Many rail enthusiasts were drawn to Scotland in the 1960s to record steam-hauled expresses, particularly between Glasgow and Aberdeen, but they often overlooked much of the everyday scene on Scotland’s secondary lines. This programme, filmed mainly in the early 1960s, concentrates on the lines and branches that fed both the East and West Coast Main Lines north of the border, many of which are now closed.

This nostalgic journey starts from Leeds with a railtour that, after pausing at Carlisle, proceeds to Hawick on the ‘Waverley Route’. Leaving Hawick, scenes at Jedburgh and Galashiels are followed by a journey between Edinburgh and Galashiels via Peebles. Further west, lies Dumfries on the former GSWR route to Glasgow. Here, a wide variety of steam traction is viewed, together with scenes on the Kirkcudbright Branch.

Travelling north-west, suburban scenery displaces the rural air of Dumfries as the line to Glasgow from the Clydeside resort of Gourock is traced during the last summer of steam operation. Heading eastwards from Glasgow, the Forth crossing at Throsk is the start of a journey through Alloa and Dunfermline towards the Fife rail centre at Thornton Junction, a journey that also includes views of the Charleston, Kelty and Kinglassie branches. The now-closed line from Thornton, around the Fife Coast to Anstruther, is viewed, together with industrial action on the Wemyss Private Railway before moving northwards to Forfar.

Several branch lines around Forfar are featured, followed by arrival at the ‘Granite City’, Aberdeen. From here, the 43-mile branch line to Ballater on Royal Deeside is travelled, with every station on this picturesque route recorded by the cameraman. A fitting finale to the programme is the arrival in 1961 of a railtour - appropriately headed by ex-GNSR No 49 - at Banff Bridge and Macduff, on the Grampian Region’s north coast.