Eagle Mountain Railroad - in The Movies

In The Movies

In January–February 1966, Columbia Pictures filmed many scenes for the motion picture The Professionals on the railroad. This action western starred Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan, Woody Strode, Jack Palance and Claudia Cardinale. The basic story involved four men, each with unique talents, being hired by a millionaire to rescue his wife, who was kidnapped by a Mexican bandit. The movie makes extensive use of ex-Great Western steam locomotive No. 75, which stands in for both an American and Mexican locomotive. The scenes where the four men cross the border at a wooden bridge is actually the first railroad bridge north of Ferrum. The large steel bridge over the Salt Creek Wash was actually repainted to appear as a wooden bridge since the movie is set around 1910. Other scenes were shot at Gravel Pit and Summit. An ex-Southern Pacific caboose and a couple old wooden boxcars were used along with a Kaiser Steel flatcar for the various trains seen in the movie.

In March–April 1986, Touchstones Films, a Walt Disney subsidiary, filmed the movie Tough Guys on a portion of the railroad. This comedy starred Burt Lancaster, Kirk Douglas, Eli Wallach and Dana Carvey. It was the final collaboration for Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas. They play a pair of train robbers that have been released from prison after 30 years. Unable to survive in a changed world, they decide to rob the same train that they robbed 30 years ago. At the end of the film, they hijack the "Gold Coast Flyer" pulled by famed locomotive Southern Pacific 4449, and run it full throttle to the Mexican border.

The special train used in the film consisted of Southern Pacific 4449, its auxiliary water car, and four passenger cars. It departed its home base in Portland, Oregon on March 5 and arrived in Los Angeles on March 9. Over the next four days, the interior of one passenger car was redone by Touchstone crews since it would appear in one scene. In addition, two Southern Pacific flatcars were added to the train and a mockup of the 4449's cab was placed on one of them. This mockup was used for some cab shots, since it's easier to move the camera around in it than in the real thing. Over the eight days between March 14 and March 21, several scenes were filmed at Southern Pacific's Taylor Yard.

On March 31, 1986, the seven car special train departed Los Angeles at 10:00am and arrived on the Eagle Mountain Railroad at Ferrum around 6:00pm. About one hour later it arrived at the movie set that had been constructed at Summit. The train spent the night here. The next day, April 1, the Southern Pacific 4449 along with one passenger car and its auxiliary water tender headed for Eagle Mountain for water. After filling up with water, the shortened train returned to Summit. The following day, April 2, saw the start of nine days of filming on the railroad. Scenes were shot between the Coachella Canal Bridge and Summit. Shooting these scenes required numerous run-bys and hours of waiting. During the last few days of filming, the water supply on board the locomotive started to run low, so a pair of Kaiser Steel U30C's picked up the auxiliary water tender, took it to Eagle Mountain where it was refilled with water and then returned to Summit later in the day. During the filming, the local school children from Eagle Mountain Elementary School took a field trip to see and tour the train and movie set, with miniatures, at Summit. Filming wrapped up on April 10, and that afternoon the train headed to Eagle Mountain for servicing. The next day, April 11, the special train backed all the way to Ferrum where the train is turned around before heading to Colton, California. The special train arrived back in Portland on April 16.

(Near the end of the movie, it appears that 4449 runs off the end of the track into the dirt, then the actors emerge from the cab. This was done using another full-sized fiberglass/wood mockup, this time of both the engine and tender. This mockup can still be seen through the windows of a garage building adjacent to the cafe in Desert Center, CA.)