1. Emperor of the North
2. The Train
3. Silver Streak
Honorable Mention: Tough Guys, Murder on the Orient Express, and [implausible effects aside] Unstoppable.
- Strangers on a Train (1951) -If you haven't seen it, its really good, although the train isn't that big of a set piece, but it gets the story rolling.
- From Russia With Love (1963) -not only does it have a cool train fight, but it's JAMES BOND!
- Lone Ranger (2013) -They built their own steam locomotives and private railroad for the film.
AGHRMatt posted:Honorable Mention: Tough Guys, Murder on the Orient Express, and [implausible effects aside] Unstoppable.
I know a few actual RR employees (BNSF and Amtrak) who call the latter, "Unwatchable." Probably the same way I can't handle most war movies because of all the errors I see.
As for "Tough Guys," I find it hard to accept it's never been released on domestic DVD. I bought a pirated copy out of Asia which was excellent quality. I watch the ending every now and then. I've bumped into Doyle McCormack several times in Portland over the years, I really need to get one of the press photos of him with Burt Lancaster pointing that S&W pistol at him from the cab for him to sign:
In the engine house where 4449 is stored today, they have one of the add-on "Gold Coast Flyer" heralds that was used on the front sides of 4449 for the filming.
p51 posted:AGHRMatt posted:Honorable Mention: Tough Guys, Murder on the Orient Express, and [implausible effects aside] Unstoppable.
I know a few actual RR employees (BNSF and Amtrak) who call the latter, "Unwatchable." Probably the same way I can't handle most war movies because of all the errors I see.
...
Yeah. If you take it as a true "train movie", "Unwatchable" is a good fit. If you take it as a mindless, escapist action film, it's fairly entertaining (not enough for me to buy the DVD, though). Was with non-train friends, so I didn't expose the various slip-ups I could identify (I'm sure actual railroad workers could have spotted twice as many).
Wow, I forgot "The Great Locomotive Chase." Not only one of my favorite train movies, it was the first movie mom let my brother and I go to by ourselves. Disney made a 49 minute "Making of The Great Locomotive Chase" for the Disney TV show, almost as good as the movie itself and can be viewed on YouTube.
re: Tough Guys, It was available for a short time on dvd, possibly thru Pentrex. One is available thru ClassicMovieReel.Com.
The polar express
Great locomotive chase
Emperor of the North---like it, but really depressing
Buster Keaton The General ... lots of steam train antics.
Mustang-
Actually, I thought Disney played it pretty evenly in this one, especially noting Confederate conductor William Fuller's tenacity and ingenuity in pursuing the Union hijackers. Reminded me a bit of the respect shown both sides by John Ford in "The Horse Soldiers".
though not really about trains, three good movies that include a train somewhere in the film...
The Station Agent (2003)
The Grey Fox (1982)
Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)
before ~1955, its hard to find a movie without a train in it.
cheers...gary
1. Danger Lights - Dan Thorn - What a guy! LOL
2. Emperor of the North - "No one rides Shacks Train!"
3. Paradise Express - Only movie I could find Featuring a Freight Claim Agent (other than Doris Day's - It Happened to Jane - although Ernie Kovacs as Harry Foster Malone, reminds me of some Railroad Presidents I have known.)
Greenrail
1. Denver & Rio Grande
...plus a bunch of others already named.
1. End of The Line - 1987. I love the opening scene with the Crossing Gate, Train & Music.
2. Emperor of The North.
3. Polar Express.
Bonus 4th. Unstoppable.
Bonus 5th. Thomas And The Magic Railroad.
Several (edited: well, looking back it was actually only 2 of us with discernible good taste!) of us had People Will Talk on their lists. For those of you who have never seen it, and those of us who would like to see it again, if you have access to the TCM channel, it is on tonight at 8pm Eastern Time. If you never saw it, but you enjoy toy trains, you should like it.
Tom
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MNCW posted:
Thanks Tom... And my signal was beep-beep!!! (That's my story and I'm sticking to it)
Andy,
My favorite Christmas movie is and always will be White Christmas, nothing comes close! Great inside trains scenes also.
Holiday Affair - Mitchum & Leigh - Honorable Mention
PCRR/Dave
Pine Creek Railroad posted:... Great inside trains scenes also.
so you really think this was filmed inside a dining car?
i believe i also remember the exterior shots featuring some rather out of place western roadname locomotives.
ah, the magic of Hollywood. ... 
cheers...gary
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For both beautiful train photography and a suspenseful story, I would pick Breakheart Pass as my #1 favorite. And of the numerous westerns about the building of 19th Century railroads through desolate territory, if the viewer is willing to overlook funny-looking five-foot gauge Spanish trains, Once Upon a Time in the West is one of few railroad-building films in which "end-of-track" actually advances. As a fan of Charles Bronson's less-violent acting and the most enjoyable music score in any "train movie," I will make Once Upon a Time . . . my #2 favorite. And again for beautiful rail photography in much different scenery than Breakheart Pass, I'll pick El Ultimo Tren as my #3.
