Berkshire posted:The Polar Express is one of the most memorable train movie I remember watching, I know it's new, but man is that movie good.
I wound up watching it because I was with my girlfriend who was babysitting her grand-rug-rats.
C'mon, great movie?
Maybe if you're ten years old.
Nick Chillianis posted:Berkshire posted:The Polar Express is one of the most memorable train movie I remember watching, I know it's new, but man is that movie good.
The Polar Express is actually quite creepy, given the "dead eyes" look of most of the characters.
Nick Chillianis posted:Berkshire posted:The Polar Express is one of the most memorable train movie I remember watching, I know it's new, but man is that movie good.
I wound up watching it because I was with my girlfriend who was babysitting her grand-rug-rats.
C'mon, great movie?
Maybe if you're ten years old.
Not our fault if you chose to outgrow having fun.
Adriatic posted:Nick Chillianis posted:Berkshire posted:The Polar Express is one of the most memorable train movie I remember watching, I know it's new, but man is that movie good.
I wound up watching it because I was with my girlfriend who was babysitting her grand-rug-rats.
C'mon, great movie?
Maybe if you're ten years old.
Not our fault if you chose to outgrow having fun.
Polar Express is OK. But just OK.
Personally, I find the old Rankin-Bass Christmas specials fun.
Rusty
Murder in the Private Car is on TCM as I type this. VERY GOOD movie
Toccata for Toy Trains is the true art film of toy trains and nothing else comes close. The filmakers were the famous designer team of Charles and Ray Eames, with a beautiful score by Elmer Bernstein. The collection of vintage toys are staged so creatively, and the camera work is uniquely unsurpassed, especially in a non-digital age! Finally, the narration has a poetic quality that matches the music quite well. A true gem, worth repeated viewings!
I really like Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade when young Indiana was on the circus train. That was great! I also liked North by Northwest when they were on the 20th Century Limited. There are a lot of good movies that showcase scenes with trains. I even enjoy Back to the Future III.
Gentlemen,
IMO the best train movie ever made was Night Passage, because of General Jimmy Stewart and SGT Audie Murphy. The open air rolling stock and old coach cars are just incredible.
PCRR/Dave
Then I realized I was holding the bravest man who ever lived in my arms - Jimmy Stewart
nikkormat posted:Murder in the Private Car is on TCM as I type this. VERY GOOD movie
Just finished watching it.
Gentlemen,
IMO the best train movie ever made was Night Passage, because of General Jimmy Stewart and SGT Audie Murphy. The open air rolling stock and old coach cars are just incredible.
PCRR/Dave
Then I realized I was holding the bravest man who ever lived in my arms - Jimmy Stewart
High praise from the General! Jimmy's & his wife Elaine were close friends with my parents. Audie Murphy was my military career mentor, and my Fathers good friend. No train movie will ever top this one for me.
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Addams Family comes to mind; though the Lionel trains did not figure prominently, they made quite an impression on me from an early age. I took pride in collecting and running the NP passenger train.
Octopussy starring Sir Roger Moore as James Bond. Some great train action in that movie.
bobdavisnpf posted:Addams Family comes to mind; though the Lionel trains did not figure prominently, they made quite an impression on me from an early age. I took pride in collecting and running the NP passenger train.
"The Modern Coal Burning Steam Locomotive" by the N&W Railway!
Pine Creek Railroad posted:Gentlemen,
IMO the best train movie ever made was Night Passage, because of General Jimmy Stewart and SGT Audie Murphy. The open air rolling stock and old coach cars are just incredible.
PCRR/Dave
Then I realized I was holding the bravest man who ever lived in my arms - Jimmy Stewart
High praise from the General! Jimmy's & his wife Elaine were close friends with my parents. Audie Murphy was my military career mentor, and my Fathers good friend. No train movie will ever top this one for me.
