Hello,

On the lighter side....

I remember sing this cartoon many, many years ago in car magazine, Road and Track, Motor Trend, not sure.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://sbiii.com/autopix/cyclops/smcrtn19.jpg&imgrefurl=http://sbiii.com/cyclops/stmott-1.html&usg=__6SfzqFlL6f6GPXDntSIqvjd4RB0=&h=919&w=1556&sz=364&hl=en&start=3&tbnid=7Xe4R5By8w43TM:&tbnh=89&tbnw=150&prev=/images%3Fq%3DStan%2BMott%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1

Scroll down the page and see the series of sketches.

Slides 1 & 2 - Note the elephant in the right hand grand stands.

Slide 5 - I especially like the pit stop scene, with the pit crew quickly changing the box-pocs with NON SKID tire treads. Notice the driver being served champagne.

Regards,

Randy

Randy,

I remember it too; I believe it was in Road & Track. I'd love to see that enacted in real life!

Hugh,

The closest we may get is the recent post by Mr. Mitchell of the event in Australia.

The concept would have merit in the virtual world like a movie made with the technology of Avatar. Mix themes of the Dark Night....gothamesque, Art Deco, Steamboy, Steampunk, Star Wars pod racing, Wild Wild West, Top Gun......with an Anime/Marvel comics top dressing. Of course you would have open ceremonies and the start of the race at New York's Old Penn Station.....a race to Chicago....on the old NYC Water Level Route.....scooping water at 150 mph....with pit stops in Buffalo for coal. This could work!

It would be analogous to entering B-52's, 747's and A380's in the Reno air race.....a bit outrageous....but interesting.

Regards,

Randy

A bit outrageous?

Actually, I like understatement, and this certainly qualifies.

For bare-bones plot concept, there are a couple of alternatives. One would be that of "The Great Race," an extremely loose adaptation of an early auto race of 1908, with villains and heroes. Another would be borrowed from--gasp--that turkey of a television series, "Supertrain," about the inauguration of a high-speed rail service--but with steam! (Just make darn sure you get better writers! Better music for the soundtrack wouldn't hurt, either.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Race

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supertrain

Visually you have several options in this digital world, ranging from photo realistic fantasy, along the lines of the recent "Speed Racer" flick, to the clearly animated but very life-like look of "The Polar Express," to the outrageous look of the original cartoons. Power--Pennsy duplexes, NYC Niagaras, streamlined Hudsons, Milwaukee Hiawatha 4-4-2s and 4-6-4s, or even some of the wilder concepts from Norman Bel Geddes--doesn't matter much in the digital world, although I like the idea of realistic looking locomotives.

http://sbiii.com/cyclops/cyclops2.html#railcars

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Bel_Geddes

http://www.emrichdesign.com/pages/usstreamlining.html

http://obviousmag.org/en/archives/2008/ ... eddes.html

Question--this would be an expensive project, even in the digital realm. Who would take a chance on it? Would we have an audience beyond we who love smoke and cinders?