The Flockton Flyer is a children's television series made by Southern Television for the ITV network. It was a popular programme, which ran to two series, and provided early screen appearances for upcoming actors such as Peter Duncan and Gwyneth Strong, as well as some well-known 1970s classical and situation comedy actors.
Overview The two series follow the adventures of the Carter family, as they struggle to re-open and run the old Flockton to Lane End branch railway, closed by British Rail five years previously. At the time of production (1976), many newly closed railway branch lines were being bought and preserved by local railway preservation societies, which has given rise to an extensive network of heritage railways in the United Kingdom.
The railway is said to have very limited rolling stock – one locomotive (restoration of which was completed in episode 1), one passenger coach (restoration of which was completed in episode 3), several freight vehicles (three are specifically mentioned and featured – an open wagon, a box van, and a tanker truck), and a hand-pumped inspection truck. Despite this plotline, large amounts of other rolling stock are regularly seen in the background of shots – multiple passenger coaches, various freight vehicles, a second steam tank locomotive (in steam) in the opening shots of episode 1, a diesel multiple unit in certain scenes, including the arrival of the Flockton Flyer to meet the road ambulance in episode 4, and a large GWR steam engine under tarpaulin sheeting at Flockton in episode 5. Although these other vehicles are not explained away in the script, there are various references to the nearby "mainline railway", and it may perhaps be assumed that shots involving otherwise unexplained rolling stock are shots of the Flockton line meeting the mainline railway. The direct connection of the two is confirmed by the storyline of episode 5 in the first series.
Broadcast dates There were two series, each of six episodes. Series 1 was first transmitted in spring 1977, and series 2 followed in early 1978. Programmes were shown at 4:45 pm on Monday afternoons.
Series 1 was repeated on ITV on Friday afternoons, commencing 8 September 1978; series 2 was repeated on Friday afternoons, commencing 7 December 1979, and running into January 1980.
Both series were again repeated on The Children's Channel, on cable TV in Britain during the early 1990s. Dubbed versions of the programmes were shown on Dutch and German TV stations.
In 2010, reruns of The Flockton Flyer were shown on the now-defunct British satellite television channel Film 24.
In August and September 2015, reruns of the series were shown on UK satellite channel Talking Pictures TV. Also repeated as a rerun from 1 December 2025 again on UK Freeview channel 82 Talking Pictures TV.
Location
Location filming, during 1976 and 1977, was done on the newly re-opened West Somerset Railway, using its engines and other rolling stock.
The locomotive
The star of the show was the steam locomotive that gave the series its name. Flockton Flyer was, in reality, an ex-Great Western Railway 0-6-0PT (pannier tank), 6400 Class no. 6412, built in 1934. This class was fitted with equipment for working push–pull trains. No. 6412 was once based at Gloucester loco shed and, aside from its many years of reliable operation on local branch lines, operated the last passenger train to Monmouth over the Wye Valley Railway in 1959, and the final Chalford Shuttle autotrain service between Gloucester and Chalford in 1962.
After being sold into private ownership for preservation, this locomotive was one of the first on the West Somerset Railway, arriving in 1976, and taking part in the opening ceremony a few days later. It was found useful for the lighter-loaded trains on the Minehead Branch line; it also visited some other preserved railways.
Owned by the West Somerset Railway Association, No. 6412 remained on the heritage railway for 32 years. During that time, the success of the railway led to the use of longer and heavier trains – beyond the capability of a pannier tank – so Association members decided, reluctantly, to sell it. On 8 January 2009, part-dismantled for a major overhaul, 6412 was transferred by road to the South Devon Railway, the new owners, where it still resided until 2025. It is now owned by West Somerset Railway.
The on-screen title for series 1 was The Flockton Flyer, but for series 2 it had become Flockton Flyer because railway enthusiasts had pointed out that locomotive names do not take "the" before them (e.g. Mallard and Flying Scotsman, not The Mallard and The Flying Scotsman).
Episodes (from film and novel) Script writer Peter Whitbread wrote a total of 17 episodes, of which 12 were filmed (6 in series one, and 6 in series two). Whitbread, who died following a road traffic accident in 2004, is best remembered as a scriptwriter, though he also acted and directed; he was not a novelist. The publication in the summer of 1977 of a Flockton Flyer children's novel appears to have been merely the adaptation of 6 storylines intended for filming, including a script with all the hallmarks of a Christmas Special edition. The novel was published by Arrow Books and Look-in Books, the latter being a trading name of a subsidiary of ITV. The novel's first and second chapters were essentially the script of filmed episode 1.1, while the seventh and final chapter was the script of episode 1.6; however, the other four chapters (numbered 3, 4, 5, and 6) were self-contained storylines which could have formed the basis of additional filmed episodes, but were never actually recorded. The total of 17 episodes written includes the 12 filmed, the additional 4 from the novel, and one other episode which was written in detail, with scripts and production notes issued to cast and crew, but subsequently abandoned; see below (episode 2.X) for details.
