I’m surprised nobody has brought this up yet. Denzel Washington is in a movie coming out soon that is based on a runaway train. I saw the trailer for it last night and it looks like a good action movie. Anybody else seen the preview yet?
http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/at-the-movies/a257575/trailer-denzel-washingtons-unstoppable.html
Another fountain of misinformation to fuel the NIMBYs.
But I’ll watch it anyway.
I see they mixed in elements of several actual incidents - running it down from behind with another loco, and trying to shoot the fuel cutoff. Looks like a whole lot of hooey but yeah, I’ll probably watch it. Better do that alone because if I start callign out all the errors I will make any fellow viewers mad. [:D]
–Randy
Wow! That looks like a good movie. I love Denzel, he’s a great actor. I can’t remember any modern movies solely based on trains. Looking forward to it for sure.
I posted something about this some months ago.
Back not long after this incident happened, I read an article in Reader’s Digest that mentions the actual chase. On the rear cover of the issue is a picture of the front of the loco with the engineer and conductor standing in front of the loco.
No doubt, Hollywood will doctor up the movie. Think, “Action Movie”. Since I have all the info on the incident, I doubt I will go see the movie.
I have kept some links about this incident. The only real danger was the train hitting vehicles at crossings. The chase loco crew had quite a ride as the loco I believe ran as high as 40 to 50 mph and has a speed restriction of about 25 miles per hour when running with no rolling stock.
Lost the magazine a few years ago so I might not be entirely accurate about the speeds. The conductor had quite a ride going out onto the deck to watch for a solid coupling.
Rich
I was able to watch some of the filming of this movie in out town one day. Kind of neat to see the engines making a run thru town, back up and do it over a couple of times. a little known fact is that the two “star” engines, AC4400CW’s #777 and 767, each had doubles. There were two sets of these engines and they had to show the same dammage on them as the filming went on. I saw all four engines one night in the local yard in town along with the entire fictionaly named freight cars used in the filming. When I saw then two of the engines were at one end of the train and the other two were at the other end. I did not pick up on it right away that they were identicle sets. At that time I did not know that they were filming a movie and figured they were engines destined to go to a railroad in West Virginia. When I started to research the engines and found nothing on them, I started to research the freight cars. I never found anything on them either.
The other cool thing is I know some of the kids that are extras in the movie. A local school was contacted and an entire class was used as extras in the film. I work with several parents of these kids. When they were first contacted about this they were real excited. After the second or third day of filming the “fun” wore off.
I have a friend who painted a couple of engines for a modeler who wanted them done. I did the decals for them. If I can get the pictures I will upload them some time. Thinking about it, it would make a nice fictional railroad.
Dan
Hmmmm. I just viewed the clip…Isn’t that the “young Captain Kirk” (JJ Abrams trek movie) with Denzel? One facet that was an immediate “turn off” was the locomotive crew’s hostility towards the young conductor. From what I’ve witnessed in real life and read as well, locomotive crews on most Class 1 and Class 2 railroads tend to exhibit a sense of comraderie and respect towards each other, especially since at any given second they may have to depend on each other to stay alive if disasters strikes.
Just a little nitpicker…(yeah, already!)
A pair of modern GE locomotives (appear to be warbonnet BNSF units) are the runaways being chased by a 2nd generation EMD. Correct me if I’m wrong, but my understanding is that through today’s technology, modern GE and EMD units can be overridden and even shut down by a dispatcher or ranking manager via satellite. The older units, on the other hand can run until they run out of fuel or fly off the tracks! So the BNSF units, plausibly, should be chasing the old EMD. Is this correct? Where’s Spock when you need him![:P]
But…it’s just a movie.
Trains in an action movie? Hollywood embellishments be darned, I’ll be going to see it in theaters or worst case scenario renting it on DVD.
This could spark a whole 'nother thread, but could this generate an interest and trains again and spark an increase in model railroading?
Movie’s are never 100% correct on any of the details, lol. I thought it would be interesting just to watch it, not nitpick over it. I like action movies with lots of destruction, the special effects should look incredible on my HD TV and sound great with the 7.1 surround system I have.
More info about this incident.
http://www.wtol.com/Global/story.asp?S=511832&nav=0Re55IAR5HXY
The story was in Reader’s Digest, March 2001 with photo of the crew and loco that stopped the train without breaking the train apart. I found the back issue but cannot post the photo.
If you know how to search the 'Net, there is more info around but essentially what the above articles says.
There are “Conspiracy Theorist” that say what really happened.
Rich
My thoughts exactly. From the same screenwriter who gave us that cinematic masterpiece, Live Free or Die Hard.
I’ll pass![sigh]
-George
Yes, I agree. One of my favorite train movies was “Disaster on Coastliner”. Filmed in the early 1980s, it starred William Shatner and Amtrak. I discovered that F40s were not just good locomotives, they’re also great missles too!
I’ll have to watch this flick. Hey it’s about trains so it has to be interesting and entertaining. 
Wayne
I’ll wait for the reviews here. Lately 90 percent of everything coming out of Hollywood has a political spin and it makes me sick. Maybe this will be one of the other 10%.
Sheeez guys, why all the hate on Hollywood? They make movies for entertainment. If the movie was true in every aspect of the facts, then it would be called a documentary, and you wouldn’t have Denzel Washington as the lead actor. It would be on the discovery channel at 11pm.
It will be a very entertaining movie. What other train movies in the last 20 years have there been? I can’t think of any. Not movies with trains in them.
Go have fun, go see a movie, relax.
There are three movies that come to my mind: Under Siege 2 (1994), Goldeneye (1995), and The Polar Express (2004).
I can see an unstoppable train set already.
Forget to set CV29 to DC off and you can get an unstoppable train [:D]
I’ll have to go see this too.
Long-ago memory of a pretty exciting movie I saw as a kid, “Runaway,” about a runaway passenger train being chased down from behind. Ben Johnson was in it. As I recall it inspired me and my brother to wrap ourselves up in these soft foam-rubber sleeping pads we had and go crashing around the room, invulnerable to harm, and sure we had the secret for surviving a train crash.
Dean
Hey, it’s directed by Tony Scott, a very talented young chip off the old block of Ridley Scott who is my very favorite current film director, and it stars Denzel Washington, an actor I’d pay good money just to hear read the Phone Book.
And it’s got trains. Trains slamming all over the place, from the clip. Let’s face it, the last GREATmovie about trains was in the mid-sixties from John Frankenheimer (THE TRAIN) and it’s been a long, dry spell since then.
So? At the worst, it could be a fanciful and unrealistic suspenser. At the best, it could be one of the best action films of recent years. And if you want ‘realism’, then rent a RR documentary.
But it’s got TRAINS! And it’s got MY admission ticket when it comes out.
Tom [:D]