Weekly Review No. 355 - Railway Worker

Short Film (Full Length) – 1948

This 1948 documentary follows 24 hours of work on the railways. It was directed for the National Film Unit by Margaret Thomson, arguably New Zealand’s first female film director. The film shows the engines and commuter trains preparing to leave Wellington, and the overnight train arriving from Auckland. Workers toil on the railway lines above the remote Waimakariri Gorge, and the town of Otira gets ready for a dance. The final shots are of an engine coming through the dawn and back to the city. Selwyn Toogood (It's in the Bag) narrates.

In the goods depots the day's work takes a different tempo. It's broad daylight before the loading begins. Thousands of wagons a year, millions of tons of goods.
– Narrator