''Runaway!'' is a 1973 American

made-for-television A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre. ...

directed by

David Lowell Rich David Lowell Rich (August 31, 1920 – October 21, 2001) was an American film director and producer. He directed nearly 100 films and TV episodes between 1950 and 1987. He was born in New York City. He began directing on a regular basis in 1 ...

. It is an action thriller involving skiers trapped on a runaway train speeding down a mountain. The film was produced by Universal and originally aired on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

on September 29, 1973. It was re-titled ''The Runaway Train'' when released theatrically abroad. The Denver & Rio Grande Western's Ski Train equipment and Rio Grande locomotives were utilized in the filming. The Ski Train served the Winter Park, Colorado ski resort area west of

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

. Rio Grande locomotives were re-lettered for fictional Sierra Pacific.

Plot summary

After departing the station at a ski facility, a passenger train begins descending a long downhill grade, only to discover that the

brakes A brake is a mechanical device that inhibits motion by absorbing energy from a moving system. It is used for slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, wheel, axle, or to prevent its motion, most often accomplished by means of friction. Background ...

don't work, apparently frozen while at the mountain station. The train continues to gain speed, and one brakeman is lost trying to kick the frozen moisture off one section of brakes. It is anticipated that the train will derail at a sharp curve once it reaches level ground, and emergency crews stand by there. The train survives the curve and continues on toward the terminal station, where the tracks abruptly end. A last desperate measure is tried: a locomotive will join the line after the runaway train passes, chase and

latch A latch or catch (called sneck in Northern England and Scotland) is a type of mechanical fastener that joins two or more objects or surfaces while allowing for their regular separation. A latch typically engages another piece of hardware on the ...

onto the end of the train, then pull the train to a stop. Meanwhile, a young woman has decided to jump from the speeding train, and a young man tries to talk her out of it. The chase locomotive nearly catches up as it is noticed by the conductor, but the train passes the "point of no return" at which point it should be impossible to stop the train, and the dispatcher orders it to back off. Travis, the rescuing engineer, slows, but won't sit still for abandoning the runaway. Travis pushes his engine beyond safe limits, comes very close to latching but missing, then latches on and applies the brakes. Symbolically, at the same moment as Travis hard latches, the young woman about to jump takes the hand of the young man. With full brake power by the chase engine, the train comes to a halt some 65 feet (20 metres) from the block at the end of the track, and the family members of the passengers rush out of the station to greet their once-imperiled relatives.

Rail equipment

Most equipment in the film was owned by the

Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad , often shortened to ''Rio Grande'', D&RG or D&RGW, formerly the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, was an American Class I railroad company. The railroad started as a narrow-gauge line running south fro ...

. This can be seen in the paint schemes of the locomotives and coaches. The two engines were freight units, while the coaches were used for the D&RGW's " Ski Train" out of Denver. The lead locomotive of the passenger train is an EMD GP30, while the trailing unit is EMD GP35. The lead locomotive in the movie, D&RGW #3011, is currently on display at the

Colorado Railroad Museum The Colorado Railroad Museum is a non-profit railway museum, railroad museum. The museum is located along the former Colorado and Southern Railway line on at a point where Clear Creek (Colorado), Clear Creek flows between North and South Table ...

in Golden, CO.

Cast

* Ben Johnson as Holly Gibson *

Ben Murphy Ben Murphy (born March 6, 1942) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Kid Curry in the ABC television series '' Alias Smith and Jones''. Early life Murphy was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas, to Benjamin R. Castleberry and Nadi ...

as Les Reever *

Ed Nelson Edwin Stafford Nelson (December 21, 1928 – August 9, 2014) was an American actor, best known for his role as Dr. Michael Rossi in the television series ''Peyton Place (TV series), Peyton Place''. Nelson appeared in episodes of many TV p ...

as Nick Staffo * Darleen Carr as Carol Lerner *

Lee Montgomery Elliott Harcourt Montgomery (born November 3, 1961), known as Lee Montgomery, is a United States–based Canadian former actor. He is best known for his role as a lonely little boy who befriends a pack of killer rats in the film ''Ben'' (1972), as ...

as Mark Shedd (credited as Lee H. Montgomery) *

Martin Milner Martin Sam Milner (December 28, 1931 – September 6, 2015) was an American actor and radio host. He is best known for his performances on two television series: '' Route 66'', which aired on CBS from 1960 to 1964, and '' Adam-12'', which ...

as John Shedd * Vera Miles as Ellen *

Ray Danton Ray Danton (born Raymond Caplan; September 19, 1931 – February 11, 1992) was an American radio, film, stage, and television actor, director, and producer whose most famous roles were in the screen biographies ''The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamo ...

as Professor Jack Dunn

External links

References

* {{David Lowell Rich 1973 television films 1973 films 1970s disaster films American disaster films Disaster television films Films directed by David Lowell Rich Films produced by Harve Bennett Films set on trains Films shot in Colorado American skiing films 1970s action thriller films American thriller television films American action television films 1970s English-language films 1970s American films English-language action thriller films