Almost Nobody Knows That Parts Of The Iconic Movie Unstoppable Were Filmed In These Tiny West Virginia Towns
The Academy Award nominated movie “Unstoppable” (released in 2010) is based on a true story of a runaway train in Ohio, CSX Locomotive #8888. Starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine, the movie features plenty of footage of real people in real trains on real tracks in real towns, including being filmed in three small to large towns right here in West Virginia: small town Benwood, small town Follansbee, and not small town Wheeling.
Based on a true story, "Unstoppable" is a 2010 award-winning film about trains. Have you seen it?
This is a shot of a train like one used in the filming of "Unstoppable."
Whether you've watched this film or not, here's something you probably didn't know: parts of this popular movie were filmed right here in small town (or not) West Virginia, in Wheeling and in the nearby small railroad towns of Benwood and Follansbee.
This is a shot of Wheeling taken from the Mount Wood "castle" overlook.
Other interesting trivia about the film: some of the trains used were restored just for the film. To create the high speed train scenes, the crew used a specially built camera car that was capable of keeping up with the train and that was equipped with a camera system able to capture the train’s movements in detail.
This is a Google street view of Benwood, West Virginia
For the especially dangerous or expensive scenes, a miniature model of the main train engine was created. The model was so realistic that it blended seamlessly with the real train scenes. Note that "Unstoppable" is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for sequences of action and peril (including some violence) and language (including profanity).
This is a snapshot of the downtown area of Follansbee, West Virginia.
Both are small, historic railroad towns of one to two thousand inhabitants perched along the Ohio River, Follansbee in Brooke County and Benwood in Marshall County.
This is a Google street view of Follansbee, West Virginia.
There you have it, the story of “Unstoppable,” the movie filmed in small town West Virginia, including Follansbee and Benwood. Who knew? It’s not even the only film featuring a local small West Virginia town, either!
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Address: Follansbee, WV 26037, USA
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