Locomotion (1975) Geoffrey Jones

A montage of prints, paintings, lithographs, photographs and films tracing the chronological history of railways and rail travel in Britain 1825-1975 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of railways. The third and final film made by Geoffrey Jones for British Transport Films (following Snow, 1963 and Rail, 1967) was commissioned to mark the 150th anniversary of the introduction of the Stockton to Darlington Railway, the birth of one of the greatest transport revolutions in human history. The same year, BTF’s Rail 150 (d. Ronald Craigen) recorded a celebratory steam cavalcade. Jones’s film depicts the growth of Britain’s railways in chronological sequence, drawing on a wide range of archive material (approximately 400 paintings, drawings, prints, lithographs, photographs and film clips). Typically for Jones, there is no commentary and virtually no textual content aside from a scene-setting opening title. Instead, a chugging electronic accompaniment by Donald Fraser, performed (uncredited) by members of folk-rock group Steeleye Span, suggests the inexorable march of Britain’s industrial might, with the use of the medieval ’Dies irae’ theme (Fraser’s suggestion) perhaps sounding a cautionary note as the railways cut ever greater swathes through the countryside.