This silent 16mm film was shot by an unknown individual who was a railfan. It consists of various segments showing steam locomotives in the late 1940s.
The film begins with a title card, “The R.F&P Kept Them Clean”. This refers to the Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad, a 113-mile bridge line that connected Richmond, Virginia, to Washington, D.C. The 4-6-2 Pacific locomotive #310 shown at :16 bears the words “Washington & Richmond” on the tender. At :59, color footage of Southern Railroad steam locomotives. The locomotive at 1:50 (image flopped) is marked Virginia on the tender. At 1:54, an antique Mogul steam engine with a spark arrestor is seen hauling passenger cars. This is the B&O Railroad’s William Mason, a 4-4-0 American Standard steam locomotive built at the Mason Machine Works. This was possibly shot in 1951, when the engine was loaned to the Erie Railroad and operated as a traveling exhibit as part of the railroad’s centennial celebration. At 4:36, flopped footage, type unknown. At 5:10, either a Baltimore & Ohio Consolidated Mallet 2-8-8-0 #7200 class or a member of the S-1 Class, possibly #6123 seen later. The #7200 class was retired by 1954, so if it’s a #7200 the footage predates that year. These heavy engines were often used to pull loads of coal. A caboose rolls by at 5:30. Next, B&O S-1 class, Santa Fe type locomotive #6123. This is a 2-10-2 that was built in 1923 and scrapped no later than 1959. Like the #7200s, built to haul coal. At 6:34, #7619 of the EM-1 “Yellowstone” class (one of 30 built) comes by with the camera at low angle, showing off the wheel arrangement. At 6:51, a brief shot of P7 locomotive #5302, the “President Jefferson” which was streamlined by being enclosed in a shroud. (This engine was scrapped in 1956 following an accident.) At 7:40 the locomotive rounds a bend, making an impressive sight, probably running as the Cincinattian and shot in between Baltimore and Cincinnati. At 7:58, another steam locomotive pulls a passenger train past camera, followed by another at 8:23. At 9:05 another B&O locomotive moves over a grade crossing (footage flopped). At 9:14 following, impressive long shots of freight trains on the move. The train at 10:11 has an engine in the front and two “pusher” locomotives in the rear. At 11:15, Delaware and Hudson #302 locomotive is shown. It’s not clear if this is the original 4-8-4 K-62’s built by Alco Schenectady in 1943, or a subsequent mock-up for tourist service. At 11:33, engine Delaware & Hudson #609 is shown, Alco 4-6-2. At 12:50, a double ended freight moves up a grade. At 14:45, Delaware & Hudson #1308, a Class K, 4-8-4 was one of fifteen built by Schenectady in 1943.
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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
