This color film from 1954, a sponsored film about the importance of the railroad industry in America, is framed around the narrative of railroad workers talking in restaurant. Television producer John O’Shea (Bill Kennedy) is directed to Scotty’s, where the crowd inside includes waitress Kelly (Pat Englund), newspaper editor Bill (James Gregory), and Scotty himself (Jock MacGregor). A railway worker sees in a trade magazine that a TV program about railroads is in the works, and this leads Bill to opine aloud about what such a program should include. His narration is inter-spliced with footage of the rail industry in action. Sitting quietly in the corner, John O’Shea just so happens to be the producer of that TV show, but he doesn’t let on. No one is the wiser until Scotty, Bill and Kelly recognize him on the television a few weeks later, and sure enough, the program he presents is exactly in line with the spirit and information he overheard at the restaurant; the privately owned and operated railroad industry is the backbone of America and must never be discounted. Directed by Haford Kerbawy. Written by Thomas Monroe. Produced by the Jam Handy Organization for the Westinghouse Air Brake Company.
In the post-World War II boom many railroads were driven out of business due to competition from airlines and Interstate highways. Railroads continued to carry bulk freight such as coal, steel and other commodities, but the Interstate Commerce Commission regulated railroad rates and other aspects of operations, limiting railroads’ flexibility in responding to changing market forces. Dozens of large railroads declared bankruptcy in the 1960’s and 1970’s. In 1970, Congress created Amtrak in order to take over operation of existing passenger lines, and Consolidated Rail Corporation (ConRail) to salvage viable freight operations in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic and Midwest, in 1976.
00:13 TITLE CARD; railroad company logos 02:01 Chicago: Hilton Hotel, Grant Park, Illinois Central Railroad tracks 02:17 Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway diesels pull a train as it crosses bridge 02:09 Pennsylvania Railroad freight trains pass each other 02:35 Man in switching tower 02:40 Freight yard 02:46 Engineers climb down from New York Central diesel locomotive 02:59 John O’Shea (Bill Kennedy) exits Michigan Central Railroad Station, Ann Arbor, Michigan 03:39 Soundstage: interior of restaurant; cigarette machine, jukebox, lunch counter, patrons 09:55 Outdoor scenes from around America; Petrified Forest National Park, wheat field, cattle, ship entering harbor, oil tanks, sheep 10:34 Freight yard, grain silos 10:44 Goods are loaded aboard freight cars; cattle, sheep, ice, coal, oil (Wyandotte Chemicals tank cars) 11:33 Bulk carrier Joseph Wood; iron ore in gondolas 11:38 Scenes of raw material being harvested; lumber, oil 12:18 Baled cotton is loaded into Southern Railway boxcars 14:03 Passing train snags mailbag; mail being sorted onboard, unloaded 15:28 St. Louis Southwestern Railway ALCO PA-1 locomotive, Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad EMD E8A locomotive, Pennsylvania Railroad EMD E7A locomotive 15:34 ATSF, New York Central trains 15:43 Union Pacific Railroad GTEL locomotive 15:55 Southern Pacific passenger train arrives at a station 16:15 Engineer in cab operates locomotive 16:58 Train approaches signal bridge 17:29 Men direct traffic at a signal board 17:42 Seaboard Air Line Railroad Baldwin DR 12-8-3000 “Centipede” locomotive; SAL EMD E8 locomotive 18:42 Flagman climbs aboard PRR caboose, speaks to engineer via intercom 19:29 Operator in tower sorts freight cars in hump yard 19:59 Workers install new track 20:19 Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad train 20:30 passengers aboard train; sleeper car, dining car, observation car 21:00 ATSF train pulled by EMD F7B locomotive 24:03 Rock Island Railroad train passes under bridge 24:16 SP GS-Type steam locomotive 24:31 Observation car 02:44 Wabash, ATSF, SAL, and Rio Grande Railway trains 25:49
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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
