EYE OF THE NEEDLE

US
1981
1hr 58mins
Dir: Richard Marquand
Starring: Donald Sutherland and Kate Nelligan

In wartime Britain, a German spy flees to a Scottish island where his plans are thwarted by a young woman resident

Based on the novel of the same title by Ken Follett this American spy thriller has some wildly varying railway scenes. These start out at London Marylebone, which is straightforward enough, and there are some brief scenes filmed at the station, but then it all goes awry. The trains which follow are an ‘over the camera’ shot of a ‘Black Five’ 4-6-0, a run past of a BR ‘Britannia’ Class 7MT 4-6-2 decorated with ‘Golden Arrow’ regalia, a low-level shot of ex-SR N Class 2-6-0 No.31874 Brian Fiske pulling away with a service on the Mid Hants Railway, a lineside run by that seems to show ex-SR S15 Class 4-6-0 No.825 on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, and finally BR Standard Class 4MT 4-6-0 No.75078 entering Mytholmes Tunnel on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway! It is not clear where the onboard scenes were filmed, and the railway sequences end with Donald Sutherland walking the tracks past an unknown signal box. The film’s opening takes place at a goods depot where goods and supplies board a train consisting mostly of CCTs, one of which is QPV No.DS90. It is not known where this was filmed either, but as Battersea Power Station is visible in the background of one shot, Stewarts Lane or South Lambeth must be considered. Both had, however, closed by the time of filming, the former in 1970, and South Lambeth in 1977. This opening sequence also features the arrival of a troop train formed of EMU stock(?) All a bit bizarre really. As a footnote, according to IMDB the scenes filmed at the ‘Globe Cinema’ apparently used the interior of Oban station in Scotland, though you wouldn’t have guessed it from the film!

The opening scenes to the film depict military equipment being made ready for loading at an inner city ‘station’. The exact identity isn’t clear, but it is more likely to be a goods depot than a station. South Lambeth perhaps? The gas holder in the background must be a clue.
And this is the ‘station’ side of things. Inside a goods shed, a rake of carriages arrives to form a troop train. The stock look suspiciously like a Southern Railway EPB electric unit with added smoke effects?.
This is a shot looking out of the train as it is pulling in. Added because the building behind may help identify the location.
Military personnel on the concourse of a very atmospheric London Marylebone
The rail journey uses a number of randon shots, the first of which is an ‘over-the-camera’ stock footage shot of an ex-LMS ‘Black Five’.
The second shot is of a BR Britannia on the ‘Golden Arrow’
The third shot depicts N Class 2-6-0 No.31874 Brian Fiske in extreme close-up
The fourth shot is this moody, backlit shot of an ex-SR S15 Class 4-6-0. It looks to be No.825 on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway running beneath a threatening sky.
The fifth and final shot shows BR Standard 4MT 4-6-0 No.75078 entering Mytholmes Tunnel on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway.
Having jumped from the train and started his escape, Donald Sutherland runs along the track on the approach to a station. A road overbridge crosses the line and a smoky cutting is beyond but the location remains unknown.
As the camera pans round this large signal box comes into view. Note the disk signal in both shots as evidence of it being the same location.