Tag Archives: Larry Jensen

Jesse James 1939

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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

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Annie Get Your Gun 1950

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Metro Goldwyn Mayer

Pull! It’s a Technicolor musical extravaganza, featuring Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show — which happily for us, traveled by train back in the day. Annie Oakley (played by Betty Hutton) and Frank Butler (played by Howard Keel) star as a pair of sharpshooters which is based on a true story.

According to Larry Jensen’s “Hollywood’s Railroads, Volume One”, MGM used their ex-Virginia & Truckee 4-4-0 #11 (The Reno) for studio train scenes. Unfortunately, the editors saw fit to only give a glimpse (see above) of Reno’s TENDER with “Transcontinental & Western” script lettering – concentrating instead on a string of bright yellow coaches.

Other train scenes utilized a model train for the credits (see top) and lifted footage of Sierra Railroad #18 directly out of Dodge City 1939 (see bottom).

A well-lit broadside of ATSF #18 (Sierra #18) 2-8-0 Baldwin 1906 pedaling furiously along. Close ups of this engine were used as bridging shots in Annie Get Your Gun.

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Wrong Train to Brimstone 1971

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Universal Studios

Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad #5, a 2-6-0 built in 1875 by Baldwin is the star of today’s feature. Currently restored and operating at the NCNG Railroad museum in Nevada City, California, #5 was a movie star at Universal Studios from 1940 to 1984 for countless films and TV shows.

The Alias Smith & Jones (1971-1973) western television series utilized the studio “railroad” (about 2,000 feet of track and a couple depots) at Universal for filming. Producers also dipped into stock footage from other movies for transition and action scenes.

Hats Off to Larry Jensen for all his books about Hollywood’s movie railroads, making it easier to identify what is what. All Aboard!

With a blast of its throaty chime whistle, #5 prepares to leave town. Note the star on the boiler front, elk on the headlight box, #8 on the sand dome and some sort of name plate on the cab side. It’s possible this shot is footage from another production.

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High Noon 1952

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Paramount Pictures

I first saw High Noon in my “Film as Literature” class at Mercer Island H.S. senior year (Hello, Blaine Dollard!). Loaded with symbolism, this flick has been analyzed to death, but fortunately I’m just interested in the railroad bits — which makes for a more enjoyable review.

Huh? You say it won 10 Academy Awards and is not obscure? Bah! The REAL star of this high-falutin’ oater is Sierra Railroad #3 pulling its coaches past the Hadleyville depot. The rest of that final showdown jazz is mere window dressing.

Well then, let’s enjoy a railfan’s delight as the little 1891 Rogers-built, 4-6-0 trundles into town. Do not forsake me, oh my darling!

Belching an ominous plume of black smoke, Sierra #3 slowly approaches the water tower. This scene, and the one above of the depot, was filmed at Warnerville, California.

The studio constructed the two-story Hadleyville station just for this movie (Hat tip to Larry Jensen’s The Movie Railroads book).

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Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid 1969

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20th Century Fox

Having won 4 Oscars, today’s movie is hardly obscure, but the use of three, count ’em THREE steam locomotives makes this a flick worth reviewing. Filmed on the Denver and Rio Grande Western (D&RGW) narrow gauge as well as an obscure Mexican 3-footer, there is a tasty selection of railroad hype to sink our teeth into.

D&RGW K-28 2-8-2 Baldwins 473 and 478 are the big stars along with some studio-constructed baggage cars and D&RGW replica coaches 330, 335, 336 as well as business car B-7.

The main actors? Oh, them. Paul Newman played Butch Cassidy with Robert Redford as The Sundance Kid.

Grateful thanks to Larry Jensen and his magnificent book, “Hollywood’s Railroads – Volume Three – Narrow Gauge Country” for being my go-to source for all-things-railroad in this classic Western.

So grab the dynamite and let’s go rob a baggage car or two. Stick ’em up!

There’s lots of leaping in this movie. Here we see The Kid jumping from car to car in the second hold up and making like a bird, bailing off the cab of #473 in the third robbery.

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Union Pacific 1939

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Paramount Pictures

Cecil B. DeMille’s “epic” (translation: well over two hours long) film about the building of the first transcontinental railroad did everything in a big way. Big stars, train wrecks, Indian attacks and a messy love triangle for starters. Union Pacific utilized FIVE different steam locomotives — so many trains, in fact, Paramount had to obtain a railroad operating license from the Interstate Commerce Commission.

Doesn’t sound very obscure, does it? But…1939 was a long time ago and black and white turns many people off, so let’s just imagine obscurity and review it anyway. It really was a fascinating railroad movie to study.

Many many thanks to Larry Jensen and his book, “Hollywood’s Railroads, Volume One” for helping me identify the locomotives and passenger/freight cars used — most of which originally came from the Virginia & Truckee Railroad in Nevada.

As is my wont, I will concentrate on scenes where trains are involved. Camera…ACTION!

The movie premiered in Omaha, Nebraska over several days in April 1939. The recreation of the May 10, 1869 golden spike ceremony at Promontory, Utah was actually filmed near Canoga Park, California partially as a media event to promote the film.

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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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