John Schlesinger's Terminus short film-what's not in it

[theblackferret]

This award-winning 1961 short film(34 mins) looks at Waterloo Station over a 24-hour period.

Watched it again last night & noticed, that in amongst the beehives on the station roof, plus the main signal-box & left-luggage office(sorry,cavernous vaults) cats, not a single pigeon was in view. I doubt whether Minnie,the Signal-Box cat, could have cleared them alone, even with her authoritarian air, because the un-named tabby & white left-luggage cat looked suitably laid back enough to be unable to catch a cold, let alone a bird, so, where do you think they were?

Mrs tbf vouchsafed the following:

A) The predominant steam haulage & their blowing-off smoke into the rafters would have make it an uncomfortable roost for pigeons, possibly even toxic with all that carbon.

B) Were there any food outlets on the concourse itself at that time, as opposed to cafeterias,restaurants,snack-bars & bars all with inside eating?

C) Perhaps there just weren't as many of our feathered friends around that bit of London back then.

Would love to hear your views on this.

[selbiehouse]

Terminus is an interesting film.  The lack of pigeons is an interesting point.  No doubt locos blowing off would have deterred them.   As I recall I don't think that there were food outlets other than the inside eating.  Things were still done properly and they hadn't turned main line station concourses into funfairs - that was yet to come!

[theblackferret]

May 28, 2024 17:04:02 GMT selbiehouse said:

Terminus is an interesting film.  The lack of pigeons is an interesting point.  No doubt locos blowing off would have deterred them.   As I recall I don't think that there were food outlets other than the inside eating.  Things were still done properly and they hadn't turned main line station concourses into funfairs - that was yet to come!

Terminus turned up on the latest volume of British Transport Commission films I acquired-I already had it separately.

Other films on this & the previous three volumes revealed one outside snack-trolley-in Glyn Houston's Letter To Wales(1960) at Paddington around 10 pm and possibly intended as much for railway staff as passengers,as it was well tucked away.

I have, however, found a pigeon-I Am A Litter Basket from the previous year:



1:33 in-looks suspiciously like one,although the surreal touches here mean you can never be sure!

And that, from the timetable board at 00:18 in was probably filmed at Broad Street on a Sunday & if there was one London Terminus that, in 1959, might have also been a bit more bereft of steam services than most, Broad Street would be a leading contender.

[selbiehouse]

It comes back to me now there were mobile snack trolleys which were sometimes to be found on the platforms.

[theblackferret]

May 29, 2024 21:08:29 GMT selbiehouse said:

It comes back to me now there were mobile snack trolleys which were sometimes to be found on the platforms.

Wow! Mrs tbf has just started her LT Museum Waterloo Station 1848-1948 jigsaw tonight & there's a lady in a green tabard visible on the cover's top panel pushing what looks like a mobile snack trolley, and then in a white tabard or coat on the bottom panel trolley-pushing again.

In neither case are pigeons buying sandwiches from her-can't win 'em all!

[brigham]

No pigeons on the jigsaw. But is there a mouse?

[Chris W]

An option is one of these were used to clear our smaller pooping feathered friends from Waterloo station in the days beforehand...
Image 239 by Chris Westcott, on Flickr

Image captured durig the Upminster Open Day of 2009...

Birds of prey have been used by LT/LU to clear depot roofing areas in the past... hence being on display/present during the railway event

[towerman]

Pre H&S days they used to go round with an air rifle.