Skip to main content

Lots of pages in this thread and I confess that I have not read every one so if this movie has been mentioned I missed it.   "Atlas Shrugged" the central characters are in the railroad business. There are some impressive modern passenger trains in the three part movie. Computer generated but neat looking never the less.  A cogent timely central theme with great relevance to  the times we live in today.          j

part 1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k91gP7u3fhs

part 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIjCyULA0wM

part 3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHsi-hBLvFw

 

Well, no trains yet - but a train reference: "The Senator Was Indiscreet," with William Powell as a bumbling U.S. senator with presidential ambitions (I've seen only the first 20 minutes or so as of now).

A PR man has ginned up a stunt with Indians, which a party poo-bah (played by Ray Collins) is not amused by. "Any member of the party in good standing has a perfect right to have his picture taken eating a hot dog, wearing a fez or even fishing. But big stuff like Indian ceremonies or riding in the cab of the Twentieth Century Limited or shaking hands with a recognized labor leader is strictly presidential stuff."

ADD: A little later in the film, the senator goes on a speaking tour of the country. Cut to a train pulled by a streamlined NYC steam locomotive leaving a big city. Then shots of an SP Daylight leading a train, and another SP train. Finally, in a Universal International newsreel of the trip narrated by Don Wilson, a streamlined Pennsy loco leading a "crack transcontinental train." Then Powell at the controls - though he's on the fireman's side, as are throttle and brake. Wilson describes the loco as a Mogul, and says the senator is handling the train well. Then a massive wreck. Model train with engine and cars in sawtooth pattern along a curve, one end in each car of the pair on the ground, the other up in the air.

David

Last edited by NKP Muncie

Just saw "Going Home," from 1971. Robert Mitchum, Brenda Vaccaro, Jan-Michael Vincent. There's a minute or two of the latter in what I guess is Pittsburgh - looks like trackage neighboring steel mills. Lots of PRR hoppers with coal or coke, empty P&LE gondolas, green P&LE box cars. A couple P&LE SW switchers - 8957 and 8958 - Vincent appears to be riding on one of them, with what looks to be a U Boat leading a moving train two tracks over on the right, in the background. Then he drops off, waves to the crew, and cuts across the tracks.

David

Last edited by NKP Muncie

A few that I do not think were mentioned yet:

The Long Grey Line (1955) - features West Point Station and NYC passenger equipment but makes use of a re-painted CNJ Camelback  *This is a Must Watch Film!!*

The Garden Railway (2001) - Mark Found shows us how to build a garden railway in his backyard and takes you to other beautiful garden railways (Free on Youtube)

Michael Palin's Great Railway Journeys: Derry To Kerry (1993) - Palin travels from Derry in the North down to his ancestral homeland of Kerry in the South of Ireland (Free on YouTube)

Close Encounters of The Third Kind (1977) - At 14:40min, there is a model train layout

Jean Shepherd's America: Trains (1971) - WOR Radio Host, Jean Shepherd tells stories from his life related to trains  (Free on YouTube)

Ghost Hunters (TV show) - They had several episodes where they visited supposedly haunted railroad based locations

Midnight Limited (1940) - The Phantom Robber gets a fortune in jewels and some valuable papers from a robbery on the "The Midnight Limited" train (Free on YouTube)

Michael Wood - Great Railway Journeys (1970s) - My favorite is his Cape Town to Victoria Falls episode (Free on YouTube)

Tracks Ahead (1990-2015) - A  show just about real and model trains! I am very surprised that no one has mentioned this yet (Included with Amazon Prime)

Railroad Alaska (2013-2015) - Reality/lifestyle show about the lives of off-grid settlers who live along the Alaskan Railroad, and the Alaska Railroad's workers

Buckskin Frontier (1943) - A railroad man and the owner of a freight line battle for control of a crucial mountain pass (Free on YouTube)

Have Steam Engine Will Travel (2013, 2018) -  A father and son team travels the country with their restored steam engines, American history and humor all in one (Included with Amazon Prime)

Train Quest (2001) - A model train geek's date with his dream girl suddenly derails when a sinister hobby store owner shrinks and imprisons them in an elaborate, unearthly train set. (Free on YouTube)

