Railroads: Tracks Across America

This two-disc publication offers a wide range of films dealing with the history of American railroads, maintenance of roadbeds and tracks, construction and operation of locomotives and rolling stock, research and equipment improvements, freight classification yards, train orders, central traffic control, administering freight traffic, life on passenger trains, providing services for passengers, the role of freight trains, types of cargoes transported, locations served by passenger trains (including scenic attractions), the philosophies of railroad companies, and the attitudes of railroad workers. Although most of these films were presented by specific railroads and railroad associations, some of them are focused on non-railroad subjects. The quality varies with the date of production, with the more recent films providing better images and sound. Brief descriptions of all these films are given below. Some have also been reproduced on other CDs.1. America’s Railroads: The Glory Years (2010) [color & black & white; 33 minutes]. A history of U.S. railroads, from the 1820s to the 21st Century, with thumbnail sketches of some specific railroads (especially the Baltimore & Ohio, the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Reading, the Erie, the New York Central, the Rock Island, the Northern Pacific, the Great Northern, the Santa Fe, and the Southern Pacific).2. Wheels of Progress (ca. 1950) [color; 18 minutes]. Presented by the Rock Island Lines. Role of railroads in moving raw materials, and agricultural produce. Train equipment and operation.3. A Great Railroad at Work (1942) [black & white; 38 minutes]. Presented by the New York, New Haven and Hartford. Passenger and freight operation and maintenance.4. Desert Empire (1948) [black & white; 20 minutes]. Produced for the Denver and Rio Grande Western. The history, scenery, and resources of Utah. Limited information about railroads.5. The Big Train (ca. 1955) [black & white; 26 minutes]. Presented by the New York Central. The role of railroads; improvements based on research; and track maintenance. Follows a freight train from Chicago to New York City. Includes a 6-minute commentary by Alfred Perlman, in which he criticizes the tax system in which railroads had to construct and pay taxes on their rights of way, while competing industries (e.g., trucking companies) did not have to build highways or pay taxes on them.6. New Horizons (1948) [color; 17 minutes]. Presented by Seaboard Airline Railroad. Mainly about products of the South. Little about railroads.7. Troop Train (1943) [black & white; 10 minutes]. Produced by the Office of War Information. Demonstrates how trains moved soldiers and army equipment during the war.8. The Passenger Train (1954) [black & white; 10 minutes]. Produced by Encyclopaedia Britannica, this film follows a boy’s railroad trip on the Santa Fe from Chicago to Lamy, NM. [Scientists en route to Los Alamos to develop the atomic bomb got off their trains at Lamy.]9. This Is My Railroad (1946) [color; 29 minutes]. Presented by the Southern Pacific Railroad. Covers track laying, assembling trains, maintenance, communication, and roles of various railroad workers.10. At This Moment (1954) [color; 26 minutes]. Produced by the Westinghouse Air Brake Company. Docudrama explains how railroads contributed to the U.S. by carrying mail, agricultural and industrial goods, and passengers. Describes various types of improvements.11. Big Trains Rolling (1955) [color; 24 minutes]. This is a re-make of a 1946 Association of American Railroads film bearing the same title. It employs a better recording of the earlier film’s narrative, but features more modern footage than the original (e.g., diesels in place of steam engines). It explains railroads’ role in moving freight and passengers.12. Mainline USA (1957) [color; 20 minutes]. Presented by the Association of American Railroads. Describes how railroads carried passengers and various types of freight, and stimulated the economy by purchasing fuel and steel products. Explains improvements in technology, and notes that railroads, unlike other transportation industries, not only paid to build their rights of way, but also paid taxes on them.13. Beef Rings the Bell (1960) [color; 28 minutes]. Although produced by the Union Pacific, it is not about railroads, but rather about the beef industry, from breeding, feeding, transporting, auctioning, packing, meat cutting, etc.14. Safe Roads (1935) [black & white; 8 minutes]. Presented by Chevrolet, this film urges automobile drivers to emulate railroad safety procedures.15. 