The Damn Trains!

[marmota-b]

Are you sure it's not "The General?"  I never saw it, so I wouldn't know.

Definitelly not. It's about children.

[marmota-b]

I know there were 4 locos used in that movie but the commentary said there was only two?

I noticed at least three. One signed 71 - that's the one at the train Harmonica comes with as well as the train Jill comes with. (Is it the same train or not? I guess it should be.) Then there's the one at Morton's private train, that one's signed 471. And then the one in the end, not signed and looking more "used". There might be another one, most likely in the scene where Harmonica's following Wobbles.

[cigar joe]

yea the scene with Harmonica following Wobbles has 2 but don't know which two.

[marmota-b]

BTW, Cigar Joe, some of the pictures you posted here are missing... could you try to upload them again? They're really interesting.

[cigar joe]

BTW, Cigar Joe, some of the pictures you posted here are missing... could you try to upload them again? They're really interesting.

On this particular thread marmota-b? I just checked and they are all here as far as I can see.

[Juan Miranda]

I'm seeing this on a few images CJ:



The dreaded frog!

You must still have them as temp. internet files, I suspect.

[cigar joe]

That could be I was freeing up some memory space.

Let me know which ones marmota

[marmota-b]

Those signed:
Here below is a 422 (ooOo) that looks like something out of a Leone western.
and
Below are two styles of saddle tankers a 242 (oOOo) with cow catchers at both ends and a 240 (oOO)

[marmota-b]

I'm assuming all have noticed the broad gauge track in Leone's westerns

I didn't actually, but father did. Which lead to a so-called "15 minutes presentation". That means, everytime father notices something interesting, he starts talking about it as long until he finishes his knowledge about the subject. And that means I have quite a good basic knowledge about it now.

He said there had been broad gauge railways in the South, but after the Civil War they had been rebuilt to Standard. And I have it proven from a book...

[The Peacemaker]

He said there had been broad gauge railways in the South, but after the Civil War they had been rebuilt to Standard. And I have it proven from a book...

That is true but there were few major railroad systems built west of the Mississippi river at the time of the Civil War. Besides, the film shows that the railroad was under control of the Union not the Confederacy.

[cigar joe]

The A&S ( Albany & Syracuse or Albany & Schenectedy forget which) here in New York state was a broad gauge as the Erie.

[The Peacemaker]

The A&S ( Albany & Syracuse or Albany & Schenectedy forget which) here in New York state was a broad gauge as the Erie.

That's true, but most likely the Union army would want a standard or narrow gauge railroad in New Mexico. The smaller the gauge, the easier it is to navigate tight curves and climb mountains similar to those in the Southwest.

[cigar joe]

That's true, but most likely the Union army would want a standard or narrow gauge railroad in New Mexico. The smaller the gauge, the easier it is to navigate tight curves and climb mountains similar to those in the Southwest.

That's true it was all up to The RR Companies whatever they happend to settle on to start with,  I forgot what year the (Society of Railroad Engineers) country decided on 4' 8" as standard.

[marmota-b]

Well, as father says, he's no expert on American railways. And it was in GBU, not OUATITW, so that was Civil War time. I'm more of an observer here, because I don't know so much about it, but it's great to read your posts.

[cigar joe]

Haven't been on this topic for quite a while.

One easy way to date steam locomotives in Westerns the ones with the "Wild West"  ooOO and oOOO wheel arrangements is pay attention to their headlights/lamps.

Earliest headlights were coal oil (kerosene) and the lantern was housed in an elaborate box with a large amplifying lens that sat atop the front of the smokebox.


Railroads were slow to adopt to electricity and in the 1890's the first electric headlamps were carbon arc (basically if you've seen arc welding it's that intense bright blue-white light) The first were housed in boxes similar to or intitially the same as the kerosene style ones but  they had to make them bigger they had a prominent peak at the top to accommodate the arc rods and to vent out the high heat and were about six inches wider so the heat wouldn't crack the lens. These lights threw a beam 20 miles ahead of the train, and actually blinded engineers on passing trains until they figured out a switch to lower the intensity. The image below shows an adapted kerosene lamp box notice the lens housing is not flush with the box as in the top image, but pushed out about six inches by a cylinder housing.



Finally around the turn of the century they switched to incandescent lights and these were housed in cylindrical tubes that at first sat atop the boilers where the old kerosene lamps did and some migrated lower down to the center of the smokebox.



The botom two images are from this site if you want to read more:

http://einhornpress.com/headlights.aspx

In "Three Godfathers " the two steam engines at the beginning of the film are from two different time periods the one with the Box headlamp is correct for the film 1850-1880's the newer one with the round cylindrical light is 1890-1900's.

Same with the film Santa Fe that I saw tonight the work train engine correct for the 1860-80's the payroll engine is too modern.