richhotrain John-NYBW VHS? Isn't that from the Stone Age? I have a closet full of VHS tapes and a VHS player but I can't remember how long it has been since I watched anything on it. It's been at least ten years. Probably longer. I don't know if it even works or the tapes are any good. I had the Time/Life series about WWII on tapes but the last time I tried to look at one the tape reel seemed to be fused together and wouldn't play. One of these days I'm going to throw them all out and the tape player and free up some closet space. Does anyone still have their old View Master? Rich
John-NYBW VHS? Isn't that from the Stone Age? I have a closet full of VHS tapes and a VHS player but I can't remember how long it has been since I watched anything on it. It's been at least ten years. Probably longer. I don't know if it even works or the tapes are any good. I had the Time/Life series about WWII on tapes but the last time I tried to look at one the tape reel seemed to be fused together and wouldn't play. One of these days I'm going to throw them all out and the tape player and free up some closet space.
VHS? Isn't that from the Stone Age? I have a closet full of VHS tapes and a VHS player but I can't remember how long it has been since I watched anything on it. It's been at least ten years. Probably longer. I don't know if it even works or the tapes are any good. I had the Time/Life series about WWII on tapes but the last time I tried to look at one the tape reel seemed to be fused together and wouldn't play. One of these days I'm going to throw them all out and the tape player and free up some closet space.
Does anyone still have their old View Master?
Rich
Yes and the ''picture wheels''.
Honestly, I'm not sure I've ever seen a bad train movie.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Ever notice any time a vehicle crashes or goes off a cliff in a movie someone always yells "She's Gonna Blow" and then it blows up twice. I would imagine a lot of folks must have two gas tanks
I haven't seen this one listed yet (maybe I missed it), but I always liked Von Ryan's Express, from 1965, starring Frank Sinatra. Lots of good European train shots.
--MARK
Good morning
I kind of sensed that 86 Softail would be like yours Mark, you have good taste in bikes
The Great Train Robbery was a movie l enjoyed hbgatsf. I always loved Sean Connery's work. What a great actor! I really liked his movie Finding Forester.
I'll have to check out that Downton Abbey series nycmodel. It's always cool to see some place you have been on TV. Kinda makes you feel like a part of it.
A lot of your favorites on your list seem to be favorites of others here as well Bayway Terminal. I always loved The Little Rascals. That dog Petey was always doing something funny. I'll be looking for that episode "Railroadin". Sounds like it would be a Hoot! just by the way they spelled it
It turned out there's a lot more Train Movies than I thought.
Thanks everyone for your participation and all your suggestions. The thread was fun
TF
Technically a movie since it was shown in the theaters as a short, is the 1929 Our Gang "Railroadin'". Great scenes of a steam engine and engine facilities. Of course railroads were featured in any number of other Our Gang shorts plus numerous Three Stooges and Laurel and Hardy shorts.
1.The Train with Burt Lancaster
2.The Great Train Robbery with Sean Connery
3.The Taking of Pelham One Two Three with Walter Matthau & Robert Shaw
4.The Denver and Rio Grande with Sterling Hayden
5. Runaway Train with John Voit & Eric Roberts
6. The Union Pacific with Joel McCrea, Robert Preston & Barbara Stanwick
7. The Train Robbers with John Wayne
8. Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kidd with Paul Newman Robert Redford
9. Murder on the Orient Express with David Suchet
10. The General with Buster Keaton "silient film"
11. Empeior of the North with Earnest Borgnine & Lee Marvin
12. Box Car Bertha with David Carradine & Karen Black
Bayway Terminal NJ
OK, it wasn't a movie but the Downton Abbey station scenes from the TV series are special to me. Filmed at the Horsted Keynes station on the Bluebell Railway in the UK, my wife and I have walked the same platforms numerous times.
caldreamer There were two other screw ups in the dialogue of unstoppable. When they are leaving the yard Denzel Washington asks how many cars will we have and the conductor says 20. When they are pulling out of the zinc plant he asks how many cars do we have and the conductor says 20. "Then why are there 5 extra cars?" The other is when the Connie the trainmaster asks what engine is he using? The reply is 5000 horsepower. An SD40-2 which you see him in has 3000 HP. Is that artistic licence??
There were two other screw ups in the dialogue of unstoppable. When they are leaving the yard Denzel Washington asks how many cars will we have and the conductor says 20. When they are pulling out of the zinc plant he asks how many cars do we have and the conductor says 20. "Then why are there 5 extra cars?"
The other is when the Connie the trainmaster asks what engine is he using? The reply is 5000 horsepower. An SD40-2 which you see him in has 3000 HP. Is that artistic licence??
The comment about the SD40-2 is definately artistic license. We discussed it in another thread.
The comment about the number of cars isn't. They are supposed to get 20 cars. The conductor unknowingly puts on 25. He thinks there are 20 until it is pointed out.
A movie nobody has mentioned is The Great Train Robbery. RIP Sean Connery.
Rick
Track fiddler ...Definitely going to check out that Timberjack movie Mark. Those are Nice bikes...
