Cow vs Train Silently

Jerry’s on the job as a steam locomotive engineer in “The Wrong Track,” a 1920 cartoon produced by the Bray Studios.

The cartoon’s under three minutes and it consists of one joke with a long set-up. But there’s some nice perspective animation as Jerry’s train comes in at an angle and is stymied by a recalcitrant, cross-eyed cow.



Jerry tries pulling the cow off the tracks.



The cow then kicks the train back a few yards.



Jerry doesn’t give up. He revs up the train and runs into the cow, killing it and the train in the process. I liked the scrunched up cow in the first drawing below. When did cartoonists stop drawing crosses on the eyes like that?



You can read more about the Jerry on the Job series HERE and if you click around, you’ll learn about the fine work Tom Stathes is doing to preserve silent cartoons. My thanks to Devon Baxter for the frames.