Last night I watched a TCM movie called "Broadway Limited". Naturally, a real railroader is going to pick apart the plot and the operations that occurred.
It seems that an actress's career was slipping and her agent wanted to do a publicity stunt to increase her box office draw. So he hatched a plot about a secret marriage and a new baby to travel on the Broadway Limited (1941). A lady that worked for the actress knew a BL engineer who knew someone they could "rent" the baby from. During the time of the stunt, there was a baby kidnapped for REAL, and the people involved in the stunt thought that they had the kidnapped kid (which they didn't). Thus the tangled and comical plot of hiding the kid from the cops until they could unload this "hot" baby. And there the fun began. The engineer was going to take the train over his division where he had rights, then he was marking off on vacation so he could oversee this "baby-gate", so he changes into a suit at the end of his run and boards the coaches to go on to New York.
At some point in the film, and while they are desparately trying to elude the cops who have boarded the train at Philly due to a miscommunications with the conductor, you hear the brakes go down and the train comes to a stop as railroad workers sign the engineer (the bid-in one) down.........probably in response to a STOP signal that was already put up. It's raining and everybody goes out to see what's causing the unscheduled stop. Turns out that there is a potential flood and the railroad has called a work train to put out riprap to prevent a nearby town from washing away. But the engine is too small, and they are now going to "commandeer" the big passenger engine to move this train of gons up the branch line. Mike, the marked-off engineer on the Philadephia Division(?) now tells the Division Super that HE will take the Limited with the little engine on to New York and the super, who has known Mike forever, is to FIRE for him and magically make the little freight engine pull the passenger train at track speed on into New York. He issues a challenge to the superintendent that he USED to be MAN enough to do the job': can he now?
How many things can you FIND wrong with this scenario? Of course, this is Hollywood and they can take liberties! I know of at least 8.
GF
It seems that an actress's career was slipping and her agent wanted to do a publicity stunt to increase her box office draw. So he hatched a plot about a secret marriage and a new baby to travel on the Broadway Limited (1941). A lady that worked for the actress knew a BL engineer who knew someone they could "rent" the baby from. During the time of the stunt, there was a baby kidnapped for REAL, and the people involved in the stunt thought that they had the kidnapped kid (which they didn't). Thus the tangled and comical plot of hiding the kid from the cops until they could unload this "hot" baby. And there the fun began. The engineer was going to take the train over his division where he had rights, then he was marking off on vacation so he could oversee this "baby-gate", so he changes into a suit at the end of his run and boards the coaches to go on to New York.
At some point in the film, and while they are desparately trying to elude the cops who have boarded the train at Philly due to a miscommunications with the conductor, you hear the brakes go down and the train comes to a stop as railroad workers sign the engineer (the bid-in one) down.........probably in response to a STOP signal that was already put up. It's raining and everybody goes out to see what's causing the unscheduled stop. Turns out that there is a potential flood and the railroad has called a work train to put out riprap to prevent a nearby town from washing away. But the engine is too small, and they are now going to "commandeer" the big passenger engine to move this train of gons up the branch line. Mike, the marked-off engineer on the Philadephia Division(?) now tells the Division Super that HE will take the Limited with the little engine on to New York and the super, who has known Mike forever, is to FIRE for him and magically make the little freight engine pull the passenger train at track speed on into New York. He issues a challenge to the superintendent that he USED to be MAN enough to do the job': can he now?
How many things can you FIND wrong with this scenario? Of course, this is Hollywood and they can take liberties! I know of at least 8.
GF
