Made by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in the 1920s, “Wheels of Progress” is a silent educational film that contains fascinating footage of horses, buggies, bicycles and early automobiles. The film notes that even “25 years ago” a 25-mile trip was very, very far. Now thanks to the automobile, distances are shorter. However as the film shows at the 2:09 mark, early automobiles were far from reliable. The film shows an early traffic jam at the 3:00 mark, and contains lots of shots of cars sharing roads with animal-drawn carts and wagons. Military trucks are seen at the 4 minute mark, with troops being taken into combat. An early snow plow is shown at 4:25. Buses are shown at the 4:40 mark, including double decker varieties. A trolley car is seen taking passengers from a bus at 5:00, and a bus terminal and inter-city bus ride immediately following. At the 6:20 mark, an automobile assembly line is seen, probably Studebaker.
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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 and 2k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com