Uploaded September 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
The D&RGW wanted to make the most of its involvement with the 1952 Paramount Pictures release "Denver & Rio Grande", so the railroad put out a 26 minutes film looking at the movie making - and the railroad.
*No AI was used to bring this show to you.* Read about our AI Policy and how we get videos ready for YouTube at: Pentrex.com/AI
*About Pentrex:* For over 40 years we've been the leader in railroad video entertainment. See us at Pentrex.com and right here on YouTube, with the Official Pentrex Channel!
Pentrex also owns these railroad video entertainment brands: Highball Productions, Green Frog, Valhalla Video, Donner Rails, WB Video, Main Line Motion Pictures, Broken Knuckle Video, Midwest Video and distribute Revelation Video. You will see shows from all the brands on our channel.
*About this show:* See Hollywood make a railroad movie. Titled “Journey to Yesterday” this film is rare in several ways, it is a rare behind the scenes of a movie made in the early 1950s, it is a rare look at how Hollywood makes railroad movies and it is a rare find! Being what it is, relatively few copies were made and distributed. This all-color film shows the making of Paramount Pictures’ “Denver & Rio Grande. The movie, starring Edmond O’Brien, Sterling Hayden and Kasey Rogers was released in 1952.
The movie was filmed on the Silverton Branch of the D&RGW, now the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. It’s the mostly-fictional story of the Rio Grande’s fight with the Santa Fe for track locations through the west. Also “starring” are D&RGW #319 and #345. These two narrow gauge steamers, and equipment borrowed from the railroad, make for a more believable film than the plot itself!
Own the DVD with better quality (no YouTube compression or commercials!) and a have permanent addition to your collection. Get it at Pentrex.com
pentrex.com/DVD-Journey-to-Yesterday%2C-Making-Hollywood%E2%80%99s-1952-%E2%80%9CDenver-%26-Rio-Grande%E2%80%9D-DVD_JTY-DVD
0:00 Our old-timey announcer...
0:55 Heading to Silverton
4:15 The scenic Rio Grande
4:40 Our mixed train does some switching
7:12 A movie being made?
7:45 Movie Crew
8:23 That's a lot of film equipment!
12:03 Watch a scene being filmed
15:41 One loco, two parts
16:15 Shooting from a moving train
18:00 The crew has some fun
20:52 Getting ready for the climactic scene
22:24 Two engines crash? Sort of!
The D&RGW wanted to make the most of its involvement with the 1952 Paramount Pictures release "Denver & Rio Grande", so the railroad put out a 26 minutes film looking at the movie making - and the railroad.
*No AI was used to bring this show to you.* Read about our AI Policy and how we get videos ready for YouTube at: Pentrex.com/AI
*About Pentrex:* For over 40 years we've been the leader in railroad video entertainment. See us at Pentrex.com and right here on YouTube, with the Official Pentrex Channel!
Pentrex also owns these railroad video entertainment brands: Highball Productions, Green Frog, Valhalla Video, Donner Rails, WB Video, Main Line Motion Pictures, Broken Knuckle Video, Midwest Video and distribute Revelation Video. You will see shows from all the brands on our channel.
*About this show:* See Hollywood make a railroad movie. Titled “Journey to Yesterday” this film is rare in several ways, it is a rare behind the scenes of a movie made in the early 1950s, it is a rare look at how Hollywood makes railroad movies and it is a rare find! Being what it is, relatively few copies were made and distributed. This all-color film shows the making of Paramount Pictures’ “Denver & Rio Grande. The movie, starring Edmond O’Brien, Sterling Hayden and Kasey Rogers was released in 1952.
The movie was filmed on the Silverton Branch of the D&RGW, now the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. It’s the mostly-fictional story of the Rio Grande’s fight with the Santa Fe for track locations through the west. Also “starring” are D&RGW #319 and #345. These two narrow gauge steamers, and equipment borrowed from the railroad, make for a more believable film than the plot itself!
Own the DVD with better quality (no YouTube compression or commercials!) and a have permanent addition to your collection. Get it at Pentrex.com
pentrex.com/DVD-Journey-to-Yesterday%2C-Making-Hollywood%E2%80%99s-1952-%E2%80%9CDenver-%26-Rio-Grande%E2%80%9D-DVD_JTY-DVD
0:00 Our old-timey announcer...
0:55 Heading to Silverton
4:15 The scenic Rio Grande
4:40 Our mixed train does some switching
7:12 A movie being made?
7:45 Movie Crew
8:23 That's a lot of film equipment!
12:03 Watch a scene being filmed
15:41 One loco, two parts
16:15 Shooting from a moving train
18:00 The crew has some fun
20:52 Getting ready for the climactic scene
22:24 Two engines crash? Sort of!
