CALLAN

GB
1974
1hr 46mins
Dir: Don Sharp
Starring: Edward Woodward and Eric Porter

A former secret agent is called back to service to eliminate a government enemy

There is a car chase in this thriller, based on the TV series of the same name, which culminates in a 1964 Jaguar S-Type being caught on a level crossing and struck a glancing blow by a Class 33/0 (or possibly a Class 33/2) with three Mk1 coaches. It is not known where this scene was filmed but it was a single track line and was likely to be either the Dungeness or Grain freight-only branches. Incidentally, the original posters for the film (see one above) show the car being struck by what is clearly a Class 55 ‘Deltic’! Elsewhere in the film there is a shot of the frontage of Tower Hill Underground station and another shot of the entrance to Charing Cross Underground station before it was rebuilt and renamed Embankment.

The approaching train is hauled by a Class 33
The car collides with the level crossing barrier
This is the moment of impact as the 33 smacks into the rear of the Jag
The car has been swung round as the train continues past
The bad guys wait on the opposite side of the damaged level crossing. Just prior to the collision there is a shot of a signalman closing the gates by wheel in a gate box, but these are auto barriers, so that shot is of a different level crossing. Could it also be that this crossing was in fact open, and that the barriers seen here were added for the movie??
Earlier in the film there is this rather good shot of the frontage to the original Charing Cross station on the Underground, before it was rebuilt as Embankment
Edward Woodward leaves Tower Hill Underground station