Well, now I have to see another movie I've managed to miss over the years, "Funny Girl," starring Barbra Streisand and directed by William Wyler.

Of note for this space is the sequence from "Don't Rain on My Parade." Locations include the then-active Jersey Central Lines station in Hoboken (standing in for Baltimore), the harbor of New York with New York Central steam tug No. 24, and a steam train I can't quite identify (at 1:00 in the clip below), masquerading as a badly mislettered Baltimore & Ohio train. The engine looks to be a Canadian Pacific G-5, which suggests Steamtown when it was in Vermont, but I'm not positive. Anybody know?

http://barbramemories.blogspot.com/2010 ... art-1.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_g3kkGH8Mo

We had the the pleasure of working with the producers on that film. The locomotive is Steamtowns ( the Vermont version) #127 and the coaches were regular CNJ commuter cars leased for the shoot. The station scenes were shot in the CNJ's Jersey City terminal building and ferry head house.

The action train scenes were shot ( mostly from a helicopter) on the Army's Piccatinny Arsenal trackage outside Dover NJ.

The scene shown on the youtube clip showing her singing in the coach seat required 7 takes and it was a beastly hot and humid day and as the scene was supposed to have been shot in the fall/winter all the windows in that non a/c coach needed to be closed. With the heat from all the klieg lights I'd guess the interior temp. in that car was north of 130 F?? Anyhow, because of the extreme heat the facial makeup of all the actors was only good for about 5/6 minutes before it began to melt off their faces so we had to back up to the beginning of the lake, stand still while they re-madeup the actors then quick shoot another take and repeat that about 7 times.

Barbara was nice enough to come up into the cab of the 127 so that the crew and I could get our pics taken with her in the engineers seat and I recall that one of her comments was " its cooler in here than in that XXXXXX coach!!"

Anyhow, it was fun and a real learning experience and we got paid well!!

Memories!!! Ross Rowland


P.S. IIRC Howard P. may have been amongst the volunteer crew that day??

Thanks, Ross--and I feel like kicking myself for not remembering the CNJ went to Jersey City, not Hoboken--

Don't you wish we could still film things like this today, and not have to use that computer animation?

Streisand again, in stills from "Hello, Dolly," which of course also starred PRR 1223 (oh, why did the movie people paint that engine up like that?). Could she have made a pretty Phoebe Snow for Erie-Lackawanna?

http://www.moviegoods.com/Assets/produc ... 1020.A.jpg

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh28 ... RA2018.jpg

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh28 ... olly-1.jpg

I live in the wrong time. . .

Besides the singing, there was something very authentic about her walking through the CNJ terminal, from the hue of the paint on the wall, to the condition of the coaches and train shet. Even though the CNJ terminal is still with us, as are many historical buildings, I think movie producers get one thing wrong when they try to portray the past in today's films, everything is way too clean. Of course, back then, it looked gritty because it was, in everyday use. American cities had a certain grittiness to them that you don't find as much today, with older buildings and the like. Much of this was swept away by giant skyscrapers of glass curtain walls.

Well Ross, I was still a bit too young then to be involved with that operation...

The CNJ Terminal scenes must have been soon after the Terminal closed for passengers on Saturday, April 29, 1967. I had sought cab ride releases for the last day of operations, a round trip to Bay Head and a round trip to Raritan. I had discovered the PR Dept.'s office upstairs off the balcony a few weeks before, and Nate James, CNJ's PR Director was accomodating and gracious to this 15-year old railfan. Being under-age, my Dad had to accompany me on the trips-- he was very supportive of my railroad mania. I think High Iron's Charlie Strunk was the WB engineer to Raritan on an RS-3.

The "B&O" CNJ coach may have been owned by Steve Bogen at the time of the filming; I know it came to Essex under his ownership about 1970-71, and was around for quite a while-- I do remember seeing the B&O gold painted lettering on the car and recalling the opening scenes of the film. It may have been stripped for parts and scrapped in the late 70s.

Let's not forget that wonderful New York Central steam tugboat Barbra is the "figurehead" on!! And watch for the McMyler car dumper in the background on the Jersey Shore-- a small part of the shoreline railroad infrastructure of New York Harbor, now all swept away by residential and office development.

Those WERE the days, my friends.....

Howard P.

Three of the CNJ coaches, actually two coaches and a combine, wound up on the Black River after the filming. Along with a DL&W Boonton and a pair of Stilwells, they replaced the wooden cars. One of the coaches had some of the seats removed for the camera dollies, and BR&W installed some sofas and carpeting, turning the car into an ersatz "parlor car". I believe that particular car has since been scrapped, but I haven't been on the property for years.

I'd bet got a few dollars that the G5 used in Funny Girl was the 1286, as I've got a few glossies of Ms. Streisand, Mr. Rowland, and the crew in front of said engine.

-M.J. Kershner

The CNJ terminal in Jersey City was featured in another film from 1960, "From The Terrace," which also featured Reading T-1 No. 2124. Related link is below:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=33499

I had heard the story about the seats being taken out of the car for a movie, glad to finally know what movie it was, it will be a great story to tell the passengers! Does anyone know if the combine was used in any of the interior shots?

The Parlor car is still in service. The John L. Bishop is available (along with the combine) for charters for parties!
http://www.flemingtontrain.org/groups.html

-A humble Black River volunteer