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Hooterville Cannonball
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Hooterville Cannonball
The Hooterville Cannonball is a fictional railroad train belonging to the fictional railroad company "C. & F. W. Railroad" that is featured in Petticoat Junction, an American situation comedy that originally aired on CBS from 1963 to 1970. The train was considered an "important character" by the show's producers, and producer Paul Henning hired railroad historian Gerald M. Best to make sure that the locomotive sounds used on the show were authentic to a train of the same type and age.
The 1890s-style train with a whimsical schedule gave the otherwise fanciful show a degree of authenticity; Henning said that "the train's weekly appearances on TV might set the space age back 50 years and drive train buffs insane with delight, but without it our show would lose its character image." Later, Henning admitted, "When I started Petticoat Junction, I had one aim. If people thought to themselves, 'Gee, I'd like to spend a few days at that beat-up hotel' or 'I'd like to ride that funny little railroad,' I knew we would make it."
The most unusual "character" in the Petticoat Junction cast is the Hooterville Cannonball, an abbreviated 1890s vintage train consisting of a steam locomotive and a single combination car (with a baggage and passenger section). The train is operated more like a taxi service by engineer Charley Pratt (Smiley Burnette) and Floyd Smoot (Rufe Davis) who is the fireman, conductor, baggageman, and some times engineer. It operates on a long forgotten branch line between Hooterville and Pixley. This branch line was originally connected to the C. & F. W. Railroad main line that runs between Melton (to the west) and Skidmore (to the east); south of Melton on the rail line is the town of Delta. That branch line was disconnected from the railway's main line after a flood destroyed a trestle twenty years before the start of the series. It is not uncommon for the Cannonball to make an unscheduled stop in order to go fishing or to pick fruit for Kate Bradley's menu at the Shady Rest Hotel. Occasionally, Betty Jo Bradley can be found with her hand on the Cannonball's throttle, as running the train home from trips into town is one of her favorite pastimes.
With cast changes, Smiley Burnette's death at the end of Season 4 was the basis for writing Charley's death into the story line in Season 5 and having Floyd run the train alone as engineer/conductor. He was replaced in Season 6 by Byron Foulger as Wendell Gibbs. Due to Foulger's failing health, the train engineer was no longer a main character in most episodes of Season 7. However, Rufe Davis appeared as Floyd in two guest appearances, and was addressed once off-screen as an invisible character.
J. Homer Bedloe (played by Charles Lane) is vice president of the C&FW Railroad, the owner of the Cannonball. Bedloe is a mean-spirited executive, and he periodically visits the Shady Rest Hotel and attempts to end the train service of the Hooterville Cannonball (and never succeeds).
In Episode 2 of Season 1, "Quick, Hide the Railroad", the three Bradley sisters sing a tribute song to the Hooterville Cannonball while Kate charms C. & F. W. Railroad Vice President Homer Bedloe into keeping the Cannonball in service. In Episode 31 of Season 1, "Charley Abandons The Cannonball", engineer Charley Pratt picks up his guitar and sings an ode to the train. The lyrics are sung roughly to the tune of "Wabash Cannonball".
Henning said that the train was based on his memories of growing up in Independence, Missouri, which was serviced by the Air Line Railroad: "Every morning, the little old wood-burning train chugged into town. Every afternoon, it chugged out. Where did it go? We weren't quite sure, but we dreamed about climbing aboard some day, in search of adventure. Its low, mournful whistle was a siren song."
Two Hooterville Cannonball trains were used for filming. The working model was the Sierra No. 3 locomotive, and it was used to film all the exterior "long shots", including the show's opening and closing credits. The train was built by the Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works of Paterson, New Jersey in 1891. This locomotive is still operational at Railtown 1897 State Historic Park in California, after a complete restoration that was finished in 2010. Clint Eastwood was part of a fundraiser for the restoration. He was familiar with the Sierra No. 3 from his days on the western television show Rawhide, and he used it in his films Pale Rider and Unforgiven.
