This was a local show that came on when I was a little tyke.
I remember being fascinated with the “engine”.
Who else remembers evidence of being a “gearhead” at an early age?
More about the show:
Thats a good one. Never heard of it. We had Casey Jones and Axle and His Dog in the treehouse instead. I do remember Captain Midnight on Saturdays though in his jet pushing that terrible tasting Ovaltine flavoring.
I don’t remember either show, but I liked Ovaltine.
Bing, I happened to meet Casey Jones at a friend’s wedding reception back in, oh, I want to say 1981, perhaps 1982. It was at the University Club on Summit Ave.
He happened to be friends with the father of the bride. I remember people going nuts when he showed up at our table to greet the bride who happened to be sitting with us at that moment. I, being raised in KC, Mo, had NO clue as to who he was. He seemed like a nice decent fellow. Gave autographs to whoever wanted one, and mingled with the guests for quite a bit.
We had some clown named Whizzo. No, really, he was a genuine retired circus clown, and a Kansas City television pioneer. Real name was Frank Oliver Wiziarde, and he was actually fairly entertaining. Really good at prat falls.
Never heard of Cap’n Tugg but we did watch Mr Bill and Bozo as well as Howdy Doody. I still love Ovaltine and Malted Milk from my childhood.
Don’t recall ever seeing it, but that looks like a pretty good show. If the tv schedule was either Real Housewives, The Bachelor, Downton Abby, or Capt’n Tugg, me, I’d make a batch of popcorn and be watching Capt’n Tugg.
American’s tv viewing habits may not be what the networks think maybe. Instead of what the networks are offering, for example I’m watching the DVD of the first (1951/52) season of the George Reeves version of Superman. Last night I watched the one where clues to a puzzle were hid in small plaster statues. Crooks were buying all they could find and smashing them on the spot. Sort of a knock off on a prior Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes story I think. I must say, it was pretty good viewing.
Cap’n Tugg was a local DC show; I enjoyed it, too. WTTG was an independent channel at the time (now Fox). Hey @circuitsmith, do you remember Pick Temple and Ranger Hal? Ranger Hal was my favorite - Warner Bros. cartoons.
@DrRocket yes Casey was a truly nice person and did a lot for kids and the community. I can’t quite remember his real name (ah Roger Awsumb). Sioux Falls had Captain 11 (Dave Dedricks) who was about as opposite as you can get from the true life Casey. Think he died from the effects of years of alcohol abuse.
What I really want to know though is did Cap’n Tugg make it through the storm and to Pencil Point ahead of Flood? I really want to know.
@jtsanders, I don’t remember those shows.
Tugg went off the air when I was 6; the only thing I remember vividly was that “engine”, and wanting to help oil it with my dad’s oil can.
Those were the days when T.V. programming was worthwhile, and children’s T.V. shows were clean and truly entertaining. Although I don’t remember Cap’n Tugg, I DO clearly remember Captain Kangaroo (Bob Keeler) and his farmer sidekick, Mr. Greenjeans. I also remember, from when I was a school kid growing up in Delaware in the late '60s and early '70s, that after school I’d always watch cartoons on Channel 17 out of Philadelphia (dial position 7), hosted by Bill Webber, who was best known as “Wee Willie Webber”; I actually got to meet him in person at a Hardee’s in Dover, DE., where he had stopped in for a meet-n-greet/autograph session, in the summer after my 3rd grade year. In person he wasn’t “wee” at all, he was much bigger in real life!
Captain Kangaroo was syndicated and also on in the morning in DC. That was my sister’s favorite morning kids show. IIRC, it was an hour long show and so was Ranger Hal; the overlapped a half hour. We constantly argued about which show we watched for an hour. Our parents gave us a schedule to follow. We also had Howdy Doody in the 1950s.
I think pretty much every major city with television stations had local kid’s show hosts. For KC, Mo, it was Whizzo and Captain Ken. Captain Ken’s show featured a lot of WB cartoons along with Casper. Whizzo showed a lot of Popeye, Tom and Jerry, Heckle and Jeckle, and even some black and white Betty Boop. I loved (still do) the older Popeye cartoons.
This was all in addition to the nationally syndicated shows like Captain Kangaroo, Howdy Doody and the like.
I liked Jonny Quest,Mr.Wizard,Space Angel,Fireball XL5,things like that,the problem I had with Capt.Kangaroo and shows like that was,Daggone it I didnt have no construction paper, glue or crayons usually.Think ,Thomas the Tank Engine is pretty cool along with the Magic Schoolbus,etc-Kevin
I used to watch Captain Kangaroo every morning, but honestly the guy drove me nuts. Just too calm and bland I guess, I dunno.
I understand now Cap’n Tugg has died after a long career. Intestingly he lived on a boat and in 1967 the boat evidently sank in the Red Sea on an expedition of some type. Sounds like an interesting guy but never saw his show. I wonder why they didn’t syndicate some of these shows?
Captain Kangaroo may be the reason I like grandfather clocks…
Anybody else remember a show called “Winky Dink” from the mid-Fifties?
Kids were supposed to draw things like ladders, etc on the TV screen with crayons to help the cartoon character escape from “situations”. You sent away for a plastic sheet to go over the TV screen, but many kids didn’t wait for it to come and drew directly on the screen, and caught hell from their parents for doing it.
I was one of those 
Don’t know if it was local to the NY area or not.
Winky Dink, and you. Winky Dink, and you… Gad, I still have its theme music stored away. It was syndicated, and was still being broadcast by a local LA station into the second half of the sixties. I guess those kits were profitable. All they were was a cardboard frame in the shape of a TV surrounding a sheet of acetate (or similar clear plastic). I think it came with a grease pencil or two. Help, help, the house is on fire! Draw a ladder so Jimmy can get down from the window! I guess even as a little kid that seemed pretty silly. Change the channel to Bozo.