Railroad ties lead to Hollywood

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Railroad ties lead to Hollywood

By Aileen Wingblad STAFF WRITER

As Farol Henkle sees it, she and Pere Marquette 1225 are “just a couple of broads” with plenty in common.
Both are middle-aged and still going strong. Each have weathered major obstacles in life and rebounded with a new-found vitality and steely spirit. And the two have ties to Milford, to each other, and now, to Hollywood.

The Pere Marquette locomotive 1225 is a refurbished steam-engine train stationed at an interactive museum in Owosso — and it holds a special place in Henkle’s heart. For more than 15 years, Henkle, a long-time Milford resident, has spent much of her leisure time with the train, riding along on excursions as a volunteer and sharing with passengers all she knows about this 63-year-old, 221-ton, 101-foot-long locomotive. It sports a full and remarkable history from its early days hauling freight to support the war effort during the 1940s to its later stops from Detroit to Chicago — including a Milford depot — delivering lumber, mail and produce.

And recently, 1225’s tale has been enhanced with cinematic excitement: the train was the model used for the Warner Brothers animated feature film, “The Polar Express” — a claim to fame Henkle is thrilled to be associated with.

“When it was announced to us that there was a contract with Warner Brothers, we were just overwhelmed,” Henkle said. “It was like ‘wow, this is huge exposure’,” she said. “And I never dreamed it would become as big as it has — this is worldwide.”

“The Polar Express” is a movie based on a book of the same name by Chris Van Allsburg, which tells the story of a boy who takes a magical train ride to meet Santa Claus at the North Pole. The film was released to theaters last November. Because of her connection with the train and the Michigan State Trust for Railway Preservation, which maintains and operates it, Henkle got to attend a premier of the movie weeks before it opened, enjoying a taste of VIP treatment, Hollywood-style. The sold out black-tie event was held in Grand Rapids — the first of a handful of cities where premiers of the film were hosted — and doubled as a benefit for Hospice of Michigan.

“It was awesome. We arrived in stretch limos, there were spotlights shining all over and cameras flashing,” she said. “And when I saw the red carpet laid out, leading into the theater, I started feeling numb. It was just so exciting.”

Once seated inside the theater, Henkle waited with nervous anticipation, anxious to see her pal, locomotive 1225, on the silver screen. Once the movie started, Henkle was overcome with emotion.

“I had opening night jitters, and then, it brought tears to my eyes from joy. It meant a lot to me, in my heart,” she said. “I refer to (the train) as ‘my gal’, because she and I have come a long way, together. And to see her up there and hear her sound (recorded on site months earlier by one of the film’s crew) it was really something.”

Henkle explained that she joined the railway preservation group in the mid-1980s as a productive outlet and a way to help her cope with an unexpected divorce. She’s had a love of trains since she was a young girl and the preservation group offered her a way to rekindle that interest, as well as to meet people who shared her affinity for steam locomotives. She’s since joined five railway preservation organizations.

“This has opened up a lot of doors for me and has changed my life. All the members treat me like family — we really have a camaraderie,” she said.

And the “Polar Express” connection has been a delectable icing on the cake, she noted. “I loved the movie, and after the premier, I felt so glad that my gal didn’t go to the scrapyard — we’ve both come a long way. And I think we are both doing terrific.”


http://www.hometownlife.com/Milford/New ... =1/30/2005