European Railroad Discussion > Downton Abbey - Jan 5, 2014

Does anyone know the location of the railway shots at the end of last night's Downton Abbey episode?

http://www.imdb.com/search/title?locations=Horsted%20Keynes%20station%2C%20Bluebell%20Railway%2C%20West%20Sussex%2C%20England%2C%20UK&ref_=ttloc_loc_12

wzd Wrote:
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> Does anyone know the location of the railway shots
> at the end of last night's Downton Abbey episode?


A side note or question. I am not a British steam expert, but it would seem the locomotive used in most scenes is a post war built engine. Regardless, the scenes were well done and certainly gave the feel of the era following WW1.

Thanks for the link which provided the info I needed - and another inspiration to visit Britain again.

Do you have any idea how long it would have taken in the early 1920's for the journey from York to London?

Thanks.
Bill

ATSF3751 Wrote:
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>
> A side note or question. I am not a British steam
> expert, but it would seem the locomotive used in
> most scenes is a post war built engine.
> Regardless, the scenes were well done and
> certainly gave the feel of the era following WW1.

The locomotive shown in Sunday Jan. 5's episode is a Southern Railway "U" class 2-6-0, built somewhere between 1924 and 1927, IIRC. So, a little late for the episode, which is set in 1922, but pretty well "close enough".

Actually, I was rather surprised that no TO members asked why there was a goods brake van (caboose/cabin in North American terms) on a passenger train; this was rarely, if ever, done in the 1920's U.K. According to a good friend (not a TO member) who is much more expert than I on British railway practice, the first two cars (errmm -- carriages!) were pre-World War I, probably six-wheelers, then a former Great Northern Rwy. eight-wheel dining car, then a four-wheel "CCT" (the grey boxcar) serving as a baggage car, then finally, the brake van; our best guess is that it was put there because it has a hand brake, and therefore could hold the train in one place while filming multiple shots (sure, the locomotive could do this, but if you have multiple close-ups that do not include the locomotive, it makes sense to not fire up the locomotive and move it to the station for those shots only). And why not use a hand brake on the passenger cars to hold the train? Well, it was only recently that I found out that the only British passenger cars fitted with hand brakes were those having a Guard's compartment -- since the Guard was the person authorized to apply or release the hand brake.

Roger Lewis (airbrakegeezer)