We’ve showed you ancient video of locomotives being built before but none of those films have been near as good as this one. The film follows the construction of engine 6207, a “Princess Royal” class locomotive that was, for its day, the pinnacle of technology and British industrial might. The reason that this video beats the pants off other locomotive construction films we have run in the past is the fact that the footage is of amazing clarity and the narrator takes us through the most interesting processes. Things being forged, machined, and finished in the factory which looks at lot like a scene from Dante’s Inferno adds a lot to the viewing experience. We can’t begin to imagine how hellacious the conditions were for the workers. They’re handling these huge pieces of white hot steel, feeding them into massive hammers and presses, and working within yards of the hottest furnaces on Earth. There is a reference made to OSHA at the beginning of the film. We’re not sure what the British equivalent is to that outfit, but we’re positive that they didn’t exist in ’35.

Outside of the actual factory work, there’s footage of guys paging through huge books of blueprints, another shot of the “parts book” that the engineers signed off on with each and every component needed to make the massive machine. That sucker is well over 300 pages and we don’t think it was doubled spaced. Unless we missed it, we didn’t hear the narrator give us the turn around time on the engine from start to finish, but it had to have been a pretty long process.

There’s no telling how long the engine you see built in the video actually ran for, but we suspect it was 20-25 years at the absolute most. Like the process of constructing them, steam locomotives became arcane (but beautiful) symbols of the past. It was on to diesel locomotives and modern construction techniques in factories that looked far different than this one. It sure is nice to be able to see this machine built from the comfort of your office, couch, seat on the train, or wherever you are viewing. Your experience is surely one hell of a lot better than the guys you are about to watch. These guys had it rough!

PRESS PLAY BELOW TO SEE “A STUDY IN STEEL” – AWESOME BRITISH VIDEO FROM 1935!