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        Railroader

        The great Western way of dog eat dog as opponents try to dynamite each other in their pursuit of what really matters in life, railways and money.

        1964 1 mins

        From the collection of:

        Logo for Yorkshire Film Archive

        Overview

        Taking advantage of the popularity of all things Western among British kids in 1963, Waddingtons turn away from the usual cowboy stuff to the excitement of cut-throat railroad companies competing for lucrative routes - and clearing Native Americans, and the buffalo, off their lands in the process. In this board game players throw dice to build and move along a railroad, using smoke signals to avoid the usual ambushes by outlaws and roaming, β€œbands of hostile Indians.”

        It is hard not to think that the cowpoke type with yee-haw accent that fronts this advert wasn’t inspired by the veteran character actor Walter Brennan, who starred in β€˜How the West Was Won’ the year before Railroader appeared in the shops. The railroad, β€œa race in the wild west, to pioneer the first railroad from Junction City to Buffalo Creek,” may have been based on the Kansas Pacific Railway, which reached Junction City in 1865, employing William Cody (aka "Buffalo Bill") to shoot buffalo on the hunting grounds of Native American tribes to feed the construction gangs. The line led to the famous Golden spike event in Utah in 1869, linking of the Union Pacific with the Central Pacific Railroad.

        Subjects