[URL=http://www.jpgbox.com/page/55676_800x600/][IMG]http://www.jpgbox.com/jpg/55676_800x600.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
I too grew up with Jimmy Stewart and his wife, although to us she was Gloria. I have his autograph hanging in my office here at home. He would walk his dog past our house almost every day when I was a kid and I finally worked up the nerve to ask him for his autograph (neighbors weren't supposed to do that :-)
Rusty Traque posted:Adriatic posted:Nick Chillianis posted:Berkshire posted:The Polar Express is one of the most memorable train movie I remember watching, I know it's new, but man is that movie good.
I wound up watching it because I was with my girlfriend who was babysitting her grand-rug-rats.
C'mon, great movie?
Maybe if you're ten years old.
Not our fault if you chose to outgrow having fun.
Polar Express is OK. But just OK.
Personally, I find the old Rankin-Bass Christmas specials fun.
Rusty
My daughter (who I started reading PE to in 1988) took my 3yo granddaughter and I on Saturday. It was much better suited to her than most early-childhood movies: rich scene depictions, plenty of good deeds and well-meaning, lots of belief in higher ideals, no implied violence, relatively little death-defying suspense, an almost complete lack of vindictive plotting, and very little dishonesty. As I read the book, I've always imagined it best as a 30-minute "featurette". But it works much better for young kids than I had expected, and far better than any other feature-length adapted childrens' story I've seen before.
Its inclusion of book-exact dialogue, complete with scenes to match the pictures, really helped. When she got antsy and said it was time to go, I said "no, there's still 2 pages to go - remember?" She did, and settled down to watch the final 10 minutes of the story.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4gCFpP2aWQ
Anything with with Jimmy Stewart is Excellent. I met him in Telluride, Colorado.
The original trailer in high definition of Night Passage directed by James Neilson and starring James Stewart, Audie Murphy, Dan Duryea, Dianne Foster, Brandon De Wilde and Elaine Stewart.
Gary
James Stewart, Cary Grant, Humphery Bogart, james Cagney and a few others were all very talented gentlemen, who graced the silver screen in many memorable roles. Stewart flew bombing missions during WWII, and went on to become an Air Force General.
Saturday Night at The Movies • I have seen this movie back in the day. Wanted to watch it again, this movie combines one of my favorite actors and trains. I did a search on all the free and paid channels on xfinity & Netflix. Not available at this time.
Went to my local public library and they had a DVD copy, brought it home and we watched the movie, in theater mode. Had a favorite snack from a Michigan candy company, Sayklly’s, making candy for over 100 years. The Yooper Bar.
Gary: Rail-fan
There's one I have to see. Thanks. BTW, what's in a yooper bar?
Not really movies, but Clive Cusslee wrote some good books in the Isaac Bell series that include some really detailed railroading of the early 1900s. Mostly based on the SP.
NS6770Fan posted:Not really movies, but Clive Cusslee wrote some good books in the Isaac Bell series that include some really detailed railroading of the early 1900s. Mostly based on the SP.
I was always fond of Dirk Pitt in Night Probe.
Just watched "Lady on a Train". New York venue. Snipets of electrics and finally a steamer at the end. Entertaining movie but not a great train movie.
Sounds like this thread should be re-titled to "Greatest movies that show a train in a couple of scenes."
May not be the greatest movie, but Unstoppable was on cable the other day, lots of action,
Oldmike
Runaway Train. Runaway Train 1985. Super thrilling prison break action film.
If any of you get the THIS TV Channel, tonight's movie at 8pm is:
Tom
One of my all time favourite Christmas movies, White Christmas features a pair of passenger trains. This is what I found when I did some research;
"The first glimpse of a real train follows a dining car scene. It's a daytime scene darkened to appear like it's at night, and it shows a long Santa Fe streamlined train behind four Santa Fe warbonnet F-units, (A-B-B-A) running alongside the ocean in front of palm trees apparently meant to suggest "Florida" but undoubtedly actually on Santa Fe's "Surf Line." The next scene, depicting a daytime segment of the trip, shows a Southern Pacific passenger train, with an A-B-B set of F-units in Black Widow paint, followed by several heavyweight head end cars and a string of heavyweight passenger cars."
