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

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

Bob wrote:

> 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.

The MCS would be the car that is cut in half I would imagine and this would be
what I saw heading north on the back of a truck several months ago. The reason
is is cut in half is that they would be unable to lift it in one piece as it had
no underframe after a scrap merchant had reclaimed the bogies and underframe
several years ago. Could someone find the numbers of the three other cars
please.
Bob