FROM time to time, some critic will take it upon himself to harpoon current Hollywood productions on the basis of whether or not they represent cinematic art, but such mundane things as plot and characterization are completely wasted on model railroaders when a train hisses onto the screen. To their mind, the mere presence of a locomotive can lift a good picture into Academy Award contention or make an excellent picture out of something shot on a strictly “B” budget. As if in answer to their silent demands, movie moguls have been giving them more and more trains to look at.
Probably the outstanding example of this trend in recent months is “The Great Locomotive Chase,” produced by Walt Disney and starring Fess Parker and Jeffrey Hunter. Railroad enthusiasts are still doing handsprings over it. And no wonder. It's a vivid dramatization of one of the most famous events in the annals of railroading history, a subject that is dear to the heart of every brass hat that is interested in more than the mere surface aspects of his chosen hobby.
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