Good evening all,
Went to see The Lone Ranger movie today. Despite the negative reviews, my wife and I enjoyed the flick. While the story plays fast and loose with American history, the action was good and the story line made sense. The scenes with the full scale trains were very well done, and there was even a toy train scene which did push the boundaries of reality a bit (ok, a lot). Lionel has a lot of options concerning add-ons for the set it is selling that could tie in to the movie. It will be interesting to see if they go anywhere with it. I hope everyone has a good day.
Keep on training,
Mike C. from Indiana
cheapclassics Good evening all, Went to see The Lone Ranger movie today. Despite the negative reviews, my wife and I enjoyed the flick. While the story plays fast and loose with American history, the action was good and the story line made sense. The scenes with the full scale trains were very well done, and there was even a toy train scene which did push the boundaries of reality a bit (ok, a lot). Lionel has a lot of options concerning add-ons for the set it is selling that could tie in to the movie. It will be interesting to see if they go anywhere with it. I hope everyone has a good day. Keep on training, Mike C. from Indiana
There are so many cases where the movie was a hit with the public and the so called critics hated it.
I think they need to find another job doing something useful.
Glad you enjoyed the movie.
Exactly! Sometimes I suspect so-called movie reviewers have forgotten what films are created for in the first place: to transport the watcher away from their troubles for awhile. Same with amusement parks, novels and toy trains! Over-analysis will kill anything, especially the things us common folk enjoy.
It would be interresting to see a car done with the new style Tonto war paint!
Becky
Trains, trains, wonderful trains. The more you get, the more you toot!
Just saw the Lone Ranger movie. Don't go if you are expecting to see a typical western style cowboy movie - it ain't there. My expectations were not met due to not understanding what I was about to see. Family loved it, I didn't. Talk about action, its there. Special effects are fantastic.
This sounds like a western for the video game crowd. Oh well, no-one makes movies for mature men anymore. Thank goodness for rail videos.
The previews look good. I still prefer the old black and white tv series.
The LIONEL set is very handsome. I just don't like the masks boogered all over the engine and rolling stock, or else I would've have pulled the trigger on one.
...and I originally called my new Durango "Silver".
Nothing beats the old TV series. As far as I'm concerned Clayton Moore IS the "Lone Ranger" and Jay Silverheels IS Tonto! At least ol' Jay was a real Indian, a member of the Canadian Mohawk Nation.
Mind you, my mother and father will tell you Brace Beemer is the "Lone Ranger" as far as THEY'RE concerned! He was the "Lone Ranger" on the radio.
Did you know some of the "Lone Ranger" shows from the 50's were shot in color? They were done that way for theatrical release in areas of the country that didn't have television. A lot of the old "Superman" shows with George Reeves (the REAL Superman!) were shot in color for the same reason.
I thought about getting the Lionel "Lone Ranger" set myself but I'm with you. They went overboard with the mask markings, and the "FWWR / "Tarantula" on the tender is the marking of a contemporary tourist line operating out of Forth Worth, Texas! Maybe it looks better in person.
Hey Lionel, if you're doing a 19th Century themed set, pick a 'road contemporary to the times and decorate the locomotive appropriately! The ruined the "Coca-Cola" set by putting a 20th Century ad line on the tender and with 20th Century lettering as well.
On the other hand the "Lone Ranger" boxcar is VERY dramatic! I'll probably grab one of those if I see one.
By the way, the Strasburg Railroad set looks a lot better in person than it does in the catalog. I DID get one of those!
Clayton Morre, and Jay Silverheels all the way. Much as I like Johnny Deep, just not in this movie.
Dave
It's a TOY, A child's PLAYTHING!!! (Woody from Toy Story)
Finally got to see the movie today. I liked it. There was a lot more train shots than I thought there would be. Really like the shots from inside the passenger cars. They could have shot it in all miniature and fake looking like the old godzilla movies.
Not being a Johnny Depp fan, seems like his movies were done while writers/directors were on an acid trip or something, I'll pass.
Remember the Veterans. Past, present and future.
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Proud New Member Of The NRA
This one looks fantastic - love the trailer showing the LR riding through the cars of the train A lot of people/kids today won't even watch a black and white tv show or movie!
RIP Chewy - best dog I ever had.
I only get to see the original series when MeTV does "Sunday Showcase" runs of half a dozen episodes (seems like the same ones every time). Westerns aren't exactly my thing, but my dad loved them so I watch more out of a sense of trying to be closer to him than for my own enjoyment. Don't get me wrong, I do like Bonanza, The Big Valley and others but my favorite western of all time is The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (which I also think is one of the best Civil War movies ever) while his was Gunsmoke.
