Live Steam on DVD
The Main Line Experience
Have you been on any steam charters recently and wish you could relive the experience? My on-train footage takes you back to retrace the journey and enjoy the highlights once again.
Capture the camera images that you just missed as the train rounded a curve and listen to the sound of the exhaust as the locomotive pulls away from the station and powers up the steep banks — it’s as close as you can get!
The majority of the footage is filmed from the train but there are some platform shots to add to your enjoyment and to complement your own record of the day.
These DVDs are available:
About Paul Blissett
I have been a steam railway enthusiast ever since the age of 11 when, along with many other lads of my age, I purchased my first ‘Ian Allan’ spotters book. However, my interest waned as steam was phased out in the late 1960s but was rekindled when the preservation movement began to grow, and in particular when Steam Charters became a regular feature on the main line.
I bought a camcorder in 1994 and began to record the journeys that I made. At first it was pretty amateurish stuff filmed from my seat in the train but I soon realised that an early start and securing a vestibule window was the key to making a successful video of a steam special.
One of my early recordings was the mould-breaking re-run of the ‘Royal Scot’ from Euston to Glasgow on November 30th 1996 when driver Les Jackson and fireman Frank Santrian took over 46229 at Crewe and matched the schedule of the Caledonian in B.R. days from Barton Loop to Carlisle with the equivalent of 15 coaches instead of the Caledonian’s regular loading of 8 vehicles. The climb of Grayrigg was phenomenal — 66 mph passing Oxenholme with well over 500 tons behind the drawbar! This was followed by a magnificent climb of Shap which produced one of the best sound recordings of a Duchess that I have ever made as the light began to fade.
The heroics continued past Shap summit and the section from Penrith to Carlisle has become part of steam folklore! I managed to film this section, although the light had almost gone, but to see the catenary posts flashing by as speed approached record levels was quite something. A 20 minute late start from Barton Loop had been transformed into an on-time arrival at Carlisle despite the heavy load. It was a unique record of an outstanding example of steam locomotive performance which was comparable with anything from B.R. days!
There have been many more superb runs that I have been lucky enough to film including Blue Peter topping Beattock at 54 mph — double headed ‘Castles’ over the Devon banks and runs over Copy Pit to mention just a few.
Picture quality on the early charters was limited by the equipment that I had but once I moved on to a Digital 8 camera then the video side was excellent. Clear sound has always been a bit of a lottery when filming from the train due to wind direction and line speed. Sound tends to be on one side of the train or the other and once speed goes beyond 50 mph some wind noise is almost inevitable. However, if you would like a record of a particular journey ‘live’ then I am sure that you would enjoy re-living the experience with one of my recordings. Also, if you were not on the train, you could get a taste of the atmosphere and locomotive performance on the day even though some of the sound at speed is usually partly masked by the wind noise. Sound quality is usually very good when accelerating away from stations or signals and often can be heard loud and clear as the locomotive is worked hard up the big banks.
Technical details
Original film is Digital 8 and there is virtually no loss of picture quality. At high speeds inevitably there is some wind noise and this varies according to conditions on the day. DVDs are region-free and are compatible with most DVD players. Preview videos are available on this site, and also on Vimeo (best quality) and YouTube.