Filmed in 1959 in France. Footage of the French Express train 'Le Mistral', showing steam locomotive led train and electric train. Steam locomotive with 'Mistral' nameplate on front, at Nice-Ville station, driver and fireman in cab, shots taken from the driver's cab window and inside the cab, train journey along the Mediterranean coast, views of the beach, passing over viaduct, Marseille Saint Charles station, Avignon station, Lyon Perrache station, shots of 'Mistral' electric train, railway level crossing, Macon station, interior shots of kitchen and dining car. A film made for Railway Roundabout BBC TV, by John Adams and Patrick Whitehouse. This is the master film reel, colour (original footage shot by John Adams and Patrick Whitehouse) and black and white (footage reused from pre-existing SNCF film), silent. Duration: 7 minutes

This film is part of the Railway Roundabout collection donated by the makers of the programme, John Adams and Patrick Whitehouse. They produced films on contemporary British and foreign railways for the BBC Children's programme 'Railway Roundabout, broadcast monthly between 1958 and 1962 on BBC Television. The commentary was created and broadcast live, so the original films in the collection are silent. The Railway Roundabout collection includes the original masters, prints, some offcuts and working material for Railway Roundabout programmes as well as other films (non-Railway Roundabout) made by the John Adams and Patrick Whitehouse and a small number of films made by others. The collection also includes the original un-edited audio recordings made between 1960 and 1965 by John Adams and Patrick Whitehouse for the BBC radio programme Railway Roundup. Additionally, John Adams and Patrick Whitehouse were both photographers, their respective photographic collections are held by the National Railway Museum. This film is titled 'Le Mistral: Nice to Paris' on title frame on film and 'The "Mistral"' on Railway Roundabout 16mm masters list and on BBC Programme Index. First broadcast on 16 March 1960 on BBC Television. This film includes footage extracted from a black and white non-fiction film 'Mistral' produced by SNCF (French Railways) in the 1950s. The Mistral train was introduced in 1950 it was operated by the Société Nationale des Chemins de fer français ("French National Railway Corporation") (SNCF), service between Paris (Gare de Lyon), Marseille (Saint-Charles) and Nice-Ville.