Anyhoo, I am planning to acquire the LR General to upgrade the motive power on my Disneyland RR in the near future. When it arrives I will make Disneyland Railroad labels on my PC and glue them over the LR ones with water solubale glue.
Yeah its a fun movie but sure had some very confusing geography in it, I never knew Monument Valley AND the Rocky Mountains were both in TEXAS! (He is a Texas Ranger after all) I have to agree with one critic who complained that Disney spent mega-$$$ to build miles of real track, two locomotives and a bunch of cars, then used so much CGI for any action effects with them as to wonder why the heck they bothered with the real trains???(Spoiler Alert) BTW who knew BACHMANN was making detailed HO model trains all way back in the 1870's???? and that all those modern model train layouts buy all those famous guys like Westcott and Allen were actually just copying what was already done back in the 1870's!!!!! Sorry I know this is supposed to be a fanasty western but Jezzzusss Christmascookies THAT was a MAJOR laughable Gaffaw to me. Seriously...its an almost unmodified BACHMANN HO MODEL LOCOMOTIVE!!! you can virtually read the Made in China label on the bottom, running on HO track, something that wasn't even invented until the 1930's! STUPID Stupid production mistake, for all the $$ they spent they could have EASILY found a 19th or early 20th century era Marklin tinplate train and used it for a FAR more believable scene (for model railroaders).
(end spoiler alert)
Have fun with your trains
The best Western film of all time is "The Searchers". End of story.
Lord how I miss John Wayne!
Nope sorry Firelock76, Stagecoach
High Noon
Doug Murphy 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers...' Henry V.
"Stagecoach" , the 1939 version of course, and "High Noon." Both great films. I won't argue the point, but "The Searchers" is still my favorite.
Mind you, the others are films you watch, "The Searchers" you have to WATCH, there's a lot goin' on in that film you miss if you're not paying attention!
Firelock76 Nothing beats the old TV series. As far as I'm concerned Clayton Moore IS the "Lone Ranger" and Jay Silverheels IS Tonto! At least ol' Jay was a real Indian, a member of the Canadian Mohawk Nation. Mind you, my mother and father will tell you Brace Beemer is the "Lone Ranger" as far as THEY'RE concerned! He was the "Lone Ranger" on the radio. Did you know some of the "Lone Ranger" shows from the 50's were shot in color? They were done that way for theatrical release in areas of the country that didn't have television. A lot of the old "Superman" shows with George Reeves (the REAL Superman!) were shot in color for the same reason. I thought about getting the Lionel "Lone Ranger" set myself but I'm with you. They went overboard with the mask markings, and the "FWWR / "Tarantula" on the tender is the marking of a contemporary tourist line operating out of Forth Worth, Texas! Maybe it looks better in person. Hey Lionel, if you're doing a 19th Century themed set, pick a 'road contemporary to the times and decorate the locomotive appropriately! The ruined the "Coca-Cola" set by putting a 20th Century ad line on the tender and with 20th Century lettering as well. On the other hand the "Lone Ranger" boxcar is VERY dramatic! I'll probably grab one of those if I see one. By the way, the Strasburg Railroad set looks a lot better in person than it does in the catalog. I DID get one of those!
DJSpanky Dave632There are no new TV series I watch with any regularity now. Most of them I would rather watch paint dry than look at.But I'm sure you love all the new reality shows, right?
Dave632There are no new TV series I watch with any regularity now. Most of them I would rather watch paint dry than look at.
Yes, my wife and I went to see the "The Lone Ranger" as well and really enjoyed the movie, the train scenes were great, the model train scene did raise my eyebrows as being out of the time portrayed, the 1870s. Do you think it had some battery basis or perhaps limited power from the telegraph poles which were in great use at the time? But all in all a very enjoyable movie.
Dave632 DJSpanky Dave632There are no new TV series I watch with any regularity now. Most of them I would rather watch paint dry than look at.But I'm sure you love all the new reality shows, right? They are firmly in the paint dry category.
Man, I'm with you! The only reality show I watch is "Cake Boss." Makes me homesick. No decent bakeries where I live now, I've got the supermarkets and that's it.
The only regular TV series I have any interest in at all is "NCIS." Well, I'm an old Marine so what can I say? Lady Firestorm and I do enjoy "Antiques Roadshow" as well.
She does like "Hoarders" but when that thing's on I have to leave the room!
PS: Anyone remember the "Casey Jones" TV series from 1959 starring Alan (The Skipper) Hale Jr. as Casey? It was a railroad themed western aimed at kids. You can find it by searching "You Tube Casey Jones TV series." I found it by accident about a year ago. I loved it when I was six years old and it's still pretty enjoyable.
