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All posts for the month February, 2012
Who would have thought, that a movie about fast cars, hot women and stupid acts of driving would become a movie franchise. In all there have been 5 movies, with the latest being “Fast Five” that was released in 2011, and a 6th film, planned on being released in 2013 called “Fast Six”. The Scene in question is from the first movie involves a 1970 Dodge Challenger, a 1995 Honda Civic (Modified) and a 1968 EMD GP40 (Stock). The scene takes place when Brian (Driving the Civic), and Dominic (Driving the Challenger) drag race down a street, and narrowly avoid getting hit by SCRX GP40 #3134. After a sigh of relief, Dominic ends up rolling his Challenger after colliding with a Peterbilt Tractor-Trailer.
The locomotive that is seen is Santa Clarita Railroad GP40 #3134. She was constructed by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in August, 1968, with serial #34295 and Frame #7127-14. The Locomotive was built for the Penn Central, the giant North Eastern railroad that went Bankrupt after only 2 years! The Locomotive was originally ordered by the New York Central in 1967, but was delivered after the Merger, and came decked out all for PC. When built, she was Penn Central #3118. She served the large, bankrupt Penn Central until 1976, when the Penn Central and many other Northeastern railroads all merged under the government run “Consolidated Rail Corporation,” other wise known as Conrail. Under Conrail, the locomotive was Conrail 3118, and she served the Big Blue (Conrail’s Nickname since their paint scheme was solid blue), until 1983, when the 15 year lease on the locomotive was up. After Conrail released the locomotive back to its owner, Helm Financial, the locomotive was sold right away to the Denver, and Rio Grande Western Railroad, that operated in Utah and Colorado, with trackage rights into Kansas City. The locomotive was then renumbered to DRGW #3134, the number she carries to this day. She spent the next 15 years being owned by the D&RGW, the Southern Pacific, and the Union Pacific. The locomotive was retired by the Union Pacific Railroad, still in full DRGW paint, in 1999, and was then sold to the Santa Clarita Railroad. During her time on the Santa Claritia, she was use in not only “Fast and the Furious,” but she was also used in an Operation Lifesaver commercial that involved an exploding car. She stayed with the SCRX until November 2004, when she was sold to the Southwestern Railroad for use on their new Carlsbad division in New Mexico. Today, she is still earning a living on the SouthWestern, working the many Potash trains and the occasional unit grain trains.
Here is a Photo of the unit as Penn Central #3118: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=358929
Here is a Photo of the unit as Conrail #3118: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2835197
Here is a Photo of the unit as D&RGW #3134: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=17485
Here is a Photo of the unit as SCRX #3134: http://www.locophotos.com/PhotoDetails.php?PhotoID=69246
Here is a Photo of the unit as SouthWestern #3134: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2578007
Again, I hope you enjoyed the latest installment of The CineTrains Project! I hope that you keep on coming back and reading more about trains in the movies and on Television! If you have any ideas you want to pass along to me, just find out out to contact me in the Submitting Ideas section of the page! Happy Railfanning!
In 1999, Universal Pictures released this Biographical Film of Homer Hickman, who took up rocketry against his coal mining father, and eventually became a NASA Engineer. The movie is set in Coalwood, West Virginia, an unincorporated town in McDowell County, WV, where coal mining was the biggest employer, like many small towns of that region. In one scene, Homer and a couple buddies decide to steal some rail and spikes from an abandoned branch line that served Coretta #1 that shut down in 1951. After panicking and running towards the train, they see that the train is diverted onto another line and all they get is a friendly wave from the engineer, who is played by world famous Norfolk and Western Steam Photographer, O. Winston Link.
The locomotive in the film is another celebrity in the railfanning community. The locomotive is Southern Railway 2-8-2 “Mikado” type #4501. This wheel designation of “Mikado” came from when Baldwin built the first locomotives of this type for the Japanese National Railways, and the word “Mikado” is Japanese for “Emperor.”
