BFI

In 1952 the BBC produced a short novelty filler under the title London to Brighton in Four Minutes. Filmed from the front of a train at 2 frames per second, when run at the standard 24 frames per second it gave the illusion of an extremely high-speed journey. This technique proved so incredibly popular with audiences that it was copied many times by other film units. Let's Go to Birmingham was British Transport Films' first attempt at the technique; filmed aboard one of British Railway's new 90mph Diesel Luxury Express Blue Pullmans, it provides a wonderful time capsule of the steam to diesel crossover period as seen from the driver's eye view.

Steven R Foxon

*This film can be downloaded in its entirety from the BFI's Creative Archive. Note that this material is not limited to users in registered UK libraries and educational establishments: it can be accessed by anyone within the UK under the terms of the Creative Archive Licence. It is also included in the BFI British Transport Films DVD compilation 'Reshaping British Railways'.

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