#the Titfield Thunderbolt

[sudriantraveler]

So, today marks the 70th anniversary of the film The Titfield Thunderbolt, meaning it's been 70 years since the world first saw a steam locomotive and a steamroller have a duel.

[ulrichgebert]

Heiter verklärte Eisenbahnromantik in einer Ealing-Comedy, die wir noch nicht kannten. Es ist nicht die ausgefeilteste, dafür aber die erste in Technicolor. Die Einwohner beschließen, die Eisenbahnstrecke, die geschlossen werden soll, selber zu betreiben. War ja auch eine dumme Idee, diese Verstaatlichung.

[letterboxd-loggd]

The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953) Charles Crichton

March 18th 2024

[drzito]

Esta semana, diez peliculas del siglo pasado.

Los apuros de un pequeño tren (Charles Crichton, 1953)

[the-time-lord-oracle]

Several of Rapido's products at their stand Warley, including the Stirling Single, the Titfield Thunderbolt and the Jones Goods.

[isaacathom]

based on our movie night track records its possible that i, isaac, simply should not watch any comedy movie published before 2007

[gatabella]

Ava Is Stand-In for Marlon

Ava Gardner shows the plaque she received on behalf of her compatriot, Marlon Brando, before the world premiere of the British film The Titfield Thunderbolt, at the Leicester Square Theatre, London. Marlon received the Wedgwood plaque, the British Film Academy Award for 1952, as the best foreign actor for his work in Viva, Zapata. The plaque is in pale blue jasper, ornamented in white with the figure of Apollo, God of the Arts. March 5th 1953

[kidlit-queen-competition]

I would love to hear the mods top ten train media we should all be consuming if that's okay.

Well, I am no authority on what train media you "should" consume- anyone who is is probably several decades my senior and a lot more experienced with model railroading- but I can tell you some of my favorites! I'll do five fictional and five nonfictional.

Fictional:

Sunless Skies. this one is kind of cheating, but the main way the player interacts with the spooky, steampunk-y, alt-Victorian skyscape of the Reach is by driving their locomotive. it's also one of my favorite games in general, and I think a lot of people who follow this blog would adore it.

Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett. Its main train was knocked out of this pole in round one, but I'm about three quarters of the way through this book, and it's one of the few I've read that really manages to capture the feeling of steam trains. It is, of course, fantastic in many other ways, but it's a standout piece of train media all the same.

Bullet train (2022). I love dumb action movies and I love shinkansens and I love murderous women in pink. 10/10, shapes and colors the likes of which I've never seen.

the Titfield Thunderbolt (1953). unfortunately this film is from 1953 and also British, but is a great little comedy all the same, and the special effects are very impressive for the era. I especially recommend this one to enjoyers of a certain 70+-year-old massive franchise about a little blue tank engine, because there are similarities in the humor I think they would enjoy.

Tales of Terror from the Tunnel's Mouth by Chris Priestley. this is another horror thing, specifically a children's book. Its framing device is a train trip, and well it doesn't go into like, indulgent detail about the mechanics of it, good use is made of it all the same, and the stories really stuck with me-I remember some clearly and still find them scary, and it's been more than 10 years since I read the book.

non-fictional:

basically anything from Network Nathan, my train vlogger fave du jour. I really like his presentation style and charisma, and I've learned a lot from his content that I probably couldn't have picked up otherwise.

The Train Book: The Definitive Visual History from DK. this is basically a picture book for adults, going from the early age of steam to roughly the 2010s. I like it because it's broad-scope and accessible, both of which are hard to come by in rail literature.

Steaming Eccentrics: Life on the Footplate by Stan Wilson. this has the previously mentioned problem of being British and old, but is still a good account of some delightful (and probably slightly exaggerated) railway shenanigans all the same. I much prefer memoirs to history books, so if you're similar, I'd recommend this one.

Steam Railways Explained - Steam, Oil & Locomotion: Steam, Oil and Locomotion by Stan Yorke. this is a great little explainer of railways, not just locomotives. It's easy-to-read and understand, and doesn't suffer the mind-numbingly dry tone a lot of railway nonfiction does.

tie between the YouTube channels Mid Hants Railway 'The Watercress Line' and Hyce. both are educational channels about steam locomotives/railway operation, and occupy very similar spaces. The former is British, the latter is American, so the engines they work with are very different, so I feel comfortable letting them share spot.

[hunty627]

Thunderbolt is an engine who’s named after the famous movie called the Titfield Thunderbolt.

[david-watts]

if I ever get off my arse and make youtube videos again (something that I actually do enjoy) I ought to make a video where I go through the titfield thunderbolt and point out random pieces of information. like the type of clock visible in one scene (actual fact I know)

[grantgfan]

Amanda, have you ever watched the Titfield Thunderbolt?

Amanda: sometimes

[mogwai-movie-house]

The Best of Ealing Studios

The 15 greatest films of the greatest of all British film studios, 1938-1959:

The Ladykillers (1955) ★★★★★★★★★★

Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) ★★★★★★★★★★

The Ghost of St. Michael's (1941) ★★★★★★★★★☆

Passport to Pimlico (1949) ★★★★★★★★★☆

Whisky Galore! (1949) ★★★★★★★★★☆

The Man in the White Suit (1951) ★★★★★★★★½☆

The Lavender Hill Mob (1951) ★★★★★★★★☆☆

Dead of Night (1945) ★★★★★★★★☆☆

The Maggie (AKA High and Dry) (1954) ★★★★★★★½☆☆

The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953) ★★★★★★★½☆☆

It Always Rains on Sunday (1947) ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Pool of London (1951) ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Hue and Cry (1947) ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Barnacle Bill (AKA All at Sea) (1957) ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Scott of the Antarctic (1948) ★★★★★★½☆☆☆

[supertrainstationh]

RD15742. GER Wisbech & Upwell Tramway No.7. by Ron Fisher Via Flickr: RD15742. One of the most interesting carriages in the North Norfolk Railway's vintage train is this Great Eastern Railway bogie composite No.7 built for the Wisbech & Upwell Tramway in 1884. Sister carriage No.8 found fame in the 1952 Ealing Comedy 'The Titfield Thunderbolt', but its fame was short lived as it came to a sticky end when it was derailed by the baddies( Pearce and Crump who ran the local bus service) and it crashed down an embankment. It had been fitted with a bar so that Mr. Valentine, the rich old soak that had financed the purchase of the line from BR, could get a drink without waiting for the pubs to open. No.7 has been fitted out with a bar in a similar fashion. Sheringham, North Norfolk, Wednesday, 23rd August, 2017. Copyright © Ron Fisher.

[movienation]

Classic Film Review: Before "Wanda," before "Ealing Comedies," Crichton crackled in Combat -- "Against the Wind"

It was “The Lavender Hill Mob” and “The Titfield Thunderbolt” that Monty Python’s John Cleese was remembering when he decided that well-past-70 Charles Critchon might be just the jolly sort to direct his screenplay for “A Fish Called Wanda.” Those classic Ealing Comedies might date from another age, and the old rule about “old guys can’t do comedy” remains a hard prejudice to overcome. But…

[jj-wildheart]

The Titfield Thunderbolt (1953)

It stands now less as a purported "comedy" but as a piece of history. A window to a time before great change across a country.