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Reviews
We strive to produce programmes with high visual quality,
and we periodically submit examples of our programmes for review in the railway
press, and we appreciate the write-ups and feedback we receive, and the reception
our programmes have had.
Please select a review from this list:
Aspects of Rail 1 - Summer
2008 (Continental Modeller, November 2008)
Rails Around Central China
(Continental Modeller, May 2006)
Chinese Mixed Traction Showcase
(Continental Modeller, April 2005)
Jing Peng Steam Showcase
(Continental Modeller, October 2003)
Rails Around Pingdingshan
(Continental Modeller, November 2003)
Continental Modeller
Magazine, November 2008 Edition
Review of Aspects of Rail 1 - Summer
2008 (DVD) |
  Extracts:
This is the first of an intended
series of magazine programmes featuring the international railway scene, past and
present.
The first screen of the DVD offers the choice of playing the whole programme, scene
selection, and additional features (trailers for other programmes in the SPDVP range,
each with a short clip and the contents summarised).
The sections are:
- The wall came tumbling down
(Germany, 1990/1, 26 minutes);
- Steam over the Montagu Pass
(South Africa, 1997, 10 minutes);
- Steam on the Hill (China,
2000, 15 minutes);
- Nocturne (UK, 2001-5, 12 minutes).
The German material reports a
1990 train journey in good weather from Bad Bentheim to Berlin via Hannover and
Braunschweig, with a loco change from DB electric to DR diesel at Helmstedt. We
then observe traffic from the platform at Berlin Lichtenberg, though most services
are not identified.
The following year our vantage point is Köln Hauptbahnhof, mostly at the eastern
(bridge) end of the station. This is well before the traffic red era - the branded
liveries are only just appearing, while the ET403 is in Lufthansa 'Airport Express'
colours.
In South Africa, we see a pair of vintage Class 7 4-8-0s take a short train over
the Montagu Pass, observed both from the train and the lineside. A second, much
longer, train is headed by a 14CRB 4-8-2 and a GEA Garratt. The landscape is impressive,
and so is the steam action and it is excellently conveyed by the photography; one
long tracking shot from a single viewpoint as the locos slog up the gradient stands
out.
In China, we visit the Chengde steelworks where JS and SY 2-8-2s struggle to lift
coal trains up a stiff 1 in 35 branch - three locos for only a dozen bogie wagons!
The staccato exhausts are dramatic, and one must admire the cameraman's dedication
in snow and wind - although this creates some unwanted background noise at first,
later the exhaust effects in the clear cold air are more than compensation. These
sequences were previously issued as part of Standard Gauge Steam in China, Volumes
1 & 2, only available on VHS and long withdrawn; this will be their only appearance
on DVD.
The final section features shots taken between dusk and dawn in the UK, at Stafford
in 2001, Birmingham New Street (briefly) in 2005, and Wolverhampton in 2007, with
electric and diesel traction on passenger, post, and freight workings. Vantage points
are restricted to where station lighting assists, and some evocative images have
been achieved, notably with the lightening dawn sky as a backdrop.
Camerawork is steady; the usual technique is to set up and hold a shot from a good
location so the train can run through the frame; the use of zoom and pan is restrained,
and smooth when employed.
The material was filmed and mastered on digital equipment, so the picture quality
is excellent throughout.
The commentary is sparse but generally informative, though by no means all the trains
shown are identified. Captions on screen introduce each sub-section.
Extracts reproduced
with kind permission from Continental Modeller magazine.
|
Continental Modeller
Magazine, May 2006 Edition
Review of Rails Around Central China
(DVD and VHS) |
  Extracts:
This programme features diesel
and electric operations on Chinese National Railways, plus steam and diesel workings
on a number of local and industrial railways, in the area west of Shanghai as far
as Pingdingshan, filmed in the Spring of 2005.
The introduction features some
nice clear maps with the lines to be visited animated; detailed maps recur through
the programme to keep track of progress.
