0:00:03 > 0:00:07Just over a century ago, the motion camera was invented.
0:00:07 > 0:00:12It changed forever the way we recall our history.
0:00:12 > 0:00:13For the first time, we could see life
0:00:13 > 0:00:16through the eyes of ordinary people.
0:00:19 > 0:00:23Across the series, we'll bring these rare archive films back to life,
0:00:23 > 0:00:26with the help of our vintage mobile cinema.
0:00:28 > 0:00:32We'll be inviting people with a story to tell to step on board
0:00:32 > 0:00:35and relive moments they thought were gone forever.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43They'll see relatives on screen for the first time,
0:00:43 > 0:00:46come face-to-face with their younger selves
0:00:46 > 0:00:49and celebrate our amazing 20th century past.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54This is the people's story. Our story.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24Our vintage mobile cinema was originally commissioned in 1967
0:01:24 > 0:01:26to show training films to workers.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29Today, it's been lovingly restored
0:01:29 > 0:01:32and loaded up with remarkable film footage, preserved for us
0:01:32 > 0:01:34by the British Film Institute
0:01:34 > 0:01:37and other national and regional film archives.
0:01:38 > 0:01:39In this series,
0:01:39 > 0:01:43we'll be travelling to towns and cities across the country
0:01:43 > 0:01:45and showing films from the 20th century
0:01:45 > 0:01:48that give us the reel history of Britain.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55Today we're pulling up in the 1960s,
0:01:55 > 0:01:59to hear how the actions of one man, Richard Beeching,
0:01:59 > 0:02:03led to the closure of almost a third of Britain's branch lines
0:02:03 > 0:02:08and cut off millions living in rural communities across the country.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26Today, we're in Sheringham, in the County of Norfolk.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28We'll be looking back to the 1960s
0:02:28 > 0:02:31and the axing of the railways by Beeching.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37Coming up:
0:02:37 > 0:02:39Captured on film.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42The chance to see a much-loved uncle for the first time in over 20 years.
0:02:42 > 0:02:47To see Uncle Billy up there was very moving.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51I re-live a boyhood dream in a signal box.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59And ride a steam train with railway enthusiast Pete Waterman.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04And we hear fond memories of the dad
0:03:04 > 0:03:06who drove the final train to Aldeburgh.
0:03:06 > 0:03:11People wanted to talk to him. In fact, he was signing autographs.
0:03:18 > 0:03:23Sheringham, here in Norfolk, was one of 2,128 stations across the country
0:03:23 > 0:03:26that closed in the 1960s.
0:03:29 > 0:03:34Axing Britain's branch lines changed public transport forever.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38Getting to and from rural areas became much harder
0:03:38 > 0:03:42and led to an explosion in the use of the motor car.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51It's easy to see how it happened, looking back.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55When the rail network was nationalised in 1948,
0:03:55 > 0:03:58the newly-created British Railways inherited huge losses
0:03:58 > 0:04:00and poorly-run lines.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09In 1961, its new chairman, Dr Richard Beeching,
0:04:09 > 0:04:11was given a simple task:
0:04:11 > 0:04:13Make rail pay.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18Beeching reported back with some startling facts.
0:04:18 > 0:04:2295% of the journeys were taken on just 50% of the lines.
0:04:24 > 0:04:29He concluded the only solution was to close the unprofitable ones.
0:04:29 > 0:04:32It made him public enemy number one but he stuck to his guns.
0:04:35 > 0:04:36I think the plan is right.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38All the proposals are directed
0:04:38 > 0:04:42towards making the railways do those things they can do best
0:04:42 > 0:04:46and stopping them doing those things they are no longer suited to do.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49There was huge opposition to the plan,
0:04:49 > 0:04:52still known today as the Beeching Axe.
0:04:52 > 0:04:54A plan that kept Britain talking for months.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59Joining me in Sheringham today
0:04:59 > 0:05:02are railwaymen and passengers from across the UK
0:05:02 > 0:05:05who have gathered to tell me their stories
0:05:05 > 0:05:10about how the closure of their local lines affected all their lives.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13'Bruce McCartney grew up in Hawick in the Scottish borders,
0:05:13 > 0:05:17'a small town on the Waverley line between Carlisle and Edinburgh.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20'It was earmarked for closure.'
