a Canadian tax shelter, Daniel Grodnik was appointed executive producer, as he was legally unable to serve as a primary producer. There was no stage show magician in the original script, but producer Howard was a fan of magic tricks and illusions, so a magician character was written in. Copperfield's character becomes the suspect at one point of the film, but it turns out to be a red herring when the real killer is revealed to be Kenny Hampson. There is some confusion about David Copperfield's character's name. In the film, the Conductor calls out to him twice as "Ken", but this is when it is believed by him and the passengers that he is Kenny Hampson, the murderer. Additionally, his assistant calls out to him as "Ken", but since his assistant is Kenny in disguise, this could have been an intentional misdirection. In the credits, he is simply listed as "The Magician". Casting Producer Grodnik sought Jamie Lee Curtis for the lead role of Alana Maxwell based on her performance in the successful Halloween, released two years prior. Curtis was also signed on to star in Paul Lynch's Prom Night, which she filmed in Toronto two months before production began on Terror Train. Veteran actor Ben Johnson was cast as Carne, the train conductor, whom Grodnik said was "amused" to have been in a horror film amongst such a young cast. The majority of the supporting cast was made of Canadian actors, including Hart Bochner, Sandee Currie and Anthony Sherwood. The film included a number of untrained actors, including Derek MacKinnon in the role of the villain, as well as illusionist David Copperfield as the Magician, and rock singer Vanity as one of the coed partygoers. Set construction To create the train for the film, the producers leased an actual Canadian Pacific Railway locomotive from the Steamtown Foundation in Bellows Falls, Vermont. The train's engine was renumbered from its original 1293 to 1881, and, along with five passenger cars, painted black with silver stripes. Afterward, the Steamtown Foundation reverted the engine back to its original number and had it restored to a historic color and lettering scheme. Production designer Glenn Bywdwell crafted the interiors of the train in an Art Deco style. As of January 2021, Canadian Pacific Railway No. 1293 continues to be an "operable locomotive". Filming Principal photography for Terror Train mainly took place in and around