Emma Sweeny — Movie Star

Emma Sweeny — Movie Star. . , A Ticket to Tomahawk , . In August and September 1949 20th Century Fox filmed A Ticket to Tomahawk, mainly in the Durango and Silverton area, with camp scenes at their studio in Los Angeles. , . The cast included four dance hall girls, one of whom was then-unknown Marilyn Monroe. , . The real steam locomotive RGS 20 was used in shots on tracks in Silverton, Animas Canyon, and on the old RGS trestle over Lightner Creek just west of Durango. , . Studio craftsmen built a full-size replica of RGS 20 as Emma Sweeny for use in scenes off the tracks in Silverton and Durango, on Molas Pass, and camp scenes at their studio. , The Movie Plot , Set in 1876, the movie is about getting a train and at least one paying passenger to Tomahawk by a deadline a few days away, to fulfill a contract and save the franchise. , However, 40 miles of track are missing between Epitaph and Tomahawk, so the locomotive is pulled over a mountain by a team of mules. , A competing stagecoach line will do anything to prevent Emma Sweeny from arriving at Tomahawk before the deadline. , Petticoat Junction , In 1960 the studio sold Emma Sweeny to a private party. The model was leased for use in the TV series Petticoat Junction and transformed into the Hooterville Cannonball. Later, Emma Sweeny was on public display in Oregon and California. , Amador County, California , In March 1980 the model was donated to Amador County. It was renamed Amador Cannonball and displayed in Jackson, Amador County. Many original parts were missing. , Durango, Colorado , In April 2011 Amador County donated the model to the Durango Railroad Historical Society. DRHS restored it during 2011-17 to its original movie appearance. Fortunately, copies of studio drawings were found, allowing an accurate restoration. , [photo captions] , . August 1949. Rio Grande Southern Locomotive #20 (RGS 20) at the Silverton depot, dressed up for its movie role as Emma Sweeny. Movie props include the funnel stack, headlight with elk antlers, long pilot (cowcatcher), and link-and-pin coupler. The locomotive, originally black, was gaily painted and had much artwork added. , . July 1949. Building the model Emma Sweeny in the studio prop shop. , . August 1949. One of the trailer loads of the partially assembled Emma Sweeny model and its parts arrives in Silverton for final assembly. , . The model Emma Sweeny is ready to be pulled down Blair Street in Silverton by a team of twenty mules. , . Filming with RGS 20 along the High Line in Animas Canyon. The flatcar holds the camera and its crew. , . On the old airfield where Fort Lewis College now stands, during an Indian raid scene. , . Emma Sweeny (RGS 20) train in Animas Valley with two flatcars for movie equipment and crew. , . October 1949. Rory Calhoun (outlaw), Anne Baxter (deputy sheriff), Dan Dailey (salesman), and Walter Brennan (engineer) in a camp scene at the studio. , . The engine and tender of the model Emma Sweeny are pulled separately by mules over Molas Pass. Parts of it are carried by people or hauled on wagons or travois. (The road was one lane of gravel at that time.) , . Restored front end at Santa Rita Park in summer 2017. , . Right side of restored model locomotive at Santa Rita Park in summer 2017. , For more information read: The Movie Railroads, 1985 and Hollywood’s Railroads, Vol. 3: Narrow Gauge Country, 2015, both by Larry Jensen.