Catalogue description British Transport Films, stills archive

Comprises the stills archive of training and public information films, produced mostly for British Railways. It is composed of negatives, filmstrips, reference prints and colour transparencies.

There are six typed registers that are arranged in negative or transparency number order, with details of each production. Information is given on subject, location, date and occasionally photographer. Some prints are also available.

British Transport Commission

• Railway transport

The success of the LMS and Southern Railway's publicity film units inspired the British Transport Commission to found a film unit which would promote the newly nationalised transport concerns. Established in 1949 and headed by Edward Anstey it combined the filmmaking bodies that had existed before nationalisation with new talent. The unit was to play a leading role in the documentary film movement, employing directors and composers of the highest calibre and using drama, humour and classic newsreel techniques. At one time the BTF was the most active documentary film unit operating in Britain and between 1950 and 1986 produced over 1,500 films, videos, filmstrips and advertisements. John Schlesinger's 1961 film 'Terminus', a study of a day in the life of Waterloo station, was watched by over 5.5 million people, and picked up fourteen awards, including the Venice Grand Prix. In all BTF films won over 220 major honours, including an Oscar for the 1967 production 'Wild Wings'. The majority of the BTF's output was produced for British Railways but the archive is significant not just as a history of the railways, but also as a study of daily life in mid-twentieth century Britain. The training and public information films provide an invaluable record of working practices, vehicle operation and the social and cultural impact of transport technologies. The films themselves reside with the British Film Institute.