The Friendship Train Filming Locations
Where was The Friendship Train filmed? The Friendship Train was filmed in 24 locations across United States, France and Italy in the following places:
The Friendship Train Filming Locations
Albany is the capital city of New York State. Downtown’s huge Empire State Plaza has reflecting pools, an art-filled underground shopping concourse and The Egg, a striking performing arts center. The plaza is bookended by the 1800s New York State Capitol and the New York State Museum, focusing on natural and cultural history. The Albany Institute of History and Art is famed for its Hudson River School paintings.
Ames is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately 30 miles north of Des Moines in central Iowa. It is best known as the home of Iowa State University, with leading agriculture, design, engineering, and veterinary medicine colleges.
Bakersfield is a city on the Kern River, north of Los Angeles. Displays at the Buena Vista Museum of Natural History focus on geology and paleontology. On the city’s northeastern edge, the California Living Museum explores the state’s flora and fauna, and has a reptile house and a touch tank. Northeast, trails wind through the mountains of the Kern River Ranger District, part of Sequoia National Forest.
Chicago, on Lake Michigan in Illinois, is among the largest cities in the U.S. Famed for its bold architecture, it has a skyline punctuated by skyscrapers such as the iconic John Hancock Center, 1,451-ft. Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower) and the neo-Gothic Tribune Tower. The city is also renowned for its museums, including the Art Institute of Chicago with its noted Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works.
Clinton is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, Iowa, United States. It borders the Mississippi River. The population was 24,469 as of 2020. Clinton, along with DeWitt, was named in honor of the sixth governor of New York, DeWitt Clinton.
Council Bluffs is a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States. Its population was 62,799 as of the 2020 census, making it the state's tenth most populous city, and the most populous city in Southwest Iowa.
Fresno is a city in California's San Joaquin Valley. Created in the early 1900s, Forestiere Underground Gardens consists of Roman-catacombs-inspired subterranean passages and courtyards. Fresno Chaffee Zoo has sea lions and a stingray touch pool. Sprawling, trail-lined Woodward Park is home to the Shinzen Japanese Garden. The city is a base for Yosemite National Park, with its waterfalls and giant rock formations.
Grand Island is a city in central Nebraska. The sleek Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer traces the area’s early history. In restored Burlington Station, Tri-City Model Railroad Association exhibits a sprawling model of mid-20th-century Grand Island. Southwest of the city, Crane Trust Nature & Visitor Center offers trails, a butterfly garden and blinds for viewing migrating sandhill cranes along the Platte River.
Green River is a city in and the county seat of Sweetwater County, Wyoming, United States, in the southwestern part of the state. The population was 11,825 at the 2020 census. It is the 7th most populous city in Wyoming.
Harrisburg, the state capital of Pennsylvania, sits on the Susquehanna River. The National Civil War Museum illustrates both sides of the conflict via interactive exhibits and re-enactments. Next to the imposing Capitol building, the State Museum of Pennsylvania celebrates the area’s natural, cultural and industrial heritage. East of the city, Hersheypark is a chocolate-themed park offering rides and entertainment.
Laramie is a city in and the county seat of Albany County, Wyoming, United States, known for its high elevation at 7,200 feet, railroad history, and as the higher-education center for the state of Wyoming. The population was 31,407 at the 2020 census, making it the 4th most populous city in Wyoming.
Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very close to the Prime Meridian.
Los Angeles is a sprawling Southern California city and the center of the nation’s film and television industry. Near its iconic Hollywood sign, studios such as Paramount Pictures, Universal and Warner Brothers offer behind-the-scenes tours. On Hollywood Boulevard, TCL Chinese Theatre displays celebrities’ hand- and footprints, the Walk of Fame honors thousands of luminaries and vendors sell maps to stars’ homes.
Merced is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California, United States, in the San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 86,333, up from 78,958 in 2010. Incorporated on April 1, 1889, Merced is a charter city that operates under a council–manager government.
Naples is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's administrative limits as of 2022.
New York City comprises 5 boroughs sitting where the Hudson River meets the Atlantic Ocean. At its core is Manhattan, a densely populated borough that’s among the world’s major commercial, financial and cultural centers. Its iconic sites include skyscrapers such as the Empire State Building and sprawling Central Park. Broadway theater is staged in neon-lit Times Square.
Ogden is a city north of Salt Lake City, in Utah. It’s a gateway to ski resorts like Snowbasin, Powder Mountain and Nordic Valley. George S. Eccles Dinosaur Park features life-size models and a paleontology lab. Historic 25th Street, once home to Prohibition-era speakeasies, is now a shopping and dining hub. At the street’s western end, Ogden Union Station houses museums explores trains, cars and cowboy history.
Paris, France's capital, is a major European city and a global center for art, fashion, gastronomy and culture. Its 19th-century cityscape is crisscrossed by wide boulevards and the River Seine. Beyond such landmarks as the Eiffel Tower and the 12th-century, Gothic Notre-Dame cathedral, the city is known for its cafe culture and designer boutiques along the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré.
The Friendship Train (1948)
Two years after the end of World War II, many people in France and Italy were still ill-fed. Washington newspaper columnist Drew Pearson decided to launch a program that would help feed those still hungry in these countries and other places in western Europe. It would not be a government program like the Marshall Plan. Rather, it would be a people-to-people effort, with contributions from individuals. Pearson met with the Association of American Railroads, steamship lines, leaders of labor and agricultural groups, radio and the press, and the motion picture industry. He persuaded them to publicize the program and to donate their time and facilities to transport the foodstuffs that would be collected. The result was the Friendship Train. This short film documents the Friendship Train's trip from Hollywood across the country to New York City, as well as the initial delivery of food in France and Italy. The journey began on October 27, 1947 and ended in New York City on November 19. When the train pulled out of Hollywood, it had eight freight cars of cargo. At various stops along the route, the train was met by cheering crowds, and cars would be added to the train. When the train left Chicago it was split, with the New York Central Railroad going through northern New York state and the Pennsylvania Railroad going through Pennsylvania directly to New York City. At journey's end, there were 270 cars filled with food supplies for Europe. At the end, the cargo was loaded onto ships bound for Europe, and the first ships arrived in France and Italy in late December 1947.