Warm Fire at Oakworth Station

This photo shows the nice coal fire keeping the ladies waiting room at Oakworth Station warm.

It is still quite cold here in Yorkshire and as I write this my fingers are cold and I really would like this fire in my flat.

As I wrote yesterday Oakworth Station here in Yorkshire was used in the making of the film The Railway Children and this year is its 40th anniversary. Today I learnt of the death yesterday of actor-director Lionel Jeffries who was 83. Lionel Jeffries directorial debut was his 1970 adaptation of E. Nesbitt’s classic The Railway Children, which starred Bernard Cribbins and launched the career of Jenny Agutter. Jenny Agutter was 17 when the film was made and her role of Roberta (Bobby) made her famous. The Railway Children was seen my countless families and made an impact on many people. This afternoon I spoke with a young woman (Roberta) here in Yorkshire, she was quite striking and I thought perhaps my photographer friend Lorne might be able to use her in a photo project he and I were discussing recently. Turns out Roberta was named by her mother after the Jenny Agutter role in the film.

In The Railway Children, Lionel Jeffries has left us with a marvelous monument to his life and work.

I had visited Oakworth on the keighley and Worth Valley railway to photograph some of the steam trains that are used on this volunteer run railway.