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Silver Streak Movie

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Posted by Overmod on Sunday, December 4, 2022 4:17 PM

Never fire the chauffeur before the end of the ride...

NDG
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Posted by NDG on Sunday, December 4, 2022 12:31 PM
Movie Silver Streak. 1976.
 
The Searchlight Signal Scene at Time 00.46 was filmed just West of Crowsnest.
 
 
A concrete foundation was poured and a socket was installed so a false Signal
 could be set in a pipe and could be turned clear of track
 when not in use.
 
It was here.
 
 
Cut at top had Tunnel into Fifties known as 'Grain Bin ' Tunnel as gravel always
 seeping in.
 
Looking East.
 

 

Looking West.
 

https://www.basininstitute.org/search/details.html?id=19811#.Y4zXsX3MLIU

 

 
  When CP 8900 Train Masters were new, CP 8900-04 were fitted
w Steam Generators intended to replace 
Two 2 1600 HP C-Lines on Passenger.
 
 
 
 
The TM's 6-wheel Trucks were too long and rigid for curves on light rail
 and derailed frequently.
 
One derailed at the tunnel and it turned into a show with
 Wheel Slip, Replacers and Tie Plates flying all around in showers
 of sparks, smoke and getting correct Traction Motors Cut Out.
 
Big Delay on Psgr.
 
A steam locomotive showed up, ( From Lethbridge?? Frank? ) and completed the rescue.
 
After the filming the faux Signal was moved to the CPR Rwy. Museum where it
 rusted for years adjacent to the CPR where it remained well into the Nineties.
 
CPR posted Information Bulletins in Terminals that CPR Employees
were ' Encouraged ' to NOT, in big Font, hang around or generally
 Schmooze filming locations and Train.
 
The Tone was OR ELSE!!!! in Company Speak.
 
Once the Movie arrived in the local theatre, everyone went to see it
 where it was the Talk of the Town , AND the CPR.
 
Everyone put in THEIR Two Cents and what I would have dones
One Crew was dissecting the plot and they were were baiting this
 Old Engineer.
 
A mouthy Trainman, just to raise Manure, asked the Conductor, who was
a Drunk, what HIS favorite scene was in the film, figuring he would 
say something about the Shoot Out, or the train crashing into
Toronto Union Station.
 
He said it was when they shot the Engineer and threw him out of the Cab.
 
 
Another Control Stand and Deadman's was put on Fireman's Side of
 A Unit for Filming Purposes
 
The real Engineer slammed down his cup, they were soaking up
Terminal Time On Pay, slammed the door and 
climbed into HIS Unit to Sulk.
 
Could hear THAT door, SLAM!, TOO, Thirty Feet away.
 
Apparently he used the Independent the whole trip to give the
 Caboose a Good Ride.
 
Thank You.

 

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Posted by wjstix on Tuesday, November 22, 2022 9:50 AM

BigJim
wjstix
More importantly, since the race to Chicago...

 

If you actually watched the movie, you would have seen that the race was TO Boulder City.

 

Yes, it was taking iron lungs from Chicago to Boulder City. As I mentioned, I haven't watched the movie since the 1980s so memory is a bit hazy. The discussion about the distance and time etc. are still the same regardless which direction it was heading though.

Stix
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Posted by Electroliner 1935 on Monday, November 21, 2022 3:31 PM

On one of the Roanoke VA NRHS 611 Independence Limited trips I was on, Grahm Claytor was running 611 between Bellvue, OH and Ft.Wayne IN. I clocked the speed using time between mile posts and got 70mph. (51 sec.) The employee TT indicated speed limit for the track for passenger was 60 mph. Enroute to the motel, I asked some of the loco crew about it and was assured they NEVER went that fast. 

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Posted by BigJim on Monday, November 21, 2022 1:59 PM

wjstix
More importantly, since the race to Chicago...


If you actually watched the movie, you would have seen that the race was TO Boulder City.

.

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Posted by BaltACD on Monday, November 21, 2022 12:25 PM

adkrr64
 
BaltACD
In the present day, the only Senior Railroad Official that maintained their 'Engineer's Card' was Cindy Sanborn while she was with CSX.  Of course once she moved on to UP and then NS I doubt that she did.  Saw a article recently that she was retiring from NS. 

Interesting. So how often would Ms. Sanborn need to run a train to keep her engineer card? Seems like it would have to be enough times to have a check ride and an unannounced test as a minimum. I wonder what the average conductor thought when paired up with someone like that.

My understanding it required a yearly 'check ride' over one of the territories she was qualified on.  I could be wrong.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by adkrr64 on Monday, November 21, 2022 11:36 AM

BaltACD
In the present day, the only Senior Railroad Official that maintained their 'Engineer's Card' was Cindy Sanborn while she was with CSX.  Of course once she moved on to UP and then NS I doubt that she did.  Saw a article recently that she was retiring from NS.

