Happy Holidays family, friends and railroad buddies!  I hope you enjoy this little combination train, theme park, and movie "cross over" vignette.......Bill

RAILROAD PHOTOS OF THE PAST

Old Wood-Burner Retires to Star in Movies

Old timer of a pioneer Nevada railway ready for it’s last run. 

“Brass Betsy” built in1868 for the Virginia and Truckee line,  has since quit work and left for Hollywood to star in the movies.

Popular Mechanics, August 1937

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A classic 150 year old locomotive sits on a couple hundred feet of dead end track in the Arizona Desert awaiting her next movie assignment. Originally built in 1872 for Nevada’s Virginia and Truckee Railroad by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, the 4-4-0 standard gauge Reno provided express passenger service between Reno, Carson City and Virginia City for the next 6 decades. Paramount Studios purchased the Reno from the V&T for $500 in 1938 and immediately put her to work as the “Jupiter” in the film Union Pacific along with 3 other V&T locomotives. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer purchased Reno from Paramount in 1945 for $4500 and a second career spanning more than 60 western films TV movies and commercials for dozens of studios and production companies. Old Tucson Company purchased Reno for it’s Studio and Theme Park, however a fire consumed much of Old Tuscon Studios in1995 and completely destroyed the historic locomotive. Actor Will Smith leased the Reno’s remains for the filming of The Wild Wild West and had it restored and returned to the park where the venerable old locomotive patiently awaits her next starring role.

From the collection of Bill Ralph