Barry Scrapyard now has it's own section featuring a new 15" x 10" print of Robin Pinnock's 'Barry Scrapyard Sleeping Giants' painting and a 1000 piece Jigsaw Puzzle of the same scene.

Click here or on the link in the left hand main menu.

'Over the Alps' - The Story of the Mid-Hants Railway
Today, the Mid-Hants Railway Watercressline is one of Hampshire's premier tourist attractions. Originally opened in 1865 as a route between Alton and
Winchester, the line was also used as an alternative through route between London and Southampton - the main line
being via Basingstoke. This programme looks at the very beginnings of the line and its construction
through the picturesque Hampshire countryside at the western edge of the South Downs. Although the line had continued
service for over 100 years, it was always under threat due to poor passenger numbers and this eventually caused its closure in 1973.
Following one of the most vigorous campaigns to save a secondary route, many supporters decided to try and re-open the line as a steam railway and so from 1977 the line from Alresford towards Alton was gradually opened as a tourist railway. We see sequences of archive films of the period showing the last steam and diesel services prior to closure and also footage of the beginnings of preservation.
Rare archive films show the track relaying of the mid 1980s as the line was extended to Medstead and Four Marks and
then eventually Alton in May 1985. The DVD includes an edited cab ride along the whole line in the early 1970s from
Winchester Junction to Alton on board a 'Hampshire' DEMU. A survey of locomotives currently operating on the line
and the many facilities at all the stations. Visiting locomotives are featured as they operated at special gala weekends over
the past few years. Altogether, the complete story of this railway in the heart of Hampshire with plenty of steam action!

Special Edition
'Steaming Through Wessex'
A remarkable collection of railway films, shot by Douglas Seaton on his 16mm camera - all in colour from the 1940s through to the mid 1960s. One section of the Locomotive Exchanges in 1948 is in black & white.
These films portray a crucial period in railway history. Douglas filmed many sequences during the period of Nationalisation of the railways and has captured liveries spanning both the GWR and Southern and variations of lettering and numbering on locomotives during this change-over period. As such they represent an important record of railways in Wessex at this period.
We see fascinating views of locomotives in all liveries, including the BR experimental blue in the early 1950s. Some key scenes in this 90-minute DVD include:

* 1940s at Yeovil Town
* Malachite and BR brunswick green 'King Arthur' Class engines
* Castles and Kings on the West of England line, Kings in BR blue
* Slip coaches at Westbury
* Great Western scenes at Starcross
* Blue liveried Merchant Navy pacifics
* Yeovil Pen Mill activity
* Royal trains in and around Yeovil in 1952/3
* Weymouth Quay line with the Channel Island's Boat Express
* Adams Radial tanks at Axminster
* Many Southern scenes at Yeovil Town and Junction
* Castles to Weymouth including banking at Yetminster
* A Star class at Devizes
* And much, much more!

An 'Island in Steam'
A superb archive film journey across the Isle of Wight's railway system in 1965 - in colour and featuring the two lines remaining to Ventnor and Cowes from Ryde.

The railways of the Isle of Wight were unique. From small beginnings as long ago as 1864, the system blossomed into a 58-mile network - much of it single track - that was operated until the end by antiquated locomotives and rolling stock pensioned-off from more rigorous duties on the mainland. By 1960, this bustling network had been reduced to just two lines - from Ryde to Sandown, Shanklin & Ventnor, and also across the Island to Newport & Cowes - and the infamous Beeching Report published in 1963 presaged the complete abandonment of these lines too.
Although the Ryde to Shanklin section gained a last-minute reprieve, leading to conversion to electric traction using withdrawn units from London's Underground system, it was the end of the line for trains to Newport, Cowes and Ventnor and for the old steam trains. The last passenger train ran to Cowes one windswept day in February 1966 while April the same year saw the abandonment of services beyond Shanklin, and scheduled Island steam passenger trains finally ceased altogether following a very last run to Shanklin on 31st December 1966.
David Perry (a co-founder of what is today's preserved Isle of Wight Steam Railway) and Chris Gosling were among those few that decided to record what was left and, using borrowed 8mm cameras and as many reels of Kodachrome colour film as their pocket money could buy, they set about recording for posterity the reality of the Island steam trains in their final years.

