New Titles/Releases
The following titles were released since our last newsletter and are now in our catalogue:
RailwaysBritain's most celebrated living railway artist, John Austin, has resisted numerous requests to compile a book about his life and work - until now. This long-awaited title, beautifully produced in large format on art paper, presents 100 of his best portrayals of steam trains, each painting ... | |
RailwaysThere is nothing more charming and evocative to railway enthusiasts than a rural branch line. Most were built before the advent of motorised road transport and provided a vital lifeline for the communities served, but many of these lines inevitably declined in the age of the car - especially after ... | |
RailwaysThis route provided an alternative access from the west of the county to Norfolk's main centre of population. It served an extremely rural area via a series of surprisingly severe gradients across countryside commonly perceived to be flat. From the series Country Railway Routes | |
RailwaysThe fourth in our series of films on the East Coast Main Line in the 1960s. There is much steam coverage but this is also a story of the transition from the steam age to the diesel age when Deltics came into service followed by the HSTs. We start with the Great Northern section and Kings Cross ... | |
Newsletter Contributions
We would ask readers to send us items (words and pictures) that they feel might be of interest (newsletter@transportdiversions.com) to our readership at large. We can't promise to publish everything but will do the best we can! If you are organising a transport related event we would be happy to include a notice about it if you email details to the email address above.
FHP was founded in 1998 by Tim Martin to produce rail and travel films that entertained and informed, using the technical skills developed as marketing manager for North West Water. By mid 2011 the Ticket to Ride catalogue consists of 150 titles spread over six genres:
- Railway documentaries on European railways by geographical area
- European railfreight documentaries
- Out & About travel guides which cover specific cities or regions
- Model railway show reports from major shows across the continent.
- Between the Lines magazine style films feature European railways in bite size portions.
- Just Trains documents rail traffic at European hotspots with captions and maps.
 Railway documentaries cover individual countries or geographical areas of those counties and look at the railways, tramways, light railways and tourist railways where applicable. The story of the railway is usually built with an introduction to the country itself, sometimes with a little history before going on to chart the development of the railway. Major population centres are visited, again with some background to the town or city and the viewer is introduced to the various transport modes available. For instance the relationship between the suburban railways and the mainline trains is explored. The principle stations are visited and the facilities studied- with emphasis on ticket sales and travel information. The mainline services available are reviewed before heading out of town to watch trains in the landscape. Smaller towns in the area are also explored and any features that might be interesting to a tourist highlighted.
Freight activity in the area is also covered and where possible a visit is made to a railfreight customer: a manufacturing company such as Miele (white goods) or perhaps a port where rail transfers are made.
Railfreight documentaries scrutinize the movement of goods by rail within a specific European country: Belgium and Holland. These “professional” films are designed to be of interest to both rail enthusiasts and professionals within the rail industry. These films delve deep into the subject and are made with the specific cooperation of the rail companies involved such as RAILION or B-Cargo. Visits to major freight infrastructure assets are also included: freight classification yards, container terminals, and ports as well as the all important railfreight customers: General Motors, IKEA and others.
 Out & About travel films are practical travel guides to an individual city; Munich, Barcelona or Cologne, or to an area- Two Swiss Lakes, or a tourist activity perhaps based on a river journey- the Romantic Rhine are all good examples.
These films give an overview of the city / region that is appreciated by a more general audience. Travel to the location is important to the context of the film, and various options are reviewed, as are the travel options within the city or area and information on the types of passes that might be available. The public transport infrastructure is “tested” with a number of planned trips to locations of tourist interest. These may be quite general: the working chocolate museum in Cologne or the Toy Museum in Nuremburg are good examples of this. Some of the “trips” are to attractions of special interest to rail enthusiasts, for instance, the Dahlhausen Railway centre near Essen or the Fleischmann Centre at Schwabach.
Out & About films normally include at least one “day out” from the city, again to areas of visitor interest: Salzburg as a day out from Munich, or Tarragona from Barcelona. These trips are usually made by train, sometimes by boat.
Model Rail show reports are visits to major continental railway, and sometimes multi genre exhibitions. Model railway exhibits from the leading manufacturers, large and small clubs and individuals are all featured. Where appropriate the model and the prototype are matched together in film to increase the relevance. These films are supported with a commentary and interviews with exhibitors where appropriate.
Between the Lines Video Magazine series are railfilms in bite sized portions! Three, four or five individual “articles” are presented from across Europe. These may take the form of a mini documentary on a specific area, a visit to a tourist railway, a day with a smaller “short-line” freight railway - the TWE in Germany, a short cab-ride journey on the Norwegian “Airport Express, or a condensed report on a rail/toy show or permanent attraction such as Miniatur Wunderland.
Just Trains feature material gathered at busy European hotspots, illustrating the volume and type of rail traffic which regularly passes through. These films are not narrated but fully captioned and with maps where appropriate.
Click here for a full list of the FHP Audio Visual titles in our catalogue.
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