The Railway Children
Encyclopedia
The Railway Children is a children's book by Edith Nesbit
, originally serialised in The London Magazine during 1905 and first published in book form in 1906. It has been adapted for the screen several times, of which the 1970 film version
is the best known.
The theme of an innocent man being falsely imprisoned for espionage and finally vindicated might have been influenced by the Dreyfus Affair
, which was a prominent worldwide news item a few years before the book was written. And the Russian exile, persecuted by the Tsars for writing "a beautiful book about poor people and how to help them" and subsequently helped by the children, was most likely an amalgam of the real-life dissidents Sergius Stepniak and Peter Kropotkin
who were both friends of the author.
film.
The BBC again revisited the story with an 8 episode series in 1957 and again in 1968. The 1968 adaptation was placed 96th in the BFI
's 100 Greatest British Television Programmes
poll of 2000. It starred Jenny Agutter
as Roberta and Gillian Bailey
as Phyllis. Of all the TV adaptations, only the 1968 version is known to be extant (it is currently available on DVD); the rest may be lost
.
dramatisation of 1968, the film rights were bought by the actor Lionel Jeffries
, who wrote and directed the film, released in 1970. Jenny Agutter and Dinah Sheridan
starred in the film. The music was composed, arranged and conducted by Johnny Douglas
.
made a new adaptation, as a made-for-television film. This time Jenny Agutter played the role of the mother. Others in the movie include Jemima Rooper
, Jack Blumenau
and JJ Feild
. The railway filmed was the Bluebell Railway
using some of the Railway's steam engines and rolling stock and NBR C Class 0-6-0 "Maude", from the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway
.
Playhouse in Kent, UK, with a cast including Are You Being Served star Nicholas Smith as the Old Gentleman, Paul Henry
from Crossroads as Perks and West End star Susannah Fellows as Mother. Music is by Richard John and book and lyrics by Julian Woolford
. The score was recorded by TER/JAY records and the musical is published by Samuel French Ltd.
A new stage adaptation written by Mike Kenny
and directed by Damian Cruden
was staged in 2008 and 2009 at the National Railway Museum
, York. The adaptation starred Sarah Quintrell
, Colin Tarrant and Marshall Lancaster
(2008 only), and featured a Stirling Single
steam locomotive (GNR 4-2-2 No.1) which, while not actually in steam, entered the stage on the tracks originally leading into the York Goods Station, in which the 'Station Hall' section of the museum is now situated. The stage was constructed inside the large tent outside the Goods Station, which is usually reserved for some of the working locomotives of the museum. The project was set up by York Theatre Royal
, and involved its younger members (Youth theatre) in the production. This adaptation is currently being performed at the disused Waterloo International railway station
. A Toronto
production is currently running at Roundhouse Park, home of John Street Roundhouse National Historic Site
.
The production at Waterloo won an Olivier Award for best Entertainment in 2011.
, a book first published in 1896 and serialised in a popular magazine in 1904, a year before The Railway Children first appeared. In both works the children's adventures bear remarkable similarities. At the climax Nesbit's characters use red petticoats to stop the train whilst Graves has them using a red jacket.
E. Nesbit
Edith Nesbit was an English author and poet whose children's works were published under the name of E. Nesbit. She wrote or collaborated on over 60 books of fiction for children, several of which have been adapted for film and television...
, originally serialised in The London Magazine during 1905 and first published in book form in 1906. It has been adapted for the screen several times, of which the 1970 film version
The Railway Children (film)
The Railway Children is a 1970 British drama film based on the novel of the same name by E. Nesbit. The film was directed by Lionel Jeffries, and stars Dinah Sheridan, Jenny Agutter , Sally Thomsett and Bernard Cribbins in leading roles...
is the best known.
Plot summary
The story concerns the Waterbury family who move to "Three Chimneys", a house near the railway, after the father who works at the Foreign office, is imprisoned as a result of being falsely accused of selling state secrets to the Russians. The three children, Roberta (Bobbie), Peter and Phyllis, find amusement in watching the trains on the nearby railway line and waving to the passengers. They become friendly with Albert Perks, the station porter, and with the Old Gentleman who regularly takes the 9:15 down train. He is eventually able to help prove their father's innocence, and the family is reunited. The family take care of the Russian exile, Mr Szczepansky, who came to England looking for his family (later located) and Jim, the grandson of the Old Gentleman, who suffers a broken leg in a tunnel.The theme of an innocent man being falsely imprisoned for espionage and finally vindicated might have been influenced by the Dreyfus Affair
Dreyfus Affair
The Dreyfus affair was a political scandal that divided France in the 1890s and the early 1900s. It involved the conviction for treason in November 1894 of Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a young French artillery officer of Alsatian Jewish descent...
