The Railway Children (1970 film)

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''The Railway Children'' is a 1970 British

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

based on the 1906 novel of the same name by

E. Nesbit Edith Nesbit (married name Edith Bland; 15 August 1858 – 4 May 1924) was an English writer and poet, who published her books for children as E. Nesbit. She wrote or collaborated on more than 60 such books. She was also a political activist an ...

. The film was directed by

Lionel Jeffries Lionel Charles Jeffries (10 June 1926 – 19 February 2010) was an English actor, director, and screenwriter. He appeared primarily in films and received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, Golden Globe Awa ...

and stars

Dinah Sheridan Dinah Sheridan (born Dinah Nadyejda Ginsburg; 17 September 1920 – 25 November 2012) was an English actress with a career spanning seven decades. She was best known for the films ''Genevieve'' (1953) and ''The Railway Children'' (1970); the lon ...

Jenny Agutter Jennifer Ann Agutter (born 20 December 1952) is a British actress. She began her career as a child actress in 1964, appearing in ''East of Sudan'', '' Star!'', and two adaptations of ''The Railway Children''—the BBC's 1968 television serial ...

(who had earlier featured in the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

's 1968 dramatisation of the novel),

Sally Thomsett Sally Thomsett (born 3 April 1950) is an English actress who starred as Phyllis in the film ''The Railway Children'' (1970) and played Jo in the TV sitcom ''Man About the House'' (1973–1976). She also appeared as Janice in the film '' Straw Do ...

and

Bernard Cribbins Bernard Joseph Cribbins (29 December 1928 – 27 July 2022) was an English actor and singer whose career spanned over seven decades. During the 1960s, Cribbins became known in the UK for his successful novelty records " The Hole in the Groun ...

in leading roles. The film was released to cinemas in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

on 21 December 1970. The film rights were bought by Jeffries. It was his directorial debut and he wrote the screenplay. ''The Railway Children'' was a critical success, both at time of release and in later years.

Plot

The storyline is episodic, reflecting the original serialisation of the novel. In 1905, the Waterburys are an affluent family who live in a luxurious villa in the suburbs of London. Charles Waterbury, the father, works at the

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

. The day after Christmas, he is arrested on suspicion of being a spy. This is hidden from the rest of the family by his wife. The family become impoverished and are forced to move to a house called Three Chimneys in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, which is near

Oakworth railway station Oakworth Railway Station serves the village of Oakworth, near Keighley, and within the City of Bradford Metropolitan District, West Yorkshire, England. History The station was built by the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway (KWVR) and opened w ...

. When they arrive, they find the house in a mess and rat-infested. The three children, Roberta (known by her nickname Bobbie), Phyllis and Peter, find amusement in watching the trains on the nearby railway line and waving to the passengers. They become friends with Albert Perks, the station porter, and with an elderly gentleman who regularly takes the 9:15 train. To make ends meet, their mother works as a writer and also home schools the children. Mrs Waterbury falls ill with flu. Bobbie writes to the gentleman, who delivers food and medicine to the house to help their mother get better. They are admonished by their mother for telling others of their plight and asking for assistance. The following day, a man is found at the railway station. He speaks a language they cannot understand. The children figure out he can speak French, in which their mother is fluent. Mrs Waterbury discovers the man is an exiled Russian writer who has arrived in England to find his family who had fled there. He stays at their house. Bobbie writes another letter to the gentleman, asking him to help in finding the exile's family, who are soon found. One day, while watching the railway tracks, they notice there has been a landslide which has partially obstructed the tracks. The children fashion the girls' red petticoats into flags to warn the driver of the impending danger. The train stops due to their warning. The railway company and villagers hold a party for the children and thank them for their actions. The children are given personalised engraved watches and are dubbed "The Railway Children". The children find out that Mr Perks, the station porter, doesn't celebrate his birthday. They secretly ask for gifts from the villagers that he has helped in the past and deliver the gifts to his house. Mr Perks initially refuses the gifts as he doesn't accept charity. However, after the children explain that the gifts are from people that he has helped over the years, he thanks them for their kindness. In return the following day, he delivers old newspapers and magazines for them to read. Bobbie reads one of the newspapers and notices a story about their father being imprisoned. She discusses this with her mother who finally discloses that their father is in prison after having been falsely convicted of being a spy and selling state secrets. She speculates that a jealous colleague of his may be behind it. Bobbie again contacts the gentleman and asks him to help her father; he informs her that since meeting the children and reading about their father's case, he has been working to prove his innocence. A group of youths are playing a game of paper chase which the children observe. One of the boys injures his leg in a railway tunnel and is helped by the children. He is taken to their house where he recuperates from his injuries. The gentleman visits their house and reveals that the boy is his grandson, Jim, and thanks the family for looking after him. Jim and Bobbie grow close during his recuperation and promise to write to each other when he departs to his home. After Jim's departure, the children remark on their long hiatus from waving at the train passengers, and resolve to go to the railway the following morning. When they do so, all the passengers wave at them, and the gentleman gestures to a newspaper. Later, with a strange prescience, Bobbie excuses herself from her lessons and walks down to the station, where Perks hints that something special has happened. Confused, Bobbie stands on the station platform, where in the silent lingering smoke she sees her father, who has just alighted onto the platform after being exonerated and released from prison. She runs to greet him shouting "daddy; my daddy!". They return to 'Three Chimneys' and the family are reunited.

