I've got a question for all you old railroad movie buffs. Back in the Fifties, there was a movie entitled "It Happened to Jane" in which Doris Day played a small town lobster breeder and Jack Lemmon her boyfriend/lawyer. She has a run-in with the local railroad (the "Eastern and Portland")and its President played by Ernie Kovacs. She goes to court and eventually takes possession of E & P 2-8-2 locomotive #97.

I'm wondering if any of you would know the true identity of ol' 97 (possibly B & M?) and if it has survived the scrapper's torch. Also, would anyone know anything about the line the movie was shot on. The town was supposed to be Cape Ann, Maine.

Thanks.

Great movie! Shovel that coal! It was May 1958.

The engine was really New Haven 3016 and it was scrapped Oct.58 along with 3006 and 3020 after NH offered it. All 3 had been in snow melter service.

Last NH steam official run was April 29,1952 with 2 Pacific's 1388 and 1372 Boston to New Haven.

> I've got a question for all you old railroad
> movie buffs. Back in the Fifties, there was
> a movie entitled "It Happened to
> Jane" in which Doris Day played a small
> town lobster breeder and Jack Lemmon her
> boyfriend/lawyer. She has a run-in with the
> local railroad (the "Eastern and
> Portland")and its President played by
> Ernie Kovacs. She goes to court and
> eventually takes possession of E & P
> 2-8-2 locomotive #97.

> I'm wondering if any of you would know the
> true identity of ol' 97 (possibly B &
> M?) and if it has survived the scrapper's
> torch. Also, would anyone know anything
> about the line the movie was shot on. The
> town was supposed to be Cape Ann, Maine.

> Thanks.


http://www.trainweb.org/oldtimetrains
oldtimetrains@rrmail.com

> Great movie! Shovel that coal! It was May
> 1958.

> The engine was really New Haven 3016 and it
> was scrapped Oct.58 along with 3006 and 3020
> after NH offered it. All 3 had been in snow
> melter service.

> Last NH steam official run was April 29,1952
> with 2 Pacific's 1388 and 1372 Boston to New
> Haven.
The movie was filmed at various locations on the New Haven. Hartford, Plainfield and a few spots on what's now the Valley Railroad around Chester and north of Essex,CT.

drotarinoh@webtv.net

> The movie was filmed at various locations on
> the New Haven. Hartford, Plainfield and a
> few spots on what's now the Valley Railroad
> around Chester and north of Essex,CT.

The diamond scene with the then-new FL-9s, 3016, the helicopter and Ernie Kovaks was Plainfield. Hartford station, Lamberton St. coal dock in New Haven (where the Amtrak loco shop is now), the Canal Line, etc. make this flick a real treat for the NH fan.

"Cape Anne" was Chester, the "reel" depot is on the spot where the Valley RR's small "Chester" depot (actually NYNH&H's Qunnipiack) is now.

After the filming, 3016 was first offered by New Haven's PR manager Bob Mc Kernan to the town of Essex, which said "no", then to either of the two local trolley museums, which each said "no", and finally to Joe Leahy, who owned the Great Danbury Fair, and already had NYNH&H (Boston & Providence-Old Colony) 4-4-0 "Daniel Nason" on display ("Dan'l" was sold in 1982 to St. Louis). Joe told Bob Mc Kernan "no", so the order was given to ship her out. According to Bob Mc Kernan, two weeks later, he got a call from Joe Leahy, who had reconsidered and wanted to know if 3016 was still available. A few hours of phone calls later, Bob reported the 3016 was at Luria Bros. in Modena, Pa., and they had already started in on her.

The story was related to a group of RMNE people by Bob Mc Kernan in 1985.

3016 went to scrap with "E&P RR" still on the tender.

A last note on the "E&P RR": you may remember a short outside braced boxcar in the "old 97" consist-- with "E&P" in big letters on the wood side door. In 1994, during the prep of RMNE's CNJ outside braced boxcar for movement to Steamtown NHS, one of our "hoax-ters" lettered the doors with a large, faded "E&P", primarily to see if anyone along the route would notice. A VRR director was then outraged that "the original boxcar from the movie" was traded away!

Among VRR steam loco crews during the 70s and 80s, the cry of "more steam, more steam" was occasionally heard, as a reference to the movie's old engineer Uncle Otis.

Are there any other preserved lines (tourist, museum, etc.) that have had a film made on them (before they were preserved) ??

hpincus@mindspring.com

I would like to watch this great old movie again....does anyone have a video of it ?

I've got a question for all you old railroad
> movie buffs. Back in the Fifties, there was
> a movie entitled "It Happened to
> Jane" in which Doris Day played a small
> town lobster breeder and Jack Lemmon her
> boyfriend/lawyer. She has a run-in with the
> local railroad (the "Eastern and
> Portland")and its President played by
> Ernie Kovacs. She goes to court and
> eventually takes possession of E & P
> 2-8-2 locomotive #97.

> I'm wondering if any of you would know the
> true identity of ol' 97 (possibly B &
> M?) and if it has survived the scrapper's
> torch. Also, would anyone know anything
> about the line the movie was shot on. The
> town was supposed to be Cape Ann, Maine.

> Thanks.


http://www.trainweb.org/oldtimetrains
oldtimetrains@rrmail.com

Thanks to everyone who responded. I've been wondering about ol' 97 for years. It really is a great movie and I recommend it to anyone; it has some pretty good steam scenes.

The movie is apparently available on video as it shows up in a search on Blockbuster's site. It also appears on PBS once or twice a year so you may want to keep your eye out.

Jason

Hey Howard,

Is this why many years ago Steve Bogan renumbered Birmingham & Southeastern 2-8-0 #200 to #97... a tribute of sorts to "E&P ol'97"?? I always wondered about that.

Regards,
Jim Robinson

> Hey Howard,

> Is this why many years ago Steve Bogan
> renumbered Birmingham & Southeastern
> 2-8-0 #200 to #97... a tribute of sorts to
> "E&P ol'97"?? I always
> wondered about that.

> Regards,
> Jim Robinson

Jim:

Partly, I think, but Birmingham & Southeastern #200 became "#97" in Vermont, shortly after starting to run on the then-new Vermont Railway in 1965. The first trip or two were run as #200, then the #97 appeared. Steve Bogen was friends with Jay Wulfson, founder of the VTR (they went back to the mid-50s at Pine Creek RR in NJ), and that is why I think the engine went there. When the loco moved to Connecticut in 1966, there was no reason to renumber it. After all, weren't ALL old steamers "ol 97"?? (to the general public at least!).


hpincus@mindspring.com