Back about 1960, an episode of "The Rifleman" was filmed across the street from our house, my dad and brother got to meet Chuck Conners. We were living in Thousand Oaks (pop ~2,000 at that time) about 1 to 2 miles from MGM's "Western" backlot.
- Erik
Josh Randall, the Lone Ranger and Lucas McCain-the three greatest Western heroes of all time
I remember riding the DL&W MU's from Hoboken to Ampere close to where I had a room at that time. Fortunately we never ran into enough leaves to skid. At times the trains were so crowded you had to stand in the vestibule and the trains ran with their doors open.
vsmith Firelock76 to Vsmith: Ah, "The Outlaw Josey Wales" came out BEFORE John Wayne died. "Last of the Mohicans" is a colonial America movie, not a western, but as good as it was I like the Randolph Scott version from the 30's a lot better. "Tombstone", now that's the one I was thinking of when I said only "one good western". Honestly, the rest were good, but not great in my opinion, for what it's worth. I've got the book "Josey Wales" was based on, it's called "Gone to Texas" and was written by Forrest Carter. It's one of the few times I can say the movie was as good as the book. Not quite the same story line, but they complement each other very well. "Last of the Mohicans" most definety was a western, an 18th century western, because it took place in the wild wild west of that era....just west of Albany NY
Firelock76 to Vsmith: Ah, "The Outlaw Josey Wales" came out BEFORE John Wayne died. "Last of the Mohicans" is a colonial America movie, not a western, but as good as it was I like the Randolph Scott version from the 30's a lot better. "Tombstone", now that's the one I was thinking of when I said only "one good western". Honestly, the rest were good, but not great in my opinion, for what it's worth. I've got the book "Josey Wales" was based on, it's called "Gone to Texas" and was written by Forrest Carter. It's one of the few times I can say the movie was as good as the book. Not quite the same story line, but they complement each other very well.
to Vsmith: Ah, "The Outlaw Josey Wales" came out BEFORE John Wayne died. "Last of the Mohicans" is a colonial America movie, not a western, but as good as it was I like the Randolph Scott version from the 30's a lot better. "Tombstone", now that's the one I was thinking of when I said only "one good western".
Honestly, the rest were good, but not great in my opinion, for what it's worth.
I've got the book "Josey Wales" was based on, it's called "Gone to Texas" and was written by Forrest Carter. It's one of the few times I can say the movie was as good as the book. Not quite the same story line, but they complement each other very well.
"Last of the Mohicans" most definety was a western, an 18th century western, because it took place in the wild wild west of that era....just west of Albany NY
Picky, picky, picky... OK, I'm just funnin' with ya! Actually, the "Last of the Mohicans" takes place in the Lake Champlain area, which is north of Albany. Ever been there? Some of it's pretty rugged country, not too much different from what it was like in the French and Indian War days.
You are soo right! Back in the mid-80's I was riding the old DLW MUs to Newark to attend classes at Rutgers. It was late September right after a nice rain that put down a heavy layer of leaves and this was one of the early morning 12 car express trains going East. We had a bit of a rough stop at Madison and I figured it was going to be fun stop Chatham. Sure enough, the Motormen did his normal reduction at the normal spot, we started to slow. Next reduction to set up for the platform stop when off and you could feel the wheels starting to lock-up and slip, that's when I braced for a dynamite of air. Sure enough, the air got big-holed as we slid though Chatham and over shot the platform. It was my good luck to be in the car with the Conductor who called out as we stopped "East Chatham East Chatham, next stop West Chatham!" as he hop towards the vestibule for the up coming back-up move.
Have fun with your trains
Firelock76 I did watch the TV show as a kid. God bless Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels, we'll never forget them, the REAL Lone Ranger and Tonto.
I did watch the TV show as a kid. God bless Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels, we'll never forget them, the REAL Lone Ranger and Tonto.
Firelock76No, I never greased any railroad tracks. The nearest was the Erie one town over, and if anyone greased the tracks they'd have been assaulted by a bunch of angry commuters!
The commuters wanted to get to work. They troops didn't. But I used to ride what was once the Erie line from Waldwick to Hoboken. I thought about greasing those tracks as a practical joke but I never actually did it.
Actually, the oil in leaves causes NJT trains to slip and slide.
Nice trips down memory lane. Encore Westerns....best cable channel ever!!!!
When I was a kid I always thought the Lone Ranger (a show we never missed) was riding out of town shouting "Hi Yo, Silver...HooRay!' After some neighborhood fighting and arguing I learned it was "away".
Recently I seen a painting of three cowboys sitting on their horses, the first was Clint Eastwood, in the middle was John Wayne and the third surprisingly was Lee VanCleef, pipe and all. Now, there was an artist who knew his cowboys. Put an ol' steamer in the background and it would have been perfect.
Okay, this is getting off topic, but I gotta reminisce a moment...
How many of you remember the original (1954 to 1959) TV game show, "Name That Tune"? Hosted by ‘Red’ Benson originally and then by George DeWitt, with Johnny Olsen as the announcer. (Marine Maj. John Glenn was a contestant one time [with Eddie Hodges]; before Glenn became an astronaut.)
The premise of the show was that two contestants would be seated in chairs at one side of the orchestra on the stage and the orchestra would start playing a musical piece. The contestants, when they thought they knew the name of the musical piece, would run across the stage in front of the orchestra and ring a bell on the other side by swatting at a tassel hanging from the clapper. The first one to ring their bell would get 1st chance at saying the name of the musical piece to win the contest.
After the show had been on a couple of years, they decided to see how it would go with children playing the game. The first 2 were a girl of about 10 or 11 years old and a boy of about 6 or 7. I remember that when the boy sat in the straight back chair, his feet didn't touch the floor.
