Railway footage in feature films and television...

[DY444]

Filmed on the Wimbledon - Sutton line

[SM42]

Thanks Brian back in post #312 (Sorry for the late response. Night shifts play hell with the important things) for solving the location mystery in The Wrong Arm of the Law.  Fascinating link too. For some reason I never associated it with the London area, but all the clues were there.

 

I also recall a Bill episode with a scene filmed alongside the WCML just north of Willesden. There are some sidings (2) at a lower level on the down side which I recognised straight away. Always fascinated as to what these were for and hence the recognition of the location. Don't know the episode title unfortunately

 

 

Many posts ago Return to Bhowani Junction was mentioned. In that I recall the outskirts of Paddington being seen through the train window complete with pannier tank, supposedly somewhere in India

 

Andy

[melmerby]

Not quite 12" to foot stuff but a bit of a clanger in "Ripper Street" which is set in 1889

 

A toymaker/inventor had made a secret box, which was difficult to open.

Once opened it revealed an engine and a short extending length of track along which it chugged, complete with smoke!

Unfortunately the loco looked suspiciously like a Jinty! (built 1924-)

 

 

Keith

Edited January 6, 2013 by melmerby

[jamie92208]

I don't know if anyone saw BBC Breakfast this Morning.  They were celebrating their 30th Anninversary and were telling us what life had been like in 1983.  Part of this was a montage of various images one of which was Concorde. No problem with that but another one was a class 91,  Not even thougth of in 1983 I think.  I can't rememebr exactly when they first emerged from Crewe  but from memory it was about 1988.  Typical BBC.

 

Jamie

Edited January 17, 2013 by jamie92208

[lmsforever]

Last night in Spies of Waraw a Kreigslock on  a trip supposedly to Romanea  ,good action shots and brilliant head on in final scenes belching thick black clag.Also interesting shots inside loco shed  makes a change not to see a Black Five tarted up as a continental loco good programe as well.

[The Stationmaster]

Last night in Spies of Waraw a Kreigslock on  a trip supposedly to Romanea  ,good action shots and brilliant head on in final scenes belching thick black clag.Also interesting shots inside loco shed  makes a change not to see a Black Five tarted up as a continental loco good programe as well.

 

It looked to me as if it the two programmes were wholly filmed in Poland.  Presumably Woltsyn haven't got any pre-war locos or they would have done their best to wheel one out for patriotic reasons if nothing else?

[chrisf]

There have been some shots filmed on the Gloucester and Warwickshire Railway this week on Father Brown [bBC1 2.15 pm].  7903 Foremarke Hall has pulled a rake of choc-cream Mk 1s into and out of Winchcombe and out of Greet Tunnel.  Yes, I know - saddo watching daytime TV ...

 

Chris

[lmsforever]

The Father Brown stories are quite good viewing ,makes a change from all the American rubbish on other channels.

[melmerby]

There have been some shots filmed on the Gloucester and Warwickshire Railway this week on Father Brown [bBC1 2.15 pm].  7903 Foremarke Hall has pulled a rake of choc-cream Mk 1s into and out of Winchcombe and out of Greet Tunnel.  Yes, I know - saddo watching daytime TV ...

 

Chris

At least it fits in with the period/location.

The series is supposedly set in the Cotswolds in the 50s (unlike the original stories which are much earlier and mostly around London) so 7903 on the GSWR is a pretty reasonable choice.

 

Keith

[OnTheBranchline]

I think we did something similar to this before in the "what would you recreate" thread.

 

Nevertheless, here's a start:

 

The Ladykillers (1955) Alec Guiness, Peter Sellers - King's Cross?

Two-Way Stretch (1960) Peter Sellers, etc

Titfield Thunderbolt (1953)

Oh, Mr. Porter (1937)

The Great Train Robbery (1979) Sean Connery, Donald Sutherland

The Railway Children (1970)

Richard III (1995)

Harry Potter and the *** (multiple)

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) - GWR

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008) - LT Underground

 

I haven't touched the non-UK ones.

There's a slight continuity error there, the Manor is no doubt GWR, but has the BR crest on the tender...

[Coach bogie]

Friday night's 'Silent Witness' had the storyline of a nuclear missile train crashed in a tunnel and abandoned in 1963... with a class 56 diesel at the head introduced in 1976!!!!!

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01qgcj6/Silent_Witness_Series_16_Legacy_Part_2/

 

41.08 onwards

 

Mike Wiltshire

[jamie92208]

Did anyone see the 'Golden Age of Steam' part 1 last night on BBC HD.  It was an absolutely fabulous programme about the start of narrow gauge preservation, featuring the Tallyllyn and Festiniog as well as The Cadeby Light Railway and some lovelyh film of narrow gauge industrials.   Well worth watching.  Part 2 is to come about the rise of Standard gauge preservation.

 

I also saw the Silent Witness and wondered where it had been filmed.

 

Jamie

[big jim]

last weeks Miranda had a bit fimed on marylebone station with her getting on a class 172 heading for wick!

[Rugd1022]

last weeks Miranda had a bit fimed on marylebone station with her getting on a class 172 heading for wick!

 

Thinking of extending your route knowledge a bit then Jim...?