0:05:21 > 0:05:24Bruce was a student at Edinburgh University at the time
0:05:24 > 0:05:26and he became one of the protestors
0:05:26 > 0:05:29campaigning to stop the closures going ahead.
0:05:30 > 0:05:35- Are you on there? - I am bending over. That's me.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38Not a very flattering shot, but...
0:05:38 > 0:05:40So you lost the argument?
0:05:40 > 0:05:45Yes, the line was losing about 700,000 a year.
0:05:45 > 0:05:50And in the late '60s, that just wasn't viable at all.
0:05:50 > 0:05:51Who's being led away here?
0:05:51 > 0:05:54That is the Minister being led away by the police.
0:05:54 > 0:05:56That's the Reverend Briden Mavern.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59What has he done to be led away?
0:05:59 > 0:06:02He has blocked the line, they padlocked the gates together,
0:06:02 > 0:06:05hijacked the station master's car, let down the tyres.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07Hah!
0:06:07 > 0:06:10And the train from Hawick was delayed about a couple of hours.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15We've got a treat for Bruce. We're about to show him
0:06:15 > 0:06:18a Border TV news report from that time.
0:06:18 > 0:06:23He's going to see his younger self as a protestor on that very day.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32He and his friends made a coffin, as a symbol for the closure plan.
0:06:35 > 0:06:3940 years on, will he be proud or just a bit embarrassed?
0:06:41 > 0:06:46The coffin was almost a last-minute thought.
0:06:46 > 0:06:49After all, the line is dying.
0:06:49 > 0:06:50The night the line closed,
0:06:50 > 0:06:53we addressed it and sent it by the last train
0:06:53 > 0:06:56to the Minister of Transport, Richard Marsh.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00But I think he refused delivery of it. As I would have, as well!
0:07:00 > 0:07:03Seeing our film, does Bruce have any regrets?
0:07:03 > 0:07:05Blow me, I would do the same again,
0:07:05 > 0:07:07only I've learned from my experiences.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10'I think, had the closure taken place,
0:07:10 > 0:07:14'or was scheduled to take place in a year's time,
0:07:14 > 0:07:18'I would get much better organised and do things differently
0:07:18 > 0:07:21'and hopefully the result would be different.'
0:07:23 > 0:07:26The line should have remained open to Hawick.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29People who didn't have their own transport
0:07:29 > 0:07:32would have a two-and-a-half bus journey in front of you.
0:07:32 > 0:07:33That was a dreadful thought.
0:07:33 > 0:07:35Seeing himself on that day
0:07:35 > 0:07:37has certainly turned the clock back for Bruce.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42It brought back events of 40-odd years ago,
0:07:42 > 0:07:47seeing the protesters and just recalling the events of the day
0:07:47 > 0:07:51and the placards that we'd spent ages out with the ink and...
0:07:51 > 0:07:54Ah, dear... Youth!
0:08:04 > 0:08:09Michael Gatenby from Lancashire was also captured on film in the '60s.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13He's come to join us at Sheringham station to see himself on screen
0:08:13 > 0:08:16and share his story of the life of a signalman.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20Michael began his love affair with the locomotives
0:08:20 > 0:08:25as a five-year-old trainspotter and he worked the railways for 37 years.
0:08:26 > 0:08:31In a minute, he's going to see himself on screen as a young man.
0:08:31 > 0:08:33And we're going to join him,
0:08:33 > 0:08:36as he settles into his seat for a trip down Memory Lane.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55The trains used to run past my school
0:08:55 > 0:08:57and that's where the passion grew from.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59I always wanted to work for the railway.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01I never wanted to do anything else.
0:09:01 > 0:09:06Michael was filmed for a BBC documentary when he was 19
0:09:06 > 0:09:09and one of the youngest signalmen in the country.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12The film bore the curious title
0:09:12 > 0:09:15"Engines Must Not Enter The Potato Siding."
0:09:15 > 0:09:18How will he feel about seeing himself all those years ago?
0:09:20 > 0:09:24It's one of the most responsible jobs there is, signalman,
0:09:24 > 0:09:26no doubt about it.
0:09:26 > 0:09:30Come to think of it, it's more important than a pilot's.
0:09:30 > 0:09:35A signalman's got the lives of two passenger trains coming up,
0:09:35 > 0:09:36all those lives.
0:09:36 > 0:09:41I mean, there's no element for mistakes in this job.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45It was like a part of me that's been preserved forever.
