Union Pacific: The Movie

A find from the movie Union Pacific

by Glenn Lane

Modeltec, December 1985

In my possession are two cars which have had a rather obscure life in storage during the last 45 years but which hold a very significant part in miniature railroad modeling and movie film history. I believe them to be the last known surviving movie miniatures used by Cecil B. DeMille for his 1939 Paramount Pictures epic release, "Union Pacific" starring Barbara Stanwyck, Joel McCrea and Robert Preston. These 1 inch scale cars were obtained by a stroke of luck when I attended the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer auction in May, 1970. The two cars are outside-braced Union Pacific boxcar No. 342 which measures measures 32 inches long by 10 inches wide by 12-1/4 inches high, and Union Pacific caboose No. 14 which measures 39-1/2 inches long by 10-1/2 inches wide by 16 inches high.

The cars are entirely original with the exception of the couplers, markers and wheel sets which were made of pot metal and rapidly turning into dust when I got them.

At the start of the movie, the two cars can be seen together for the wreck scene where the Indians pull a water tower down on V&TRR No. 11 destroying the entire train with the exception of these two cars. Barbara Stanwyck, Joel McCrea and Robert Preston are shown trapped in the caboose trying to telegraph for help.

The cars are shown again towards the end of the film when Union Pacific construction engineers attempt to build a snow bridge in the Sierras with catastrophic results as Engineer Monahan does a deep six over the side of the trestle as it collapses into a deep gorge along with most of the rest of the train.

In a repeat miniature scene, Joel McCrea successfully takes another train (same miniatures) over the reconstructed trestle.

I believe these are the only remaining cars due to the fact that they are shown coupled together at the end of the miniature train for both scenes thus sparing them from the major damage that the other cars received. For the two days that I was at the M-G-M auction, I saw no other cars similar to these two and even I did not realize their historical value until weeks after the auction when I saw the movie on television. Nothing was marked at the auction as to what movie it was used for.

The miniature sets for these two wreck scenes must have dominated an entire sound stage as the length of the train for the snow bridge scene must have been over 70 feet long given the length of the cars.

The photographs shown here were taken at Sessums' Ranch, located on the outskirts of Redlands, California, which provides miniatures and special effects for the film industry. The locomotive shown on the head end is a Live Steam engine of recent vintage and is not original to the movie.

The caboose is currently on loan for two years to the Nevada State Museum while the boxcar remains in my possession. The car has never been on public display until now and I am glad that it is back in the limelight.

I have no information as to who built the models or made the miniature sets but I have been informed that this information may be obtained from Local 44 of the I.A.T.S.E. Union on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, but I have not had the time to check this out. I would like to obtain production stills from the movie but have not found any. I would also like to find out if any other miniatures such as the locomotive survived the movie and would appreciate any information anyone may have in this regard.

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  Barbara Stanwyck in "Union Pacific"

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  Cecil B. DeMilles "Union Pacific" premiere golden spike ceremony 1939, Hollywood, California