Railworks America

Trains have always been an important aspect of cinema. What is your favorite railroad portrayal in a movie, be it a movie devoted to the subject or a short "cameo appearance"?

I'd have to say "Emperor of the North Pole". No one messes with Shack......

Probably Unstoppable even though it has errors I like it alot,I also like Back to the future part 3

"The Train" with Burt Lancaster.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Train_%281964_film%29

The Great Locomotive Chase.

http://www.listal.com/movie/great-locomotive-chase

Runaway Train (1985) great movie

The Greatest Show on Earth.

And of course, Throw Mama From The Train.

"The night was sultery."

Bad Day at Black Rock (Spencer Tracy). Not necessarily railroad-related, but it begins and ends with an SP F7 passenger train.

"Emperor of the North Pole" was, 'A number 1!' or should I say with A number 1. LOL!
Then "The Train".
I have those two as the best in my book.

I have to go with RunawayTrain too, Jon Voight at the end, classic. I've never seen Emperor of the North, I'll have to check it out.

NYWhiskey wrote:I have to go with RunawayTrain too, Jon Voight at the end, classic. I've never seen Emperor of the North, I'll have to check it out.

That's a must!! It's a very good film, great acting and very convincing too- lots of great period rolling stock, on what was the Oregon Pacific & Eastern Railroad.

Another that I love is "Stand By Me", which was also partially shot on the OP&E as well as the McCloud Railway. Of course, I like the book version "The Body" better, because it is set in Maine rather than Oregon and actually goes pretty in depth about the railroad. Perhaps Mr. Stephen King used the Maine Central as inspiration?

Steers got horns, kid. You don't.

FourEightFour wrote:Steers got horns, kid. You don't.

"Its nothin' but an old pig car"
"Pigs eat corn, this here's hay"

Another great Lee Marvin flick is The Professionals, which has some excellent railroad action featuring trains of the Eagle Mountain Railroad including Great Western #75, in a few scenes doubling as a NdeM engine for a thrilling escape scene from Mexican revolutionaries

The train was awesome. Emperor of the North is nice too.


There was a engine from the Mount Rainer Scenic Railroad in Emperor of the North, But sadly i cant think of it.

All of the above, plus Von Ryan's Express.
Silver Streak is fun too.

There's also a dark comedy scene in Kelly's Heroes, when Odd Ball's (Donald Sutherland) tank outfit attacks a German rail yard, while playing "I've Been Working on the Railroad" on a loudspeaker.

Who doesn't remember this little classic?

And a few of the more forgetable ones i've seen that involved trains:

Hard to Kill: Dark Territory. Steven Segal. No more needs to be said.

Broken Arrow. John Travolta, Christian Slater, and Nukes.

Predator 2. Punks, people, and the titular alien have a smackdown on the L.A. subway.