TV and model railroading snafu

[mlehman]

Medina1128

SNIP

In the case of "SVU", he was an older gentleman with advancing dementia. 

Hmm, I didn't see it (can't stand the genre of show) but maybe that accounts for the steam sounds from the diesel lash-up. Maybe he got confused about which Tsunami gets installed in which loco?

[Texas Zepher]

duckdogger

In an earlier scene set in Italy, all the GIs have M1s except for the one guy pensively remembering home as Crosby sings White Christmas .  He is fooling with the bolt of an 03 Springfield from WW1.

Occasionally the sharpshooters of a platoon were still issued Springfields in WW2 and even in Korea.  My father was one of them, but I think his was a 1916.  So that one is still almost plausible.

[JeremyB]

I remember the train part in White Christmas

I think the 03 Springfield would be correct though as they were retained as Sniper rifles in WWII

[NittanyLion]

No one gets everything right all the time.

The FAA's annual report from last year had pictures of planes with German and British tail numbers.  Picture of an airport and airliners was all they needed and that's what they got.

[duckdogger]

Setting: In White Christmas, Danny Kaye and Bing Crosby board a train in Florida bound for NYC (and subsequently on to Vermont), scene shows Santa Fe Warbonnet F-units. Later, the final leg is a mail express train pulled by SP Black Widow Fs.

In an earlier scene set in Italy, all the GIs have M1s except for the one guy pensively remembering home as Crosby sings White Christmas .  He is fooling with the bolt of an 03 Springfield from WW1. 

[Hoople]

mobilman44

I have to say I am a little sensitive about how the movies and tv shows portray railroads.   The other day I saw part of the History Channels "The building of America" and they showed what was supposed to be an early "oil train".   Well, it was flat cars with drums (of oil), which is reasonably accurate for the pre tank car period. 

You're thinking of the show "The Men Who Built America" which, imo, is excellent- but their trains are just wrong. For the episode on Cornelius Vanderbilt, many of the trains are actually European, among other faults. And sometimes they even had diesel horns! Putting aside the nitpicking, the show actually was quite good and informative.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

cacole

Hollywood and TV studios know nothing about trains

They run on tracks right? That one cracked me up in 'Unstoppable'.

[cacole]

Hollywood and TV studios know nothing about trains, and usually just use whatever they may have in their archives.  A case of, "Hey, Harvey, get us a clip of a train that we can use in this show."  So it's not unusual to see actors who are supposed to be in Florida boarding a Santa Fe passenger car.

Several years ago a retired Hollywood stunt man who lived nearby gave us a collection of HO scale scratch-built western style buildings that he had built.  He said several westerns were shot using his "props" and then the actors were digitally imposed into the scene.

[Medina1128]

mobilman44

Yup, I saw that too!

I have to say I am a little sensitive about how the movies and tv shows portray railroads.   The other day I saw part of the History Channels "The building of America" and they showed what was supposed to be an early "oil train".   

I'm actually MORE sensitive about how Hollywood portrays model RAILROADERS, than how they portray railroads. In the case of "SVU", he was an older gentleman with advancing dementia. 

[mobilman44]

Yup, I saw that too!

I have to say I am a little sensitive about how the movies and tv shows portray railroads.   The other day I saw part of the History Channels "The building of America" and they showed what was supposed to be an early "oil train".   Well, it was flat cars with drums (of oil), which is reasonably accurate for the pre tank car period. 

However, these were metal 55 gallon drums that have a fully removable top (typically used for solids or semi solids) rather than the 42 gallon drums with wood or metal bungs (like corks).   Also, the drums they used in the movie were only available many years later.

By the way...........  the standard volume measure in the oil industry is the barrel.  In other industries (i.e. edible oil, etc.), a barrel typically means 55 gallons.  In the petroleum oil business, it is 42 gallons.

 

 

[Medina1128]

I was watching last week's episode of "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit". There was a scene where two detectives are questioning a possible suspect at his home. The suspect is an older gentleman who is running his model train with sound (the 14:50 mark). Unfortunately, the sound is a steam whistle, but the train is a double headed modern diesel consist.

Watch the entire episode