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"Railways in the Movies":
Throughout the years, Hollywood has brought us thrills and excitement on the silver screen, and locomotives have featured in many films. From the days of Buster Keaton and Pearl White, to James Bond and Harry Potter, they remain with us today:
This must be the greatest:
'The General', the American Civil War Locomotive that was, along with Fess Parker, the star of Walt Disney's 'The Great Locomotive Chase'. |  |
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"The Canyon of Lost Souls":
 Animas Canyon was the location for the film 'Ticket to Tommahawk' filmed on the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad.
The film included Marilyn Monroe, Walter Brennan, Anne Baxter and Rory Calhoun in its cast of characters. The movie was filmed in the Durango area, chosen because of the Durango – Silverton railroad and its spectacular settings. The primary filming locations of the movie were in the Animas Canyon north of Durango, Colorado and the Rockwood area.
Other locations included Silverton, Colorado and Reservoir Hill, which is now home to the Fort Lewis College campus. The Engine of the train used in the filming was Engine No. 20. It ran many miles of narrow gauge track that connected mining towns all over Colorado.
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"Across the Wide Missouri":
 1951: The setting for 'Across the Wide Missouri' is the state of Montana, however the majority of the film was shot in the San Juan Mountains, and north of Durango, Colorado. The movie included Clark Gable in it’s cast of characters, as well as Ricardo Montalban and Maria Elena Marques.
In the movie, stunt man Fred Kennedy suffered a broken neck when his intentional fall from a horse did not go as smoothly as he had intended. The whole incident was caught on film and used in the movie.
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More films:
 Three films were made in the year 1952, one each by Paramount Pictures ('Denver and Rio Grande'), 20th Century Fox ('Viva Zapata') and MGM ('Lone Star').
1952 – 'Denver and Rio Grande':
'Denver and Rio Grande' is a story about competing railroads in the Days of General Palmer. The cast of characters included, Edmond O’Brien, Laura Elliot and Sterling Hayden. 'Denver and Rio Grande' was the first movie to create and film an actual train crash in Technicolor.
Once again the beautiful Animas Canyon north of Durango, Colorado was chosen as the location to set up and film the crash. They used two old engines from the narrow gauge line, Engine 319 and engine 268, loading them with black powder and Dynamite to create the explosion in the head-on collision.
1952 – 'Lone Star':
1952 must have been a big year for movies around Durango. 'Lone Star' filmed its background and stunt scenes all around Durango including on the Pine River East of Durango and south around Cortez, Colorado. Stars included Clark Gable, Ava Gardner and Lionel Barrymore. Gable and his co-stars filmed the movie on MGM sets so none of the movies several stars came to Durango for the filming.
1952 – 'Viva Zapata'
Anthony Quinn won an Academy Award for his role in the film 'Viva Zapata'. It is a story about revolution in Mexico. John Steinbeck and Marlon Brando were nominated for Academy Awards for Screenplay and best Actor. The same old train used in the filming of 'Across the Wide Missouri' was put to work in 'Viva Zapata' as well. It was repainted and given a new number for the filming
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"Always Popular":
 | 1953 - 'The Naked Spur'
'The Naked Spur' starred James Stewart, Janet Leigh and Robert Ryan. The movie was nominated for an Academy Award for best original screenplay. The story is about a bounty hunter (played by James Stewart) who lost his ranch (and his gal). He seeks the reward for a wanted man in hopes of buying back his ranch with the reward money. 'The Naked Spur' was the fourth movie filmed in and around the Durango area.
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"A Favourite":
 1955 – 'The Maverick Queen'
'The Maverick Queen' starred Barbara Stanwyck, Scott Brady, Ernest Borgnine and Barry Sullivan. It was based on a novel by Zane Grey, which centered on the gang of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Scenes were shot in a several areas around Durango. Coal Bank pass, Columbine Guest Ranch, which has since been torn down, Silverton, Colorado and on the Joe Hotter ranch.
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"A Big Film":
 | 1956 – 'Around the World in Eighty Days'
The award winning film 'Around the World in Eighty Days', starred David Niven as Phileas Fogg. Flanked by Cantinflas, Shirley Maclaine, Red Skelton, Ronald Colman and Buster Keaton, along with other talented actors and actresses, 'Around the World in Eighty Days' was awarded Best Picture, Best Musical Score, best screen play as well as two more Academy Awards.
The film used Engine number 315 which is currently displayed at Gateway Park, where the Durango Chamber of Commerce is located. The film shot scenes from all around the world in thirteen countries – one of those being Durango, Colorado, USA. Filming took Place around Hesperus, Colorado, in La Plata Canyon, Rockwood (North of Durango on the Silverton rail) and Arboles.
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"A Real Cowboy":
 1957 - 'Night Passage'
Universal pictures brought us 'Night Passage' starring James Stewart and Audie Murphy. Filming locations included several areas along the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, Molas Lake and two mines North of Silverton, Colorado. In the movie they actually extended the railroad tracks at the Silverton depot so the train would stop closer to the heart of Silverton’s downtown.
The Mayflower Mine was the location of the last shootout in the movie. The cast and crew marveled over the beauty of the Durango surroundings in the autumn and Actor Audie Murphy and his family rented the home of Earl Barker and visited all the tourist attractions.
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"Even More Popular:
 1962 – 'How The West Was Won'
Academy Award Winner 'How The West Was Won' had a huge all star cast which included Debbie Reynolds, John Wayne, Henry Fonda, James Stewart, Agnes Moorehead, Walter Brennan, Gregory Peck and Andy Devine. Scenes were shot at Molas Lake, Rockwood and Animas Canyon. Filmed by Metro Goldwyn Mayer / Cinerama, 'How The West Was Won' received an Academy Award for best Screenplay as well as a nomination for best picture. MGM built a mock up train and rail to accomplish the exact scenes they wanted for the film.
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"The Big Jump":
 | 1969 – 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'
The dynamic duo of film, Robert Redford and Paul Newman, starred in the 20th century Fox film, 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'. The film about the famous outlaw pair won four Academy Awards, including best song (‘Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head’) and was nominated for an additional two awards.
Bakers Bridge, about 13 miles north of Durango was used in the famous jump scene in the movie. The water was blocked to create the appearance of a more rapid-like river and the jump itself was made farther through Camera magic to create the illusion of a much longer fall to the water.
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"In Lovely Settings":
 | 1971 – 'Support Your Local Gunfighter'
'Support Your Local Gunfighter', was a western comedy starring, James Garner, Jack Elam, Suzanne Pleshette and Harry Morgan. Elam also played a role in two other films made in the Durango area, 'Ticket to Tomahawk' and 'Night Passage'.
Shooting of the film included Animas Canyon footage of the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge train North of Durango, Colorado as well as several other scenes involving the train.
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"One of Wayne's Last":
 1972 – 'The Cowboys'
Warner Brothers filmed this John Wayne movie, which included Bruce Dern, Slim Pickens, Colleen Dewhurst and Roscoe Lee Browne in its cast. 'The Cowboys' was one of the last films that Wayne made before he died in 1979.
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"They Reach the End":
 | 1972 – 'When the Legends Die'
'When the Legends Die' starred Tillman Box, Richard Widmark, Frederick Forrest and Luana Anders. It was set as a more modern western. The movie included scenes shot in Bayfield, Colorado, Durango and on the Southern Ute Reservation in Ignacio, Colorado. One of the Scenes was actually filmed in the Rochester Hotel itself.
Other stories will follow on this page, as they become available -Watch out for them!
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