Famous people at heritage railways

Not really a Heritage Railway but I once stewarded a Plymouth trip where Charlie Watts was travelling with a friend. His friend raised a laugh by trying to pay for their raffle tickets with a photocopied (in black and white!) £50 note.

 

......and naturally this time of year Santa Claus.....

 

When Black prince visited the MHR, My crew were rostered on her one day, and we were told we had a footplate visitor , i was 3rd man, we didn't have a cleaner that day, so it meant no one had to step down , anyway along comes the owner, asks the driver, can i come on board, I've got a pass , so we had David Shepard with us for most of the day, Fired the second trip, and half way up the bank, i asked Mr Shepard, would you like a go on the shovel, he declined saying i'm useless with a shovel ,so he stood there with a huge grin on his face, saying, I've never hear her working like that for a long time, on the return trip, the deflector ring, which wasn't a good fit, and rocked from side to side, fell in, to the firehole, So, there was the fireman, and I, half way up Medstead bank, with the firing irons, fishing this now even more deformed ring out of the fire, slung it onto the floor, and then had to fire like billy ho, to keep the pressure up, and all the time the owner, didn't bat an eye lid, he was totally not aware of what had happened, or if he was, he didn't take any notice,

 

I normally get kept well out of sight whenever anyone famous visits, though I did get interviewed by Josie Gibson (from ITV's "This Morning") when we re-opened this year.



There's the usual complement of film stars and the like from filming contracts; Daniel Ratcliffe (from Harry Potter) filmed for several days, as did Ralph Fiennes. The ITV version of the railway children was filmed at the Bluebell, including Dickie Attenborough. Sheena Easton filmed one of her pop videos at the railway. The newsreader Nick Owen was a loco department volunteer for many years and presented many of our promotional videos for a while. Martin Clunes did the most recent one.

Notable people visiting incognito just for a day out? I'm sure there must be, but I'm not much of a s'leb spotter.

Tom

 

And here it is.

 

Maybe it’s an urban myth, but I was told that Jonathon Ross is a volunteer at the Swanage Railway. I’ve visited said railway many times but never seen him there

 

Well he couldn’t volunteer at Ropley or Romney could he?

 

I have a picture of myself and Pete Waterman at the Bluebell during a book signing at Sheffield Park (I think it was Giants of Steam in 2009). After I had my book signed a short while later he came down to take some pics of 34059.

On the subject of film and TV contracts at the Bluebell, a girl I went to school with (her name was Scarlett, in case any working Bluebell members on here knew her) worked in the catering department up until a few years ago, her and a few of her colleagues met Tom Hardy who was filming an advert on the railway.

As well as his TV work I believe Chris Barrie was/is a visitor to the South Devon Railway I seem to recall from an interview.

 

I think most of the larger or more established railways will, over the years, have invited various bods to open or present things or had them attend as part of their work. Even as a fairly infrequent volunteer I have, on at least two occasions ended up meeting the bods and being part of the coverage, and on several other occasions I have been aware filming was going on whilst I was at another part of the line. I have also been at other places as a paying punter when a bod has been filming for a TV program. As I said my volunteering time is very limited so with the amount of filming etc that goes on over the years I am sure many here will have met plenty of recognisable faces.

Equally, most people with a faintly recognisable face are just normal people with families. They just have a job which means they are recognisable to some extent. On that basis there will be a proportion, just as there is of the general population, who enjoy getting out and about and travelling or visiting preserved railways so the chances are if you are a travelling ticket inspector, station staff you probably over a few years meet a few famous bods. Whether you recognise them is a different matter though. I was in a restaurant last year and apparently Tommy Fury and Molly Mae where there. I saw them having there picture taking but did not have a clue who they were. There have been plenty of other occasions when I have seen people be asked for selfies, or in the old days autographs, and not had a clue who they were.

Obviously the likes of David Shepherd, Pete Waterman are know to have an interest in railways and Rod Stewart in model railways. The only ones I can add to that list are Prunella Scales and Timothy West who members are of the TR. (Paid up out of choice rather than simply being given honorary free membership). There must be plent of others though just by the law of averages.

 

You didn't hassle the Hoff?

 

Down in West Wales (Gwili) we’ve had the following

Kiera Knightley and Sienna Miller (filming the Edge of Love 2007)
Rhodri Morgan (Ex First Minister of Wales on an afternoon out with the family several years ago)
Michael Portillo doing his great railway journeys programme (2014)
More recently Bill Bailey (comedian) was on site for a filming job.
Probably a few others I can’t think of right now!

 

I think it depends on who you count as a celebrity though, for example last year I was lucky enough to meet Roger Protz (he of good beer guide and someone who’s very well respected in my line of work)
John Wheeler of Hayseed Dixie fame also liked to pop in at our brewery from time to time, my Dad being rather chuffed I’d met him (if you like music with a bluegrass theme check out his band)
Then on the other side of the coin we have someone like Rory McGrath who has had say their 15 minutes of fame?
Various people have told me about how he doesn’t like to be recognised but when something happens he doesn’t like likes to play the ‘do you know who I am card?’
Unfortunately he did this in a pub my friend used to manage, after a little rant she asked him the same question, after another mouthful of abuse she then floored him with ‘Well I’m the manager, would you like me to call the police or leave of your accord?’
She had no idea who he was or what he was ‘famous’ for until she googled him, and what was the first story that came up? Him stalking his ex lover.

But going back to your original point there’s a difference between a ‘celeb’ with a bit of railway interest coming to open your extension/carriage shed, redicate a loco etc than a ‘celeb’ who’s out for the day with the family doing the same thing as you.

 

This thread does sound like a taxi driver though: "I 'ad that Phil Collins in the back of my brake van once".

I think I've seen a photo of Mick Jagger, Jerry Hall and toddler at the GWSR.

As a sub-thread, how many heritage railways have had a love scene filmed on them? In filming Dancing on the Edge there was a scene shot (IIRC in a sleeper at Bewdley?) in the sidings. I haven't seen it, but my wife would undoubtedly complain I was more interested in the coach fittings than the, ahem, storyline.

Patrick

 

From Russia with Love? Sean Connery enjoying a journey through Eastern Europe with Daniela Bianchi and Black 5 with strangely coloured green stock?

 

Does the Epping Ongar, err, scene, count?

 

It was a 'Jubilee'.

 

They look very similar in the dark! But I wouldn’t really give a toss what’s on the front if I were sharing a berth with her in 1963!

 

You DON’T Hassle the Hoff! Unless of course he bursts into this...

 

Remember sitting in a compartment next to the ticket barrier at Sheffield Park at a Bluebell gala about 15 years ago and Mark Williams walked in with his family

 

Maybe Mark lives local to the Bluebell. A few years ago I was having lunch in the Bessemer Arms and he was sat at the next table with his son.