Shot during the Spring and early Summer of 1965 - the last full summer season of steam working on both the Ventnor and Cowes lines - "Island In Steam" brings together in a coherent visual narrative what is now a unique record of the past. The presentation on this DVD is compiled entirely from their films and features not only detailed journeys both to Ventnor and to Cowes from Ryde, shot from the lineside and also on the trains, but includes additional coverage of less conspicuous operations such as freight and parcels working and behind-the-scenes activities at Ryde MPD and Works. There is a conscious emphasis throughout the films on the techniques of signalling and train operation on what were, during the summer months, intensively worked single-line sections, where even a small delay could have significant repercussions for following services.
Enhanced with sound drawn from contemporary recordings and supplemented by informative commentary, the film is presented as its creators intended - primarily as an historical record of the true reality of Yesterday. We hope that you will not only enjoy watching it, but will also, by so doing, gain an insight into what is now a lost world - the real world of steam railways on the Isle of Wight that was a delight to so many who experienced it.

Glasgow to London 'Record Run' Cab Ride

The complete cab ride from Glasgow Central to London's Euston station run on 22nd September 2006. This Virgin Trains/Railway Magazine record run was achieved in fine style and in just 3 hours 55 minutes and 22 seconds! See the build-up to the day's event and on-train footage of personalities on the train. The camera records the cab view from the Pendalino all the way to London.
Unique footage from the day's event and of course the cab view over the whole route. A real must for that archive of railway events.

'South Western goods meets a Titan'

Blank greetings cards with envelopes, prints and jigsaws from this painting by the late Chris Woods.

The picture shows LSWR Class S15 No. 499 at Southampton Docks with the SS Olympic in the background. Proceeds go to the restoration of No. 30499 at the Mid-Hants Railway.

'Railway Round-up' The new DVD covering the whole steam and heritage diesel world in the UK.
Number two is 2-hours long and full of action, all for just £9.95!

Contents:
* 6024, 60163 and 71000 on the Torbay Express and British Pullman
* 9466 on the Looe branch
* Yeovil 150 Open Days
* D1015 to Buxton
* 46115 to Dorset
* Tornado to Swanage and Mid-Hants and around London
* Bluebell Extension progress to East Grinstead
* 5043 on 'The Bristolian'
* T9 30120's first trains at Bodmin
* Duchess in black
* Mid-Hants Galas with 45379 and S&D No. 88
* ‘Barry 10’ handover
* Clan Line on British Pullman
* Dorset Coast Express featuring 60019, 30777 and 44932
* 5029/60019 and 6024/60163 doubleheading!
* Princess Elizabeth in the south
* Bulleid survey at Herston works
* Sarah Siddons on The Met
* Terrier at Swanage, and much, much more!

‘Steaming Through the West Country’

A DVD programme full of archive films of railways in the South West of England. We see some very early film of the Great Western in Devon in the 1920s; sequences on the Southern's route through Okehampton and on to Tavistock including T9 No. 30715 in wonderful colour; a ride up the Somerset & Dorset line shortly before closure and a film taken in 1954 of the 100th anniversary of the branch from Glastonbury to Burnham on Sea.

Other films include -
* Survey of Plymouth Laira depot in 1962
* The Taunton to Barnstaple line
* Last train to Launceston from Plymouth in 1962
* Fowey branch clay trains
* Bulleid Pacifics at Buckhorn Weston
* Last employee at Latchley
* Last steam on the Callington branch
* Interview with O V S Bulleid
* Much, much more

'Mid-Hants Railway'
From construction to closure 1865-1973 by Roger Hardingham

A paperback edition of this complete history of the Mid-Hants 'Watercress Line'. The railway is today one of the most successful preserved lines in the UK and owes this success to the original aims of the railway promoter's of the 1860s.
* Detailed history of the railway from its construction period
* Rare photographs from the 1860s
* Plans of stations
* Survey of locomotives on services up to the 1970s, including the much-loved M7 push-pull operations
* Accidents on the line
* The fight to save the line is covered in much detail including photographs of the final trains and many diversions run over the route in the mid 1960s.