Incidently, two of the previously mentioned favorites, Buster Keaton's The General and Emperior of the North, were filmed about 20 miles from here on the Oregon Pacific & Eastern shortline, which sadly, survives today only as a bicycle path.
Gil in Oregon
Some good movies posted.
I'll go with:
1. North by Northwest
2. From Russia with Love
3. Von Ryan's Express
Honorable mention: Night Train to Munich
I'm with FEC. Too bad though that no one has mentioned any of the Chicago movies with memorable CTA el sequences (e.g., "Adventures in Baby Sitting", "Code of Silence", "Risky Business", and "The Fugitive").
1: Danger Lights
2: Silver Streak (the 1934 original, not the Gene Wilder film from the Seventies)
3: Broadway Limited
I really question a lot of these choices. The question was about "train movies," not "movies that have the occasional shot of a train, but otherwise have absolutely nothing to do with trains or railroading."
"Fours a crowd", 1938 Errol Flynn, Lots of Lionel train action
"Human Desire" 1954 Gloria Graham and Glenn Ford
"The Denver and Rio Grande" 1952, Edmond O'Brien.
"The Train' 1964, Burt Lancaster
smd4 posted:I really question a lot of these choices. The question was about "train movies," not "movies that have the occasional shot of a train, but otherwise have absolutely nothing to do with trains or railroading."
Hey, Steve -- I know what you mean and I agree.
However, last night I watched "People will Talk" on Youtube. No, it wasn't a "train movie" by my definition either but it was well made and I as someone who doesn't watch a lot of movies, wouldn't have known to watch it otherwise. More importantly I now know what "Beep, Beep Beep, and Beep Beep Beep" mean. I'm more proud than ever to have a carpet layout and see the possibilities. Lastly, the 3-way Gomez moment was something to behold. :-} So, for me, it was fun to learn about and watch.
Best,
TRRR
smd4 posted:I really question a lot of these choices. The question was about "train movies," not "movies that have the occasional shot of a train, but otherwise have absolutely nothing to do with trains or railroading."
Agree. Not to mention how many times this sort of thread has been posted over on the 3-Rail 027 Trains Forum!
Not a movie about trains, per se, but there's some great DRGW train action in the second half of the movie "Switchback."
I suppose I'm not much of a movie guy, so my selection of "train movies" is pretty limited. So much so that I can recall only two that I have seen.
In my youth I really like the Disney Great Locomotive Chase.
Of late, Unstoppable was very entertaining (though a stretch at times)
Most of my experience with White Christmas is in the theatre. The train trip had nothing that looked like a train. And the plot would have been only slightly altered if the trip had been on a bus.
"It Happened To Jane" - Jack Lemmon & Doris Day hi-jack a steam engine in the waning days of the New Haven!
"Danger Lights" - Just amazing steam footage shot when it was "current".
"Broadway Limited" - In spite of what movie reviewers say, it's just a better movie than the "20th Century Limited".
Honorable Mentions:
The Train - this would be on my list, but you asked for three.
Emperor of the North - Great train scenes but... Script could've been better. Choppy editing. VERY violent.
Tough Guys - This is also in my Top Ten. Great cast, a starring roll by GS-4 #4449 playing herself, and a cameo by the Red Hot Chili Peppers before anyone knew who they were!
The General - ANY movie starring Buster Keaton goes in my Top Ten.
Unstoppable - A guilty pleasure. Worth a laugh or two as well...
Jon 
If I might add one more:
1956 "The Great Locomotive Chase" Fess Parker a Disney classic movie.
1. From Russia with Love
2. North by Northwest
3. The Sting
Because I only had one favorite movie in my prior post, I'd like to add the following just discovered gem -- a sort of precursur to Unstoppable:
Car of Death on Vimeo - 1914 Film
Released in 1914, The Car of Death is a silent film featuring heroine Helen Holmes. Plot summary: School teacher fired from her job for being too "frivolous" saves picnic train from a runaway car containing dynamite. When offered her job back as a reward, she chooses to work for the railroad instead. To which I say: You go girl!
And, now I'm going to go investigate what are apparently a series of silent films with Holmes involving railroad themes.
Enjoy!
Tomlinson Run Silent Run Deep Railroad
Update: For some reason I can't edit my previous post, and this one doesn't have any edit controls. Here's an even better silent movie for my #3:
1915 Wild Engine: A runaway engine, a motorcycle, a drawbridge, and some truly incredible railroad footage: https://archive.org/details/19...ildEngineHelenHolmes
What more could you need?
