Atomic Train

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
A montage of actual train wrecks is shown during the opening credits. The movie then officially starts in Dallas, Texas when a school bus filled with children, including a teacher, narrowly escapes being struck by an oncoming freight train.

In Stillwater, Utah, Bradshaw Disposal Services has a nuclear bomb made in Russia to transport, and an employee; John Henry Bradshaw, decides to save money by concealing it on a freight train, which is also loaded with hazardous and flammable chemicals bound for Denver, Colorado including liquid metallic sodium, which spontaneously ignites on contact with water. The train loses all brakes as the air hoses disconnect and becomes a high-speed runaway. The lead train 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 (NTSB) investigator is notified of the crisis and boards on the chasing locomotive via a helicopter piloted by Ray, another train engineer. Ed Brown and Christina Roselli abort the planned derailment after they were warned by one of the employees from Bradshaw Disposal Systems of a nuclear bomb on board, which allows John Seger to catch up and couple the runway to engage its brakes and slow the runway.

However, the couplers gave way, forcing John Seger to board the runaway train. Brakeman Tucker Ames is thrown off the caboose and onto the tracks and is killed. NEST Lieutenant Colonel, Tom Levy, contacts John Seger, and tasks him to investigate the runaway train's cargo and confirm whether if Bradshaw Disposal Services' warnings are substantiated. John Seger eventually locates the smuggled Russian-made nuclear weapon inside the boxcar, and relays the information to Denver Railroad Control, finally confirming the threat of a nuclear detonation. The City of Denver erupts into chaos and evacuations commence.

As the runaway train reaches Jackson Summit, the final mountain peak before reaching Denver, Colorado, John Seger attempts to stop the runaway train by jamming the electrical lock using a crowbar. His efforts were successful but is short-lived. The following rescue train driver Ray, against Ed Brown's orders, speeds forward in an attempt to rescue the crew, but realizes too late of the runaway's slowing. The locomotive slams into the caboose, killing an injured brakeman crew member Al Discus, in the process, and disengaging the brakes, causing the train to speed up once again at Jackson Summit.

Realizing that there is no way to stop it, John Seger convinces engineer Wally Phister, who was initially reluctant, 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 and out of control, Westrail 642 speeds down the mountain and careens off the track at Millers Bend, the final derailment site near Denver, Colorado. Although the bomb does not detonate, the chemicals on the wrecked train are set ablaze.

Firefighters and NEST teams struggle to extinguish the fire at the crash site and extract the bomb but are forced to retreat to evaluate a strategy as the chemicals combust around them. NEST commander Reuben Castillo volunteers to disarm the bomb alone. However, the liquid metallic sodium starts to leak, and Tom Levy attemps to abort the water bombing. One of the helicopter crew misinterprets the order and dumps water onto the wreck, and onto the metallic sodium, which combusts and triggers a nuclear explosion, releasing an electromagnetic pulse that wipes out all electricity in Denver, Colorado and sending a shockwave that tears through part of the city, killing and injuring thousands, but John Seger and his family survives.

With Denver, Colorado now in ruins, John Seger attempts to get his family out of city before the fallout reaches, but the electromagnetic pulse renders almost every vehicle immobile. After much discussion, John Seger 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 town using his working motorcycle. John, and Megan Seger manage to board the bus heading to Eminence, Kansas along with an injured Danny, but is separated and left behind. He eventually finds an old working car from a lifeless man 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 Eminence, 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 and Megan's husband
 * Kristin Davis as Megan Seger, John Seger’s wife and mother of Grace and Chance
 * Esai Morales as Noris "Mac" MacKenzie, Chance’s “father”, Megan's ex-husband, and police officer
 * Sean Smith as Chance MacKenzie Seger, son of John, Megan, and Mac, and Grace's half-brother.
 * 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.
 * Mena Suvari as Grace Seger, John and Megan Seger’s daughter, and Chance's half-sister.
 * Eric Johnson as Danny, Grace’s boyfriend
 * Edward Herrmann as President Fellwick
 * Don S. Davis as General Harlan Ford
 * 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.