Trailer for the USATC S160s episode of SLIPs detailing the American built 2-8-0's that have proven popular in British preservation.
Today though, I want to highlight one series and its spin offs in particular; Chris Eden Green's Steam Locos in Profile (SLIPs) and its spin off series Sole SLIP and Gauge the Issue. I (and probably countless other American railfans) got a little taste for British railroading and preservation thanks to a certain book & TV series I watched as a child staring a certain blue 0-6-0T locomotive... and its been hard to brush off that appeal of the country that served as the birthplace of steam railroading. SLIPs is a documentary style series that focuses on Britain's preserved steam locomotive classes narrated by Chris. The footage is rather well shot, and oftentimes shows multiple examples of the same locomotive class in action. Most of the older episodes, are available exclusively for purchase online or on a DVD, while the newer episodes are free on YouTube. The quality of the series I feel justifies the purchase to watch the older episodes. Each episode takes its focus on one particular class of engine, and its history in service and preservation.
A comparison of Britain with the western United States shows the type of tight compact geography that would make SLIPs work in Britain, but be highly impractical in the United States.
First off, this is the type of series which really could have only originated on the preservation focused and compact British islands. As much as I would love to see SLIPs be imitated in America, it would be near impossible due to geography alone. To point out my own 2019 railfan trips across the western USA, I could have covered the entirety of Britain with that kind of mileage; where-as I was only able to see a very small sample of the railroad museums in America. Britain in comparison is very compact, with plenty of road and public transportation options to reach countless heritage railways and museums all in one area. I often think of northern Wales as the holy Mecca of steam railroading when I look on a map and try and count every single heritage operation just surrounding the Snowdonia National Park. Its hard not to feel a bit envious of Britain's close together and robust rail preservation scene!
Second, Britain's own unique railway history makes it far easier to homogenize the preserved locomotives into railway specific classes. Prior to nationalization, most of Britain was operated by "The Big Four;" four private railroads with their own unique locomotive classes and styles, while the advent of British Rail brought a single company to control the entire mainline operations on the island. Thanks to the preservation efforts, particularly from the many locomotives rescued from the Barry Scrapyard; its not uncommon for a single locomotive class in Britain to have nearly a dozen survivors or more in the present day. A far cry from the States were iconic classes of engines such as the Challenger only have two surviving examples (and both from Union Pacific with all other railroad's Challengers scrapped).
The spin off series Sole SLIP provides the opportunity to review rarer and one-off locomotives that don't have enough material to justify a full episode length SLIPs feature.
As such SLIPs takes advantage of this by filming many locomotives of a same class in action on various railways (most of them just a day trip away for Chris and his film crew); then editing the footage together to create a cohesive documentary style episode. The narration for the episodes owes a bit of influence to another British staple... Top Gear. We're talking about the golden era of Clarkson, Hammond, May in particular and their presentation style. Chris's narration for SLIPs; much like the best years of Top Gear is information dense, sprinkled with a dose of dry and sometimes crass British humor. It gives the show a notable personality that many other railfan films sorely lack.
The Top Gear style comes in full influence in the sister series Gauge the Issue which is a lower budget editorial series. Chris let's his opinions and narration do all the talking; using his own footage and stock photos to discuss preservation topics, review rail related material and give an additional dose of perspective to his primary documentary focused SLIPs. If SLIPs is like Top Gear's road testing and challenge segments, then Gauge the Issue is most like Top Gear's studio segments; minus the obligatory celebrity interviews. While SLIPs is very British focused, Gauge the Issue allows the occasional discourse into international subjects. In one instance Chris even spoofs the railfan's who want a modern replica of an E2 0-6-0T (the model Thomas the Tank Engine is based on) by pointing out the much more interesting locomotives that survive in the present age including our own Big Boy. Another favorite Gauge the Issue episode of mine discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the growing trend of new build steam locomotives particularly following the success of the A1 Steam Trust's Tornado.
Ultimately what elevates SLIPs and its sister series for me, is Chris being able to inflect his personality to his channel. This helps elevate it above many of the more monotonous presentations of trackside video that populate YouTube and other social media platforms. Compared to the old guard of railroad videos such as Pentrex that are either narrator-less or have a dull monotone narration; this extra bit of personality helps SLIPs take on an identity of its own.
SLIPs is the type of series I wish could exist in America, but as I mentioned already our geographic challenges and wildly different preservation attitude would make a SLIPs-like series a much more daunting task in the United States. As such, SLIPs still feels uniquely British; taking advantage of all the historic and geographic influences that make British railroading unique. I recommend this series highly for any railfan interested in British rail preservation, and looking for an example of what is possible with high production values in a railfan series.
Now, lets blow up some Pacers:
- Jacob Lyman
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