The brass instruments in the orchestra had barely played the 1st notes of the 3rd movement of the “William Tell Overture” when he boy shot off the chair so fast that the chair went the other way. He ran across the stage and leaped to reach the tassel hanging from the bell, but could not reach it. The girl trotted along behind him and easily reached up and gave the tassel on her bell a swing and went to stand at her microphone by the Emcee's desk.
The boy could be seen in the background jumping and leaping at the tassel, but unable to reach it.
The girl just stood quietly by her microphone waiting for the boy to join her, but the Emcee and announcer were completely baffled as to what to do. The audience was roaring with laughter that started when the boy shot off the chair and just got louder when he missed the tassel and would not settle while he continued to leap and miss it. The Announcer finally went to the boy and lifted him up so he could ring the bell and then led him to stand next to the girl.
The audience finally quieted enough for the Emcee to ask for a ruling as to who actually won the foot race and after a short conference of the Producer and Sponsor representative, they said that although the rules were that the 1st to ring the bell was the winner, they had not taken into account whether the contestant could even reach the bell and so they said that since he got there first he was considered the winner.
That announcement also created a lot of laughter in the audience and again it took a while to regain composure in the studio.
The girl accepted the ruling graciously and the Emcee asked the boy if he could, "NAME THAT TUNE!".
The boy stepped forward to the microphone and on tiptoe (because the microphone stand would not adjust down to his height) he shouted, "The Lone Ranger!".
That had to have been the only thing that could have made the audience laugh louder and harder. It took many minutes for the Emcee and Announcer to calm themselves and the audience enough to then have to ask the judges again for a ruling as to whether he had answered correctly or not.
As I remember it, in the 1/2 hour time slot, they usually had 2 sets of two contestants who each ran maybe 2 or 3 foot races, but in this show so much time was taken up by the laughter that the show was over before they could get around to having the other set of contestants.
Semper Vaporo
Pkgs.
Stagecoach is my favourite western as well. Anything directed by John Ford! Or Howard Hawks. Anything with Thomas Mitchell! You've seen "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.?" Didn't you get the impression that Edmund O'Brien was playing the Thomas Mitchell role? I know I did! Know what drives me nuts? When people refer to westerns as 'cowboy" movies. I don't recall any cows in Stagecoach!
Firelock76 You know I've only seen ONE decent Western since John Wayne died. I just watched a trailer for "The Lone Ranger" and I don't think this is going to be the second one.
You know I've only seen ONE decent Western since John Wayne died. I just watched a trailer for "The Lone Ranger" and I don't think this is going to be the second one.
Really? wow...
Unforgiven?
The Outlaw Josey Wales?
Dead Man?
True Grit?
Pale Rider?
Tombstone?
The Long Riders?
The Grey Fox?
Lonesome Dove?
Silverado?
Old Gringo?
Dances with Wolves?
Last of the Mohicans?
Bronco Billy?
Really, no good westerns since the Duke passed?
wow....
BTW this list is from someone who's favorite western is still "Stagecoach"
That's OK John, I heard all about the radio show from Mom and Dad. And again, what a show it must have been, it's shadow hovers over every Lone Ranger TV show and movie made, from "A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a hearty 'HI-YO SILVER'" to the fact you can't listen to the last movement of the "William Tell Overture" without thinking of "you know who." It's a real American icon.
If the filmakers louse this up it'll be the equivalent of painting the USS Constitution in a stealth paint scheme. Some icons you'd better think twice about messing with.
No, I never greased any railroad tracks. The nearest was the Erie one town over, and if anyone greased the tracks they'd have been assaulted by a bunch of angry commuters!
Firelock76Oh, I'm not old enough to remember the Lone Ranger radio show
You're a lot younger than I am Firelock and much better looking. But you missed waiting for the Lone Ranger come on the radio. I bet you never spread your Mom's grease on the local railroad tracks so Army troops coming buy would throw you coins either.
Oh, I'm not old enough to remember the Lone Ranger radio show, but I have heard recordings of it. What a well-done show it was! No wonder it fired everyone's imaginations and gave birth to a legend.
The silver bullets were cast by a retired Texas Ranger who worked the silver mine owned by the Lone Ranger (who's real name was John Reid) and his brother who was killed in the ambush that led to Reid's Lone Ranger persona. The Ranger only used them for "calling cards", so to speak. Real silver bullets don't shoot that well, in addition to being a pain in the neck to cast correctly. It's been tried.
Incidentally, profits from the mine made possible the Reid publishing business which was run in the 1930's by the Rangers grand-nephew, THE GREEN HORNET! Quick, somebody cue "The Flight Of The Bumblebee"!
Remind me not to go see the movie. I never did see the Lone Ranger on television, but my brother and I listened to the radio program three days a week (I do not remember what was on the other two days). By the way, I wonder who cast the silver bullets for him.
Johnny
I believe the move was Iron Weed. There was a D&H RS unit with a box-car body built around it to provide the motive power. Don't recall the steam locomotive used.
My understanding (see the thread "Mistreating a Masterpiece" in this forum) is that Disney built a REPLICA steam engine, they didn't build a real working steam engine. Someone at Disney said something about 'taking a modern engine and building a steam engine around it'. I know there was a movie (can't think which one now) a while back where they used a non-working steam engine with a generator to belch smoke out the stack, while the train was actually moved by a diesel engine disguised as a boxcar in the train.
Forget the locomotive. THAT'S TONTO? As my grandfather would say, "Ay-yi-yi..."
Jay Silverheels never needed a dead crow on his head...
Here are some pictures of the locomotive. (Scroll down):
http://www.firstshowing.net/2012/new-photos-of-johnny-depp-and-armie-hammer-in-the-lone-ranger/
Disney studio built it's own locomotive for the Lone Ranger Movie. Even had a 6 mile loop built to run it on.
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