POSSESSION

GB / US
2002
1hr 42mins
Dir: Neil LaBute
Starring: Aaron Eckhart and Gwyneth Paltrow

A pair of literary sleuths unearth the amorous secret of two Victorian poets only to find themselves falling under a passionate spell

This romantic mystery drama is based on the 1990 novel of the same name by A. S. Byatt. The story is set in the present day and the 19th century and there are railway scenes in both. The modern-day story involves a rail journey to Lincoln. There is a scene filmed on Lincoln station and a passing shot of a Class 91-hauled express at Welwyn North. This is old stock footage from somewhere as the train is in original InterCity livery not worn since 1997. The historical scenes use the wonderful Furness Railway Class A5 0-4-0 No.20, filmed with a rake of vintage coaches on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway including Pickering station. No.20 is a Sharp Stewart & Co Class A5 0-4-0 tender engine of 1863 and is Britain’s oldest working standard-gauge steam locomotive. It had been sold to Barrow Steelworks as early as 1870 and was converted to a saddle-tank locomotive in 1915. Its survival was something of a miracle, and in 1999 it was restored to its original condition as a tender locomotive once again.

A West Coast main line express speeds north through Welwyn North with a Class 91 electric leading
Looking the other way at Welwyn North with the 446-yard Welwyn South Tunnel at the end of the platform
Gwyneth Paltrow on platform 5 at Lincoln station
Furness Railway No.20 crosses a stone bridge somewhere on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. Notice the locomotive’s rather primitive appearance with its open cab.
It makes for a nice change that we don’t have to guess the location. Happily, Pickering station’s identity was not altered unnecessarily for the film. Jennifer Ehle on a bench at the station.
Women with vast skirts await the arrival of the train. No.20 is on its way.