3rd Avenue El (1955) [color; 10 minutes]. An art film by Carson Davidson that was nominated for an Academy Award. Lacking a spoken narrative, but accompanied by Wanda Landowska’s harpsichord performance of Haydn’s Concerto in D, this film follows the Third Avenue Elevated train in New York City, showing the street scenes it passed, and the variety of passengers it served.16. Operation Fast Freight (1950) [color; 25 minutes]. Follows a Norfolk & Western time freight from Columbus to Norfolk, describing cargoes, equipment, and personnel.17. The Modern Coal Burning Steam Locomotive (1944) [color; 25 minutes]. A Norfolk & Western presentation. Explains how steam locomotives were made, and how service was reduced and simplified by roller bearings and mechanical lubricators. Emphasizes the low cost, dependability, and reliability of modern steam engines.18. Flight of the Century (ca. 1935) [black & white; 17 minutes]. Produced by the New York Central. Follows the Twentieth Century Limited from Chicago to New York City, showing the preparation, personnel, and operation of this famous train.19. The Steam Locomotive (ca. mid-1930s) [black & white; 10 minutes]. Explains the operation and servicing of steam engines.20. Railroads and Western Expansion (1978 ?) [color; 15 minutes]. Presented by the BFA Educational Media. Describes railroads’ role in settling the West, waging the Civil War, spanning the continent, and transporting agricultural and manufactured goods and the mail.21. The Nickel Plate Story (1952) [color; 19 minutes]. Mainly about freight service, follows freight trains en route to Buffalo from St. Louis, Peoria, and Chicago.22. End of An Era (1962) [color; 18 minutes]. Covers the conversion of the Rayonier Lumber railroad from steam to diesel.23. The California Zephyr (ca. 1950) [black & white; 9 minutes]. Follows this train (with its five vista dome cars) as it travels from Chicago to San Francisco, describing its equipment and the scenery it passes.24. Return of the General (ca. 1962) [color; 10 minutes]. The “General” became famous for its role in the Great Locomotive Chase during the Civil War. This film documents the General’s activities in the 1960s following its restoration. (It is not the same locomotive that appears in the 1956 Walt Disney movie.)25. The Freight Train (1954) [black & white; 10 minutes]. Follows Santa Fe Train No. 40 from Kansas City to Chicago, explaining how trains were assembled and operated.26. Railroad Man (1967) [color; 28 minutes]. Presented by the United Transportation Union. Railroad men talk about their experiences, railroad policies, public perception of railroad men, their dangers and grievances, and union activities.27. The Railroad Story (ca. 1955) [color; 23 minutes]. Presented by the Illinois Railroad Association. Describes how railroads promoted agriculture and industry, and improved their technology. Includes a long monologue arguing that the tax system is unfair to railroads, making them pay to subsidize their competitors (e.g., trucks).28. Song of the Pioneer (ca.1955) [color; 21 minutes]. Docudrama, begins with flashback to mid-19th century skepticism about railroads, and moves ahead to show how railroads improved, carrying freight, passengers, and mail, thus promoting settlement, agriculture, and industry.29. Rolling the Freight (1947) [black & white; 29 minutes]. Mainly deals with the freight operations of the Chicago and Northwestern System, with a little information about its passenger trains. Describes the types of freight carried (including less-than-carload lots), how trains were assembled, communication, and administration.30. Snow on the Run (ca. 1953) [color; 18 minutes]. Describes how the Southern Pacific used spreaders, rotary snow plows, and flangers to clear snow from its Sierra Nevada Mountain tracks.31. The Power Behind the Nation (ca. 1945) [color; 31 minutes]. A Norfolk & Western presentation. Primarily about the coal industry (a major customer of the N&W), explaining how coal was mined, and the many products made from coal. Very little information about the N&W.32. Clear Track Ahead (1946) [black & white; 26 minutes]. Docudrama with flashback to 1846, covering growth and improvement of railroads. Follows a freight train and a passenger train (powered by the Pennsylvania Railroad’s unusual T1 [4-4-4-4] steam engine), and describes operation, equipment, and personnel.33. A Railroad At Work (1946 ?) [black & white; 26 minutes]. Presented by the Milwaukee Road. (Same film was published on another CD as “The Milwaukee Road,” but with narrative freshly recorded by Dale Reed.) Covers freight and passenger service, rolling stock construction, equipment maintenance, and accounting.34. Last of the Giants (ca. mid-1950s) [color; 23 minutes]. Describes the development and operation of Union Pacific’s 4-8-8-4 “Big Boy,” the largest steam engine ever built, with a capacity of 28 tons of coal and 25,000 gallons of water.35. Progress on the Rails (1952) [black & white; 15 minutes]. Presented by the Pennsylvania Railroad. Railroad operation, including construction of freight and passenger cars, track maintenance, communication, signals, and ticket sales.36. Wheels of Steel (1954 ?) [black & white; 14 minutes]. Follows a GG1-powered passenger train from New York City to Washington.37. Opening a New Frontier (1955) [black & white; 13 minutes]. Describes the transportation of semi-truck trailers on special railroad flat cars.

