Category Archives: Uncategorized

University of Television

Posted on December 23, 2011 by Paul Rennie

There was an interesting TV film recently about the post-war shift from steam to diesel and electric power. You can watch the film on BBC iplayer, herehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00dzzdc/Timeshift_Series_8_The_Last_Days_of_Steam/ And you can find out more about train culture, herehttp://buttes-chaumont.blogspot.com/2007/07/ian-allan-abc-books.html

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Bad Day at Black Rock (Cinema)

Posted on December 17, 2011 by Paul Rennie

This film-still shows Spencer Tracy by the tracks in the John Sturges film, Bad Day at Black Rock (1955). The film combines elements of the western and film noir genres. It’s got a terrific title sequence of the huge diesel-powered … Continue reading →

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The City of the Future

Posted on November 20, 2011 by Paul Rennie

This is a post that looks back to the first week of CSM’s School of Communication, Product and Spatial Design Bigger Picture unit. This is a cross-school element for all stage two students. The unit kicked off with a series of … Continue reading →

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Train Crash

Posted on October 8, 2011 by Paul Rennie

This is a post about accidents…on the tracks. A freight train has derailed and exploded in the USA. The BBC covered the story, here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15226940 Luckily no one was hurt. That’s amazing. I’ve already posted about the idea of safety … Continue reading →

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Exquisite Detail (model trains, trees, and realism)

Posted on October 2, 2011 by Paul Rennie

This is a post about model railways. The Folkestone Model Engineering Society held their annual exhibition at the week-end. It was their 40th birthday and they pulled out all the stops… The show comprises lots of stands with people selling … Continue reading →

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Railway Lithography (posters)

Posted on September 16, 2011 by Paul Rennie

This is a post about the railways and lithography. It’s also about the relationship between between industry and printing and communication. Specifically, it’s a post about railway posters. Some of you will know that I am interested in the history … Continue reading →

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Safety and Control (posters)

Posted on September 11, 2011 by Paul Rennie

This is a post about safety and railways. You might be wondering why it’s beginning with a picture of Doris Day as Calamity Jane? Well, at a crucial moment in her career Doris was involved in a a car accident. … Continue reading →

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Steam, Steel, and Stars (the night-time railway photographs of O Winston Link)

Posted on September 2, 2011 by Paul Rennie

This is a post about trains and photography; black and white photography; night-time, black and white photography from the USA during the 1950s. This is a post about O Winston Link. Link was born in New York during 1914. His … Continue reading →

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Once Upon a Train Track in the West…(cinema)

Posted on August 18, 2011 by Paul Rennie

This is a post about cinema, the wild west, and trains. There are lots of films about the history of the wild west and many of those films include railway trains. Usually, the train is high-jacked or robbed, or chased … Continue reading →

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Food Train (Three Courses)

Posted on August 10, 2011 by Paul Rennie

This is a post about food, catering, fine dining, and trains. For those of you old enough to remember, the “British Rail sandwich” was a thing of legend – not good. It wasn’t always like that. This is the dining … Continue reading →

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