Highball,: Railway Movies

By Lawrence Treadwell

Highball is an old signal from the train conductor to engineer that the train was clear to start from its stop and proceed at speed. Two green balls, one above the other, were the visual signal. Railroads were running long before motion pictures. Soon after silent movies were invented, directors liked trains in their films as railroading became an important business for America, passengers, and freight trains. From the beginning, Hollywood loved trains. In the book are over 450 films with the title, the year distributed, director, cast, producer/distributer, and an overview, which set forth the key train link.

Hollywood produced all sort/type of films: comedy, mystery, drama, Western, war, adventure, crime, construction, musical, and epic with combinations of genre. Every film in the book has a railroad link or connection of some sort, which makes this a stand-alone edition. Movies included begin in the Silent Era, 1920s, and continue to the present day. The Hollywood Golden Age through World War II produced great films and continued using different techniques and emphasis. Dangerous cargoes, revivals, scenarios, and technology reflect the extraordinary genius of moviemakers today.

With jet aircraft, passenger train travel declined to the extent that passenger trains became too expensive for America’s railroads to operate. In 1971, Congress created Amtrak, a quasi-public corporation, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation. Freight continued with the railroads, which today consist of five major train, class I companies: CSX, NS (Norfolk Southern), BNSF (Burlington and Santa Fe), UP (Union Pacific), and KCS (Kansas City Southern). Canadian Pacific (CP) operates both passenger and freight trains.

Movies produced overseas are included with the United Kingdom being a large contributor to the book. The reference book is a must for all railroaders and movie lovers to recall their favorites and to see movies that they missed.

All aboard!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jun 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9781662472374

Book preview

Preface

Movies have been a favorite entertainment of mine beginning in California with Shirley Temple, Flash Gordon, and Don Winslow. Hollywood’s Golden Age and the British have long produced great movies. So it is not by accident that I decided to draw up a volume about movies and trains. After about the first couple of hundred of these films, the going gets more difficult. Some movies are liked, and some are very good, but all have railroad interest, large or small. Memorable railroad scenes are frequent—whether happy or sad—some to remember all your life.

Having had some experience in riding trains when I was in the Navy as a sailor at the end of the Second World War, I recall that the passenger trains were always extremely crowded. From Bainbridge, Maryland, to Mansfield, Ohio, where my good friend Jim Kelley lived. He and I rode the Pennsylvania Railroad from the Perryville, Maryland, Railroad Station through Union Station in Washington, DC, which was always packed and on to points west. I always remember Altoona, Pennsylvania, and the famous Horseshoe Bend Curve. On the East Coast, it seemed that all the trains went to New York (Grand Central or Penn Station) and from there to Boston. The Long Island Rail Road covers Long Island out to Montauk Point. During Christmas time in 1946, Union Station was packed in Washington where I needed to change trains for Richmond and Norfolk. Boarding was truly difficult with SRO (standing room only). Personal space was zero. Many of the films made before World War II ended (or began) on or at train stations. Some fine, sentimental station scenes are seen. Parting is always difficult, is such sweet sorrow, as The Bard, William Shakespeare wrote. Equally notable are the olden railroad songs remembered from the past: I’ve Been Working on the Railroad is sung by Doris Day in the 1959 film It Happened to Jane and Chattanooga Choo Choo with Glenn Miller’s Band in Sun Valley Serenade. Many other songs are heard in the railroad films.

Some years later, my mother-in-law, Mrs. Davis Maurer, was employed by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, later the Seaboard Coastline, with their headquarters in Portsmouth, Virginia, just across the Elizabeth River from Norfolk. On her vacations, Mrs. Maurer had gone to many places with her pass. All railroad people had passes for themselves and their families, just like the airlines did later. Growing up, my future wife to be had been out West and to Canada all on the train as a teenager. I was impressed. Growing up as a Navy junior, I thought that I had done some traveling also.

The railroad persons I have known were always most friendly, having had good friends at schools in Norfolk whose fathers worked at the Seaboard. Later, Mr. Emory Waltrop who lived here in Irvington, Virginia, where I now reside. Mr. Waltrop also worked at the Seaboard, and he moved to Richmond when the headquarters relocated there from Norfolk in about 1967. He once told me that he would count the CSX coal cars at a train stop in Richmond from his second story window: always one hundred cars! Another person here at the establishment is the current vice president for facilities operations, Phillip Williams. He previously worked in the rail industry. His abilities are clearly evident in the outstanding maintenance and operation of the campus here in Irvington.