0:09:46 > 0:09:51I suppose then I was at my best and now I'm at my worst!
0:09:51 > 0:09:55Down path's just coming out now, a twin-engine section.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06For railwaymen like Michael, the closure of
0:10:06 > 0:10:09so many rural lines was shocking.
0:10:09 > 0:10:13He recalls that Beeching's axe fell hard.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18As well as closing over 2,000 stations
0:10:18 > 0:10:20and cutting 67,000 jobs,
0:10:20 > 0:10:24over 5,000 miles of track were ripped up
0:10:24 > 0:10:26and sold for cash or abandoned.
0:10:29 > 0:10:34It did need whittling down a little bit but I thought,
0:10:34 > 0:10:37you know, he's decimated the railways
0:10:37 > 0:10:40and it was a bit short-sighted.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44If anybody could have seen how much we still need the railways,
0:10:44 > 0:10:47it would have been better to mothball certain lines
0:10:47 > 0:10:49instead of ripping them all up.
0:10:51 > 0:10:54Michael's feelings echo those of millions at the time.
0:10:57 > 0:10:58It's more than a job, it's a family.
0:10:58 > 0:11:03That's why when they close down a line, you destroy families.
0:11:05 > 0:11:07'You destroy a way of life,
0:11:07 > 0:11:11'which you can't really put into words.'
0:11:17 > 0:11:19It's terrific to meet someone like Michael,
0:11:19 > 0:11:21who cares so much about the railways.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24He's taking me to see the signal box here at Sheringham,
0:11:24 > 0:11:28which is just like the one he operated at Woodhead in Lancashire.
0:11:33 > 0:11:35It's a kind of sitting room, isn't it?
0:11:35 > 0:11:37Yep, everything you need.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39You've got your armchair.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45Home from home. Feels like I've never been away.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50Watching the film, of you on the film, a rather younger
0:11:50 > 0:11:54version of yourself, what did you think of yourself on the film?
0:11:54 > 0:11:57My son, who watched that for the first time,
0:11:57 > 0:12:00was five years older than I was at the time and he said,
0:12:00 > 0:12:03"Dad, "I bet you were a real babe magnet!"
0:12:03 > 0:12:05But I was really shy.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09I was probably the most shy person you could imagine.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11But, er, yeah, I look back now,
0:12:11 > 0:12:14I wish I was that age again with what I know now.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20That's the driver ringing in to tell me he's arrived.
0:12:20 > 0:12:21Hello.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24Yeah, OK. Thank you.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30What effect did you find from your experience
0:12:30 > 0:12:34was it having on the places that no longer had a railway?
0:12:34 > 0:12:39They had no service any more. Not everybody had a car in those days.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43The bus services weren't adequate to get people where they wanted to go.
0:12:43 > 0:12:45People couldn't go on holidays any more.
0:12:45 > 0:12:47They used to rely on the trains.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51They were prisoners in the community unless you had a car.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55Once entrusted to dedicated individuals like Michael,
0:12:55 > 0:12:59the job of the signalman has now been replaced
0:12:59 > 0:13:02with cutting-edge technology.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10Today on Reel History we're at Sheringham station,
0:13:10 > 0:13:13in East Anglia, which was closed
0:13:13 > 0:13:16during the restructure of Britain's railway network in the 1960s.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19Today, thanks to the dedication of railway enthusiasts,
0:13:19 > 0:13:23it's re-opened as a popular tourist attraction.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25But not all branch lines were as lucky.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29The next film was made by an amateur filmmaker.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31It captures a day in the life of a community
0:13:31 > 0:13:35when it came out in force to say farewell to an era.
0:13:37 > 0:13:41Susan Hawkes from Sizewell knows she is about to see
0:13:41 > 0:13:45her beloved uncle in this next film. What she doesn't know is
0:13:45 > 0:13:49that he isn't the only member of her family who will appear.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04This film was shot on 10th September 1966
0:14:04 > 0:14:09and captures the last train from Saxmundham to Aldeburgh in Suffolk,
0:14:09 > 0:14:12just a few miles from here.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15Susan's uncle, Billy Botterill, gave 50 years to Aldeburgh station,
0:14:15 > 0:14:19working his way up from luggage boy in 1916
0:14:19 > 0:14:23to managing the station right up to the day it closed.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27How will she feel about seeing him on film?
