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 Post subject: B&O Lafayette In Operation--In Cumberland in 1939!!
PostPosted: Sat Sep 16, 2017 11:13 pm 

Joined: Fri Mar 05, 2010 3:41 am
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Location: Inwood, W.Va.
I think it might be fairly well known that the B&O's Lafayette replica has been in at least two films.

The better known here is likely Walt Disney's "The Great Locomotive Chase" of 1956. Perhaps lesser known is Metro-Goldwyn-Meyer's "Stand Up and Fight" of 1939:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stand_Up_and_Fight_(film)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9TfbuvfV04

This movie is interesting for a variety of reasons, one of them being that it's set in Cumberland, Md. in 1844, not something typical of Hollywood then, or now.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0031972/

I haven't seen this movie, but there is this interesting review from IMDB:


Quote:
Not bad....but also a bit strange.

11 April 2010 | by planktonrules (Bradenton, Florida) – See all my reviews

Before I start, I would like to point out that the film was set in 1844 and practically everyone uses revolvers--even though this sort of gun was super-rare at that time. Revolvers would become more common in the 1850s-1860, but in 1844 you just didn't see them because they were so new. Yet, oddly, EVERYBODY seems to have one in the shootout near the end of the film! The revolver was NOT a reliable weapon and few could afford them if they could even find one back then! Oh, well, there are worse historical mistakes I've seen in other films...and I notice them, as I was a history teacher.

The story is one of the stranger ones I've ever seen concerning slavery. It isn't really bad...just very, very unusual--especially in its way of portraying the fugitive slave trade. The film begins with Robert Taylor selling off his plantation and slaves because of his debts. It's obvious that he's pretty attached to his slaves and makes sure the families aren't separated--but he STILL sells them like they are property. So, seeing him working for the abolitionist cause later in the film is a bit of a surprise.

A bit later, officials with the B&O Railroad try to hire Taylor as an agent to investigate the illegal slave trade and how it might relate to a local transportation company. I liked seeing the old fashioned trains from the 1840s that you see in the film, but Taylor wasn't as impressed nor was he willing to take the railroad's offer. However, oddly, investigating this trade is EXACTLY what Taylor ends up doing--and it hits close to home when one of his old slaves is killed by the scum behind the scheme.

Taylor's nemesis throughout the film is the mean and blustery Wallace Beery. His acting, as usual, is far from subtle and he chews up practically every scene in which he appears. As a result, Taylor's good acting is all the more obvious! Overall, an interesting film--mostly because other films made around the same time didn't seem to care much about the plight of slaves. By comparison, think about the way Blacks are portrayed in "Gone With the Wind" which also came out the same year. Sure, it's a great film, but it also made slavery seem not so bad! So "Stand Up and Fight" should at least be given some credit for its rather progressive theme. The only major complaint I had about the film was the ending--it seemed a bit weak.


What I think very few of us knew--and that short list didn't include me--was that the race between the stagecoach and the train in the movie was apparently reenacted as a promotional event in Cumberland!

Here is the video of that event. . .a glimpse of what was there close to 80 years ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3q6ZC_ulys

Enjoy!!


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 Post subject: Re: B&O Lafayette In Operation--In Cumberland in 1939!!
PostPosted: Sun Sep 17, 2017 7:44 am 

Joined: Thu Apr 14, 2005 9:34 pm
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Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Imagine closing the line and letting all those people wander the tracks for filming.

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 Post subject: Re: B&O Lafayette In Operation--In Cumberland in 1939!!
PostPosted: Sun Sep 17, 2017 8:39 am 

Joined: Sun Jan 11, 2009 5:31 pm
Posts: 329
softwerkslex wrote:
Imagine closing the line and letting all those people wander the tracks for filming.



Was done for Railfest 1992 in Cumberland.... Not a snowball chance in Hell in 2017 !

Tim W.


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 Post subject: Re: B&O Lafayette In Operation--In Cumberland in 1939!!
PostPosted: Sun Sep 17, 2017 10:29 am 

Joined: Sun May 18, 2014 8:56 pm
Posts: 111
Location: New York
I would love to see that little 4-2-0 put on a show like that in 2017, heck I’d love to see Lafayette operate period. I’m still kicking myself for not going down to the B&O Museum last time they steamed her up. With the new permanent-looking barrier surrounding its stall in the roundhouse, it seems unlikely to happen again.


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 Post subject: Re: B&O Lafayette In Operation--In Cumberland in 1939!!
PostPosted: Sun Sep 17, 2017 5:25 pm 

Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2006 11:56 pm
Posts: 126
We actually rode behind LaFayette in one of those coaches at the B&O Museum back in the 1990s. Also in the cupola of their bobber caboose and a cab ride in The Mason. I doubt anything like that will happen again.


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 Post subject: Re: B&O Lafayette In Operation--In Cumberland in 1939!!
PostPosted: Thu Sep 21, 2017 9:29 am 

Joined: Wed Aug 23, 2017 12:23 pm
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"Lafayette" is among the steam engines in better condition at the museum. Though as far as engines in line to get fired up again there are a few on the list ahead of it.


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 Post subject: Re: B&O Lafayette In Operation--In Cumberland in 1939!!
PostPosted: Thu Sep 21, 2017 11:03 am 

Joined: Thu May 06, 2010 10:30 pm
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Location: Bucks County, PA
Galloway wrote:
"Lafayette" is among the steam engines in better condition at the museum. Though as far as engines in line to get fired up again there are a few on the list ahead of it.


Wasn't the Lafayette steamed up and running around during the last "Steam Days" event that the museum had, after the Mason went down?

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 Post subject: Re: B&O Lafayette In Operation--In Cumberland in 1939!!
PostPosted: Thu Sep 28, 2017 8:53 am 

Joined: Wed Aug 23, 2017 12:23 pm
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The last time that "Lafayette" was under steam was fall 2014. St. Elizabeth was under steam in fall 2015.


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 Post subject: Re: B&O Lafayette In Operation--In Cumberland in 1939!!
PostPosted: Thu Sep 28, 2017 9:42 am 

Joined: Thu May 06, 2010 10:30 pm
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Location: Bucks County, PA
Galloway wrote:
The last time that "Lafayette" was under steam was fall 2014. St. Elizabeth was under steam in fall 2015.


And then, sadly, no steam events in 2016 or 2017, if memory serves me correctly. :(

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 Post subject: Re: B&O Lafayette In Operation--In Cumberland in 1939!!
PostPosted: Thu Sep 28, 2017 9:44 pm 

Joined: Mon Jan 08, 2007 10:56 am
Posts: 55
That is correct. 2015 was our last steam days. No one is sadder about that than the steam crews, but we'll be back. The steam guy is also the metal guy and right now they have him focused on the EA. Everything in its time.


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