The Bullet Train (1975) - Japanese Movie w/ English Subtitles - Criminals plant a bomb on a high-speed train. It will explode when the train slows down, unless a ransom is paid. (Free on YouTube)

Nights train to Munich (1940) - An inventor and his daughter are kidnapped by the Gestapo and a British secret serviceman tries to save them and get them to neutral Switzerland (Free on YouTube)

The Great Train Robbery (2013) - Based off the daring train robbery in 1963 in which £2.6 million was stolen from a Royal Mail Train (Free on YouTube)

The Saint (1962) - several episodes including the pilot episode have appearances of trains. (All episodes are free to watch on ShoutTV)

Michael Palin's Great Railway Journeys : Confessions of a Trainspotter (1980) - Palin fulfils his childhood ambition to travel to the Isle of Skye by train (Free on Youtube)

Last edited by Oscale_Trains_Lover_

I didn't see this one listed yet:  My Name is Nobody (Henry Fonda & Terrence Hill 1973)

 

Heat of the Night, Movie involves the train station etc, the series has night time intro at the crossing 

 

Someone did mention "Bad Day at Black Rock."  That one impressed me so much I actually put together a Black Widow and Daylight streamliner consist of the Southern Pacific. 

Arriving at the beginning and leaving at the end

 

 

Last edited by RLH

A few that I do not think were mentioned yet:

The Long Grey Line (1955) - features West Point Station and NYC passenger equipment but makes use of a re-painted CNJ Camelback  *This is a Must Watch Film!!*

The Garden Railway (2001) - Mark Found shows us how to build a garden railway in his backyard and takes you to other beautiful garden railways (Free on Youtube)

Michael Palin's Great Railway Journeys: Derry To Kerry (1993) - Palin travels from Derry in the North down to his ancestral homeland of Kerry in the South of Ireland (Free on YouTube

Close Encounters of The Third Kind (1977) - At 14:40min, there is a model train layout

Jean Shepherd's America (1971) - WOR Radio Host, Jean Shepherd tells stories from his life related to trains  (Free on YouTube)

Ghost Hunters TV show - They had several episodes where they visited supposedly haunted railroad based locations 

Midnight Limited (1940) - The Phantom Robber gets a fortune in jewels and some valuable papers from a robbery on the "The Midnight Limited" train (Free on YouTube)

Michael Wood - Great Railway Journeys (1970s) - My favorite is his Cape Town to Victoria Falls episode (Free on YouTube)

Tracks Ahead (1990-2015) - A  show just about real and model trains! I am very surprised that no one has mentioned this yet (Included with Amazon Prime)

Railroad Alaska (2013-2015) - Reality/lifestyle show about the lives of off-grid settlers who live along the Alaskan Railroad, and the Alaska Railroad's workers

Buckskin Frontier (1943) - A railroad man and the owner of a freight line battle for control of a crucial mountain pass (Free on YouTube)

Have Steam Engine Will Travel (2013, 2018) -  A father and son team travels the country with their restored steam engines, American history and humor all in one (Included with Amazon Prime)

Train Quest (2001) - A model train geek's date with his dream girl suddenly derails when a sinister hobby store owner shrinks and imprisons them in an elaborate, unearthly train set. (Free on YouTube)

The Bullet Train (1975) - Japanese Movie w/ English Subtitles - Criminals plant a bomb on a high-speed train. It will explode when the train slows down, unless a ransom is paid. (Free on YouTube)

Nights train to Munich (1940) - An inventor and his daughter are kidnapped by the Gestapo and a British secret serviceman tries to save them and get them to neutral Switzerland (Free on YouTube)

The Great Train Robbery (2013) - Based off the daring train robbery in 1963 in which £2.6 million was stolen from a Royal Mail Train (Free on YouTube)

The Saint (1962) - several episodes including the pilot episode have appearances of trains. (All episodes are free to watch on ShoutTV)

Michael Palin's Great Railway Journeys : Confessions of a Trainspotter  (1980) - Palin fulfils his childhood ambition to travel to the Isle of Skye by train (Free on Youtube)

 

Thanks for posting all those videos!! Now, I certainly wont get any of the ‘honey-doo’s’ done!!

