Films that feature the railways

[EbbwJunction1]

The book just has a group of MI5 trackers following chummy on to a late HST to Sheffield in good time. Once the film’s director has decided to make things more dramatic than the book, he probably has to go the whole hog. If I remember the departure from the train is even less plausible and set in Suffolk or thereabouts, which may explain the use of the EMU.

Colchester station was used as the destination of the train, with Michael Caine filmed standing on the tracks, having got off onto the four foot to avoid being seen by the person he's following.

 

[Gloster]

Colchester station was used as the destination of the train, with Michael Caine filmed standing on the tracks, having got off onto the four foot to avoid being seen by the person he's following.

But at least he got off the same type of train that he got on. Too often you see something like the character joining a loco-hauled express and then at another station, or even another part of the same one, getting off a DMU or a train in a completely different livery when it is supposed to be the same train. Getting the same type of train in both scenes is better than many.

If you look at the scene at St Pancras, the stuntman jumps on to the step at the rear driver’s door and there is then a a close up of Caine supposedly hanging on while he opens it, although you can see that the train isn’t moving. Then he is seen from the inside of the train getting through the door and then going through a communicating door: this is clearly the guard’s compartment.

 

[steamybrian]

Has anyone mentioned ..

The Navigators

It is about a P/Way gang in the Sheffield/South Yorkshire area around 1994/1995 and how they handled the change from BR to Privatisation.
If you thought that some of the situations were funny then I remember seeing the same situations around the same period. Although I worked for BR in offices (not p/way) I feel it was a real eye opener on what really went on behind the scenes. Without giving a "spoiler " about the ending of the film it was why I fully support nationalisation and look forward to GBR. The speaking parts were actors but many of the "supporting actors (non-speaking)" were actual p/way staff.

 

[EbbwJunction1]

But at least he got off the same type of train that he got on. Too often you see something like the character joining a loco-hauled express and then at another station, or even another part of the same one, getting off a DMU or a train in a completely different livery when it is supposed to be the same train. Getting the same type of train in both scenes is better than many.

If you look at the scene at St Pancras, the stuntman jumps on to the step at the rear driver’s door and there is then a a close up of Caine supposedly hanging on while he opens it, although you can see that the train isn’t moving. Then he is seen from the inside of the train getting through the door and then going through a communicating door: this is clearly the guard’s compartment.

yes, that's very true.

I've recently watched "The Last Journey", which was filmed on the GWR system in 1936 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Journey.

The story centres around train driver Bob Holt (Julien Mitchell) who's on his last journey before retirement thinks his fireman (Charlie, played by Michael Hogan) is having an affair with his wife. The driver intends to kill himself and his passengers by crashing the train. The train is filled with colourful characters, including a psychoanalyst who persuades the driver not to do it.

An interesting part is that there was a wide variety of GWR locomotives used during the filming. There are times when the engines used change without notice; for example, at one point the two crew arrive at Paddington on a King and get off a Castle at Ranelagh Bridge depot without first "officially" changing locos! It was, of course, all because the use of the lines and locos was restricted by the GWR, but it's interesting to see.

 

[John Luxton]

North West Frontier - starring Kenneth More set in India. Great film - crossing the partially blown up bridge was very well filmed.

Unstoppable 2010 - which is supposed to have been inspired by real eventsin the USA. - Actually saw this at the cinema which was unusual for me as I don't go. But back then when I was teaching we used to have a Christmas trip to the multi Screen cinema near the school and Unstoppable had just been released and I suggested that as one of the films and I volunteered to supervise that group. Great film, children enjoyed it and so did I.

There may have been a few technical inaccuracies but I recall is that the children were engrossed none asked to leave to go the toilet a well known request in class or elsewhere if they are losing concentration!

I see that 39 Steps has been mentioned - personally I rate the Kenneth More version as the best railway and acting wise - the original Robert Donat version is spoilt by the fact the LNER train briefly becomes Castle or King hauled as it emerges from the tunnel whistling at the moment the woman screams on finding the body in Hannay's flat. That one error spoils it in my book.

Another film which keeps swapping engines from electric to diesel is the pandemic style film Cassandra Crossing filmed in Europe where the World Health Organisation tries to kill off a train load of infected passengers by diverting it over a derelict bridge knowing it will collapse. We never find out why a driver would go over an unused line and a dangerous bridge, the plot just focuses on some of the passengers separating the rear passenger carraige before the bridge is reached. (Surely once the brake lines had parted the train would stop anyway?)

There is also the Ghost Train written by Arnold Wrigley (Private Godfrey in Dad's Army) there are two versions 1931 and 1941 (latter with Arthur Askey) filmed on the GWR in West Country and Wales - Barmouth Bridge features in the bridge scenes. If I recall the GWR Publication "Track Topics" which was republished in the 1970s included something on the making of this film, though long since lost my copy and can't check.