I've never seen it before, but an old black&white...40s?... "Christmas Eve" is about to come on right now on "The Movies" TV station. Something about a goofy millionaire and shows a dinner table train scene in the preview/trailer.
MNCW posted:If any of you get the THIS TV Channel, tonight's movie at 8pm is:
Tom
I still think this original version is better than the remake.
Dan,
I agree. Merry Christmas. 
Tom
While not a train movie, The Greatest Show on Earth, has a train crash. Have not seen since the 50's. oldmike
One of my favorite train movies "The Narrow Margin" is on Movies! TV Network today at 11:30 PM here in the east. A noir film that takes place almost totally on the train from Chicago to LA and several scenes in stations.
Scotie,
Yes, that's one of my favorites, too. Thanks for the "heads-up."
Tom
If you folks like murder mysteries set on trains (or at least some portion), TCM has a couple tonight.
Tom
As many have mentioned, "the Train" and "Emperor of the North" are two of the all time great train films.
I would add Disney's "Great Locomotive Chase" also very good is "Making the Great Locomotive Chase" view able on YouTube.
While not a commercial movie, "Daylight Express" is excellent.
MNCW posted:If you folks like murder mysteries set on trains (or at least some portion), TCM has a couple tonight.
- 8pm- Murder She Said (1961), Miss Marple, the Agatha Christie character
- 11:15- The Lady Vanishes (1938). Early Hitchcock!
Tom
Tom, Miss Marple is a classic and we are watching it now, thanks.
Yes, I've seen several of the Miss Marple movies. Glad you can enjoy it.
Tom
Just watched a good WWII spy movie on YouTube which mostly takes place on a train. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock "The Lady Vanishes" j
" This Property is Condemned": A fair bit of train shots, since Robert Redford works for "the" railway...speaking of Redford: "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"
"The Heat of the Night": Opening and closing shots of GM&O(?)
"Valley Of the Dolls": Opening scenes with NYC RS3.
I prefer the last two, as the shots are of "real" trains, not staged for the film...
Mark in Oregon
@Trinity River Bottoms Boomer posted:Run for Cover, Western, 1955, starring James Cagney.
Just watched that last night earlier in the evening on local TV. They seem to run that movie about once a month so I have seen it several times. Not enough screen time for trains is the only flaw. However just after Run for Cover ended I found The Lady Vanishes on YouTube. Eighty percent of the movie takes place on a train and they cut to exterior shots fairly often. j
Terrible railroading from a not so great train movie, Atomic Train:
Rusty
The Train with Burt Lancaster,
Von Ryan's Express with Frank Sinatra,
The General with Buster Keaton, and any 3 Stooges short that had the lion walking through the Pullman.
Sorry, fat fingers.
ROCKY passed a Conrail switcher, and ran under the Rockville Bridge.
Didn't anyone else see the Marx Brothers in 'Go West'? They staged a chase scene with a wood-burning steam engine. Good stuff. Chopped up the coaches for firewood.
I'm a huge fan of the Sherlock Holmes movies with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce. One of my favorites takes place on a train, the 1946 movie Terror by Night.
@third rail posted:The Train with Burt Lancaster,
Von Ryan's Express with Frank Sinatra,
The General with Buster Keaton, and any 3 Stooges short that had the lion walking through the Pullman.
Sorry, fat fingers.
The General and The Train are definitely on my list - also The RailRodder with Keaton crossing Canada on a speeder.
@Dominic Mazoch posted:ROCKY passed a Conrail switcher, and ran under the Rockville Bridge.
Correction: Bridge 69 on the NE Corridor.
There is an old old one called "Danger LIghts". The acting is typical 1930s very exaggerated. I don't think it is the greatest. However, there are many great scenes of steam on the Milwaukee Road I believe. There is one series of shots of a big Steam Wreck Crane doing some rerailing too. If is fun movie for the train scenes.
Not so much a "railroad movie," but the gang at Disney doing sound effects for Casey Jr.