, which was a prominent worldwide news item a few years before the book was written. And the Russian exile, persecuted by the Tsars for writing "a beautiful book about poor people and how to help them" and subsequently helped by the children, was most likely an amalgam of the real-life dissidents Sergius Stepniak and Peter Kropotkin
Peter Kropotkin
Prince Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin was a Russian zoologist, evolutionary theorist, philosopher, economist, geographer, author and one of the world's foremost anarcho-communists. Kropotkin advocated a communist society free from central government and based on voluntary associations between...
who were both friends of the author.
Adaptations
The story has been adapted for the screen six times to date, including four television series, a feature film, and a made-for-televisionTelevision movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
film.
BBC radio dramatisation
E. Nesbit's perennial favourite was adapted for radio by Marcy Kahan and produced by John Taylor. It stars Paul Copley, Timothy Bateson and Victoria Carling and was first heard in 1991. The play is available on CD.BBC television series
The story was adapted as a television series four times by the BBC. The first of these, in 1951, was in 8 episodes of 30 minutes each. A second adaptation was then produced, which re-used some of the film from the original series but also contained new material with slight cast changes. This had 4 episodes of 60 minutes each.The BBC again revisited the story with an 8 episode series in 1957 and again in 1968. The 1968 adaptation was placed 96th in the BFI
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
's 100 Greatest British Television Programmes
100 Greatest British Television Programmes
The BFI TV 100 is a list compiled in 2000 by the British Film Institute , chosen by a poll of industry professionals, to determine what were the greatest British television programmes of any genre ever to have been screened....
poll of 2000. It starred Jenny Agutter
Jenny Agutter
Jennifer Ann "Jenny" Agutter is an English film and television actress. She began her career as a child actress in the mid 1960s, starring in the BBC television series The Railway Children and the film adaptation of the same book, before moving on to adult roles and relocating to Hollywood.She...
as Roberta and Gillian Bailey
Gillian Bailey
Gillian Bailey or Gilli Bush-Bailey is a British academic and former actress.She was mainly known as a child actor. Her best known role was Billie in Here Come the Double Deckers...
as Phyllis. Of all the TV adaptations, only the 1968 version is known to be extant (it is currently available on DVD); the rest may be lost
Lost film
A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...
.
Film
After the successful BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
dramatisation of 1968, the film rights were bought by the actor Lionel Jeffries
Lionel Jeffries
Lionel Charles Jeffries was an English actor, screenwriter and film director.-Early life and career:Jeffries attended the Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wimborne Minster, Dorset. In 1945, he received a commission in the Oxford and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry...
, who wrote and directed the film, released in 1970. Jenny Agutter and Dinah Sheridan
Dinah Sheridan
Dinah Sheridan is an English actress who appeared in the films 29 Acacia Avenue and Genevieve .She made her film debut in 1937, and has frequently appeared on television...
starred in the film. The music was composed, arranged and conducted by Johnny Douglas
Johnny Douglas (conductor)
Johnny Douglas was an English composer, Musical Director and string arranger, perhaps best known for his work in the easy listening genre...
.
2000 version
In October 1999, ITVITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
made a new adaptation, as a made-for-television film. This time Jenny Agutter played the role of the mother. Others in the movie include Jemima Rooper
Jemima Rooper
Jemima Rooper is an English actress.- Background :Born in Hammersmith, London, Rooper is the daughter of TV journalist Alison Rooper. She attended Redcliffe Primary School in Chelsea, London and Godolphin and Latymer girls' school. While working on The Famous Five, she passed eight GCSEs with A*...
, Jack Blumenau
Jack Blumenau
Jack Blumenau is a British actor, renowned for his work portraying children and little people or borrowers.-Biography:...
and JJ Feild
JJ Feild
John Joseph Feild , known professionally as J. J. Feild, is an Anglo-American actor.-Early and personal life:John Joseph Feild was born in Boulder, Colorado, to British academic Reshad Feild and his American wife. Through his father, he is a relative of British astronomer John Feild...
