The ‘Power Hour’ series originally began life not as a series but as a
‘one off’ programme. Crammed full of locos working at full tilt, often
accompanied by some serious exhaust emissions, the ‘Power Hour’
programme (which was released in 1999) proved so popular that we were
inundated with requests for a sequel. ‘Power Hour 2’ duly appeared three
years later and contained the same noise and clag ingredients as its
predecessor – as did a third programme released in 2005. As PH3 was the
first to appear on DVD we took the opportunity of including PH1 and PH2
as bonus features. That’s a whopping three hours on one DVD! Subsequent
programmes followed as and when
we had enough material that we
considered worthy of inclusion. Although new releases are infrequent, by
the summer of 2017 the series totalled seven programmes. Although the
first three were an hour long, by the time we fully switched to
releasing titles only on DVD, we felt that 60 minutes was a little on
the short side. Therefore, from ‘Power Hour 4’ each programme is 90
minutes long – hence the addition of ‘and a half’ after each respective
title.
All the featured scenes have been filmed across the country on the
national rail network. There are no preserved or heritage lines here –
but there are occasional shots from abroad featuring former BR locos
such as Class 37s and 56s hard at work on European soil. Preserved
locomotives that have returned to the main line can also be seen – and
heard – stretching their legs on the big railway. Each edition has a
variety of loco classes; you can check each individual website page to
see exactly what locos are on each DVD. Of equal importance is the
audio, and each Power Hour has a stunning soundtrack which is best
appreciated through a good sound system. And here’s another important
factor about the series – no shots appear in any other Locomaster
programme. We save all the best thrash and clag shots for this series.
To give you an idea of the content, the images on the right are actual
stills from some of the programmes.
To sum up: if you enjoy the sight and sound of diesel locomotives being
pushed to the limit – as well as plenty of emission-busting clag – this
is the series for you! A final word – please consider your neighbours
before playing these programmes through your surround sound system.
