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J

J.V.

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Hello,

I'm a lurker turned member who's also a classic film fan as well as railfan.

20 years ago I took advantage of the all aboard america fare thru amtrak and took a trip to the west coast and pacific NW via the SW chief, Coast Starlight and the Cali Zephyr. I've only traveled short trips since then (St. Louis, Cincinnati via Cardinal) but have always loved trains and the allure of LD travel by rail. I'm also a classic film fan and enjoy many movies which feature trains as part of the story.

Ironically, a film just aired on TCM, (WITHOUT RESERVATIONS w/John Wayne & Claudette Colbert) which featured both the (super) Chief and Sunset Limited as part of the story. Brief shots of Lasalle Station and (presumably) the old Grand central in Chicago during their stopover. The characters stop in La Junta, Raton and Albuquerque before Los Angeles. I recommend it to those of you who enjoy classic comedy (although not as popular as Silver Streak is here).

Great forum here!

J.V.
 
:hi: Welcome and glad you enjoy Old Movies and this Forum, as you know Trains used to be featured prominently in Films since that was the way most people traveled! Ive seen that Movie a couple times on Late Night "Oldie" Stations, its sort of different in that it featured Sections instead of Bedrooms or Drawing Rooms like lots of Old Movies did!(and I believe the Sunset Ltd. was called "The Sunshine Special" or something similar, maybe SP didnt like it being made to seem an inferior Train to the Super Chief!) And of course during the War Service Members got priority, hence Claudet ending up without a Room from CHI-LAX when she wasn't able to get a Room on the Super Chief! Also one of the few times where John Wayne played a Comic role instead of a Macho Hunk!
 
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jimhudson said:
:hi: Welcome and glad you enjoy Old Movies and this Forum, as you know Trains used to be featured prominently in Films since that was the way most people traveled! Ive seen that Movie a couple times on Late Night "Oldie" Stations, its sort of different in that it featured Sections instead of Bedrooms or Drawing Rooms like lots of Old Movies did!(and I believe the Sunset Ltd. was called "The Sunshine Special" or something similar, maybe SP didnt like it being made to seem an inferior Train to the Super Chief!) And of course during the War Service Members got priority, hence Claudet ending up without a Room from CHI-LAX when she wasn't able to get a Room on the Super Chief! Also one of the few times where John Wayne played a Comic role instead of a Macho Hunk!
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Thanks for the welcome! Yes, trains do feature prominently on many classic films and I always get a kick out of those which show a little more in the way of stations, terminals etc. Especially if those stations or terminals are now gone or have changed drastically. Some of my favorites;

NORTH BY NORTHWEST - NYC (Penn?) the 20th cent Limited, Lasalle station in Chicago again

THE AMERICAN FRIEND - mostly studio for the interiors but cool shots of Paris-Hamburg

TWENTIETH CENTURY W/Carole Lombard

STRANGERS ON A TRAIN - classic hitch thriller
 
Welcome!
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Please don't just lurk. Consider becomimg a member of Amtrak Unlimited (AU). Membership to AU is free, and we would love to have you as a member!
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North by Northwest and the 20th Century Limited would have been Grand Central Terminal (GCT)! It was a NYC train, and NYC used GCT only. Prior to 1994 IIRC, there was no way for trains from upstate NY to get to Penn Station.
 
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I get SUCH a kick during the scene in "North by Northwest" when the characters are standing in the LaSalle St. station and you can hear them listing the Michigan route stations in the background.

 
jimhudson said:
I get SUCH a kick during the scene in "North by Northwest" when the characters are standing in the LaSalle St. station and you can hear them listing the Michigan route stations in the background.

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Thanks all, I went ahead & joined the forum- it's good to hear from so many film buffs here too! North by Northwest is a classic. So many of the scenes were actually shot around California like the train exteriors and the crop duster plane, it was a pleasant surprise to see so many Chicago scenes that were actually shot in Chicago.
 

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