Ian Allan Video

Background

Ian Allan Publishing was established in 1942. Since the 1970s it has published an annual book series entitled Railways Restored which covers various preserved railways throughout the UK. During the early 1990s the Railways Restored series was used as a basis for a new series of railway documentaries. The series was distributed by Ian Allan Publishing and made by RV Television.

More recently, Ian Allan Publishing published magazines such as Railways Illustrated and the Hornby Magazine before the publications were sold to Key Publishing.

1st Logo (1991)

Visuals: Fading to a monochrome photo of an LNER K4 Locomotive tinted blue, The coat of arms of Ian Allan Publishing spins into view from the centre of the screen, before zooming out and spinning to the left of the screen. Then, "Part of the Ian Allan Group" zooms in and spins into view on the right of the screen.

Technique: Analog computer animation.

Audio: A synthesized fanfare, which is accompanied by a drumbeat that sounds like a wooden ruler being hit against a table.

Availability: Seen on Railways Restored tapes from the era. It's unknown whether or not the ident was left intact on Artsmagic's prints of the series.

2nd Logo (1993-1996)

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Visuals: The Ian Allen coat of arms is seen in grey just off-centre to the left, with a green rectangle bordering on each side of it. On the rectangle is the text "IAN ALLEN", and to the bottom right of the logo is "SBS Video" in the same colour as the rectangle, as well as a drop shadow. Everything is on a light grey background.

Technique: Fading effects.

Audio: The opening sounds of the documentary.

Availability: Seen on the Railways Then and Now series of videos, and is kept intact on the DVD releases.