0:14:29 > 0:14:34My heart thumped when I saw Uncle Billy on the film,
0:14:34 > 0:14:36it was really lovely.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43Every day of his life he'd got up early in the morning,
0:14:43 > 0:14:46sorted the household out, left his wife at home
0:14:46 > 0:14:50and gone up to his beloved station.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52He really loved it.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55And he particularly loved his garden.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03Year after year he would win the cup
0:15:03 > 0:15:08for the best station garden in the local area.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14But someone else catches Susan's eye in our mobile cinema -
0:15:14 > 0:15:17someone she wasn't expecting to see.
0:15:22 > 0:15:26Also on the platform was my cousin, waving a white handkerchief
0:15:26 > 0:15:28with a great big smile on his face.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34It was really lovely to see him
0:15:34 > 0:15:37because, unfortunately, he only died a few days ago.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44To see him on film was very special at this particular time.
0:15:47 > 0:15:513,000 people lost their link to the outside world
0:15:51 > 0:15:54when the branch line to Aldeburgh close.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57A story repeated across the country.
0:15:57 > 0:16:00It's been a sentimental day for Susan.
0:16:01 > 0:16:06To see Uncle Billy up there, he was so like my father.
0:16:06 > 0:16:08It was very moving.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17The day they ran the last train to Aldeburgh,
0:16:17 > 0:16:21Clive Strutt was there to capture the moment on his camera.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24He was a press photographer covering
0:16:24 > 0:16:27the story of the closure for the local papers.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31- You were a photographer on that last train, a press photographer?- Yes.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34Yes, the last train running from Aldeburgh to Saxmundham
0:16:34 > 0:16:36was a major event in our lives.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39- It was a big turnout, all along the line.- Yes, absolutely.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43I think everybody felt a lump in their throat.
0:16:44 > 0:16:50What Clive didn't know was that an amateur filmmaker was filming him.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53That film was preserved by the regional archive in East Anglia,
0:16:53 > 0:16:56and Clive's about to watch it for the first time.
0:16:56 > 0:17:00How will he react to seeing himself, aged 23?
0:17:14 > 0:17:17Here he is, walking along the middle of the track.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21Seeing myself in those days, as a young man,
0:17:21 > 0:17:26I didn't realise how old I'd become. My hair wasn't grey,
0:17:26 > 0:17:29I wasn't wrinkled and I certainly wasn't fat.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31But, no, it was very nostalgic.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36Clive recalls how, like communities right across the country,
0:17:36 > 0:17:40everyone along the line turned out to say an emotional goodbye
0:17:40 > 0:17:43as the last train to Aldeburgh went past.
0:17:43 > 0:17:47The thing I remember most of all about that day
0:17:47 > 0:17:51was the large amount of people that turned up.
0:17:51 > 0:17:54I think that was a surprise to a lot of people.
0:17:54 > 0:17:58And probably it said something about the way the branch line,
0:17:58 > 0:18:02as it was known in those days, how people felt about it
0:18:02 > 0:18:04and how people felt about the closure,
0:18:04 > 0:18:08because it was quite a community shock when that went.
0:18:09 > 0:18:11Clive's obviously pleased
0:18:11 > 0:18:15he's had the chance to share his recollections of that day with us.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21In a way, I was quite privileged to be here today,
0:18:21 > 0:18:24because most of the people there are no longer with us.
0:18:31 > 0:18:34- Huge cheers by the crowds, wasn't there?- There was.
0:18:34 > 0:18:40Clive has brought with him one special photograph he took that day,
0:18:40 > 0:18:44of a man who played a crucial role - the train driver, Albert Skeels.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46A coincidence there, really.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50Albert's son, Colin, is here to see his father captured on camera.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52Have you seen this photograph?
0:18:52 > 0:18:57Not such a clear one. I've seen a hazy one in the paper.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00- That's very nice, isn't it? - It's good, yes.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02Colin's father, Albert,
0:19:02 > 0:19:05drove the last train from Saxmundham to Aldeburgh.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08After a quiet 40-year career on the railways,
0:19:08 > 0:19:11that day, he became the reluctant star of the show.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16Albert died 26 years ago.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18So how will his son, Colin, feel about watching
0:19:18 > 0:19:21his father's big moment re-played on the big screen?