Constructed by Baldwin Locomotive Works under the Builders #37085, the locomotive was the very first of 182 2-8-2 Mikado’s on the Southern Railway Roster. She was built in 1911, and during her career on the Southern, the locomotive was used on several of the divisions in the system. For the next 38 years, the locomotive toiled away on the Southern, working Manifest’s and local trains around the system. She was retired from the Southern Railway roster in 1948 when the railroad started to purchase Diesel locomotives to replace steam. After she was retired, the locomotive was sold to the Kentucky and Tennessee Railroad and became K&T #12. After spending another 15 years on the K&T, she was again retired. After he was retired for a 2nd time, Mr. Paul H. Merriman, bought the locomotive for The 4501 Corporation with $5,000 of his own money and restored the locomotive for excursion service. After restoration was completed, the locomotive was tapped by the Southern Railway for their new Steam Program that would also include some other Famous Locomotives (See List Below)
The Locomotive was used by the Southern Railway Steam Program as its main excursion locomotive through the 1960’s and 1970’s, but when the 1980’s came around, the Southern Railway returned the locomotive when a new locomotives came into operation, chosen Southern’s successor, the Norfolk Southern Corp, who restored Norfolk and Western Class J 4-8-5 #611. The 4501 was placed inside the Tennessee Valley Railway Museum, and even though the locomotive was not officially part of the program anymore, the locomotive was leased to the NS Steam Program to fill in for excursions. Her last outing for the NS Steam program was in 1993, when she pulled a section of the 1993 “Independence Limited” on the first part of its trip to the 1993 NRHS convention that was being held in Chicago, Illinois that year. The following year, Norfolk Southern announced that the Steam program was being discontinued after the 1994 season.
After NS Steam program was discontinued, the locomotive still service on the TVRM until 1998, when the locomotive was set aside after her boiler certification expired, and she has since been sitting under cover at the TVRM. The prospects of her running again in the near future where doubtful, until 2010, when, after 16 years, the Norfolk Southern Railway announced plans to re-establish the Steam Program, by selecting three TVRM locomotives, the Southern 4501, the Southern 630 and US Army 610. She is currently in the TVRM shop being completely restored and brought up to current boiler specifications.
Here’s a photo of the Southern 4501 in 1970 during the heyday of her Steam Program years: http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=375868&nseq=3
Here’s a photo of the Southern 4501 as she looked during the Filming of October Sky, at the TVRM: http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=305639&nseq=14
Here’s a photo of the Southern 4501 as she looked in April 2011, restoration in full swing: http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=360109&nseq=6
The engineer in the film is the late photographer, O. Winston Link. Link is well known with in the railfan community and the art community for his amazing shots during the final years of Norfolk and Western Steam Locomotives at night. In the 1950’s, Night Photography was virtually unheard of at that time. His photograph’s have been the subjects of Museum exhibit’s, books, calendar’s, crime, and now, his own Museum. In 1996, Link’s second wife, Conchita, was arrested for (and later convicted of) stealing a collection of Link’s photographs and attempting to sell them, claiming that Link had Alzheimer’s disease and that she had power of attorney. She served six years in prison. After being released, she again attempted to sell some of Link’s works that she had stolen, this time using the Internet auction site eBay, and she was sentenced to another 3 years in prison.
Mr. Link passed away of a heart attack while driving to a hospital from him his home in South Salem, New York on January 30th, 2001.
For all those who want more information on the engineer, the Late Mr. O. Winston Link, please visit the website to the O. Winston Link Museum in Roanoke, Virginia. http://www.linkmuseum.org/
I hope you enjoyed this presentation on the Southern 4501, O. Winston Link and this historical review from the Movie “October Sky.” If you have any suggestions, please learn how to contact me by clicking the “Submitting Ideas” tab under the CineTrains banner. Until next time, HAPPY RAILFANNING!
Welcome to the 2nd part of The CineTrains Project of the special report of Train in Music Videos. In part 2, we will take a look at 2 more music videos from the Country music Genre!
Lets get right to it!