End credits

The entire cast break the

fourth wall The fourth wall is a performance convention in which an invisible, imaginary wall separates actors from the audience. While the audience can see through this ''wall'', the convention assumes the actors act as if they cannot. From the 16th cen ...

and perform a curtain call as the credits roll. The camera moves slowly along a railway track towards a train which is decked in flags, in front of which all of the cast are assembled, waving and cheering to the camera. At the start of the credit sequence, a voice can be heard shouting "Thank you, Mr Forbes" to acknowledge producer

Bryan Forbes Bryan Forbes CBE (; born John Theobald Clarke; 22 July 1926 – 8 May 2013) was an English film director, screenwriter, film producer, actor and novelist described as a "Renaissance man"Falk Q. . BAFTA. 17 October 2007. Retrieved 9 May 2013 an ...

. At the end, Bobbie Waterbury (

) holds up a small slate on which "The End" is written in chalk.

Cast

as Roberta 'Bobbie' Waterbury *

as Phyllis Waterbury * Gary Warren as Peter Waterbury *

as Mother, Mrs. Waterbury *

as Albert Perks *

William Mervyn William Mervyn Pickwoad (3 January 1912 – 6 August 1976) was an English actor best known for his portrayal of the bishop in the clerical comedy ''All Gas and Gaiters'', the old gentleman in ''The Railway Children'' and Inspector Charles Rose i ...

as the Old Gentleman *

Iain Cuthbertson Iain Cuthbertson (4 January 1930 – 4 September 2009) was a Scottish character actor and theatre director. He was known for his tall imposing build and also his distinctive gravelly, heavily accented voice. He had lead roles in ''The Border ...

as Father, Charles Waterbury *

Peter Bromilow Peter Brian Bromilow (21 April 1933 - 16 October 1994) was an English-born actor. Active on stage, he made his film debut in 1967 in ''Camelot'', playing Sir Sagramore to Vanessa Redgrave's Guenevere. He moved to Hollywood in the 1970s, and made ...

as Doctor Forrest *

Ann Lancaster Ann A Lancaster (5 May 1920 – 31 October 1970) was a well-known character actress who appeared in many British films, television shows and in theatre. Lancaster specialised in comic roles and had a talent for voices which she often used on ra ...

as Ruth * Gordon Whiting as Russian * Beatrix Mackey as Aunt Emma *

Deddie Davies Deddie Davies (born Gillian Nancy Davies, 2 March 1938 – 21 December 2016) was a Welsh people, Welsh character actress. Biography Davies was born in Bridgend, Wales. She trained at Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, RADA and is most familiar to ...

as Mrs. Nell Perks * David Lodge as Band Leader * Christopher Witty as Jim *

Brenda Cowling Brenda Rose Cowling (23 April 1925 – 2 October 2010) was an English actress from London. Cowling wanted to be a film actress from the time she was a child; however, upon leaving school, she trained instead as a shorthand typist. Biography Aft ...

as Mrs. Hilda Viney * Paddy Ward as Cart Man *

Erik Chitty Erik Chitty (8 July 1907 in Dover, Kent – 22 July 1977 Brent, Middlesex), was an English stage, film and television actor. Early life Chitty was the son of a flour miller, Frederick Walter Chitty and his wife Ethel Elsie Assistance née Fra ...

