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  • Fandango

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Fandango

Discussion related to railroads/trains that show up in TV shows, commercials, movies, literature (books, poems and more), songs, the Internet, and more... Also includes discussion of well-known figures in the railroad industry or the rail enthusiast hobby.

Moderator: Aa3rt

Fandango

  by emd_SD_60
 
Has anyone seen this movie? It has Kevin Costner (in his first movie) and Judd Nelson as a couple of college graduates going on a road trip across Texas in the summer of 1971. Anyway, I got the DVD and couldn't help but mention the infamous train scene where Costner ties a cable to the front end of their Cadillac after it runs out of gas (obviosly thinks that'll get them somewhere :P ) and has another pal hook the other end the the last coupler of the caboose. Needless to say, this fails miserably and they end up getting the front end ripped off! :-D

Anyway, did anyone see the engine pulling the train? It was a Santa Fe GP50 3834 (I don't think GP50's existed in 1971 :P ) built in March of 1981 (approx. 10 years after the film was set) with all its "Santa Fe" markings covered, the same for its nose herald. Also the markings on the caboose were patched!

Luckily, 3834 made it to BNSF, and now lives on as BNSF 3187.
Here's some pics of that locomotive that literally had its 15 seconds of fame:

3834, December 1995:
Image

3187, April 2003:
Image

  by shortlinerailroader
 
Whoa...I assumed it was a GP35, but I saw the movie on TV, without the ability to pause it. Wasn't there a GP30 in there?

  by emd_SD_60
 
It was none of the above. It had a single locomotive leading a short cut of grain hoppers and a caboose. But in some wide shots there was a tanker train present! (it probably took a couple of takes to shoot) At first I thought it was a GP40 or 38, but closer examination revealed that the radiator grids were corrugated and resembled the SD50/SD60 ones (taller than standard GP38-40). I definately ruled out a GP60, as they weren't even in production (this was 1984) and Santa Fe only bought the GP60M in 1990.

  by emd_SD_60
 
Also wasn't the scene filmed on the then-SP Sunset Route in west central Texas? Some parts of the film were shot in Marfa and Alpine, on that line.

Might as well give this site a try... good luck on trying to find the exact location there. :(
http://www.alexmusson.com/fandango/

Also didn't anyone notice the horn sound was from a Leslie, possibly the loco's actual horn? :-D
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