Series 1 (1977) No.Episode NameBroadcast DatePlot OverviewSeries One 1.1 Be It Ever So Humble 1977-04-18 The Carter family are introduced. They are evicted from their home and work, where they ran a petrol station, as tenants. Bob Carter (the father) is a volunteer in the local railway preservation society and agrees that he and his family will undertake the running of the restored line, in return for taking up residence in Flockton station. Bill Jelly is introduced as a local tramp, living in a nearby platelayers' lineside hut. The railway's 4-wheeled open freight truck is used to transport the Carter family's possessions to Flockton. 1.2 Game Set and Match 1977-04-25 Disaster is narrowly averted when the Flockton Flyer steams towards a tree deliberately felled across the line. In attempting to move it, Bob Carter is injured. A nearby farmer rescues him, but also says he did it as a protest, fearing that a restored train service will threaten his cattle, wandering down his track, which crosses the railway line between his fields, in search of water during the drought. The railway's 4-wheeled water tank truck is used to bring gallons of water to the thirsty cattle, and relations are restored. 1.3 Pull the Other One 1977-05-02 Ghosts appear to be haunting both Flockton station and Jelly's hut. At Flockton the ghosts turn out to be tearaway teenage vandal Don Davis. Having been caught, he is befriended, and becomes a volunteer on the railway. The ghosts at Jelly's hut appear real, however, and a local vicar is called upon to perform an exorcism (the camera remains outside the hut during the 15-minute ceremony, owing to 1970's ITV regulations on children's programming). This clergyman also runs a hostel for homeless boys, a hostel of which Don Davis is a resident; this leads the Carters to put him up for a few days in their home as they befriend him. 1.4 Under the Circumstances 1977-05-09 The excitement on the railway is the reinstatement of the telegraph system, allowing communication between the various stations, signal boxes, and the Carters' home. The system is immediately used by Commander Frost to notify the Carters of a traffic accident – there has been a pile-up on one of the railway's level crossings. The Flockton Flyer returns to Flockton to collect medical supplies, blankets, the family, and the railway's 4-wheeled box van, which is to serve as a makeshift ambulance. Meanwhile, elder daughter Jan, out marking the route of the new nature trail, stumbles upon an injured woman, and having taken her to shelter spends the rest of the episode fruitlessly dashing back and forth attempting to get help – her failure largely due to everyone dealing with the other, more serious emergency. Meanwhile, the lady in question is rescued by Bill Jelly. By 1970s standards it is high drama when a somewhat primitive motor ambulance (with two-tone horns blaring) is seen speeding down a station platform to rendezvous with the Flockton Flyer and remove casualties. Finally the injured lady is identified as a well-known writer and archaeologist, and she agrees to officially open the new nature trail. The exhausted Jan receives no thanks for her efforts, but is criticised for having failed to produce the promised assistance. 1.5 Oo Do You Suppose Will Get the Medal? 1977-05-16 The Bristol Mail has been held up at gunpoint on the mainline, and as the police will take a long time to arrive, the train has been diverted onto the Flockton branch. The episode involves much furious use of the hand-pumped inspection truck by Jelly and the Commander, and a much larger than usual additional cast. These additional roles include not only the three robbers, and the driver of the Bristol Mail, but also a troop of mounted police who have a rousing gallop scene set to classical music (Vaughan Williams' Overture to the Wasps) as they ride into the final scenes to save the day. They find the robbers already thwarted by the Carter family, Bill Jelly, and the Commander. The police are said to have come from "Nutley", which is actually the name of the series producer, Colin Nutley. Some scenes were filmed in Dunster, including views of Dunster Castle. 1.6 I Name This Ship 1977-05-23 The grand opening of the restored Flockton to Lane End Railway. The storyline revolves around two features – firstly, the frantic preparations at Flockton for the grand opening, including the provision of refreshments and the arrival of a brass band with an overly nervous conductor in charge – secondly, the desire of Commander Frost to drive the engine (for which he is not qualified), which proves an uncontrollable desire. Having intended to drive the engine along the platform, the Commander finds himself unable to stop the locomotive and moving at speed down the line; ultimately his progress is stopped by Jan and Bill when they arrange a controlled collision to stop the engine. Bill and some railway volunteers arrive on the hand-pumped cart, but a passing quartet of shire horses are needed to pull the Flockton Flyer free of the debris. In the single most serious continuity error of the entire series, during the attempts to recover the crashed locomotive, the action returns briefly to Flockton Station, where there is a general panic about the whereabouts of the locomotive – unfortunately the engine, complete with its Flockton Flyer headboard, is clearly visible standing at the platform edge behind the characters. Finally the engine is named by Frost's wife, and the band plays Sir Edward Elgar's triumphant Land of Hope and Glory as the first public train pulls away from the station.
Series 2 (1978)