Tomlinson Run Railroad
A lot of great films mentioned here with train action. My favorites and already mentioned are:
Danger Lights
The Train
Von Ryans Express
Silver Streak
Breakheart Pass
Unstopable
Not really train movies but I still like:
Bad Day at Black Rock - Love to model that town!
Bite the Bullet - Some good shots of the DRGW Mikes and Chama Yard. Just as they still are today.
A silent film I wish they would restore and release on DVD:
The White Desert - This film was shot at the Denver & Salt Lake RR town site of Corona on top of Colorado's Rollins Pass during the winter of 1925 before the Moffat Tunnel was built.
http://clairewindsor.weebly.com/the-white-desert.html
Top 3, with 4 alternates:
1. Polar Express
2. The Train
3. The Great Locomotive Chase
4 Alternates:
4. Unstoppable
5. Breakheart Pass (the opening always gets me: black screen, chugging gets louder with the United Artists logo forming, then when the smokebox fills the screen, the chugging becomes the rhythm of the music!)
6. The Titfield Thunderbolt
7. The Flying Scotsman (Ray Milland in his first role! Leading lady does her own stunts, including going alongside the moving train to get up to the tender!)
Beyond those, there are lots of other train movies I absolutely love (The Railway Children, The General, etc), but these are ones I simply could watch any time and at any point in the movie.
#1 The Wonderful World Of Trains
#2 Silver Streak
#3 So You Want To BE a Model Railroader (Joe McDokes)
My top 5:
North by Northwest
Four's a Crowd
So You Want a Model Railroad
It Happened to Jane
Breakheart Pass
1- Denver & Rio Grande, amovie based on the real life Canyon War between the Grande and the Santa Fe.
2- Phantom Express, lots of SP shots, roundhouse, turntable, switch tower, engine cab etc.
3- Danger Lights, lots of Milwaukee Road steam.
4- The Train, lots of steam engines and atmosphere.
All good.
But, my favorite movie of all is the one my aunt took at our house on Christmas 1949. She was her own 'grip'...with a hand-wind Bell & Howell. The film?....8mm and in COLOR!!....now full of splices!! About 5 minutes worth....start to finish.
So there I am....forced smile...glancing from the camera to my new Lionel Scout set racing round and round on its oval domain, a few Skyline cardboard and Plasticville buildings scattered around, my older sister pushing a plastic automobile through the town, knocking over the plastic telephone poles as she goes (staring blankly at the camera, not paying a whit of attention to the road....some things never change!?) The ol' balsam tree is in the background, strings of Mazda and Noma lights baking the needles into a fire hazard, the fire in the fireplace adjacent blazing away contributing to the ambiance....and danger(1949-style photo-op with no regard for personal/household safety whatsoever!?) Most of the antique German blown glass ornaments are probably at the bottom of Mt. Trashmore by now.
Ah, well, it's still my "favorite movie".
I know that's not what you wanted to hear in our responses.
OK.....The Train.
...and the Donald Duck, Chip&Dale cartoon "Out of Scale"
KD
dkdkrd posted:All good.
But, my favorite movie of all is the one my aunt took at our house on Christmas 1949. She was her own 'grip'...with a hand-wind Bell & Howell. The film?....8mm and in COLOR!!....now full of splices!! About 5 minutes worth....start to finish.
So there I am....forced smile...glancing from the camera to my new Lionel Scout set racing round and round on its oval domain, a few Skyline cardboard and Plasticville buildings scattered around, my older sister pushing a plastic automobile through the town, knocking over the plastic telephone poles as she goes (staring blankly at the camera, not paying a whit of attention to the road....some things never change!?) The ol' balsam tree is in the background, strings of Mazda and Noma lights baking the needles into a fire hazard, the fire in the fireplace adjacent blazing away contributing to the ambiance....and danger(1949-style photo-op with no regard for personal/household safety whatsoever!?) Most of the antique German blown glass ornaments are probably at the bottom of Mt. Trashmore by now.
Ah, well, it's still my "favorite movie".
I know that's not what you wanted to hear in our responses.
OK.....The Train.
...and the Donald Duck, Chip&Dale cartoon "Out of Scale"
KD
By far the most pleasant, warm and memorable movie mentioned so far.
Arthur posted:dkdkrd posted:All good.
=snip=
OK.....The Train.
...and the Donald Duck, Chip&Dale cartoon "Out of Scale"
KD
By far the most pleasant, warm and memorable movie mentioned so far.
What a great way to start the morning! I laughed my head off.
Tomlinson Run Railroad
