«It's less clear cut than that; Buster, coming from vaudeville, was familiar with old theatrical traditions, in which good guys enter from the left and bad guys from the right. I tells you whom to cheer and whom to boo. If you watch the whole film, Union people enter from the left, Confederate from the right. The audience was equally familiar with this convention.
Buster's character is based on a real-life conductor (not an engineer) whose courage and dedication to duty were admired on both sides in the War Between the States. He most often appears in centre frame. He's an individual caught up in events he doesn't really care about except how they affect his relationship with Annabelle and his beloved locomotive. He is effectively neutral.»

«Buster Keaton was a genius.»