Re: Iron Horse

Nothing like digging up an old "Iron Horse"! I agree with the "over the top" description of the acting; it was pretty much unwatchable.
However, I did have the pleasure of watching part of one episode being filmed. It was at Black Oak trestle on the Sierra RR between Standard and Tuolumne. It was after dusk. Security? They didn't have any. I parked my car on the road down below and my wife and I walked up the embankment to the site. I ended up standing behind Dale Robertson (who had the part of lead Ben Calhoun) who was sitting in a captain's chair about a foot or two in front of me. He was busy talking to someone sitting next to him about his (Robertson's) horse ranch in Texas until he was called for a shot in back of the "shorty" Sierra coach.
The crew was using arc lights to mimic daylight; must have had a tight schedule. This gave me a chance to examine the coach more closely -- I had been familiar with it since 1959. In the Iron Horse series, the coach was supposed to be Calhoun's personal private car and was "all dolled up" accordingly. I guess it looked OK on film for TV but all the fancy paneling and such on the car actually was nothing more than store-bought Contact Paper, the stuff which usually is used for lining shelves and drawers. A total fraud!
Nobody ever asked me who I was, why was I there, or whatever and i guess I was there behind Robertson for 30 to 45 minutes.
I may have a B&W photo or two of the scene being shot around here somewhere but it would take a lot of serious pearl diving to find it.
Best regards, Hart Corbett