Favorite Train Movie

[Munster518]

Whats your favorite train movie? Either with the models or with real trains.[:D]

Sincerely
John[:)]

The Great Locomotive Chase by walt disney is by far my favorite train movie of all time, they need to do another.

[csxt30]

I have to agree 100% !! [^][:)] I wonder if you can rent that movie now. I also used to like Petticote Junction !! Thanks, John

[Munster518]

My father used to rent The Great Locomotive Chase for me when I was a kid. It should be available at your local video store or even best buy.

-Johnathan Munster

[Anonymous]

I have to go with Von Ryans Express with Frank Sinatra.
Its about escaping POWS in WWII

[Anonymous]

I'm going to go in a different direction here, and it's a toss-up between two: "Silver Streak" or "Under Seige 2: Dark Territory." Both movies primarily take place on a train, and the train serves as a central character in the plot.

Then, there are bits of train scenes that I like in some movies, such as: the scene of young Indiana Jones trying to keep the Cross of Cortez out of the wrong hands in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade." Also James Bond in "Octopussy," as he's trying to save the circus from being blown to bits by a nuclear bomb in the clown cannon. And who could forget Dennis Hopper (ha! hopper!) losing his head at the end of "Speed" on the roof of the subway.[xx(]

So many more, so little time...[:D]

[Anonymous]

I can't begin to count how many times this question has been asked on various forums, but my answer is always the same: "Emperor of the North," aka "Emperor of the North Pole." There has been no train movie made, in my opinion, that better combines a fictional story with the factual realities of prototype railroading. I can't even think of a close second.

[Anonymous]

Polar Express in Imax 3-D. Joe

[laz 57]

Molly MaGuires, film of the coal region in PA. 1876. They blew up a General was filmed 7 miles from where I grew up. Stared Sean Connery, Samanth Egger, Richard Harris. My POP helped build the breaker.
laz57

[Anonymous]

All thosed mentioned are good. However, my absolute favorite is The Train with Burt Lancaster. Almost constant steam action!
Jim

[BurlingtonJohn]

QUOTE: Originally posted by swiss1

All thosed mentioned are good. However, my absolute favorite is The Train with Burt Lancaster. Almost constant steam action!
Jim

That would be my favorite movie, "Tough Guys". Best line in the movie is when Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas point guns at Doyle McCormack in the cab of 4449 and announce that they are robbing the train. Doyle replys with something along the lines of "you've got to be kidding me. Nobody robs trains anymore!"

Regards,
Burlington John

[Anonymous]

To pick a single favorite would be downright impossible. I have three all-time favotires.

Silver Streak (1976): Certainly the most hilarious train movie ever made! The laughs and the action never stop. Starring Gene Wilder, Richard Pryor and CP's Canadian before Via took over (disguised with "Amroad" decals).

The Lady Vanishes (1938): This is a phenominal suspense thriller from Alfred Hitchcock. What do you do when you wake up to find that the little old lady who was sitting across from you has disappeared and everyone else on the train denies that she ever existed? While most of the movie takes place on a train, no real trains were used for filming, just a combination of studio sets, model trains and stock footage, but it's done very well.. This is the movie that made Hitchcock famous worldwide and spawned his American career in Hollywood. There was a remake done in 1978, but I haven't seen it.

The Train (1965): A fantastic WWII movie with Burt Lancaster as a French railway worker with the resistance. Lots of steam and a few real-life wrecks. No fake movie tricks here-it's all real! Lancaster actually learned how to operate a steam locomotive for the filming of this movie.

[Anonymous]

Not a train movie but a scene from one of the Adams Family movies where that warped Gomez dude had a couple sets of trains racing around the tracks, with all these sound effects added, finally crashing them head on. Crazy movie.
Another one I liked, tho I can't remember the name of it, was about this old guy living with his son and family and their house was located at the exact spot an old railroad track ran. When the old guy was a boy he was on the track for some reason and the train crashed trying to stop from hitting him. Maybe someone here has seen it.
Paul

[Anonymous]

One of my favorite films is Night Passage, with Jimmy Stewart and Audie Murphy... Mountain railroading and the train robbers at the end of track.....

[Bob Keller]

"Fool's Parade" with Jimmy Stewart had some great train shots- I believe they used two locos (one Southern 4501) painted black and in B&O livery.

The original "The Lady Vanishes" has some great train shots (studio, model, and real), and a critical element is someone jumping out "to change the points" to escape.

[jimhaleyscomet]

I pulled the following list off of a January post.