. The railway filmed was the Bluebell Railway
Bluebell Railway
The Bluebell Railway is a heritage line running for nine miles along the border between East and West Sussex, England. Steam trains are operated between and , with an intermediate station at .The railway is managed and run largely by volunteers...
using some of the Railway's steam engines and rolling stock and NBR C Class 0-6-0 "Maude", from the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway
Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway
The Bo’ness and Kinneil Railway is a Heritage railway in Falkirk, Scotland. It is operated by the Scottish Railway Preservation Society, and operates some 5 miles of track, virtually the entire Slamannan and Borrowstounness Railway that became part of the former North British Railway on the Firth...
.
| Cast | | 1951 (BBC BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff... ) | | 1957 (BBC) | | 1968 (BBC) | | 1970 (Film) | | 2000 (Carlton Television Carlton Television Carlton Television was the ITV franchise holder for London and the surrounding counties including the cities of Solihull and Coventry of the West Midlands, south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire,... ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mother | Jean Anderson Jean Anderson Jean Anderson was an English actress born in Eastbourne, Sussex. She is best remembered for her television roles as hard-faced matriarch Mary Hammond in the 1970s BBC drama The Brothers and as rebellious aristocrat Lady Jocelyn "Joss" Holbrook in the 1980s Second World War series Tenko .She is... |
Jean Anderson Jean Anderson Jean Anderson was an English actress born in Eastbourne, Sussex. She is best remembered for her television roles as hard-faced matriarch Mary Hammond in the 1970s BBC drama The Brothers and as rebellious aristocrat Lady Jocelyn "Joss" Holbrook in the 1980s Second World War series Tenko .She is... |
Ann Castle | Dinah Sheridan Dinah Sheridan Dinah Sheridan is an English actress who appeared in the films 29 Acacia Avenue and Genevieve .She made her film debut in 1937, and has frequently appeared on television... |
Jenny Agutter Jenny Agutter Jennifer Ann "Jenny" Agutter is an English film and television actress. She began her career as a child actress in the mid 1960s, starring in the BBC television series The Railway Children and the film adaptation of the same book, before moving on to adult roles and relocating to Hollywood.She... |
| Father | John Stuart John Stuart (actor) John Stuart, born John Alfred Louden Croall , was a Scottish actor, and a very popular leading man in British silent films in the 1920s. He appeared in two films directed by Alfred Hitchcock.... |
John Richmond | Frederick Treves Frederick Treves (actor) Frederick William Treves BEM, is an English character actor with an extensive repertoire, specialising in avuncular military and titled types.... |
Iain Cuthbertson Iain Cuthbertson Iain Cuthbertson was a Scottish character actor. At 6' 4", he was known for his tall imposing build and also his distinctive "gravelly" heavily accented voice.-Early life:... |
Michael Kitchen Michael Kitchen Michael Kitchen is an English actor and television producer, best known for his starring role as DCS Foyle in the British TV series Foyle's War.-Early life:... |
| Roberta | Marion Chapman | Anneke Wills Anneke Wills Anneke Wills is an English actress, best-known for her role as the Doctor Who's companion Polly in the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Biography:... |
Jenny Agutter Jenny Agutter Jennifer Ann "Jenny" Agutter is an English film and television actress. She began her career as a child actress in the mid 1960s, starring in the BBC television series The Railway Children and the film adaptation of the same book, before moving on to adult roles and relocating to Hollywood.She... |
Jenny Agutter Jenny Agutter Jennifer Ann "Jenny" Agutter is an English film and television actress. She began her career as a child actress in the mid 1960s, starring in the BBC television series The Railway Children and the film adaptation of the same book, before moving on to adult roles and relocating to Hollywood.She... |
Jemima Rooper Jemima Rooper Jemima Rooper is an English actress.- Background :Born in Hammersmith, London, Rooper is the daughter of TV journalist Alison Rooper. She attended Redcliffe Primary School in Chelsea, London and Godolphin and Latymer girls' school. While working on The Famous Five, she passed eight GCSEs with A*... |
| Phyllis | Carole Lorimer | Sandra Michaels Sandra Michaels English actress, Sandra Michaels, was born in 1944. Her first television role was in March 1957, playing Phyllis in the second BBC adaptation of The Railway Children. Later that year she appeared as Pamela Gwendolyn Stuart in The Adventures of Clint and Mac, a British-made serial commissioned by... |
Gillian Bailey Gillian Bailey Gillian Bailey or Gilli Bush-Bailey is a British academic and former actress.She was mainly known as a child actor. Her best known role was Billie in Here Come the Double Deckers... |
