Highball is an old signal from the train conductor to engineer that the train was clear to start from its stop and proceed at speed. Two green balls, one above the other, were the visual signal. Railroads were running long before motion pictures. Soon after silent movies were invented, directors liked trains in their films as railroading became an important business for America, passengers, and freight trains. From the beginning, Hollywood loved trains. In the book are over 450 films with the title, the year distributed, director, cast, producer/distributer, and an overview, which set forth the key train link.
Hollywood produced all sort/type of films: comedy, mystery, drama, Western, war, adventure, crime, construction, musical, and epic with combinations of genre. Every film in the book has a railroad link or connection of some sort, which makes this a stand-alone edition. Movies included begin in the Silent Era, 1920s, and continue to the present day. The Hollywood Golden Age through World War II produced great films and continued using different techniques and emphasis. Dangerous cargoes, revivals, scenarios, and technology reflect the extraordinary genius of moviemakers today.
With jet aircraft, passenger train travel declined to the extent that passenger trains became too expensive for America's railroads to operate. In 1971, Congress created Amtrak, a quasi-public corporation, the National Railroad Passenger Corporation. Freight continued with the railroads, which today consist of five major train, class I companies: CSX, NS (Norfolk Southern), BNSF (Burlington and Santa Fe), UP (Union Pacific), and KCS (Kansas City Southern). Canadian Pacific (CP) operates both passenger and freight trains.
Movies produced overseas are included with the United Kingdom being a large contributor to the book. The reference book is a must for all railroaders and movie lovers to recall their favorites and to see movies that they missed.
All aboard!
