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In approximate order of the movie timeline, the filming locations are as
follows:
Opening Scenes -
The opening scene was filmed at White Sands Missile Range in White
Sands, NM, near Alamogordo, NM. The road they are on is now White
Sands Missile Base Route 10.
A lot of the other opening shots when we first meet Pig Pen and Spider Mike
were filmed on NM41 north of Moriarity, near Stanley NM. A few scenes are
intermixed from near Logan, NM and San Jon, NM. The scale house that the
trucks run later in the movie was rumored to be the old San Jon scale on US
66.
Raphael's Silver Cloud -
Raphael's closed in late 2005, but as of mid 2006 was still located on I-25
about 20 minutes north of Albuquerque in a town called Algodones. It is
currently for sale. The exit where Raphael's is State Route 474, aka
Algodones. It is just 5 miles or so northeast of the intersection of US-550
and State Route 313 where the Black Widow's Brockway 361 overturned
accidentally. The outer road you see in front of Raphael's now runs
approximately over the top of the location of the old fuel island. At the time
of filming, the north-south highway that is now I-25 only occupied what are
now the southbound lanes of I-25
The Old Back Way Into New Mexico -
I've heard several different stories about the "Old back way into New Mexico"
road. Most of them put the road somewhere north northwest of
Albuquerque, but I've not had any exact location. Many of the more
desolate road scenes were filmed on NM 41 north of Moriarity,NM between
Stanley, NM and Santa Fe.
Town where the band is playing, home to "18 Wheel Eddie" -
The town is a compilation of shots of Las Vegas, NM up along I-25 about 3
hours northeast of Albuquerque, Belen NM and Los Lunas, NM south of
Albuquerque. The truck stop at the north end of Santa Fe was one of the
staging and summoning areas for the impromptu convoys the production
crew arranged. This is the same location we see trucks leaving from when
we hear Widow say "we keep pigs, cesspools and foul odors all the way at
back." As the convoy leaves town and the interview begins, the trucks are
actually leaving Belen, NM and heading back north on I-25 towards
Albuquerque.
Alverez, TX, aka Trucker's Hell -
The actual town name is Estancia, NM. It is about 30 miles south of I-40 and
an hour or so east of Albuquerque. The main street of town you see is NM
Route 41. The jail house and adjacent hotel (which have long since burned
down) was at the intersection of NM 41 and Allen Road.
Pig Pen Hits the Ice Cream Truck -
This scene is filmed on Old US 66 (Route 6) at Main St. (Rte. 314) in Los
Lunas, NM. The restaurant the Ice Cream Truck backs out of is the Country
Inn Bar and is still there today. As a side note, the ice cream vendor is Bob
Visciglia, the Property Manager for the film and a long-time Peckinpah
friend.
Final Bridge Scene -
After searching nationwide for months for a bridge from which to shoot the
explosion scene, Peckinpah and his crew finally found the old US 95 bridge
in Needles, CA overr the Colorado River between Needles, CA and Mohave
Valley, AZ. Although very close in proximity, it was not the Red Rock bridge
south of Needles where I-40 now crosses the Colorado River. The
intersection of Mint Rd. and Aqua View Dr. as seen in the Duck's final
approach to the bridge with Melissa is still alive and well in Mohave Valley,
AZ just a few blocks from where the old bridge was located. On the day of
filming, it was 120 degrees in the shade in Needles, and Peckinpah was
insistent on the truck traveling north from Needles to Mohave Valley. They
were on the third set of effects people, because Peckinpah kept firing the
staff or they were outright quitting. After numerous complications, the stunt
was set from north to south as we see in the movie. Several different run
throughs were filmed, first with the 1977 Mack and surviving trailer to show
the rear initial explosion, then again with the Mack that went into the river
and the trailer that blew up. For this scene, the tractor was pulled across
with a cable set up by the tank, and the trailer was pulled behind with
another cable. The trailer was disconnected from the tractor, and the front
of the trailer was supported by the "tricycle" axle from the old Elgin street
sweeper from Needles, CA.
Duck's Funeral -
I've been provided 2 locations - Santa Fe Downs and the State Fairgrounds.
Based on what I found in person and in the video, I believe the location of
the funeral was the Santa Fe Downs horse track in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The arena still exists today, largely unchanged.
Special Thanks to Margaret Anaya for some details and first-hand accounts.
All current pictures Copyright 2007, Dan Bruno and
www.stlouisdumptrucks.com.
Vintage pictures shown above are provided courtesy of Johnny Bruhn.
follows:
Opening Scenes -
The opening scene was filmed at White Sands Missile Range in White
Sands, NM, near Alamogordo, NM. The road they are on is now White
Sands Missile Base Route 10.
