Irish railways that appear in films

[Galteemore]

In 1978-9 there was also a FFT with a colour cover (unusual as they were b/w in those days) with a number of articles focusing on the restoration of 184 and the film work.

Edited December 18, 2020 by Galteemore

[Old Blarney]

Murder in Eden is a 1961 British mystery film directed by Max Varnel and starring Ray McAnally, Catherine Feller and Yvonne Buckingham.^[1] The screenplay involves the murder of an art critic and subsequent hunt for the killer.

Railway connection.

There is a brief scene with a Brand New Class 121. How appropriate.

Loads of shots of Dublin, Irish vehicle registrations, and believe it or not, the film is supposed to be about Scotland Yard and London. Lots of Irish interest and Actors and Actresses. 

Enjoy.

[Galteemore]

That’s interesting. Max’s father Marcel Varnel presided over a location swap in the other direction in the Will Hay comedy ‘Oh Mr Porter’ - set in the imaginary border town of Buggleskelly on the Southern Railway of Northern Ireland - filmed in Hampshire but purporting to be Fermanagh ! 

Edited December 18, 2020 by Galteemore

[DSERetc]

On 13/12/2020 at 8:12 PM, Galteemore said:

 

Fake carriages were constructed on old under frames. These kicked around in a siding at Bray until the early 80s.

 

184 being turned in Bray. There were three Dublin to Bray return trips on 22/9/1979 and on 12/04/1980 and 13/04/1980,   I cannot remember which day I took the photos.   The film coaches were stored in the siding between the turntable and the up platform and on the line at the then disused Goods store.

DSERetc

[Galteemore]

Yes it’s the bottom photo I recall. Scary how ago that is !

[jhb171achill]

Recent pokings about in my researches turned up the fact that a film crew involved in filming "Alfred the Great" in 1968 in Co. Galway, near Loughrea, turned up at the station one day and filmed quite a bit of a PW gang working on the track over the first 2 miles or so out of Loughrea.

I wonder if anyone knows where the footage is!

 

[Killian Keane]

Guns in the Heather I believe was filmed on the Long Pavement-Ardnacrusha branch with B151 (was this the only instance of a diesel on the Ardnacrusha branch?)

THE SECRET OF BOYNE CASTLE | British Railway Movie Database

[Mayner]

Padraic O'Cuimin mentions the filming in his book the Baronial Lines of the MGWR, I think he mentions the replacement of the crossover from the running line to the loop in chaired bullhead track with the branch G Class assisting in slewing the new crossover into positioning and general tidying up of trackwork in the station.

Apparently the branch had something of a revival in the mid-late 60s with a Station Master actively promoting cattle traffic and material for both Tynagh Mine and the "Alfred the Great" film set arriving by rail. The mine appears to have given a short lived to the branch though the ore went direct by road from the mine to Galway Port. The mine was worked out by 1982 and seems to have left a nice mess https://connachttribune.ie/tynagh-labelled-most-hazardous-mine-in-ireland/ for the Isish taxpayer to clean up.

Probably the tail end of the days where the local Station Master was also the 'sales rep" for CIE with the authority to agreed rates and get things done before it went over to the "Area Manager" system long before todays "Call Center's" and "Account Managers" with little or no influence in negotiating rates or actually getting things done.

[BosKonay]

Perhaps an ‘inspired by the pictures’ range ?

[Mayner]

6 hours ago, Killian Keane said:

Guns in the Heather I believe was filmed on the Long Pavement-Ardnacrusha branch with B151 (was this the only instance of a diesel on the Ardnacrusha branch?)

THE SECRET OF BOYNE CASTLE | British Railway Movie Database

The station scene appears to have been filmed at Craughwell Station on the Limerick-Athenry section of the WLWR line, the Ardnacrusha branch appears to have been in use up to the early 1970s with diesel hauled goods trains.

Nice to see the interior of a side corridor coach after all these years.

[h gricer]

On 15/12/2020 at 2:28 PM, Wexford70 said:

There is a film made in Enniscorthy station called Underground (1969)

Never seen it.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066505/locations

 

I vaguely remember that, my good friend the late Davy Boyle gave me spare slides he had of that filming in Enniscorthy, the semaphore signals were converted to German semaphores for the filming, a Maybach E class locomotive was disguised as a German shunter, Davy and some other gricers, maybe the late Tony Price and of course the late Joe StLeger, I'd be surprised if Joe wasn't there, went to Enniscorthy for the filming.

Another film which I do remember, back in 1992 outside the Phoenix Park Tunnel, filmed early on a Sunday morning ''Into The West'' with Gabriel Byrne, Frank Kelly and Brendan Gleeson as the heartless Garda inspector, the train scene at the Tunnel with the 2 lads and white horse inside a fertiliser wagon, a made up goods trains, I think the locomotive was 165 or 185, not sure, I'II have to look at the movie again.

[skinner75]

21 minutes ago, h gricer said:

I vaguely remember that, my good friend the late Davy Boyle gave me spare slides he had of that filming in Enniscorthy, the semaphore signals were converted to German semaphores for the filming, a Maybach E class locomotive was disguised as a German shunter, Davy and some other gricers, maybe the late Tony Price and of course the late Joe StLeger, I'd be surprised if Joe wasn't there, went to Enniscorthy for the filming.

Another film which I do remember, back in 1992 outside the Phoenix Park Tunnel, filmed early on a Sunday morning ''Into The West'' with Gabriel Byrne, Frank Kelly and Brendan Gleeson as the heartless Garda inspector, the train scene at the Tunnel with the 2 lads and white horse inside a fertiliser wagon, a made up goods trains, I think the locomotive was 165 or 185, not sure, I'II have to look at the movie again.

'Tay-ho' the white horse lol

[skinner75]

Apparently this was on the Irish syllabus - long after I left school though! 

Seriously dark stuff I reckon. Footage of train arriving into Rathdrum (I think), and also arriving into Rathdrum at the end of the short!! Brendan Gleeson is in it

"Cáca Milis"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SW-tdaO2s9o

 

Edited March 8, 2022 by skinner75

[DoctorPan]

Oh god not Cáca Milis, haunting from the past that is.

[Ironroad]

Never saw that before, very dark. Opening scene is definitely Rathdrum.  For a well made piece there is a bit of sloppiness at the end,  in that, the train arriving at the station  is not the one that departs in the final scene as she walks along the platform.  

[skinner75]

28 minutes ago, Ironroad said:

Never saw that before, very dark. Opening scene is definitely Rathdrum.  For a well made piece there is a bit of sloppiness at the end,  in that, the train arriving at the station  is not the one that departs in the final scene as she walks along the platform.  

That, and the shot where the exterior is from along the stretch around Bray head - the angle of what is passing by the window doesn't line up with the carriage!

Are the carriage interior shots from a Cravens? Maybe one of the RPSI coaches was used. 

[jhb171achill]

Strange American train horn sound for an IE loco! 

 

Interior shots are a laminate.

 

[Garfield]

Already mentioned earlier in this thread, but Six Shooter is a good one, with plenty of Cravens interior shots and 'classic' Network Catering attitude...