GB
1995
1hr 56mins
Dir: Christopher Menaul
Starring: Embeth Davidtz and Tom Bell
In Victorian England, a woman finds love with a simple-minded youth
Based on the 1954 novel The Feast of July by H. E. Bates this romantic drama features scenes on the Severn Valley Railway using ex-GWR 5700-series 0-6-0PT No.5764 hauling two vintage carriages. Several good scenes were filmed at Bewdley station, playing the part of ‘Addisford’, which include an unusual night time run through of 5764 and its train. The final scenes are of the most interest though. As Embeth Davidtz is walking down the platform several locomotives are visible parked in the background. These include GWR No.813 (the former Port Talbot Railway 0-6-0ST), along with another 0-6-0PT, a larger loco that could be a ‘Hall’ 4-6-0, and what looks to possibly be WD ‘Austerity’ 2-10-0 No.600 Gordon. The final railway scene is a shot of the vintage train entering Bewdley Tunnel. Earlier in the film there is also a shot of the family walking across a foot crossing. This was not filmed on the Severn Valley Railway, but instead at Blists Hill Victorian Town, near Telford in Shropshire.
