“Troop Train” is a 1943 short, morale-boosting propaganda film produced by the Office of War Information that shows how American troops and war material are being shipped via railroad. While the film’s assumed purpose would be to educate the American public about the role of railroad transportation of military divisions, “Troop Train” takes a more stylistic approach, with absolutely no narration and little dialogue.
The director uses images to tell the story. Footage of rows of war material, troops marching and locomotives are cleverly edited to create a montage propaganda film, something of a rarity in the United States.
The film is also notable for its depiction of service men’s life on the long trips across the country to unknown ports, and to unknown fronts in the war. The film begins with images of rows of vehicles including tanks, trucks and motorcycles (:54) before showing the control room (1:17) at a major railroad and staff at the Transportation Corps in Washington D.C. At (1:47), men speak on the phone regarding the movement of military trains. At (2:1), the Chief of Staff of the Army Ground Forces meet and discuss movement of an armored division. At (2:29) the 201st Armored Division’s M-3 Stuart tanks are shown moving down a highway to a waiting train, which is guarded by MPs. At (2:49) rows of flatcars are assembled so that the tanks can be moved board. They are followed by halftracks (4:02) and trucks. At (4:17) chocks are installed so that the vehicles won’t shift in transit. At (4:30) Harley Davidson motorcycles and jeeps board the train. At (4:50) the personnel of the division march in formation. At (5:21) the steam engine pulling the vehicles gets underway, while what appears to be a second train carrying personnel is loaded on an adjacent track. At (6:45) the men play cards while the train rides along followed at (7;05) by a game of craps. At (7;08) soup is prepared and at (7:20) a meal eaten aboard the train. At (7:58) the men leave the train to stretch and perform calisthenics and take a shower from a water tower (8:21). At (8:40) the men use wax paper to hum a tune while the train crosses a trestle. At (8:50) a Black Pullman porter prepares a fold down bed. At (9:43) a soldier brushes his teeth in Pullman car. At (9:49) a porter watches as a soldier looks out the window. The film ends with a montage of trains moving relentlessly onward towards the ports, where the men and equipment will disembark and then make their way by ship to the battlefronts.
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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
