Great Yarmouth Dockside Railway

There’s an obliging pose for the camera by a brawny and tattooed docker as his fellow workers push the freight along Yarmouth’s Rail Line.

Great Yarmouth once had a network of rail lines linking the stations with the quays so that freight traffic could be easily transported to and from the water. In this footage from the 1930s we see the dockside labourers pushing and pulling a heavy load through Yarmouth’s streets via the railway line. The filmmaker takes a particular interest in the tattoos of one of the dockers, capturing the two full arms of colourful designs, with the owner happy to pose for the camera.

This footage was filmed by Mr George Hudson, an employee of the well known Ilford Photographic Company and so had easy access to the 16mm film he captured these scenes on. The filmmaker, perhaps holidaying in Yarmouth with his family, ascends the famous Atlantis Tower, providing great high angle views looking down over the seaside town.