The locations visited include
Anting, Changzhou, The Yangtze River Bridge at Nanjing, Zou Xian, and Fuyang Bei
yard, as well as various spots in the Shanghai area. Also included are Dadongshen
on the Yanzhou Coal Railway, Tianzhuang Depot, works, and yard on the Pingdingshan
Coal Railway, and the Luohe to Fuyang local railway, observed at Jieshou and Fuyang
Xi.
Captions on screen introduce each
new section, and each new location, as well as identifying every loco seen - as
a minimum by class, and usually also by number, home depot, and (often) build date.
This indicates that a considerable amount of background research has gone into elevating
the material and making the most of chance observations.
The commentary is sparse but always
informative, and never intrudes on the location sound. Extraneous background noise
is a minor problem with a few of the longer shots in urban areas which are by a
roadside, but that is only natural.
Most of the locos seen seem clean
and well kept. There is quite a range of liveries on the diesels and electrics,
and indeed the passenger stock is far from being all dull green, as would once have
been the case. There is also a surprising amount of double-deck stock. A good variety
of traffic is observed.
The locations vary: some are simply
platform end or lineside, but clearly some effort has been made to find more interesting
and attractive viewpoints, no doubt not always easy when your activities are inevitably
supervised at all times. Some of the industrial or railway yard settings are by
definition, not especially scenic!
Camera work is steady. In general
each shot is carefully set up so the train can run through the frame; the use of
zoom and pan is restrained, and if it is employed the movement is smooth.
The material was filmed and mastered
on digital equipment, so the picture quality is excellent throughout. The weather
was mostly good, with just a little haze dulling the sharpness in some sequences.
The DVD offers scene selection,
and additional information in the form of six pages of text with geographical details
and extra locomotive class information. There are also trailers for other programmes
in the SPDVP range, each with a short clip and the contents summarised.
Extracts reproduced
with kind permission from Continental Modeller magazine.
|
Continental Modeller
Magazine, April 2005 Edition
Review of Chinese Mixed Traction Showcase
(DVD and VHS) |
  Extracts:
This programme features a selection
of motive power in Henan, Hebei, and Liaoning provinces. To find this mixture one
has to look for sites where an industrial railway (likely to be still using steam)
interchanges with the China Rail system. Specifically, the locations featured are
Baofeng and Pingdingshan, where the coal railway meets the state system at Dong
yard; Handan steelworks; Chengde, both the exchange yard and the steelworks branch;
and, south of Shenyang, the Dalian line, Benxi steel works, Gongchangling mine,
the Anping iron ore line, and Beitai steel mill.
The programme starts with a map
to put these in context. At the start of each sequence, a caption on screen gives
the location, and every loco is also identified with a caption giving type, number,
allocation (if relevant), builder, and date.
A good variety of motive power
is observed; diesels of classes DF4A/B/C/D, DF5, DF7C, DFH3, BJ, DFH5, GK1G, GK1L,
and TH; electric types SS3, SS4G, EL1, and EL2; while steam is represented by the
SY and JS 2-8-2's, QJ 2-10-2's, XK2, PL2, and fireless machines. The time devoted
to each class varies considerably – some are rarities making an odd appearance,
others are seemingly ubiquitous.
Picture quality is excellent,
and camerawork very steady. The locations are mostly in yards or by the lineside;
there is little scenic coverage, given the nature of the operations depicted. The
sequences are not dated and there is no indication of how the material was obtained.
Apart from loops of music under the selection screens, the sound is mostly on location,
and there is some evidence of the presence of official guides in the 'voices off'.
Some of the drivers also acknowledge the presence of the camera.
The commentary is pleasantly sparse
but usefully informative when present – like the captions, indicative of substantial
background research.
The DVD version offers additional
features such as scene selection, an interactive map (clicking on certain place
names takes you to that chapter of the programme), and a summary of the loco allocations
at each of the featured locations – Benxi steelworks, Beitai steel mill, the
Gongchangling mining railway, Chengde steelworks, Handan steelworks, and the Pingdingshan
Coal Railway. There are also trailers for other programmes in the SPDVP range, each
with the contents summarised.
