Tag Archives: dining car

Railroadin’ 1941

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Adverti-Films – Hollywood

Filmed in glorious Dunningcolor, today’s feature was sponsored by Alco Locomotives & General Electric, so naturally their railroad equipment was featured front and center. Released just before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, America is already gearing up for World War 2.

What sets this movie apart is the absolutely priceless scenes of Pre-war steam and diesel trains in color, no less. There are enough Electro-Motive Diesel passenger locomotives to keep things interesting and I’ll try my best to identify each scene used.

For example, the above picture appears to be in Chicago where an orange & maroon Milwaukee Road “Hiawatha” passenger train is arriving as a CMStP&P commuter train is switched alongside.

Let’s check it out!

How far they’ve come. At first, railroads themselves were shunned as dangerous and foolhardy. Now this nefarious couple contemplate railroad travel on credit…to collect her husband’s double indemnity insurance policy!

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Murder on the Orient Express 1974

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EMI Films
Paramount Pictures

Merry Christmas! Our not-particularly-obscure movie takes place in December 1935 on board the luxurious Orient Express. Although the subject is rather grim for the holiday season, it’s a crackerjack who-done-it with an all-star cast of stage and screen — and snow plays a key part in the film.

As always, the brightest star from my point of view is the train itself. Pulling the posh coaches is SNCF #4353, a 1922-built 4-6-0 steam locomotive that is still with us. In order behind the engine are a baggage car, Restaurant car (#9), Sleeping car (#7), and a Pullman Lounge car #4163.

From Istanbul, Turkey, the train traveled through “Uzunkopru, Sofia (Bulgaria), Belgrade (Serbia), Zagreb (Croatia), Brod (Kosovo), Trieste (Italy), Venice, Milan, Lausanne (Switzerland), Bazel, Paris (France), Calais, with connections for London.”

Watch Hercule Poirot (played by Albert Finney) try to unravel a tangle of clues and suspects onboard an opulent occidental passenger train.

The engineman and his conductor come face to face with a snow-filled cut as #4353 simmers in the background; Poirot plays a little air-violin in his compartment, but all is not peaceful onboard. Nice fixtures and accoutrements, though!

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Shanghai Express 1932

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Paramount Pictures

Like last month’s Union Depot 1932, I’d like to thank Danny at the Pre-Code.com blog for introducing me to yet another obscure train movie.

There are only two thespians I had previously heard of in this picture: Marlene Dietrich, of course, as Shanghai Lily and Eugene Pallette as Sam Salt. Mr. Pallette was almost instantly recognizable by his voice alone. Film goers may remember him as Friar Tuck in The Adventures of Robin Hood 1938 (“Give me back my mutton!“).

The real star of the show was Southern Pacific Railroad #2428, a P-3 class 4-6-2 Baldwin-built steam locomotive. I believe this was the same engine used to represent two different trains. Pulling out of Peiping (Peking), the engine is numbered 4234, then the “hostage train” is numbered 2428. To further complicate things, there are only Chinese characters in the number boards to reference, but at least the wheel arrangement matches.

Anyhoo, let’s take a look at Hollywood’s interpretation of Chinese rail transport during an ongoing civil war. Hen hao, xièxiè !

Fixing to leave Peiping, the engineer looks back for the highball. Cab side lettering reads “4234” in Chinese characters; Later on in the movie, the engine characters are switched to “2428”.

Here is a link to sister SP locomotive #2429 to see what our film’s 4-6-2 looks like without the set dressing.

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North by Northwest 1959

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Metro Goldwyn Mayer

A spotless New York Central “lightning-stripe” EMD E8A #4044 has just pulled the 20th Century Limited into Chicago’s LaSalle Street Station.

25 fabulous minutes of North by Northwest features railroad-related goodness including Grand Central Terminal in New York City, a ride up the Hudson River onboard the Century, dinner in the diner, and a train-to-waiting room tour of LaSalle Street Station.

Add to the mix Cary Grant (as Roger Thornhill) and Eva Marie Saint (as Eve Kendall) and you’ve got romance, suspense and intrigue galore. So, Watch Your Step and Welcome Aboard!

“Tell me, what do you do besides lure men to their doom on the 20th Century?”

As Roger Thornhill fondles his Gibson, Eve Kendall (Rahr-RAHR!) coolly appraises the handsome gent in the horn-rimmed Ray-Bans. Sparks are sure to fly in car 3901, Drawing Room E!

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Sleepers West 1941

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20th Century Fox

What could be more fun than a Fox “B” picture mostly taking place on a train? Private dick Michael Shayne (played by Lloyd Nolan) is transporting a surprise witness to a trial in San Francisco. Along the way, Shayne has to sort through plenty of onboard suspects who would like him (and his incognito witness) to not reach the courtroom.

If this plot sounds familiar, it was reused at least twice in 1952’s The Narrow Margin and 1990’s Narrow Margin.

Most of the onboard action takes place on sets, but there’s plenty of live train scenes including use of a Santa Fe Railway locomotive and depot location I could actually identify.

Even a “B” picture can have great, detailed scenes if you’ve got access to 20th Century Fox’s resources. Marble ticket counter, chandeliers, neon signs and arched track gates.

Can you spot the one little error in the train departure board? On most railroads, Denver to San Francisco would be considered westbound and thus the train should have an odd number. As an Amtrak conductor once said, “The odds go to San Francisco”.

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