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MODEL Railways in Film and Television


Ben B
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On 24/07/2020 at 23:01, H2O said:

 

 

A Goodies episode where a full scale, but only 2D, model of a train goes over a level crossing where I think it cut their lorry in two?

 

A special effects program that showed how a scene in the 60's film 'Doctor Zhivago' was made with a model train in a landscape of 'snow' made of salt.

 

 

 

 

The Beeb had a program on the Goodies a few years back, there was a snippet of behind the scenes footage of that bit. I'm pretty sure the train was wood/canvas paintings hanging on the side of the film crew lorries and trailers :)

 

As for the "Dr Zhivago" bit, the same technique was used by the BBC Model Unit, it's in a book of special  effects techniques. It specifically says they used a Hornby set and a silhouette outline of a Rusdian loco.  Interesting and effective technique :)

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Not sure if  ot's been mentioned elsewhere, but character David Archer of "the Archers" is about to start work on modelling "Hollerton Junction".  Of course it's a radio series, but future episodes could become a serious competitor to RM WEB.

 

Unless of course we hold a "model Hollerton Junction" competition ;)

 

AAndy

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On 25/07/2020 at 08:01, H2O said:

A special effects program that showed how a scene in the 60's film 'Doctor Zhivago' was made with a model train in a landscape of 'snow' made of salt.

 

I'd be curious to see a reference for that as this is one of the better documented films from any era. Most of the train scenes were filmed on location in Spain using artificial "snow" made from marble dust and feathers. Some long shots were filmed on location in Finland and Canada. The ice palace was done with salt embedded in wax.

 

18 minutes ago, Andy Reichert said:

Not sure if  ot's been mentioned elsewhere, but character David Archer of "the Archers" is about to start work on modelling "Hollerton Junction".  Of course it's a radio series, but future episodes could become a serious competitor to RM WEB.

 

Unless of course we hold a "model Hollerton Junction" competition ;)

 

Presumably Beeching closed many branch lines in Borsetshire too...

 

Cheers

David

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On 22/07/2020 at 23:50, Steamport Southport said:

I'm not certain. But could it have been The Borrowers. The BBC TV series rather than the film.

 

I have very vague recollection that the tiny people went on to a model railway and the "normal sized" person was wondering what was wrong with his "toy train".

 

 

 

Jason


 

They are all on youtube and ive been flicking through them to find it. Nothing has come up but It definately has the feel of what I rememember. Although ive got a feeling this was more of a lower budget CITV programme.

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This rather quaint 1968 film promoting Weston-super-Mare https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5l6wa4rSpBA shows at 5.19 the exterior of the permanent model railway exhibition that used to be there. It then (briefly) purports to show the railway itself but I suspect it's a different one entirely because at the start of the film there is a credit to Beattie's and Rovex for furnishing the model railway. Note in one place it credits "Tri-ang Railways Ltd." and in another "Triang-Hornby".

Weston.jpg.ebbc5550200e21c2438ce0b7c518a294.jpg

 

I did visit the Weston railway as child but don't remember much specific about it except that periodically the lights were dimmed to provide a night scene. Judging from the size of the building that housed it, you might infer that it was pretty big.

 

Weston-super-Mare 1970

 

Edited by Andy Kirkham
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On 03/08/2020 at 04:24, Andy Reichert said:

Not sure if  ot's been mentioned elsewhere, but character David Archer of "the Archers" is about to start work on modelling "Hollerton Junction".  Of course it's a radio series, but future episodes could become a serious competitor to RM WEB.

 

Unless of course we hold a "model Hollerton Junction" competition ;)

 

AAndy

 

It'd be better if he modelled Borchester Market...

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Apologies if alreafy mentioned but there is a lot of late 1980's Hornby in this 1990 episode of The Bill.

 

Someone had fun putting all that lot together!

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On 24/06/2020 at 03:56, PatB said:

I think it's been mentioned on RMWeb previously (possibly by me), but an episode of Midsomer Murders (John Nettles era), had some shots of what appeared to be a fairly extensive and quite nicely done 00 layout, complete with narrow gauge feeder (I seem to remember a Jouef/Playcraft Decauville and hoppers being seen running).