Train Wreck of Emotion – Lorrie Morgan
Just like R.E.M.’s “Driver 8”, Lorrie Morgan’s video of her song “Train Wreck of Emotion” has an opening shot of Classic EMD power. In this case, it is CSX GP38-2 #2523. By the looks of the location, and a brief glimpse of CSX GP38-2 #2523. She was constructed by EMD in La Grange, IL with Frame #72785-24 in early 1973, not even a year after EMD introduced the GP38-2. When built, she was built for the Seaboard Coast Line, a South-Eastern United States carrier, as SCL #523. The locomotive spent the first 14 years of its life as SCL 523. By 1985, the SCL had become part of the Family Lines(SCL, L&N, Georgia, Clinchfield), witch, in turn, had become part of the Seaboard System. In the mid 1980’s, the Seaboard System and its competitor, The Chessie System (B&O, C&O, WM) to form today’s CSX Transportation company. After the merger, the locomotive was quickly patched to become CSX 2523. She is currently in local train service on the CSX to this day.
Here is a photo of the of the SCL 523 when she was at work for her Original Owner: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=986229
Here is a photo of the 523, now CSX 2523, as she appeared in the video: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1091589
Here is a photo of the 2523 as she looked in CSX’s classic Grey-Blue-Yellow YN2 scheme: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=327613
Here is a photo of the 2523 as she looks today in the current CSX paint scheme: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=813530
In the background of the band, there are a couple of CSX end cab EMD switchers, and I can not make out the numbers on them, here is a screenshot. Both appear to be EMD SW1500’s, one in the CSX YN1 Blue and Grey scheme and the other still painted for the Seaboard System.
Here is the music video:
Long Black Train – Josh Turner
The Tennessee Valley Railway Museum has been featured in several films, and this Music Video. Starring Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton 2-8-0 Consolidation type steam locomotive #610. She was constructed in 1952, near the end of the steam age, and was assigned builders #75503. She was constructed By BLH for the United States Army for use by the 7th Transportation Battalion in Fort Bragg and was given the class of S160A by the Military. She was used on the base to switch incoming cars and to help assemble out going troop trains and military equipment trains during the Korean War and the Vietnam wars. By 1972, she was worn out, and was retired by the US Army and declared surplus. When retired, the US Army donated the locomotive to the Wiregrass Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society (NRHS). With no place to store her, the locomotive was then re-donated by the chapter to the Tennesse Valley Railway Museum. She sat around on the grounds, only cosmetically restored, however, in 1990, the museum restored the 610 to operational use. Right away, the locomotive was borrowed by the Norfolk Southern Corp. to fill in for another ailing NS Steam locomotive, the N&W 1218. This would have been the first time the locomotive ran under its own power on a mainline train at mainline speeds, since her entire military career consisted mainly of switching the yard in Ft. Bragg. Since then, the locomotive has been used by the TVRM on its tourist railroad in the Chattanooga, TN area. In 2010, the locomotive was sidelined by the museum when its flu time ran out. The locomotive is waiting to be put into the shop at the TVRM for boiler work and boiler re-certification.
Here is a photo of the 610 right before its boiler certification ran out in 2010: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2173537
Here is the Music Video:
Special thanks to Jeff Hunsaker of Knoxville, TN for help on clarification on this article.
Again, I hope you enjoyed the latest installment of The CineTrains Project! I hope that you keep on coming back and reading more about trains in the movies and on Television! If you have any ideas you want to pass along to me, just find out out to contact me in the Submitting Ideas section of the page! Happy Railfanning!
This article will cover 5 music videos that I enjoy that all have a locomotive in them that is identifiable and that I really enjoy! Lets start!
Hardhat and a Hammer – Alan Jackson
Alan Jackson in released this song about the working man, and has footage of Railroading, Logging, Mining and trucking. The locomotive featured in this song is Terminal Railway of Alabama State Docks MP15AC #803. She was constructed for the TASD by the Electro Motive Division of General Motors in October 1980 with Frame #806003-1, with an unknown Serial #. She has worked for the same railroad since she was delivered, and is still in everyday use, working the State Docks in Mobile, Alabama.
Here is a photo of the TASD #803 as she looks today: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1223433
Here is the music video that she is featured in
Living on the Edge -Aerosmith
Aerosmith’s 1980’s music video “Living on the Edge” has a spectacular shot of McCloud River #39. The scene in witch this shot takes place is the same location that was seen in the movie “Stand By Me” that was already covered by The CineTrains Project. The locomotive was built for the McCloud River in August 1974 by EMD with Frame #74623-1, with an unknown Serial #. The unit stayed on the McCloud River until 1997, when the unit was traded to the Union Pacific railroad in exchange for 5 end cab switchers. When she was released for service by the UP in late 1997, the locomotive became UP 2824. She kept this number until the UP had to put all yard power into the new UPY reporting marks, where she became UPY 824. She is currently in service as a hump locomotive in Southern California.
