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Railway footage in feature films and television...


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Various Inspector Morse episodes featured Oxford station, with the occasional excursion to London. One episode also featured a preserved railway (Didcot?) when an American tourist goes AWOL and turns up there (hopefully haven't spoiled for anyone). - "The Wolvercote Tongue" and the American tourist does go to Didcot.

 

There are also railway apperances in various Inspector Frost episodes. A small West Highland Line station appears in "Trainspotting", London Liverpool Street is featured in "Alex Ryder - Stormbreaker" (a poorly recieved junior James Bond) and there is some nice footage of an IoM steam railway station in the opening part of 5 children and it, which also has Norman Wisdom playing an antiques dealer.

Can I also mention the climatic scenes at the end of The Italian Job (2003) where the gang drive through a US freight terminal, and on to a car carrier?

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While watching 201 Dalmations with the grand children Monday night (honest, they were there) there is a fabulous shot of a not spotlessly clean Flying Scotsman (NRM LNER with double chimney and smoke deflectors version) moving off with the Orient Express, nice little bit of wheel slip, but sound dubbed to include lots of chuffs and bells.

 

Only 10 seconds or so but kindled fond memories of days long gone.

 

regards

Stewart

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Gerry Anderson's Secret service used Triang blue flyer Hymek models and British transport films footage.

 

http://www.fanderson.org.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=938

 

 

also, could someone tell me the location of the midland signal box and station used in James Bond from Russia with love, the colour of the film is reversed and the same location is used in the BTF film forward to first principles.

 

Mike

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I've got that BTF film Mike D, I'll check it out later if I get a chance ;)

 

Another one with excellent railway content (mentioned in a related thread on the old forum) - 'Robbery' from 1967 with Stanley Baker, based loosly on the real train robbery of August '63, featuring D318 and appropriate assorted LMR rolling stock, filmed on the closed Rugby to Peterborough line at Theddingworth and other spots along the route.

 

Another classic Brit gangster flick (there's a pattern forming here!)... 'The Long Good Friday'... there's a nicely filmed scene at Paddington's platform 8 with a blue 47 and Mk1 stock, which was shot in 1979.

 

The same platform was used for a brief sequence in the 1970 bank heist caper 'Perfect Friday' with Stanley Baker, Ursula Andress (sigh) and David Warner, IIRC a blue Western is involved.

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Numerous episodes of Spooks feature shots of South Eastern and Southern services on the lines to the south of London Bridge (the production company's offices are adjacent to the line so presumably they just pointed a camera out of the window whenever they needed a rail view) indeed a couple of times we have notifications to train crew of the potential distraction risk of film companies making large explosions near the line which was usually them!!

 

The former Jubilee Line platforms at Charing Cross also regularly crop up in Spooks and other productions having replaced Aldwych as the Underground filming location of choice.

 

The Bourne Supremacy featured an entire sequence filmed in and around Waterloo Station which was filmed with the station open, all be it the end part with Waterloo Underground was again the platforms at Charing Cross.

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At the very beginning of The Inn Of The Sixth Happiness is a sequence filmed at Liverpool Street in the late 1950s. I often wonder if somewhere in the vaults of the film company are out-takes, or unused footage of arrivals and departures at that time which would be priceless now.

 

There is another film where a rural Scottish chap joins the Army and ends up coming back a hero. I have no idea what it is called, but as he journeys south in the early part of the film there is a wonderful glimpse of a big goods yard just as they were in the 1950s.

 

Sorry, my memory is going.

Edited by jonny777
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The 39 Steps, where in the original Hitchcock version, the Flying Scotsman turns into a Swindon creation at one point!

 

Any version of the 39 steps, except the BBC TV version that was done a couple of years ago, features some interesting railway footage where the hero escapes from the police on the train.

 

 

Also the train crash in Casualty - Class 25 or 31 and Mk1's?

 

and of course, we can't forget Top Gear's version of cheap trains.............

 

Cheers,

Mick

 

And on the subject of TV Dramas / Nene Valley Railway (home to the Queen video, various rail scenes in Octopussy and Goldeneye)

When ITV did Londons Burning they used the Sugar plant for some scenes, most memorably was a fire on a Nuclear flask train powered by a class 14.

Daieil Dalzeil & Pascoe set up a coach crash on Wansford Level Crossing.

 

And in a rare moment of sensibility from Top Gear, The joint TG/NR level crossing crash that was filmed in North Lincolnshire!

 

And flying :) slightly of topic there is Those Magnificent Men In Their flying Machines, and IIRC a scene in the Biggles movie where Biggles is flying a helecopter (don't ask) and he is being chased by "the Baron", and to escape Biggles lands on a flat wagon in the train and then lifts off after the baron has flown past.

 

Edited following research.

Edited by Catkins
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The 39 Steps, where in the original Hitchcock version, the Flying Scotsman turns into a Swindon creation at one point!

A reversal of that in "John & Julie" (a charming 1955 film about two children who run away from Dorset to see the Coronation, with a very early small part for Peter Sellers) - We get a glimpse of a Gresley A3 blurring across the screen, then John hanging out of the carriage window exclaiming "I can see the engine! It's a County class!", then the ticket collector (wearing his SR cap badge) behind him saying: "A King class, actually".

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what was the name of the film where a fox hunt ends up on a railway line?

I think its The Belstone Fox - Hymek and an emergency brake application before the D7000 does its bit for keeping foxkind !

 

Regards

 

Matt Wood

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Heartbeat is a bit obvious as they had plenty of stories which involved the railway, one I remember is where someone steals the WD gordon, and one where an old man had a layout in his shed

 

Also there where a few episodes of brookside where one of the family had a layout in his garage, that was kinmore built by the liverpool model. Railway society bob and gareth rowlands

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