...Definitely going to check out that Timberjack movie Mark.
Those are Nice bikes...
That looks just like my bike when I bought it, except the color, of course.
I think you'll like "Timberjack."
WP Lives
Evening
Always loved the Narrow Gauge and scenery with the Denver and Rio Grande drgwcs. I plan to take a trip there one day and sounds like a couple more good ones to watch.
Did someone say Shay Always been my favorite powerhorse in the logging industry. I don't know about HO but in N scale, just like DMIR stuff, those things are impossible to find. And if you do, they're charging way too much for used stuff. I have a class B 30-40 ton Showcase Miniature kit parked in my cart with a separate sold motor. Spendy but I think I'm getting closer to pulling the ripcord. Definitely going to check out that Timberjack movie Mark.
Those are Nice bikes
Hollywood always seems like they have to over-do things John. From what I've been hearing about Unstoppable is no exception. Ever notice any time a vehicle crashes or goes off a cliff in a movie someone always yells "She's Gonna Blow" and then it blows up twice. I would imagine a lot of folks must have two gas tanks
You're not supposed to notice things like that caldreamer I've always found it kind of entertaining and amusing finding the screw-ups in films. I doubt Hollywood was planning on any train buffs watching their movies when they produced them Now I'm probably going to have to watch Unstoppable after-all. Curiosity has got the best of me to see the farfetched Teeter-Totter seen and the screw-ups.
Thanks for posting and have a great evening gentlemen
I liked Unstoppable until the messed it up by having the train tip up off the rails as it rounded a curve too fast. I also think I remember Denzel Washington say something about his engine not being able to go as fast in reverse but I only saw it once so I'm not positive about that.
How about Timberjack (1955) with Sterling Hayden?
Lots of scenes of logging trains with Shays. I forget the plot at the moment but I remember the trains.
A couple that have not been mentioned Night Passage with Jimmy Stewart and Denver and Rio Grande- both with plenty of narrow gauge and Colorado scenery.
Unstoppable is good in that it gives the average layman a good idea as to how the interaction of trainmasters with yard crews, dispatchers and yard crews. It also shows how one person (the VP of train operations ) can totally screw up a recoverable error.
Track fiddler Good morning I didn't know the Ed Ames clip was the longest laugh In comedy John. Amazing how what he thought was a bad mistake at the time became a world record
I didn't know the Ed Ames clip was the longest laugh In comedy John. Amazing how what he thought was a bad mistake at the time became a world record
Ed Ames was a very accomplished singer/actor for many years but will probably best be remembered for that one errant tomahawk throw. He's still with us at age 94 and probably still laughing about it. I know I do every time I see that clip.
Tough guys and Cassandra Crossing sound like a couple of good ones Aaron I would imagine teaching an engineer to act would be easier than teaching an actor all the terminology and how to act like an engineer.
That's cool you got to meet Doyle McCormack Ed. I would imagine an engineer gets to know his machine and how it works inside and out after operating it all those years. A good candidate for knowledge on restoring them I would also think as well. It's got to be tougher dealing with all the rust and seized up parts then building one new from the start.
I never knew that's how Pete Townsend of The Who came up with the concept of their song "Who Are You" OldEngineman. There seems to be a lot of stories on how artists came up with their songs. I heard Aerosmith came up with "Walk This Way" from Marty Feldman in Young Frankenstein when he said Walk This Way with his sliding limp and his shoulder twisted from the hump on his back. Marty Feldman didn't even have to try to be funny, Just those beady eyes were good enough
Thanks for the info on Lucius Beebe.
Track fiddler wrote: "Who is Lucius Beebe Overmod?"
Heh. This brings to mind the time Pete Townsend was drinking in a bar, and met a young punk rocker who had never heard of The Who. It's where he got the idea for the song "Who Are You?"...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucius_Beebe
AutonerdLet's not forget Tough Guys from 1986!
Doyle_M by Edmund, on Flickr
I met Doyle McCormack in Conneaut, Oh. while he was still working for the Nickel Plate (OK, N&W). He was just finishing up on the restoration of the 759 and I was involved with the GTW 4070 at the time.
Great fellow to know!
Cheers, Ed
Let's not forget Tough Guys from 1986!
It stars Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster as two old cons who have just been released after a 30-year sentence for robbing a Southern Pacific train -- and decide to do it again. It takes a while to get there, but the last 20 minutes has some great action with SP 4449 and her Daylight cars, with real-life engineer Doyle McCormack playing himself. (Apparently it was easier to train an engineer to act than vice-versa.)
I remember reading about the movie in Trains magazine. For the last scene, they built a replica so exact that reportedly the train crew had to walk back over the hill to make sure 4449 was still there. Years ago, driving LA to Phoenix, we stopped for a bathroom break and I happened to peek in an old building -- and saw a life-size replica of the top of 4449! I've always wondered if it was from the movie. And now I wish I could remember where I saw it...
There's also The Cassandra Crossing, a 1970s glitzy disaster film that takes place on a Swiss train. Good fun to see Ava Gardner and her young lover, played by Martin Sheen.