Interesting. So how often would Ms. Sanborn need to run a train to keep her engineer card? Seems like it would have to be enough times to have a check ride and an unannounced test as a minimum. I wonder what the average conductor thought when paired up with someone like that.

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Posted by BaltACD on Monday, November 21, 2022 11:15 AM

wjstix
 
BaltACD

 wjstix

2000 mi. in 19 hrs would be 105 MPH. It's fast but plausible. Track was in better shape back then; a lot of Amtrak trains take longer to make their run than their steam era counterparts did. 

I don't think the real Zephyr had the fuel capacity to run 2K miles non-stop; as well as the HOS law was in effect at the time limiting the engineer and engineer pilot to 16 working hours.  But why let reality interrupt a good story. 

Well I agree reality didn't have too much to do with the story in general. Hoover Dam to Chicago would be about 1775 mi.; the real Zephyr's Denver to Chicago nonstop run was just over 1000 mi., so is stretching things a bit.
 
IIRC the "Silver Streak" was driven all the way by the hero, who was something like the head of the railroad's engineering department, so there wasn't a standard crew. Not sure with someone in management running the train if the 16 hour rule would apply? More importantly, since the race to Chicago was to save the life of the son of the president of the railroad, I suspect the president wouldn't mind paying a fine for violating the work rules if it meant saving his son's life. 

In the present day, the only Senior Railroad Official that maintained their 'Engineer's Card' was Cindy Sanborn while she was with CSX.  Of course once she moved on to UP and then NS I doubt that she did.  Saw a article recently that she was retiring from NS.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by wjstix on Monday, November 21, 2022 11:08 AM

BaltACD

 wjstix

2000 mi. in 19 hrs would be 105 MPH. It's fast but plausible. Track was in better shape back then; a lot of Amtrak trains take longer to make their run than their steam era counterparts did.

I don't think the real Zephyr had the fuel capacity to run 2K miles non-stop; as well as the HOS law was in effect at the time limiting the engineer and engineer pilot to 16 working hours.  But why let reality interrupt a good story.

 

 
Well I agree reality didn't have too much to do with the story in general. Hoover Dam to Chicago would be about 1775 mi.; the real Zephyr's Denver to Chicago nonstop run was just over 1000 mi., so is stretching things a bit.
 
IIRC the "Silver Streak" was driven all the way by the hero, who was something like the head of the railroad's engineering department, so there wasn't a standard crew. Not sure with someone in management running the train if the 16 hour rule would apply? More importantly, since the race to Chicago was to save the life of the son of the president of the railroad, I suspect the president wouldn't mind paying a fine for violating the work rules if it meant saving his son's life. 
Stix
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Posted by tree68 on Monday, November 21, 2022 7:12 AM

If my plate arrived with cottage cheese, it would leave with cottage cheese.

Mashed 'taters' would be a different story.  When I was young, if we had mashed potatoes but no gravy, it was butter for a topping.  We were a meat and potatoes family.  

LarryWhistling
Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) 
Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you
My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date
Come ride the rails with me!
There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...

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Posted by rixflix on Monday, November 21, 2022 6:56 AM

Meatloaf and mashed potatoes = comfort food, especially at the roadside diner and on the Reading's Philly-NYC trains. Just add peas as the veggie, carefully placed in a line on the mashed potatoes preloaded on your knife. Did that etiquette come from The Stooges or Laurel and Hardy?

Rick

rixflix aka Captain Video. Blessed be Jean Shepherd and all His works!!! Hooray for 1939, the all time movie year!!! I took that ride on the Reading but my Baby caught the Katy and left me a mule to ride.

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Posted by Overmod on Sunday, November 20, 2022 8:51 PM

How do you know it was cottage cheese and not mashed potatoes?

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Posted by CMStPnP on Sunday, November 20, 2022 2:35 PM

Did you notice the sleeping car in the movie "Elgin Manor" is still in service on the VIA Rail Canadian?     Also in the dining car scene did you see what they were eating for lunch?     A mound of cottage cheese, a slice of meat loaf and it looked like orange slices but could have been carrots.    I wonder if those were actually on the CP Rail menu.    I can't imagine eating cottage cheese with meat loaf......eck!!!

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Posted by Overmod on Thursday, November 17, 2022 10:40 PM
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Posted by 54light15 on Thursday, November 17, 2022 6:25 PM

Maybe it was inspired by Popeye?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1iZRX0RUEU 

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Posted by Overmod on Thursday, November 17, 2022 6:04 PM

BaltACD

Hey, I liked the train in Streamline Express -- it was everything that Supertrain should have been but turned out not to be.  Sure, the plot is nonsense and some of the assumptions screenwriter-wacky, but the underlying premise was good.  And I have to wonder if it shaped any of the Breitspurbahn planning...

