Books & movies while you're waiting for the trains
While you’re waiting to catch that train to Grand Central or north to Tanglewood, check out a few of our favorite books about trains at Bookshop.org, where you can buy online and support local bookstores, too.
Bookshop.org couldn’t get a cover for Getting There: The Epic Struggle Between Road and Rail in the American Century (it’s plain purple, as you can see above).
Then there’s Waiting on a Train: The Embattled Future of Passenger Rail Service A Year Spent Riding Across America, which is not available through Bookshop.org. You can find copies at Amazon and other booksellers or order it through your local library. And Saturday Evening Post has shared a sample chapter, which you can find here.
McCommons writes about Boston and takes the Lake Shore Limited through Pittsfield. He has to wait in Albany for a train changeover.
I closed my eyes. The stationmaster came out of his office to chat with a couple headed to Indiana who innocently asked, “Is the train sometimes late?”
I rolled my eyes beneath my closed lids—newbies.
We posted a list of train movies in March 2020 with this introduction.
Like many of you, we expect to be spending much of the next few weeks at home, and I thought you might like to see our list of train movies. Here’s our latest list (please use the Comments section below to add more suggestions).
The movies are still terrific!
Some Like It Hot
Night Train to Munich
The Railway Children
The Titfield Thunderbolt
Emperor of the North
The Polar Express
The Great Train Robbery
A Hard Day’s Night
Brief Encounter
Doctor Zhivago
The Darjeeling Limited
Silver Streak
The 20th Century
From Russia with Love
The Iron Horse
The General
Strangers on a Train
Murder on the Orient Express
Emperor of the North 1973
End of the Line 1987
Runaway Train
North by Northwest
Festival Express
The General
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory
Back to the Future: Part III
And here are a few local notes from Gaffney Feskoe:
Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House shows the Westport, CT station several times.
The Man In The Gray Flannel Suit shows the Westport, CT station and has a scene in a New Haven commuter coach.
It Happened to Jane was partially filmed in Connecticut with the New Haven Railroad.
Strangers on a Train includes a scene at the Danbury, CT station.
Revolutionary Road was partially filmed in CT.
Thanks to our sponsors and supporting subscribers!
All content in Train Time is shared under a Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND):
Attribution (BY) – Always credit the author and Train Time as the original creator with a tag or link to https://traintime.substack.com.
Non-Commercial (NC) – Content cannot be used for commercial purposes.
No Derivatives (ND) – Content may not be modified, adapted, or repurposed.