Re: Carriages used in TV mini-series about Granville train accident

[Bob <gioia@fastlink.com.au>]

Graham Duffin wrote:

> This weeks Brisbane News (May 13-19 edition) has a three page spread
> about the filming of the TV mini-series Day of the Roses which is about
> the Granville train accident on 18 January 1977.  It is being made by
> Liberty and Beyond Productions (the Brisbane based company that made
> Fire and Medivac) and is due for screening on Channel Ten later this
> year.  Filming is due to finish early June.
>
> According to the article most of the scenes are being filmed around
> Brisbane. The crash scene is presently being filmed in the car park
> between the Toombul Westfield Shoppingtown and the East West Arterial
> Road heading towards Brisbane Airport.
>
> I visited the filming compound at the car park to see what was happening
> and there are four ex-SRA carriages plus heaps of seats laying around
> all over the place (to depict disaster?).  One of the carriages has been
> cut in half (also to depict disaster?).  A mock railway station has also
> been built.
>
> One of the carriages is in a candy colour scheme and still has its
> number on it.  It says MCS61.  The other three carriages have been
> painted the traditional SRA tuscan red.  Does anyone know what the
> other three carriages are?  Where did they come from?
>
> I heard that one of them was brought over from Perth - apparently it had
> been there since the Flying Scotsman visit.  Does anyone know what will
> happen to the carriages after the filming is completed?  Scrapped?
>
> The article in Brisbane News says other filming locations are South
> Brisbane railway station and Magistrate Court 21 on the 12th floor of
> Brisbane's Central Courts building at North Quay which is being used
> for the inquest.  Actors in the series are Rebecca Gibney, Paul Mercurio,
> Andrew McFarlane, Peter O'Brien, Chris Haywood, etc.
>
> According to the Brisbane News article the train crash and rescue is
> a third of the mini-series and the rest is to cover the aftermath and
> the search for the reasons why.
>
> Does anyone know anything about the carriages used for the filming?

As I recall MCS61 was one of several car bodies laying in a paddock at
Menangle.You would pick it easily as it had no underframe just the wooden
body. I have been told but been unable to confirm that the three other cars
did come from Perth as you said.
Filming for this mini series will switch to NSW in June and between June 9th
and 11th there will be an actual "recreation" of the train hauled by 4638
with 3801Ltd cars running from Lithgow to Rozelle. They will be filming some
scenes of the train in action during these days and it will be worth getting
out to photograph it.
Bob