GB 1970 1hr 45mins Dirs: Nicolas Roeg and Donald Cammell Starring: James Fox and Mick Jagger
A gangster on the run moves in with a rock star
This crime drama includes a couple of scenes with a railway background. James Fox makes a phone call outside the entrance to Wandsworth Town station and there is another scene filmed inside the old buffet at Kensington Olympia, at the time it was still a major motorail hub. There is also a shot inside London Paddington station from the overbridge, and a Met-Camm ‘Blue Pullman’ DMU, a pair of Class 117 DMU’s and rakes of BR Mk.1 stock are visible. It should be noted, however, that this shot of Paddington is preceded by a highly unusual aerial view of the station.
The entrance to Wandsworth Town station on York Road
I do not normally see a reason to put up a picture of a bridge unless it has a train on it, but the magnificently informative sign is of real interest here. It reads ‘SOUTHERN ELECTRIC WANDSWORTH TOWN STN Frequent Trains to WATERLOO & CITY RICHMOND, TWICKENHAM, KEW, HOUNSLOW, KINGSTON Cheap Fares Daily’. This shot is looking down York Road, 90 degrees clockwise from the shot of the entrance above.
A wonderfully unusual aerial view of Paddington’s curved trainshed with two trains just visible in the platforms, including a Hammersmith & City Line train far left. The red roofed building bottom left is the old GWR goods depot, still extant and rail served at this time.
Now inside Paddington’s trainshed and we have, from right to left, a rake of coaches in platform 2 , a ‘Blue Pullman’ on 3, Class 117 DMU’s on both 6 and 7, and two more trains of coaching stock on 8 and 9, either side of the taxi road on the far left
This is the old station buffet at Kensington Olympia, when such things existed. The track and platforms can be seen through the window, thus confirming the location.
