Trivia / The Railway Children

• California Doubling: While the scenes in London were shot in Hampstead, and the majority of Yorkshire scenes were filmed there too, the scenes of the children sitting on the bridge and seeing the landslide were filmed in Lancashire.
• Cast the Runner-Up: Lionel Jeffries admitted he was tempted to play the role of Perks himself, but eventually decided to cast Bernard Cribbins "because of his lovely calm comedy." Jeffries did play the voice of Malcolm.
• Contractual Purity: Sally Thomsett had it written into her contract that she could never let the crew know her real age - and was forbidden from smoking and drinking on set - as well as being seen with her boyfriend. She and Jenny Agutter ended up grounded after they snuck off the set to go for a night on the town.
• Dawson Casting:
  • The actress playing 11-year-old Phyllis in the film was 20 at the time, three years older than Jenny Agutter playing her older sister. Agutter herself was a milder example, seventeen playing Bobbie at fifteen.
  • The belated sequel, The Railway Children Return, is set at the start of World War II in 1939, 34 years after the first book/film. It was made in 2021, 51 years after the previous film. This means at 70, Jenny Agutter played 49-year-old Bobbie.
• Distanced from Current Events: ITV pulled their airing of the remake three days after the Ufton Nervet rail crash in 2004.
• Looping Lines: Richard Leech dubs Peter Bromilow's voice as the doctor.
• Real-Life Relative: Deddie Davies plays Mrs Perks. Her husband Graham Mitchell played the Cart Man.
• Reclusive Artist: Gary Warren, who played Peter, gave up acting in the 70s and has avoided interviews and conventions.
• Role Reprise:
  • Jenny Agutter had actually played Bobbie in a TV adaptation two years previously. She almost didn't do the film because of this.
  • Christopher Witty had also played Jim in the same version.
• Sleeper Hit: While the higher ups expected the film to do okay, thanks to love of the book, they were not prepared for it to be a huge success at Christmas, and such a big one that it was re-released multiple times over the next few years.
• Star-Making Role: For Jenny Agutter.
• Suppressed Mammaries: Sally Thomsett (Phyllis) had to have her breasts strapped down because she was playing a much younger girl. In fact, this was such a big secret at the time that she wasn't allowed to smoke or drink off the set during filming, or for quite a while after that to keep up the pretense.
• Uncredited Role: Amelia Bayntun as a cook.
• Vindicated by Cable: The film was not a great success when it was released. Jenny Agutter expressed surprise when she returned from America ten years later and the film was suddenly a hit, having been played on television so much.

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