A lot of the other opening shots when we first meet Pig Pen and Spider Mike
were filmed on NM41 north of Moriarity, near Stanley NM. A few scenes are
intermixed from near Logan, NM and San Jon, NM. The scale house that the
trucks run later in the movie was rumored to be the old San Jon scale on US
66.
Raphael's Silver Cloud -
Raphael's closed in late 2005, but as of mid 2006 was still located on I-25
about 20 minutes north of Albuquerque in a town called Algodones. It is
currently for sale. The exit where Raphael's is State Route 474, aka
Algodones. It is just 5 miles or so northeast of the intersection of US-550
and State Route 313 where the Black Widow's Brockway 361 overturned
accidentally. The outer road you see in front of Raphael's now runs
approximately over the top of the location of the old fuel island. At the time
of filming, the north-south highway that is now I-25 only occupied what are
now the southbound lanes of I-25
The Old Back Way Into New Mexico -
I've heard several different stories about the "Old back way into New Mexico"
road. Most of them put the road somewhere north northwest of
Albuquerque, but I've not had any exact location. Many of the more
desolate road scenes were filmed on NM 41 north of Moriarity,NM between
Stanley, NM and Santa Fe.
Town where the band is playing, home to "18 Wheel Eddie" -
The town is a compilation of shots of Las Vegas, NM up along I-25 about 3
hours northeast of Albuquerque, Belen NM and Los Lunas, NM south of
Albuquerque. The truck stop at the north end of Santa Fe was one of the
staging and summoning areas for the impromptu convoys the production
crew arranged. This is the same location we see trucks leaving from when
we hear Widow say "we keep pigs, cesspools and foul odors all the way at
back." As the convoy leaves town and the interview begins, the trucks are
actually leaving Belen, NM and heading back north on I-25 towards
Albuquerque.
Alverez, TX, aka Trucker's Hell -
The actual town name is Estancia, NM. It is about 30 miles south of I-40 and
an hour or so east of Albuquerque. The main street of town you see is NM
Route 41. The jail house and adjacent hotel (which have long since burned
down) was at the intersection of NM 41 and Allen Road.
Pig Pen Hits the Ice Cream Truck -
This scene is filmed on Old US 66 (Route 6) at Main St. (Rte. 314) in Los
Lunas, NM. The restaurant the Ice Cream Truck backs out of is the Country
Inn Bar and is still there today. As a side note, the ice cream vendor is Bob
Visciglia, the Property Manager for the film and a long-time Peckinpah
friend.
Final Bridge Scene -
After searching nationwide for months for a bridge from which to shoot the
explosion scene, Peckinpah and his crew finally found the old US 95 bridge
in Needles, CA overr the Colorado River between Needles, CA and Mohave
Valley, AZ. Although very close in proximity, it was not the Red Rock bridge
south of Needles where I-40 now crosses the Colorado River. The
intersection of Mint Rd. and Aqua View Dr. as seen in the Duck's final
approach to the bridge with Melissa is still alive and well in Mohave Valley,
AZ just a few blocks from where the old bridge was located. On the day of
filming, it was 120 degrees in the shade in Needles, and Peckinpah was
insistent on the truck traveling north from Needles to Mohave Valley. They
were on the third set of effects people, because Peckinpah kept firing the
staff or they were outright quitting. After numerous complications, the stunt
was set from north to south as we see in the movie. Several different run
throughs were filmed, first with the 1977 Mack and surviving trailer to show
the rear initial explosion, then again with the Mack that went into the river
and the trailer that blew up. For this scene, the tractor was pulled across
with a cable set up by the tank, and the trailer was pulled behind with
another cable. The trailer was disconnected from the tractor, and the front
of the trailer was supported by the "tricycle" axle from the old Elgin street
sweeper from Needles, CA.
Duck's Funeral -
I've been provided 2 locations - Santa Fe Downs and the State Fairgrounds.
Based on what I found in person and in the video, I believe the location of
the funeral was the Santa Fe Downs horse track in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The arena still exists today, largely unchanged.
Special Thanks to Margaret Anaya for some details and first-hand accounts.
All current pictures Copyright 2007, Dan Bruno and
www.stlouisdumptrucks.com.
Vintage pictures shown above are provided courtesy of Johnny Bruhn.
Corner of NM 41 and Allen, former site of "Alvarez" jail
Staging area where RD waited for the others to hit Alvarez
| Looking north from the Jailhouse, the Duck leaves this direction |
| Looking south on 41 from across the street from the jailhouse, The Duck and Pig Pen approach this way north on NM 41. |
