posted
I finally watched it last night on Pay-Per-View. This movie was talked about several months ago, but now that it's out I have a question: Does anyone know what type of passenger car they are using for the interior shots?
I assumed it would just be a studio that is made to look like a train, however, this does not appear to be the case. They are on single-level equipment, but the sleeping car is definitely not a Viewliner. The best description I can give of the room that they are in is that of a Deluxe Bedroom in a Superliner. It is identical in every way, except the movie people made a few decorative changes. They put wood-like laminate over areas that would normally be blue (or brown carpet, depending upon whether or not the car was a I, II, refurb, or non-refurb). The sink and bathroom area were definitely the new rebuild style, with the larger sink and faux granite counter. When they were walking down the hallway, the room numbers I think were in the 80's (i.e., 81, 82, 83, etc). It was obvious that the studio put their own labels over whatever was there before.
I'm wondering if this was a Heritage sleeper? I've never been on one, so I'm just guessing. Or, perhaps they did the exterior shots of the Amtrak train back east (because that was real), and then they filmed the interior scenes in a Superliner that they rented. The usual blue "AmCurtains" were there, but they added a white pull-down window shade that was pulled down halfway so that the window would not reflect the camera or the crew. It looked like they had opened up the sliding wall between two Deluxe Bedrooms so that they could film from one of them. I'm also fairly certain that the train truly was moving when they filmed the interior shots---it did not look like fake scenery moving by the window.
Posts: 2355 | From: Pleasanton, CA | Registered: Apr 2007
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posted
Fantastic--thanks! Here is one person's reply: __________
"Some of the cars used in the movie were owned by Friends of the 261, a group that I work for based in Minneapolis, MN. They own Milwaukee Road 261 steam engine which will be returning for service hopefully here in 2012. I sell some of the railroad books I wrote on there and narrate for passengers in the Super Dome and Cedar Rapids cars. Anyway, for awhile in late August 2010, the cars used in the movie were sitting on a side track at the MSP Amtrak depot and I was able to get some photos."
Oh well, whenever the production finds its way to HoBO or Starz, I guess I'll find out what all the fruck-fruck is about. If it doesn't, who cares?
Posts: 9976 | From: Clarendon Hills, IL USA (BNSF Chicago Sub MP 18.71) | Registered: Apr 2002
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I rode a 'Friends of the 261' trip (behind the 4449) in July 2010 from the Twin Cities to Chicago.
The 'big attraction' for me was not so much the steam locomotive as it was the opportunity to ride the Super Dome down the original CB&Q route - something I had never done south of LaCrosse.
I am thrilled by the job the 'Friends' have done with the Super Dome (it just looks 'right' in Milwaukee livery) but I miss the days when it made weekend roundtrips on the Piedmont between Raleigh and Charlotte as the NCDOT's Business Class accomodation. The first class premium in those days was a mere $8.00 though I regularly 'rode for free' as an NCDOT Train Host. I've done some impromptu narration in that car myself!
-------------------- David Pressley
Advocating for passenger trains since 1973!
Climbing toward 5,000 posts like the Southwest Chief ascending Raton Pass. Cautiously, not nearly as fast as in the old days, and hoping to avoid premature reroutes. Posts: 4203 | From: Western North Carolina | Registered: Feb 2004
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