Back
Ridin' the Rails

Documentary

Ridin' the Rails

8.0(2) 11/2/1951 0h 10m
Documentary

Ridin' the Rails is a 1951 short documentary film directed by Jack Eaton. This is a Grantland Rice Sportscope from Paramount about hobbyists building steam locomotives, scaled one inch to the foot, by members of the Southern California branch of the Live Steam Model Locomotives Club. The models are powerful enough for the hobbyists to ride over the expensive-and-expansive tracks they also build to scale. Many of these models are perfect working replicas of of the locomotives used on the United States railway system. This short features Walt Disney, one of the experts on model-train building, working on his scaled-down 'Diamond Slacker", and taking kids to ride on his elaborate miniature system. The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Short Subject, One-Reel.

Advertisement · movie-mid-242976

Top Cast

Directed by

Jack Eaton

Crew

Production

Reviews

CinemaSerf

6/10

3/13/2026

As I watched the opening scenes of this short feature as a full-size narrow gauge locomotive made it’s final journey, I wondered just how many westerns it might have graced as it tracked a rocky river amidst some recently blasted mountainous terrain. You could almost imagine Jesse James alighting at the station. Instead, we downsize to some intricate “Lilliputian Locos” including one running on an half mile track on the estate of Walt Disney. Sleeves rolled up, with oily hands, he and his perfectly attired (as sailors!) nephews and nieces tour his garden on a meticulously planned and constructed small scale version of the routes taken by so many larger versions across the globe. Ted Husing's narration is engaging, if possibly a tad sarcastic, as we watch these boys with toys and it’s an ea

Where to Watch

Streaming availability powered by JustWatch via TMDB

Part of These Challenges

Community Reviews

Be the first to rate this title.

Loading…

Latest News