Western Railroad Discussion > OT, but out of this world!

Congatulations Captain James T Kirk! I was glued to the TV this morning, once again a grade school kid watching NASA history in the early '60s. The overlap between the end of Steam & the beginning of the Space Age comes sharply into focus. Blue Origin has put a smile on America's, yea, the World's face, even if just for a few minutes...

Warp factor 8, indeed...

Space Geek, Train Geek, it's all good!

It's not all that off-topic, as there are many from the Star Trek franchise who love trains.  Whoopi Goldberg "(Guinan") says she doesn't fly, but takes trains to her destinations, or if no trains go where she wants to go, then buses.  And I read somewhere she's into N-scale model trains.  Patrick Stewart ("Picard") once said, in a bonus feature on the Star Trek: First Contact DVD set, that when they filmed a scene for that movie at the L.A. Amtrak station, he was exctatic - as he's always been interested in trains.  Yes, he did!  James Doohan ("Scotty") was a model train collector, and as pictured in an old TV Guide story, he was shown working on a brake cylinder underneath a passenger car that was said to be in the L.A. area NRHS collection (if I recall correctly; I've since lost that TV Guide).  Anson Mount ("Capt. Pike" in the new 'Trek show yet to air as of this date, "Strange New Worlds") was the lead character in the TV series "Hell On Wheels" -  about the building of the transcontinental railroad, and his character was seen running steam locomotives, fighting off many types of adversary, and laying track for what his character, Cullen Bohannon, called "The U.P."  Then, about 4 or 5 years ago, someone posted a photo of 'Trek's creator, Gene Roddenberry, running an HO scale model train, somewhere in the Los Angeles area, apparently during the 1970's.

On the 'Next Generation episode "Emergence," the Enterprise-D undergoes some strange transformation after physical contact with an unknown lifeform which takes on a life of its own in a Holodeck program featuring a familiar train.....  At the beginning of Act I, Picard is in Sickbay and discussing Dr. Crusher's love of Holodeck programs featuring the Orient Express... he states, "I never knew you liked trains."  And the conversation goes on briefly how the experience of being ON a train is what she likes: meeting new people, and the overall journey.  I believe all of us here on Trainorders.com know exactly what that sentiment is about.

Robert Picardo (the Holographic Doctor in Star Trek: Voyager) was seen in the episode "Virtuoso" singing "I've Been Working on the Railroad."  Yes, he did.  And the song got the attention of some never-before-encountered aliens who were astonished that anyone could use their voice in that manner.  Imagine that: man's first contat with their species was through a song about TRAINS.  (Only on Star Trek, LOL)

An alien (Vulcan, in this case: grandmother of T'Pol, played by Jolene Blalock) was shown riding the interior of a passenger train into New York City during the 1950s, in a Star Trek:Enterprise episode called "Carbon Creek"), in a story where three of their species were stranded on Earth during that time period and had to remain under cover, to as great as extent as was possible, during their time here.  Seeing the superstructure of a massive through-truss bridge passing outside the car, and the ambient sounds of that, was surreal in a sci-fi story, as it was just too real and evoked many emotions of past rides I've taken on many, many excursion trips.

In the movie ST: First Contact, character Zephram Cochran (played by James Cromwell), about to embark on man's first warp-capable vessel, states, "You think I want to go to the stars?  I don't even like to fly.  I take TRAINS!" 

(LOL)  I got a true kick and thrill to hear someone say that in a Star Trek movie!

And finally, Shatner himself did a movie in the 70's aboard an AMTRAK train, called "Disaster on the Coastliner" - which didn't get rave reviews, but his character was seen jumping off the roof of an Amtrak engine as the runaway train rolled across a short bridge across a river somewhere.  So, even "Kirk" was seen on a TRAIN.

So trains and Star Trek aren't that far apart as enthusiasts go!  I'm into both, and am thrilled at the raw emotion Shatner displayed, "I'm overwhelmed!" he sayed, after stepping out of the landed craft earlier today.  To him and all who are fascinated by trains, space travel, and everything in between that mankind has been able to accomplish, I say LIVE LONG AND PROSPER.



Edited 10 time(s). Last edit at 10/14/21 09:02 by rbx551985.

Yes, Way to go 90 year old William Shatner.
Who didn't grow up with Captain James Tiberius Kirk?
He got to travel in space and I got to run steam.
All is in order. haha

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

Well, he would get a good view of the Toyah Sub. Can you see 2-mile-long stackers from space?

JG

People can do whatever they want, I don't care, but I find it ironic that some of the same people that can't pass up an opportunity to lecture us all about the environment and the poor and money for this cause and that cause see no issue with shooting rich people up into space on joy rides..........

junctiontower Wrote:
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> People can do whatever they want, I don't care,
> but I find it ironic that some of the same people
> that can't pass up an opportunity to lecture us
> all about the environment and the poor and money
> for this cause and that cause see no issue with
> shooting rich people up into space on joy
> rides..........

It's amazing how many things billionaires can afford by paying low wages and contracting out liability.

I'm also a big Star Trek fan. Just ask my wife....:<) It's so much better than some of the stuff that's now on TV (when I have time to watch TV).

I will refrain from commenting on our "real life space exploration".

Posted from Android

portlander Wrote:
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> It's amazing how many things billionaires can
> afford by paying low wages and contracting out
> liability.

Or meddling with labor contracts of another company (UPS) to shore up their bottom line - happened in 2018, and I talked to several UPS drivers to confirm the suspicion. There are articles (still searchable) that vaguely hints at the shenanigans.

It's nice to see William Shatner to do something to fit the theme of what made him and the franchise popular. I recently watched several episodes, including the first 3, and space exploration is just a backdrop. The franchise mostly focused on earthly and human problems - the dangers of absolute power, the art of the bluff, women's external (and internal) beauty, and so forth.