Nostalgia & History > Petticoat Junction Filming

Sierra Railroad 4-6-0 #3 at Jamestown, Calif. for filming of the Petticoat Junction TV series, June 22, 1965. Men in photo L to R are: W.P. Cram, Boilermaker; Mike Pardina, Fireman; Louie Antone, Conductor.

---

I like the scene with the ladies taking a bath (or swim?) in the water tank.

Never missed a show, always wondered what the engine looked like in color.

TCnR Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Never missed a show, always wondered what the
> engine looked like in color.

Petticoat Junction is available on DVD. Amazon.com has a 20-episode first season DVD for $26.99. The entire series (222 episodes) is available in a set for $144.99 from
http://tinyurl.com/hu9y6

TCnR Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Never missed a show, always wondered what the
> engine looked like in color.

Interesting photo.

I also never missed a PJ episode. I think it came on Tue eves. The second the show started, there was a loud sound of the whistle and then the theme song. No matter where I was in the house, I'd hear the whistle at the start of the show and come running. One Christmas, I got a PJ HO set lettered C&FW. The engine quickly crapped out and my dad replaced it with an SP steam switcher. I still have two C&FW cars, a combine and a coach.

Other shows of the 1960s which featured trains were Iron Horse and the Wild Wild West. Mr Rogers Neighborhood was two young for me when it started but I liked "Trolley." Bob

Besides that little 4-6-0 you've got cute little rails, a stub switch, and is that a ... pneumatic turntable?

Everything you always wanted to know (and more).......
http://petticoat.topcities.com/hooterville_cannonball.htm

Yes it is a pnuematically operated turntable. I don't know how accurate the story is, but legend has it that a young man working his apprenticeship at the Jimtown shops was always getting under foot of the master mechanic, asking questions, and generally just being overly curious about eveything going on. In exasperation, he assigned the rookie to go out and "wind up" the turntable, before the afternoon frieght arrived. Sometime later, one of the officers of the railroad happened by to see this young man happily powering the turntable around and around. When he asked the Master mechanic what was going on, he smiled at the official and told him he had sent the young man out to wind up the turntable to get him "out of his hair". The official smiled, looked out to the turntable spinning around, turned to the Master Mechanic, and told him that the young man was doing such a fine job, that before he (the MM) went home for the day, he wanted him to "unwind" the turntable before he went home.

wabash2800 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> I like the scene with the ladies taking a bath (or
> swim?) in the water tank.

http://www.lorisaunders.com/lorisaunders_photo014.htm

I had a major crush on Lori.

Didn't we all..

Great photo, thanks a lot.\

Hey, too bad it's not being shot today. We'd get to see a lot "more" of the girls in the tank!

John

On occasion, this burning question crosses my mind:

Number 3 was commonly renumbered "8" for film and T.V. work. Why?

4-12-2 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Great photo, thanks a lot.\
>
> Hey, too bad it's not being shot today. We'd get
> to see a lot "more" of the girls in the tank!
>
> John


Yes, but if it were filmed today would the town still be called Hooterville?

Larry

I watched the show all the time, to the detriment of my attendance at Boy Scout Meetings, which were also on Tuesday evening.

This should probably be in the the Model Railroading section but here is a picture of the model which I still have. It makes its trip around the Christmas Tree every year.
It still runs however the head light does not work. It is shown on my garage layout with a picture of the box it came in.

Later,
Charlesn

---

---

larry020 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> 4-12-2 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Great photo, thanks a lot.\
> >
> > Hey, too bad it's not being shot today. We'd
> get
> > to see a lot "more" of the girls in the tank!
> >
> > John
>
>
> Yes, but if it were filmed today would the town
> still be called Hooterville?
>
> Larry

Sure, they'd get advertizing $$ for product placement!

topper Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> On occasion, this burning question crosses my
> mind:
>
> Number 3 was commonly renumbered "8" for film and
> T.V. work. Why?


probably 'cause its easy to turn a 3 into an 8 and have two locos for the price of one.

Funny this topic came up...I'm watching the show as I type this (it comes on daily here :)
I read somewhere (maybe on that petticoat.topcities.com site) that the reason for changing
it to 8 was so they could use a front angle shot and reverse it to look like different
footage (later in the series, they filmed all the shots of the train at one time, then
used the footage as stock footage in an episode whenever the needed the train, rather
than going to Jamestown to film). Whenever they showed a closeup of the train, or baggage
car #5 in the show, with the cast in it, that was a full-size mockup, rather than the real
train. I recently found that Tyco C&FW engine on the used shelf at the local hobby shop,
so I picked it up. I'd love to have the whole trainset, but the ones I've seen on ebay went
for several hundred dollars...don't want it that bad...Anyway, the cars that come with it
didn't match the one on the show (and they only had one combine on the show). The MDC Overton
34' combine matches it better. Now all I need is a watertank with the 3 girls swimming in it :)

That same sound stage locomotive was originally created for Ticket to Tomahawk filmed along the Durango line in 1950. It starred: Dan Dailey, as Johnny Behind-the-Deuces; Anne Baxter as Kit Dodge Jr.; Rory Calhoun as Dakota; and Walter Brennan as engineer Terence Sweeny. Marilyn Monroe was an uncredited dance hall girl. It and many others are available through www.AshfaultsClassicMovies.com

Is my memory playing tricks with me but did they link the train and/or some of the cast from PC once or twice with the Green Acres show? Now wasn't Green Acres pretty corny? LOL