Union Pacific: The Movie

A find from the movie Union Pacific

by Glenn Lane

In my possession are two cars which Paramount Pictures epic release, braced Union Pacific boxcar No. 342 have had a rather obscure life in storage during the last 45 years but which hold "Union Pacific" starring Barbara Stanwyck, Joel McCrea and Robert which measures 32 inch long by 10 inch wide by 12-1/4 inch high, and Union Pacific caboose No. 14 which measures

a very significant part in

miniature railroad modeling and movie film

Preston.

These 1" scale cars were obtained by a

history. I believe them to be the last 39½" long by 10¼" wide by 16"

stroke of luck when I attended the high.

known surviving movie miniatures used

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer auction in May,

The cars are entirely original with the

by Cecil B. DeMille for his 1939

1970. The two cars are outside

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 Mc-Crea 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 Mon-ahan 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 Mc-Crea 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 for the film industry. The locomotive but I have been informed that this infor-movie it was used for.

shown on the head end is a Live Steam

The miniature sets for these two

mation may be obtained from Local 44

engine of recent vintage and is not

wreck scenes must have dominated an

of the I.A.T.S.E. Union on Sunset

original to the movie.

entire sound stage as the length of the

Boulevard in Hollywood, but I have not

train for the snow bridge scene must

The caboose is currently on loan for

had the time to check this out. I would

have been over 70 feet long given the

two years to the Nevada State Museum

like to obtain production stills from the

length of the cars.

while the boxcar remains in my posses-

movie but have not found any. I would

The photographs shown here were

sion. The car has never been on public also like to find out if any other

taken at Sessums' Ranch, located on the

display until now and I am glad that it is

miniatures such as the locomotive sur-

outskirts of Redlands, California, which

back in the limelight.

provides miniatures and special effects

I have no information as to who built

vived the movie and would appreciate

any information anyone may have in

the models or made the miniature sets

this regard.