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Air Date:
17th
August 2008
These are the stories they tell...
It is the start of a new order on
British Railways...the advent of the diesel locomotives. Gronk, the new diesel shunter, and Hawk, the western pannier tank,
run into a spot of bother with the shunting...
Analysis:
This episode was the first in the series to be made entirely
by Simon Martin – a short, humorous episode after the drama of Episodes Eight, Nine and Ten, it made for great viewing.
Gronk, the new diesel shunter, was a welcome change from the normal, and the first indicator that from now on, the series
is going to change dramatically in outlook.
The models of the diesels at the start of the episode
are of the prototype Deltic, a class 47 diesel in British Railways two tone green, and the Brush prototype Falcon,
all of which became icons in their own right on British Railways, be it through the production of a much loved class of
diesels (the Deltics), the sheer numbers of work horses throughout the system (the class 47 and their subsequent rebuilds),
and the mystique in a short lived prototype (Falcon, the lone class 53).
Hawk's reappearance in the series was not unexpected: in fact, fans
had been clamouring for his return since his first appearance in Episode Three a year previously! With a new chassis, and
tidied paintwork, the Hawk model was returned to duty and performed flawlessly through shooting, as did the model of the 08
diesel shunter used for Gronk.
The title sequence, missing from Episode Ten, was returned
(although if you look closely at the opening screen, it reads, just above the Lion crest, “1st anniversary”)
as was the black and white sequences featuring engines of the old LNER.
Episode Eleven marked the first real
hiatus for the series, which is due to return with Episode Twelve in December 2008.
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