GAUGE THE ISSUE: The Great Locomotive Chase

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'The Great Locomotive Chase' is © of Disney, 1956.
'North West Frontier' is copyright of Fandango Media.
'Airplane!' is copyright of Paramount.
This is a video critique. All images and footage are referenced under Section 107 "fair use" guidelines.
All material is referenced under the US Copyright Act within Section 107's "fair use" guidelines. Most images are licensed under Creative Commons 2.0 and 3.0, OR are in the Public Domain. All Third Party content is referenced under the US Copyright Act within Section 107's "fair use" guidelines.

[@wargame2play]

Hi! I am John Robert Pittenger, William Pittenger was my Great Great Uncle. I was born the year the Disney movie was released. When the General made its Centennial Tour it stopped in Steubenville, Ohio , one town over from the Pittenger hometown of Toronto, Ohio. We were one of the first families in the Territory and Statehood voting took place in the Pittenger cabin. The same year The Great Locomotive Chase was shown on television on the Wonderful World of Disney. So I grew up a big Civil War History fan. There is even a board Wargame being designed called “ Engine Thieves” with my cousin Gregg Pittenger as consultant designer! So you to can try to reach Chattanooga.

[@4fproductions637]

What a lot of people don't know about this film is that despite being filmed in Tennessee, there's actually quite a good variety of matte shots in the film. One notable example that is pretty much invisible in the film is actually the station house at Big Shanty. The building was a set built on location, but it was only built partially (as it only had one floor). The second story of the house was added in afterward by Matte Artist Peter Ellenshaw (who would latter go on to win the Oscar for best visual effects for Mary Poppins in 1963). The long shot of the big trestle near the end of the chase is also a good example of Ellenshaw making (quite literally) an section of railroad line had a trestle bridge spanning across a ravine, when in reality, there wasn't one.

[@RailPreserver2K]

makes me wonder if they could've used some of the TF's huge bridges for that shot?

[@kupferbergbahn7952]

Fun fact: The Inyo (while playing as The Texas) got damaged during the shooting of this film. There was a scene where they quickly stopped and spun the driving wheels, which caused them to severely crack. It's been said that if Walt had known this, he's have paid for new driving wheels for the engine. To this day, Inyo still carries these cracked driving wheels. They are the reason it's haulage and boiler pressure are restricted.

[@wessparkmon2395]

Glad someone talks about this film. One of my favorites when I was growing up. Led me to do more and more research as a kid, visit Kennesaw to visit the General museum, and even did a skit for the Tennessee History Day competition based on Pittinger's diary when I was in middle school. You can really tell watching the movie how respectful to the general details of the story and its production that Walt Disney was. Still have both my VHS and DVD copies of the movie to this day. I hope if Netflix does develop the script in work that they do it right and well.

[@RailPreserver2K]

Not only do I have this film but I've seen the real locomotives, been to what remains of the Tallulah Falls Railroad, and looked at the real chase route.

[@metalheadrailfan]

Fun little fact, Walt Disney premiered the film in his hometown of Marceline, MO. The Walt Disney Hometown Museum has an exhibit dedicated to that.

[@PatColeman-b6z]

I’ve watched The Great Locomotive Chase many times and enjoyed it each time.

[@TravisDGordon]

I have both movies on the chase, have seen the General multiple times, and even grew up in Tunnel Hill on the Western & Atlantic Railroad. I’ve done significant research on the chase, and is one of my absolute favorite topics to discuss. A podcast I started doing last year on my channel had its very first episode concerning the chase. While Disney’s movie has its inaccuracies, it still has its charming moments.

[@ChristheXelent]

One for me to check out sometime. Thanks for telling me. Just out of interest, what's your take on Bonds' book?

[@TravisDGordon]

@@ChristheXelent I would recommend it to anyone wishing to learn more about the chase. I have it in my personal library, and when I’m telling the story of the chase to passengers on the museum train I work on, I recommend his book to them.