as Photographer * Sally James as Maid * Dominic Allan as CID Man * Andy Wainwright as Desk Sergeant *

as Malcolm (Voice) *

Richard Leech Richard Leeper McClelland (24 November 1922 – 24 March 2004), known professionally as Richard Leech, was an Irish actor. Richard Leeper McClelland was born in Dublin, Ireland, the son of Isabella Frances (Leeper) and Herbert Saunderson McCl ...

as Doctor (Voice) *

Amelia Bayntun Amelia Bayntun (31 March 1919 – 19 January 1988) was an English stage and television actress. Career Bayntun started her stage career in 1937, when she joined the Bristol Unity Players. During World War II, she was in ''Stars in Battledress ...

as Cook (uncredited) *

Bob Cryer George Robert Cryer (3 December 1934 – 12 April 1994) was an English Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician from Yorkshire. He sat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom as the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parlia ...

(Chairman of the K&WVR) as the guard of the train carrying Mr. Waterbury (uncredited) *

Paul Luty Paul Graham Luty (5 May 1932 – 12 January 1985) was an English wrestler who later became a film and television actor. In 1973 Luty played window cleaner, Bert Henshaw on '' Coronation Street''. Other television credits include '' Love ...

as Malcolm (uncredited) * Graham Mitchell (K&WVR Guard) as Train Guard (uncredited)

Production

Earlier adaptations

The novel was adapted for radio in 1943. It was serialised for television in 1951, as a part of ''Children's Hour'', starring Jean Anderson. The 1951 script was reworked and adapted for television again in 1957 with location scenes filmed on the now-closed Cranleigh line. In 1968 a seven-part series to a fully-revised script was made.

starred in the latter, and the fledgling

Keighley & Worth Valley Railway The Keighley & Worth Valley Railway is a heritage railway line in the Worth Valley, West Yorkshire, England, which runs from Keighley to Oxenhope. It connects to the National Rail network at Keighley railway station. History Inception an ...

with its station at

Oakworth Oakworth is a village in West Yorkshire, England, near Keighley, by the River Worth. The name "Oakworth" indicates that the village was first established in a heavily wooded area. Oakworth railway station is on the route of the Keighley and ...

was used for location scenes.

Development

Lionel Jeffries read the book for the first time when he was returning to Britain by ship from the US to film ''

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' is a 1968 musical-fantasy film directed by Ken Hughes with a screenplay co-written by Roald Dahl and Hughes, loosely based on Ian Fleming's novel '' Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car'' (1964). The film stars ...

'', in which he appeared as an actor. He had lost his own books and borrowed ''The Railway Children'' from his 13-year-old daughter Martha (he had two other children). He loved it, although he admitted "my personality is so different from the quiet romance of the story." However, he said "I found the climate of the... story just right for me, a way in which to start entertaining people and help not destroy our industry. There are hardly any films being made for children and for middle aged and older age groups. I thought this could be one." He bought a six-month option on the film rights for £300 and wrote a screenplay. "I've kept to the story," said Jeffries. "It would be an imposition not to – after all, E. Nesbit's survived 50 years." Jeffries succeeded in attracting financing from

EMI Films EMI Films was a British film studio and distributor. A subsidiary of the EMI conglomerate, the corporate name was not used throughout the entire period of EMI's involvement in the film industry, from 1969 to 1986, but the company's brief conne ...

, who was interested in making family films. Forbes suggested Jeffries direct.LIONEL JEFFRIES Hayward, Anthony. The Independent 20 February 2010: 44. "I knew there were slight bets among the technical staff as to how long I'd last," said Jeffries later. The film was part of Forbes's initial (and, it turned out, only) slate for films at EMI. Jeffries later said "I knew we were taking a big, calculated risk in swimming against the permissive mainstream with such a story. All I could do was make it as honestly as possible: a Victorian documentary."

Casting

was cast as the 11-year-old Phyllis, despite being 20 years old at the time. Her contract forbade her to reveal her true age during the making of the film and she was also not allowed to be seen smoking or drinking during the shoot. 17-year-old Jenny Agutter played her older sister, Roberta, and Gary Warren played their brother, Peter. Agutter had previously played the same role in the 1968

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

adaptation of the story. Dinah Sheridan was cast as Mother and Bernard Cribbins as Perks the porter. Jeffries admitted he was tempted to play the role of Perks himself, but eventually decided to cast Cribbins "because of his lovely calm comedy."

