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Gene Autry

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Posted by Ravinman on Friday, March 16, 2018 12:34 AM

The Gene Autry Locomotive 463 is alive and well in Chama NM. Gene sold the train to the D&RG in Antonito, CO. In July we are planning a Gene Autry Train w/463, with Cowboy & Cowgirls Camp for the kids at RR were they will be introduced to the 463, operation & Telegragh (first Texting), by the Friends of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic RR  and then a ride the next day. More...@ ChamaWesternHeritage.com, Thanx, Paul...

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Posted by 54light15 on Wednesday, February 21, 2018 9:50 AM

Great stuff! I have a DVD set of the Gene Autry show from the early 50s. In the beginning of each, he does a commercial for Wrigley's gum and you can watch his eyes move as he reads the lines behind the camera. Each show features a song, a fist fight and some gunplay and naturally the bad guys wear black hats. 

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Posted by wanswheel on Tuesday, February 20, 2018 7:54 PM

guetem1

town in Oklahoma named Gene Autry

https://www.gettyimages.com/license/50512588

Gene's radio show Melody Ranch was on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. Eastern time, evidently broadcast live from KNX Los Angeles at 3:30 p.m. Pacific time.

https://www.gettyimages.com/license/52735904

 

https://archive.org/stream/movie-and-radio-guide-1942-01-30#page/n0/mode/2up

https://www.gettyimages.com/license/52735781

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Posted by guetem1 on Friday, February 9, 2018 11:22 PM
there is a town in Oklahoma named Gene Autry and a siding on the Red Rock sub of the BNSF also named for him
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Posted by wjstix on Tuesday, January 30, 2018 3:16 PM

BTW according to the two-part "On-Time Tyner" article that ran some years back in Trains, Gene Autry as a teenager worked for the SP...or at least was supposed to work for the SP. Tyner mentiones Autry mainly hung around the station with his guitar singing. All the SP guys figured a kid like that would never make a success in life....

Stix
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Posted by IslandMan on Saturday, January 20, 2018 4:43 AM

The Reverend W. Awdry of 'Thomas the Tank Engine' fame had a friend who was also both a clergyman and a railfan. The Reverend Teddy Boston built a narrow-gauge railway in his garden:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOYQ_SIT6e0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_7WzcHGZ34

http://www.nuneatonhistory.com/the-rev-teddy-boston-and-the-famous-cadeby-light-railway-leicestershire.html

 

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Posted by Penny Trains on Sunday, January 14, 2018 6:35 PM

No problemo.  Smile

Trains, trains, wonderful trains.  The more you get, the more you toot!  Big Smile

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Posted by BigJim on Saturday, January 13, 2018 9:55 PM

Thank you Penny. That is very impressive!

.

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Posted by Penny Trains on Saturday, January 13, 2018 7:04 PM

BigJim
I would have loved to have seen what this video was all about, but, I can't do it if nothing is on screen long enough to view!

OK

Jungle Cruise:

It's A Small World:

Skull Rock Cove:

The Mark Twain:

Big Thunder Mountain:

Temple of the Forbidden Eye:

Frontierland, Adventureland, New Orleans Square and Critter Country:

Main Street USA, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland:

 

Trains, trains, wonderful trains.  The more you get, the more you toot!  Big Smile

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Posted by 54light15 on Saturday, January 13, 2018 1:07 PM

Great film and I can appreciate the Harryhausen-like technique. Harryhausen's was the name of the bar in the Pixar film, "Monsters, Inc" which I thought was a neat tribute.  

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Posted by Firelock76 on Saturday, January 13, 2018 10:34 AM

Well, if you folks aren't regular visitors to the "Classic Toy Trains" Forum you wouldn't know this, but with the exceptions of the Lionel "General" train and the Disney monorail, everything on that layout, buildings, trees, boats, the mountain, I mean everything, was built by Penny Trains herself.

OK, maybe not the light bulbs.

An astonishing display of handcraft.  P-T doesn't have to toot her own horn on the CTT site since we all know what we're looking at over there.  I'm more than happy to toot the horn for her here.

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Posted by BigJim on Saturday, January 13, 2018 7:57 AM

Maybe you guys missed the fact that nothing was on screen long enough to tell what anything was! I stand by my statement.
I would have loved to have seen what this video was all about, but, I can't do it if nothing is on screen long enough to view!

.