PPS: The best "Casey Jones" episode is "Night Mail." It's got a steam locomotive race! Wow!
insfil Yes, my wife and I went to see the "The Lone Ranger" as well and really enjoyed the movie, the train scenes were great, the model train scene did raise my eyebrows as being out of the time portrayed, the 1870s. Do you think it had some battery basis or perhaps limited power from the telegraph poles which were in great use at the time? But all in all a very enjoyable movie.
No, it was powered offstage by a member of the crew by a bog-standard Bachmann power pack that came with the bog standard trainset some material procurer who was told by the art director to find an "old west" trainset, typed online "old west trainset" into their ipad, found the HO Bachmann Wild West Set for sale at Whoknowswhere Hobbies & Crafts and purchased it then showed it to the art director who said yeah that'll work. I mean com'on here, we all know its an off the shelf standard set they used.
The whole layout was built to modern 20th century standards using modern 21st century materials, probably by a professional layout builder specifically because they can crank out a layout like that very very quickly. Its the absolute lack at any even slightly accurate attempt to portray any kind of anywhere near historically accurate model railroad from that era that really chaffs me under the saddle.
To be 100% accurate the kid would have to be pulling, by hand, either a clunky model trains made out of wood blocks with lithographed detail sheets glued all over it, or cast iron model, MAYBE a clockwork tinplate style train. Electrical or even live steam simply DID NOT exist yet, let alone a very highly detailed very small operational model locomotive like the Bachmann portrayed.
If they had at least TRIED to somewhat more accurate, if they had used a a live steam or clockwork tinplate ca.1900 ( very easy to get via collectors) or even if they HAD gone electric but had at LEAST gotten something akin to the very early electric model trains I wouldn't have batted an eye. In fact it would have been VERY believable, if my Marx wind-ups are anything to go buy, to have a train go flying off a corner like the movie toytrain did, but to put such a modern toy into such a retro movie was just idiotic IHMO. They might as well have given the kid an flipping Gameboy for Pete's Sakes .
Wood train ca. 1870
Even if they had used something early 20th century like this Bing set, it would have been far far more believable, thats all I am saying:
OK, I just bought one of these locos on ebay. Should have it in a week or so if there's anything you want to know about them.
Rustlers Rhapsody Maybe not the "Greatest Western" ever made, but quite possibly the funniest!
If you like Western Movies: http://www.westernmania.com/
Railroad Crossings: Thinning the gene pool daily!
Green Streak RR Rustlers Rhapsody Maybe not the "Greatest Western" ever made, but quite possibly the funniest! If you like Western Movies: http://www.westernmania.com/ Dave
It's funny because apart from the depiction of the Transcontinental Railroad running through Texas, the other nit I had to pick was the Bachmann train. It was a repaint, but I could tell it was Bachmann or one of the AHM/Pocher locos from the 1960's-1970's.
Live steam would still be about 10-15 years off, since Bing was introducing live steamers around 1881 or so, and given that Latham Cole had untold resources, I would have expected to see some form of elaborate clockwork Bing set in the private car.
One thing I did like on the HO layout was what Danny Reid was using as a controller. It had a Voltamp dynamo kind of look to it. At some point I'm going to try to rig up something that looks like that, purely ornamental, for my HO layout (which is set in the 1860's-1880's anyway!)
Saw the movie this week. I thought it was great! I was totally entertained, and laughed through out. The greatest disappointment, I experienced were all the "trailers" and previews of what movies where coming. Of course there was a TREMENDOUS amount of creativity involved. But the story line was almost believable, graphics, scenes, etc. were fine. I think the only people that may have enjoyed it more would have been the writers. I would like to get a DVD, just to watch for fun. Kinda like Mad, Mad, World. Personally, I think the liberties taken with the toy train set were the least significant diversions of reality in the entire movie. I enjoyed it for what it was, just a 2 1/2 hour escape of reality.
Don
Don --
We saw the movie about a week ago, just laughed and enjoyed it from the get go. It's all about Johny Depp and his character Tonto, great effects and the train scenes were just awesome. If you are looking for the old style Lone Ranger, stay home, you will hate it. It's absolutely absurd and well worth your time, IMO.
Jon
So many roads, so little time.
I agree with what you say, Jonadel. In fact, I've seen the movie twice so far, and on top of the fantastic train sequences and good adventure, I noticed that they keep the Lone Ranger close to his classic code. He doesn't shoot anyone, believes in justice and wants to make sure the law is enforced the right way.
I'm a fan of all versions of the Lone Ranger (except for the 1981 movie, which just doesn't really hold my interest), and this is another in the various ways it's been done.
In fact, some people deem the 1938 movie serial to be the best and "definitive" story, but is actually the farthest from the Lone Ranger story and the code he lived by.
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