"The General" railroad chase movie

[Jim Gibbons]

There was a recent thread on favorite car chase movies, and Jarius had suggested the silent 1927 movie, "The General" directed by Buster Keaton. This movie will be shown on Turner Classic Movies Sunday, June 12, at 8pm EST. Here's a great chance to see it, even if the chase is with trains. Don't miss it; it's a classic!

[sjordan2]

There was a recent thread on favorite car chase movies, and Jarius had suggested the silent 1927 movie, "The General" directed by Buster Keaton. This movie will be shown on Turner Classic Movies Sunday, June 12, at 8pm EST. Here's a great chance to see it, even if the chase is with trains. Don't miss it; it's a classic!

The story of "The General" was also well done in the more dramatic Disney movie, "The Great Locomotive Chase," with Fess Parker. Spoiler alert: Unlike the Keaton comedy classic, all the rebel train hijackers die in the Disney version (except for the Union pursuers, who received America's first Congressional Medal of Honor).

The train has been available in kit form and as a working model railroad version. The kit is available now on eBay at

http://cgi.ebay.com/AMT-ERTL-TRAIN-MODEL-THE-GENERAL-STEAM-LOCOMOTIVE-/260798076732?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cb8c6d73c

Just needs some donk wheels.

The real train is on display at the Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in Kennesaw,Georgia.

http://airbornecombatengineer.typepad.com/in_decatur/2010/08/expert-on-.html

Edited June 10, 2011 by sjordan2

[Junkman]

I have the MPC kit in 1:25. Unfortunately, a Buster Keaton figure is not included.

[sjordan2]

I think Dr. Cranky could do some major (and literal) steampunk on this kit.