This was actually my first location stop once arriving in Spain, which despite a 6 hour flight, 4 hour layover, 8 hour flight, and 6 hour drive, I was happy to see! The La Calahorra train station was of course used by Leone in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly and Once Upon a Time in the West. It also made appearances in Death Rides a Horse and The Stranger and The Gunfighter with LVC.
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly - station on left
Once Upon a Time in the West - opposite view, station to the right
Below are images of the station and tracks as they appear today. While the station is no longer in use, the tracks are active. The location is marked by some attractive Viva Leone! graffiti. Overall a very interesting location with much spaghetti western history!
Really cool. So that is the same train station that is used at the beginning of "Stranger and the Gunfighter". I didn't realise you had to fly 6 hours, lay over 4 hours, fly 8 hours & drive 6 hours. Wow! That was some trip. I remember reading an interview with Clint Eastwood who talked about filming in northern Spain at Sad Hill Cemetery & they blew up the bridge before any cameras were rolling so while it was being re-built, Clint said they all drove down to Almeria for a few weeks which was a long hard drive on roads that were not that good & it took forever. But he said it's a much better drive down there now. Maybe they drove from Madrid.
ReplyDeleteWe flew into Madrid, so it was a long drive, but pretty much all freeway. Not a bad drive. Pretty cool seeing the recognizable hills of Tabernas as you get close to Almeria.
DeleteThis station can also be seen in Once Upon a Time in the West when Jill's train pulls into the station. Look across the tracks and to the back and you'll see it.
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