Weekly Review No. 355 - Railway Worker

Short Film (Full Length) – 1948

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Pat Duffy

17 May 2021 - 12.38pm

That is my father in the opening scene marshalling the engine!

Ross Simpson

23 Apr 2014 - 07.26am

Hullo! Viewing this from Norway. My father from Invercargill worked for NZR from age 22 to 60, retiring in 1960, generally based at Linwood loco and thrusting mighty locomotives to Arthurs Pass, North Canterbury, Little River etc, and goods trains to Lyttelton. I recall him filling out his timesheets at home ... yes, in his own time. Last year in Sweden on a bullet-nose gleaming space missile of an intercity train I spoke to the driver at a station platform, he apologising for a patch of dirt on the nose of his capsule. I wondered how my father, covered in soot, greasy cap, hands stained, butt in mouth, would have considered this situation.

2 May 2013 - 09.33am

Interesting. Sounds like Selwyn Toogood narrating. My parents travelled on trains in the 1930s, 40s and 50s, although my mum has told me she was glad to see the back of steam trains (ie when they were withdrawn from service) because the soot and steam made train stations dirty places!

20 Nov 2012 - 02.08am

I'm a Loco Engineer myself, but my days are nowehere near as hard as these guys had it way back then!

William

18 Nov 2012 - 06.10am

As an ex footplate person I recall all of this, we were a fit lot in those days...the Wab class at the start of this film was really special, these were great locomotives...

Gordon Bibby

18 Nov 2011 - 07.09pm

Very nostalgic, I remember seeing this NZNFU short in a picture theatre when I was much younger, also travelled the main trunk many times when steam was king. Thankyou.

LEIGH

23 Dec 2010 - 12.10am

"Time for refreshments"

I would hate to add up all the hours I spent trying to sleep on the "Limited" while traveling from Palmerston North and Auckland.
Always waking up with all the noises that were made while trying to get up the "Spiral"

R.Miles

27 Oct 2010 - 08.02pm

Some doco's about NZ Rail do not just provide a picture of transport and industry in fortress NZ of the l940s and l950s, they actually convey the message of Somebody's Else's Country better than the Jane Kelsey/ Barry doco. On that theme I recommend the Ian Johnstone narrated "Total Steam'. The marriage of man and machine: rail refreshment, even l953 Auckland light rail and lots of emphasis on the coast and waikato mines and mills. Some say the NZR was a Nazi/ East German style semi military organisation and that pretty much was the nature of pre l984 NZ.

Kevin

19 Aug 2010 - 09.04pm

Wow need more footage like this I still remember the steam trains as a child.

23 Oct 2009 - 02.12pm

Not bad a slice of hard working NZ