This was the most expensive American TV series ever produced at the time.
The failure of this show, along with the US boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics (which NBC was supposed to cover), nearly bankrupted NBC.
A camera crew filmed process plates in a private train car with all the windows removed. Cameras aimed forward and backward, and both sides of the upper floor had cameras pointed in three directions. The crew filmed the entire trip from East Coast to the West Coast in the middle of summer 1979. After processing, the landscape scenery was brown grass; nothing was green! Despite the dull, sometimes out-of-focus background plates, the production continued to use very expensive process photography.
The two-hour pilot film was released on video under the title "Express To Terror".
The production designer, Ned Parsons, was working with Dan Curtis on a location cowboy film when Dan was asked by Fred Silverman to produce "The Super Train" two-hour pilot. Ned called an illustrator friend to quickly "paint up" a concept illustration for a futuristic train racing through the countryside. Returning from location, Dan Curtis set up production offices at MGM Studios. Production manager Bob Grand, secured five stages for the train's interior sets. Ned Parsons hired Ed McDonald as his art director, expecting him to organize a drafting room of quick fingers to draw as fast as possible. Twelve roster senior set designers were given rough set-plan layouts, expected to develop these flimsy plans into working drawings. Ned Parsons had begun his Hollywood career as a prop man on a set decorator's swing gang crew. He was promoted by his family connections to a set decorator position. Then he was made an art director. Having some success, Ned was working with Dan Curtis, wrapping a "Western film," when Fred Silverman placed his call for the train film pilot order. This train pilot idea replaced a Fred Silverman approved projected NBC series that was to be about an air plane's passengers experiences on cross country and trans-continental flights. Ned Parsons hired Bruce Kay for his decorator. Into construction, Parsons and McDonald clashed resulting in Ned firing his Art Director. Because Bruce had a long working relationship with Hub Braden, Ned Parsons hired Hub, replacing McDonald. Ned explained the context of the sets with a drafting room set plan review, including stage walk-through of sets under construction. What a mess! And disaster! Ned asked Braden to draw plans for the rear train car, which was to be a swimming pool and rear train observation deck. This drawing was executed in three days and shown to the construction coordinator for him to order materials. Braden had planned to have set designers redraw his plan/elevation schematics for the carpenters. Told by the Coordinator "just give me that drawing and I'll get the set into work." This was the first set finished prior to filming.