Perfect for a train lover

I bought several DVD's about trains for my husbands birthday. He loves trains! He thought they were great. Well worth the price.

Hours and hours of memorable viewing as we glimpse back in time when the railroads we vital partners in the distribution of products across our country and around the world. These videos are a time machine back to a simpler, more enjoyable time: a time when the railroads flourished. A boon to all rail buffs with coverage from coast to coast, season to season, steam and diesel. A visual treat!

I am very disappointed with this DVD. I really expected a professional documentary. This set contains 12 1/2 hours of video compressed onto 2 dual layer single sided DVDs. The picture quality on most of the collection is very poor - it is blurry - similar to what I get when I compress video about 50% to try to put it on a single DVD - not a good thing to do - especially on what is supposed to be a professionally done DVD. The first DVD has lots of budget quality documentaries. The 2nd DVD has a collection of short videos, many from the 1950s from various sources and even a b&w made my Encyclopedia Britannica. They remind me of the short movies we would watch in elementary and middle school. This is not what I expected. I am very disappointed. I was actually expecting a 'history channel' quality documentary. This is really just a collection of odds and ends. Although it is low budget quality, it is still somewhat interesting - especially at $5 (budget quality at budget price), so I am giving it a '3'.

Best train video ever, great value, very pleased.35 vintage films initiated by the RR themselves, most of the films done by movie production companies, oh so very many choice old prototype scenes, totally unavailable today. The only down side is some that some of the video was an earlier video transfer to a hetrodyne video format (NTSC). Much better if the films were transferred to a digital video format like some of the restored classic movies.

I put this on when I needed something to keep the attention of the kids for about a half hour. It has lots of shorter segments, so I thought it would fill the bill. My 12 and 7 year old girls came down afterward telling me how fascinating trains are and just how many switches someone needs to switch in just the right order to make sure the trains don't run into each other, or go to the wrong destination. I love it!

No "SHILL" story here....like Joe Friday says..."Just The Facts" please. Consider the overall ratings posted for this collection & let that determine your decision. I believe any R/R enthusiast over the age of 50 & some under will appreciate the diversity & historical value of these shorts. Of course 99% of it is promotional & advertising.....what of it!!! I really got a laugh seeing the cute little girl in "3RD Ave EL" pick her nose.

the videos are hit and miss, but this has been a reall data-saver with my 4 year old train enthusiast! lots of great footage of old steam trains.

この２枚組のＤＶＤに３６編の作品が収められています。これは、驚きです。ただし、当時の動画は、8～16mmフィルムで撮影されたものの様で、作品によっては、モノクロで、鮮鋭度が甘いものもあります。３６編とは、別に、アメリカの鉄道の歴史をまとめた作品が収められており、静態保存された「ビッグ・ボーイ」を撮影しますが、いかんせん、カメラが手持ちの様で、画面が揺れるのには、「惜しい！」としか言いようもありません。　まあ、この価格では、あまり文句も言えないですね。鉄道ファンなら、１度は見ておいても損は無いと思います。

loved

Great vintage promotional films that gives you incite to what the railroad really meant. Nice to watch the history in real time instead of looking back.