Railway footage in feature films and television...

[doilum]

2 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

I've never heard of it but will look for a copy of it. I worked near Newmarket and lived nearby in 78 and remember the area well. 

 

Jamie

It was a children's TV drama based on John Farrimond's book of the same name and set in the Wigan area. I understand that most of the filming was done at Bickershaw colliery and HE 3776 was repainted into a plain green with a large #7 on the bunker. Some of the filming was at Altofts ( perhaps the "long row" terraced houses) and at Newmarket on the stump of the Methley Joint Rly. For this sequence they awoke HE 3168 (S134 aka Wheldale) from strategic storage at Allerton By water, and painted it to match it's Lancashire doppelganger, a livery it retained to it's much photographed finale in ,1982. Only true Hunslet anoraks would notice the difference in chimneys, buffers and hand rails. Sadly I don't remember seeing the film and the BBC publication has only sketch illustration from the original edition., If anyone knows more or different, please let us know.

[doilum]

3 hours ago, jamie92208 said:

I've never heard of it but will look for a copy of it. I worked near Newmarket and lived nearby in 78 and remember the area well. 

 

Jamie

 

 

Edited February 17, 2020 by doilum
Removed to avoid duplication

[Aire Head]

5 hours ago, doilum said:

It was a children's TV drama based on John Farrimond's book of the same name and set in the Wigan area. I understand that most of the filming was done at Bickershaw colliery and HE 3776 was repainted into a plain green with a large #7 on the bunker. Some of the filming was at Altofts ( perhaps the "long row" terraced houses) and at Newmarket on the stump of the Methley Joint Rly. For this sequence they awoke HE 3168 (S134 aka Wheldale) from strategic storage at Allerton By water, and painted it to match it's Lancashire doppelganger, a livery it retained to it's much photographed finale in ,1982. Only true Hunslet anoraks would notice the difference in chimneys, buffers and hand rails. Sadly I don't remember seeing the film and the BBC publication has only sketch illustration from the original edition., If anyone knows more or different, please let us know.

 

I've done a bit of googling on this and its very elusive! Only managed to find a bit of plot explanation and a solitary image of some kids on a slag heap.

[jetmorgan]

Opening scenes from The Mind Benders starring Dirk Bogarde. The usual Talking Pictures TV recording. I would think most is stock footage and you get a continuity error when GWR King class 6015 King Richard III turns into and LMS 4-6-0, either Patriot or Royal Scot on what looks like a postal service, you can see the roof of what looks like some sort of van, possibly 6 wheeled in the train. Then it turns back in to a Castle class but this time 5056 Ogmore Castle/Earl of Powis.

 

 

Edited February 20, 2020 by jetmorgan

[Rugd1022]

I caught the last half of an episode of 'The Naked Jungle' on Talking Pictures last night, there's brief scene where one of the characters walks across the overbridge at the south end of Radlett station and we have a nice view of the fast line platforms below, complete with the BR / LMR maroon enamel running in board. It was shot in b&w in 1964 and looks rather good. Another case of an Esltree based production not venturing too far for location filming!

[62613]

21 hours ago, jetmorgan said:

Opening scenes from The Mind Benders starring Dirk Bogarde. The usual Talking Pictures TV recording. I would think most is stock footage and you get a continuity error when GWR King class 6015 King Richard III turns into and LMS 4-6-0, either Patriot or Royal Scot on what looks like a postal service, you can see the roof of what looks like some sort of van, possibly 6 wheeled in the train. Then it turns back in to a Castle class but this time 5056 Ogmore Castle/Earl of Powis.

 

 

I have to say that those sequences with the Royal Scots don't half look similar to those at the start of Brief Encounter.

 

[wombatofludham]

They are the same shots as in Brief Encounter, you can see the Watford Junction sign, where the run-by shots were taken for the film.  They were also used in a number of other films over the years.

Almost as bad as the infamous ITC white Jaguar over the cliff scene which kept turning up in every action adventure series from the 1960s produced by the company, if the baddies are driving a white Jag you know they are doomed.

[Rugd1022]

2 hours ago, wombatofludham said:

They are the same shots as in Brief Encounter, you can see the Watford Junction sign, where the run-by shots were taken for the film.  They were also used in a number of other films over the years.

