PLEASE HELP with a train question for a screenplay...

[Anonymous]

Good morning: I could use some expert locomotive advise.

I am writing a screenplay in which a man running from the law stows away on a train. MY QUESTION: Are there modern cargo trains in the US that still use open-top or top-loader cargo cars (i.e. so that the man could climb a ladder and get into the car, possibly unseen)? Would this be a safe place to stow away?

I am planning the opening sequence as a helicopter shot from above, closing in on this moving train as it weaves through the wilderness. The camera moves closer and closer toward an empty cargo car with an open top. The main character is asleep (passed out) on the floor of this car, exposed to a light rain.

Train enthusiasts, is this impossible? This would be taking place in Upstate New York or West Virginia.

Thank you! [:I]

[michaelstevens]

SW,

1. There is no safe way for a person to climb onto and into a rairoad freight car -- without the cooperation of the rairoad and the train crew.
The train could move at any time, endangering your actor's life and/or limbs.
Additionally other trains or moving freight cars, could pass at any time on adjacent
tracks.

2. Once you have made arrangements with the railroad, then;

3. Yes there are several open top cars, which would suit your purpose -- e.g. an empty coal hopper (12' high sides) or even a scrap gondola (4' high sides).
Coal trains are usually 100+ cars long -- but single gondolas can be found in between other types of cars, in "mixed trains".

Hope this helps -- good luck with your project.

[cherokee woman]

Hey Screenwriter:

To the best of my knowledge, a bunch of years ago, the F.R.A. banned ladders on cars that would run from bottom to top; and on boxcars, and other cars of that nature, no roof walks.

Also, with the advent of the flashing rear end device (FRED) good luck in finding a caboose. The only real open cars that I really know about are regular hopper cars used in coal, gravel, balast, etc., and a lot of times you'll see fiberglass lids or tarps on those cars.

This is really about as much as I can help you with right now.

I don't know the premise of the movie? West Virginia sounds cool, but also Eastern Ky.
If you want some more help, either post on the column, or email me.

locomutt

[Anonymous]

MichaelStevens:
It's something I'd absolutely cooperation with the train company on. Sounds like, at least, it would be plausible that he could find a car to get into, and possibly find some odd way to climb in.

Cherokee: Would these trains head into Upstate New York as well?

Would there ever be a cargo train that went from Upstate New York or CT to WV?

[BentnoseWillie]

Short answer: Yes.

In the real world this is a dangerous (and downright stupid) thing to do, but it is possible. Where I live, we see lots of coal hoppers and gondolas of scrap metal - both have open tops.

I think I'd use an empty gondola, commonly used to haul scrap metal. Its lower sides would make it easier to board, and its flat bottom would make it a slightly more comfortable ride.

Don't forget to make his clothes tattered and dirty. Railroads are hard on your clothes.

[Anonymous]

A gondola would definately be the best. I don't now if a major railroad would like a movie with people running into their cars so I would get a smaller railroad to run the trains for you. Most of the major lines in New York and some in WV run so many trains that it would be next to imposible to film on a main line anyway. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by screenwriter

Good morning: I could use some expert locomotive advise.

I am writing a screenplay in which a man running from the law stows away on a train. MY QUESTION: Are there modern cargo trains in the US that still use open-top or top-loader cargo cars (i.e. so that the man could climb a ladder and get into the car, possibly unseen)? Would this be a safe place to stow away?

I am planning the opening sequence as a helicopter shot from above, closing in on this moving train as it weaves through the wilderness. The camera moves closer and closer toward an empty cargo car with an open top. The main character is asleep (passed out) on the floor of this car, exposed to a light rain.

Train enthusiasts, is this impossible? This would be taking place in Upstate New York or West Virginia.

