20th Century Fox

Nineteen Thirty Nine was a big year for train movies. Union Pacific. Dodge City. Even Gone With The Wind. Adding to the pile, is today’s feature, Jessie James. In Technicolor, no less.

Of course the star of the show is Dardanelle & Russellville #8, a 4-4-0 built by Cooke Locomotive and Machine Company in February 1888. Originally constructed as Fort Worth and Denver City #9, in 1899 it came to the Dardanelle & Russellville Railroad, a five-mile Arkansas short line between its namesake towns.

In 1933, D&R #8 was retired with mechanical problems and left on a siding at Dardanelle. Hollywood came calling in 1938, sending the 4-4-0 to Missouri Pacific’s North Little Rock, Arkansas shops for a rebuild. The locomotive (and 3 D&R passenger cars) then made its way to Neosho, Missouri where train scenes were filmed along the Kansas City Southern Railway.

(Many thanks to Larry Jensen’s “The Movie Railroads” pages 196-197 for data on the engine.)

D&R #8 is still with us. As of 2024, it is a resident of the Nevada State Railway Museum in Carson City. Image by William Acord taken May 1992 at NSRM from RRPictureArchives.net

Oh, those evil railroads. Somebody call the Interstate Commerce Commission!

Anyways, our story begins with these chocolate and gold title cards setting the scene, so to speak. It looks like Jesse James (played by Tyrone Power) has been a bad boy and has a price on his head.

The first (and only) train scene begins at the 18:08 mark. Sporting a fake cabbage stack and box headlight, “St. Louis Midland” #8 is dressed in much patriotic bunting on this auspicious occasion.

As the camera pulls back, we get a good view of the “St. Louis” depot (Neosho, MO – KCS depot) and the three D&R coaches. “All Aboard For The St. Louis Midland!”.

Alas, this depot is no longer with us, having been torn down in 1984.

I pledge allegiance, to the track, of the St. Louis Midland; All Abooooooard!!

Best 3/4 view of StLM #8; As in every train movie ever filmed, the Engineer MUST spin the drivers.

Excellent view of the baggage compartment (labeled Wells Fargo Express) on the D&R combine; waving goodbye to the jolly passengers, but there’s trouble ahead…

Jesse/Tyrone boards the train from horseback, climbs to the roof and makes his way to the head end. At gunpoint, he orders the Engineer to stop where the rest of the gang is waiting.

The entire robbery was filmed day for night and is consequently PITCH BLACK. NO CAN SEE NOTHING. Even with correcting brightness and contrast. I HATE day for night.

This is a stickup!; Would you care to make a donation to the United Way?; Well then, how about rounding up your purchase for the Orphan’s Fund?; Remember, all contributions ARE tax-deductible.

Okay, the interiors (probably on a Hollywood soundstage) are better lit. I like the gas lamps, dainty luggage racks and pot belly stove!

Black smoke pouring from the steam engine usually means trouble; A big crowd is on hand to greet the train at Liberty, Missouri; As the train comes to a stop, word quickly gets out that the train has been robbed. This is unheard of!

I was not able to identify the Liberty, MO depot in this scene. Exteriors were actually filmed in the real Liberty, MO, but my sources say ALL train scenes were filmed in Neosho. I did find a picture of the Frisco depot in Neosho, but there’s no resemblance. Speculation – Perhaps the Liberty depot was the OPPOSITE END of the “St. Louis” depot (KCS Neosho)? If anyone knows where this was filmed, let me know.

The officials who rode the train (and were relieved of their treasure) are royally brassed off. But look. It’s Randolph Scott (playing Marshall Will Wright) come to save the day! This ends the train scenes at 23:50.

After this latest outrage, signs go up all over the territory. Oh, Jesse. What brought you to this? She’s not in any train scenes, but Jesse’s main squeeze is Zerelda aka Zee (played by Nancy Kelly).

Then and now. One more shot of the D&R #8 in 1939 and again in 2013. After filming wrapped, #8 eventually (1945) made it to Hollywood for 20th Century Fox.

Once in California, it went through a series of owners before making its final journey to NSRM in Carson City where it resides today.

Indoor image by Don Hinchliffe taken October 2013 at NSRM from RRPictureArchives.net

If you’d like to view the feature I reviewed yourself, the link is below:

That is, if it’s still on YouTube.

Here’s what IMDb has to say about Jessie James:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031507/

If you have ANY information about this movie you’d like to share, please contact me at: Lindsay.Korst@gmail.com, or leave a comment.  Thanks and enjoy the blog!

THE END