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Posted by Penny Trains on Friday, January 12, 2018 8:11 PM

BigJim

 

 
Firelock76

You guys better watch that video, that's all I have to say!

 

 

 

I tried, but, had to turn it off. It's a shame that whoever took that video couldn't quit jumping around so quickly. On top of that, the full screen view wasn't very sharp. It looks to be a really neat display done a great injustice by the cinemaphotographer!

 

 

Problem 1: You have to remember that only 2 things on the layout are capable of self-propulsion: the steam train made by Lionel and the Monorail made by Disney.  Solution: Everything else that moves, including the 1 1/4 inch figures, was moved a tiny bit at a time and then photographed.  Sometimes with 50 or more individual elements being relocated by hand for each shot.

Problem 2: This isn't a soundstage.  The lighting is daylighting so there's no ability to shoot for extended periods of time with unchanging shooting conditions.  Solution: Shoot as fast as you can before the sun moves too far and becomes noticeable on the finished film.

Problem 3: Threaded tripod mounting hole on bottom of Fuji Finepix S5000 DSLR (from 2002) is completely stripped.  Solution: Tie camera to panhead with 30 pound test fishing line and a small home made elastic strap with bent paper clips on the ends.  Second solution: Use a boxed set of 4 VHS tapes about the Titanic as a low level tripod.

Problem 4: IF you can do all of these things, chances are the end product is not going to be of the highest quality (and you know it).  Solution: Do some hinky things with your "standard" shots and straight video clips to create a cohesive whole.  Simple tricks like running the film backwards, adding an "aligator tooth" wipe to a scene featuring the Jungle Cruise or speeding up the otherwise extremely slow moving Monorail are some examples.

In the final analysis, Santa Claus liked my videos so much that I now have a Sony Cyber Shot DSC H300 camera, a new tripod with a 3-way panhead with levels and Adobe Photoshop Elements 2018 to play with.

Trains, trains, wonderful trains.  The more you get, the more you toot!  Big Smile

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Posted by Overmod on Friday, January 12, 2018 6:26 PM

BigJim
I tried, but, had to turn it off. It's a shame that whoever took that video couldn't quit jumping around so quickly.

I don't see much 'jumping around', and there's nothing really wrong with the montage (at least that I could see) ... you do realize that much of the 'jumping' advance in some scenes is stop-motion, right? I don't mind if that isn't a full 24fps like Harryhausen in an amateur video, especially with this level of craftsmanship coupled with ingenuity.

What I had a problem with was the needless 'artistic' dissolve and transition effects cunningly provided by camera or software purveyors.  Putting them all in for 'variety' is a little like putting some of every spice in the cabinet progressively into a dish you're cooking, and they can (as here) become distracting as you almost dread what the next one will be, taking away from the joy of seeing the next set of details.  A little goes a long way.  I do not intend this in a Scrooge-like or critical manner.

The other thing I think she needs is a good fluid-head tripod.  I'll chip in to buy her one if some of you contribute too...

Every chance I get to see a new one of these things is a treat.  I was pointedly reminded, to what was really my utter horror, that according to MR there is only one surviving Gorre & Daphetid locomotive.  Out of all that wonderful work and achievement and craftsmanship.  We should celebrate new talent that works to that standard rather than rue the perceived shortcomings -- while we can still see and enjoy it.

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Posted by Firelock76 on Friday, January 12, 2018 5:36 PM

Really Jim, that's too bad.  I liked the video. 

When watching amateur videos I always try to remember not everyone's a C.B. DeMille, a John Ford, or a Steven Speilberg and to set my reactions accordingly.  Takes time to master the craft.

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Posted by BigJim on Friday, January 12, 2018 7:34 AM

Firelock76

You guys better watch that video, that's all I have to say!

 

I tried, but, had to turn it off. It's a shame that whoever took that video couldn't quit jumping around so quickly. On top of that, the full screen view wasn't very sharp. It looks to be a really neat display done a great injustice by the cinemaphotographer!

.

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Posted by Firelock76 on Thursday, January 11, 2018 5:42 PM

You guys better watch that video, that's all I have to say!

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Posted by Penny Trains on Wednesday, January 10, 2018 7:24 PM

Trains, trains, wonderful trains.  The more you get, the more you toot!  Big Smile

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Posted by kgbw49 on Wednesday, January 10, 2018 5:25 PM

Tried to light it up but also did not succeed.