Thank you! [:I]

Well the only problem with A coverd hopper would be CONFINED SPACE
And OR CHEMICAL (INSECTISIDE) EXPOSURE But Some RR's Still have Caboose's
for switching routes other than that open hoppers would be better

Say do you need Any stunt men or Extra's Im A Proffesional train hopper And could Use A job Other than the carnival I work for [8D]Willing to Travel I know The east coast well
Ive Been In California Before 18 hours outside the down town bus station In L.A.
Also A street survivor camped out in the middle of Central park One year In NYC
Slept like A baby And best Of All I CAN BE BOUGHT!!!

[BentnoseWillie]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Slick1

Looking for advise on stowing away on a train? You Sir, sound extremely suspicious! Members, beware of information you pass along.......

What, are the CSX police going to extradite me for divulging the existence of gondola cars? [:o)]

He didn't ask for advice, he asked whether a car type existed that fit his scene. Not a peep pertaining to the actual process of boarding, only about the plausibility of the shot he envisions.

[ironhorseman]

I can't really had much more info to this discussion, except to respond the comment about being suspicious of persons asking for this kind of info....
.....anybody can go stand by the tracks and gather this information. If someone is determined enough to ride a freight train they're gonna do it.

A man in a former hometown of mine robbed a bank, ran away on foot, hopped on a freight train leaving town while the cops were chasing him. Unfortunatly for him he slipped as he was climbing on board and had both feet sliced off by the wheels. When the newspaper reporter asked the train crew member if there was any damage to the train the crewman replied: "When trains hit people there's never any damage to the equipment."

I know the typical responce of railfans and railroaders is to howl over any depictions of people trespassing on RR property, and screenwriter, you should probably expect that. I don't live back east but I hear the Class I RRs are stingy out there so don't be surprised if they're opposed to the idea.

If you wanted to make a reality show, which is all the rage, you could show the guy getting hurt or killed by the train. On the otherhand, people don't understand movies are the exception to reality. They tell stories of people who overcome difficulites. Real life isn't as glamorous and the guy riding the rails could end up dead or in jail, but getting away from these circumstance is the exception of the character, something the public just has to understand.

Nonetheless, I don't encourage people to trespass and I don't believe movies send subliminal, or obvious for that matter, signals to encourage people to trespass on RR. People are going to fool around trains whether it's shown in the movies or not.

www.oli.org

[michaelstevens]

Give'im hell B-Dubya -- and all the rest of those paranoid pinkoes in NJ !!

[Anonymous]

on another note this sounds like a really cool movie like mission impossible or james bond and make it take place in canada it'll be cheap and we have trees and trains too!

[Anonymous]

Good luck on your movie, it sounds good! I'll be sure to see it once it comes out! I really can't add anything to what others have already said, but here are some links to pictures of the types of cars mentioned so you can get a better idea of what others are talking about.

At www.angelfire.com/il/cnw/gondola.html there are pictures of the smaller regular gondola cars that often haul scrap metal, etc. I also would reccomend using this type for your movie.

At www.crowsnest.bc.ca/revivalpix14.html there's a picture of a larger coal car or "bathtub gondola".

Also, they are called freight trains, not cargo trains.

[Anonymous]

May I add that we are talking about a MOVIE here? What do movies have to do with real life anyway? They're an escape, fantasy, fiction. How many movies have we seen with people doing stunts on moving trains or in rail yards and jumping on and off rolling stock or crossing tracks just as the train closes in? Have any of you felt the urge to copy these stunts? Or do you sit back and enjoy the movie and suspend belief for a couple of hours of entertainment?

I agree, a gondola would be the best car to use. It would be (relatively) easy to get in and out of and would be visible from above. The sides would give some concealment to whoever would be inside.

I might suggest you go to a hobby shop and buy a model railroad gondola (it'll be less than $10) and you can have a feel for what the actual car looks like. Plus you can use it when you make your pitch, so the producer has a concrete object he can relate to.

Another choice of car would be a flat car. That wouldn't conceal anyone, and there's no place to hold on to. But it is easy to get on.

A final choice for a low car that has sides would be an empty container well-car that is used for shipping containers. But these cars would have no solid bottom and would be extremely dangerous.

The location of the train does not matter in the case of a gondola. They are used all over the country.