Almost as bad as the infamous ITC white Jaguar over the cliff scene which kept turning up in every action adventure series from the 1960s produced by the company, if the baddies are driving a white Jag you know they are doomed.

 

It was indeed - the white Mk2 Jag clip magically transformed into a Mk1 as it goes into the quarry was first used in The Baron, shot in late '65 or early '66, the same clip was also used in The Champions and Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased). After filming the stunt for The Baron the remains were scooped up and used again in another episode of the series...

 

 

[slilley]

Watched The Sweeney yesterday tea time. Some nice SR EMU shots looking down on the LSWR mainline around Battersea.

[DY444]

13 hours ago, slilley said:

Watched The Sweeney yesterday tea time. Some nice SR EMU shots looking down on the LSWR mainline around Battersea.

 

Would that be Del Henney rushing to the railway end of the roof in a desperate attempt to clear the last of his Fratton CIGs before being nicked?

[Ben B]

I recently re-watched the recent version of the Chronicles of Narnia, the Lion the Witch and the Warderobe.  Some good railway scenes at the start, but it did highlight a minor annoyance with a lack of attention to detail; why have the loco in the wrong livery?

 

I know most viewers wouldn't spot it or care, but if you've gone to the trouble of using GWR stock for a train of evacuees, and you're CGI-ing Kidderminster to look like Paddington, then getting great sweeping aerial views of the train thundering up the Severn Valley, why have the loco in BR livery?  OK you cannot repaint just for a few scenes, but it's two variations on the theme of 'green loco' so surely even a bit of dark green paper glued-on over the tender sides would do the trick.  

 

It happened again in the 2016 remake of "Swallows and Amazons", with some great location filming on the KWVR and cgi-ing of the train hauled by their 4F to make it look like they're travelling to the Lake District (including over the nearby to Keighley -and in reality abandoned- GNR viaduct near Cullingworth), but the loco is still in BR livery.  

 

I don't know if it's the TV company and the railway suggest, but get overridden, or what.  When "All Creatures Great and Small" were filming on the KWVR last year, they temporarily re-liveried the 4F in LMS colours just by sticking some letters on the tender and covering up a digit on the number, so I can only assume it's the production company insisting it's not an important detail.

[The Stationmaster]

On 25/02/2020 at 11:59, Ben B said:

I recently re-watched the recent version of the Chronicles of Narnia, the Lion the Witch and the Warderobe.  Some good railway scenes at the start, but it did highlight a minor annoyance with a lack of attention to detail; why have the loco in the wrong livery?

 

I know most viewers wouldn't spot it or care, but if you've gone to the trouble of using GWR stock for a train of evacuees, and you're CGI-ing Kidderminster to look like Paddington, then getting great sweeping aerial views of the train thundering up the Severn Valley, why have the loco in BR livery?  OK you cannot repaint just for a few scenes, but it's two variations on the theme of 'green loco' so surely even a bit of dark green paper glued-on over the tender sides would do the trick.  

 

It happened again in the 2016 remake of "Swallows and Amazons", with some great location filming on the KWVR and cgi-ing of the train hauled by their 4F to make it look like they're travelling to the Lake District (including over the nearby to Keighley -and in reality abandoned- GNR viaduct near Cullingworth), but the loco is still in BR livery.  

 

I don't know if it's the TV company and the railway suggest, but get overridden, or what.  When "All Creatures Great and Small" were filming on the KWVR last year, they temporarily re-liveried the 4F in LMS colours just by sticking some letters on the tender and covering up a digit on the number, so I can only assume it's the production company insisting it's not an important detail.

In my past experience of dealing with production companies what they get is what they ask for or what they are prepared to pay for.  Years ago when I was on the receiving end of a request the person (Production Asst/Researcher?) who made the call said the Producer wanted a blue train and she presumed he meant a Blue Pullman train because those were the only blue trains she could think of.  I think she fell off her chair when I gave her a price per day but I asked her a few questions and it turned out the Producer only wanted a 'blue train' - not a Blue Pullman.  So he got a Brush Type 4 and some coaches in blue grey livery, and was overjoyed with the amount of money he saved.

Edited February 26, 2020 by The Stationmaster

[caradoc]

Hopefully he didn't actually want the Blue Train !