Sally Thomsett Sally Thomsett Sally Thomsett is a British actress.She is mainly remembered for starring in the 1970 film The Railway Children, and for playing Jo in the TV sitcom, Man About the House... |
Clare Thomas Clare Thomas Clare Thomas is a British actress who has appeared in several British films and television series. Some of her highest profile roles have been as Aggie, one of the title character's classmates in the film Madeline, and Ingrid Dracula, daughter of the Count, in the children's television series... |
| Peter | Michael Croudson | Cavan Kendall | Neil McDermott | Gary Warren Gary Warren Gary Warren was an English child actor, best remembered for his role as Peter in the 1970 film The Railway Children. He also played Cedric in the TV series Catweazle , and in the sitcom Alexander the Greatest .Warren is now retired from acting... |
Jack Blumenau Jack Blumenau Jack Blumenau is a British actor, renowned for his work portraying children and little people or borrowers.-Biography:... |
| Perks | Michael Harding Michael Harding Michael Harding is an Irish short-story writer, novelist, and playwright, born in County Cavan. He lives in Westmeath. He has published three novels Priest and The Trouble With Sarah Gullion' and'Bird in the Snow' 2008 He became a member of Aosdana, the National Academy for Creative Artists, in... |
Richard Warner | Gordon Gostelow Gordon Gostelow Gordon Gostelow was a New Zealand actor. He was educated in Australia at North Sydney Boys High School and Sydney University where he graduated in Economics.... |
Bernard Cribbins Bernard Cribbins Bernard Cribbins, OBE is an English character actor, voice-over artist and musical comedian with a career spanning over half a century who came to prominence in films in the 1960s, has been in work consistently since his professional debut in the mid 1950s, and as of 2010 is still an active... |
Gregor Fisher Gregor Fisher Gregor Fisher is a Scottish comedian and actor.-Early life:Fisher was born in Glasgow and following the death of his parents was brought up in Edinburgh, Langholm and Neilston and attended Barrhead High School... |
| Old Gentleman | DA Clarke-Smith | Norman Shelley Norman Shelley Norman Shelley was an English actor, best known for his work in radio, in particular for the BBC's Children's Hour. He also had a recurring role as Colonel Danby in the long-running radio soap opera The Archers.... |
Joseph O'Conor Joseph O'Conor Joseph O'Conor was an Anglo-Irish actor and playwright.- Early years :O'Conor was born in Dublin on 14 February 1916, the son of Frances and Daniel O'Conor. His family moved to London, where he attended the Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School, the University of London and RADA... |
William Mervyn William Mervyn William Mervyn was an English actor best known for his portrayal of the Bishop in the clerical comedy All Gas and Gaiters.-Life and career:... |
Richard Attenborough Richard Attenborough Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough , CBE is a British actor, director, producer and entrepreneur. As director and producer he won two Academy Awards for the 1982 film Gandhi... |
| Dr Forrest | John Le Mesurier John Le Mesurier John Le Mesurier was a BAFTA Award-winning English actor. He is most famous for his role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the popular 1970s BBC comedy Dad's Army.-Career:... |
John Stuart John Stuart (actor) John Stuart, born John Alfred Louden Croall , was a Scottish actor, and a very popular leading man in British silent films in the 1920s. He appeared in two films directed by Alfred Hitchcock.... |
John Ringham John Ringham John Henry Ringham was a British character actor of both television and stage who appeared in over a hundred screen appearances in a wide variety of roles.... |
Peter Bromilow Peter Bromilow Peter Bromilow was a British-born actor.-Select Filmography:* Camelot * The Railway Children * Nasty Habits * Semi-Tough... |
David Bamber David Bamber David James Bamber is an English actor, known for his television and theatre work. He is an Associate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.-Early years:... |
Stage versions
In 2005 the stage musical was first presented at SevenoaksSevenoaks
Sevenoaks is a commuter town situated on the London fringe of west Kent, England, some 20 miles south-east of Charing Cross, on one of the principal commuter rail lines from the capital...
Playhouse in Kent, UK, with a cast including Are You Being Served star Nicholas Smith as the Old Gentleman, Paul Henry
Paul Henry (actor)
Paul Henry, is a British actor, best known for his role in the soap opera, Crossroads.Born in Birmingham, he attended the city's Alderlea Boys School in Shard End with Jeff Lynne, later leader of the Electric Light Orchestra pop group. Henry trained at the Birmingham School of Speech and Drama,...
from Crossroads as Perks and West End star Susannah Fellows as Mother. Music is by Richard John and book and lyrics by Julian Woolford
Julian Woolford
Julian Woolford is a British theatre director, producer and writer. He was educated at the University of Kent and Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.- Sevenoaks Playhouse :...