 

[Gloster]

North West Frontier - starring Kenneth More set in India. Great film - crossing the partially blown up bridge was very well filmed.

Unstoppable 2010 - which is supposed to have been inspired by real eventsin the USA. - Actually saw this at the cinema which was unusual for me as I don't go. But back then when I was teaching we used to have a Christmas trip to the multi Screen cinema near the school and Unstoppable had just been released and I suggested that as one of the films and I volunteered to supervise that group. Great film, children enjoyed it and so did I.

There may have been a few technical inaccuracies but I recall is that the children were engrossed none asked to leave to go the toilet a well known request in class or elsewhere if they are losing concentration!

I see that 39 Steps has been mentioned - personally I rate the Kenneth More version as the best railway and acting wise - the original Robert Donat version is spoilt by the fact the LNER train briefly becomes Castle or King hauled as it emerges from the tunnel whistling at the moment the woman screams on finding the body in Hannay's flat. That one error spoils it in my book.

There is also the Ghost Train written by Arnold Wrigley (Private Godfrey in Dad's Army) there are two versions 1931 and 1941 (latter with Arthur Askey) filmed on the GWR in West Country and Wales - Barmouth Bridge features in the bridge scenes. If I recall the GWR Publication "Track Topics" which was republished in the 1970s included something on the making of this film, though long since lost my copy and can't check.

Arnold Ridley. Track Topics does have a page or so and three photos, one of which shows how the trick photography was done.

 

[Railcar]

Waterloo Station showing a coffin being loaded into a cargo carriage in The Party's Over

Waterloo Station (in the days of Eurostar) in The Bourne Ultimatum. A long scene in which Bourne arrives on Eurostar, then protects a journalist from CIA surveillance and assassination.

 

[steamybrian]

Waterloo Station showing a coffin being loaded into a cargo carriage in The Party's Over

Waterloo Station (in the days of Eurostar) in The Bourne Ultimatum. A long scene in which Bourne arrives on Eurostar, then protects a journalist from CIA surveillance and assassination.

Waterloo station also features in the film
"Terminus" which was made in 1961

 

[MotCO]

Waterloo Station also featured in a Del-Boy episode, where he first met Raquel.

 

[contrex]

Waterloo Station also featured in a Del-Boy episode, where he first met Raquel.

And a Kinks song, for the geriatric among us...

 

[D1511]

Has anyone mentioned ..

The Navigators

It is about a P/Way gang in the Sheffield/South Yorkshire area around 1994/1995 and how they handled the change from BR to Privatisation.
If you thought that some of the situations were funny then I remember seeing the same situations around the same period. Although I worked for BR in offices (not p/way) I feel it was a real eye opener on what really went on behind the scenes. Without giving a "spoiler " about the ending of the film it was why I fully support nationalisation and look forward to GBR. The speaking parts were actors but many of the "supporting actors (non-speaking)" were actual p/way staff.

That's a bit of a Ken Loach classic. I'd love to watch that again.

Edit: Found it on YouTube and watching it now, despite the ads. Very political as you'd expect from Loach, but also pretty accurate, I'd say.

 

[D1511]

Waterloo Station showing a coffin being loaded into a cargo carriage in The Party's Over

Waterloo Station (in the days of Eurostar) in The Bourne Ultimatum. A long scene in which Bourne arrives on Eurostar, then protects a journalist from CIA surveillance and assassination.

I was at Waterloo when they were filming that! Station was operating completely as usual except for a higher cop count and a few signs informing passengers that filming "was taking place today". There was a bit of the concourse roped off for one of those tracks that moving cameras run along up at the far end where the mezzanine pub was/is. It would have been about 2006 I reckon.

 

[Halwynd]

Has anyone mentioned ..

The Navigators

It is about a P/Way gang in the Sheffield/South Yorkshire area around 1994/1995 and how they handled the change from BR to Privatisation.
If you thought that some of the situations were funny then I remember seeing the same situations around the same period. Although I worked for BR in offices (not p/way) I feel it was a real eye opener on what really went on behind the scenes. Without giving a "spoiler " about the ending of the film it was why I fully support nationalisation and look forward to GBR. The speaking parts were actors but many of the "supporting actors (non-speaking)" were actual p/way staff.

Yes, a sorry tale about privatisation. Sad in parts, hilarious in others - where's mi free sardines? - highly recommended.

 

[EYFanatic]

Space Camp (an ill-fated release given it was post Challenger Disaster) has a brief shot of the NASA network with one of the Nasa switchers on the internal rail line

 

[Merthyr Imp]

There was also a third version of 'The Thirty-Nine Steps' starring Robert Powell, 1978. In rather a come-down from the previous versions, instead of the Forth Bridge it features the Victoria Bridge on the Severn Valley Railway.

