Category Archives: Uncategorized

Cow Catching – Keaton and Babbage and the War Machine

Posted on July 2, 2011 by Paul Rennie

This will be a post about Buster Keaton, Charles Babbage, war, silent cinema, and the machine; oh, and the railway! I’ll build it all up over a few days. The image is from Buster Keaton’s film The General (1926). Orson … Continue reading →

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Image et Son (Mitry Honneger)

Posted on June 19, 2011 by Paul Rennie

Here is a fabulous film by Jean Mitry called Pacific 231. It’s a film sequence of trains edited to the music of Arthur Honneger. The film is from 1949. This film essay is in two main parts. The introduction has … Continue reading →

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No One Got On, No One Got Off (Railway Poetry)

Posted on June 19, 2011 by Paul Rennie

Adlestrop Yes, I remember Adlestrop – The name because one afternoon Of heat the express-train drew up there Unwontendly. It was late June. The steam hissed. Someone cleared his throat. No one left and no one came (no one got … Continue reading →

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Railway Propylaeum – The Euston Arch

Posted on June 17, 2011 by Paul Rennie

This is a post about the Euston Arch. The Arch was the gateway to the old Euston Station and, in the other direction, to London. Here it is, in 1955; black and impressive. It no longer stands. The Arch was … Continue reading →

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Flying Scotsman LNER 4472

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Paul Rennie

This is a coloured photo-litho print of the LNER A3 Pacific Class Flying Scotsman. I think this was made as a carriage print – it’s about the right size in landscape format. The engine was built at Doncaster in 1923. … Continue reading →

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Over the Points

Posted on June 11, 2011 by Paul Rennie

Here’s the cover of the Southern Railway staff magazine from 1935. The design is signed with the initials VR. That’s Victor Reinganum. You can find out about him, here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Reinganum I bought this in a second-hand bookshop. It was really … Continue reading →

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Train Time

Posted on June 4, 2011 by Paul Rennie

This is post about trains and time. We’re all familiar with the idea of time as an expression of position, movement and speed. In fact, the whole universe is defined by its expansion over time. The big bang theorises the … Continue reading →

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African Railway

Posted on June 2, 2011 by Paul Rennie

There was a charming TV film last night about the Tanzania and Zambia Railroad Authority. You can watch it here http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00s6bgw/African_Railway/ The systemic dysfunction revealed in this good-natured film is testimony to the difficulties of railway planning. It’s not just … Continue reading →

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The Trains of Alfred Hitchcock

Posted on May 28, 2011 by Paul Rennie

This is a post about Hitchcock and trains. It is also a post about Hitchcock and psychoanalysis, and also about psychoanalysis, cinema and trains. The link between cinema and psychoanalysis has been described by Christian Metz and others. Cinema was … Continue reading →

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Trans Europe Express

Posted on May 27, 2011 by Paul Rennie

I have decided to focus this blog so that its theme is the cultural history of railways. We’ll begin in Europe and see how we go. Hopefully, it will become a kind of “Rail-Rover” excursion. Most people will know that … Continue reading →

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