Great Railway Journeys

Infobox Television
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show_name = Great Railway Journeys


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format = Travel
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runtime = 50 or 60 min
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country = UK
network = BBC Two
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first_aired = 1980
last_aired = 1999
num_episodes = 27
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"Great Railway Journeys", originally titled "Great Railway Journeys of the World", is a recurring series of travel documentaries produced by BBC Television. The premise of each programme is that the presenter, typically a well-known figure from the arts or media, would make a journey by train, usually through a country or to a destination to which they had a personal connection. There were four series broadcast on BBC Two between 1980 and 1999, with the shorter series title being used for all but the first.

eries

eries 1: "Great Railway Journeys of the World" (1980)

Episode summary for Series 1: [ [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/series/4600 "Great Railway Journeys of the World" at BFI Film & TV database] ]

eries 4: "Great Railway Journeys" (1999)

Episode summary for Series 4: [ [http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/series/23227 "Great Railway Journeys" at BFI Film & TV Database] ]

DVD and Books

Although there have been no complete series of "Great Railway Journeys" released on DVD, Michael Palin's 1980 and 1994 programmes are available individually (BBCDVD1626) and as part of a box set of his collected travel documentaries, "The Michael Palin Collection" (BBCDVD2214).

Books have been published to accompany the first three series, with a chapter by each of the presenters on their particular journey:

* Frayn, M. et al (1981), "Great Railway Journeys of the World", BBC Books, hardcover, ISBN 0-563-17903-1
* Anderson, C. et al (1994), "Great Railway Journeys", BBC Books, hardcover, ISBN 0-563-36944-2
* Allen, B. et al (1996), "More Great Railway Journeys", BBC Books, hardcover, ISBN 0-563-38717-3

Great Little Railways

In 1983 the BBC made a further series on rail travel (entitled "Great Little Railways"), this time exclusively featuring narrow gauge railways. [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1134890/]
*Episode 1: "The Gold Rush Line" (first transmitted on 15 February 1983). Featuring the White Pass and Yukon Railroad in Alaska. Presented by Simon Hoggart.
*Episode 2: "The Other Poland" (first transmitted on 22 February 1983). Presented by Brian Blessed.
*Episode 3: "Slow train to Olympia" (first transmitted on 1 March 1983). Athens to Olympia by train. Presented by Michael Wood.
*Episode 4: "Dragons of Sugar Island" (first transmitted on 8 March 1983). Shot in the Philippines. Presented by Colin Garratt.
*Episode 5: "Lines of Dreams" (first transmitted on 15 March 1983). Featuring railways in India.
*Episode 6: "Journey to the Land Behind the Mountains" (first transmitted on 22 March 1983). The Douro Valley in Portugal. Presented by Ray Gosling.
*Episode 7: "The Good and Quick" (first transmitted on 29 March 1983). The Quayaquil-Quito Railway in Ecuador. Presented by John Shrapnel.

External links

* [http://www.tvfactual.co.uk/great_railway_journeys_of_the_wo.htm Series 1 at www.tvfactual.co.uk]
* [http://www.tvfactual.co.uk/great_railway_journeys.htm Series 2 at www.tvfactual.co.uk]
* [http://www.tvfactual.co.uk/more_great_railway_journeys.htm Series 3 at www.tvfactual.co.uk]
* [http://www.tvfactual.co.uk/great_railway_journeys_4.htm Series 4 at www.tvfactual.co.uk]

References