Lights, camera… The Railway Magazine editor Paul Bickerdyke reflects on our railways as they have appeared on screen and shares more about what we can expect in the new issue, out August 6.
We are fortunate in Britain to have a rich and varied railway preservation movement, with lines across the country offering their visitors a glimpse into the past – something that is quite rightly being celebrated in this Railway 200 year.
That rich history also offers makers of films and TV shows an authentic and readymade set for any of their scenes taking place on a train, at a station, or by the lineside. I am sure many of our readers will have played ‘guess the location’ when watching something that suddenly cuts to a familiar-looking railway setting.
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One of the most frequently used lines for this is the Bluebell Railway in Sussex, which has been used as a location since the early 1960s – virtually as long as it has been a heritage line in fact. In that time, hundreds of productions have made use of its trains and stations – and not just films and TV dramas, but also advertisements, pop videos and more. This in turn has brought a plethora of celebrities to the line – from Deborah Kerr in 1960’s ‘The Innocents’, the first film to be shot there, through public favourites like comedians Morecambe & Wise, to modern day stars such as Daniel Radcliffe.
You might be surprised to learn just what has been filmed at the Bluebell, and not just locations set in Britain either – as, for example, Horsted Keynes once doubled up as Paris Gare du Nord. But you can read all about it in our feature starting on page 26, and we thank the Bluebell for giving us access to find out what literally goes on behind the scenes.
Also in this issue:
Young Railway Photographer of the Year winners, Flying Scotsman reopens Severn Valley line, John Heaton FCILT is invited aboard for a cab ride of Avanti’s new trains, and looking into the RCTS’s new online database tool which provides detailed reference material about every diesel, electric or gas turbine locomotive that has ever run on the national network.
The Greatest Gathering
A unfortunate quirk of the publishing calendar means that this month’s Railway Magazine goes to press just before the Greatest Gathering in Derby at the beginning of August, but does not go on sale until just afterwards – meaning this issue can be neither a preview nor a review of the event. We will, however, have a full round-up of what promises to be a spectacular three-day show in our September-dated issue.