[@TravisDGordon]

@@ChristheXelent kzbin.info/www/bejne/m3avd4hteZiEfrssi=hBADmh15H-TVKkts So it’s easy to find, cause I’ve had people tell me that the podcast series can sometimes be difficult to search for 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@ChristheXelent]

@@TravisDGordon thankyou. It's funny how a simple Internet search can flummox some people, isn't it?

[@TravisDGordon]

@@ChristheXelent Ain’t that the truth

[@natejones902]

I will say for showing railroading rolling stock of the 1860s, one of my favorite eras in railroading, this film is very accurate. Seeing the use of the highly dangerous link and pin cupplers and no use of air breaks, the right away being a dirt road bed with a single telegraph line, it's very well done. Having read the book "The Daring and Suffering" written by a survivor of the raid, the movie as far as the chase is concerned it is very close.

[@wargame2play]

That book was written by my Great Great Uncle. After the War he became a minister and moved to California.

[@Nictrain123]

Hot take, but may be controversial in some views, “The Great Locomotive Chase” (1956) is definitely unique in that it’s one of the few, if not only, tellings of the chase from the Union’s side. Usually it’s told from the view of the Confederates, and the only story (that I know of at least) from the Civil War that pictures them as the good guys. Underrated movie imo, despite its shortcomings. Hoping the new Netflix series will do the GLC some justice and tell the story properly from both sides whilst not choosing favorites and staying true to history, but for now the 1956 film will do.

[@kupferbergbahn7952]

If they make the locomotives accurate, I'll be pretty happy.

[@MikeLoveBuns]

Great train movie! Mike from Missouri

[@alvinrineer3003]

The Great Locomotive Chase is the much better film, they did it right. It’s fantastic.

[@Soundwave3591]

When I was a kid and first saw this movie, I played "Great locomotive chase" with my Ertl Thomas the Tank Engine toys for Days afterward. Edward was the General while James was Texas XD Needless to say, it's stuck deep in my core memories.

[@YJRail]

Lived in Ringgold (where the General stopped) for thirty years, strange to think I've only seen this movie once in my life. Guess I'll have to go DVD hunting.

[@imagreatbigman]

That movie was my whole childhood!

[@stephendavies6949]

I very much enjoy your GTI videos. Just realised your background piece includes loco 9600 (a GWR class 57/8750) that made it into preservation. This loco worked at the same coal mine as my dad (Merthyr Vale, South Wales), and as a boy, I recall it chugging away, trip working wagons to/from the exchange sidings. Us lads used to rush onto the overbridge so the pannier could blast smoke into our faces as it passed under us. Happy days!

[@stephenjones407]

Its up there with some of the gauge the issues well done

[@joshslater2426]

So I guess this is the closest thing to a revival of The Train Now Starring then? I’d love to see more dissection on train-related films like Paddington 2, Titfield Thunderbolt, Hugo or The 39 Steps. I’d be interested to see what gripes you had with The Railway Children Return (if you could even call it that since Phyllis is only mentioned and they say Peter is dead without any fanfare). Also, I still like the 2013 Lone Ranger. Despite some historical inaccuracies, it’s witty, fun and action packed. The train scenes alone are some of my all time favourites (I’d say the conclusion scene with Jupiter and the Constitution is my favourite train chase in all of cinema).

[@edwardcarlisle5580]

I personally love this movie. I think Disney's version was superior to Keaton's in almost every way. The exception being humor. Walt Disney loved trains and he wanted to make a movie about them, and WOW did he succeed! And he kept it historically accurate too! True a few small liberties were taken in The Great Locomotive Chase, but that's to be expected in any film. I feel that Disney also did a fairly good job overall showing the story from the perspective of both sides, raiders and pursuers. One minute you're rooting for Andrews, and the next you're rooting for Fuller. I also think that Fess Parker played a convincing Andrews where as the actor in Keaton's film was bland and had very little character. Also, the thing I've always pointed out about the Medal of Honor scene is that it actually is technically correct. When the Secretary of War Stanton presented the medals he said: "Your party shall have the first." And "They will be the first to have been given to private soldiers." Meaning, that the surviving Andrew's Raiders all, collectively were the first recipient of the first Medal of Honor. All six were the first together. Yes, he handed Parrot his medal first, but it would be no different if he had handed Pittenger his first. They were all the first to receive it. Stanton did not say to Parrot "You are the first." He said "Your party shall be the first." Parrot's family made a big deal out of something they liked to assume but was incorrect. Disney's film did not lie even though they show Pittenger receiving his first to move the first act along.

