Paramount Pictures

Happy Thanksgiving! My brother recommended this flick to me as an Obscure Train Movie. I hadn’t gotten around to reviewing this movie, (or even watching it previously), because I can’t stand Steve Martin. His whole “Excuuuuse Me” schtick always left me scratching my head. At least John Candy has decent comedy chops and pretty much carries the picture, IMHO.

Anyways, Mark talked this one up so much as a holiday movie, I had to give it a shot. At first blush, the train scene had some very unique motive power and equipment. Second, this picture has a stellar supporting cast, with notable character actors including Ben Stein, Edie McClurg, William Windom and Ferris Bueller’s Dad (Lyman Ward) to name a few.

Having said that, I spent most of this movie on “fast-forward” and concentrated on the railroad bits. I just didn’t enjoy this movie as a whole (Again, Steve Martin rubs me the wrong way). One bright spot is a Chicago Transit Authority (CTA or “the L”) scene near the end. The most fun was researching the upstate New York railroad equipment and locations used — a lot of it is still there — so thanks for the tip, Big Brother!

Our movie train soars above a rushing stream somewhere in upstate New York State. I wasn’t able to pin-point the location, but it is a very high bridge with a supporting tower next to the creek.

35 minutes into the movie, our first train scene was filmed at the small depot in South Dayton, New York (roughly 48 miles SW of Buffalo). This track was originally an Erie Railroad branchline from Jamestown to Buffalo.

Here we see John Candy waving at the headend crew as the train pulls in. The depot still exists as can be seen from Google satelite and street views. According to IMDb Trivia, “The Natural 1984” also filmed a scene here.

The motive power for the train is an Alco Century 425 four-axle, 2,500 hp locomotive originally built in January 1965 for the Norfolk & Western.

At the time of filming, this engine was painted for the fictitious “Contrack” railroad — a combination of Conrail and Amtrak. The second view shows it painted as NY&LE #1013. The host railroad (New York & Lake Erie Railroad) is a shortline that operates much of the former Erie branchline mentioned above.

Our passenger train ducks through a short tunnel which is actually an underpass for another Erie Railroad line. The second picture (with caboose) is from an Akron Railroad Club fan trip (photo by Edward Ribinskas) at Dayton, NY.

Interior coach shots. Steve Martin chats up a gal reading about “Family Ties“.

Of course, the train breaks down whereupon we see two things: 1. The locomotive is pulling a matched consist of five “Contrack” passenger cars and; 2. The “breakdown” is indicated by the engine spouting copious amounts of black smoke.

Alco locomotives have a peculiar condition known as “turbo lag”. That is, when the throttle is opened, the engine gets too much fuel in relation to air for combustion, causing black smoke exhaust. What you see is quite normal for this breed of engine.

Now lets take a look at the rolling stock. The first car behind the locomotive is half baggage and half coach.

This car and possibly two others are derelict, yet still painted in the Contrack scheme at the Gowanda, NY depot. Photos courtesy RRPictureArchives.net.

The final frame shows the depot and 3 coaches in the current-day NY&LE scheme. Photo courtesy Google Street View.

John Candy retrieves his enormous trunk from the baggage/coach as the conductor helpfully points Steve Martin to where he can catch a bus.

Final shots of the 5 car train as the passengers tote their luggage across a frozen field. Total train scene elapsed time: 4 minutes.

Towards the end of the picture, our two characters finally find themselves back in Chicago on the L platform.

Specific location is LaSalle/Van Buren 140W 200S. Steve-o is all smiles as he waits to board his train home.

Farewells are waved and the train rounds the corner. Hey, that “Sun Run” sounds like a good deal!

As I don’t want to give away the ending, I’m going to stop my train review right here.

Here’s what IMDb has to say about Planes, Trains and Automobiles:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093748/

If you have ANY information about this movie you’d like to share, please contact me at: Lindsay.Korst@gmail.com, or leave a comment.  Thanks and enjoy the blog!

THE END