Victorian organ at Winchester Cathedral, goes behind the scenes at a 19th-century rail works still running in Eastleigh today and travels to Queen Victoria's favourite holiday destination, the Isle of Wight.

Presenter Michael Portillo
Director Tom Currie
Series Producer Jay Taylor
Executive Producer John Comerford
First Broadcast 11th January 2012

🎬Great British Railway Journeys, Brockenhurst to Poole. Michael Portillo takes to the tracks with a copy of George Bradshaw's Victorian Railway Guidebook. Portillo travels the length and breadth of the country to see how the railways changed us, and what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.

Following in the footsteps of Queen Victoria, Michael uses the railways she often rode from Windsor Castle to her country getaway on the Isle of Wight, from where his journey continues west to Portland.

On the trail of a Victorian snake catcher, Michael visits the New Forest seeking out venomous adders, uncovers a secret library in Wimborne containing some very rare books and visits the Poole potteries founded in the 19th century, which are still working today.

Presenter Michael Portillo
Director Tom Currie
Series Producer Jay Taylor
Executive Producer John Comerford
First Broadcast 12th January 2012

🎬British Pathé – A small scale railway carries passengers around the grounds of a large house. Shots of a steam engine starting off along the track. It looks real but as the shot widens we see that it is a scale model and is being driven by a young child sitting in the cab. The miniature railway was started by the brothers Holder in the 1890s. Various shots around the mini railway - there are several engines, engine sheds. lots of track etc. The carriages are big enough to carry adults. Shots of two men in a workshop doing repairs to the wheels of a train. Various shots of the trains on their 10 1/4 inch gauge tracks. We see a young Miss Mary Cook feeding coal to the boiler before she drives the train off along the tracks from the engine shed. Various nice shots from on board the train as it travels around the extensive grounds of the house

🎬British Movietone - Southern Railway have converted Refreshment Cars into Snack Bars. Train pulls out of station. CU Refreshment Car on side of carriage. Interior - passenger at bar being served with whisky and sandwiches, also other passenger having drinks brought to them at their seats. Shots of people seated in carriage drinking.

British Movietone News ran in the United Kingdom from 1929 to 1986.