I do appreciate that you took such care in your descriptions.

 

 

 

 

Well, this was on TCM last night and this morning, on Noir Alley - "The Killer That Stalked New York." Most of the real train bits are at the beginning - one of the stars arrives on a train at Penn Station - GG1 No. 4919, now at the Virginia Museum of Transportation, leading. There are some shots of what appears to me to be Penn Station (movie is from 1950, though maybe shot a year earlier), but I never saw the real thing - or if I did, I was too young to remember.

When she climbs up stairs after alighting from the train, the post at the bottom of the stairs matches that of the pic in the Remnants of Penn Station Tour thread in Real Trains. Except there is more - the ball on top of the post that's missing now, and the ironwork on the post that's either gone or painted over currently.

For people who know the station and can comment - she passes out of the gate, in the background is a Travelers Aid Station sign atop a structure. Across the hall are pay phones - above them a sign that says Public Telephone/Attended Service. In the middle of a hall is a newsstand. She walks out with a Red Cap - across the street is the Hotel Statler (Hotel Pennsylvania).

There's a few shots later on of what I think is from a platform on the 3rd Avenue El - but I could be wrong.

David

Episode 1 of Dark Shadows featured Victoria Winters riding a train to Collinsport.  She'd been offered a job as a governess for David Collins.  Victoria Winters played one of the main characters for about two years.  Burke Devlin, another major character, was also introduced riding the same train.  Burke only lasted a year before he was sent to South America where his plane unfortunately crashed!

The show went on for 1225 episodes, but it all started on a train.

For many who are familiar with Jean Shepherd, he did a number of radio shows that mentioned trains or were about trains. I have a collection with ~2k shows and these are the ones I have uploaded so far that have a train in them ( I have upcoming shows scheduled and I will update this train list when they premier):

Jean Shepherd - Trains & The Union Pacific's "City of Los Angeles" 1971/04/17 - Shep grew up in the Midwest where railroads crisscrossed the landscape, he vividly recalls these giant leviathans as a kid. As an adult, he is still fascinated with trains and tells several train related stories.

Jean Shepherd - The Great Locomotive Chase / Locomotive Sounds 1973/10/11 - There is a brief introduction by the original recorder of this show from 1973. Shep listens to and comments on the locomotive, "The General" which took part of the Great Locomotive Chase during the civil war.

Jean Shepherd - Railroad Magazine 1973/04/04  - Shep comments on a railroad magazine from the 1930s

Jean Shepherd - The Bear Missed the Train 1978  - Jean visits one of the last places in the country that preformed vaudeville where a group plays "The Bear Missed the Train"

Jean Shepherd - The Borrowed Army Raincoat 1966/01/15 - While in the Army, Shep takes a train to Morristown to visit his lady friend's home while on leave.

Bryce

Last edited by Oscale_Trains_Lover_

To add to this list, here are a few more that I do not think were mentioned:

Railway Adventures Across Australia (1999) - Scott McGregor, a train enthusiast, travels across each of the states of Australia and visits the many railroads that are in the land down under. You also learn about the history of the region that the railroads serve. This is one of my favorite railway TV shows, the Tasmania episode is fantastic! If you decide to watch anything from my list, this is the one to watch (Free on YouTube)

Abbott and Costello: Ride 'em Cowboy (1942) - Two peanut vendors (Abbot and Costello) at a rodeo show get in trouble with their boss and hide out on a railroad train heading west. They get jobs as cowboys on a dude ranch, despite the fact that neither of them knows anything about cowboys, horses, or anything else. This has some great footage of the duo's antics in a railyard and SP steam action. Unrelated to trains, this is Ella Fitzgerald's first film appearance  (Free on Internet Archive)

Flight of the Century (1935) - A portrait of the "most famous train in the world." The 20th Century Limited was an express passenger train on the New York Central Railroad . The train traveled between Grand Central Terminal in New York City and LaSalle Street Station in Chicago, Illinois, along the railroad's "Water Level Route." (Free on Internet Archive)

Birth of a Steam Locomotive (1949) - A French film about the birth of a 141P locomotive. Subtitles can be auto-translated into English  (Free on YouTube)