Jim H

Train Movies

A Century of Lionel Trains
Bound for Glory
Breakheart Pass
Casey Jones TV show
Danger Lights
Disaster on the Coastliner TV
Emperor of the North
Exciting 100 mph Race to Chicago
Fahrenheit 451
Flame Over India
Fours a Crowd
Holiday Affair
It Happened to Jane
Love those Trains
Midnight Run Deniro
Narrow Margin
North by Northwest
Pacific 231
Rail Away
Rio Grande 1950's
Runaway Train
Station Agent
Switch Back
The Chartreuse Caboose
The Christmas Story
The Denver and Rio Grande
The General Buster Keaton
The Great Locomotive Chase
The Greatest Show on Earth
The Iron Horse
The Lady Vanishes
The Molly Maguires 1968
The Polar Express
The Silver Streak 1934 Version
The Silver Streak Pryor
The Train
Toccata for Toy Trains
Tough Guys
U.S.2.:D.T.
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
Union Depot
Von Ryan's Express
Ya Can't Win Em All

Jim H

[Munster518]

Dont forget about "Runaway Train" with Jon Voight, Eric Roberts, and Rebecca Demornay. That movie has some amazing shots of the train racing through the frigid canada country side. And of coarse the scene of the locomotives blasting through the caboose. I think the engines in that movie are four F3's?

[Richard A]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Allan Miller

I can't begin to count how many times this question has been asked on various forums, but my answer is always the same: "Emperor of the North," aka "Emperor of the North Pole." There has been no train movie made, in my opinion, that better combines a fictional story with the factual realities of prototype railroading. I can't even think of a close second.

Allan,

I completely agree. I have been tryng to buy a copy (VHS or DVD) for months now. The copy I made from TV years ago has just stretched beyond belief. Anyone know where I can buy a new copy?

Thanks.

[Dr. John]

For comedy, I'd go with "Silver Streak"
For suspense, I'd go with "Runaway Train"
For a really good, classic movie, I'd pick "Bad Day at Black Rock" with Spencer Tracy as the one-armed detective. The movie begins with Tracy arriving by train at a desert tank town. Great story!

[philo426]

Emperor of the North is one of my all-time faves.I especiall lioke the line that Ernest Borgnine says to Lee Marvin:"If you could turn this engine over,you would see that is is stamped"Made In Hell![}:)]

[Anonymous]

Hello All: Silver Streak, Von Ryan's Express, All of the I Love Toy Trains Regards Steve

[siberianmo]

Narrow Margin with Gene Hackman was my favorite until Polar Express came out.
I'm really not into animation - but that movie, in my opinion, became an instant "classic" for kids of all ages - especially for those who appreciate trains AND Christmas!

Narrow Margin is a great flick that features some outstanding shots of VIA Rail's "Canadian" passing through the Canadian Rockies en route Vancouver, BC. A thriller-diller for sure ..... but I like it for the train shots ......

See ya![tup]

[ragnar]

1. The train

2. Emperor of the North

3. Runaway Train

All three are Awesome Flicks

[Dr. John]

Though not a train movie, per se, the Neil Simon comedy, "Murder by Death" has a character named Lionel Twain who lives at 22 Twain Road (Two - Two Twain).

[FJ and G]

1. The General

2. The train

3. Emperor of the North

4. The Railrodders

[Anonymous]

Favorite Train Movie:
Danger Lights.
BillFromWayne
www.modeltrainjournal.com

[Buckeye Riveter]

Silver Streak

[Anonymous]

I have to go with Emporer of the North, working on the railroad I have met more than a few of the Ernest Borgien type conductors so, the movie is pretty close to real.

Another good movie is called "End of the Line" I believe. I know Wilford Brimely and possibly Levon Helm were in this movie. Basically the story is this huge railroad shut down and went to hauling everything by plane so...Wilford and Levon drive a locomotive to Chicago and get them to open the railroad back up. I think that was the basic story in the movie, I saw it 12 years ago and never seen it again.

I used to like Silver Streak but, now I am kinda nitpicky about the train scenes and other things that it is hard to enjoy. Gene Wilder being thrown off a train in the Canadian plains then walking thru the desert of California 5 minutes later?! The bad guy get sdecapitated by a passing train?! (If the tracks were REALLY that close together the trains would constatly be hitting each other when they started rocking) The train doesn't go into emergency when the cars are uncoupled? Actually, none of that is as abd as the most unrealistic part of the movie....Gene Wilder meets a beautiful lady and a few hours later.....I just don't think that would have ever really happened....at least to a guy that looked like Gene.

[gvdobler]

I thought Atomic train had some nice train shots, even if it was a silly movie. There was a good one years ago with a ski train with no brakes and Ben Johnson hooked on the back with a switcher and stopped the runaway.

Jon - Las Vegas

[Anonymous]

OK, I think that we're all starting to agree on a top ten here. So let me be so bold as to change the topic a little.

What are your favorite TOY train movies or scenes?

Mine are:
The Adams Family (lots of crashes and explosions)
Risky Business (Tom Cruise had a great lionel set up)
Silver Spoons (remember ricky schroeder had a large scale train in the living room he rode on)---I still want to be that rich.

[Anonymous]

I thought ALF had a pretty good set up..enough though I think it was shown a grand total of 4 times.
Arnold on Different Strokes had a cool Lionel layout, although I think it was just in the "Very special" episode where the guy who owned the toy story really liked little boys...I mean really. :(