A couple of questions inspired by a recent viewing of the film:
What kind of engine is used in the 1885 scenes and who did/does it belong to? Did they actually wreck it? (if not it was great model work!)
What kind of engines are the diesels in 1985 that wreck the DeLorean and who do/did they belong to?
IMDB lists Port Hueneme, California, as the location where the DeLorean meets it’s fate at the end of the movie. Is this an active area today and what lines serve this are today, if any? Is this the same line that runs through the naval base?
The steamer was Sierra RR #3, a 4-6-0 built by Rogers Loco Co. No, they didn’t wreck that one, it was a one inch scale model that went into Eastwood Ravine. There was an article about it in Trains or Railfan about the time the movie was made.
I grew up next to the VCRY and because of all the filming that took place there there engines were getting new paint jobs on almost a weekly basis. It was interesting to say the least.
Yes it was a model they crashed. And another interesting fact is that when they filmed the actors in the can the car was being pulled by the train and they then reversed the film.