[Rugd1022]

3 hours ago, The Stationmaster said:

In my past experience of dealing with production companies what they get is what they ask for or what they are prepared to pay for.  Years ago when I was on the receiving end of a request the person (Production Asst/Researcher?) who made the call said the Producer wanted a blue train and she presumed he meant a Blue Pullman train because those were the only blue trains she could think of.  I think she fell off her chair when I gave her a price per day but I asked her a few questions and it turned out the Producer only wanted a 'blue train' - not a Blue Pullman.  So he got a Brush Type 4 and some coaches in blue grey livery, and was overjoyed with the amount of money he saved.

 

I'm guessing that was for 'The Magic Christian' Mike, with Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr...?

[Johann Marsbar]

Haven't looked through the previous pages of this thread to see if it has been mentioned before, but some interesting scenes pop up in the opening and closing titles of  the first series of "Softly Softly - Task Force" which I'm currently going through on DVD. Set in a ficticious Police Authority covering both banks of the Thames Estuary, some Eastern and Southern Region rail scenes appear.

The scenes seem to change from episode to episode, but a couple of blue LT&S electric units have made an appearance so far, along with a Southern EMU and more interestingly, a blue class 71 on a train of Ferry Vans!

What I think is Basildon bus station, with ENOC FLFs also appears, and an ENOC MW coach (one of the OO xxxx registered ones) has a major part in one of the episodes.

[Southernman46]

4 hours ago, Johann Marsbar said:

Haven't looked through the previous pages of this thread to see if it has been mentioned before, but some interesting scenes pop up in the opening and closing titles of  the first series of "Softly Softly - Task Force" which I'm currently going through on DVD. Set in a ficticious Police Authority covering both banks of the Thames Estuary, some Eastern and Southern Region rail scenes appear.

The scenes seem to change from episode to episode, but a couple of blue LT&S electric units have made an appearance so far, along with a Southern EMU and more interestingly, a blue class 71 on a train of Ferry Vans!

What I think is Basildon bus station, with ENOC FLFs also appears, and an ENOC MW coach (one of the OO xxxx registered ones) has a major part in one of the episodes.

 

The panoramic sweep scene in the opening credits is shot from Fort Pitt Hill in Rochester approximately where the hospital is located on New Road - the railway is in tunnel between Chatham & Rochester at this point and emerges just below the hospital.

Edited March 24, 2020 by Southernman46

[simontaylor484]

Dont know if this mentioned before cant remember the title it wss a charles dickens story about a signalman starred denholm elliot 

[simontaylor484]

Off topic i know but i belive Hounslow town hall stood in for various things such as the hospital in carry on films 

 

 

[jamie92208]

1 hour ago, simontaylor484 said:

Dont know if this mentioned before cant remember the title it wss a charles dickens story about a signalman starred denholm elliot 

It's a classic Dickens short ghost story called "The Signalman" I think that it"s been filmed several times.

 

Jamie

[luckymucklebackit]

5 minutes ago, jamie92208 said:

It's a classic Dickens short ghost story called "The Signalman" I think that it"s been filmed several times.

 

Jamie

 

 

You can watch it here https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6c73c3

[John M Upton]

I have been binge watching old episodes of The Bill on YouTube recently.

 

One recently discovered episode from approx 1994 had two of Sun Hill Nick's finest go and interview a eyewitness at his place of work, cue them walking into a large London Underground depot (presumably Morden) where said eyewitness was busy jet washing a car of 1959 or 1962 Tube Stock with more in the immediate background.

[Zomboid]

Some nice shots in Poirot of SR777 with a train of green mk1s (and possibly some mk2s) pretending to be a GWR train, using Hull Paragon to represent both Paddington and Bristol. And completely different trains on what I think it's the bluebell railway for the running shots.

[Coach bogie]

Talking Pictures has shown Geordie a couple of time recently. A couple of scenes use Gartmore near Stirling in 1955.

Other shots show Tilbury Riverside

 

Mike Wiltshire

 

 

[37501]

I have a vague recollection of an early episode of the Bill which has a scene on the bank or road above Old Oak Common. There is a Large Logo Class 50 (50015 possibly) on the turntable. 
 

John

[Ben B]

Quote

Dont know if this mentioned before cant remember the title it wss a charles dickens story about a signalman starred denholm elliot

 

"The Signalman", it was filmed on the SVR in the approach cutting to the tunnel between Kiddy and Bewdley.  A rather nice, prop-built signalbox from what I've read.