Rusty
Rails Into Laramie is a western in color made in 1954 that stars John Payne and Dan Duryea. Payne plays an army sergeant who is ordered into a town to investigate repeated sabotage at the rail-head and it turns out an old friend is involved. Some nice shots of 1870s vintage railroad equipment though much of the movie is of personal interaction between Payne and Duryea and does not include trains. j
@Trinity River Bottoms Boomer posted:Human Desire (Glenn Ford is the engineer on the passenger rain) is loosely based on Le Bete Humaine, and was filmed 16 years (1954) after it's French counterpart. Looks like there are several train shots taken from PR railroad promotional movies, however, the Alco FA ABBA set that Ford runs appears to have been given a special paint job especially for the movie. In the original French release, the steam locomotive is cut off the train after it reaches its final destination, and runs to the roundhouse. In Human Desire, the lead FA is cut off the ABBA set and heads for the roundhouse by itself with Ford at the throttle??? Hooray for Hollywood......LOL
Yes! Human Desire doesn't just use a train as a set for characters who are traveling. It is about railroaders.
Broderick Crawford is perfectly cast as an iron-pants railroad official of the 1950's, in a brown suit and a fedora. Glenn Ford is cast as a fairly young Locomotive Engineer, who holds a regular assignment on a passenger train. (In reality, passenger service was highly sought after by those at the top of the seniority list, and Engineers Ford's age could not hold it in most places.) Since it is about railroaders, there has to be a woman of easy virtue, and who could be better to portray her than Gloria Grahame?
The studio constructed a set that was supposed to look like the cab interior of an EMD F-unit, and actually does have some of the equipment from a real locomotive.
@OldMike posted:While not a train movie, The Greatest Show on Earth, has a train crash. Have not seen since the 50's. oldmike
The Greatest Show on Earth is a great train movie because it also gives an intimate look a RBBB Circus in it's hey day. Discovered it late -- just a few years ago and have watched it several times-- because I saw 3 of the last real RBBB Circuses and want to incorporate a circus scene along with my RBBB K-Line cars.
One of my favorite train movies was Silver Streak -- a Gene Wilder classic.
@Seacoast posted:Lots of Good picks. There are many on my Train movie list:
The Great Locomotive Chase 1956- Fess Parker. Classic Disney Civil War
The Denver and Rio Grande- 1952-Edmund O’Brien. Battle among competing Railroads.
Narrow Margin 1952 -Charles McGraw or the remake 1990 with Gene Hackman. A good guy protects the witness.
Northwest Frontier -1959-Kenneth Moore & Lauren Bacall. Great stream locomotive runs thru high desert country of India followed by bad guys. This is a hidden gem of a movie.
Human Desire-1954- Glen Ford, Broderick Crawford, Gloria Grahame, Railroad guys battle over a woman.
Any of the Murder on the Orient Express. Agatha Christie mystery.
Happy Thanksgiving
I watched the Denver and Rio Grande Movie last night, (was an "on demand" movie on Xfinity with no extra charge, I also see it listed as an Amazon prime movie).. Its about the building of the railroad, lots and lots of train action, most of it narrow gauge. Also has a actual crash of two engines (they look like generals). Its in color, lot of great railroad track scenes and amazing scenery from the Colorado Rockies. Found it highly entertaining and a nice distraction. Best, Dave
Some great ones listed here. I enjoyed these "less than classics but featuring nice train footage."
100 RIFLES...Revolution in Mexico (actually Spain) featuring Raquel Welch, Jim Brown, Burt Reynolds, and a great battle involving a train.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063970/
BANDIDO, another Mexican revolution film starring Robert Mitchum has another great battle scene involving a train.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048983/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
DUCK, YOU SUCKER, and another psuedo Mexican film featuring a train. Lee Marvin, Rod Steiger, and a bunch of dynamite!
@Former Member posted:I watched the Denver and Rio Grande Movie last night, Also has a actual crash of two engines (they look like generals).
Not even close.
Is it really that easy to think that a wagon-top boilered 4-4-0 American (not "General") looks the same as a straight-boiler 2-8-0 Consolidation? What are the similarities? That both have wheels?
