Tag Archives: Atchison Topeka Santa Fe Railway

The Great Race 1965

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Warner Brothers

THREE different train scenes decorate this 160 minute, old-time comedy, from the mid-sixties. Two steam locomotives and a rocket-car-on-rails (for heaven’s sake) provide the motive power when the going gets tough.

Not obscure by any stretch of the imagination, The Great Race is more famously known for it’s exotic automobiles and all-star cast.

As always, I will concentrate on the railroad bits and happily, all three machines shown are still in existence with the two steam engines currently in operation as of 2024.

Starting with the rocket car, let’s take a glance back from when Hollywood still knew how to create a fun and entertaining movie. MAAAAAAXXXXXX!!!

Blast Off! With a tremendous display of pyrotechnics, Professor Fate (played by Jack Lemmon) and Maximilian “Max” Meen (played by Peter Falk) hurtle down the track somewhere along the Sierra Railroad.

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At This Moment 1954

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The Jam Handy Organization for
Westinghouse Air Brake Company
(Jim Handy to the rescue!)

Inspector Luger! Yep, I actually recognize someone in this industry featurette. Good old James Gregory appears in this corny, railroad worker documentary. Corny yes, but great scenes of first generation diesels and passenger/freight trains from the post-World War 2 heyday of American Railroads.

Long before the days of FedEx, UPS and Amazon, practically EVERYTHING used in the American home and business got there by rail. This message is beaten into the viewer continuously. Our story takes place in a railroad beanery called “Scotty’s”, just up the street from the depot. A stranger has arrived and is pumping the locals for information, about just what it is, that makes a railroad go.

I plan to overlook most of the hyperbole and just concentrate on the kick color views of trains. Sound good, Inspector?

Mr. Gregory was a great character actor “curmudgeon” from the 1960’s and 1970’s. Here we see him as Inspector Frank Luger in Barney Miller and the diabolical Doctor Tristan Adams in Star Trek’s “Dagger of the Mind“. Is that a great, smirking countenance, or what?

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Challenge for Tomorrow 1954

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Santa Fe Railway Safety Department

This one was a lot of fun to research and review. An old Santa Fe safety film in glorious Technicolor from the days of yore. Its formal name was the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway (ATSF) which stretched from Chicago to Los Angeles, The Bay Area (Richmond, California), and down from Kansas City into Texas.

Somehow all the prints I discovered online have the opening credits/title page lopped off. Thus, we’ll use the above safety images instead. The gent in the natty suit and bow tie, (wide lapels must be “IN” this year), has his pointer on San Bernardino’s injury count. He really needs to take a look at Albuquerque.

Just a smattering of steam locomotives are shown segueing into Santa Fe’s colorful, first-generation diesel fleet. And there’s no topping that classic red, silver and gold “Warbonnet” scheme on the passenger engines.

Let’s check it out. Santa Fe, All The Waaaaay!!

Motorcar operator “Skippy” is trundling down the San Joaquin Valley, blissfully unaware of the approaching San Francisco Chief. Should we warn him? “Look around, Skip, look around!” bellows the narrator. This great bit of melodrama will be fleshed out in the upcoming story. Read on.

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Bound For Glory 1976

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United Artists

Four! Count ’em, FOUR steam locomotives star in today’s movie review. Just to whet your appetite, the four steamers are:

  1. Sierra Railroad #3, an 1891 Rogers-built 4-6-0.
  2. Sierra Railroad #28, a 1922 Baldwin-built 2-8-0.
  3. Sierra Railroad #34, a 1925 Baldwin-built 2-8-2.
  4. McCloud River Railroad #25, a 1925 Alco-built 2-6-2.

Today’s feature is a 1930’s biography of folk singer Woody Guthrie (played by David Carradine). Filmmakers really went all-out, pulling 34 obsolete freight cars out of a scrap line and painting over most railroad identification marks.

Train scenes were filmed along the Western Pacific, Tidewater Southern and Sierra Railroads. Let’s jump right in and enjoy THIS TRAIN-laden bio pic.

Electric traction also made a brief appearance in this flick. Woody/David is about to step off Pacific Electric #1058 in Los Angeles on his way to the studio. With a trolley pole reaching for wires that aren’t there, this Red Car had to rely on an internal-combustion engine of some sort.

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The Sixteenth Cousin 1963

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ABC 4 Star Television

“Somebody get me The Sarge!” Chuck Conners (as Lucas McCain) starred for five seasons of The Rifleman, blasting away on his customized Winchester 92 carbine to begin every episode. BTW, the above link (in blue) is a fascinating read — with details about the Winchester used in the series.

Anyway. Episode 159 of 168 seemed to have the most train scenes. Lucas and his boy Mark (played by Johnny Crawford) are riding the first train into Northfork (New Mexico Territory). It wasn’t until I started taking screen caps that I realized all the live train footage was lifted from other movies and stock footage.

Still, it was fun to try and identify the railroad bits — especially as locomotives and railroads would change from shot to shot (maybe they won’t notice…). C’mon, let’s check it out!

The episode opens with a short passenger train rolling through the desert (I can’t make out the locomotive except that the steam engine is producing a fine plume of smoke). Quickly, they cut to the churning drivers of a 4-4-0.

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