NBC reportedly spent in the neighborhood of five-million dollars for the "Supertrain" sets and models. For only
10 one-hour episodes, that's half a million dollars per hour for the minatures and sets.
Pictured above and at the top of this section is the 3/4-inch-to-one-foot scale model. This was the smaller of the two operating
models created for the series. Shots with this version of Supertrain were done in a Burbank, California Lockheed aircraft
hangar. Like the larger version of Supertrain, this model also worked via remote control with its engine located not in the
locomotive, but inside one of the passenger cars. The engine was apparently too large to fit into the loco, and needed the
double-decker space provided by the Supertrain passenger cars.
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For departure and arrival shots, the Supertrain locomotive and the first passenger car were constructed across three movie
sound stages an MGM Stage 27 in Culver City, California. The rest of the train appears behind the first passenger car, but
is only a background painting. The full-size passenger car is 64-feet in length, 26-feet wide, and 22-feet tall.
The largest operating Supertrain model was used for outdoor location shots. This version of Supertrain had a 3,000-foot snap-track
layout that could be set up in various locales to add realism to Supertrain's operations.
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