Railroad organization and management in many aspects is similar to the Navy’s. Operationally, the trains (passenger and freight) are the fleet with rights-of-way tracks and stations, yards, business requirements and contracts (or missions), safety, personnel, training, logistics, legal issues and compliance, and of course, financial matters. The Seaboard Coastline operated in a financial bankrupt condition for a number of years. Many countries operate their trains by the government, which the United States does since the 1970s for passenger trains travel, Amtrak, because passenger trains now are so costly. The magnitude of railroading like operating a Navy is huge. Jay Gould founded Union Pacific, and his monopoly resulted in many laws against them. Space ventures now might be considered as railroads were in 1850. Another likeness to the Navy, railroading is not for fun. National issues are at stake with lives in the balance—motorists, crews, passengers, bystanders, and so forth. Bad decisions, unlucky, whatever the cause of an accident is, the crash, a derailment, a fire, or the train operation is investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to determine the cause of the incident, casualties, responsibility, and actions to prevent futures similar cases, including high tech. Many freight trains carry danger cargoes, and all required safety procedures must be in place. While enjoying all the films in this book with the trains on the rails, the engineer, conductor, and others are on the job.

The gentleman for whom I have dedicated this book was Joseph K. Waite who was the railroad agent and the senior civil engineer for the Seaboard Railroad in real estate matters and had been during the expansion of the Seaboard Railroad in Florida during the 1920s. The right of way was his motto. He was like a second father to me, and I admired him greatly. He lived in cabooses during those times in undeveloped Florida when Tampa was getting started as a big rail junction. Ybor City and cigars under the Cuban influence were tourist meccas. A true sport fan, basketball was his sport, and being a North Carolina State graduate born in Raleigh, the Wolfpack could never do wrong when they played in the annual tournament in Greensboro. The Seaboard Railroad appeared to be more fond of the Tar Heels. This book is dedicated to my friend Mr. Joe Waite who, like my father, was born in 1883 and graduated from college in 1904.

From my experience having known several career railroad managers, their work ethic in railroading was very dedicated indeed whether a passenger or freight train issue needed attention. Track maintenance was forever a woe, and crossings always were a problem. Late trains were difficult to avoid in those days during and after World War II. Their type of railroading management work resembles the work of a line naval officer aboard ship in a number of respects. Planning, scheduling, and operating with safety and operational mishaps to respond to quickly and personnel passengers (then) crews rail yard personnel. Derailments and accidents signaling malfunctions all require prompt response and decisions with reliable communications. Car maintenance, tracking policing, loading, and unloading are endless tasks. Handling dangerous cargoes with contamination possibilities requires special training and procedures to implement if an accident has taken place.

Each railroad movie has a basic criteria: Either the film has a railroad theme in its production or it is an obscure railroad film. The title may provide the answer: The movie is about trains or maybe not. For example, an obscure train film is Go West, a 1940 comedy with the Marx Brothers. They went West on a train in a cattle car; however, they could have gone West on a bus or a truck since they were going to a dude ranch. Because the Marx Brothers took a train West, riding in a cattle car is the reason the movie was included in the filmography. A simple observation was in past times, to have or produce a train film, the producers needed a train (a locomotive) and cars, depending on the scene requirements—dining cars, club cars, sleeping cars, and so forth. Hollywood is clever indeed and will cope with the requirements for enacting the scene.

The filmography includes a number of silent films in the 1920s when trains were clearly included in robberies, perils, hobos, and wrecks. Buster Keaton was a star. Casey Jones was the engineer. A few of the movies include runaway trains, which needed to be stopped by some means. Railroads helped build America, and many western railroad movies were produced reflecting early railroading—construction, Native American territorial transgression, and train robberies with scenarios in Mexico and Canada. Specific-titled train films are numerous, especially in Europe. Trains with terror situations on board are included, especially bullet trains. These are several more musical train movies with golden oldies: Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe with Judy Garland, Gene Autry, The Singing Cowboy singing Stephen Foster songs in the film Oh, Susanna!

Western films, not omitting oaters, were frequently the subject of railroads with construction, robbery, wrecks, attacks, and events in the film. Promontory Ridge (Utah, 1869) was the connection of the transcontinental railroad celebrated by Cecil DeMille in his epic film Union Pacific. The Union Pacific Railroad freight trains are still the leader. Scotsman Allan Pinkerton became famous as a railroad detective in Illinois during the time of the Civil War, preventing the assassination of President-elect Lincoln. Mr. Pinkerton founded a railroad detective agency. Some cowboys would ride beside the moving train and transfer from their horse to getting aboard the train from their horse, then proceed to rob the train. In a number of movies, persons climb onto the tops of train cars during the robbery or whatever. Skyfall has a remarkable train scene.

A number of famous sleuths rode the train in connection with their cases: Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot, Jane Marple, Nick Carter, Michael Shane, the Lone Wolf, Michael Lanyard, and The Thin Man (Nick Charles) who took the train to Boston to see his father at Thanksgiving, of course, with Nora and their terrier, Asta. Their train was packed with GIs in the film (all seats on the train were taken), which came out in 1945. Charlie Chan took the train to Berlin for the 1936 Olympics after flying in the Zeppelin Hindenburg from Hawaii to Lakehurst, New Jersey, and then aboard a German liner from New York to Bremen.

