The Train Now Standing

The Train Now Standing

1972 - United Kingdom

In the early 1960s the Beeching Report recommended wholesale closure of little-used and unprofitable railway lines and closure of local stations along those and many other routes. In the decade that followed the report more than 4,000 miles of railway and 3,000 stations were closed. But not Burberry Halt, a decrepit stop on the Milchester line of the Great Western Railway. 

Helping to preserve this little piece of old England is the station master of 30 years standing, Hedley Green, played by the incomparable Bill Fraser, late of The Army Game and Bootsie and Snudge. Still sporting his GWR uniform and a 1933 rule book, Green has little to do other than bully his young porter Peter Pringle and ensure the station is presentable, running smoothly and ready for the three trains a day that stop here. Maintenance is low and the only thing here that is automated is an old penny chocolate machine that supplies Green with a supply free bars when kicked in the right place. A veteran of the Second World War who is comfortable with the past, uneasy with the present and suspicious of the future, the only crises Green is likely to encounter are caused by the manager Mr Potts and his eventual replacement Mr Pitts. 

The series outdoor scenes were shot at Bodiam station in East Sussex, itself a victim of successive governments' cuts, but given a makeover and made to look as good as new. Series one aired on a Saturday evening at 5.10pm from May to June, 1972. Series two, the following year, was moved to a later slot on a Sunday night (9.30pm). 

British sitcom wasn't finished with the subject after this and returned to it in 1995 with the BBC series Oh, Doctor Beeching!

TV Times Article on Ian La Frenais (1973)

Ian la Frenais article

Published on February 9th, 2019. Written by Noel Onely for Television Heaven.

Read Next...

Barney is My Darling

A married couple's uneasy attempt to adjust to married life after years apart.

Also starring Bill Fraser

The Bulldog Breed

A single series of seven comedies about Tom, the perennial optimist, as he wanders through life leaving chaos in his wake totally oblivious to the problems he causes for everyone.

Also tagged Britcom

The Adventures of Brigadier Wllington Bull

Sitcom following the adventures of a retired Army Brigadier, Garnet Wellington-Bull, a widowed career soldier who, now retired, is trying to come to terms with life on civvy street but not finding it very easy.

Also tagged Britcom

Beachcombers

Immensely popular Canadian series concerning the adventures of a professional lumber salvager and his friends in British Columbia.

Also released in 1972

Bless This House

Devised by Vince Powell and Harry Driver, Bless This House was a starring vehicle for Sid James that showed him in a new and unfamiliar light-as a family man.

Also tagged Britcom

Six Shades of Black tv series

Six single plays linked by a common theme. The hero one week became the villain next week

Also starring Bill Fraser

Citizen James

Sid James in his first TV series after Hancock. Written by Galton and Simpson.

Also tagged Britcom

My Good Woman

Wife is compulsive charity worker much to her husband's frustration.

Also released in 1972