[@warrenlehmkuhleii8472]

This movie shows a valid point about reconciliation. The reason the we were able to heal as quickly as we did, relatively speaking, was because each side was allowed to celebrate its own heroes, and eventually both sides would honour each other’s dead. You truly fought all the way, Johnny Reb.

[@Cyber_Horse_Studios87]

Lionel: Ah yes let’s make a train set based on this! (Also good talk about physical media and why it will always be superior to streaming! Glad other people are understanding that doing away with DVD’s simply isn’t a good idea.)

[@richardsweeney197]

Just a little note, I have it on DVD and VHS tape. Walt Disney did a number of Civil War movies beside "The Great Locomotive Chase" he did "Johnny Shiloah" about a Union Drummer Boy named John Clem. And "Mosby's Marauders" about the Mosby's Raiders both concerned a kid in either Army. As for the American Revolution, he did "Johnny Tremaine," but to my knowledge, Johnny Tremaine was a fictional character in the real Boston of 1775-76.

[@joshslater2426]

Don’t worry Chris, I’m never getting ride of my DVDs, and I’m never stopping buying them. They’re reliable, long lasting, uncensored, and you can watch them whenever and wherever you want without having to pay extra fees.

[@hamshackleton]

and no adverts you can't skip every four minutes!

[@danielmkubacki]

So cool!

[@pennsy6755]

Fun fact about the filming location. Walt Disney _adored_ the Tallulah Falls railroad while visiting there for filming. So much so that if the railroad were to close, he’d straight up preserve it as a tourist railroad. But Southern Railway (US one) being the absolute jackasses they are refused to give it away. That’s the short version of it but if you want a good reason to hate Southern’s management, this and them Al-Perlman’ing every steam locomotive from being preserved are a good place to start.

[@carolinarailfanproductions]

Though the Great Locomotive Chase is one of the many greats in railroad film history, releasing it on Disney+ would never fly today, due to because it takes place during the Civil War and we live in todays world where things are more serious than ever and it’s a big no no to a Disney film. It’s unknown if Disney will ever release this film on Disney+ and The Lone Ranger (2013) as well, and it’s very sad we will never get to see both of them on Disney+ in the future, so I would say it’s best to get a DVD copy of the film until 10 years later they get more expensive, until Disney could be generous to release the film on Disney+ if that ever happens though.

[@jacobblackard2574]

I doubt that they will ever release it

[@krthecarguy5150]

"There were good men on either sides" is a really hard thing to sell about the American Civil War, and I'm not gonna say the film didn't leave a bad taste in my mouth at times, but it's one of the better attempts and seeing the locomotives really helped

[@hooongoon1459]

Not to be contrarian but the whole every confederate was a mustache twirling villian is really more of a revision from the current modern zeitgeist rather than historical fact. And of course just cause people will say it not defending the confederacy or anything slavery is bad of course like pretty much all of history their is actually a lot of nuance to wars especially.

[@jacoblyman9441]

Something that's been discussed about the real Great Locomotive chase is the railroad crew were considered Confederates because they lived in the Confederacy, they weren't exactly Confederate patriots even if they would be treated as heroes by the Confederacy. They were simply railroad men pissed their locomotive got stolen, and they wanted it back. There were incidents on other Confederate railroads as well that were so farcical (such as many railroaders who would get drunk then collectively ignore Confederate leaders demands to run troop trains despite their threats of execution) it gives the strong sense many railroaders in the South didn't care for the war as much as they cared for their trains, and would even jerk Confederates around when they thought it was the most funny.

