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The New Age of Steam on Video

Welcome to the home of Steam Age Pictures. I've been taking video of steam trains around Great Britain (and, occasionally, abroad) since 1990, and in that time I have built up quite an archive of material. In 2003 I decided to put together some programmes of the best shots, and offer them to fellow enthusiasts and the general public, to raise money for the three railway societies that I am a member of.

I'd like to say "thank you" to the many people who have given donations to the Mid-Hants RPS, Merchant Navy LPS and Eastleigh RPS in return for one of my videos. Your generosity is very much appreciated. Cheers! I must also thank my friends who have contributed "additional material".

I am strictly an amateur. Having said that, the quality ranges from not bad to remarkably good (even if I say so myself!) I started with Super VHS, progressed to a 3-chip Canon XM1 digital camera in 2000, and to a Canon XH-A1 high-definition camera in 2007. I use a powerful video editing package on my computer (Liquid Edition by Avid/Pinnacle) to select and compile the programmes, add sub-titles and so on. I (almost) always use a tripod (so no sea-sickness pills required) and an external microphone (so you can hear what's going on quite clearly). Basic details of locomotives and locations are given in unobtrusive captions. There's no banal commentary, no distracting music (except perhaps for the opening and closing titles), and no ham-fisted attempts to disguise these scenes as other than what they are: dramatic, contemporary records of steam locomotives that continue to defy the scrap yard!

Programmes are offered on DVD-R (or VHS/Super-VHS tapes by special arrangement).


 

Work In Progress

Wow! Three new volumes since the last update:
Vol 29, Well Tank Weekend - a record of a two-day charter with both Beattie well tank locos on the Bodmin & Wenford Railway.
Vol 30, The West Highlander - three locomotives on a three day tour from Preston to Mallaig and back, recorded by three HDV cameras.
Vol 31, 70013 Oliver Cromwell - the hardest working locomotive on the mainline in 2009? Nearly two hours of the Enthusiasts' latest favourite.

I'm working on Mainline 2009 at the moment. The first volume, devoted to 70013 Oliver Cromwell, is now ready, and I'm working on a similar programme about 60163 Tornado. There will probably be 2, or perhaps 3, regional volumes to mop up the rest of the year's activity. After that, TWR is suggesting a programme about the Cambrian Coast express. This means that the Dean Forest Railway project won't get started until the spring, at the earliest.

The Oliver Cromwell programme will be Steam Age Pictures' first Blu-Ray Disc production. I've just aquired a burner, and as soon as everything has been backed up, I'll install it and start experimenting with the software. I won't promise when it will be ready, but it won't be long. Watch this space!

What's Planned?

There are three series: Main Line Albums, Branch Line Specials and Locomotive Profiles;

Main Line Albums

One volume (or more in a good year!) for each year since 1990, covering some of the best steam hauled trains on British main-line railways during the year. 1997 - 2008 are currently available.

Branch Line Specials

The format of these programmes will vary, but will normally concentrate on a particular line or special event. There will be several programmes from the Watercress Line (where I am a volunteer signalman), the Severn Valley Railway, and the Swanage Railway, since I am a frequent visitor to these lines. You can also expect programmes covering the Bluebell, North York Moors, East Lancs., Gloucestershire Warwickshire, Bodmin & Wenford, and various Welsh narrow gauge railways ... in the fullness of time! Programme lengths will vary from 5 minutes to one hour.

Locomotive Profiles

A whole programme devoted to a single locomotive or class of locos. The following are already available: I hope to add M7 no. 30053 in the future, with others to be decided.

How To Order

Programmes are available on DVD. I can still produce tapes, VHS or Super-VHS, by special arrangement. More than one volume can be recorded onto a single VHS tape, if you supply a suitable tape.

These programmes (except Vol 15 - see that page for details) are available in return for a donation, in the form of a cheque (in Sterling drawn on a UK bank) or UK Postal Order, or via PayPal, to one of the following railway preservation groups:

I suggest a donation of at least £10 per volume, preferably more!
 

Ordering Programmes on DVD:

Please send a cheque (in Sterling drawn on a UK bank) for £3 payable to Mark Fry, as well as your donation, to cover the cost of media and P&P.

Send your cheque/PO and a clear list of the Volumes that you want, to this address:

Steam Age Pictures
40 St Giles
Bletchingdon
KIDLINGTON
Oxon
OX5 3BX
NB: Don't forget to include your name and address, so that I can send you the programmes, and a phone number or e-mail address, so that I can contact you if necessary.
 

Ordering Programmes on Tape:

Please get in touch by post or e-mail.
 

A Note About Recordable DVDs

I normally use DVD-R. These discs are compatible with about 85% of DVD players. (It's mostly the older ones that cause problems.) I test all discs that I produce in a Philips DVD player / recorder before despatch. If you find that one of my discs will not play in your DVD player, please return it within 28 days*; I can offer two alternatives:
  1. the same programmes on a DVD+R disc;
  2. a refund of your donation* and the price of the disc;
DVD+R discs are also compatible with about 85% of DVD players, but because the technology is slightly different they will often play in machines that reject DVD-R discs, and vice versa.

* Please note that I will forward all donations 28 days after posting your disc. Donations cannot be returned after that time.

This is not a commercial service and no guarantees express or implicit are offered

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Useful Links

Here are some links to web sites that I find particularly useful. I make no warranties about the contents, but I've not been disappointed so far...

Railways

Video and DVDs Pinnacle Liquid Edition, and its successor Avid Liquid, are very powerful and can be a joy to use, but very demanding of the host PC. It can be difficult to get them working correctly. These discussion boards, run by users for users, are invaluable for getting the best from this mercurial software, especially since Avid themselves are concentrating on their "Next Generation" video editor that will eventually replace Liquid (though who knows when?): In June 2008, I began a few experiments with my HDV camera, to see to what extent I can make it mimic the "look" of my old XM1. I have written it up as I have progressed (or not!), and you can read about it here.

If you are not a computer specialist (and even if you are) it's great to have a PC built and supported by people who are both computer experts and video experts. For this reason, I bought my latest machine from these people:


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this page updated 10/1/2010