Alfred Hitchcock, the famous film director, clearly must have enjoyed trains since seven of his films include scenes aboard trains and are in the filmography. One movie, which is not included is the 1941 film Suspicion. The reason for it not appearing here is for the opening and only train scene with Joan Fontaine and Gary Grant meeting in a first-class train compartment aboard an English train with the conductor asking for tickets. Grant’s ticket is for third class, and Grant is short on cash to pay the conductor for the difference. With the unknown lady, Joan’s help, Grant stays in the compartment. This one scene just did not seem to have enough train theme to have been in the book, although the scene reflects the character of Grant, which is exploited as the film’s developed.

All aboard!

Introduction

During the pandemic, today’s United States of America railroads are continuing to function and execute their important transportation operations for both freight and Amtrak passenger service with little or no fanfare. In such an environment, choosing an appropriate title for my book was important, and the railroad word highball came to mind. From Washington, news concerning the railroad industry seems promising with Amtrak infrastructure funding increases proposed in the out-years. Currently, the five major US freight corporations are at performance highs, which means the entire industry is has been profitable. Having first-class passenger trains, providing more competition to the airlines would add to the economy by venturing into the monopoly run by airlines. Canada, with its mighty Canadian Pacific, Ltd., is ready to expand its railroad with the United States—Kansas City Southern—and into Mexico. Rails are needed for freight and passenger transport. Proper management and time are necessary for safety and to protect investments while keeping up with technology, which protect hardware and software. Cyber security has already demonstrated its requirements for a range of American business—pipelines, electrical power, and meatpacking.

Highball means a clear engine signal derived from days of steam where a station operator would hoist a large wooden ball up a stand, signaling that the engineer was authorized to proceed. Highball was a signal given to proceed at maximum authorized speed. A fixed signal consists of two large, round balls—one white, one red. When the white ball is raised to the top, the train may proceed. (Railroad terminology, slang, and definitions. Wikipedia was the source.)

As I was compiling the collection of films, I ran across many lists of train movies, which involved the question of whether or not the film contained a railroad theme. Themes such as the great train robbery became popular based on actual events in England. Some issues were the type of locomotive seen in the film or how much time of the movie was actually on or about the train. The argument was that the train was essential to and for the film to have been produced. Films in which only a scene or two were made did not qualify as a railroad film. Movies of both types come to mind quite easily: Murder on the Orient Express clearly is a railroad film, which takes place largely aboard the train for the three days, boarding in Istanbul and debarking in Paris. The events of the movie take place on the train or nearby during the train’s journey in the film. Some cameo train films are included for their quality and perhaps sentiment. Readers will differ with the deciding sense being the full movie. Some of the films are indeed not produced well nor enjoyed.

Not to be overlooked are the numbers of television films and serials, which have appeared since the 1960s. Included in the filmography are several of these with a railroad genre or sufficient rail interest. The long-running western series Gunsmoke included a number of train episodes as did The Wild Wild West with its Pinkerton railcar. Popular sitcom Petticoat Junction began at a train junction and water tower, Hooterville Express.

Another situation in a RR film is during work on construction or repairs of railroad system components: a time when bridge, tunnel, or track feature switches/signals work is in progress. For example, in the film The Bridge over the River Kwai, construction of the RR bridge was over the River Kwai to connect Burma and Thailand railways and ended with the climax showing a Japanese train crossing the completed bridge built by the Allied (mostly British) POWs. The principals were never on a train. In the film Tycoon, John Wayne is the engineer in charge of building a railroad bridge across a deep gorge in the Andes after attempting to dynamite through a mountain. He concluded that a tunnel was not the solution to the construction—too costly and dangerous. Rail construction in Canada of the Canadian Pacific through a pass in the Rocky Mountains was the theme of another film, Canadian Pacific. The Chinese coolies did much of the construction work years ago as another was of racial injustice in the world. That may account for the many Chinese restaurants that exist in the Canadian Western provinces. This is a most sensitive subject. Many Americans forget that immigrants built large portions of America’s railroads expanding westward.

