Abstract
The article uses interpretations of several films to map different meanings of railways and characters of railwaymen in the Czech cinematography from its nationalization in 1945 to the years of so called "normalization". The first large thematic area is the role of the "Blue Army" in the war and the post-war building, the second one presents railways as an area associated with traditional values and mingling with family backgrounds.
One of the most significant characters of railwayman is train driver Matys in comedy Železný dědek (1948), who is connected fundamentally and a bit controversially with his locomotive Líza. Shunter Chýně in Zbraně pro Prahu (1974) represents the type of railman-hero and the railway itself is here a place of war clashes.
Radost až do rána (1978) and Věra Chytilová's satirical Kalamita (1981) are named as examples of films with the theme of social status of railways in modern times.