Early to Mid 70's Movie Using D&RGW Equipment

In 1975, I watched a typical railroad disaster movie about a runaway train coming down a snowy mountain. Having lost its brakes, management decides to use its newest locomotive to chase down and couple to the rear of the train to stop it. It appears to have been filmed on the D&RGW as it used Rio Grande Geeps and passenger equipment masquerading for a fictional railroad. Mixed in among the railroading action were enough sub plots involving the passengers to write ten separate soap operas.

This was the one and only time I saw the movie. Does anyone else remember it?

Earle

Yes. And wasn't it called RUNAWAY or RUNAWAY TRAIN or something as stupid as the story line? I can't remember the star's...the engineer's...name, maybe Burnett...but he was in many oat burners and a quite familiar face. I don't remember it winning or even being nominated for the Oscars. I saw it on TV and screamed at the TV at all the insidious unprobable and stupid things that happend; there couldn't have been a railroad consultant on the set! At least not a real one.

Hello
The name of the Movie was Runway, or released overseas as the deadly passage, the Engineer was the famous Cowboy actor Ben Johnson, also Martin Milner from Adam 12 was in there, For all you Battlestar Galactica fans the 1978 show lorreta Spang who played Cassieopea was in it, so is Kip Niven who made it into Earthquake and Midway among others. one of the Disapatchers Frank Maxwell was in both Emergency! Season Two epsode named Drivers and Baa Baa Black Sheep The Cats Wiskers.
It was ok but one to get out on DVD if it ever came out.

Yeah...Ben Johnson. That's who. My mind is missing!!!d

henry6 wrote: I saw it on TV and screamed at the TV at all the insidious unprobable and stupid things that happend; there couldn't have been a railroad consultant on the set! At least not a real one.

You mean its worse than "Atomic Train?" HAHAHAH I find that hard to believe!!!

It was released as the Frozen Passage in UK, not deadly passage, also the fireman with Ben Johnson is Bing Russel, Kurt Russel's dad.

Jtgshu wrote:

henry6 wrote: I saw it on TV and screamed at the TV at all the insidious unprobable and stupid things that happend; there couldn't have been a railroad consultant on the set! At least not a real one.

You mean its worse than "Atomic Train?" HAHAHAH I find that hard to believe!!!

ATOMIC TRAIN!!!! Any title like that was relegated to Lionel O guage operations and not a real railroad like drama. Although there was an A Team ephisode in which a car was higjacked out of a train...just like the big guys do it...have the train go into emergency in the dead of night, walk the train, find nothing wrong but an uncoupled hose, so couple up and move on only to find a car missing when you arrive at your terminal. Daylight reveals it is upside down in the creek or over the embankment having tipped off the rails, setting the breaks while the two parts of the train ran together. Yeah, sure it happens all the time. Or used to if you listen to the old timers.

Henry
Are you sure it was the A Team, An episode of Banacek Also Staring George Pappard had the same plot line, It is out on DVD, the only proublem is that it is taking place on the east coast and has Santa Fe equipment being used, an intertaning Episode.

I should be pepper sprayed...yes it was a George Pappard in Banecek I am remembering...I only remember coming across it in mid show and laughing or otherwise dissing it out to the final credits.

All:

Thank you for the replies.

Regards,

Earle

Hollywood has taken some ridiculous liberties with rail technology, but the 1974 Runaway was definitely not one of them.

From the takeoff on Rio Grande's distinctive logo on the motive power to the scenes of Ben Johnson "notching out" the throttle to full Run-8, this is one of the few films I can cite that generally respected the technical and physical laws governing the rail industry.

And as to the casting, the only bettter choice than Mr. Johnson I can think of was Broderick Crawford playing a yard bull th Fritz Lang's masterpiece Human Desire.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, I would have to nominate the made-for-(ABC)-TV movie Disaster on the Coastliner (c.1979). The idea of passengers and crew trapped on train moving at speed, with dispatchers powerless to do anything, and what appeared to be dotted lines hand-drawn on plexiglass as a substitute for a CTC panel is insulting. And I wouldn't want to count the number of times the same train crossed the same bridge.

I too have seen Disaster on the coast liner, did you notice how many times the numbers on the F40s changed.

Meening they would show East bound what ever and it would be a different train set. Not the greatest movie but somewhat intertaining, Lots of big name stars in it.