The Railway Children Quiz | R

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The film starts in London on Christmas Day, 1904, where we meet the Waterbury family. We have mother, father and their three children, Roberta (Bobbie), Phyllis and Pete. Which young child actors play the Waterbury children?

Answer: Jenny Agutter, Sally Thomsett and Gary Warren

Jenny Agutter has had a very successful acting career which has included films such as 'Walkabout', 'Logan's Run' and 'The Eagle Has Landed'. In 2000 she played the role of Mrs. Waterbury in a well-received ITV production of 'The Railway Children'. Sally Thomsett starred in the TV sitcom 'Man About the House', which ran between 1973-76.

Not long after this she gave up acting to become a housewife. Gary Warren featured on television shows during the 1970s, but he also retired from acting and moved to Canada.

2. Two men call on the household and have a heated conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Waterbury. Unknown to the children, their father is arrested for treason and taken away. Who plays the part of mother and father?

Answer: Dinah Sheridan and Iain Cuthbertson

Both Dinah Sheridan and Iain Cuthbertson are solid British actors. Dinah Sheridan starred in the film 'Genevieve', a story about two couples travelling from London to Brighton in vintage cars. Iain Cuthbertson sadly passed away in 2009, and can be remembered starring alongside Sigourney Weaver in 'Gorillas in the Mist'.

3. The Waterbury family fall on hard times and can no longer afford to live in London, so they move to a ramshackle old cottage in Yorkshire. What is the name of the cottage?

Answer: Three Chimneys

Three Chimneys is a chilly old cottage with worn stone steps leading up to the front door. Thick curtains line the windows and doors to ward off as much of the cold as possible. The cottage is enclosed by a stone wall and wooden fence, with a wild garden for the children to play. In the film you can see Peter running to the nearby home of Doctor Forrest to get help. The house used for this scene is actually called 'The Parsonage', and is the former home of the Bronte sisters, famous for literary works such as 'Wuthering Heights' and 'Jane Eyre'.

4. The children spend most of their days freely exploring the countryside, and one of their discoveries is a nearby railway line. They sit astride a fence on top of an embankment and wave at the trains as they fly thundering past. They investigate some more and soon find a nearby railway station. What is the name of the station?

Answer: Oakworth

You can often see the children leaving the cottage and running across a buttercup strewn meadow which backs on to the railway line. They follow the line to nearby Oakworth station, which was originally opened in 1867. During the film, you can clearly see old gas lights on the platform, and a wooden railing displaying advertising signs for Virol and Old Calabar.

At the end of the platform is the railway crossing, and next to this is the cottage belonging to the station porter.

5. The railway station is a key location in the film and the children soon meet the railway porter, played by actor Bernard Cribbins. What is the name of the character he plays?

Answer: Perks

Albert Perks is a proud, yet kindly porter who lives with his wife Nell and their children in the railway cottage next to the station. Bernard Cribbins plays the part of Perks to perfection, starting out very gruff and slightly comical, but then showing a warm affection towards the children as the film progresses.

6. The children befriend an elderly gentleman who they wave to on his morning train journey, and eventually ask for help from when their mother becomes ill. The only way the children can think of to grab his attention is by writing a large sign on a bed sheet, and affixing this to a fence for him see the next day when he travels by train. What message is written on the bed sheet?

Answer: "Look out at the station"

The children are concerned when their mother becomes ill, and they ask the old gentleman for help. After he sees the sign on the bed sheet, he reaches Oakworth station only to find Phyllis waiting with a note. Not long after, a hamper of food is delivered to Three Chimneys cottage. William Mervyn plays the part of the old gentleman in the film.

He can also be remembered as the voice behind the TV advert, "Kiplings....makes exceedingly good cakes".

7. The children witness a landslide, knowing they cannot clear the line before the next train comes through. They make red flags out of their petticoats and wave these in front of the oncoming train until it pulls to a stop. What is so unusual about this scene?

Answer: Modern electric cables can be seen overhead.

The electric cables can be seen during the scenes that follow the landslide. The cables run alongside the railway track and the viewer can catch a glimpse of them when the children are waving their red petticoats, and as the train approaches. Other bloopers can be seen throughout the film. These include seeing modern concrete sleepers, a white car and an aeroplane vapour trail across the sky. All of these are not possible as the film is set in the early part of the 1900s.

8. The children watch the local grammar school boys hold a 'hare and hounds' paper chase near to the railway line. One of the boys fails to emerge from the railway tunnel, and after investigating, they find the boy injured with a broken leg. What is the boy's name?

Answer: Jim

Doctor Forrest treats young Jim, and it is agreed that the boy spends the rest of his time convalescing at Three Chimneys. The children spend a lot of time with Jim, reading and playing games to help alleviate any signs of boredom. Jim's grandfather pays a visit, much to the delight of the children, as they discover he is the old gentleman on the train. Bobbie has a quiet talk with the old gentleman about her father, and asks for his help once again.

9. The scene is set. Bobbie is standing alone as passengers disembark from a steam train that has just arrived. She feels that something momentous is about to happen, but is not exactly sure what. The background music fills us all with yearning. Steam that envelops part of the platform clears away and we can suddenly see the shape of a man. What does Bobbie cry out?

Answer: "Daddy, my daddy!"

Throughout the film we see Bobbie trying to act like an adult by looking after her siblings, and saving everyone from disaster. At the end of the film she is suddenly back to the little girl who has missed her daddy. Surely nobody can keep a dry eye after that superbly acted scene?

10. The screenplay for 'The Railway Children' was written by the same person who directed the film. He was better known as an actor in films such as 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'. What is his name?

Answer: Lionel Jeffries

Lionel Jeffries became a very successful British actor, normally playing comedy roles such as Grandpa Potts in 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'. During the 1970s, he turned his talents to writing and directing children's films, including 'The Railway Children' and 'The Amazing Mr. Blunden'.

Source: Author Plodd

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Polaris101 before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

The Railway Children Trivia Quiz

The 1970 version of 'The Railway Children' has a timeless quality that is hard to resist. Let me take you back to a gentler era full of sweet innocence and steam trains.

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