The Railway Children Return – arriving at your local cinema now
THE world premiere of the new feature film The Railway Children Return was scheduled to take place at Oakworth station on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway on July 3.
Invited to attend the premiere were cast members Jenny Agutter, Sheridan Smith, Tom Courtenay, John Bradley, Beau Gadson, KJ Aikens, Austin Haynes, Eden Hamilton and Zac Cudby, along with director Morgan Matthews, producer Jemma Rodgers and writer Danny Brocklehurst.
Afterwards, a special train headed by USATC S160 2-8-0 No. 5820 Big Jim was booked to head a special service to Keighley at 11.15am for a screening of the film at The Picture House Cinema, Keighley. The London film premiere will be held on July 10 and will the film will arrive in cinemas on July 15.
New life
Set in 1944, three evacuee children are sent by their mother from Salford to Oakworth.
There to meet them on the platform are Bobbie Waterbury (Jenny Agutter, reprising her iconic role in the original film), her daughter Annie (Sheridan Smith), and grandson Thomas (Austin Haynes). With their help, the evacuees are soon settling into their new life in the countryside. When the children discover and befriend injured American soldier Abe (KJ Aikens) hiding on Oakworth yard, they are out to help him. The 1970 movie has been credited with giving both the KWVR and the stillembryonic railway heritage sector a major publicity boost at a key stage in their histories.