Sentimental tale about an old man(played by Edgar Stehl) who is the beloved grandpa of a sister and her younger brother, who frequently quarrel and drive their mother to distraction. The old man loves to tell them about his beloved days as an engineer aboard a train called the Silver Streak, whose old tracks lay just outside their country home. When Grandpa suddenly falls ill and dies, his grandchildren take it badly, but then are delighted to hear his promised signal of the long ago whistle of the train as it passes by one last time... Good performances by all in nicely detailed episode, which overcomes predictability with sheer charm.
2 Reviews
A Different Sort of Step Beyond
tinman1960200323 July 2006
Warning: Spoilers
In "Goodbye Grandpa" (ep. 2-38), we are introduced to Nan Wylie and her brother Doug. The girl is overly domineering to the lad, even referring to him as "boy". When their grandfather dies, the boy is especially lonely. He loved having his grandfather tell him stories about his days as a railroad man. Now, there is no one in the nearly deserted town beside the abandoned rails.
Everywhere grinding poverty is evident, the children's clothes, their house, what they eat. One day the sound of a train approaching is heard, and the old man is seen waving as the train rolls by on track that is no longer there. Now the lad is happier, knowing his beloved grandfather is where he belongs.
This strange tale, as Newland reminds us, is true. Incidentally, it was remade as an episode of another teleseries "Amazing Stories". This episode was well done, the feeling of being crowded into the cottage well conveyed by the director, the set, the accents and dialog are all very good. Although the transfer to DVD is not top notch, it is watchable and I recommend this episode.
Everywhere grinding poverty is evident, the children's clothes, their house, what they eat. One day the sound of a train approaching is heard, and the old man is seen waving as the train rolls by on track that is no longer there. Now the lad is happier, knowing his beloved grandfather is where he belongs.
This strange tale, as Newland reminds us, is true. Incidentally, it was remade as an episode of another teleseries "Amazing Stories". This episode was well done, the feeling of being crowded into the cottage well conveyed by the director, the set, the accents and dialog are all very good. Although the transfer to DVD is not top notch, it is watchable and I recommend this episode.
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