Just saw that movie tonight for the zillionth time. Prior to its release, I managed to see the 4-4-0 on a flatcar with its "privates" bagged and taped up to protect it from the elements at Strasburg in 1998 to ship out to Idaho I believe for filming.

What of the coaches they used in the movie. I read on IMDB and Wikipedia that the interiors were shot on a soundstage. What of the exteriors? Where did they get the coach and combine (I think it was a combine...you would think I would know that after seeing it so many times...)

The two coaches for West and Gordon's train, the "Wanderer", were built by the studio on two modern steel frames with roller-bearing trucks, I believe either flat car or box cars with their sides cut down. The studio shop then built the varnish car's bodies with full interiors on the frames, which were used both for interior scenes on a soundstage and for exterior location photography outside Santa Fe and on the Camas Prairie RR in Idaho. These were kept by Warner Brothers intact for a few years, obstensibly for use in sequel which was never made, given the pretty awful reception the movie garnered. The interior of the private car was patterned after photographs of George Pullman's own PV, the "Monitor", later named "PPC". The B&O RR Museum's 4-4-0 "William Mason" was rebuilt at the Strasburg shops and painted and lettered by the srudio as "Wanderer". It also kept that decor for a few years as per contract with the studio.

The cars were at the Fillmore and Western, at least they were a couple of years ago.
Chris

I am not as finicky as some when it comes to movies.

If it has a real steam train in it i am pleased.

I liked the giant bug thing with the rivetted body parts.

The Orange Empire Museum just had a movie shoot that had a steam locomotive and some heavy weight cars in the station.

I do not know if anything actually moved. We will have to wait and see.

Ted Miles

I saw an item in the news about the original "Wild Wild West" TV series from the 60's being issued on DVD's. I didn't see it that often, usually watching it when visiting my dad, who found it very entertaining. I noted that the scenery looked familiar, and later was told that it was filmed on the Santa Fe "San Jack" branch east of Perris (Riverside County CA). I also heard that after the season's shooting "wrapped", the steamer was returned to Los Angeles on its own wheels and on its own power. Was someone telling me a "sea story", or could this have really happened, remembering that it was at least 40 years ago?

The equipment used in the filming of the TV series "The Wild Wild West" was Virginia and Truckee #22 "Inyo" as well as Coach #4 and Express Car #21, all rented from Paramount by CBS Studio City. Paramount stored them in the UP's Taylor Yard in Los Angeles. They were repainted for the shoot, loaded on flat cars and shipped to Riverside, where they were off-loaded and road dead on their on wheels in a Santa Fe freight up the San Jacinto Branch to a siding at Menifee, California. There the train was steamed up and used in filming sequences between June and August of 1965. Various scenes were shot of the train either under steam or parked on a siding and were used as stock shots throughout the four year run of the series.
The show originally shot the pilot episode at Jamestown, California using Sierra RR #3 and Combine #5 and Coach #2. These shots were also used at various times during the series.
Interiors were shot on a soundstage at Studio City, California on sets of West and Gordon's private car "Wanderer", built at a cost of $35,000.00.
Unfortunately, I had a website with further information on "Wanderer", but AOL saw fit to shut down its AOL Hometown without notice to thousands of users. As a result I will have to find a new host and redo the site.

Oh, and when the shooting wrapped, the loco and coaches were shipped back the same way to Taylor yard in LA , where they were stored again. This was the last operation under steam of "Inyo" until its was acquired by the State of Nevada and restored to operation by the Nevada State RR Museum.

TRAINS Magazine had a photo of the equipment stored at Menifee siding. This siding is gone now, but it was between Romoland (east of Perris) and Winchester. Google Earth does show the location of the Menifee siding. As I recall for the old TV series, the shots were taken between there and Winchester along the eucalyptus groves.

You are right, Brian. RAILROAD magazine also featured a picture and a brief mention of the train filming in their January 1966 issue. The picture was taken by noted rail photographer Chard Walker, who kindly sent me the original a few months before he passed away.
Filming was shot between Menifee's siding and Winchester, alot of it around the eucalyptus grove. Some action shots were filmed with stars Robert Conrad and Ross Martin, with alot of extras costumed as cowboys, rail crew and Indians.

Some websites with more info:
http://www.wildwildwest.org/wanderer.html
http://www.wildwildwest.org/wanderer2.html
http://web.archive.org/web/20060427015822/http://hometown.aol.com/depot88/newindex.html

Yeah, the last one was part of my webpage that AOL closed down with the rest of AOL Hometown. Will have to get it backup on another host. The other pages are from a TV Guide feature which shows the train enroute to location photography as well as shots from the interior set as used for the first season.