 

I've got this on order with Amazon at the moment, despite the poor reviews it's received... http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B002M8NIB6/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_8?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE ... made in 1960 and featuring a thirteen year old Dennis Waterman.

 

Edited February 3, 2013 by Rugd1022

[billyb_imp]

Don't know why but my most memorable trains in movies are the scenes in The Great St Trinians Train Robbery, with Frankie Howard, Dora Bryan, George Cole. With the trains going up the down line, down the up line  never fails to make me chuckle when I see it.

[birdseyecircus]

Back in post 61 i mentioned an episode of the Bill (episode: some you win some you loose) featuring Old Oak Common. It shows a number of 50's and 47s and a view of the turn table. All now gone of course.

Scenes start at 24 mins and 26.18.

 

Paul

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wKSU-wSLGg

[Arpster]

Whilst looking for something completely unrelated, I came across this footage of a strike in the 1960s. From 2:00 onwards is some great footage of unfitted freights going across the viaduct, wherever it is, with some interesting wagons and payloads in the trains.

 

http://www.britishpathe.com/video/sit-in-strike-metal-box-factory

 

Arp

[Welchester]

"The Last Journey" (1936) was filmed on the Great Western, and mentioned on the old forum. A shiny new DVD of it has just popped through my letter box, courtesy of those nice people at Play.com.

 

There are clips on youtube to whet your appetite:

[Ozexpatriate]

How much of this (the recent Jameson commercial) is real versus CGI:

 

Somehow the ending puts me in mind of Captain Kernow. I can't think why exactly.

Edited March 9, 2013 by Ozexpatriate

[Ozexpatriate]

There's a slight continuity error there, the Manor is no doubt GWR, but has the BR crest on the tender...

Is it indeed? It's been a long time since I watched that movie. I don't know if I have watched it on DVD.

 

Since we are talking about 1940, it clearly shouldn't be BR, and only barely a Manor. I guess they get a pass on that one - the Manors were brand new.  I wouldn't be surprised if the coaches are Mk1s too - but I haven't checked.

[ajwffc]

Have been watching Ultimate Force and during the 3rd eposode of the 2nd season they drive under a bridge with the Claladonian sleeper above them and in the last eposode of the season they are fighting in an Easting European  mine anbd you see mk1'in the background.

[phil-b259]

I have a vague recliction of one episode of the detective show 'Frost' (featuring David Jason) where he comes to arrest a suspect in a train depot and ends up presuming him through the shed with rakes of MK3s (i.e. Longsight depot, Manchester). Not sure if they were InterCity or Virgin livery though.

[phil-b259]

The Christmas Day episode of "Downton Abbey" featured a railway scene with "the family" supposedly going to Scotland for their hols. Now IIRC Downton Abbey was set in Yorkshire so where did they film it - The Bluebell of course!

 

The train had a carriage that looked the dog's danglies but with a van and brake van with an obviously Southern tender loco?

 

So much for historical accuracy!

 

Dave

That's nothing. I know the chap playing the guard in this (a fellow Bluebell volunteer, not an actor) and apparently the costume department have some very strange ideas as to what railway staff wore in the olden days. He was made to ditch his accurate LBSCR guards uniform in favour of something more 'suitable', and according to the film people, accurate for the role. The loco crew also got similar treatment and one suggestion is the production companies do this so as to make non actors blend into the background and too much 'bling' (however authentic) will make the 'stars' stand out less.

 

Mind you it's not just clothes film people have funny ideas about as in one of the films made at the Bluebell, the production crew got the guard to flag the train away but rather step inside the guards compartment they wanted him to stand on the footboard and hold onto the side as the train departed - again real railway practice was seamed not 'right' or 'dramatic' enough for the film even though it does beg the question of how exactly does the guard get into his van later on or do they really think he hangs on to the next station.

 

Still providing it is not actually dangerous and given the amount of money filming brings in, it's not worth arguing about.

Edited March 9, 2013 by phil-b259

[Danemouth]

That's nothing. I know the chap playing the guard in this (a fellow Bluebell volunteer, not an actor) and apparently the costume department have some very strange ideas as to what railway staff wore in the olden days. He was made to ditch his accurate LBSCR guards uniform in favour of something more 'suitable', and according to the film people, accurate for the role. The loco crew also got similar treatment and one suggestion is the production companies do this so as to make non actors blend into the background and too much 'bling' (however authentic) will make the 'stars' stand out less.

 

Mind you it's not just clothes film people have funny ideas about as in one of the films made at the Bluebell, the production crew got the guard to flag the train away but rather step inside the guards compartment they wanted him to stand on the footboard and hold onto the side as the train departed - again real railway practice was seamed not 'right' or 'dramatic' enough for the film even though it does beg the question of how exactly does the guard get into his van later on or do they really think he hangs on to the next station.

 

Still providing it is not actually dangerous and given the amount of money filming brings in, it's not worth arguing about.

Interesting!

 

Thanks for the info; the lesson to remember is that Downton Abbey and suchlike are fiction and railway practices may follow suit.

 

At least the Bluebell was able to boost it's finances!

 

Visited it last summer for the first time in over 35 years - was really impressed,

 

Regards,

 

Dave

[JZ]

The 1940 film 'The Proud Valley' features a GWR pannier with a rake of empty coal wagons, with no brake van, in it's opening sequence.