The movie "21", always "Express to Davis"

There are two scenes in the movie 21 on the Red Line, and in both scenes the LED displays show "Express to Davis".

In the first scene, it is feasible he is express to Davis for some reason.

In the second scene, they stop at Quincy Center which is quite obviously not Express to Davis which is in the wrong direction.

Otherwise it was a fun movie!

Most likelya result of film editing. Its not likely that a train at that point would ever be "Express to Davis"

People are so gullable that they do not realize anything about trains. For example, you could set a movie at Fullerton Station in LA. The characters would be waiting for an Amtrak train, and you could have a CSX AC6000CW running long hood forward, mixed freight and one old passenger car, and they wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

In short words, most moviegoers wouldn't give a damn about trains.

-Dan

There was an episode of CSI passengers were on a mixed train, literally one Amtrak looking car in a freight train.

mbta1051dan wrote:People are so gullable that they do not realize anything about trains. For example, you could set a movie at Fullerton Station in LA. The characters would be waiting for an Amtrak train, and you could have a CSX AC6000CW running long hood forward, mixed freight and one old passenger car, and they wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

In short words, most moviegoers wouldn't give a damn about trains.

-Dan

No joke? I have a hard time imaging people believing a mixed passenger train is an actual train. For example, if there was a consist like this:

UP AC4400CW - Superliner - Superliner - MBTA Kawaski - MBTA Kawaski - NJT Bi-level - Acela First Class - Acela First class - Red Line subway car - Orange line subway car - baggage car - baggage car...

How many people would believe that crazy mixed consist is an Amtrak or a commuter train?

Veristek wrote:For example, if there was a consist like this:

UP AC4400CW - Superliner - Superliner - MBTA Kawaski - MBTA Kawaski - NJT Bi-level - Acela First Class - Acela First class - Red Line subway car - Orange line subway car - baggage car - baggage car...

How many people would believe that crazy mixed consist is an Amtrak or a commuter train?

You'd be surprised.

Mixed passenger-freight trains existed up through the 1960s, though.

Ron Newman wrote:Mixed passenger-freight trains existed up through the 1960s, though.

And i think they exist in Europe. Either I saw some very sad looking baggage cars, or I saw a train with room for freight

Sequences are cobbled together from multiple takes filmed over an extended period of time. Normally, a lot of time and effort is spent to prevent continuity problems such as these, but when you've got a limited production budget / shooting time, it can be an issue.

And sometimes you just don't notice until it's far too late to do a damn thing about it. That, that is the worst feeling in the world.

mbta1051dan wrote:People are so gullable that they do not realize anything about trains. For example, you could set a movie at Fullerton Station in LA. The characters would be waiting for an Amtrak train, and you could have a CSX AC6000CW running long hood forward, mixed freight and one old passenger car, and they wouldn't be able to tell the difference.

In short words, most moviegoers wouldn't give a damn about trains.

-Dan

Exactly. Very few people even notice, or care, about the train matter of a movie making sense. The directors of the movie don't care either- it's really a complete non-issue, because in most movies, having the right trains in the right places is completely unimportant.

It's not a documentary; it's entertainment for the masses who just happen to not give a crap about trains.

mbta1051dan wrote:In short words, most moviegoers wouldn't give a damn about trains.

-Dan

Just like in Silver Streak where it shows Gene Wilder pulling a pin and the runaway locomotive doesn't go into emergency when the air hoses seperate, but the coach he's on does.

The Orange Line shots in the "Brinks Job" are a classic example, as are the elevated shots in the opening of St. Elsewhere long after the el was gone.

Gerry6309 wrote:The Orange Line shots in the "Brinks Job" are a classic example, as are the elevated shots in the opening of St. Elsewhere long after the el was gone.

Uh, the El was alive for most of the series. The show ran from 1982-1988 - the El closed in 1987. Doesn't make much sense to change the opening for all of one season.

BigRock wrote:There are two scenes in the movie 21 on the Red Line, and in both scenes the LED displays show "Express to Davis".

In the first scene, it is feasible he is express to Davis for some reason.

In the second scene, they stop at Quincy Center which is quite obviously not Express to Davis which is in the wrong direction.

Otherwise it was a fun movie!

Well if it makes you feel better they are equal opportunity offenders There's a lot of stuff about tons of non-train-related topics that is inaccurate in movies, or the continuity's off. It's fun to find it Personally I think Hollywood just loves to use the term 'Express' with anything train related. It's one of those magic words they'll slap on anything I think they might think all trains are expresses. Like, watch that horrible Darjeeling movie by Wes Anderson and the train sets (not consists, movie sets ) will completely disgust you. It ended up seeming like the point of them was to suck