 

Actually it was a 3mm scale layout, Mervyn Turvey's "Alston"

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On 19/04/2020 at 19:23, Ben B said:

80's Cold War Spy parody/spoof  "Top Secret" has an infiltration-planning scene, which starts with rocks and sticks standing in for buildings, and progresses to an elaborate 00 scale castle complete with what appears to be a Hornby 9f and continental stock whizzing past:

Returning to the start of the thread, a close inspection of the model locomotive in Top Secret shows it to be a 4-6-0, so not a 9F.

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In the opening of Minder on the Orient express the villain Jack South is operating his Continental layout, probably gauge 1 (Marklin?). He also has some smaller scale models on his desk, including a Dapol pug

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On 18/06/2020 at 14:00, Ian Morgan said:

In the american TV series NCIS, the pathologist Dr Mallard (David McCallum) had a OO model A4 in a case on the wall of the lab. I assume it was 'Mallard'.

 

As an aside, in one episode a female doctor takes an interest in Dr Mallard, and asks his friend, special agent Gibbs, what did he look like when he was younger. After careful consideration he replied, "Illya Kuryakin".   (youngsters, look it up)

 

 

it is a model of Mallard as he is seen oiling it in later episodes. 

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13 hours ago, ajwffc said:

it is a model of Mallard as he is seen oiling it in later episodes. 

 

Which was a waste of time really as it never ran. There were also occasions when the tender was placed the wrong way round...

 

steve

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On 20/04/2020 at 08:15, PaulRhB said:

Last Train to Trancentral, the KLF ;) 

Seems to be a french Mikado from the smoke deflectors with a British coach and hopper so I guess it’s OO 

https://youtu.be/8ivmO8FaysI

 

 

 

A bit late on the reply, but look carefully and the 'buildings' it goes past in one of the scenes would be more likely found in Ann Summers than a model shop. (Blink and you'll miss it)

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36 minutes ago, Satan's Goldfish said:

 

A bit late on the reply, but look carefully and the 'buildings' it goes past in one of the scenes would be more likely found in Ann Summers than a model shop. (Blink and you'll miss it)

Nah just a different kind of model plays with that ;) 

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Just watched a recentish episode of the wonderfully cheesey Murdoch Mysteries, and what should turn up as a piece of evidence but a (I'm pretty sure) Marx 999 loco. So only about 40 years out of period :D

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Anyone remember a comedy sketch, I think it was Benny hill, with a level crossing where the man parks his car with mother in law in on the crossing, runs off, then there was a library shot of a blue intercity 125 approaching, you hear the crash, he opens his eyes and looks back to see the car in perfect condition and the wife or mother in law getting out but with the 2 coaches of the train placed on top of the train. 
I dont know who did the sketch, Im guessing it was Benny hill, it was late 80s early 90s, I know its not very tasteful, it must have taken a bit of time and money to set up, maybe on a preserved line, but its stuck in my mind all this time.

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Want to see something REALLY bad with trains in it? Watch 'The Christmas Train' on Prime. It's one of those Hallmark movies which uses a mixture of studio sets and stock shots for the trains, with some VIA Rail passenger cars purporting to be AMTRAK vehicles when the passengers get on and off. (It always puzzles me that VIA Rail talks often of equipment shortages yet seems readily able to supply vehicles for canadian-made movies). The plot is the inevitable mysterious goings-on on a US trans-Continental train. Look for staff with AMTRAK badges but not the correct AMTRAK logo. Anyway the interior sets must have been designed by someone who has never been on a train - some must be best part of 20ft wide while others look like a traditional sitting room set with a carriage window added in the background. British electric train fans might be willing to sit through it for the brief but rather striking night-time shot of a Class 91 and Mk4 stock at speed (Yes, I did say this was meant to be a US trans-continental) . I can't help feeling I've seen it before in similar circumstances in a different movie. (CJL) 

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