Sunday, November 06, 2011

Historic train film

A really special historic train movie has been placed on-line.

This movie was specially made in 1939 to celibrate 100 years of railways in the Netherlands. It is in Dutch and shows many steam engines, early electrical passenger trains, bridges and buildings, of which some are no longer present. Although most of the visitors to this blogsite will not understand the spoken and written language in this film, the pictures are universally understood by train enthusiasts all over the world. The total length is almost half an hour and hence this film can best be watched with a drink close at hand.
The films starts with a re-enactment of the first train ride in the Netherlands between Amsterdam and Haarlem in 1839. For this purpose, they specially rebuild the first steam engine that ever run (slowly) in the Netherlands. It is named "De Arend" (the eagle) and is now part of the collection of the Dutch railway museum.Then the film speeds to 1939 and shows what was regarded as modern trains back then.
For those of you, who would like to see something special, go fetch a drink and click on the link. Once on the local history site, click on the video on the top left hand corner and enjoy.
I specially like the idea that many of the pre-war toy trains that I cherish, run and restore are even older than than this film.

No comments: