NNG - The Little Rascals in "Railroadin"

In June of 1929, Hal Roach Studios shot a two-reel short of the Little Rascals, or "Our Gang" as they were known then, in a railroad yard in southern California. The mischevious kids got a locomotive moving while their fathers, the engineer and fireman were having lunch around the corner. Of course, the obligatory run-away train sequences came next, but what is interesting is that there were very little film special effects used in these sequences other than sped up camera speeds.

Im attaching the YouTube links to these two reels for your enjoyment.

I'd be interested in hearing from the experts here on some of the locomotive opeations shown (did they grease the track in the yard?).
Also, where do you think this yard, roundhouse and turntable was located? 1929 So-Cal looks nothing like it does today, that's for certain. The markings on the loco were blacked out on the film, but at times, you can almost make out AT&SF. I'm not sure though. You guys can probably tell from the engine numbers alone.

The conversations on the soundtrack are very difficult to understand. These reels were never shown on television because the film's soundtrack was presumed lost since the mid-1940s. Railroadin's sound track turned up in the MGM vaults in 1982; while it was released on home video, it never became part of the television package.

And so, to those thrilling days of yesteryear (before child labor laws):

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/25/2008 08:29AM by weflylo.