According to rumors in a contemporary "New York Times" piece on the film, the Edison Company initially attempted to get the railroad company to lend their tracks and cars for free, arguing that the film would be good publicity for the line; the railroad directors disagreed, but eventually allowed their resources to be used if Edison also made a more straightforward advertising film for them. The article adds that a real fireman and engineer play those respective parts in the film, and that the filming caused some disturbance when the dummy thrown off the locomotive was mistaken by passersby for a real accident victim.