In America, the railroads began to expand west of the Mississippi River with the Missouri Pacific Railroad in 1851. In the war between the states, the Underground Railroad emerged as a means for slaves to leave the South and travel to the north where they are no longer slaves. (All means of transport were employed in secrecy.) The Civil War delayed expansion, but afterward, railways slowly replaced the wagon trains, the pony express, and stagecoaches. Our trains became the target of outlaws, bandits, Indians, and corporate greed, which continued on throughout the nineteenth century. The film industry capitalized on the situation and has produced many cowboy western movies since the beginning of its own existence. Films covering many different scenarios involving robbing the railroads—their passengers and the freight being transported, gold, weapons, ammunition, mail, valuable freight—became popular with many subplots. Zane Grey, Louis L’Amour, and Max Brand—to name a few writers—wrote western novels, which Hollywood would buy the authors’ right and then produce the movies. The economic budget films earned the nickname of oater with Republic Studios perhaps leading the pack. The number of Western films made after the silent era with talkies (1929–1930) is in hundreds, counting all the kinds: traditional, B western, comedy, film noir, family western, singing western, outlaw western, serial western, frontier western, dramatic western, revenge, gunfighter, modern, gold rush, cattle drive, land rush, town tamer, after, and more. Not to be overlooked are the westerns made in Italy or Spain called spaghetti. If the film were to have a railroad theme in production, having a real train of the proper vintage posed questions, planning, and money. Spurs, rail yards, and stations were constructed for the purpose of filming scenes in these movies.

Persons who hitched rides on freight/boxcars were called hobos. Several films deal with them but not many. A number of western films take place in Mexico when the French supported Maximillian and a civil war in Mexico ensued. Mexican Army troops were always aboard their trains, fighting off the rebels.

A movie, which does not have a railroad theme but has railroad scenes of sufficient interest, in my opinion, would be suitable for inclusion in the filmology, such is the classic film The Thirty-Nine Steps. The scenes aboard The Flying Scotsman express train from London to Scotland across the Forth Rail Bridge with Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll were totally engaging for the film to be included, although the theme of the classic suspense film is indeed not one of railroading. Likewise, North by Northwest is another spy movie quite similar in plot to the Donat film. A number of movie lists that I found in my research did not include those sorts of situations in order to be considered a railroad movie. In passing, Alfred Hitchcock used trains in a number of his not-to-be-forgotten films. Having real passenger train cars/carriages in today’s real movies (as opposed to TV tricks and technology) clearly would cost more money. Perhaps that situation will change, too, as most things have indeed changed from what they were.

One of my goals was to find as many true railroad movies as I could with a number of films borderline as to having either big locomotive or having scenes aboard the train, which relate to the overall plot of the film. From being a longtime movie fan and admirer of railroads, some may question how this particular movie was included in the set. The answer can only be to see the film. Those railroad films with clear misdeeds—evil, sinful, wicked actions—have been omitted. It was not indeed a subjective analysis of the quality of the film. It was the simple, yes or no, that the film’s dialogue and scenes gave evidence of railroading: building, planning, robbing, traveling, wrecking, locomotive, rail yards, stations, freight cars, signaling, etc. Travel critics would argue back when getting there by train was the logical and safest way to travel prior to World War II for the population. Thus, all old movies with implied travel would qualify!

Both industries—Hollywood and the railroad—are two of America’s great assets. Without the railroads, it is unclear what would have become of the United States. Jay Gould became a rail magnate with others, like Cornelius Vanderbilt, which was vital to America’s progress. Nowadays, while Amtrak now manages passenger service and private railroads operate their rail systems with freight, the so-called glamour of passenger trains appears to have declined with signs of revival. Today’s Hollywood and TV train films are what they are, meaning not what we have seen in the past. During the pandemic, both industries have functioned without fanfare or undue media attention. Airlines have had and continue to have daily exposure and require federal government financial assistance to remain in operation. Private freight railroads—as Union Pacific, CSX, Norfolk and Southern, Canadian Pacific, and (BNSF) Burlington Northern Santa Fe—are the largest with many smaller ones all in competition and with the trucking industry. Track maintenance planning for safety and profitable operation is a major infrastructure need for the present and out-years as mentioned at the beginning.

The movie collection included herein has variety: silent films, comedies and musicals, mysteries, suspense, terror, psychology, historical events, railroad songs, westerns and oaters, the circus train, and of course, British rail. Germany prior to World War II and during the Cold War, Berlin, were much used locations for a number of notable railroad films. Famous characters of rail and the Wild West are in the movies with the old engines, water towers, and wooden passenger cars. Night intrigue scenes on trains are frequent. A popular rail genre was found to have been construction with noted sleuths (Hercule Poirot, Sherlock Holmes, Charlie Chan, Bulldog Drummond recovering from an auto accident, Lord Peter Whimsey, and Miss Jane Marple) involved with trains, either taking the train or in crime scene investigations about a specific train. Writers have created railway plots using the underground train systems in large cities, the Subway in New York City, the Underground in London, and the Metro in Paris. Ransom, escape routes, and robbery are actions themes for several of the rail films. MI6 now has underground command centers in the London Underground, which housed thousands during the World War II Blitz.

Obscure train films are ones, which have limited connections with a