Back To The Future Trilogy: Top 30 Vehicles

#8-Locomotive 131

Appeared in: Back to the Future III

Compared to the other two BTTF’s, BTTF III was bereft with vehicles. That doesn’t mean that 1885 didn’t have its fair share of movie vehicles. Locomotive 131 was a pivotal vehicle for BTTF. For one, Locomotive 131 was responsible for bringing Clara Clayton (who would eventually become Doc Brown’s wife) to Hill Valley as well as that infamous clock to Hill Valley’s courthouse. Locomotive 131 was also used to push the DeLorean to 88 MPH and beyond in a last ditch effort to get the powerless DeLorean up to speed and back to 1985 where Doc and Marty belonged.

Locomotive 131 itself was already a pretty famous train in its own right having appeared in over 100 films and television spots that spanned all the way back to 1920. Its original name is Sierra Railroad #3 and was specifically chosen to star in movies as it portrayed the archetypal steam locamotive used in the 19th and 20th century. As far as Hollywood is concerned this particular locomotive is still in service today and has gone through numerous repairs and upgrades to keep it operational and in tip-top shape.

For BTTF III, filming the train scene took around seven week. When they filmed the infamous run up to 88 MPH, they ran the train and car in reverse in order to minimize any damage, risk or injury that might’ve occurred if they ran the car forward.

Next: Jules Verne Train