. The score was recorded by TER/JAY records and the musical is published by Samuel French Ltd.
Samuel French Ltd.
Samuel French Ltd is the UK sister company of Samuel French Inc., an American company, bearing the name of its co-founder Samuel French. The company publishes stage plays for the UK market, mostly acting editions, serves as licensing agent for performance rights, and runs the UK's leading...
A new stage adaptation written by Mike Kenny
Mike Kenny (writer)
Mike Kenny is a British playwright, most noted for his works in young people's theatre. His works include the 2008 adaptation of E Nesbit's The Railway Children at the National Railway Museum in York...
and directed by Damian Cruden
Damian Cruden
-Career:Damian Cruden trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, 1982–1986. He then worked for the Tron Theatre and the TAG Theatre Company, and was tutor for the Scottish Youth Theatre. Moving to England, he became Co-artistic Director for the Liverpool Everyman Youth...
was staged in 2008 and 2009 at the National Railway Museum
National Railway Museum
The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the British National Museum of Science and Industry and telling the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It has won many awards, including the European Museum of the Year Award in 2001...
, York. The adaptation starred Sarah Quintrell
Sarah Quintrell
Sarah Quintrell is a British actress. She plays Sinéad in the BBC TV sitcom Carrie and Barry. She trained at Manchester Metropolitan School of Theatre from 2000 to 2003.-Credits:...
, Colin Tarrant and Marshall Lancaster
Marshall Lancaster
Marshall Lancaster is a British actor. He has appeared in many television dramas, including Coronation Street, Holby City, The Lakes and Family Affairs, but is probably best known for playing DC Chris Skelton in the BBC time-travel police dramas, Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes.Lancaster is a...
(2008 only), and featured a Stirling Single
GNR Stirling 4-2-2
The Great Northern Railway No. 1 class Stirling Single is a class of steam locomotive designed for express passenger work. Designed by Patrick Stirling, they are characterised by a single pair of large driving wheels which led to the nickname "eight-footer"...
steam locomotive (GNR 4-2-2 No.1) which, while not actually in steam, entered the stage on the tracks originally leading into the York Goods Station, in which the 'Station Hall' section of the museum is now situated. The stage was constructed inside the large tent outside the Goods Station, which is usually reserved for some of the working locomotives of the museum. The project was set up by York Theatre Royal
York Theatre Royal
The York Theatre Royal is a theatre in St. Leonard's Place, York, England, which dates back to 1744. The theatre currently seats 847 people. This reduced capacity takes into account removal of the mixing position seats and the stage side boxes which are normally not sold...
, and involved its younger members (Youth theatre) in the production. This adaptation is currently being performed at the disused Waterloo International railway station
Waterloo International railway station
Waterloo International station was the London terminus of the Eurostar international rail service from its opening on 14 November 1994 until 13 November 2007. It stands on the western side of Waterloo railway station, London...
. A Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
production is currently running at Roundhouse Park, home of John Street Roundhouse National Historic Site
John Street Roundhouse
John Street Roundhouse is a preserved locomotive roundhouse in Toronto, Ontario. Built for the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1929-31 by Anglin-Norcross to replace the earlier John Street roundhouse built in 1897...
.
The production at Waterloo won an Olivier Award for best Entertainment in 2011.
Alleged plagiarism
In 2011, Nesbit was accused of lifting the plot of the book from The House by the Railway by Ada J. GravesAda J. Graves
Ada J. Graves was a British children’s writer. She was born in Benares, Bengal, the daughter of James Speed Graves and Charlotte Graves. In 1881 her family was living in Midlothian, Scotland....
, a book first published in 1896 and serialised in a popular magazine in 1904, a year before The Railway Children first appeared. In both works the children's adventures bear remarkable similarities. At the climax Nesbit's characters use red petticoats to stop the train whilst Graves has them using a red jacket.
External links
- HTML text with original illustrations, at Indiana
- Free audiobook from LibriVoxLibriVoxLibriVox is an online digital library of free public domain audiobooks, read by volunteers and is probably, since 2007, the world's most prolific audiobook publisher...
- British Film Institute Screen Online (1968 series)
- Railway Children Musical