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Hooterville Cannonball
The Hooterville Cannonball is a fictional railroad train belonging to the fictional railroad company "C. & F. W. Railroad" that is featured in Petticoat Junction, an American situation comedy that originally aired on CBS from 1963 to 1970. The train was considered an "important character" by the show's producers, and producer Paul Henning hired railroad historian Gerald M. Best to make sure that the locomotive sounds used on the show were authentic to a train of the same type and age.
The 1890s-style train with a whimsical schedule gave the otherwise fanciful show a degree of authenticity; Henning said that "the train's weekly appearances on TV might set the space age back 50 years and drive train buffs insane with delight, but without it our show would lose its character image." Later, Henning admitted, "When I started Petticoat Junction, I had one aim. If people thought to themselves, 'Gee, I'd like to spend a few days at that beat-up hotel' or 'I'd like to ride that funny little railroad,' I knew we would make it."
The most unusual "character" in the Petticoat Junction cast is the Hooterville Cannonball, an abbreviated 1890s vintage train consisting of a steam locomotive and a single combination car (with a baggage and passenger section). The train is operated more like a taxi service by engineer Charley Pratt (Smiley Burnette) and Floyd Smoot (Rufe Davis) who is the fireman, conductor, baggageman, and some times engineer. It operates on a long forgotten branch line between Hooterville and Pixley. This branch line was originally connected to the C. & F. W. Railroad main line that runs between Melton (to the west) and Skidmore (to the east); south of Melton on the rail line is the town of Delta. That branch line was disconnected from the railway's main line after a flood destroyed a trestle twenty years before the start of the series. It is not uncommon for the Cannonball to make an unscheduled stop in order to go fishing or to pick fruit for Kate Bradley's menu at the Shady Rest Hotel. Occasionally, Betty Jo Bradley can be found with her hand on the Cannonball's throttle, as running the train home from trips into town is one of her favorite pastimes.
With cast changes, Smiley Burnette's death at the end of Season 4 was the basis for writing Charley's death into the story line in Season 5 and having Floyd run the train alone as engineer/conductor. He was replaced in Season 6 by Byron Foulger as Wendell Gibbs. Due to Foulger's failing health, the train engineer was no longer a main character in most episodes of Season 7. However, Rufe Davis appeared as Floyd in two guest appearances, and was addressed once off-screen as an invisible character.
J. Homer Bedloe (played by Charles Lane) is vice president of the C&FW Railroad, the owner of the Cannonball. Bedloe is a mean-spirited executive, and he periodically visits the Shady Rest Hotel and attempts to end the train service of the Hooterville Cannonball (and never succeeds).
In Episode 2 of Season 1, "Quick, Hide the Railroad", the three Bradley sisters sing a tribute song to the Hooterville Cannonball while Kate charms C. & F. W. Railroad Vice President Homer Bedloe into keeping the Cannonball in service. In Episode 31 of Season 1, "Charley Abandons The Cannonball", engineer Charley Pratt picks up his guitar and sings an ode to the train. The lyrics are sung roughly to the tune of "Wabash Cannonball".
Henning said that the train was based on his memories of growing up in Independence, Missouri, which was serviced by the Air Line Railroad: "Every morning, the little old wood-burning train chugged into town. Every afternoon, it chugged out. Where did it go? We weren't quite sure, but we dreamed about climbing aboard some day, in search of adventure. Its low, mournful whistle was a siren song."
Two Hooterville Cannonball trains were used for filming. The working model was the Sierra No. 3 locomotive, and it was used to film all the exterior "long shots", including the show's opening and closing credits. The train was built by the Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works of Paterson, New Jersey in 1891. This locomotive is still operational at Railtown 1897 State Historic Park in California, after a complete restoration that was finished in 2010. Clint Eastwood was part of a fundraiser for the restoration. He was familiar with the Sierra No. 3 from his days on the western television show Rawhide, and he used it in his films Pale Rider and Unforgiven.