0:19:44 > 0:19:48He started off at the very bottom when he left school,
0:19:48 > 0:19:52I think it was in 1917 or 18,
0:19:52 > 0:19:56and he worked his way up.
0:19:56 > 0:20:00He enjoyed his job, he liked the railways,
0:20:00 > 0:20:04he was a railwayman through and through
0:20:04 > 0:20:10and erm, he... this was just a special day.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24My father was lucky enough to be on duty that day,
0:20:24 > 0:20:28to drive the train to Aldeburgh from Ipswich
0:20:28 > 0:20:33and it was so different from a normal day's working,
0:20:33 > 0:20:36because people wanted to talk to him.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39In fact, he signed autographs,
0:20:39 > 0:20:44which...nobody ever wants an engine driver's autograph!
0:20:44 > 0:20:48I suppose he felt special for one day.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55You know, it brought back some nice memories for me
0:20:55 > 0:21:01and it's made me realise that he had a moment
0:21:01 > 0:21:04in the limelight in his life.
0:21:04 > 0:21:09Because most of the while, he just drove his train and that was it.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19Unfortunately, both him and my mum died before we saw it,
0:21:19 > 0:21:21so they never saw the film.
0:21:32 > 0:21:36He never showed his emotions very much,
0:21:36 > 0:21:41but I think he would be pleased to think that something he did
0:21:41 > 0:21:46was still available for people to get some enjoyment from.
0:21:53 > 0:21:57Colin's dad retired shortly after this film was made
0:21:57 > 0:22:02but 5,000 engine drivers like him lost their jobs due to the cuts.
0:22:08 > 0:22:10Were you there on that day?
0:22:10 > 0:22:14No, I wasn't. No, I didn't know it had happened until afterwards.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17My dad told me, when we saw him later.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20And we didn't know the film had been taken. We had no idea.
0:22:20 > 0:22:22And this you have here, is...?
0:22:22 > 0:22:26The passengers had a whip round for the driver,
0:22:26 > 0:22:28because it was the last train,
0:22:28 > 0:22:32and presented him with a hatful of money at the end
0:22:32 > 0:22:34and he bought this with it.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36And he passed it down the family.
0:22:36 > 0:22:37Oh, lovely. Mmm.
0:22:48 > 0:22:521966 was the end of the line for Aldeburgh.
0:22:52 > 0:22:54But the '60s sounded the death knell
0:22:54 > 0:22:57for another treasured aspect of the railways -
0:22:57 > 0:22:59the steam engine.
0:23:01 > 0:23:05In 1963, there were 8,767 steam trains.
0:23:05 > 0:23:06But they were dirty and inefficient
0:23:06 > 0:23:11and by 1969 there wasn't a single passenger service left,
0:23:11 > 0:23:14as cheaper, more efficient diesel engines took over.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21These affectionate pictures of a steam engine,
0:23:21 > 0:23:24chugging through the British countryside,
0:23:24 > 0:23:28were taken on the North York Moors by a former rail worker, Frank Dean,
0:23:28 > 0:23:31who became a keen filmmaker.
0:23:31 > 0:23:34They capture a charming, disappearing world of steam trains
0:23:34 > 0:23:36and flower meadows.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41Maybe that's why steam trains still have enormous appeal,
0:23:41 > 0:23:43but now as a tourist attraction.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51Despite axing railways in the '60s,
0:23:51 > 0:23:54some people will never forget the glory days
0:23:54 > 0:23:57and one of those is the railway enthusiast, Pete Waterman.
0:24:01 > 0:24:06Pete's enjoyed huge success as a music producer and television star,
0:24:06 > 0:24:09but his life-long passion is trains.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13He even has a share in his very own railway.
0:24:13 > 0:24:14He's come to give me his thoughts
0:24:14 > 0:24:17on what happened to the railways in the 1960s.
0:24:19 > 0:24:21What about Beeching and his legacy?
0:24:21 > 0:24:23What did you think of Beeching,
0:24:23 > 0:24:25who became the most hated man in Britain?
0:24:25 > 0:24:28Beeching gets too much blame.
0:24:28 > 0:24:32By the time he came in, he was asked to do a specific job.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35He was told, "Run this railway for a profit."
0:24:35 > 0:24:39"Well, OK, yes, I'll close all the lines down then."
0:24:39 > 0:24:41And everybody went, "Yeah, that'll do then."
