Railroad employee centered drama- and a question

[Trainman203]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pYEx7UPz8E4

The Alco FP unit shown throughout the film is lettered for the "Central National," which made me think it was a minimally redecorated Canadian National unit, but a study of photos of old units show that the movie paint is not like the old CN maple leaf paint.  Can anyone ID the original railroad?  

If it hadn't been for that engine, I'da though this movie was set on the SP in California.

[jward]

It looks to me like a Rock Island FA1 in a modified paint scheme where they extended the black side stripes across the nose. The number is also appropriate for a RI unit.


http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=4679670
http://rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=3590088


It should be noted that the cab interior shots are from an EMD F or E unit, not an Alco.

[Len]

Found this about half way down in the "Trivia" section for the movie 'Human Desire' over on IMDb:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047101/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv

"The "Central National" Railroad was portrayed by equipment and properties of the Southern Pacific Railroad. The locomotive and yard scenes were filmed on the Rock Island Railroad in El Reno, Oklahoma. RI Alco FA-1 #153 had the lettering covered on the side and a red panel added over the low nose herald. The "Yard Office" is actually the building housing the offices for the car repair facility in El Reno. The view after that is in the car repair shed north of the diesel shop in El Reno. The north side of the diesel shop is in the background. No. 717 that almost runs them over is RI Alco S-2 that was assigned to El Reno at least through the mid-60s."

There also appear to be some 'stock shots' of Pennsy equipment, including a GG-1, in the background of a couple of scenes. There are some nice shots of a yard that looks about right for a small layout in the opening sequence 'cab ride'.

Len

[jward]

There is also a shot of a train crossing the Potomac at Harpers Ferry on the B&O in the opening sequence.

[Trainman203]

I saw the Harpers Ferry shot.  Although I've been there in years past I didn't recognize it at first. Is that a B&O streamlined steam engine crossing?  Have to look closer.  There's views from inside the cab that distinctly look like northeast heavy industrial scenes, not El Reno OK or California.  I haven't seen the GG1 yet, need to look more closely.

I noticed that in uncoupling the 153 from the train, only an airbrake hose appeared to be disconnected, no steam line or anything else.  And while they are around the yard office, the steam whistles heard in the background, if live recordings, could be about the only Rock Island steam engine recordings ever made.  They sound just like SP 5 chime whistles though, of which I've heard plenty, so they could just as well dubbed in.

At that, I have to say this.  For me, there's  nothing like the sound of an SP or ATSF 5 chime or 6 chime steam whistle to put my pulmonary heart rate into orbit.  I heard them all the time  as a kid.  Younger folks will never understand.

[jward]

B&O E unit on the Harpers Ferry scene. What's interesting in that scene is that they have converted the second bridge over the river into a highway bridge. It has always been a railroad bridge, as that's where the SHenandoah Valley line comes in. It's still active to-day.

As far as uncoupling from the train, they only uncoupled the A unit, and left the B unit behind. As far as I know, the ROck Island FA1s didn't have steam generators so there would have been no train heating lines. But on some railroads, the steam generators were in the B units where there is more room for them.

As far as the industrial scenes, those looked more like California to me. Did you notice every time they change the camera from an inside view to an outside one the train is on a different track?

[Terry Toenges]

Broderick Crawford figured out how to make his tie grow. About 7:00, when he encounters Glenn Ford in the yard, his tie is real short. When he walks across the road to his house (about 11:40) his tie comes down farther on his belly. By the time he gets in the house (12:15) it's down to his belt. You can gauge it in relation to the bottom button on his shirt.

[Trainman203]

https://obscuretrainmovies.wordpress.com/2016/02/02/human-desire-1954/