Saw Emperor of the North on Fox for the first time

[thor]

Thanks to whoever it was that brought that movie to my attention, I'd never heard of it. Being English I dont know all that much about American trains and what I found enjoyable was the many details that explained so much to me.

For instance, I didnt know our couplers are actually like the real thing!

I never realised men actually walked along the top of boxcars whilst the train was in motion.

What I still dont get is what was Borgnines characters job? Was he a railroad cop or a conductor? Even if the latter surely they had no control over what the driver did, I thought the driver was the one responsible for deciding how the train will be driven.

Seeing the potential head on was an eye opener. Single lines in England are interlocked so that its literally impossible for two trains to occupy the same section, at least the only ones I know were because I used to hang out in the local signal box and got a lesson in how the lever frame system worked.

Anyway it was a good movie, I'd buy it just to study the train operation more closely.

[Anonymous]

He was the conductor. And the conductor is, indeed, the head honcho of his train and he does have authority over the engineer and the rest of the crew.

Remember: This film depicts the Depression era in the United States, Back then, the sophisticated methods of train control used later were not available, and a whole lot of train movements were dependent on human beings doing the right thing at the right time (always a risky proposition).

[thor]

I never was much of an expert on railway minutiae, I just like trains! I used to hang out on all the railway lines I could get to, I've even driven a mainline diesel (naughty!) the milk train from Liverpool Street Station to Hertford at 1 am because a friend of mine was the driver. That was way cool but I wasnt ever a 'gricer' (English slang for a dedicated train spotter) I was more interested in the overall piture especially the clever engineering.

BTW the interlocking system I mentioned was purely mechanical, very very clever. It uses keys that fit into the lever frames to only allow the next section to be set by the signalman. Those levers take a strong mans full weight to move because all the rods and linkages are purely mechanical. I'd love to have one section of my railway built to work just like the real thing. The signalman used to give me mugs of tea and 'doorsteps' - vast thick sandwiches - to walk down the track and oil and grease the rollers and pivots for him.

I was only a kid at the time and those railwaymen had a vast fund of stories, best entertainment ever, I used to feel sorry for the poor saps glued to the idiot box, they didnt know what they were missing. I'm old enough to remember the pre-Beeching era and my area was riddled with sleepy little branch lines filled with all sorts of interesting characters with not much to do.

That movie brought all those memories back.

[cnw1995]

Thor, one of my favorite books is The Great Days of the Country Railway (in Britain), the railway infrastructure must've really been something pre-Beeching

[fifedog]

Thor, if you liked Emperor of the North, you will probably like Bound for Glory (the Woody Guthrie Story). It has the same gritty depression era flavor, with lots of southwestern steam engines.

[Brutus]

Thor - ever seen The Titfield Thunderbolt? It' s about a branchline in England that gets shut down and the locals take it over in competition with a bus company. A Great Ealing comedy film with tons of familiar character actors.

[ChiefEagles]

Saw it last night for the first time too. The Bound For Glory is good too.

[dwiemer]

After posts on this site, I purchased Emperor of The North from Amazon. It just came out last month on DVD. Great movie. I had seen it long ago, but had forgotten about it. As to Brakemen (the guys walking on top of the cars), they had a great show on the History channel in which they would talk about how brakemen typically had a few fingers missing from trying to couple cars. The conductors were rutheless in that their job was to keep the train on time and keep the hobos away. After the opening scene of the movie, I thought it best that my kids not see it.

Anyway,
have a great day
Dennis

[lionelsoni]

The little known hero of the coupler-and-brake story was a fellow named Lorenzo Coffin, a farmer who, in the late nineteenth century took it upon himself to nag the railroads, the government, and even the brakemen themselves, who thought that the idea insulted their machismo, to get Janney couplers and Westinghouse air brakes used on trains.

[thor]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Jim Fortner

Thor - ever seen The Titfield Thunderbolt? It' s about a branchline in England that gets shut down and the locals take it over in competition with a bus company. A Great Ealing comedy film with tons of familiar character actors.

Its one of my favourite films Jim! I love the Ealing comedies it reminds me of how England used to be before the EEC invaded.

I've been over here since 1976 and frankly I prefer it. Long live America and Happy Birthday!

[laz 57]

Saw EMPEROR of the NORTH along with JEREMIAH JOHNSON back in the 70s in the drive in for 2 bucks.
laz57