![]() The train was built by the Rogers Locomotive and Machine Works of Paterson, New Jersey in 1891. 3 locomotive, and it was used to film all the exterior "long shots", including the show's opening and closing credits. Two Hooterville Cannonball trains were used for filming. Its low, mournful whistle was a siren song." Where did it go? We weren't quite sure, but we dreamed about climbing aboard some day, in search of adventure. 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. The lyrics are sung roughly to the tune of " Wabash Cannonball". In Episode 31 of Season 1, "Charley Abandons The Cannonball", engineer Charley Pratt picks up his guitar and sings an ode to the train. 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&FW Railroad Vice President Homer Bedloe into keeping the Cannonball in service. 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). Homer Bedloe (played by Charles Lane) is vice president of the C&FW Railroad, the owner of the Cannonball. ![]() However, Rufe Davis appeared as Floyd in two guest appearances, and was addressed once off-screen as an invisible character. Due to Foulger's failing health, the train engineer was no longer a main character in most episodes of Season 7. He was replaced in Season 6 by Byron Foulger as Wendell Gibbs. 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. 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. 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. It operates on a long forgotten spur between Hooterville and Pixley that was disconnected from the railway's main line after a flood destroyed a trestle twenty years before the start of the series. The train is operated more like a taxi service by engineer Charley Pratt ( Smiley Burnette) and fireman/conductor Floyd Smoot ( Rufe Davis). 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). 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 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. Best to make sure that the locomotive sounds used on the show were authentic to a train of the same type and age. ![]() The train was considered an "important character" by the show's producers, and producer Paul Henning hired railroad historian Gerald M. ![]() The Hooterville Cannonball is a fictional railroad train featured in Petticoat Junction, an American situation comedy that originally aired on CBS from 1963 to 1970. Fictional train featured in Petticoat Junction ![]()
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