Centre Rail - The Last Fell Engine Crossing

Рет қаралды 14,706

2 жыл бұрын

A film of the last fell engine crossing from Featherston to Upper Hutt, New Zealand.
Filmed by my grandfather, John 'Jack' Lambert in Oct 1955 on a Paillard-Bolex H16 Reflex, 16mm movie camera.
I can only assume that the sound track was added when the film was digitized...I'd suggest hitting mute. I believe this was done in the '80s to be included in the National Archives.
Love seeing the comments with details that have been otherwise long forgotten.
Regards,
John Lambert

Пікірлер: 40

@user-yv7hf6eh5m 2 ай бұрын

My grandfather grew up in Cross Creek, his father was a railway guard. Thanks for sharing this great footage.

@godisanissan7407 4 ай бұрын

My dad sailed from England on the Southern Cross liner. He arrived in Wellington May 1955. He told me he went on the last train from Cross Creek ie this one. Pop died in 2010 and i just discovered this footage nearly 70 years later knowing my father was on board. ( I was born in '61). Thank you so much. 😊.

@clinteaston2521 Жыл бұрын

Well Done Jack. Never get bored watching this. I have no clue how many times i have watched this. Awesome part of history. My Great Aunty was brought up at Cross Creek.

@hindesite 2 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing, it is great to see the context for what was there, because there's little sign of any of it now. Still a great bike ride (probably faster than the train, too).

@antsblaschke Ай бұрын

... did they compose that music for the last run. Yeah nah, I went on one of the last runs in 1955. Mt father's govt dept organised an office trip one saturday. Can't remember which month. WE came back by Vulcan railcar from Masterton on the Sunday. ....... memories !

@clinteaston2521 Жыл бұрын

Most Priceless Film Ever

@guildjs2 4 ай бұрын

Great clip! Interesting choice of music considering the tempo of the Loco's. Where was health and safety, must have been absolute carnage with all that jumping on and off along the way.

@thecelticprince4949 Жыл бұрын

For those asking, the Fell engines were closed down after the opening of the Rimutaka tunnel on 3rd November 1955 which was 8.93kms long and presented an enormous savings in time and distance travelled as well as no longer needing the Fell engines. It meant that it would only take just a couple of hours for passengers travelling Masterton Wellington, and the sheer amount of traffic that passed through the tunnel was immense, even when I was a nipper back in 66 there were trains passing our back fence north of Upper Hutt just before the tunnel all hours day and night.

@hindesite 2 ай бұрын

Even more than today? 🙂

@healthsparxb9009 2 жыл бұрын

Awesome footage of an iconic piece of NZ engineering and transportation history! Hooked on Classics is awful at the best of times so turn the volume down.

@simonf8902 10 ай бұрын

Fantastic history.

@ttm2609 5 ай бұрын

God, damn, the rimutaka......those hardy engines talked all the way to the sumit, the old bastards either loved them or hated them, fickle as a woman most days those engines were

@kiwitrainguy 13 күн бұрын

To see this film at a speed similar to what it was shot at change the playback speed to 0.75.

@jackdennehy-coles8119 2 жыл бұрын

Interesting to see the two abs running in that combo on the double header

@robertscott4759 Жыл бұрын

North British JAs and JBs used to regularly run tender-to-tender like that through the Wharerata Hills between northern Hawke's Bay and Gisborne.

@tigertiger1699 2 жыл бұрын

Amazing steep🤯

@neville132bbk 2 жыл бұрын

Fascinating,,absolutely. Not at all helped by the background noise. Sometimes silence is the best sound.

@JBofBrisbane 28 күн бұрын

Hooked On Classics, but not the original by Louis Ckark and the Royal Philharmonic

@Crintingnut Жыл бұрын

Music ruins the clip

@Tindallhall Жыл бұрын

That is an obvious solution, of course. This is, however, a fascinating film and deserves much better than this travesty of a soundtrack.

@J-Bahn 7 ай бұрын

What music is this? Also it's a shame this line wasn't preserved. It would probably be a big tourist draw today.

@mauriceupton1474 6 ай бұрын

Kiwis can't think that far ahead.

@JBofBrisbane 28 күн бұрын

Hooked On Classics Part 1, but not the original by Louis Clark and the Royal Philharmonic.

@kiwitrainguy 13 күн бұрын

It lives on as a cycle path.

@user-rf9ws7hp3e 6 ай бұрын

When Steam was King

@CapitalVideo 2 жыл бұрын

Interesting and adds to the footage that we used for the Fell Museums film that I was part of making. This is a film about the making of that film in case you're interested, kzfaq.info/get/bejne/bN9hjbdk15OWdps.html.

@rsinclair6560 Жыл бұрын

How did it work? Was it a rack system?

@muir8009 Жыл бұрын

It ran via independently driven horizontal centre wheels which gripped a plain centre rail using pressure. Although only one fell line had been previously built, it was proven engineering: the abt rack system was yet to be tried and built, consequently the fell system was at the time considered to be superior.

@rsinclair6560 Жыл бұрын

@@muir8009 Thank you. Very interesting. Must get over there again a take a look at that area and rail remains. In Tasmania the Abt was totally reconstructed in 1997- 98. After it was closed and lifted in 1963. Knowing the last track ganger from it from 63. The Abt rack section was continious high maintenance. More than standard track especially through rain forest high rainfall region. Critical that rail head height to bottom root of rack was within specification and constant otherwise did damage to the rack engine gearing mechanism under loco even though it allowed for some unevenness. Ant locomotives are two steam engines in one. The inner more difficult to access for inspection and repairs.

@summerdocherty2368 2 жыл бұрын

Do you know why they knocked down the buildings?

@kiwitrainguy 13 күн бұрын

Some of the railway houses were sold.

@peterdennis2637 2 жыл бұрын

Did the stop it because everyone died from smoke inhalation??

@Yellow_iron_and_spanners Жыл бұрын

no because they had a new tunnel and the new Diesel electric locomotives

@robertraikes9409 3 ай бұрын

My Grandfather Frank Houton was a locomotive engineer based in Woodville who died of lung cancer from the smoke he breathed in going through all the tunnels in the area.

@ttm2609 Жыл бұрын

Stupid music but great footage of a temporary railway

@ttm2609 5 ай бұрын

Ummmm... whos paying for those carbon emissions, where is greta now???? My god, its a sin to humanity yet alone deforestation of the amazon. You know where i live