Atomic Train

Atomic Train
Theatrical release poster
Genre	Disaster Thriller Action
Written by	Jeff Fazio
Directed by	David Jackson Dick Lowry
Starring	Rob Lowe Kristin Davis Esai Morales John Finn Mena Suvari
Theme music composer	Lee Holdridge
Country of origin	United States Canada
Original language	English
No. of episodes	2
Production
Running time	168 minutes
Production companies	Dennis Hammer Productions NBC Studios
Original release
Network	NBC
Release	May 16 (1999-05-16) – May 17, 1999 (1999-05-17)

Atomic Train is a 1999 American made-for-television disaster-action-thriller miniseries about an accidental nuclear explosion destroying the city of Denver, Colorado. It was originally broadcast on NBC in two parts on May 16 and 17, 1999.

Plot

In Stillwater, Utah, Bradshaw Disposal Services is transporting a Russian nuclear bomb. An employee, John Henry Bradshaw, decides to save money by concealing the bomb on a freight train which is also loaded with hazardous and flammable chemicals, bound for Denver. The train loses all brakes when its air hoses disconnect, becoming a high-speed runaway. The lead engineer, Wally Phister, crushes his hand as he unsuccessfully attempts to re-connect the hoses before they reach for the portable derailer set up by the Denver Railway Control at Silver Gorge.

John Seger, a National Transportation Safety Board investigator, is notified of the crisis and boards on the chasing locomotive via a helicopter piloted by Ray, another engineer. Ed Brown and Christina Roselli abort the planned derailment after they are warned by another employee from Bradshaw Disposal Systems of the bomb's presence, which allows John to catch up and couple the runaway to engage its brakes, slowing it down. However, the couplers gave way, forcing John to board the train. Brakeman Tucker Ames is killed when he is thrown off the caboose and onto the tracks. Lieutenant Colonel Tom Levy contacts John and tasks him to corroborate the warnings about the bomb. John eventually locates the bomb inside a boxcar, and relays the information to Denver Railroad Control, finally confirming the threat. Chaotic evacuations commence in Denver.

As the train reaches Jackson Summit, the final mountain peak before reaching Denver, John attempts to stop it by jamming the electrical lock using a crowbar. His efforts are successful but short-lived. Against Brown's orders, Ray speeds forward in an attempt to rescue the crew but realizes too late of the runaway is slowing. The locomotive slams into the caboose and disengages the brakes, causing the train to speed up once again at Jackson Summit. Realizing there is no way to stop it, John convinces Wally to abandon the train. The final crew member to be left behind, conductor Stan Atkins, attempts to re-connect the air hoses but falls off and dies. Now completely unmanned, the train speeds down the mountain and careens off the track at Millers Bend, the final derailment site near Denver. Although the bomb does not detonate, the chemicals on the wrecked train are set ablaze.

Firefighters and military teams struggle to extinguish the fire and extract the bomb, but are forced to retreat to evaluate a strategy as the chemicals combust around them. Commander Reuben Castillo volunteers to disarm the bomb alone. However, liquid metallic sodium starts to leak, and Tom Levy attempts to abort bombing the site with water, as it would ignite the sodium. One of the helicopter crew misinterprets the order and dumps water onto the wreck, triggering a nuclear explosion and releasing an electromagnetic pulse that wipes out all electricity in Denver and sending a shockwave that tears through part of the city. Thousands are killed and injured, but John and his family survive.

With Denver in ruins, John attempts to get his family out of the city ahead of the fallout, but the EMP renders almost every vehicle immobile. After much discussion, John and Mac decide to split up; Mac takes his son Chance and Grace through the old, abandoned coal mines for a quicker route out of Denver, using his working motorcycle. John and Megan manage to board a bus heading to Eminence, Kansas along with an injured Danny but is separated and left behind. He eventually finds an old working car and decides to follow their kids. Further ahead, Mac is crippled due to an accident and Chance is left hanging precariously over the deep mining pit while trying to rescue his father. John manages to rescue Chance, but Mac falls to his death.

John, Chance, and Grace Seger manage to make their way to a FEMA refugee camp in Kansas, and the family is once again reunited.

