GB 2004 1hr 38mins Dir: Danny Boyle Starring: James Nesbitt and Daisy Donovan
Two young boys find a million pounds in stolen cash and must use it before the adoption of the euro makes the cash redundant
This comedy-drama was written by Frank Cottrell-Boyce who adapted his eponymous novel while the film was in the process of being made. The novel was subsequently awarded the Carnegie Medal. It has some really good contemporary railway scenes. The two young boys are played by Alex Etal and Lewis McGibbon and they live with their father close to a railway line. There are a large number of time-lapsed abstract shots of passing traffic on the West Coast Main Line including: Class 87 and Class 90 electric hauled passenger services, a rare glimpse of a passenger service hauled by two-tone green heritage liveried Class 47 No.47851 Traction Magazine with the DVT behind, HST’s, a Class 390 ‘Pendolino’ EMU, a Class 220 ‘Voyager ‘DMU, a Class 37 hauled freight consisting of covered car carriers, and a Class 90-hauled Freightliner. Other passing trains include a freight consisting of Ferrywagons (loco just out of shot) and a distant view of a two-car Class 150/1 DMU. This was all filmed in the Ditton area of Widnes in Cheshire. The opening sequence has the boys cycling beneath a railway viaduct as a Freightliner and an HST pass overhead. The sequence involving the robbery of a mail train used a rake of three GUV parcels vans top-and-tailed by a pair of Class 37 diesels, No’s.37669 and 37695 with their EWS branding replaced by fictional LHE lettering. These scenes were filmed at Liverpool Lime Street station and on the preserved East Lancashire Railway. Another Class 90 and a Class 156 ‘Sprinter’ DMU are discernible in the scenes at Lime Street station. The robbery sequence is very interesting and offers us a lovely insight into the minds of screenwriter Frank Cottrell-Boyce and director Danny Boyle. The optional commentary available on the DVD has the pair explaining their thoughts about the subject, and why such a scene was shot. “The whole scenario has a certain resonance if you are British” states Boyle, who continues with the following statement “It is the Night Mail and the Great Train Robbery in one go, the place of trains in British life”. “Everyone has dreams” adds Cottrell-Boyce, “trains deliver dreams……..”
An HST screams past a freightliner service on a viaduct, and forms the opening scene of the film
A Class 90 streaks through the Cheshire countryside. Although unidentified, the stainless steel nameplate on the bodyside of the loco narrows it down to a possibilty of two, either 90005 or 90008.
As the two boys cycle through a field of oilseed rape, a Class 87 passes in the background.
This is a shot of the DVT on the rear of the Class 87-hauled train seen above. As the locomotives were invariably on the ‘country end’ of the trains, then these two would have been heading away from London, probably bound for Liverpool.
This first time-lapse shot shows a Class 90-hauled Freightliner service……
….which is followed a little later by a real heavyweight in the form of a Class 37 on a train of covered car carriers
It may be a little obscured, but this is 47851 Traction Magazine
The 47 is hauling a Virgin rake with the DVT immediately behind the celebrity two-tone green machine
37669 stands at Liverpool Lime Street on the rear of the mail train
This view is looking down the train to 37695 on the other end
A view of the platforms at Liverpool Lime Street with 37695 in the background
As the police arrive on the scene we get a very brief glimpse of another Virgin Trains Class 90
In this unusual elevated view of Lime Street, 37695 is standing at the head of its train. 37669 is just about visible on the other end.
The mail train pulls out of Liverpool’s Lime Street station, bathed in sunlight
The mail train passes through the countryside, in a shot that has been darkened for effect
Filmed on the East Lancashire Railway, this excellent shot has 37695 leading as the train sweeps past the camera
The mail train approaches the camera in this low-level trackside view
The mail train passes through the countryside. This does not appear to be the East Lancs. Instead, I think this is the West Coast main line with the train superimposed onto the scene and with the overhead electrification masts removed for continuity.
A two-car Class 150/1 ‘Sprinter’ DMU looks somewhat insignificant as it passes behind this housing estate in Ditton, Cheshire
A Class 390 ‘Pendolino’ EMU is briefly seen in extreme closeup
A Class 220 ‘Virgin Voyager’ on a CrossCountry service adds to the variety on offer
The final views are taken from the short ‘Making of’ documentary available as an extra on the DVD. The filming of the robbery sequence is of particular interest here as it shows the trains from a different angle. 37669 watches over proceedings with its EWS branding clearly altered to read ‘LHE’.
A Class 156 ‘Sprinter’ DMU is briefly seen in the background of the actual robbery sequence but a better view of it can be had in this ‘Making of’ documentary
In this final shot from the DVD, what might be a Class 221 ‘Super Voyager’ can be seen at rest in the background
