Engine No. 11 of the Virginia & Truckee Railroad, nicknamed Reno, was acquired by Old Tucson in September 1970. The history of the train dates back to 1872 when it was built at the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
"The Virginia & Truckee Railroad is undoubtedly the most famous short line in Western history. Part of the line's fame stems from its romantic beginnings as a bonanza railroad serving Nevada's rich Comstock Lode, but much of the line's latter-day appeal can be attributed to the classic equipment it operated." (The Movie Railroad by Larry Jensen, Darwin Publications 1981)
For $500, Paramount Pictures obtained in 1938 an option to lease or purchase Engine No. 11, Reno. Its first use as a motion picture train was in the Cecil B. DeMille picture Union Pacific and that was the only picture utilizing the train made by Paramount while it retained ownership of the engine.
In March 1945, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer purchased the train from Paramount for $5,000.
In 1969, due to financial difficulties, MGM sold the engine to the David Weisz Company, an auction house, which auctioned off the engine on May 14, 1970, "for $65,000 to a man who said he represented an anonymous client. The successful bidder defaulted . . . [and] Weisz quickly resold the locomotive . . . to Robert Shelton, President of Old Tucson. . ." (The Movie Railroad by Larry Jensen). Also purchased from MGM at this time was a W.O. Zelnicker coach no. 19.
After the tv movie Powderkegs was filmed in December 1970, Twentieth Century Fox sold a Central Pacific six-axle coach to Old Tucson. The coach was built circa 1880 and was acquired by the Fox Film Corporation prior to its merger in 1935 with Twentieth Century Pictures.
The Paramount Pictures rolling stock, which was on a spur of the Union Pacific Railroad in Los Angeles and needed to be moved, was put up for sale in October 1971. Robert Shelton purchased all 27 cars, kept 5 and sold the remaining 22 cars to Short Line Enterprises. The 5 cars kept by Old Tucson were: an 1872 Kimball baggage car no. 1, an 1874 Detroit Car Co. combine no. 15, a Central Pacific boxcar no. 1001, a Central Pacific boxcar no. 1007, and an 1875 Wells, French & Co. derrick no. 50.
Eureka was built in July 1875 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works. In 1939, Warner Brothers purchased the engine. In early 1979, Eureka was purchased by Robert Shelton and was transported to Old Vegas near Henderson, Nevada. It was subsequently sold to a Las Vegas lawyer for $20,000 who had the engine restored and had it running in his backyard (letter from Robert Shelton to Jerry Schneider).
The arson fire at Old Tucson in 1995 destroyed the Reno engine.
"Union Pacific" (Paramount Pictures 1939) starring Joel McCrea and Barbara Stanwyck.
"Sea of Grass" (MGM 1947) starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn.
"Annie Get Your Gun" (MGM 1950) starring Betty Hutton and Howard Keel.
"The Return of Jesse James" (Lippert 1950) starring John Ireland and Ann Dvorak.
"The Horse Soldiers" (United Artists 1959) starring John Wayne and William Holden.
"Support Your Local Gunfighter" (United Artists 1971) starring James Garner and Chuck Connors.
"The Villain" (Columbia Pictures 1979) starring Kirk Douglas and Ann-Margaret.
"El Diablo" (HBO 1989) starring Anthony Edwards and Louis Gossett Jr.
"Gunsmoke III" (CBS 1991). Directed by: Jarry Jamison. Cast: James Arness, Matt Mulhern, Jason Lively, Joe Bottoms.
The following are some of the television shows that have used the Old Tucson Studio locations: Wagon Train, Have Gun, Will Travel, Bonanza, Death Valley Days, The High Chaparral, Dundee and the Culhane, Gunsmoke, Petrocelli, The Quest, How The West Was Won, Little House on the Prairie, and The Young Riders.
"Torrid Zone" (Warner Bros. 1940) with James Cagney and Ann Sheridan.
"Cheyenne Autumn" (Warner Bros. 1964) with Richard Widmark and James Stewart.
"The Great Bank Robbery" (Warner Bros. 1969) with Clint Walker and Zero Mostel.
"The Skin Game" (Warner Bros. 1971) with James Garner and Lou Gossett.
"The Shootist" (Paramount 1976) with John Wayne and Ron Howard.