Production

The release poster features FM C-liners, of which one exists today, Canadian Pacific 4104, at Nelson, British Columbia.

The actual film uses all Canadian railroad equipment, including the MLW M-420. The two locomotives that attempt to couple to the runaway train are in the paint scheme of BC Rail, which has since been folded into Canadian National.

The derailment sequence at the fictional Millers Bend Lumber Yard, was filmed using 1/6 scale miniature trains for the derailment sequence. This scene involved the film crew bring onboard both Academy Award-winning, miniature effects creator, Gene Warren, and pyrotechnics specialist, Joe Viskocil, to create the scene, which was the best and biggest action moments of the movie. The aftermath of the train wreck used full scale replicas of the train cars that were erected out of wood, steel and foam.

The runaway freight train’s locomotives and freight cars used in the movie, were re-lettered for the fictional railroad company Westrail. This is the third movie made in the late 90’s to use trains re-lettered Westrail, since two other movies made the year before Evasive Action and Hijack featured trains and railroad equipment re-lettered for that fictional railroad company of the same name as well.

Some scenes showing the aftermath of the train crash, were also used in the beginning of the 2003 movie Death Train, which also featured some deleted scenes of the wreckage of as Bryan Genesse’ character, Ryan, makes his way out of the derailed train, before it explodes. That movie however, does not reference or mention of a nuclear bomb involved. In this movie, the explosion sequence is the result of the dangerous cargo on the train.

The boxcar carrying the bomb is out-of-date and was illegal to use by railroads after 1995. It had solid-bearing trucks rather than roller-bearing trucks. Railroad cars with the older trucks disappeared long before 1999.

Location

The movie was filmed in the mountains and city area of Vancouver, British Columbia in 1998. Several film locations include: Britannia Beach, the mainline of the British Columbia Railroad, North Vancouver, Clinton and Lillooet. The city of Vancouver was used as the stand-in Denver, Colorado since the film was not shown on the Colorado NBC affiliate, KUSA-9, because of the Columbine shootings.

Cast

• Rob Lowe as John Seger, a NTSB investigator, Grace's father and Megan's husband
• Kristin Davis as Megan Seger, John Seger’s wife and mother of Chance
• Esai Morales as Noris "Mac" MacKenzie, Chance’s biological father, Megan's ex-husband, and police officer
• Sean Smith as Chance MacKenzie, son of Megan and Mac, and Grace's step-brother.
• Mena Suvari as Grace Seger, John Seger’s daughter, Chance's step-sister and Megan's step-daughter.
• John Finn as Wally Phister, the engineer of the runaway train.
• Zack Ward as Stan Atkins, the conductor of the runaway train.
• Eric Keenleyside as Tucker Ames, the caboose brakeman of the runaway train.
• Anthony Harrison as Al Discus, the caboose brakeman of the runaway train.
• Colin Lawrence as Steve Monroe, the caboose brakeman of the runaway train.
• Eric Johnson as Danny, Grace’s boyfriend
• Edward Herrmann as President Fellwick
• Don S. Davis as General Harlan Ford
• Norman Armour as Savella
• Blu Mankuma as NEST Commander Rueben Castillo
• Michael Tomlison as NEST Lt. Colonel Tom Levy
• Jane Perry as Kelly Marx, KNFS-News TV reporter
• Henry Lubatti as John Henry Bradshaw of “Bradshaw Disposal Systems”
• Chris Ellis as Ed Brown, a “Denver Railroad Control” Employee
• Yanna McIntosh as Christina Roselli, another "Denver Railroad Control" Employee

Awards

• Won the Golden Reel Award (2000) for "Best Sound Editing - Television Mini-Series - Effects and Foley"
• Nominated for Golden Reel Award (2000) for "Best Sound Editing - Television Mini-Series - Dialogue and ADR"

Home media release

Trimark Home Video (under the label NBC Home Video) released the film in DVD and VHS on September 21, 1999.

See also

• List of disaster films
• Unstoppable (2010 film)

External links

• Atomic Train at IMDb
• Atomic Train at Rotten Tomatoes
• Nuclear Information and Resource Service: "NBC's 'Atomic Train" Explodes Myth of Safe Nuclear Waste Transport"