Sleeping Car to Trieste (1948) -A Post-war thriller spy film set on a train. Spies steal a diary from an embassy whose contents could ignite a war, then one of them steals it from the others and boards the Orient Express. He ends up involving a couple who were trying to have a clandestine affair on board; other passengers include a police detective, a would-be chef, a pompous author and his lackey, and a bird enthusiast (Free on Youtube)

Pacific 2-3-1 (1949) - An French pacific moves from the roundhouse to a track where it couples with several passenger cars. At 2:10 in the afternoon, it starts a trip out of the station through the countryside to its destination. The film consists of a montage of shots, some close up, of the engine and its gears and wheels. With the accompanying ambient sounds and an orchestral score, the emphasis is on the engine's power and speed. Parallel lines of multiple tracks, telephone wires, and trees confirm a careful composition (Free on YouTube)

The Last of the Giants (1960) - A film about the history of the "Big Boy" made by the Union Pacific. Fantastic footage of these Union Pacific steam locomotives  (Free on YouTube)

Snow on the Run (1952) - Produced by the Southern Pacific, this film shows their snow combatting efforts over the Overland Route in the winter of 1952-52 (Free on YouTube)

Pay Day! (c.1950s) - This film follow the trip of a new television set as the men of the Santa Fe Railroad do everything they can to try and make sure it doesn't arrive in one piece! The film is deigned around the idea of employees doing "just a little better" to make the Santa Fe stand above the rest (Free on Youtube)

Model Railroading Unlimited (1975) - This is a documentary and parody of model train hobby enthusiast. Beginning with a history lesson for the model train hobby and then transitioning into a how-to film on creating one's own model train fantasy layout. The lead character becomes fully engulfed in the fantasy world of model railroading... (Free on YouTube)

Amtrak's Iconic Iconography (2020) - This history of Amtrak's paint schemes and logos over the life of the company (Free on YouTube)

A Train Ride Through History (2017) - A train ride aboard Amtrak's "Crescent" and a journey through American History (Free on YouTube)

Heartbeat (1992-2010) - A British drama set in the 1960s Yorkshire, where an English Policeman decides to be reassigned to the same small village where his wife was born. The intro has a small engine on a branch line and several episodes revolve around trains (Free on YouTube)

A Future on Rail (1957) - Intended for those graduating from school, the film depicts some of the opportunities offered to new recruits following Britain's modernization plan (Free on Youtube)

I was a Communist for the FBI (1951) - In Pittsburgh, PA, an F.B.I. agent works to undermine the Communist party, but his brothers and his teenage boy thinks he's a real Red. At the 3:42 minute mark there is a shot of railyard in Pittsburg filled with passenger cars (Free on YouTube)

Ivor the Engine (1958-1963) - This cutout animation television series follows the adventures of a small green steam locomotive who lives in the "top left-hand corner of Wales" and works for The Merioneth and Llantisilly Railway Traction Company Limited (Free on YouTube)

Suddenly (1954) - Frank Sinatra is a psychotic war veteran whose goal is to assassinate the President of the United States. The President is arriving to the town via a train. (Free on YouTube)

Wheels of Steel (1953) - This publicity film from the PRR released in the early 1950's focuses on the mighty GG-1 electric locomotives (Free on YouTube)

Great American Scenic Railroads (c. 1990s) - Catch an unforgettable glimpse into America's storied past as you ride the rails on these rolling museums of steam and steel. (Free on YouTube)

Jeeves and Wooster (1990-1993) - This series chronicles the misadventures (romantic and otherwise) of the impeccably dressed Bertie Wooster and his trusty and sagacious valet, Jeeves. Set in the 1920s-30s the pair tends to travel around England by train (Free on YouTube)

GG1, An American Classic (1983) - A look at the GG1, the classic electric passenger locomotive of the now defunct Pennsylvania Railroad (Free on YouTube)

The Desert Empire (1948) - A travelogue documentary film through the state of Utah, sponsored by the Rio Grande (Free on YouTube)

Yes Minister (1980-1988) - A political satire: the Right Honorable James Hacker has landed the job of Cabinet Minister to the Department of Administrative Affairs. At last he is in a position of power and can carry out some long-needed reforms, or so he thinks. In the second episode, Hacker goes up to Scotland to via a British Rail night train for an Official visit from the new President of the fake nation Buranda (Series is Free on Dailymotion but link is to this specific show)

The Christmas Train (2017) - A cynical journalist decides to take a train from Washington, D.C. to Los Angeles for Christmas to get inspiration for a story in honor of his late father. He gets to know the other passengers and runs into an old flame while aboard.

