Original sound recording on 1/4 inch reel-to-reel magnetic audio tape, recorded by John Burnie in the 1960s. Side 1: unidentified steam train recordings. Side 2: recording of BBC radio broadcast from 11/02/1965, ‘The Awful Calamity’ story told by Eleanor Ransome (about the 1st railway death, William Huskisson, golden snuffbox offered by widow Mrs Huskisson to Doctor Ransome who tried to rescue Huskinson on the day). Duration: 37 minutes on each side.

John Burnie (1946-2009) was an engineer and a lifelong railway enthusiast. He was a member of the Scottish Railway Preservation Society and he contributed to the development of the Scottish Railway Museum at Bo’ness, where he became a curator. The films and sound recordings were made mostly in the 1960s, when John and his father travelled around the UK on steam trains and John made films of these journeys.