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Train Entering Hove Station

Most movie fans know that the first filmmakers liked to shoot trains entering stations. This example by Sussex film pioneer George Albert Smith illustrates why. The train's rush towards the audience brings movement and visual drama. The flurry of human activity offers plenty for the audience to engage with - who are these people and where are they going? And the time pressure exerted by the fact that the train must soon depart adds narrative tension - will everyone get on and off in time?

1897

Kwaï

Guy Martin: The British Train That Changed the World

Celebrating 200 years of rail, Guy helps to rebuild, and learns to drive, the world’s most important train for a recreation of the journey that changed history: the Stockton to Darlington Railway

2025

A Small Passage of Time

An experiment with three dimensions in a moment of clarity: the focus of the camera's lens towards the present, the speed of the train and the material world distorted by the movements of the train.

2025

Winter Spring

A train moves through winter as a superimposed image of the same route in spring gradually emerges. Both moments coexist within a single frame, revealing two seasons happening at once.

2024

Chicago: America's Railroad Capital

In this documentary, Chicago, America’s Railroad Capital, you’ll discover how the third largest U.S. city became the nation’s most important hub, serving six of North America’s largest railroads. Along with its robust commuter system, more rail traffic passes through Chicago than any other city in America.

2017

Tshiuetin

Take a breathtaking train a ride through Nothern Quebec and Labrador on Canada’s first First Nations-owned railway. Come for the celebration of the power of independence, the crucial importance of aboriginal owned businesses and stay for the beauty of the northern landscape.

2016

End of an Era

A documentary on the passing of the steam locomotive as the primary means of transportation in the United States

1962

Last of the Giants

A Union Pacific production outlining the Big Boy locomotive and the history of the last great steam engine to rule the rails

1959

Railroaders

A film about winter railroading in the Canadian Rockies and the men who keep the lines clear. The stretch between Revelstoke and Field, British Columbia, is a snow-choked threat to communications. The film shows the work of section hands, maintenance men, train crews and telegraph operators.

1958

Mainline U.S.A.

A documentary on the railroads of America produced by the Association of American Railroads

1957

The Nickel Plate Story

The story of the independent railroad and its survival against the giants.

1953

The California Zephyr

The tale of The California Zephyr, part of the Blackhawk Railroad Series

1952

Metro

A short documentary about the construction of the parisian subway in the 50s.

1950

Wheels of Progress

Rock Island Railroad documentary on the role the railroad plays in making everyday life possible

1950

Desert Empire

A travelogue, this film provides a guided tour of pre-World War II Utah and of course does not pretend to cinematic greatness. Recommended viewing for those in search of introductory Utah history. Also valuable for persons seeking insight into the state as it would have looked during this time period. Especially informative for those desiring a window into the past for a view of how Utah was in the days of their pre-World War II progenitors living in the state. Those whose Utah ancestors were involved in mining, railroading, sugar beets, and other featured industries; featured towns, sights, recreational attractions, and industries may find this otherwise banal travelogue a quite valuable addition to their family history.

1948

A Great Railroad at Work

A documentary outlining railroad work and the effects on the lives impacted by the iron horse

1942

The Modern Coal Burning Steam Locomotive

Documentary on the evolution and introduction of modern coal burning locomotives on the Norfolk and Western Railway line.

1942

A Railroad at Work

A documentary on railroads doing their daily tasks created by trhe The Milwaukee Railroad

1942

Berlin: Symphony of a Great City

A day in the city of Berlin, which experienced an industrial boom in the 1920s, and still provides an insight into the living and working conditions at that time. Germany had just recovered a little from the worst consequences of the First World War, the great economic crisis was still a few years away and Hitler was not yet an issue at the time.

1927