‘The Legend of Barry Scrapyard’ - The Legacy of Woodham Bros. Yard at Barry

Fifty years after the start of engines arriving for scrap and twenty years after the last of 213 locomotives departed from the famous Woodham's yard at Barry, this film looks at the way in which Barry changed the railway preservation map of Britain. An interview with the late Dai Woodham reveals the background to the whole miracle which started in 1959 with the first five engines arriving from Swindon. Nearly 300 were eventually bought for scrapping, but 213 escaped from the yard to begin the preservation boom in the UK.
We see rare photographs from the Woodham family archive which show the beginnings of the scrap business in the redundant coal sidings at Barry docks. Archive films show the locomotives filling the yards to capacity before they started to depart. Film of the 'Barry 10' and of the future for a regeneration scheme for the dock area which includes the re-building of several engines at the Great Western Society at Didcot and at Llangollen into long-lost types, such as a 'Grange', 'Saint' and 'County'
Altogether the complete story of this remarkable event in railway history.

'The Barry Story' incorporating 'The Barry List- Edition 10'

* One of the most important stories in railway preservation is told in this complete volume in paperback form.

* Full of photographs from the archives including many never seen before in the Woodham family collection.

* Includes the story of how the small town of Barry in South Wales became the centre of interest in the preserving of ex-BR steam locomotives.

* Background history of Barry including the development of the port and the coal export trade.

* Full account of all the locomotives at Barry, including those scrapped over the 30 year period and those 213 which escaped to preservation.

Altogether, the complete Barry story in one publication.

Special offer!
Buy both the The Legend of Barry Scrapyard DVD and The Barry Story Book for just £20 - see below*

'175 Years of the Great Western'

A DVD over 75 minutes long is published by Kingfisher Productions to co-incide with the anniversary. Full of archive films from the 1930s onwards, this documentary also includes interviews with railwaymen who actually worked in GWR times and have fascinating stories to tell. See the Great Western in action in every form and the way the legend continues in the preservation movement of today. The programme surveys the locomotives and railway lines that survive in more modern times and look at the effect on Barry engines that made it all possible.
* Extensive archive film from the 1930s through to the 1965 period.
* Memories from enginemen and other workers who worked for the Great Western and Western Region.
* The story of how preservation of the GWR moved into gear in the 1960s and 70s, including the early people involved and the effect of engines from Woodhams yard at Barry.
* A survey of the preservation sites and railways in the 21st century who continue the magic of the GWR.

‘The Story of the Settle-Carlisle’

A new DVD documentary telling the whole story of England’s most famous railway.
To be released in July 2010 - this 90-minute DVD covers the building of the line in the 1870s, the operation of the railway through the years to near closure in the 1980s. A unique survey of the line includes the stations and structures throughout the 72-mile long railway. Interviews with the key people involved with the rescue of the railway in the 1980s and those who have overseen the virtual complete renovation of the track and stations in the 21st century which has allowed passenger and freight traffic to boom.
Full of archive film from the Settle-Carlisle line’s past.

‘Settle-Carlisle - The middle route to Scotland’ by W. R. Mitchell
The whole story of the famous Settle-Carlisle railway by well-renowned local author W. R. Mitchell MBE. He describes the railway from its building right through to the great success it is today after tens of millions of pounds have been spent on upgrading the line over the past few years. Chapters on construction, the navvies, viaducts and tunnels, signalmen and signalboxes, structures, locomotives, staff and stations and much more. Lavishly illustrated from the author’s large collection of photographs. The most complete book about the famous Settle-Carlisle railway at an affordable price.