Here’s a photo of the McCloud 39 as she looked in the music video: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1932753
Here’s the same locomotive after she was released for service on the UP as UP 2824: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=631704
Here’s she is again, with the UPY #, working as #824: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2384045
Here’s the music video that she appeared in:
Little Pink Houses – John Mellencamp
Little Pink Houses by John Mellencamp has two different trains in them, first is this quick shot of Conrail GP38#7841, still in Penn Central paint. The locomotive was built by EMD in May 1970 for the ill-fated Penn Central, as PC #7841. When PC and 7 other railroads merged to form Conrail, she became Conrail 7841. She was retired from the Conrail roster in 1985, after spending 2 years in Conrail blue paint, and was sold to National Railway Equipment, who stored the locomotive until she was eventually sold to the BNSF railway in 1998. There, she became BNSF #2169, and is currently in everyday service on the vast BNSF system.
Here’s a photo of the 7841 in her Penn Central Days: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=965853
Here’s a photo of the same locomotive a year before being retired, in full Conrail paint (She is the 2nd unit): http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1588558
Here is the same locomotive after being sold to the BNSF Railway: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=619685
The next train we see is Chessie System (B&O) GP40-2 #4310. Built by EMD in March 1978, she carries the Frame #777051-2, and was delivered in the beautiful Chessie Paint scheme. When the Chessie System and the Seaboard System merged in the mid 1980’s, she became CSXT 6209, and is today, currently in service under that same number.
Here’s a photo of the unit as she looked in the music video: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8226029@N06/2434347259/
Here’s a photo of the unit after she was patched to become CSXT 6209 (CSXT marked under the B&O): http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1975850
Here’s a photo of the unit in the classic CSX Grey-Blue-Yellow YN2 paint scheme: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=676561
Here’s a photo of the unit as looks today in the current CSX Navy Blue-Yellow YN3 scheme: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2733867
Heres the music video:
1000 Miles from No where – Dave Yoakam
Dave Yoakam’s 1000 Miles From No Where was filmed in 1994 on Arizona’s Copper Basin Railway. The locomotive used in the film is Copper Basin Railway GP9 #208. She was built by EMD in June of 1954 for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy as their #279. Built with Serial #19163 and frame #5354-5, she was the 5th unit of the Burlington’s 1954 GP9 order. She stayed with the Burlington until 1970, when the CB&Q, Northern Pacific, Great Northern and the Spokane, Portland and Seattle railroads all merged to form the Burlington Northern. The BN retired her from active service in December 1985 and she was sold to NRE in Silvis, IL, where she had her high short hut lowered and was sold to the Copper Basin Railway. She is still there, lugging copper concentrate out of the mines and to an online smelter for copper production.
UPDATE AS OF 7-7-2013! The Locomotive used in this music video is no longer owned by the Copper Basin Railway. The CBRY traded all their GP9’s in to Metro East Industries in East St. Louis, Missouri in March, 2013. This includes the 208. The units were traded in for several ex-Iowa, Chicago and Eastern GP40-2’s. Metro East Industries has since re-sold the locomotives to Foster-Townsend Rail Logistics (FTRL, aar FTRX). The 208 was last reported at MEI’s Ex-Manufactures Railway Shop in St. Louis, Missouri for shopping and repainting into FTRL’s Orange and Brown scheme. According to an inside source, the Locomotive will be working on FTRL’s Cleveland Terminal Operation in Ohio once shopped.
Here’s a photo of the unit as she looked on the BN: http://www.trainpix.com/BN/EMDORIG/GP9/1959.HTM
Here’s a photo of how she looks today: http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1445133
Every Light in the House is On – Trace Atkins
[caption id=”attachment_307″ align=”alignnone” width=”627″ caption=”Amtrak Dash-832BWH #515 and F40