Unstoppable

 

Veteran Allegheny and West Virginia Railroad engineer Frank supervise his co-worker, freshly hired conductor Will as they use AWVR locomotive #1206 to pick up several train cars. Will picks up five cars too many, which they realize only after they have left the train yard. Although Will demands that they roll back and release the extra cars, Frank still continues north on the main line with the extras in tow.
Meanwhile, in a rail yard within the northern town of Fuller, two AWVR hostlers, Dewey and Gilleece, are ordered to remove another cab while its current track to clear the track for an excursion train near schoolchildren. Dewey attempts to take shortcuts, instructing Gilleece to leave the hoses for the air brakes disconnected for the short trip. Dewey later leaves the moving cab to throw a wrong rail switch along the train's path, but is unable to climb back on, as the train's throttle jumps from idle, to full power. He is forced to report the train as a "coaster" to Fuller yardmaster Connie Hooper. Connie orders Dewey, Gilleece, and lead welder Ned Oldham , to intercept the train at a siding. With no sign of the train at the siding, they come to realize that the train's controls have defaulted to full throttle, and it is speeding out of control on the main line.