The advert was filmed in September 1988, and featured aerial shots of famous structures including the
Forth,
Tyne and
Saltash bridges, that – although impressive – made it very expensive to produce. crosses the
Royal Albert Bridge The opening shot is of a
Travelling Post Office, as Tom Courtenay begins to recite Auden's poem: This is the Night Mail crossing the border, bringing the cheque and the postal order. Letters for the rich, letters for the poor, the shop at the corner and the girl next door. Pulling up Beattock a steady climb, the gradient's against her, but she's on time. Courtenay then breaks from the original verse as the video goes on to detail British Rail's freight operations: Passing the shunter intent on its toil, moving the coke and the coal and the oil. Girders for bridges, plastic for fridges. Bricks for the site are required by tonight. Grimy and grey is the engine's reflection, down to the docks for the metal collection. The narration then stops as a montage of aerial shots set to Vangelis' score is shown. The voiceover then restarts with a commentary of commuter trains, including the newly introduced
Class 442 Wessex Electrics: Passenger trains full of commuters, bound for the office to work in computers. The teacher, the doctor, the actor in farce, the typist, the banker, the judge in first class. Reading
The Times with the crossword to do, returning at night on the six forty-two. The advert then ends with a shot of disembarking passengers, and a title card with the slogan ''"Britain's Railway"''. == Release ==