Tag Archives: D&RGW

The Long Chase 1973

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Universal Studios

Alias Smith and Jones! Season Three, Episode 1 found our paroled boys with a new steam locomotive to play with. Posing grandly for the cameras was Great Western Railroad #75, a 2-8-0 Consolidation built by Baldwin in 1907. Four years after filming wrapped on this show, GWR #75 would again star in the movie, “Breakheart Pass“.

As the end titles briefly state, “Portions of this program were filmed at the Manti-La Sal National Forest in Utah“. Which I had to go look up. Never heard of the place before. Ah! Somewhere down near Arches National Park. We visited Arches back in the mid-1970s on our way to Expo ’74 in Spokane.

Cast changes from the Season One episode I previously reviewed, include Roger Davis replacing Pete Duel as Hannibal Heyes.

Seen here rolling along a scenic D&RGW branch line in Utah, GWR #75 is still with us, although not operational. Her current home is the Heber Valley Railroad where she is approximately 70% through her restoration.

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Some Trouble At Troublesome 1956

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Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad

There actually is a location in Colorado called Troublesome (for Troublesome Creek) just a few miles east of Kremmling, where Union Pacific (nee-D&RGW) still has a short siding.

Our feature starts off with a lecture from G.B. Aydelott, President Rio Grande Railroad, scrolling across the screen and continues with the somewhat patronizing tone of the narrator. “This train is worth over a MILLION dollars”, he repeats over and over (implying “which you careless employees turned into splintered wood, contorted steel, and ruined lading”).

Having experienced the wrath of management, our story begins in the remote community of Bond, Colorado. It’s oh-dark 30 in the morning and the 5 man crew (remember those?) is reporting for duty to take the SPD (Southern Pacific – Denver) to Roper Yard in the Mile-High City.

The head end crew, (engineer, fireman, head brakeman) prepares to climb aboard DRGW #5554, an EMD F7A built in February 1949 leading an A-B-B-A set of units. The beautiful “Prospector” scheme in Aspen Gold and silver graces the flanks of these locomotives.

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Duel 1971

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Universal Television

I want to dedicate this movie review to two people. First, Jim Tiroch, whose Cinetrains blog was a tremendous help researching this movie.

Second, my old roommate at college, John C. Mendenhall, Jr. “Mongo” used to walk around our dorm room in his shorts going, “HONK! HONKHONKHONKHONK! HOOOOOOONNNKKKK! just like the truck in this film.

Duel is an early example of what we now call “road rage”. Our protagonists are:

1 – David Mann (played by Dennis Weaver — MCCLOUD!!) driving his red 1970 Plymouth Valiant 4-door, California License Plate 149 PCE.

2 – “The Truck Driver” (played by Carey Loftin) driving a 1955 Peterbilt 285 with oil tanker trailer who is never actually seen clearly. The entire plot of the thing is the truck driver suddenly goes bonkers after being passed by the little red car.

Okay, you get the idea. Now, lets examine the train stuff. Southern Pacific Railroad provides the motive power, rolling stock and location (I believe the train scenes were filmed on SP’s line from roughly Saugus to Palmdale, California.). There are 3 separate encounters between combatants with Espee freight which we’ll examine.

Yaaarrrrgh! Dennis Weaver makes a great face inside his car as an SP freight train rolls by in the background. How about that triangular vent window to the left of McCloud’s snarling countenance? You don’t see those anymore…

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Support Your Local Gunfighter 1971

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United Artists

James Garner is riding the narrow gauge rails of the Denver & Rio Grande Western (D&RGW) Railroad in this Western spoof follow-up to 1969’s Support Your Local Sheriff!

Train scenes in this film were brief, but feature 4 different steam locomotives, one of which I’ve not been able to positively identify. A big shout out to Larry Jensen whose “Hollywood’s Railroads, Volume 3” book helped me identify one engine used on the CBS Studio City (CA) lot.

As usual, I’ll concentrate on the railroad scenes in my review, even though the movie itself is great fun to watch — back when Tinseltown knew how to make an enjoyable, entertaining picture.

Let’s take a trip on the 3-feet-between-the-rails Rio Grande railroad. Highball!!

 

D&RGW #478, a narrow gauge K-28 class 2-8-2 Alco class of 1924, leads a short train of “Grande Gold” and silver coaches along the Animas River on the Silverton Line.

Helicopter shots of this train were used at the beginning and ending of today’s reviewed movie.
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