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Posted by BaltACD on Thursday, November 17, 2022 2:16 PM

wjstix
2000 mi. in 19 hrs would be 105 MPH. It's fast but plausible. Track was in better shape back then; a lot of Amtrak trains take longer to make their run than their steam era counterparts did.

I don't think the real Zephyr had the fuel capacity to run 2K miles non-stop; as well as the HOS law was in effect at the time limiting the engineer and engineer pilot to 16 working hours.  But why let reality interrupt a good story.

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by wjstix on Thursday, November 17, 2022 1:54 PM

2000 mi. in 19 hrs would be 105 MPH. It's fast but plausible. Track was in better shape back then; a lot of Amtrak trains take longer to make their run than their steam era counterparts did.

Stix
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Posted by BaltACD on Thursday, November 17, 2022 11:18 AM

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by 54light15 on Thursday, November 17, 2022 10:28 AM

After the Dawn-To-Dusk run, the Zephyr made a tour around the US. My father grew up in Towanda, PA and the entire school went to the station to see and tour it. That must have been something! 

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Posted by Overmod on Thursday, November 17, 2022 9:54 AM

As Bugs said: "nyaaaaaaaah... could be"

There ought to be a trope for this, 'gotta get the serum to Nome'.

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Posted by BaltACD on Thursday, November 17, 2022 9:53 AM

Overmod
 
54light15
There's a Silver Streak movie from the 30s with the Zephyr? 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LTbay8TZhM

2000 miles in 19 hours???????

Never too old to have a happy childhood!

              

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Posted by tdmidget on Thursday, November 17, 2022 9:44 AM

Well, you did get Chicago and the Hoover dam right, but the rest, no.

wjstix
 
samfp1943
  A 1970's 'remake' of a previous 'one'['30s or so?]..... A draw to 'rail-fans' with a somewhat techincal, but somewhat of a  sense of humor, IMHO.....

 

Except for the title, I don't think the 1930s "Silver Streak" has anything in common with the Wilder-Pryor one from the 70s. The old B&W movie is about a guy trying to get his idea for a new streamlined diesel train (played by the Burlington's new Zephyr) built and accepted by railroads. In the key scene, the railroad owner's son is injured working on Hoover Dam, and he has to be rushed to a hospital in (IIRC) Chicago. Only the Silver Streak can run without stopping all the way, so it's used as a last resort by the railroad to try to save the owner's son.

 

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Posted by wjstix on Thursday, November 17, 2022 9:39 AM

Overmod

  

54light15
There's a Silver Streak movie from the 30s with the Zephyr?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LTbay8TZhM

 

Although I have this movie on DVD (or videocassette?) it's been a long time since I watched it. I forgot it gave the train a credit: "Burlington Zephyr as 'The Silver Streak'"!! 

I believe some of the hurried race to Chicago at the end was actual footage of the famous Denver-Chicago 'nonstop' trip the Zephyr made in 1934.

Also, a key supporting role is played by Arthur Lake, who some of us older folks will recall as Dagwood in the "Blondie" series of movies.

Stix
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Posted by Convicted One on Thursday, November 17, 2022 9:15 AM

chutton01
that was based on a true story, eh?

The CSX run-away in Ohio several years back. Obviously "spruced up for the box office" a bit.

Since I was already familiar with the real world events the movie was based upon, I enjoyed watching it, despite the departures from reality. 

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Posted by chutton01 on Thursday, November 17, 2022 8:41 AM

Since I last posted, I have watched 'Runaway Train' (escaped prisoners on a freight train in Alaska - the power consist includes a Chekhov's F-unit) and 'Unstoppable' (with the train 2 wheeling (well, I guess 12 wheeling) on the curved trestle thru Staton with nothing derailing...that was based on a true story, eh?

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Posted by Overmod on Thursday, November 17, 2022 6:44 AM

54light15
There's a Silver Streak movie from the 30s with the Zephyr?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LTbay8TZhM

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Posted by Erik_Mag on Wednesday, November 16, 2022 10:23 PM

wjstix

In the key scene, the railroad owner's son is injured working on Hoover Dam, and he has to be rushed to a hospital in (IIRC) Chicago. Only the Silver Streak can run without stopping all the way, so it's used as a last resort by the railroad to try to save the owner's son.

Sounds like the plot for the latter half of "Danger Lights", where the protagonist has to be rushed to a hospital in Chicago from Miles City (though Miles City is not mentioned in the film). The ludicrous part of the dash is showing the train racing westward through Lombard. N.B. Danger Lights was filmed in 1930.

IIRC, the "iron lung" was also showcased in "The Silver Streak".

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Posted by rixflix on Wednesday, November 16, 2022 1:29 PM

"Silver Streak" is the 70's movie. "The Silver Streak" is the 30's movie.

Rick

rixflix aka Captain Video. Blessed be Jean Shepherd and all His works!!! Hooray for 1939, the all time movie year!!! I took that ride on the Reading but my Baby caught the Katy and left me a mule to ride.

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