0:24:41 > 0:24:44There was no talk of social railways back then, there wasn't.
0:24:44 > 0:24:45Nobody said,
0:24:45 > 0:24:49"You must keep something open so the rural community can work."
0:24:49 > 0:24:51That's not what Britain was like then.
0:24:55 > 0:25:00But Pete's optimistic for the future of trains in rural areas,
0:25:00 > 0:25:03even if that future rests on the tourist industry.
0:25:05 > 0:25:10We're on a steam train and that town we've come from, Sheringham,
0:25:10 > 0:25:12more or less lives off the steam train, doesn't it?
0:25:12 > 0:25:17Well, all these small railways have transformed rural economies.
0:25:17 > 0:25:19They can't survive without them.
0:25:19 > 0:25:21Severn Valley is another one,
0:25:21 > 0:25:24North Yorkshire Moors, these bring thousands of people.
0:25:24 > 0:25:29200,000 visitors a year, you know, to these small villages.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32In the old days, it'd be the bucket and spade brigade.
0:25:32 > 0:25:33Now, it's the steam railway brigade.
0:25:33 > 0:25:38You know, they have the '40s weekend, the beer festivals,
0:25:38 > 0:25:42the Thomas weekends... And they're packed. It's like a heritage ride.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45It's the biggest, the longest theme park in the world!
0:25:54 > 0:25:57Here in Sheringham today, it's buzzing with day trippers
0:25:57 > 0:25:58of all ages.
0:25:58 > 0:26:02In 1976, this line, the Poppy line,
0:26:02 > 0:26:05was re-opened by railway enthusiasts and volunteers.
0:26:05 > 0:26:10It now has five miles of attractive track, trips into nostalgia.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13One of the people responsible
0:26:13 > 0:26:16for reviving the line is volunteer, Dave King.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20- Hello.- Hello, Melvyn. - So you're the museum curator?
0:26:20 > 0:26:26- I am indeed, sir.- What was this like before the axe fell in the 1960s?
0:26:26 > 0:26:29It was a busy little station from time to time.
0:26:29 > 0:26:31We're in a busy holiday resort
0:26:31 > 0:26:35and the station was built to reflect that
0:26:35 > 0:26:39and be somewhere welcoming for the passengers to come to.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42Do you remember how it got going again in 1976?
0:26:42 > 0:26:46We were in negotiations with British Railways from 1964,
0:26:46 > 0:26:47when the line closed,
0:26:47 > 0:26:53and we actually bought the line from Sheringham up to Weybourne.
0:26:53 > 0:26:57It took quite a while to get steam locos restored
0:26:57 > 0:26:59and get some coaching stock sorted out,
0:26:59 > 0:27:02and start carrying passengers as a proper railway.
0:27:08 > 0:27:13The man in charge of Sheringham today is Station Master, Ted Linge.
0:27:13 > 0:27:15I'm meeting up with him to learn about the work involved
0:27:15 > 0:27:20in returning this station to its former splendour.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23When you started to do this Poppy Line, did you have to
0:27:23 > 0:27:26reconstitute most of the station with the signs?
0:27:26 > 0:27:30I see you have original signs, original adverts, the glass roof.
0:27:30 > 0:27:34Well, the station was constructed originally in 1887.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37We took it over from British Rail in the '70s
0:27:37 > 0:27:40and a band of volunteers, since then,
0:27:40 > 0:27:44have been working extremely hard
0:27:44 > 0:27:47to bring it up to what you see now.
0:27:47 > 0:27:50Through the goodwill of the people who love trains
0:27:50 > 0:27:53and love heritage.
0:27:54 > 0:27:55- Thank you.- You're welcome.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58Very pleased to meet you. Thanks for looking after us today.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07So today it's been rail, steam and nostalgia.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10The age of steam is gone but a funny thing's happening.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14All over this country, groups of volunteers and enthusiasts
0:28:14 > 0:28:17are laying down the tracks, building up the stations,
0:28:17 > 0:28:21bringing in new steam engines and starting all over again.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27Next time on Reel History,
0:28:27 > 0:28:31we're in Manchester, to see what the earliest motion cameras
0:28:31 > 0:28:35captured on film at the turn of the century.
0:28:35 > 0:28:38The first time they saw these films, our jaws dropped.
0:28:48 > 0:28:53Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:53 > 0:28:58E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk