Great Train Movies

Classic Toy Trains Forum
61

I’ve also seen that movie. An inaccurate and stupid movie is one thing, but Atomic Train is unbelievable! It’s hard to imagine that such a movie actually got made in the first place. You don’t know what a bad movie is (about trains or otherwise) until you’ve seen it!

Actual scene from Atomic Train:

Dispatching room. Dispatcher is sitting in front of CTC board. General and other officials from the Pentagon have arrived to discuss the runaway train.

DISPATCHER: You know anything about trains, General?

GENERAL: (Trying really hard to do a Jack Nicholson “You can handle the truth” voice.) They run on tracks, don’t they?

DISPATCHER: (Pauses. Looks away. Then speaks with fear.) On good days.

On a positive note, I saw a very good train movie on TV last week. Narrow Margin with Gene Hackman from 1990. Hackman plays an LA cop who goes to British Columbia to get a woman who witnessed a mob hit to testify in court. The mob has tracked her down and almost all of the movie involves them trying to get away from the bad guys while riding a Via train to safety. One memorable scene is a fight that takes place on top of a dome car with the passengers inside watching! I’ve done some searching and found out that this was a remake of a film from 1952. I’ll have to see that one.

62

Another good one was Rio Grande (early 1950’s-color) with Edmund O’brien, good flick about the early days of the building of the Rio Grande (steam action) and some F unit
actions at the end, not entirely historically accurate but good fun.

Great Locomotive Chase (disney is a classic !)…

Other magazine video’s on layouts not movies but good action of O pikes and surround sound like music…

63

Hi all,

I pulled all the movie names off this thread so you can see a complete list below

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

64

AMC is running Battle of the Bulge this morning. My Dad fought there so I always watch it.

There is a train scene where a train is making its way to a tunnel where a tank awaits. The approaching scene is from a camera on the front of a train running high speed. THey then cut to a view from about 45 from teh top looking down on the train. It is definately a Lionel model train - and it’s cookin’. [:D]

65

I saw the movie Station Agent on DVD yesturday and heartily recommend it.

The main character is a train buff who was working at a model rr shop specializing in lionel stuff. Who then inheirets and moves to an old train station complete with a passenger car and two cabooses in a rural area. Boy talk about wish fulfilment.

All this and a good realistic story with strong unknown actors. Go rent it, you will not be disappointed.

66

Put me down for the opening and closing sequences of Bad Day at Black Rock Starring: Spencer Tracy.

67

I just thought of one thatwas just on cable.
Enemy at the gates. About a Russian sniper of world war II, how he was brought to the front in an old steamer great shot of the steamer.
laz57

68

Either Polar Express or The History Channels trains series.

69

To all the HE fans and our british friends how about The great train robbery with sean conelly and Donald sutherland.

70

Hi,

For different reasons, my vote goes for Danger Lights, Silver Streak, Emporer of the North, and even thou I’m 63, I really enjoy Polar Express (I’m the smart aleck knowitall)… I’ve seen most of the others mentioned and love the train scenes in all of them…

But, and this is serious, I have read that “Boxcar Bertha” from 197x is supposed to be an excellent train movie. Anyone seen it or can comment on it???

ENJOY,

Mobilman44

71

I have to say The Emporer of the North,Von Ryans Express, The Great Locomotive Chase and The Train. Also The T.V. Show from the fifties, Casey Jones. Someone correct me if Iam wrong, but I thick the lyric’s went like this: Casey Jones steaming and a rolling, casey jones you never have to guess, when you hear the rumble of the engine its Casey at the throttle of the Cannon Ball Express.

72

Ahhh… trivia night on CTT forum… it’s “when you hear the tootin’ of the whistle, it’s Casey at the throttle of the Canonball Express”.

Speaking of trivia, does anyone remember the old TV series “The Untouchables”, starring Robert Stack. There was a two-part episode called “The Big Train”, about the transfer of Al Capone from a regular prison to a “new, state of the art” facility. Lots of train yard, and train sequences (a lot of them model trains cleverly photographed to look real. Another movie, and this is timely, “White Christmas” with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye, showed several sequences of the 1950’s Super Chief (at least I think that was it), you know the old GM F-units with the stainless steel passenger consist.

73

Yes I remember that episode. I dont think I ever missed epsoide

74

Yes I remember that episode. I dont think I ever missed episode of the UN-Touchables

75

BINGO!!! I got TWO that didn’t make the list but are definitely worth

watching as they are very train-oriented and have some great shots

of line-side structures and scenery. Operations are not prototypical

(it IS ‘holly-wierd’ you know)

First is a nice “little” movie produced by (yes) Mary Steenbergen and

starring Wilford Brimley, Kevin Bacon, Holly Hunter and a few others

titled “End of the Line” about a shortline that is saved by their employees

who take the line’s loco to Chicago to the “Big Business Headquarters”

to say their piece and save their RR. One nice FUNNY scene is when

Brimley and his partner get discouraged in their trip and SHOOT their loco

out of frustration. Obviously didn’t do much damage, but haven’t we ALL

had days like this? 1987 ORION Pictures/LORIMAR home video VHS (might now be

on DVD) PG

The next movie not on your list, but definitely watchable and having some

great RR footage is a movie starring Richard Farnsworth ( one great actor!)

titled “The Grey Fox” about a train robber that is arrested in the 19th century

and released into the early 20th century. Times have changed, but Farnsworth

hasn’t. He goes out into the world to try to commit one last train robbery in

the new age. Great acting, pretty good RR stuff, great plot, wonderful scenery.

Filmed in Canada in the Northwest. 1983 Media Home Entertainment. VHS PG

And, yes, put my votes in for…

Emporer of the North

Von Ryan’s Express

The Train

The Great Locomotive Chase

76

I saw part of Terror Train the other night…that’s all I could stomach, but Jamie Lee Curtis was in it.

Kurt