Filming locations

Inspired by the BBC's 1968 adaptation, Lionel Jeffries used the

Keighley and Worth Valley Railway The Keighley & Worth Valley Railway is a heritage railway line in the Worth Valley, West Yorkshire, England, which runs from Keighley to Oxenhope. It connects to the National Rail network at Keighley railway station. History Inception and ...

as the backdrop for the film, referring to it as per the original story as the "Great Northern and Southern Railway". At the time of filming, there were still very few

heritage railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (US usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) i ...

s in Britain and only the KWVR could provide a tunnel, which is important in a number of scenes. The tunnel is a lot shorter in reality than it appears in the film, for which a temporary extension to the tunnel was made using canvas covers. Four of the already-preserved

locomotives A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, motor coach, railcar or power car; the u ...

based on the Worth Valley Railway were chosen for use in the film's production in relation to role; MSC67 as the local train engine, newly-arrived 5775 (L89) as the Old Gentleman's engine, 52044 (preserved as L&Y 957) as 'The Green Dragon' express and 4744 (69523/1744) as the 'Scotch Flyer'. They were painted in period-inspired liveries for the filming: 5775 in brown, reminiscent of the Stroudley livery of the

London Brighton and South Coast Railway The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR; known also as the Brighton line, the Brighton Railway or the Brighton) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1846 to 1922. Its territory formed a rough triangle, with London at its ...

; 957 in apple green, similar to liveries used by the North Eastern Railway; Great Northern Railway; and

London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after LMS) of the " Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At th ...

, and 4744 and MSC67 in plain black, as used by most railway companies in Britain at one time or another. 67 is now at the

Middleton Railway The Middleton Railway is the world's oldest continuously working railway, situated in the English city of Leeds. It was founded in 1758 and is now a heritage railway, run by volunteers from The Middleton Railway Trust Ltd. since 1960. The rail ...

in Leeds and 4744 is now with the

North Norfolk Railway The North Norfolk Railway (NNR) – also known as the "Poppy Line" – is a heritage steam railway in Norfolk, England, running between the towns of Sheringham and Holt. The North Norfolk Railway is owned and operated as a public limite ...

Sheringham Sheringham (; population 7,367) is an English seaside town within the county of Norfolk, United Kingdom.Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Explorer Map 252 - Norfolk Coast East''. . The motto of the town, granted in 1953 to the Sheringham Urban Distr ...

. 5775 and 957 are still on the Worth Valley Railway. As of 2021, 957 has returned to service after overhaul in its film guise, and 5775 is on static display at the Oxenhope Exhibition Shed having been repainted into its GN&SR livery. 4744 is undergoing a ten-yearly overhaul in Norfolk and 67 remains at Middleton but on display, having last operated in 2012. A wide variety of vintage rolling stock was used in the film, including examples from the Metropolitan and London and North Eastern railways. Although different carriages appeared in different liveries, the dominant one is white and maroon, which is reminiscent of the livery of the

Caledonian Railway The Caledonian Railway (CR) was a major Scottish railway company. It was formed in the early 19th century with the objective of forming a link between English railways and Glasgow. It progressively extended its network and reached Edinburgh an ...

. The most important carriage in the film, the Old Gentleman's Saloon, was a North Eastern Railway Director's Saloon; it has also been used for the more recent stage production adaptation of the book. It and all the other carriages seen in the film are still at the KWVR, but tend to be used at special events only due to their age. A number of different locations were employed for various scenes. The house called "Three Chimneys" is in

Oxenhope Oxenhope is a village and civil parish near Keighley in the metropolitan borough of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The population was 2,476 at the time of the 2001 census which had increased to 2,626 at the 2011 Census. Historically part ...

, just north of the

Oxenhope railway station Oxenhope railway station serves the village of Oxenhope, near Haworth, and within the City of Bradford Metropolitan District of West Yorkshire, England. It is the terminus of the Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, with trains to Haworth and K ...

. The

Bronte Parsonage Bronte may refer to: People ;Surname * Brontë family, an English literary family that included: ** Anne Brontë (1820-1849), novelist and poet ** Branwell Brontë (1817-1848), painter and poet ** Charlotte Brontë (1816-1855), novelist and poet * ...

Haworth Haworth () is a village in the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, in the Pennines, south-west of Keighley, west of Bradford and east of Colne in Lancashire. The surrounding areas include Oakworth and Oxenhope. Nearby villages includ ...

was used as the location for Doctor Forrest's surgery. The scenes of the children sitting on a bridge were filmed at

Wycoller Wycoller is a village in the civil parish of Trawden Forest in Pendle, Lancashire, England. It is east of Colne, near to the junction of the Lancashire, West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire borders. The village may date back to the 10th century ...