Broadway Limited (1941) -As a ploy to gain publicity, a motion picture director wants his star actress to take a baby with her on a train trip. On board the train, the actress meets a young doctor whom she knew in school, and whom she is still in love with. The presence of the baby, given by a stranger at the train station for said publicity stunt, causes a series of misunderstandings between them, but the real problems begin when the engineer begins to suspect that the baby may have been kidnapped. The film's true star is the PRR's Broadway Limited (Free on YouTube)

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) - In New York City, armed men hijack a subway car and demand a ransom for the passengers. Even if it's paid, how could they get away?

The Freight Yard (c.1940s) - A New York Central RRR film showing freight yards of all types, along with steam and diesel locomotive (Free on YouTube)

New Haven Railroad, A Great Railroad at Work (1942) - A film about the NH and her passenger and freight operations. (Free on YouTube)

Horror Express (1972) - In 1902, Saxton (Christopher Lee), a renowned British anthropologist, is returning to Europe by the Trans-Siberian Express from China to Moscow. With him is a crate containing the frozen remains of a primitive humanoid creature that he discovered in a cave in Manchuria. He hopes it is a missing link in human evolution. Doctor Wells (Peter Cushing), Saxton's friendly rival and Royal Geological Society colleague, is also on board but travelling separately. Before the train departs Shanghai, a thief is found dead on the platform. While on the train the defrosted humanoid escapes its crate and chaos ensues... (Free on YouTube)

Around the World by Train with Tony Robinson (2012-) - Sir Tony Robinson discovers the joys of train travel. The actor takes a whirlwind rail journey around the globe. (Free on YouTube)

Christ Tarrant: Railway of the Somme (2019) - Chris Tarrant travels across Europe to the Somme and discovers the deadly role steam trains played in World War 1. (Free on YouTube)

The Earth Dies Screaming (1964) - In Britain, a group of survivors fights off a deadly alien invasion that uses robots and a poisonous gas to take over the Earth. The opening scene is of a train crash (Free on YouTube)

*Updated 3/5/2021*



Last edited by Oscale_Trains_Lover_

Not mentioned as far as I could tell: The Last Detail with a number of shots in train stations as well as a moving GG-1 and a Penn Central F-unit in all of its "PC glory"; A League of Their Own shot at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, IL, with #1630, a 2-10-0 steam locomotive in the background, and the CB&Q Zephyr.





Last Detail Penn Central F-unitLast Detail GG-1Last Detail Penn Central F-unit againLeague of Their Own - CB&Q E5League of Their Own - Union Steam Engine

Attachments

Images (5)
  • Last Detail GG-1
  • Last Detail Penn Central F-unit
  • Last Detail Penn Central F-unit again
  • League of Their Own - CB&Q E5
  • League of Their Own - 2-10-0 #1630

To add to this list, here are a few more that I do not think were mentioned:

=snip=
Sleeping Car to Trieste (1948) -A Post-war thriller spy film set on a train. Spies steal a diary from an embassy whose contents could ignite a war, then one of them steals it from the others and boards the Orient Express. He ends up involving a couple who were trying to have a clandestine affair on board; other passengers include a police detective, a would-be chef, a pompous author and his lackey, and a bird enthusiast (Free on Youtube)

=snip=

By the way, thanks to Oscale Trains Lover for taking the time to assemble this great list -- complete with links to free viewing.  I started with Sleeping Car to Trieste and plan to work my way through the list.  My choice turned out to be a lucky one:  David Tomlinson was one of the stars (no relation .

Looking forward to watching the others and thanks again!

Tomlinson Run Railroad

By the way, thanks to Oscale Trains Lover for taking the time to assemble this great list -- complete with links to free viewing.  I started with Sleeping Car to Trieste and plan to work my way through the list.  My choice turned out to be a lucky one:  David Tomlinson was one of the stars (no relation .

