L'arrivée d'un train à La Ciotat

A group of people are standing along the platform of a railway station in La Ciotat, waiting for a train. One is seen coming, at some distance, and eventually stops at the platform. Doors of the railway-cars open and attendants help passengers off and on. Popular legend has it that, when this film was shown, the first-night audience fled the café in terror, fearing being run over by the "approaching" train. This legend has since been identified as promotional embellishment, though there is evidence to suggest that people were astounded at the capabilities of the Lumières' cinématographe.

Berlin, die Symphonie der Großstadt

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.

Visages, villages

Director Agnès Varda and photographer/muralist JR journey through rural France and form an unlikely friendship.

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.

Alpine Train at Christmas

Climb aboard the illustrious Bernina Express for a festive ride through spectacular Alpine landscapes, taking in snow-covered peaks, architectural wonders, and majestic glaciers.

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

New Horizons

Production for the Seaboard Railroad company outlining their railroad activities in the 1940s and heading into the 1950s

Big Trains Rolling

A production of the association of American Railroads outlining the wonders of America's rail system.

Mainline U.S.A.

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

Haramain, el tren del desierto

The pilgrimage to Mecca is one of the most important religious journeys for millions of people around the world. But how to get there? This documentary shows us how 12 companies met the immense challenge of running a high-speed train through Saudi Arabia's sandy rocky desert in temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius. A true marvel of engineering and cooperation, and together, overcoming obstacles.

Building the Channel Tunnel

The Channel Tunnel linking Britain with France is one of the seven wonders of the modern world but what did it take to build the longest undersea tunnel ever constructed? We hear from the men and women, who built this engineering marvel. Massive tunnel boring machines gnawed their way through rock and chalk, digging not one tunnel but three; two rail tunnels and a service tunnel. This was a project that would be privately financed; not a penny of public money would be spent on the tunnel. Business would have to put up all the money and take all the risks. This was also a project that was blighted by flood, fire, tragic loss of life and financial bust ups. Today, it stands as an engineering triumph and a testament to what can be achieved when two nations, Britain and France put aside their historic differences and work together.

归途列车

A family embarks on an annual tormenting journey along with 130 million other peasant workers to reunite with their distant family, and to revive their love and dignity as China soars as the world's next super power.

Speaking of Freight

When a business tycoon allows himself to be 'snared' into seeing some films in a railway traffic manager's office, there must be a reason for it. In this case, it's a particularly giant-sized transport problem. But before he's convinced that the railways can help him solve it, there is an atmosphere of battle in the room, and some interesting and unexpected facts are hurled about in the course of the argument. Made to promote the use of railways to transport raw materials and finished products.

Steam Across America Volume I

Pentrex takes you back in time to the late 1950s and 1960s for a close-up look at the waning years of steam locomotives in operation on America's eastern railroads. On the Norfolk & Western-the last major bastion of steam power in the United States-you'll witness the class Js in passenger service near Cincinnati, Ohio and class K, A, and Y steamers in freight service near Columbus, Ohio, Portsmouth, Virginia, and Bluefield, West Virginia. The mighty class S-1 2-10-2s of the Baltimore & Ohio perform both switching and mainline duty near Willard, Ohio and the durable class T-3s roll along the B&O mainline to Chicago. We even see class EM-1 2-8-8-4 Yellowstones pulling coal drags near Grafton, Ohio. At Columbus, Ohio, on the Pennsylvania Railroad, a wide variety of locomotives are seen in action at the yards and roundhouse. Then we join the chase as a pair of class J-1s doublehead north from Columbus with a long coal drag in tow.

24 hodin pražského metra

The Road Taken

This 1996 documentary takes a nostalgic ride through history to present the experiences of Black sleeping-car porters who worked on Canada's railways from the early 1900s through the 1960s. There was a strong sense of pride among these men and they were well-respected by their community. Yet, harsh working conditions prevented them from being promoted to other railway jobs until finally, in 1955, porter Lee Williams took his fight to the union.

A Tale of Two Thieves

In 1963 in the countryside in England, fifteen men pulled off 'The Great Train Robbery' netting today's equivalent of $85million. This incredible film features Gordon Goody, one of the instigators of the crime, for the first time ever, revealing the identity of the missing mastermind behind Britain's most famous heist- the elusive and mysterious 'Ulsterman'.

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.

Divided Highways: The Interstates and the Transformation of American Life

America's desire for freedom and the open road resulted in the construction of thousands of highways during the Eisenhower administration. Through interviews, archival footage and photography, America's interstate highway system is revealed to have shaped every aspect of American life and affected the nation's history for better and for worse

Night Mail

This documentary short examines the special train on which mail is sorted, dropped and collected on the run, and delivered in Scotland on the overnight run from Euston, London to Glasgow.