Time Shift: Between The Lines: Railways In Fiction And Film

Novelist Andrew Martin presents a documentary examining how the train came to shape the work of writers and film-makers. At first, locomotives were seen as frightening, but by the time of The Railway Children they had become a symbol of innocence and Englishness. He shows how trains made for unforgettable cinema in The 39 Steps and Brief Encounter, and how when the railways fell out of favour in the 1960s, their plight was highlighted in John Betjeman's films. Finally, Martin asks whether, in the 21st century, Britain's railways can still stir and inspire artists.