, near

Colne Colne () is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Pendle in Lancashire, England. Located northeast of Nelson, north-east of Burnley, east of Preston and west of Leeds. The town should not be confused with the unrelated Colne Val ...

. Mytholmes Tunnel, near Haworth, and the railway line running through it, were used extensively in the film, including being the location for the paper chase scene, as well as the famous landslide scene, in which the children wave the girls'

petticoats A petticoat or underskirt is an article of clothing, a type of undergarment worn under a skirt or a dress. Its precise meaning varies over centuries and between countries. According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', in current British Engl ...

in the air to warn the train about said blockage. The landslide sequence itself was filmed in a cutting on the Oakworth side of Mytholmes Tunnel and the fields of long grass, where the children waved to the trains, are situated on the Haworth side of the tunnel. A leaflet, "The Railway Children Walks", is available from KWVR railway stations or the Haworth Tourist Information Centre. The scenes in the Waterburys' London house, before their move to Yorkshire, were filmed at 4 Gainsborough Gardens in Hampstead, north-west London.

Release

Box office

The film was the ninth most popular film at the British box office in 1971 and recouped its cost in that country alone. It was one of the few financial successes of

's regime at

. By June 1972 it had earned EMI a profit of £52,000.

Critical reception

Since its release, the film has received universally positive reviews and holds a 100% rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, based on fifteen reviews.

Home media

A 40th anniversary Blu-ray and DVD was released on 5 May 2010 with a new digitally remastered print. It includes new interviews with

and

. The planned commentary by director

was not completed due to his death in February 2010.

Awards and nominations

''The Railway Children'' received three nominations for awards at the

24th British Academy Film Awards The 24th British Film Awards, given by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 1971, honoured the best films of 1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai ...

ceremony. Bernard Cribbins was nominated in the category of Best Supporting Actor. However, in a category also featuring

John Mills Sir John Mills (born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; 22 February 190823 April 2005) was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portray ...

Colin Welland Colin Welland (born Colin Edward Williams; 4 July 1934 – 2 November 2015) was an English actor and screenwriter. He won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance as Mr Farthing in '' Kes'' (1969) and the Academy Aw ...

and

Gig Young Gig Young (born Byron Elsworth Barr; November 4, 1913 – October 19, 1978) was an American actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performances in ''Come Fill the Cup'' (1952) and '' Teacher's Pet'' ...

, the award went to Welland for his role in the film '' Kes''. Sally Thomsett received a nomination for Best Newcomer in a Leading Role but again lost out to an actor from ''Kes'', in this case David Bradley.

Johnny Douglas John William Henry Tyler Douglas (3 September 1882 – 19 December 1930) was an English cricketer who was active in the early decades of the twentieth century. Douglas was an all-rounder who played for Essex County Cricket Club from 1901 to ...

was also nominated for the Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music but the award was won by American

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gra ...

for his film score for ''

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' is a 1969 American Western buddy film directed by George Roy Hill and written by William Goldman. Based loosely on fact, the film tells the story of Wild West outlaws Robert LeRoy Parker, known as Butch C ...

''.

Merchandise

Hornby Railways Hornby Railways is a British rail transport modelling, model railways manufacturing company. Its roots date back to 1901 in Liverpool, when founder Frank Hornby received a patent for his Meccano construction toy. The first clockwork train was pr ...

produced a 00 gauge train set of the train from the film. It had a

London, Midland and Scottish Railway The London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMSIt has been argued that the initials LMSR should be used to be consistent with LNER, GWR and SR. The London, Midland and Scottish Railway's corporate image used LMS, and this is what is generally u ...

0–6–0 tank shunting locomotive in GN&SR livery with Synchrosmoke, two period coaches, an oval of track and a station.

