A California auction house has listed a full-scale replica of Southern Pacific “Daylight” No. 4449 that was used in the 1986 movie “Tough Guys” starring Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas. In the movie, Lancaster and Douglas play two old-school gangsters just released from 30 years in prison after robbing a fictional SP passenger train called the Gold Coast Flyer. Dismayed by modern life, the two men decide to rob the train on its final run.
While Lancaster and Douglas are prominently featured in the film, 4-8-4 No. 4449 is the real star of the movie. The locomotive was moved from its home in Portland, Ore., to California where parts of the movie were filmed on the Eagle Mountain Railroad, a now defunct iron ore road.
In the movie’s grand finale, Lancaster and Douglas’ characters, Harry Doyle and Archie Long, crash No. 4449 through a bumper post and across the U.S.-Mexico border. Because SP No. 4449’s crew was not willing to let the filmmakers crash the real 4-8-4 off the end-of-track, they were forced to build a full-scale replica (the actual crash scene was filmed with a smaller model).
After the movie, the plywood replica was broken into smaller pieces and put into a warehouse where it has apparently sat ever since. This week, the replica and a number of other items were put on the auction block. The auction will be held in Desert Center on Nov. 2, although people can also place bids on the replica online. The high bid as of Thursday night was $5. The eventual winner of the replica will also have to pay for and arrange shipping.
The auction also features a former Eagle Mountain Railroad caboose.
According to Martin Hansen, a SP No. 4449 crew member, the auction was the talk of the shop this week in Portland. However, Hansen says the group has no interest in purchasing the replica since they already have the real thing. Hansen also says that space is a premium at the Oregon Rail Heritage Center, where No. 4449 is stored and maintained along with two other steam locomotives owned by the City of Portland. While it’s unlikely the “Tough Guys” replica will be heading to Portland anytime soon, Hansen says ORHC will be opening an exhibit on No. 4449’s role in the 1989 movie in the coming months.
They made a full-scale wood replica of Rio Grande Southern 4-6-0 No. 20 for filming of “Ticket to Tomahawk” for scenes off the track, including where it was pulled overland by horses. The replica bounced around several places over the years but was finally moved to Durango, Colo., for restoration.
This article reminds me of my membership in a fire buff club in Minneapolis. A few members actually purchased old fire trucks to restore. One member purchased an old airport fire truck—his wife was NOT amused!
It reminds me of the episode of the Big Bang Theory where they win what they thought was a scale model of the Time Machine but it turns out to be a full size prop. I can imagine a conversation along the lines of “Honey, so I bought a model of the SP Daylight, however…”
I tracked down the auction – you can do it from the link in the article, and it looks as if they are unloading all kinds of stuff, including numerous old vehicles, which has accumulated in the general vicinity of Desert Center. I hope they don’t plan to flatten the place, it has flavour.
Desert Center never really amounted to much, but then it was one of those quirky things you find in the California desert. If you are in the mood for some entertainment you should read up on the history of the place.
I remember characters such as Three Feathers (who was not Native American) and Crazy Joe, denizens of some of the small towns in San Bernardino County, and not all of whom lived in houses – or wanted to. Crazy Joe came into town one day all put out because BLM had pulled out his trapline and confiscated his burros. This was not so very long ago, either.
Crazy Joe had a point. You can’t go wandering the high country without a string of pack burros, now can you?
I miss that bunch. Oh, well, another time, a different life.
The above comments are genetic in nature and do not form the basis for an attorney/client relationship. They do not constitute legal advice. I am not your attorney. Stay at the Happy Bottoms Riding Club, Palmdale, California.
Doyle McCormick has a speaking role in that film, No One Robs Trains Anymore!