Made by the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Transcontinental Air Transport Inc., this 1929 black & white educational/promotional film shows “modern” travel from New York, New York to Los Angeles, CA in the breathtaking, hell for leather time of 48 hours. The film features Ford Trimotors and includes appearances by some of the famous aviators of the era Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart, who help assure potential passengers about how safe and comfortable flying can be. The company behind this film, Transcontinental Air Transport (known widely by it initials T-A-T) was founded in 1928 by Clement Melville Keys. In 1930 it merged with Western Air Express to form what later became TWA, or Trans World Airlines. Keys enlisted the help of Charles Lindbergh to design the company’s transcontinental network to get government airmail contracts. Lindbergh established numerous airports across the country in this effort, but critics nevertheless derided the expensive service (a one-way ticket from New York to Los Angeles was $352) and the initials “TAT” were said to stand for “Take a Train”. The reputation was further sullied when, on September 3, 1929, a westbound TAT flight crashed on Mt. Taylor in New Mexico, with loss of all aboard. It was the first of three serious accidents for TAT over the next five months, and the company lost 2.7 million dollars in its first 18 months of operation.

Opening titles: Coast to Coast in 48 Hours (:14-1:05). Around a table sits Col. Charles Lindbergh with the leaders of TAT (1:06-2:26). Aerial shot of New York City. Pennsylvania Railroad station, people buy tickets to California. People say goodbye to one another and ‘The Airway Limited’ train heads out for California. The Airway Limited ran from New York to Indianapolis and connected with the first air leg of the transcontinental rail-air service at Port Columbus. Map shows route: NY to Columbus, OH. Port Columbus. Baggage is weighed and passengers board an airplane. Propellers spin, Ford Trimotor aircraft takes off. City of Columbus, OH is below them (2:27-4:38). Below them from the air, the train they were previously on heads onward down the tracks. First part of the journey is Columbus to Indianapolis, IN. Souvenir maps are looked at on the plane. Plane lands in Indianapolis. Teletype system keeps up with the journey. Next stop is St. Louis, MO. Plane flies onward. Plane lands in St. Louis. People head inside to keep warm (4:39-6:28). Plane motors are checked by Charles Lindbergh and others inside a factory. Engines start up. Mechanics work on the plane. Passengers board. Plane heads from St. Louis to Kansas City, MO. Pilots review the weather report. Lunch is served on the plane. People eat and drink. (The TAT service was one of the first to offer meals, provided by the Fred Harvey Company.) Aerial shot of Kansas City. After Kansas City, onward to Wichita, KS (6:29-8:50). Pilot radios Wichita and reports his position. Pilots talk to one another (8:51-10:15). Charles Lindbergh flies by to check on the status of the flight. Wichita, KS. Waynoka, OK is the next stop. Passengers exit the plane. Travelers eat dinner. They take the Santa Fe Railway. Morning finds the train in Clovis, NM. The passengers and pilots board the plane in Clovis (10:16-11:58). Plane takes off. Next stop is Albuquerque, NM. Plane flies over Albuquerque. Native Americans at the Albuquerque Airport. Travelers look at the wares being sold by the Indians. Travelers relax while Native Americans examine the plane (11:59-13:43). Travelers are back on the plane and in the air. Winslow, AZ is the next stop, over mountains and through clouds. Painted Desert and Petrified Forest. Plane on the ground in Winslow. The next stop is Kingman, AZ. Plane flies toward Kingman and over a meteor crater (13:44-15:22). Plane lands in Kingman, AZ. Passengers board and head for Los Angeles, CA. Passing over the Colorado River and the Mojave Desert (15:23-17:05). Passing over Los Angeles,CA, the plane starts to get lower. Los Angeles City Hall. A man announces a plane is arriving from NYC. Plane lands in Los Angeles, CA. Travelers exit the plane. Jack Maddux, the President of T.A.T.-Maddux Airlines, is one of the passengers, he meets Amelia Earhart. Map of the United States, train cars, planes, Charles Lindbergh sums up the journey (17:06-19:52). End credits (19:53-19:59).

This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com