Bachmann Branchline Bachmann Branchline is a British OO gauge model railway brand manufactured by Bachmann Europe PLC a subsidiary of Bachmann Industries, and is used for British outline OO scale model railways. Bachmann, a US company founded in 1835, was purchased ...

currently produces a 00 gauge train pack from the film, albeit a more accurate set. It includes a

GWR 5700 Class The GWR 5700 Class, or 57xx class, is a class of 0-6-0 pannier tank steam locomotive, built by the Great Western Railway (GWR) and British Railways (BR) between 1929 and 1950. With 863 built, they were the most prolific class of the GWR, an ...

locomotive in GN&SR's brown livery, two LMS Period I carriages in GN&SR's maroon and white livery, and a model of the Oakworth station building. In 2010, to coincide with the 40th anniversary, a book was brought out called ''The Making of the Railway Children'' by Jim Shipley – a former volunteer station master of Oakworth Station. It detailed events that took place during filming and interviews from local people associated with it. In November 2012, a second updated version was printed with added information, in particular about Gary Warren, who disappeared in the mid-1970s after retiring from acting. He had been tracked down by a member of the official ''

Catweazle ''Catweazle'' is a British children's fantasy television series, starring Geoffrey Bayldon in the title role, and created by Richard Carpenter for London Weekend Television. The first series, produced and directed in 1969 by Quentin Lawrence, ...

'' fanclub and the author had permission to write a more updated version of what had happened to him.

BBFC complaint

In 2013, the

British Board of Film Classification The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of f ...

released a statement saying that they had received and evaluated a complaint about the film in that it encouraged children to trespass on the railway tracks. The BBFC noted that the children did trespass on the line, but only to warn an approaching train of the danger of a landslide on the track ahead. They had, however, in an earlier scene walked along the track simply to get to the station. The BBFC also pointed out that the film was set in

Edwardian The Edwardian era or Edwardian period of British history spanned the reign of King Edward VII, 1901 to 1910 and is sometimes extended to the start of the First World War. The death of Queen Victoria in January 1901 marked the end of the Victori ...

times when access to railway lines was not under the same restrictions as modern times.

Legacy

The film has left a lasting impression on the British film industry and audiences. In 1999, the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

(BFI) put ''The Railway Children'' in 66th place in its list of the Top 100 British films of all time. Five years later, the film magazine ''

Total Film ''Total Film'' is a British film magazine published 13 times a year (published monthly and a summer issue is added every year since issue 91, 2004, which is published between July and August issue) by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched i ...

'' named it the 46th greatest British film of the 20th century. In 2005, the British Film Institute included it in their list of 'The 50 films you should see by the age of 14'. In 2008, the film made it onto

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

's list of the 100 Greatest Family Films at number 30, just ahead of ''

Monsters, Inc. ''Monsters, Inc.'' (also known as ''Monsters, Incorporated'') is a 2001 American computer-animated Monster movie, monster comedy film produced by Pixar, Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. Featuring the voices of John Goodman, B ...

'' and just behind ''

Men in Black In popular culture and UFO conspiracy theories, men in black (MIB) are purported men dressed in black suits who claim to be quasi-government agents, who harass, threaten, or sometimes even assassinate unidentified flying object (UFO) witnesses t ...

'' and ''

Ghostbusters ''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American Supernatural fiction, supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and ...

''. On 28 March 2010, the Bradford International Film Festival concluded with a new restoration of ''The Railway Children'' film with the 40th anniversary digital premiere.

also starred in a new TV adaptation of ''The Railway Children'' in 2000 in the role of Mother. Much of the publicity for the 2000 film focused on Agutter's involvement in both films which were made a generation apart. In 2021

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

broadcast ''The Saving of Albert Perks'', a monologue by Bernard Cribbins in which the now adult Roberta returns to Oakworth with two Jewish refugee children who have escaped

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

on the

Kindertransport The ''Kindertransport'' (German for "children's transport") was an organised rescue effort of children (but not their parents) from Nazi-controlled territory that took place during the nine months prior to the outbreak of the Second World ...

Sequel

In May 2021, a sequel titled ''

The Railway Children Return ''The Railway Children Return'', known as ''Railway Children'' in the US, is a 2022 family drama film directed by Morgan Matthews and written by Danny Brocklehurst. It is a sequel to the 1970 film ''The Railway Children'', itself based on the E ...

'' starring Jenny Agutter, started filming in and around Oakworth. It was released on July 15, 2022.

References

External links

* * *
Locomotive MSC671951 TV adaptatio
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1957 TV adaptation
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1968 TV adaptation
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Railway Children 1970 films 1970s historical drama films British children's drama films British historical drama films 1970s children's drama films Films shot at EMI-Elstree Studios Films based on children's books Films directed by Lionel Jeffries Films set in the 1900s Films set in London Films set in Yorkshire Films shot in Yorkshire Keighley and Worth Valley Railway Rail transport films Universal Pictures films Films scored by Johnny Douglas EMI Films films 1970 directorial debut films 1970 drama films 1970s English-language films 1970s British films