Filming and Photography

We are open for business to photography, film, and TV (both factual and drama) and have a track record in all these media.

Our tariffs reflect the variety of demands that these different scales of operation require. Student photographer or film-maker? Big-budget studio feature film? You are all welcome and we have the facilities to accommodate all your needs.

Don’t forget that if we don’t have the locos or carriages which you want, here on our railway, they can still be brought, either via our connection with the mainline railway or on a road low-loader.

DMUs were introduced by British Railways from 1954 to all regions except the Southern which had been gradually and extensively electrified since 1903. They were brought to secondary routes, suburban services, and branch lines to replace loco-hauled trains. Following the Modernisation Plan of 1955, diesel locomotives also started to replace steam for hauling long-distance expresses, although ironically the last steam locomotive, Evening Star, was built as late as 1960, for ‘express’ freight purposes.

The Class 108 DMUs based with us at the Dean Forest Railway were built in Derby from 1958 to 1961 and withdrawn from mainline service between 1991 and 1993, along with DMUs generally. Their green livery is how DMUs were styled from the outset until the 1960s’ BR corporate identity plan introduced blue and blue/grey as a universal colour scheme, the appellation ‘British Rail’ and the still current double-arrow logo.

The following is from http://preserved.railcar.co.uk/Class108.html

Class 108s have been one of the most successful DMU classes, both in British Railways days and in preservation. They were the “standard” DMU, built by BR itself (at Derby) and were the final design that was piloted by the earlier Derby Lightweight class. Their corrosion-free aluminium bodies have made Class 108s ideally suited to the preservation life of long periods stood still stabled in the open air.

Most Class 108s in preservation were withdrawn in the early 1990s and were the first class of DMU to be preserved in very large numbers. This was partially due to BR’s decision to offer this class as the standard DMU for heritage buyers. Consequently, a large number were saved and they formed the backbone of the heritage scene in the 1990s and the first part of the early 2000s. It was only the withdrawals of the Class 101s and Class 117s in the mid-2000s that rivalled the numbers of 108s on heritage railways.

Many 108s have been running “as withdrawn” as their good condition upon preservation meant most could be launched immediately into traffic. However, 15 years on and the wear is now starting to take its toll, with corrosion around the (steel) cabs developing. Luckily, however, enough railways and groups are now investing heavily in these vehicles to enable them to continue to operate in preservation.

There are several operational diesel locomotives at the Dean Forest Railway (see our Diesel Locomotives page for up to date information on any visitors or changes to locomotive availability).

The Class 14 0-6-0 diesel-hydraulic locomotives D9555 and D9521 date from 1964 to 1965, 56 being built for short freight trips or shunting. Becoming redundant as early as 1968 to 1970 when their intended purpose expired, they were either scrapped or sold off into industry for use on sites such as coal mines (as with ours), steelworks, quarries, and oil refineries. They make ideal workhorses on heritage railways with their modest but perfectly adequate power and dual-control cabs. Currently only D9521 is at the railway, as D9555 is undergoing major works.

Class 73 no. E6003 (73003) ‘Sir Herbert Walker’ is a ‘JA’ type Class 73/0. Built at Eastleigh works in 1962, these innovative diesels were one of the first bi-mode (meaning that it can be powered it two ways) locomotives ever built. The locomotives were primarily built to operate on Electric power which they’d collect via the Southern Region 3rd Rail collector shoes mounted on their bogies. To operate on un-electrified branches and in yards, they were fitted with an English Electric 4-Cylinder diesel engine. A very successful design, Class 73’s still operate on the mainline railway today. E6003 was named ‘Sir Herbert Walker’ in March 1993, after the Southern Railways former General Manager of 1923-1937.

We also have two diesel-electric shunting locos, Class 08 no. 08769 and Class 09 no. 09106, mostly used for yard duties at Norchard and maintenance trips up the line. The 08 class totaled 996, built between 1952 and 1962, more numerous than any other class of loco with several still in service on the mainline and in industrial sites. Gladys was built in 1960 and withdrawn from active service with BR in 1989. Ten years later it arrived with us, being used over the previous decade for training at the Moreton-in-the-Marsh Fire Training College. The 08s have just over half the power of our Class 14s shown above. The Class 09 was an evolution from the Class 08, which were limited to a top speed of 15mph. The requirement for a faster shunter resulted in the Class 09 which were geared for a slightly higher top speed (27.5mph) traded off against a lower tractive effort. 09106 was built as D3927 in 1961 and became 08759 when TOPS numbering was introduced. It received the 09/1 conversion work in 1993, becoming the Class 09 locomotive we know today. Most recently the locomotive earned a regular keep at Cardiff Tidal Sidings, shunting steel trains!

NB: other steam and diesel locomotives operate on the Dean Forest Railway from time to time, under a loan from private owners or organizations such as the Dean Forest Diesel Association.