I hate Thomas the tank-engine, I have no fascination with model trains, I’m not even that interested in riding trains, but when any train appears in a movie or game I’m all over it.

Maybe trains hold an elusive, mysterious quality. Like the excitement of being in an airport terminal – all the rushing around and anticipation for traveling to far off lands. Trains are often depicted as the height of luxury – elegant boxcars, attentive wait staff, and spacious areas to freely roam for the most relaxing way to travel in style. The final piece of the puzzle may be the intrigue and suspense. You never know who’s on the same train, and you’re all trapped together in a claustrophobic car speeding through the night. That’s why so many good mystery stories take place on trains. Here are some of my favorite train scenes in media.

The Hogwarts Express – The iconic red locomotive from the Harry Potter franchise has made multiple appearances and often kicks off each adventurous year. During the first year, the train is a source of mystery and wonder – a gateway to the wizarding world. Later, it would be a source of peril from the likes of Draco Malfoy and roaming Dementors. While it remains one of the least magical set pieces in the Harry Potter universe, the Hogwarts Express continues to be a symbol of limitless possibility.

The Excess Express – The sixth chapter in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door takes place aboard a ritzy high speed train. The cars are filled with the Mushroom Kingdom elite and it’s fun to interact with these posh personalities. Soon afterward, a series of mysteries and disappearances occur and it’s up to Mario to sleuth out the culprits. The scenarios are entertaining, the train cars are immaculate, and the suspense is intriguing. It remains one of the highlight chapters in one of the best games I’ve ever played.

The Flying Pussyfoot – Speaking of mysteries and suspense, the bulk of the gangster action anime, Baccano takes place on another high class railway. This time the stakes are much higher with active shoot-outs and chases taking full advantage of the tight spaces of a train car. The action takes characters up and down the train, riding on top or climbing underneath the carriage. With no where to run, the Flying Pussyfoot has an oppressive atmosphere and dark appeal.

James Bond and Chuck – Lastly, spy stories also work great on trains. I’m reminded of Season 3 Episode 14 of the spy comedy show, Chuck, where hapless super spy Chuck Bartowski and femme-fatale Sarah Walker pose as honeymooners on a Swiss railroad. Their budding relationship becomes hot and heavy, but not before multiple double crosses and shoot-outs culminating in driving a moped through a glass window (okay that didn’t happen on the train, but it was still cool). In Skyfall, the film opens with a jaw-dropping fight scene on a train. Daniel Craig not only has a crazy fist fight while surfing on top of the train and avoiding low hanging tunnels, but has to outrun a construction digger ripping the caboose limb from limb. It’s one of the coolest set-pieces in any Bond film and the way Craig nonchalantly adjusts his cuffs with his back to the exposed hole that’s left of the train is the ultimate Bond move.

Despite still having no interest in the technology behind locomotives, their make and model, or how fast they can go – any scene on a train is probably gonna be my favorite scene. And there’s so many more films I could name: The Polar Express, The Darjeeling Limited, Snowpiercer, The Murder on the Orient Express, Back to the Future Part 3, Source Code, you name it, I’ll probably love it!