Goof - Railroad tracks in Background Scenes

Rating: 8/10 (10 September 2007)

I'm a fan of railroads and railroading. One thing that struck me when watching this movie was that the railroad tracks in the background, when Dan Evans was hauling Ben Wade from the hotel to the railroad station to catch the 3:10 to Yuma, roll up and down the hills. What the heck. Railroad engines were not made to go up and down hills like an automobile or bicycle or virtually any other conveyance. Railroad engines of any type, steam or diesel, are only capable of climbing gradual grades, and thus cuts were made in hills for trains to travel through or, in the case of some mountains, tunnels were created. To a railroader, those tracks going up and down the hills stretched the imagination and for me, virtually ruined the scenes in which they appeared because the goof distracted from the action. The movie producers should have paid better attention to detail for the sake of authenticity.