[@krthecarguy5150]

@@hooongoon1459 Yeah ofc there's a nuance and not every confederate soldier was just some villain, but most people who stayed and fought for the South were to some degree pro-slavery, not slave owners per se, but supporting it. You have to remember that though the civil war had some prototype WW1 fighting, the whole "sending young boys who want nothing to do with the war to a destructive conflict" idea wasn't really that big yet. Soldiers were there because they were loyal to the people who sent them, with the confederacy especially only conscripting people much later when the end was already there. That's why it's a hard thing to portray, but this movie tried its best

[@krthecarguy5150]

@@jacoblyman9441 Yeah very true. Not everyone in the south is a confederate patriot, especially in the civilian transport sector like train and even ship crews. That's the truth for almost every war in history

[@honeyfrost3355]

​@krthecarguy5150 that's true, cause from what I read, most of them were way older than 18, so that makes sense.

[@snootynerd4293]

This is a nice surprise! I wasn't expecting to see a new GTI so soon after a new episode of SLIP! I remember reading somewhere that the Locomotive used for The Texas in this film was also used as The Wanderer in the old TV series Wild Wild West and the locomotive portraying The General was later used in the film version of Wild Wild West (the one with Will Smith).

[@hamshackleton]

Never heard of it until just! - -Was one of these the engine also used in the semi-comedy tv series, the title escapes me - but there were three (or four) young girls who used to bathe in the water tower? Such a good series that is all I can recall of it!

[@ChristheXelent]

Ahhh, that was Petticoat Junction. But with Sierra No3, as used in Back To The Future Part III

[@CaseyJonesNumber1]

​@@ChristheXelentI also drove Sierra Railroad No.3! She was named 'Cannonball' at the time... 😉

[@andrewboyd8073]

Next time you review a film, I suggest John Frankenheimer's The Train (1964).

[@jayo1212]

@2:44 Even though the air brake is quite visible on the engine! At least in the Keaton film they had a plate covering them up! @5:58 I'm pretty sure that DID happen... They did attempt to set fire to the covered bridges along the line, but because it had recently rained, they could not get the bridge to burn. @12:00 I have the DVD version, it's disappointingly bare bones...

[@alastairswaine6194]

Ever thought about making a series called rack locos in profile?

[@generalhorse493]

Despite dancing around a certain topic that must be discussed anytime anyone makes a civil war piece (slavery) this was a childhood favorite. Little me was at the right age to start seeing movies not having the heroes get all they wanted.

[@thomasladyfan]

I saw this one before I saw The General. I thought it was alright at first but now, I have to say it has age well and I agree that it is the closest betrayal of the story. 👍🏻

[@dmman33]

An excellent review! I’ll look into finding ways to check it out! 1. What do you think of the idea of media being actively hidden from the public by publishers automatically entering the public domain? 2. Here you focused on reconciliation between Union and Confederate troops and supporters. Historiography is useful and important here. The American Civil War on film is practically a crash course in historiography: we see narratives in media about the past change alongside the culture that produces the media. Thus, an artwork about the past says much-almost more-about the time it was made than the time it was set in. Thus, the focus on reconciliation between North and South was more the focus of these films for much of the 20th Century. The Civil Rights Movement gradually forced a change in perspective that culminated in Glory, focused on African American troops fighting for the Union. You can chart how American cinema tells American stories with how they change over time.

[@mels1811]

Brilliant video

[@eliotreader8220]

I understand that the artist had a link to the General's conductor as I believe he married his daughter?

[@eliotreader8220]

I understand that Keaton originally wanted to use the real locomotive that was captured by the raiders but this fell through when the railroad found out about what the film was going to be about

[@jacobramsey7624]

In today's world and sostey, where so many people are against each other for political, social, religious, economic, or whatever reason, I think moments where both sides reconcile is very important and leads to better understanding, unity and peace. Also, one of the benefits of having a DVD or hard copy of a movie is that you will always have it and never have to pay for it again. Streaming service are nice, but they can remove movies from their platforms, and you are constantly paying for the service. With hard meda, you can watch whenever you want, no extra charge and no adds. Plus, it helps when you live in a place that has bad or no internet axess.

