CD

NEW SEALED

Original Historic Archive Recordings - Recorded 1957-1958.

Tracks 1 – 6 West of Exeter: Recordings made between Exeter and Plymouth on the main line of the former Great Western Railway - Recorded July 1957 to August 1958. Engines passing through Dainton tunnel with its sharp climb from both directions. Dainton sits between Newton Abbot and Totnes, the main Exeter-Plymouth line of the former Great Western Railway. Tracks 7 & 8 Gresley Pacifics: Class A.4 and A.3 Pacific locomotives on the Eastern Region main line at Grantham, Peterborough, Retford and Stock Tunnel. Recorded August 1956 to November 1958 - Peter Handford (1919 – 2007) was one of the British Film Industries’ most respected sound recordists and mixers. When out and about on location directors came to trust this artisan of sound to sonically and realistically complement the imaginative and often affecting visuals. With his own personal passion you could argue that it was this same level of realism and authentic reproduction that would make his recordings of railways so special and evocative for those who came to hear them. The average rail enthusiast could easily list the reasons why, far better than we could ever express here. The qualities and the technical aspects that make them treasure the sounds of those last wistful days of steam. Maybe it is because here you have something that wholeheartedly transports you back instantly to that moment in time and brings home the excitement of experiencing steam in its full glory and the array of emotions that follow. Your senses are pleasingly overwhelmed by the noise, commotion, routines and trials and tribulations of the everyday workings of the railway. Placing you in the heart of the action, and there you are standing, track side, in Handford’s shoes, feeling the grit on your face and breathing in the smoke and steam. Meanwhile in the background, the ever changeable British weather and landscape. - Playing Time: 56:55 approx.

We all know how contemporary children would have patiently waited track-side and full of anticipation to hear the faraway sound of chugging coming over the hill or through a valley that would herald the thrill of a passing train. So, quite possibly with similar devotion, Peter Handford, the motion picture sound recordist and enthusiast would wait prepared and expertly equipped to capture forever the sound of the vanishing days of steam.

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