Two films on a similar theme to 'Unstoppable' are 'Runaway Train' (1985) with Jon Voight, and 'Runaway!', something of a B picture from 1973.

An early Hitchcock is 'Number Seventeen' (1932) with lengthy train sequences featuring a Gresley Pacific. Speaking of which there is the early talkie, 'Flying Scotsman' (1930) starring a young Ray Milland.

Two films on the same subject are the Buster Keaton silent comedy 'The General' and the Disney live action film 'The Great Locomotive Chase' (1956)

 

[Royston Vasey]

Still theoretically possible at somewhere like Sheffield, perhaps?

Not at Hull Paragon where it was filmed, even then!

 

[cadder toad]

Renoir's La Bête Humaine. Great shots of French steam locos

 

[Ashley Hill]

The Casandra Crossing

 

[Spamcan81]

The Buntingford branch appeared in at least three full length feature films with scenes filmed at West Mill and Braughing stations. Postman’s Knock starring Spike Milligan. Happy Ever After starring David Niven. Operation Bullshine starring Donald Sinden.

 

[Spamcan81]

The Nene Valley railway has been a popular location for filming. The bond movies, Octopussy and Goldeneye. The Dirty Dozen - The Next Mission. Top Secret - a spoof spy film apparently. Nine - a romantic musical drama starring Penelope Cruz. Has also appeared in the tv series Secret Army and Poirot. There’s probably others. And the last one that comes to mind is Queen’s Breakthrough music video.

 

[D6130]

Has The Taking of Pelham 123 been mentioned? (Sorry....too tired to scroll back through 80 posts!).

 

[birchesgreen]

A few i've seen with notable railway footage over the last few years (i used to have a movie review blog so have them all recorded!):

The Phantom Express (1932)
Terror Train (1980)
By Whose Hand? (1932)
The Last Journey (1936)
The Gold Express (1955)
Espionage (1937)
The Mystery Train (1931)
Seven Sinners (1936)
Streamline Express (1935)
Sleepers West (1941)
Midnight Limited (1940)
Rome Express (1932)

and a lot more, pretty much all the above can be tracked down on YouTube i believe.

 

[MerlinRail 804]

The My Family S4 Christmas special “Sixty Feet Under” was about being stuck on a Piccadilly Line train in the middle of a tunnel. It’s very definitely a mock-up of course, and it always gripes me that they’re on a 73 stock talking about “carriage number 7”!

It’s probably been mentioned already but all three Paddingtons have featured the station in them. One of them (I believe the first) also featured the entrance to Marylebone, IIRC when Paddington is in the mail van and being dropped off or something like that)

 

[Ashley Hill]

The Love Match starring Arthur Askey

 

[John Luxton]

Last night I decided to watch Battle of the Bulge on ITV player. It is years since I last saw this film. There is a railway section in this. A train with a couple of heavy guns are hurried to the US forces. Now it is supposed to be the Ardennes but it was apparently filmed in Spain as the Spanish still had a lot of period German equipment in the 1960s and were also called upon to provide aircraft for the later Battle of Britain movie.

Anyway the train sets out and it is quite clear from the initial shots we are in Spanish broadgauge territory! The train also passes through mainly arid sunny landscapes to start strange when the Battle was fought in the winter of 1944 in northern Europe! Train disappears into a tunnel and when it emerges the forward view shown one can see lightweight almost tramway overhead line equipment and the gauge isn't so broad!

The train is finally stopped by a Panzer standing on the tracks at a tunnel mouth (no overhead) and fires a shell down the tunnel at almost point blank range! Given that there would have been a significant boiler explosion one might have thought the tank would have fired sooner given that it was shown to be a straight tunnel!

The film is full of erors and anachronisms all listed on IMDB. But I suppose its an entertaining action movie but nowhere as good as other war films of the period.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Have we had "The First Great Train Robbery" yet? This was a 1978 "heist movie" (set in mid 19th century London) and featuring Sean Connery, Donald Sutherland, Lesley-Anne Down and various other well-known names. Believe the railway scenes in the movie were filmed at a number of different places in the Republic of Ireland.

 

[Vinyl_Lap]

No sure if this has been mentioned yet, but Buster (1988) has a good few scenes of a Class 40.

 

[birchesgreen]

The Hard Men episode of the Sweeney starts with a shot of a Class 86 pulling into London Euston.

One of the other episodes (can't remember title at the moment) has Regan and Carter chasing some hoodlum through Farringdon.

 

[Mr. SW]

For a Few Dollars More (1965) with Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef. Very Spanish-looking loco with side buffers, shackle coupling and cupboard-door smokebox sporting a cowcatcher...

 

[birchesgreen]

A few films which feature the tube:

Piccadilly Third Stop (1960)
Bulldog Jack (1935) - filmed at British Museum station

and of course... Death Line (1972)