Back to the Future Part III – the improvised method of propelling the time machine to 88 mph in 1885 was by using a steam locomotive, also Emmett Brown refitted a steam locomotive into a hovertrain as the basis of his new time machine.
Brief Encounter (1945) – romantic meetings in a train station
The Cassandra Crossing (1976) – passengers aboard a transcontinental train face a threat from carrier of plague virus.
Cairo Station (1958) – takes place in a train station.
Closely Watched Trains – The story takes places at a railway station in World War II in Czechoslovakia under the Nazi occupation. The film is based on Bohumil Hrabal's novel, directed by Jiří Menzel.
The Great St Trinian's Train Robbery (1969) - a group of train robbers are chased up and down a local railway line by a group of unruly students from a local school.
Mission: Impossible – sees a helicopter pursuing a TGV train into the Channel Tunnel which runs between Great Britain and France. In reality this type of train does not travel through the Channel Tunnel, and the tunnel shown in the film has double track whereas the real tunnel has two single bores.
Snowpiercer (2013) - a science fiction post-apocalyptic film directed by Bong Joon Ho about a luxury train that circles around the Earth.
Steamboy (2004) - featured extensive railway scenes (including a chase scene between a train, a "steam automotive" and a steam-powered monowheel) around London and Manchester.
Terror by Night (1946) - a Sherlock Holmes film, with the story revolving around the theft of a famous diamond aboard a train.
4.50 from Paddington (book; film and TV adaptations) – a Miss Marple story. A passenger on one train is witness to a murder being committed on another train.
The Dark Tower (book series) by Stephen King – The main character Roland of Gilead travels through a series of caves which were once part of an underground railroad system. The characters also ride on a monorail with artificial intelligence.
The Devil's Horse, The Poison Tree and The Abyss in Cynthia Harrod-Eagles' The Morland Dynasty series feature the development of steam power and the first railways in Britain.
Iron Council (China Mieville)– a fantasy book about the building of a cross-continental railway line.
Railsea(China Mieville)- a fantasy book that features railway tracks that represent oceans and sea called "Railsea" and features giant mole rat called Moldywrape that represent whales and boat-like trains. It parodies Herman Mieville Moby dick.
Jim Stringer: Steam Detective - series of mystery novels by Andrew Martin set on various British railway lines.
La Bête humaine – (novel) by Émile Zola, filmed 5 times, e.g. as Cruel Train
The Lost Special - short story by Arthur Conan Doyle, about the investigation of a special train mysteriously disappearing.
Making Tracks (23 Classic Railroad Stories) (2013), ed. by Jon Schlenker and Charles G. Waugh.
The Moosepath Saga by Van Reid – All six books (thus far) in this series feature travel by rail, entailing adventure, comedy, mystery, and romance in late 19th century Maine.
The Motion Demon – 1919 (book) horror stories by Stefan Grabiński- Engine Driver Grot; The Wandering Train; The Motion Demon; The Sloven; The Perpetual Passenger; In the Compartment; Signals; The Siding; Ultima Thule.
Murder on the Orient Express (book by Agatha Christie, 1934; film) – describes a train journey from Istanbul to Paris aboard the Orient Express during which a murder takes place. Hercule Poirot, riding on the train solves the mystery and justice is served.
The Mystery of the Blue Train (book, TV adaptation) – earlier Poirot story in which a murder takes place on a train.
The Network (book) – by Laurence Staig. An ancient prophecy is realised one Christmas Eve in the London Underground, a dramatic race against time as 3 people are thrown together to prevent a terrifying catastrophe.
Night on the Galactic Railroad (novel, film) - two boys travel on a magical train across the night sky - but there is a deeper meaning to the journey.
Silver on the Tree, the last book in Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising cycle - approaching the climax of the story, the main characters travel on a mystical train to the final battle between the Light and the Dark
Strangers on a Train (novel, film) – tells the story of how two strangers meet on a train and decide to exchange murders so they can't be tied to each other.
The Thirty-Nine Steps – (book by John Buchan, films, one by Alfred Hitchcock) features a sequence where the character Richard Hannay escapes from the Police by jumping from a train. One version uses the Forth Bridge in Scotland, while another is filmed on the Severn Valley Railway.
Via Bodenbach, an experimental novel about a train journey to Berlin by Hungarian novelist Ferenc Körmendi, published in 1932 and widely translated.
The Wind in the Willows - an episode in the novel involves the flight of Mr. Toad by rail and a chase-scene with another train full of policemen.
Television
Atomic Train – television film (1999) A runaway train carrying an atomic bomb into a town.
Dad's Army - several episodes were set at Walmington-on-Sea railway station or on the local railway line.
Digimon Frontier – features several train like Digimon called Trailmon that run on monorails.
Digimon Tamers: The Runaway Digimon Express – features a train like Digimon called Locomon that is controlled by another Digimon causing it to run wild on the railways. It later evolves into a meaner looking Digimon called Grandlocomon.
Astrotrain – A Decepticon triple-changer from the Transformers More Than Meets the Eye character line.
The Crazy Locomotive – by Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, 1923 expressionistic 45-minutes play ( Obie Award-winning production at the Chelsea Theatre Center in 1977, Classical Theatre of Harlem). Two engineers push the locomotive to ever-greater speeds causing a head-on collision.
"Tons of Steel" – A Grateful Dead song about a man and the train he operates.
The Wrecker - stageplay by Arnold Ridley about a steam engine that is allegedly possessed.This later made into the 1929 film The Wrecker however it did not feature the possessed train.
Le Transperceneige - A French Graphic novel about a luxury train that went around a post-apocalyptic ice age later inspired the 2013 film Snowpiercer.
Half-Life (series) - Several of the games start or end on trams and trains, and feature themes of rail transportation in-game as usable trams or as obstacles and scenery.
Grand Theft Auto - Most of this series of games contains a form of railroading (train, tram etc.).
Alice Madness Returns - In game appears the Infernal Train as the main source of destruction in Wonderland, controlled by the Dollmaker. It can be seen throughout numerous parts in the game, and it is used as a final chapter.
