Movies Similar to Steam Across America Volume I

The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat(1896)

A group of people are standing along the platform of a railway station in La Ciotat, waiting for a train. One is seen coming, at some distance, and eventually stops at the platform. Doors of the railway-cars open and attendants help passengers off and on. Popular legend has it that, when this film was shown, the first-night audience fled the café in terror, fearing being run over by the "approaching" train. This legend has since been identified as promotional embellishment, though there is evidence to suggest that people were astounded at the capabilities of the Lumières' cinématographe.

Berlin: Symphony of a Great City(1927)

A day in the city of Berlin, which experienced an industrial boom in the 1920s, and still provides an insight into the living and working conditions at that time. Germany had just recovered a little from the worst consequences of the First World War, the great economic crisis was still a few years away and Hitler was not yet an issue at the time.

Flight of the Century(1935)

The story of the most famous train in the world

End of an Era(1962)

A documentary on the passing of the steam locomotive as the primary means of transportation in the United States

The Freight Train(1954)

EB Films presents a documentary on the life of the freight train in America.

Rolling the Freight(1947)

Film on the movement of material from the Chicago and Northwestern System.

Last of the Giants(1959)

A Union Pacific production outlining the Big Boy locomotive and the history of the last great steam engine to rule the rails

Mikado(2024)

Faces Places(2017)

Director Agnès Varda and photographer/muralist JR journey through rural France and form an unlikely friendship.

Last Train Home(2009)

A family embarks on an annual tormenting journey along with 130 million other peasant workers to reunite with their distant family, and to revive their love and dignity as China soars as the world's next super power.

The Travel Game(1958)

A light and somewhat satirical look at the problems and pleasures of Continental holiday travel. A passenger on the Hook Continental Express from Liverpool St. imagines the possible destinations of his fellow passengers.

Freightliner and Merry Go Round(1965)

A British Transport Film, in German!

Night Mail(1936)

This documentary short examines the special train on which mail is sorted, dropped and collected on the run, and delivered in Scotland on the overnight run from Euston, London to Glasgow.

The World's Most Famous Train(2015)

During its nine-month-long season, the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express makes over 60 journeys, covering 150,000 kilometres, with the majority of trips between London and Venice. The train is comprised of 17 unique 1920s carriages that have transported a host of elite individuals across Italy, Switzerland, and Turkey for more than a century. This documentary follows the stories of the staff and passengers as the train makes its way across Europe, with some customers having paid more than £2,000 for the privilege.

The Beast(2010)

Each year, hundreds of Central American migrants try to cross the northern border of Mexico on the freight train known as the Beast. That trip is usually the most dangerous journey of their lives. On the road many lost their dreams, their body parts and even their lives. Crossing Mexico is their biggest challenge, here are victims of discrimination, violence and even murder. This film portrays the suffering of those people who travel in search of a better life.

Gare du Nord : La Plus Grande Gare d'Europe(2018)

Big Easy Express(2012)

Indie folk heroes Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, Tennessee’s Old Crow Medicine Show, and Britain’s acclaimed Mumford & Sons, climbed aboard a beautiful vintage train in California, setting out for New Orleans, Louisiana on a “tour of dreams”. The resulting film from this journey is nothing short of magical. Part road movie and part concert film, BIG EASY EXPRESS bears witness to the birth of a new musical era. With poignancy and beauty, Malloy documents these incredible musicians as they ride the rails and wow the crowds, from Oakland… to New Orleans.

Off the Rails(2016)

The remarkable true story of Darius McCollum, a man with Asperger's syndrome whose overwhelming love of transit has landed him in jail 32 times for the criminal impersonation of NYC subway drivers, conductors, token booth clerks, and track repairmen.

We(2022)

An urban train link, the RER B, crosses Paris and its outskirts from north to south. A journey within indistinct spaces known as inner cities and suburbs. Several portraits, all individual pieces that form a whole. We.

Tickets s.v.p(1973)

An incident from the early days of Québec's quiet revolution, tailor-made for the cartoonist. It is the story of a Montréal commuter train, a unilingual ticket collector and a bilingual passenger. The passenger appears on screen himself to describe his bid to have tickets requested in French as well as in English. What ensued, and how even the railway president became involved, is illustrated with wit and humor.