The internal-combustion locomotive, in contrast, could simply not supply the character that captivated movie-goers; the diesel's streamlined industrial styling and shiny color palette were no match for the majestic steamer -- especially in black & white movies of the day. An early exception was the 1934 production of "Silver Streak" which featured Burlington's legendary Pioneer Zephyr racing to prevent the death of a critical medical patient. The film used actual footage of the Zephyr during its historic run between Denver and Chicago in May 1934. The film was one of the few in which a diesel was cast as a "star."

Regardless of the diesel's limited use as a movie prop, the intent here is to identify those hollywood films that meaningfully employed (mere cameo appearances excluded) diesel locomotives to build movie plots. Although there are hundreds of fine railroad videos on the market, they are exempt from this list.