Extracts reproduced
with kind permission from Continental Modeller magazine.
|
Continental Modeller
Magazine, October 2003 Edition
Review of Jing Peng Steam Showcase (VHS) |
 Extracts:
A map on screen explains the route,
between Yuzhoudi and Jing Peng, showing how several horseshoe curves are used to
gain height, incidentally providing a wealth of opportunities for lineside photography.
The heavy freight trains are all
double-headed by huge QJ class 2-10-2's: some workings tackle the banks with aplomb,
storming the slopes with apparent disdain, while others make much heavier work of
it, slogging doggedly uphill to attain the summit tunnel. It all makes for impressive
viewing.
Captions on screen identify the
locations and trains, giving specific loco numbers. The sleeve notes list all the
trains seen in date order with direction noted and both locos recorded. The parallel
road takes a rather more direct route and so enables photographers to chase trains
very effectively, getting ahead to a new vantage point, so there is extended coverage
of each working at various locations along this relatively short section. Some of
the favourite spots inevitably become familiar, but the successful results justify
their repeated use, and each time the view is, sensibly, slightly different.
Like previous offerings from Sans
Pareil, it was filmed and mastered on digital equipment and professionally duplicated,
so the picture quality is excellent throughout. The weather was fine and clear,
though no doubt not too warm, as evidenced by the excellent steam and exhaust effects.
The open desolate landscapes provide an imposing backdrop, and the locations have
been well chosen, generally giving a good long view of approaching trains which
then pass close by the observer. Camerawork is steady with restrained use of zooming
and panning: each shot is carefully set up so the train can run through it with
the minimum of disconcerting re-adjustment.
The commentary conveys background
information as well as explaining each sequence, but never intrudes over the steam
action.
In short, steam the way it should
be - high quality images of what must be some of the last everyday main line steam
workings anywhere in the world, with no frills.
Extracts reproduced
with kind permission from Continental Modeller magazine.
|
Continental Modeller
Magazine, November 2003 Edition
Review of Rails Around Pingdingshan (VHS) |
 Extracts:
First in a series of 'Rails Around
... ' programmes from Sans Pareil, this tape takes us to Pingdingshan in Henan province,
one of the last steam 'hotspots' in China, where the 40-mile long steam worked local
railway interchanges with the national network.
There is a map on screen at the
start of the programme to give the context, and most of the coverage is from the
busy section within the city limits, around Shenxi West Junction and Zhongxin station.
This offers almost continuous action: mostly long coal trains, either of uniform
high capacity bogie hoppers or mixed medium and high side gondolas, but there are
occasionally trains of flats with containers, and some passenger workings.
The line is noted for QJ 2-10-2's
without smoke deflectors, but we also see SY and JS class 2-8-2's. All the locos
look well kept, and we are fortunate to have a visit to the Tianzhuang depot and
works. The loco allocations as at November 2002 are given as a table on screen.
In the China Rail yard at Pingdingshan
Dong, we observe DF4 and DF7c diesels and SS3 electrics, looking smart. This is
the end of the electrification, so the motive power must change here.
Captions on screen identify the
locations, often also giving specific loco numbers, with builder and date of construction.
The sleeve notes list the locations and summarise the classes seen.
The material was filmed and mastered
on digital equipment and professionally duplicated, so the picture quality is excellent
throughout; good weather also helps. Camerawork is steady, with restrained use of
the zoom and pan: each shot is carefully set up so the train can run through the
frame with a minimum of disconcerting re-adjustment. The clips are of good length
and tend to show most if not all of the passing train.
After the introduction, the commentary
is sparing but informative, and never intrudes over the steam action. The sound
was recorded on location, and though it was clearly windy at times there is little
or no distracting wind noise.
Extracts reproduced
with kind permission from Continental Modeller magazine.
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