Looking forward to watching the others and thanks again!

Tomlinson Run Railroad

You are very welcome! I plan on adding a few more films to the list, so you will be busy for awhile!

Bryce

Watching the Rockford Files this morning (Season 1, Episode 4 from September 20, 1974) on Peacock and during an investigative visit by Rockford to Parker, Arizona, this Southern Pacific EMD SD39 #5308 appears on my screen.  My inner train nut came to life.

I counted at least 4 locos pulling the consist in the train. Interesting that through the entire time the train was being filmed, the engineer was steering at the camera the entire time, which means he was obviously looking at the film screw set up that he was rolling by.  That’s Rockford driving the blue coupe, by the way, on his way to the Parker City Hall.

Being who I am, I had to do my own investigative work to see what that intersection looked like today (cuz I like doing that stuff), and I ran into some fun TV production methods. Rockford was driving on Palmdale Boulevard, and turns out there is no such road in Parker, AZ.  Only road with that name in the entire country is in Palmdale, California, and that railroad crossing intersection is at Sierra Highway and Palmdale Boulevard.  None of any of buildings at that intersection, including the actual Palmdale City Hall building at Sierra and Avenue Q with a temporary “Parker City Hall” sign used for the show are standing 47 years later.  An entire new set of Palmdale municipal buildings are currently there.

So came back and took these two photos of the train on the show (I hope these photos pass muster on the copyright stuff).

20210220_12265720210220_122735

Attachments

Images (2)
  • 20210220_122657
  • 20210220_122735
Last edited by Amfleet25124

Watching 'Gun Crazy' on TCM this morning. Our Our main couple is on the run and hide out in a old shack near the rail yards. In a outside shot a train is seen in the distance starting up. Sound was real.....but the train was clearly a Standard gauge loco and cars. Loco had a toy profile and the distance between the loco, tender and cars was very toy size, huge box couplers and high riding box car....it was not a real train for sure!

@bptBill posted:

Kevin:

"That’s Rockford driving the blue coupe," My inner VEGA nut came to life. Not one of my better life choices   and the Rockford theme is now stuck in my head!

LOL Bill.

I loved the Rockford Files so that theme is always in my head someplace.  In regards to your Vega, if you ever decide to watch that episode, it was a rental that Rockford was driving and is featured prominently from the 9:34 to 19:12 mark in the show  - the Southern Pacific loco comes on the stage at the 10:13 mark - with the underpowered and weak engined Vega being unable to get Rockford out of a pickle when a trucker chases him down and runs him off the road, in very long chase scene that wouldn't go over well timewise on today's television.

When I was a teen in Brooklyn in the late 70s/early 80s, my mother had the Vega's cousin, the Chevy Monza, which also had a very hard time keeping up with traffic on the BQE, Bruckner Expressway, Belt Parkway, etc. back in the day.     

Last edited by Amfleet25124
@RLH posted:

I didn't see this one listed yet:  My Name is Nobody (Henry Fonda & Terrence Hill 1973)



Heat of the Night, Movie involves the train station etc, the series has night time intro at the crossing



Someone did mention "Bad Day at Black Rock."  That one impressed me so much I actually put together a Black Widow and Daylight streamliner consist of the Southern Pacific.

Arriving at the beginning and leaving at the end

Thank you for that Black Widow scene. I too have consisted the same train in Lionel equipment.



The Rockford Files (cont'd)

I’m slowly binge watching the Rockford Files (2 episodes a day) and funny enough came across another train featured in the show, this being Season 1, Episode 7 from October 11, 1974.  This time is Amtrak Eastbound #705 train which Rockford rode overnight from the fictional town of Elmira to another fictional town of Ash Brook.  Here is the photo of the bloody nose SDP40F #526 as it entered the “Elmira” station.20210224_090335

Attachments

Images (1)
  • 20210224_090335
Post

OGR Publishing, Inc., 1310 Eastside Centre Ct, Suite 6, Mountain Home, AR 72653
800-980-OGRR (6477)
www.ogaugerr.com

×
×
×
×
Link copied to your clipboard.
×
×