Has anyone noticed a pattern among the movies that several participants have nominated as the all-time greatest train feature? Films including Breakheart Pass, Emperor of the North, Unstoppable and Once Upon a Time in the West all open with an approaching train, and end with a scene of the same train, although usually several days later. The Train doesn't include railroad images in the opening scene because the art theft theme has to be established, but the trainload of stolen paintings figures into the plot early enough to fit this pattern. An exception may be Bad Day at Black Rock where the same Southern Pacific Daylight train appears in the opening and closing scenes, but no time in between.
Gil Hulin
