This (perhaps superfluous) version of the Edith Nesbit novel was made for TV and, in an interesting piece of casting, had Jenny Agutter as the mother she had been eldest daughter Bobbie thirty years earlier. Some changes to the fabric of the story were inevitable: more screen time is given to the events which cause the children's father to be arrested; the paper chase is no longer linked to the family of the old gentleman; and some of the characters are more sharply drawn than before.
As Bobbie, Jemima Rooper, is very good, but the other children Phyllis and Peter are just OK (played by Clare Thomas and Jack Blumenau). Agutter is perfect as their careworn mother, while Michael Kitchen makes an impact as their wronged father. Gregor Fisher plays Perks the railway-man with a good combination of jollity and righteous indignation; and Richard Attenborough is an inspired choice for the old gentleman (who is not as mysterious as he had been in the 1970s version; we guess he's a high-up in the civil service or the government in this one).
The great strength of the TV version is the attention to detail - we can feel the smoky fog from the 30s steam train as it rushes through the countryside.
An enjoyable TV film, but a complement to the classic one, not a replacement.