This 1953 color film directed by Alan S. Lee and produced by Condor Films, Inc. of St. Louis for the Wabash Railroad Company features Barry Hopkins, Charles Flynn, Mina Kolb, and the personnel of the Wabash in a promotional travelogue that highlights the convenient offerings of the “Blue Bird” streamlined passenger line. The film features the songs, “You Can Bank on the Wabash” by Tom Hayes & Stan Kay and “Riding the Wabash Road” by Cy Elsmo (TRT: 25:57).
The Wabash Railroad logo, “Follow the Flag, The Wabash Railroad Company Presents, Once Upon the Wabash,” opening credits (0:08). 1950s automobiles drive a country road. We are introduced to newlyweds Mike and Molly Molloy, who sing while riding in a convertible. A streamlined Wabash “Blue Bird” diesel locomotive barrels down the tracks alongside them, making better time (0:55). Through the magic of filmmaking, the couple is transported to a passenger car on the train. Their car continues driving without them. “Boy, what a way to travel” (2:19). The car’s domed top allows a view of the train ahead. A porter walks down an aisle of “Sleepy Hollow” seats. A “drawing room” (2:49). Painted murals. The “Blue Bird Room,” a cocktail lounge, and dining car in montage. Staff wear uniforms with epaulettes (3:16). A child demonstrates automatic doors. A woman takes a staircase to a dome coach (3:57). A coffee shop counter. A club car for coach passengers (4:21). Blueprints and decorating plans for the modern streamliner. Passing landscapes (4:35). Asbestos soundproofing. A spring system for shock absorbing wheels. An air conditioning unit l(5:05). The train’s engineer checks dials and gauges. The engineer toots the horn (5:27). The Blue Bird rolls to a stop at a train station (6:22). A flashback to the days of the “old iron horse.” A model Rogers steam locomotive makes its debut in Meredosia for a crowd with top hats and 19th century attire. A man with a mustache issues a proclamation (6:46). The train appears to pull away as onlookers wave (7:44). A map shows Meredosia, Illinois, with rails extending to Omaha, Buffalo, Kansas City, and Detroit. A heart appears (8:43). Waterfalls, the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge (9:15). A Wabash freighter on Lake Michigan, the Detroit River (9:25). A shipping captain at the helm (9:50). The Blue Bird reappears. A private bedroom with one man, another with a mother and children (10:09). Union Station in Kansas City, St. Louis, Toledo, Detroit, Chicago, Omaha (10:49). Freight trains over scenes of shipping and agriculture. A train’s POV crossing a bridge. Ice cubes refrigerate cars. Grains and boxcars (11:29). Skylines of St. Louis and Detroit. “Detroit Union Produce Terminal, St. Louis Produce Market”, crates of oranges, grapes (12:44). Trainyard montage: An engineer works on an engine. Welding, freight car construction (13:26). A train dispatcher or switchboard operator. Trains pass safely (15:32). Tracks switch to allow the Blue Bird passage (16:22). A mechanical long-distance writing system transmits a handwritten message (16:40). 19th century travelers disembark, covered in soot (17:25). Lunch is served in the dining car: Braised shoulder of lamb, fried Maine scallops, chicken croquettes, a “salad bowl,” baked ham, a chicken sandwich, broiled whitefish, steak (17:50). A cramped dining car kitchen compared to the modern commissary. Meat in transit (19:51). The purchasing dept. Parts and supplies. An engineer charts a course on a map (21:08). Driving stakes into train tracks, throwing a switch. Uncoupling freight cars (22:07). A Ford auto assembly plant in Michigan. An engine pulls forward, showing off the Wabash logo. A John Deere plant. The Aluminium Corp. of America, Phelps Dodge Copper, Stanley Manufacturing, Lincoln-Mercury (23:12). Foods and appliances (24:18). A vision of a world without railroads: Overground tracks, empty parking lots, vacant stations (24:34). Our hero lights a cigar, returns to his convertible humming a jingle (25:12).
The Blue Bird operated from 1938 to 1971. The “Domeliner” with its “Vista-Dome” car and E-unit diesel locomotives from Electro-Motive Division debuted in 1950, carrying passengers between Chicago, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri.