But I did pop over to the magazine site, and "Forums" is under the "Community" Banner and was able to navigate.

Very cool stuff.

If Jesus would have been born in the 1870s it would have been in Winslow, AZ and the Three Wise Men would have come in to town on the Atlantic & Pacific....

 

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Posted by Firelock76 on Wednesday, January 10, 2018 4:50 PM

Paul of Covington
 
Penny Trains
Have I mentioned what my living room has looked like for the past 7 weeks?

 

   Fantastic!   Did you start setting it up around July?

 

Paul, if you or anyone else wants to see more, slide on over to the "Classic Toy Trains" site and go to the Forum there.  Look for the thread titled "Christmas Layouts", scroll down the thread list and you'll find it, and prepare to be amazed.  Penny Trains' layouts are there and quite a few from some other folks.

Trust me, you won't be sorry you did!

Let me see if I can give everyone a hand here...

http://cs.trains.com/ctt/f/95/t/266182.aspx?

Hmm, won't light up.  Maybe someone can do the honors.

 

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Posted by Paul of Covington on Wednesday, January 10, 2018 1:44 PM

Penny Trains
Have I mentioned what my living room has looked like for the past 7 weeks?

   Fantastic!   Did you start setting it up around July?

_____________ 

  "A stranger's just a friend you ain't met yet." --- Dave Gardner

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Posted by radio ranch on Wednesday, January 10, 2018 12:36 AM

blue streak 1

Do not care for the man.  The way he treated the Japaneese -Americans  detainees and their property and took advantage of their being shipped off to the camps IMHO has no excuse.

 

Can you quote a source for your accusation?  Autry served as a pilot in the AAC during WW2 and had no control or connection with Japanese-American internments.  I tried researching for any reference to "how he treated detainees and their property and could find nothing.  Can you help shed further factual information that would validate you claim?

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Posted by Penny Trains on Tuesday, January 9, 2018 8:22 PM

Have I mentioned what my living room has looked like for the past 7 weeks?  Laugh

Trains, trains, wonderful trains.  The more you get, the more you toot!  Big Smile

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Posted by 54light15 on Tuesday, January 9, 2018 2:38 PM

Ward Kimball was one of Walt's animators. Know who else was an animator for Walt Disney? Walt Kelly who later drew the legendary comic strip, "Pogo." 

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Posted by Sunnyland on Monday, January 8, 2018 7:13 PM

very cool, he started with Frisco as telegrapher, probably in OK. We saw a lot of his movies, and Dad had an article about him in their employee mag after he became famous.  That was quite a private RR, never knew about that. Knew Walt Disney was railfan too, but don't know the other man, Ward. 

 

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Posted by blue streak 1 on Monday, January 8, 2018 1:58 PM

Do not care for the man.  The way he treated the Japaneese -Americans  detainees and their property and took advantage of their being shipped off to the camps IMHO has no excuse.

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Posted by BigJim on Monday, January 8, 2018 7:27 AM

Back to Gene Autry,
I understand that Gene tried to start a Tweetsie RR type attraction in the Penn Laird, Va. area. 

.

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Posted by erikem on Sunday, January 7, 2018 9:45 PM

Penny Trains

 Ward was also an avid toy train collector:

If this photo had a caption, it would read "Mine!"  Laugh


 

Ward was quite a character with a very well developed sense of humor. Met him a few times while helping out with the finishing of the Grizzly Flats Enginehouse at OERM - don't think he was quite sure of what to make of me at first - he loosened up a bit after seeing me pantomining painting the top of Fred Nicas's head, proving that I had at least a few screws loose...

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Posted by 54light15 on Sunday, January 7, 2018 9:25 PM

Ah yes, the Seaview! The only submarine with picture windows. My ship (U.S.S. Guam, LPH-9) was in drydock in Philly. A big section of the lower hull was cut out so equipment could be brought into a lower-deck compartment. A new guy asked about that. I said, "You've seen the show, The Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, right" He said that he did. I said, "Well this is the same idea, so that Russian submarines can be visually observed." He said, "Wow." 

As regards to the Nautilus, I was in Disney World in Florida in about 1986. In one of the "main street" stores was a model of it. I asked and was told that the price was $800.00. She said that they sell maybe one a year and every time they do, the price goes up by $100.00. I kind of wish I bought it, I always thought that was the coolest sub ever made. 

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