Tag Archives: EMD F7 diesel locomotive

Once Upon The Wabash 1953

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Condor Films, Inc., St. Louis

Corny. Even back THEN, this script dialogue was corny. But, oh, that pristine first-generation diesel, domed streamliner. Wabash’s Blue Bird. That WAS the way to travel.

This was the best color version I could find online — I had to chop off the bottom portion on many screen caps account frikken Periscope Films’ “counter” running through the entire picture. Spoilsports.

Anyway, color scenes of freight and passenger equipment from the postwar era are always a treat to look at, even though Wabash was a bit late to the streamliner game.

Follow the Flag!

Leading this Chicago – St. Louis domeliner (the Blue Bird, #21 southbound; #24 northbound) is EMD E8A WAB #1000 built in 1951 and producing 2,250 horsepower.

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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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The Tattered Dress 1957

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Universal-International

Let’s take a ride on the Southern Pacific. Many thanks to reader Tony Roberts for sending me an extra Blu-Ray disc of this movie to watch. Today’s feature is a late 1950’s film noir courtroom drama with about six minutes of railroad footage at the beginning. Apologies for the poor quality of the screen caps in this review. I plead extenuating circumstances.

The Espee was quite cooperative, renting a set of passenger train equipment, a pair of diesel locomotives and two, separate passenger stations for filmmakers to use. Not to mention “track and time”. ;p It looks like most on-board footage was on actual passenger cars with rear screen projection out the windows.

Actress Elaine Stewart, (seen above playing trophy wife Charleen Reston), provides the cheesecake in her “tattered dress” and although she doesn’t appear in any train scenes, she’s bound to show up somewhere in this review. What a Lark!

Hotshot New York lawyer Jim Blane (played by Jeff Chandler) has arrived in town to get a local crook off the murder charge. The townsfolk are not pleased. Note the Southern Pacific sleeping car in the background.

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