RAILforum: New Amtrak HOLLYWOOD Movie

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Posted by TRAIN7 (Member # 951) on :

I am interested in what people (YOU) feel about Hollywood making a movie that depicts Amtrak as an enjoyable, if not magical experience? Would it boost ticket sales?

I am curently working on creating a script for just a such film. Please feel free to write me with any comments you think might help.

Also, does anyone know the consist for the North Coast Hiawatha or Empire Builder during the summer of 1979, particularly the dome cars?

The film begins during Amtrak's early days and moves foward to what Amtrak offers today. This isn't a 129 minute commercial for Amtrak, but hopefully a heart warming mush type film that begins and ends on Amtrak.

I am also looking for early (1971-1980's) INTERIOR photo's of Amtrak that do not already appear on well traveled web sites. I would be $ grateful for any photo's, no matter the quality. Family shots would be great to.

Also, does anyone know how to contact Ed Stone (retired Empire Builder)? I would like to include him in this if I could as well as "crew ten".

Thanks for your time and interest. I truly would welcome everyone's comments and suggestions. Please feel free to email me at aaagent@earthlink.net

Thomas D. Johnson

Posted by Mr. Toy (Member # 311) on :

What a great project! I hope you can pull it off.

I, too have been looking for interior photos of the Coast Starlight from the 1970s, to no avail. I imagine they're out there stuffed among shoeboxes and "magnetic" photo albums in various attics across the country. I doubt many of their owners read rail message boards, though.

I might be able to help you with some reminiscences, though. I rode the Coast Starlight several times a year between 1974 and 1978. I was a teenager living in Salem, and I attended a boarding school just north of San Francisco. I would use either the Oakland or Davis stations. I have fond memories of playing cards in the lounge cars, and of sitting in domes in the dark, or having breakfast at the counter in the "snack car." I had encounters with indifferent and surly employees, as well as some who provided excellent service.

I've been working on and off on some stories from those days which I will eventually post on my website. In the meantime, feel free to e-mail me and pick my brain. I'll try to remember what I can.

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Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth.
-Mr. Toy

The Del Monte Club Car