North West Frontier Film

Can somebody tell me which was the loco used in the 1959 film North West Frontier? It was on the line to Guadix in Spain but I can not find that type of loco used in that region. Was it modified for the film or did it come from another line?

There was an old Dubs engine there at some point but I beleive that was scrapped years ago.

 

North West Frontier was filmed on location in Spain, and on sound stages in England, with additional outdoor scences shot in India.
I have an article about Indian Railway Films (published by the Indian Railways Study Group) at home, and will elaborate more tonight.

 

The following information is from a supplement called "Railway Films of the Raj" by Ray Ellis, published with the Indian Railway Study Group Newletter No.9, in January 1993.

A large part of this film was shot on location in Spain, on the 5'6" gauge Zafra-Huelva Railway, of the RENFE. Originally built by a British Company, the line runs parallel with the Spanish-Portuguese border, and has some spectacular bridges and some very Indian looking scenery. The little tank engine used "Empress of India" is one of four 0-6-0T's built by Kerr Stuart (works nos 713,714,715 & 725) in 1900 for the South of Spain Railway, and later RENFE 030.0209-212. The engine used being modified to look more like a locomotive filmed in India, which included the fitting of 'chopper' couplings.
For filming sequences on the sound stage at Pinewood Studios, full size replicas of the locomotive, rolling stock and part of the bridge were constructed, with Pinewoods usual remarkable accuracy.
Some scenes were also filmed in India using metre gauge trains, somewhere near Jaipur. These include the departure of the 'refugee' train and the scenes where the 'escape' train catches up and passes the 'refugee' train. The 'refugee' train is hauled by an OJ class 4-4-0 (built by Bagnall in 1943) and the 'escape' train is hauled by a TJ class 0-6-0T (built by Bagnell in 1942, and sent to India, despite having been ordered by a steelworks in Turkey!). This later engine was also heavily modified to look more like the modified locomotive used in Spain.

The supplement also gives details of other 'railway' films made in the Indian sub-continent. One of these films was shot in 1957 and the article includes a reference to an article, with photos, maps and diagrams, in the Society of Engineers Journal for 6/10/1958 entitled "Timber Bridge over the Kelani Ganga at Kitulgala, Ceylon, for Messrs. Horizon Pictures (GB) Ltd". Does anyone know how to get a copy?

 

Thanks for taking the time to look for and write that information, a gold mine! Sorry I can't help on the other article but I will keep my eyes and ears open.

 

Now my follow up question..
Does anyone know where it is possible to find an outline drawing of this suitable to produce a 10mm scale model?
I have tried to find an on-line index of model railway drawings by the Andy Bradley site seems to have vanished

 

Some of it was also filmed in Istria on the line south of Lupoglav, where the single line standard gauge runs through a rocky cutting.