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  • Railroads on Television

  • Discussion related to railroads/trains that show up in TV shows, commercials, movies, literature (books, poems and more), songs, the Internet, and more... Also includes discussion of well-known figures in the railroad industry or the rail enthusiast hobby.
Discussion related to railroads/trains that show up in TV shows, commercials, movies, literature (books, poems and more), songs, the Internet, and more... Also includes discussion of well-known figures in the railroad industry or the rail enthusiast hobby.

Moderator: Aa3rt

 #1421425  by Gilbert B Norman
 
Episode 15 of the series "This Is Us" included on location scenes shot in Memphis, including some shot in the Memphis station. There was an Amtrak sign quite visible.

Only problem; the scene was set during the '50's.

Also of interest, Amtrak was given "promotional credit" - one of the few times I've noted such.
 #1423295  by Gilbert B Norman
 
Season 3 of the Showtime series (got a 30 day free streaming trial, so I'm binging) "The Affair" , has a number of authentic rail scenes, even if the producers take liberty as to which railroad serves where.

They show authentic Long Island equipment serving Montauk NY, but they take their liberties suggesting NJTransit serves Bloomsburg PA. Since NYS gives film subsidies to the show, the NJT shots must be on the ERIE. There are interior shots that appear authentic as well.

Not worth signing up and paying up for this soap opera.
 #1474684  by Gilbert B Norman
 
I hardly doubt that I'm the only one around here who viewed the final episode of "The Americans" last night.

A train figures significantly in this Series Finale; how does it? Watch the episode.

While the series has been well received by critics, the authenticity of its train scene is somewhere in outer space.

Amazing how Metro-North Hudson Line suddenly has M-7 cars liveried as Amtrak (surely post production), that Rouses Point has a high level platform and third rail electrification. The car interiors may or may not have been the real deal rather than a stage set - defer to sharper eyes on that one.

All told, the producers could have done better.
 #1475859  by mkm4
 
Gilbert B Norman wrote:Amazing how Metro-North Hudson Line suddenly has M-7 cars liveried as Amtrak (surely post production), that Rouses Point has a high level platform and third rail electrification. The car interiors may or may not have been the real deal rather than a stage set - defer to sharper eyes on that one.
I just finally watched the episode.
They used M-3s not the M-7. They filmed at Tuckahoe.
A little bit on the shot:
https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/ ... clnk&gl=us" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 #1502908  by Gilbert B Norman
 
A TV show - another "spy" show - with rail scenes simply "over the top".

In the minds of the producers for the new NBC series, "The Enemy Within", there is a Virginia mass transit
agency that links Ashland with the Metrorail system. Who knows if the cars depicted are real, and what transit agency allowed them to shoot (not just film, but also a scripted "shoot out") on their property or if all were stage sets.

This one makes the ending scenes from "The Americans", where the "Russians escape to Canada" - aboard Metro-North - look like the real deal.

If both shows prided authenticity, they would have approached Amtrak. But I have the feeling Amtrak would, or did, tell them to take a hike.
 #1509557  by Gilbert B Norman
 
There appears to be authentic shots of the Chicago Transit Authority Red Line in an eight part series now airing on CBS.

Not completely authentic; the CTA becomes the CTS, and police officers portrayed have a shoulder insignia different from "the real deal". Even though filmed "on location", apparently, the City did not wish to loan the production company any of its trademarks.

The storyline, involving the LGBT community, may present difficulty, so I would suggest reading up on the plot before "tuning in".
 #1509733  by MEC407
 
Speaking of Chicago, there are three shows on NBC that all take place there: "Chicago Fire," "Chicago PD," and "Chicago Med." Metra commuter trains have made cameo appearances in all three shows.
 #1514402  by Gilbert B Norman
 
The producers of the FX series "Snowfall" best get their Dunce hats out.

Season 3 Ep 1 has a scene filmed next to a rail yard in LA's "not best spot in town". The show is set during Reagan-era '84, with references to the Olympics and the Contra-Sandonista scandal.

Funny though how there are C-44's in Union Pacific "Flag" livery visible. Sure, UP had operations there, but LA was largely SP's town. and the SD-40 was the "mainstay" motive power of that day.
 #1514811  by Gilbert B Norman
 
On HoBO's "Big Little Lies" Season 2 Finale, the production company saw fit to destroy a set of Lionels. Here is how a TVLine reviewer saw it go down:
Renata returns home to find Gordon still playing with his toys: He got a collector to buy all of them and let him keep them, somehow. Renata is enraged: All her stuff is gone, and Gordon gets to keep his little toy trains? (God, Laura Dern is terrific this season, huh?) She gets revenge by grabbing a baseball bat (!) and smashing his precious train set to pieces, hitting Gordon square in the chest in the process. And when she walks out on him, it feels like it’s for the last time, doesn’t it?
"Uh, not smart", this Monterey family who certainly liked to live well, found themselves bankrupt after a business deal "went South". Seems like where this train set went as well.

Here's a clip (courtesy Twitter):

https://twitter.com/amyeliotx/status/11 ... 69473?s=17
 #1518905  by Gilbert B Norman
 
The Showtime series, "The Affair", which in prior Seasons, made reasonable efforts to show authenticity in its railroad scenes, has now scrapped those efforts in favor of fantasy.

Did you know that Asian styled HSR equipment is in revenue service on the LIRR to Montauk?

Well, the producers of this show seem to think such is the case. Clearly for this final season, authentic rail scenes have been replaced with whatever the producers depict on a "Green Screen" behind the actors.
 #1524477  by Gilbert B Norman
 
Anyone else watching the HoBO "dramedy" series "Mrs. Fletcher"?

Reportedly, the series is filmed within Dobbs Ferry, NY. During Episode #2, "Mrs. Fletcher" goes on a "date" for Dinner (turns out "and nothing more") at a restaurant that appears to be a former train station.

There is a "train station turned restaurant" in Dobbs Ferry; however, the actual structure and that appearing on the show do not resemble one another.

So, is the depiction in the show an actual "station/restaurant", or is it simply a stage set. Enquiring mind wants to know.
 #1527644  by Gilbert B Norman
 
Anyone else see the Series Finale to CBS's "Madam Secretary"?

The final scene shows "President Mc Chord" on an ex-ATSF Business Car "departing on a whistle stop tour". The car was clearly on a tourist road:

https://youtu.be/yFU_aoQTBCQ

Anyone know where?
 #1528127  by Ken V
 
Based on steam locomotive 385 in the background to the right, it appears to be the Whippany Railway Museum in New Jersey. The Presidential train is departing the station heading west.
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