Speaking of Freight

A Railwayman's Word

January 1953 •Polish

A documentary about the hard work of railwaymen transporting coke from Tarnowskie Góry to Szczecin Iron works. They’re doing their best to arrive on time.

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.

Queen of Trucks

July 2022 •English

Trucking is big business. Cashing in on the boom is Shannan’s trucker driving school. But can she pass her own HGV test?

Faces Places

June 2017 •French

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

The Flying Scotsman: A Rail Romance

March 2013 •English

Built in 1923, the Flying Scotsman was the first steam locomotive to run at 100 miles an hour and to star in its own feature film. This is the untold story of the iconic Flying Scotsman-the very best in the engineering of its time.

On the Train

June 2023 •Chinese

On the Train captures from the birth to the last moment of the railway, 98.2 kilometers long and opened in 1992, crossing southern Taiwan.

Estação Metropolitana

December 2022 •Portuguese

Between one carriage and another, passengers tell their stories over a train journey.

Canadian Pacific I

July 1974 •English

Canadian Pacific I is made up of a series of slowly dissolved shots done from the same framing over several months. The camera frames a window with a railway yard in the foreground, a bay in the space behind it, and misty mountains in the extreme distance. Trains occasionally pass by in the foreground. Huge ships move across the bay. Blue mists hover over the mountain heads.

Canadian Pacific II

July 1975 •English

Canadian Pacific II is designed as a companion piece to Canadian Pacific I. Shot from a window two storeys higher and in the building adjacent to the artists’s studio of the previous year, one enters into a dream state… an involvement with a vocabulary of seeing and feeling by subtle transitions of the passage of time

Tomika Prarail Friendly Hiragana

July 2009 •Japanese

For 2-4 year old children, the Tomika Prarail friendly hiragana first time drill. Learn hiragana characters with the aid of Tomika Prarail trains and cars.

1917, The Train from Hell

November 2019 •French

1917, The Train from Hell is an historical documentary about a train accident during WW1.

Newspaper Train

November 1942 •English

The story of how newspapers were distributed during the Blitz, stressing the importance of an accurate and objective press on the home front.

Minnesota Railroads

January 2021 •English

This documentary takes a look at Class I railroads – BNSF Railway, Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, and Union Pacific, short lines, Amtrak, commuter lines, and railway preservation in the “Land of 10,000 Lakes.”

Building the Channel Tunnel

June 2019 •English

The Channel Tunnel linking Britain with France is one of the seven wonders of the modern world but what did it take to build the longest undersea tunnel ever constructed? We hear from the men and women, who built this engineering marvel. Massive tunnel boring machines gnawed their way through rock and chalk, digging not one tunnel but three; two rail tunnels and a service tunnel. This was a project that would be privately financed; not a penny of public money would be spent on the tunnel. Business would have to put up all the money and take all the risks. This was also a project that was blighted by flood, fire, tragic loss of life and financial bust ups. Today, it stands as an engineering triumph and a testament to what can be achieved when two nations, Britain and France put aside their historic differences and work together.

Final Line

December 2023 •Portuguese

Alpine Train at Christmas

December 2024 •English

Climb aboard the illustrious Bernina Express for a festive ride through spectacular Alpine landscapes, taking in snow-covered peaks, architectural wonders, and majestic glaciers.

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.

Chicago: America's Railroad Capital

January 2017 •English

In this documentary, Chicago, America’s Railroad Capital, you’ll discover how the third largest U.S. city became the nation’s most important hub, serving six of North America’s largest railroads. Along with its robust commuter system, more rail traffic passes through Chicago than any other city in America.

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.