RTV 31 – Hovertrain

GoFundMe Crowdfunding Campaign

The Rise & Fall of RTV 31

Hovertrain Documentary

Donate to the GoFundMe crowdfunder by clicking on the advert above or clicking here.

RTV 31 on the test track at Earith

RTV 31 – The Hovertrain, an ambitious 1970s project that was to revolutionise land travel in the UK.

Scientists, engineers and technicians from Cambridgeshire developed the technology alongside Professor Eric Laithwaite in their bid to see the dream of high-speed land travel (300mph) become a reality.

Tracked Hovercraft Ltd had the foresight to document testing of the full-size prototype between Earith and Sutton on 35mm film – most of which has never been seen by the public… until now!

Fenland on Film’s mission is to produce a feature-length documentary that comprehensively tells the story of RTV 31, the UK Hovertrain, along with the people involved through hours of re-discovered 35mm film footage, hundreds of rare photographs, thousands of documents and newly recorded interviews.

In addition to the 35mm film material, Fenland on Film is the temporary custodian and curator of a rare and unique collection of articles previously held by The Hovercraft Museum and Railworld Wildlife Haven. Work is ongoing to catalogue and digitally preserve the contents in the hope of one day establishing a formal trust / charity to celebrate the legacy of Britain’s hovertrain and keep it alive for future generations to discover.

Fenland on Film is responsible for reuniting as much of the original collection as possible, which had previously become separated in 2018 due to third-party involvement. As of summer 2025, around 96% of the known collection has been brought back together and efforts are ongoing to locate / secure the remainder.

Further articles from various other sources have also been entrusted to Fenland on Film for safekeeping and, hopefully, adoption into the first formal RTV 31 archive.

The work to create a digital record of these articles is a monumental undertaking, done voluntarily and will take some considerable time to curate before a record is publicly accessible.

Part of the 35mm ‘combined print’ at the hovertrain test site

Your donation will help Fenland on Film undertake the following:

  • Professional cleaning, 4K scanning and digital restoration of the re-discovered 35mm film material
  • Film new interviews with those involved with the project
  • Undertake filming on location
  • Cover production costs associated with newly filmed content
  • Pay for licensing to use film material associated with RTV 31 not in our collection of films
  • Cover editing, publishing and marketing costs
Barry Male (1972 / 2021) – one of the camera operators on “The Hovertrain Project”
Fenland on Film (on radio) – Drew talks Hovertrain & 35mm Film with BBC Radio Cambridgeshire [5th January 2022]

When donating, be sure to include your name as I’ll give you an on-screen credit in the “Special Thanks” section of the end credits.

Fenland on Film’s primary goal is to raise enough money to preserve and restore the content on the film reels – if it fails to raise enough money to produce a documentary as envisioned, it’ll do what it can with what it has.

Interviewing now