And what about the original Taking of Pelham 1-2-3 from 1974? Another favorite of mine.
Great suggestions here and I'm going to check out a bunch of them!
Aaron
Track fiddler I did see how Ed Ames jumped back when he saw how bad he missed after I watched it again John. Johnny had to grab his arm as he looked like he was leaving.
I did see how Ed Ames jumped back when he saw how bad he missed after I watched it again John. Johnny had to grab his arm as he looked like he was leaving.
This is considered one of the most iconic scenes in the history of television. Ed McMahon retells it on a PBS program about the history of television.
The Longest Laugh in TV History?. Here’s Johnny Carson and his unbroken… | by Joseph Serwach | The Partnered Pen | Medium
CNN did a retrospective on the 1960s and Dick Cavett, who was a writer on the Tonight Show at the time, gives his perspective.
CNN's THE SIXTIES: Infamous 'Tonight Show'... - Bing video
Again thanks for the replies.
It wasn't too long ago I still had VHS tapes MetrolinkFan. I'm one of those guys that doesn't like to throw anything away that still works I guess. I had a DVD player that played VHS tapes as well, when that quit working I finally chucked them.
Never heard of Switchback either tomytuna, I'll have to add that to my list for this winter.
The General and The Train seem to be of the popular vote here caldreamer.
I did see how Ed Ames jumped back when he saw how bad he missed after I watched it again John. Johnny had to grab his arm as he looked like he was leaving
Interesting information on Heartbreak Pass and the others Dan. I was wondering where that beautiful footage was filmed. I did see The Great Train Robbery years ago. Sean Connery is one of my favorite actors. If you look up Scotsman in the dictionary I'm sure his picture will be there Donald Sutherland sure was funny in Kelly's Heroes.
Another confirmation for The Train and Runaway Train Charles. It's like Siskel and Ebert here with two up
It looks like your two favorite movies are among the favorites here Wayne. If you rate [Unstoppable (edit Runaway Train)] like watching a kid play with his three rail O gauge train set, it doesn't look like I'll be wasting my time with that one.
I didn't know the View-Master was making a comeback Jeff. I may have to get a couple of those as stocking stuffers for my daughters. Never heard of The Engineer either but added to the list.
Sounds like an interesting movie you and the girlfriend stumbled on of the train marooned in the snow Mister B. Reminds me of a lighter version of that true story, the plane that crashed in the Andes Mountains. It's amazing the people that survived that one after the search teams gave up.
I knew about cars (of-course) being the opposite of here in Europe DrW. But I never knew the trains were too.
Who is Lucius Beebe Overmod?
Is so it seems, most of these movies I have not seen, Night Fright is one as well Old Engineman.
Well, I have a detailed do's and don'ts watch list for the long winter ahead. Never knew there was so many train movies. Thanks for posting.
Have a great day gentlemen
Here's one:
"Night Freight", with Forrest Tucker, 1955.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Freight
It's so obscure, you can't even find it in the torrents...
A year before North by Northwest came out, the Century DID start having coaches. Lucius Beebe switched to the Broadway in protest...
La bete humaine (France, 1938; US titles "The Human Beast" or "Judas Was A Woman"). A rather depressing love/murder story. However, the villain (played by Jean Gabin) is a steam locomotive engineer, and his profession is important in the context of the movie. Thus, there are beautiful segments showing him operating his steam locomotive, including a scene where the locomotive takes up water from a trough between the rails.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xGGOKmYGBwM
Interestingly, in France the engineer is on the left-hand side, as are the signals.
The GF and I watch Hallmark movies with minimal expectations. We saw one, set in current day, about a group of randomized passengers going home for Christmas on a train through the Rockies. Of course, it was pulled by what looked like a single F7, and it got stuck in the snow, which persisted for hours. They made do, and even the pseudo-Santa figure, an old fat guy with a beard who may have been Santa, seemed happy. A couple of passengers cross-country skied, and brought back a horse-drawn wagon of supplies. Then a helper engine arrived and everyone got home.
Not much about trains, really, but with some suspension of disbelief it's OK..
As to railroad movies, my favorite is Emperor of the North. The engineer (only credited as "Hogger") was the son of a Pennsylvania RR president. The Train with Burl Lancaster is a very close second.
After that, I'll watch most railroad movies, or those were railroads are prominent in the background. Only a few I have trouble bringing myself to watch. Those are Silver Streak, Runaway Train (Not the early 1970s Runaway! I like that one.).
Unstoppable is also hard to watch, but not for the obvious reasons. I actually can stomach the "enhanced for drama" effects. It's the "routine" operating aspects depicted. Hint, no one blows off FRA inspectors. In real life the field level inspectors know their stuff. They can (and have) impose fines and/or shutdown operations until defects are remedied.
Jeff
richhotrain Does anyone still have their old View Master? Rich
I wish I still did.
They are still available or making a come back, like vinyl and turn tables (the record playing variety). My wife and I were in a store recently when we saw classic View Masters for sale.