jubilee77 For railway enthusiasts like me, this made-for-television film looked to be quite promising. It was originally premiered over 40 years and its many years since I have last seen it on the living room box but I was able to recently download it. Its sometimes unauthentic and a bit silly about a doomed train running out of control due to technical brake failure (or other faults) and makes you hold your nerves as it is downhill all the way to disaster some miles away for 200 passengers and crew members on board and a rescue locomotive couples up from behind when there could have been an alternative option to avert the major crash. Also, there is no way a rescue locomotive could have it's air-hoses connected while the train is moving at speed and that's one of the biggest problem with this film. Overall, its not too bad-a-film for its time.

Lin Black I've now seen this film twice on television over the years and there is nothing wrong with it. For a TV movie I think it is quite good and it whiles away a pleasant couple of hours. I would love to get it on DVD.In an out of control train hurtling back down the mountain at 70mph, Ben Johnson doesn't bat an eyelid, and gets off the train at the station as if it is all in a days work!In a comparison with "Unstoppable" which I have just seen and which is apparently being tipped to win an Oscar (why! how?) I know which of the two films I prefer!The Runaway Train, as a TV movie, was made on a shoestring in comparison with films made for the big screen by the movie moguls in the large studios. Special effects were virtually non-existent in this film, where as today CGI effects are on tap and can produce anything the produced or director wish.This might have been one of the likable Ben Johnson's more smaller films in his illustrious career, but it certainly wasn't his worst.

ejvmev I fully enjoyed this movie. Having once worked for a railroad I am aware of some technical inaccuracies, but it's worth overlooking to enjoy the premise. I especially love Ben Johnson as the engineer. I used to love the railroad the way his character does and totally relate to him. Some people have said there are no stars in it besides him, but Vera Miles was nice to see. Martin Milner's character is a little annoying to me though. I liked seeing the young boy from "Ben" too. I love those old diesel locomotives too! I have a grainy copy I recorded from TV. I wish they would release this on DVD. And yes, it is short and sweet.

dispatcher484 I'm an avid railroad fan, and for all of its inadequacies, I feel that this movie still rates as excellent. I first saw this as a child, and have been searching for it for over fifteen years. I was lucky enough to find someone on Ebay that has a 35mm copy of it and does sell videos of it, so for all the true fans of this movie, check out Ebay.As for the technical end of it, the plot is probably something that could not happen, at least in the magnitude depicted here. ALL diesel locomotives have something called a TRACTION BRAKE, which, like the reversal of an airliners engines to slow an aircraft, does essentially the same thing. The traction brake reverses electrical polarity to the motors, causing them to act AGAINST forward motion. This is comparable to downshifting an automobile transmission into first or low gear when descending steep hills. By itself, the traction brake could not have stopped the train, but the locomotive could have slowed the train down to a less than fatal speed. Also, a helper locomotive added to the rear of a train would probably not have the power to stop a train travelling 70+ mph by itself. It would need the assistance of the air brake throughout the train to accomplish that - which was useless in the movie plot, and even if it weren't, there's no way the air hoses could be connected on a moving train.Despite these flaws, the movie is very entertaining, and at 70 minutes, it is like a sweet and satisfying snack, compared to a 120 minute main course.