The Railway Children was a staple for those who grew up in pre-streamers in the UK, when viewing options were limited to what was offered on a small number of TV channels.
The film about young people forced to move to Yorkshire after their father was accused of being a spy, which premiered in 1970 and is based on Nesbit’s 1905 novel, became a traditional watch for many families and often appeared in the schools of best British films.
But only now, more than 50 years later, has a sequel been made. While different from the original, actress Jenny Agutter has returned as her character Bobbie; one of the children of the original railway, she is now a grandmother who lives with her daughter in the Yorkshire countryside while caring for children evacuated from Manchester during World War II.
While the times may have changed, the scene hasn’t changed and the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway has also reprized its role in The Railway Children Return, with Oakworth station in West Yorkshire, where it takes place big part of the action.
Agutter told Sky News’ Backstage podcast that it was strange to return to both the character and the location decades later.
“It’s hard to describe exactly how this feels because they make you look back as if there is no time in between and yet you realize that you’ve had this whole life in between and that the world is different and that the The world you’re expressing for this film is completely different from the one in the first film.
“So it’s like everything telescopes, it’s like all the time telescopes together. And I think in a fun way, the most nostalgic [thing] for me it was really about watching the movie and watching the kids and seeing how the movie started and being at the station. “
Sheridan Smith, who plays his daughter in the film, says Agutter’s return was for some special moments.
“It was wonderful to see Jenny walk to the station for the first time, it was very emotional,” Smith said. “It was as if royalty were coming.”
Smith says he didn’t need much convincing to register for the sequel.
“I remember receiving the phone call and I had seen him grow up with my mom and dad,” he said. “I’m a big fan of Jenny Agutter and I knew Jenny would go on board and play the role of her daughter and I said, ‘Wow.’ I took the opportunity. Yes, excited.”
The return of the children from the railway comes at a time when there seems to be a real appetite for nostalgia.
Another long-awaited sequel, Top Gun: Maverick – which came 36 years after its predecessor – has broken box office records this year.
And while there may not be much in common between the two films, the creators of the British film will expect it to also appeal to audiences who still think fondly of the original.
But while there’s certainly a lot in the new film for fans of the first one, Agutter says it’s his own separate story.
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“On the one hand [we’re] revisiting the same thing, but we’re actually talking about something that’s quite different, “he said.” I mean, this story is nostalgic in terms of talking about wartime, but we’re living in an age where that’s really present. again and around us.
“It’s about the first kids on the railroad, but it’s not this adventure, it’s not these stories or this innocent world, it’s a different world, it’s a post-World War II world.”
Smith agrees.
“It’s a different story at a different time, and in fact, the people watching it shouldn’t have seen the first one, as if a younger generation would still get a lot out of it.”
“But I think for people who have seen the original, which is most people, it will be very nostalgic to go see our version.”
The Railway Children Return is screened in UK cinemas