[@Railman1225]

12:15 Completely agree, physical media has SO many perks over digital media. Especially since here’s one major thing that’s the case with these streaming services and, as of late, also many video games…THEY REQUIRE INTERNET. Lose the Wi-Fi, and you can’t watch it anymore. A DVD or VHS? Long as you have electricity, throw that sucker in a player hooked to a TV! Plus, what happens to all that digital media if the server housing it is destroyed? Simply put, as the server goes, _so does the media…_ DVD and VHS copies, however? They can be very spread out, and it’d take an act of God to destroy them all at once. Physical media for the win!

[@eliotreader8220]

I understand that the raiders burnt some wood that they had taken off their last box car in order to keep the General in steam

[@evangaines2303]

BTW Chris, I have a DVD copy of the movie & I got to say, I thought it was okay, until I realized some inaccuracy's.

[@eliotreader8220]

I think it would probably be very dangerous to shoot at a steam locomotive's boiler

[@Redshirt214]

I’ve seen this film and agree that it’s the more historical of the two vs the General, but that the General is on a purely technical level the superior film. Keaton did his level best to make the film accurate whilst also appealing to his audience, which unfortunately was people who had bought the big lies of “reconciliation” and the Lost Cause… so the story gets pretty warped compared to the actual historical events. Also, there’s a romance plot! In contrast The Great Locomotive Chase is much closer to the overall actual history, but has a lot of “Disney-isms” in it, like having the “My Daddy Was A Railroad Man” musical number in it. Yet as Chris pointed out the characters are a lot more… reconciled… than their actual historical counterparts were. The General at least gets that the Union & Confederates were fundamentally opposed right, and it also references Confederate conscription which is something that gets left out in many discussions of the war. Ultimately, I agree that the American Civil War is one where there really is no moral equivalency between the two sides. One was trying to preserve the national government and to limit and later end slavery, the other fought to extend slavery and committed treason against their own legitimately elected government. Unfortunately both of these films were made before scholars were finally able to banish the Lost Cause ideology from academia, so they both reflect that narrative to greater or lesser degrees.

[@Redshirt214]

Both have pretty impressive special effects, and both did their fair share of damage to rolling stock! Keaton’s stunts are pretty insane and that film ends in a massive train wreck which is hugely entertaining. Great Locomotive chase is a lot more measured in its stunts but ran really historic locomotives pretty hard, and I think there was also a minor collision at one point during filming? Both are great tastes of the truly heroic age of railroading, though I think Great Locomotive Chase does a little better job with that aspect. They also got *alot* of mileage out of rather limited rolling stock and locations which is impressive unto itself.

[@hawkerhellfire9152]

I wouldn't pay much heed to anything Roger Ebert said. He rated the disastrous Pearl Harbour over Tora Tora Tora.

[@TailsFan369no2]

Still a better critic than his successors on tv (ben and ben)

[@modelrailfan37]

Gauge The Issue still exists!?!? I thought you said your getting rid of it, I’m super glad your not though!

[@ChristheXelent]

I said I wasn't sure, might do a few more before phasing it out and knew some people still tuned in specifically for it. Not that I was immediately getting rid of it

[@modelrailfan37]

@@ChristheXelent Oh I see. Sorry for the misunderstanding, very glad your still making a few though! Keep up the great work Chris!!

[@stephendavies6949]

​@@ChristheXelentHope you reconsider 😊

[@TailsFan369no2]

@@ChristheXelentstill waiting for one on rail based music

[@ChristheXelent]

​@@TailsFan369no2such as? Care to elaborate?

[@jasonkristunas9427]

Burt Lancaster in " the train" a great film.

[@raiden4215]

🎉 promo sm