Freightliner and Merry Go Round

The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat

June 1896 •French

A group of people are standing along the platform of a railway station in La Ciotat, waiting for a train. One is seen coming, at some distance, and eventually stops at the platform. Doors of the railway-cars open and attendants help passengers off and on. Popular legend has it that, when this film was shown, the first-night audience fled the café in terror, fearing being run over by the "approaching" train. This legend has since been identified as promotional embellishment, though there is evidence to suggest that people were astounded at the capabilities of the Lumières' cinématographe.

Berlin: Symphony of a Great City

September 1927 •German

A day in the city of Berlin, which experienced an industrial boom in the 1920s, and still provides an insight into the living and working conditions at that time. Germany had just recovered a little from the worst consequences of the First World War, the great economic crisis was still a few years away and Hitler was not yet an issue at the time.

Opening a New Frontier

January 1955 •English

A documentary outlining the railroad's roll in expanding the nation.

Last of the Giants

January 1959 •English

A Union Pacific production outlining the Big Boy locomotive and the history of the last great steam engine to rule the rails

Flight of the Century

January 1935 •English

The story of the most famous train in the world

End of an Era

March 1962 •English

A documentary on the passing of the steam locomotive as the primary means of transportation in the United States

A Great Railroad at Work

January 1942 •English

A documentary outlining railroad work and the effects on the lives impacted by the iron horse

Big Trains Rolling

January 1955 •English

A production of the association of American Railroads outlining the wonders of America's rail system.

Mainline U.S.A.

January 1957 •English

A documentary on the railroads of America produced by the Association of American Railroads

The Freight Train

January 1954 •English

EB Films presents a documentary on the life of the freight train in America.

Rolling the Freight

January 1947 •English

Film on the movement of material from the Chicago and Northwestern System.

Faces Places

June 2017 •French

Director Agnès Varda and photographer/muralist JR journey through rural France and form an unlikely friendship.

RER B

June 2017 •French

Alice Diop's enchanting short film, a work of transcendent transformation, shows how the rough lines of Drancy station are immortalized in watercolor by the French artist Benoît Peyrucq. A tribute to a location fraught with historical and contemporary poignancy.

Last Train Home

June 2009 •Chinese

A family embarks on an annual tormenting journey along with 130 million other peasant workers to reunite with their distant family, and to revive their love and dignity as China soars as the world's next super power.

Tanzania Transit

May 2018 •English

On a train crossing Tanzania, a rolling microcosm of East African society, we follow three main characters, reflecting on the strength to survive.

Hitler's Steel Beast

January 2017 •French

Trace the history of Hitler's armored private train, a 15-car mobile headquarters boasting state-of-the-art communications and anti-aircraft cannons.

Night Mail

January 1936 •English

This documentary short examines the special train on which mail is sorted, dropped and collected on the run, and delivered in Scotland on the overnight run from Euston, London to Glasgow.

The Travel Game

January 1958 •English

A light and somewhat satirical look at the problems and pleasures of Continental holiday travel. A passenger on the Hook Continental Express from Liverpool St. imagines the possible destinations of his fellow passengers.

Mikado

December 2024 •Spanish

Big Easy Express

March 2012 •English

Indie folk heroes Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Tennessee’s Old Crow Medicine Show, and Britain’s acclaimed Mumford & Sons, climbed aboard a beautiful vintage train in California, setting out for New Orleans, Louisiana on a “tour of dreams”. The resulting film from this journey is nothing short of magical. Part road movie and part concert film, BIG EASY EXPRESS bears witness to the birth of a new musical era. With poignancy and beauty, Malloy documents these incredible musicians as they ride the rails and wow the crowds, from Oakland… to New Orleans.