Movies have an ineffable way of connecting us to the characters on screen, the themes, and the stories that play out. A film can be timeless just as it can remind us of time. Waxing poetically about the film does not address all that film can do. In its affecting ways, film reminds us of a supposed innocence that once existed in our lives. This truism applies to “Railway Children” by director Morgan Matthews.

Based on the novel, “The Railway Children” by E. Nesbit and adapted for the screen by Danny Brocklehurst, this version of “Railway Children” plays as a sequel to the 1970 film of the same name, bestowing the title “The Railway Children Return” in Europe.

Brocklehurst’s script set this film in 1944, at the height of World War II’s European Theater. Seeking an opportunity for her children to grow up unaffected by the vagaries of war, siblings Lily (Beau Gadsdon), Pattie (Eden Hamilton), and young Ted (Zac Cudby) are evacuated from Manchester to the open country of Oakworth. Each of the three characters is keen, intelligent, and resourceful, though the story deliberately delivers these aspects, allowing us to get to know them and their surroundings.

Each of the three kids, being of differing ages, helps to rationalize the effects of war and the ongoing local politics. Cudby plays Ted as innocently as possible, allowing the character as much latitude as he needs. Hamilton is at that age where her character is aware of the looming threat while still being on the fringe of innocence, while Gadsdon remains pensive and defensive.

Lily’s defensive posture is also one of protection as they settle into Bobbie’s (Jenny Agutter of “Logan’s Run” fame) home, along with her daughter, Annie (Sheridan Smith), and young Thomas (Austin Haynes.) The story attempts to bridge the two broken families through their own tragedies by trying to resolve an injustice to KJ Aikens’ Abraham McCarthy. The story reveals why Abraham is on the lamb and engages the children in a spirited way. However, “Railway Children” feels perfunctory and forced, as if the studio said, “we should make a feel-good movie, and this is it.” There is nothing inherently wrong with making this type of story, as long as you stay true to its themes rather than the emblematic use of the trains; the innocence runs its course at one point.

There are two key highlights: Tom Courtneay‘s Uncle Walter, whose child-like wonderment lifts the third act. When he appears in the film, the train has too much speed to save the movie. Still, his presence is welcome. The second is in the authenticity the production achieved by using real steam locomotives for the film, giving cinematographer Kit Fraser references other than the characters.

“Railway Children” steams along toward its destination, either not caring that, despite the rolling hills of the West Yorkshire locations, it runs flat or knowing that it is running flat while adding more fuel to its engine to keep it propelling forward. While innocence and racism are present, the themes don’t punctuate or accent the story as much as one would hope.

“Railway Children” will appeal to families and audiences interested in the period or historically set stories. Now in theaters.