@smd4 posted:Not even close.
Is it really that easy to think that a wagon-top boilered 4-4-0 American (not "General") looks the same as a straight-boiler 2-8-0 Consolidation? What are the similarities? That both have wheels?
At least they were painted "Bumble Bee." 
Well, they were built in 1881. At least they didn't use any of the K-class mikados. Plus, seeing there were no operable narrow gauge 4-4-0's at the time the movie was made, ya gotta go with what ya's got.
What I got a kick out of was during the head-on collision, the tenders exploded. Mighty unstable water out there...
Rusty
I just watched White Christmas (1954) and really enjoyed the brief scene of an SP mail train pulled by A-B-B F7's on a super elevated curve.
@Number 90 posted:I just watched White Christmas (1954) and really enjoyed the brief scene of an SP mail train pulled by A-B-B F7's on a super elevated curve.
And wasn't that supposed to be in Vermont?!
Yes. They board the AT & SF in Miami, and step off the SP in Vermont.
Jon 
@KOOLjock1 posted:Yes. They board the AT & SF in Miami, and step off the SP in Vermont.
Jon
Just like when Fonzi and the gang went from Milwaukee to California via the Pennsylvania with a GG1.
Rusty
I liked the episode of the Waltons were Jonboy says goodbye to his girl friend and the locomotive is SP 3025 in Griffith Park, CA not West Virginia! But they made it look real. Engineer, steam etc.
White Heat from 1949. James Cagney and his gang rob an SP mail train in the beginning of the movie.
Also, Tough guys from 1986. Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster rob the special train pulled by the 4449. I haven't seen that movie in a long time but, if I'm not mistaken, Doyle McCormick makes a cameo as the engineer.
There’s a few interior shots in Rocky where you can hear the chuffing and whistle of a steam engine go by in1977!
@Bryan Smith posted:Here's another vote for "Emperor of the North".
For those concerned about a film without 'real' locomotives and/or trains...the equipment used to make "Emperor of the North" is about a real as it gets.Pardon me if I miss your Thanksgiving dinner, I'll be riding the '19' to Portland.
Including the Conrail boxcars!
This is by no means a great movie and only contains 1 scene with an O-gauge train, which is promptly destroyed.
I watched it for only the 2nd time the other night, the 1st being way back in 1980 while in the Navy.
It is Steve McQueen's 'The Hunter', his last film, and probably his worst, although I found it enjoyable. In the film's beginning, he attempts to subdue a rather large fellow while a Lionel train steams around on the floor. I had completely forgotten about the train.
Here's a video of the fight. It doesn't include Steve walking through and kneeling.
The Black Scorpion from 1957 features the Lionel Lines #1666 steam locomotive and a set of Southern Pacific passenger cars. The train is attacked, (naturally), and it flashes by in a couple of seconds so you would have to pause the disc to see. I was watching it on my MST3K collection. I thought it was kind of cool, Lionel Lines ran in Mexico!
@TimMacPA posted:The Black Scorpion from 1957 features the Lionel Lines #1666 steam locomotive and a set of Southern Pacific passenger cars. The train is attacked, (naturally), and it flashes by in a couple of seconds so you would have to pause the disc to see. I was watching it on my MST3K collection. I thought it was kind of cool, Lionel Lines ran in Mexico!
One of my favorites! And thanks to YouTube - here's the scene!
Note that the tender got reversed just before the climactic meeting! How many times has that happened through the years!
Does "Thomas and The Magic railroad" count? The reason most of that movie's plot holes exist, for those of you who don't know, is because executive meddling deleted an entire second villain from the film and forced Britt allcroft to retool the whole story in just a few weeks. Go ahead and google PT Boomer. He would've been legendary. On another note, the scenes that take place on the magic railroad itself have a surreal, dreamlike, and yes, magical quality to them that I am determined to tease out how to replicate with my own special effects, I still think that the magic railroad was more beautiful as a tunnel of vines than it was as a generic grassland. Please don't laugh at me, my experience with TaTMR was, ...unique.
Dumbo
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