Steamtown Carnforth: Britain’s Lost Steam Railway Museum
This film was made in 1991 with producer Kevin Finn and steam enthusiast Rob McCaffery.
Filmed at Carnforth, this programme looks at the remarkable legacy of Steamtown, one of Britain’s most important centres for preserved and mainline steam running. Carnforth had long been associated with railway history, first as a major steam depot and later as the home of Steamtown Carnforth, where locomotives, rolling stock, signalling equipment and railway artefacts were preserved for future generations.
Includes interviews with:
Dr. Peter Beet, creator of Steamtown Railway Museum
Joe Singleton
Some of the trains and locomotives featured include:
Andrew Barclay 1969/1929 “JN Derbyshire”
BR Standard Class 7 70000 Britannia
Barclay 2343 0-4-0ST No.4 “British Gypsum”
The West Cumbrian, 5407
LMS 8F No. 48151
Northern Rock on the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway
The film also follows the Black Five locomotive 5407, known as The West Cumbrian, on a mainline steam excursion along the West Cumbrian line towards Sellafield, a route noted for its scenery on the edge of the Lake District. The Black Five class became one of the great workhorses of British steam, admired by enthusiasts for its versatility, reliability and mixed-traffic capability.
Carnforth MPD, Motive Power Depot, is a former LMS railway depot located in Carnforth, Lancashire.
Developed in 1944 on the site of the former London and North Western Railway, LNWR, depot, its late construction in the steam locomotive age resulted in its long-term use and conservation by British Railways. Later targeted as part of a preservation scheme, it became the major visitor attraction Steamtown Carnforth. Today, although closed as a museum, the site remains an important national operational base for the West Coast Railway Company.
The programme also touches on Carnforth’s wider railway culture, including its association with Brief Encounter, the preserved signal box, the Flying Scotsman restaurant carriage, the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway, and the huge effort required to keep mainline steam locomotives in working order. The attached summary highlights 5407’s role as a Black Five, the importance of Carnforth as a steam base, and the wider preservation story around Steamtown.
Find out more at the Steamtown Wiki:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnfor...