Over The Hills (full title:Over The Hills: The Tales Of The Penwyth Valley Railway) is an animated web series by Angry Welshman Productions.
In the Autumn of 1962, a railway that supplied the town of Llandeerdog, a small seaside town 25 miles north of Newport, had its passenger services axed by the Beeching Cuts
. What little goods transportation it could provide couldn't sustain it for long, and the line closed in late 1964 thanks to the miner strikes. The people of Penwyth Valley, after suffering through a tough winter thanks to closed roads due to snow, and a lack of railways they could use as an alternative, have decided instead to run the railways themselves.
With a board of directors appointed, consisting of Mr. Stovold, Mr. Dibden, Mr. Edmondson, Mr. Bruce, Mr. Julian, Mr. Anthony, and Mr. Davies (who becomes general manager of the line), they set out to keep the trains running so the town won't suffer like that ever again. They already have two engines in Iain the saddle tank engine, and Leslie the BR Class 03, and Mr. Davies buys an S&DJR 7F he names Dai (after the man who sold him the engine), so it seems they're already good to go.They do, however, run into competition with a bus company that was looking to provide their own services to the people of Penwyth Valley.
The hook of the series is that, while it does have the living locomotive characters you'd expect from such a series, it also focuses a lot on the people running the railway, giving them all identities and showing their interactions running the line.
The series was released on July the 6th, 2016. The series can be watched here.
Over The Hills contains examples of:
- The '60s: The series is set in the mid-60s.
- Determinator: The crew and engines of the Penwyth Valley Railway are determined to keep the line going, no matter what hardships, be they financial or mechanical, come their way.
- Firing Day: In episode 3, "Teething Troubles", Mr. Bruce is fired from the board of directors because he tried to put out Iain's fire by dumping water into his boiler. He goes to work for Smith & Sons bus company afterwards.
- Instrumental Theme Tune: Each episode opens and closes with a musical number with no lyrics.
- Jerkass: The diesel engine taking the goods trucks from the Penwyth Valley Railway is rather disrespectful to Dai on his way out.Diesel: Pah, you steamers never give up, do you? Broken horn guides, cracked frames, you don't have a chance. This line is finished, just like the rest of you steamers. You might as well just give up now.
- Percussive Maintenance: In Episode 4, "Turbulent Times", the coach on Dai's first train after his overhaul keeps having its breaks slip on. This is usually rectified with a whack of a hammer.
- Saying Sound Effects Out Loud: In episode 5, "Rivalry", when Mr. Davies explains how taking out a loan from the bank would mean having to sell Dai, Iain, and Leslie for scrap if they can't pay it back, Leslie says "Gulp".
- Sentient Vehicle: Dai, Iain, and Leslie of the Penwyth Valley Railway. And the other engines from the main railway, too.
- Shout-Out: In episode 5, "Rivalry", Mr. Stovold is confronted by the owners of Smith & Sons and they provoke him into attacking. Before he does, he tells them "Oh, you shouldn't have done that. Now I'm angry. And you won't like me when I'm angry.".
- Start My Own: The people who live in the towns of Penwyth Valley decide to run the railway as a heritage railway.
