Description from Lineside Video Productions

Archive video material from the mid-1980s and early 1990s provides a documentary of the British Rail coal train in action.

Motive power in the form of Classes 20, 26, 31, 37, 56, 58 and 60 are seen in action.

Runtime - 86 mins.

We begin at Warrington and Winwick Jn where we see pairs of class 20s and single class 56 heading trains to Fiddlers Ferry Power station;

Thornaby is our next stop as 60008 is seen very much in its early days of traffic on a test train formed of HEA hoppers;

Sunderland - filmed in 1990, Gateshead allocated 56s work the coal trains;

The South of England is covered as we witness the early days of class 60-hauled MGR coal trains to Didcot Power station; a class 56 and 60-hauled MGRs at Cheltenham, 58s at Bedford and 31159 on hoppers through Bletchley;

Scotland is visited where class 26s are seen at Cockenzie Power station, class 20s at Kincardine Colliery and triple-headed 37s leaving Mossend Yard in 1991;

Newport features class 37s and 56s on coal trains to and from Llanwern Steel works, including scenes of trains in the station and crossing the main river bridge to the east;

Stenson Jn (south of Derby) features pairs of class 20s on trains to Willington Power station, class 58s on trains to Didcot as well as class 60s on other coal workings;

a journey is made to the Yorkshire coalfields around Whitley Bridge, next to Eggborough Power station and to south Milford next to the now closed Selby complex - class 56s dominate here both in terms of sight but also sound!

Crewe and Chesterfield are the next location as 20s and 56s are sen on more power station and domestic coal flows;

the busy lines through Doncaster and Worksop are included with 56s and 58s providing the power;

and finally we visit Cardiff where heavyweight 37s abound before we head off to Stormy Bank where class 56s 'storm' their way up the grade!