Screen Archive South East is a public sector moving image archive serving the South East of England. The archive's collections of magic lantern slides, films, videos and associated materials capture the many varied aspects of life, work and creativity from the early days of screen history to the present day and serve as a rich and invaluable historical resource.
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Mid Hants Railway: Ropley to Alton
West Country Pacific 'Bodmin' hauls a summer service from Ropley to Alton much to the delight of visitors to the heritage railway
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Overview
This short film starts at Ropley, the engineering headquarters of the Mid-Hants Railway, otherwise known as the Watercress Line. The fully restored West Country Pacific 34016 'Bodmin' hauls a train of visitors to the railway's northern terminus at Alton, where the Watercress Line links up to the national rail network. Here they watch 'Bodmin' run round her train and buffer up for the return journey to Ropley. Bodmin's rather smokey arrivals and departures close the film.
Ropley is the Mid-Hants Railway's engineering headquarters and as 'Bodmin' passes along the line, one can see various locomotives in the yard awaiting or undergoing restoration.
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