"A GREAT RAILROAD AT WORK" 1942 NEW HAVEN RAILROAD FREIGHT & PASSENGER SERVICE PROMO FILM MD10735

Help us preserve, scan and post more rare and endangered films on Patreon:   / periscopefilm   Join this channel to get access to perks:    / @periscopefilm   Website: www.PeriscopeFilm.com Produced by Jam Handy, this film, "A Great Railroad at Work" (1942) provides a detailed look into the operations and maintenance of the New Haven Railroad, emphasizing the skill and dedication of its employees and the intricate systems required to run both passenger and freight services. 0:00 Main titles. The film begins by highlighting that a great railroad's success is not just about its mechanical equipment, but about the people who operate and maintain it. 2:59 The first part of the film focuses on passenger operations, showing a locomotive backing into the yards to pick up the cars for the "Yankee Clipper" train. 3:12 It then moves to the repair shops where passenger cars are cleaned, sanitized, and rebuilt. The film details the technology used to create sealed, double-paned windows filled with dry nitrogen to prevent fogging. 6:09 A detailed scene at the commissary shows food and drink supplies being loaded and checked for the dining car. 7:06 The locomotive gently couples to the cars, and the train pulls out of the yards, demonstrating the precise timing involved in making up hundreds of trains daily. 8:08 A key safety feature: the ability to control the train's air brakes from the rear, in addition to the engineer in front. 8:27 The train arrives at South Station in Boston. 10:19 Freight trains, illustrating the two main types of shipments: carloads and less-than-carload lots. It shows a boy's bicycle being loaded and securely stowed for a trip from Boston to New York. 10:54 A modern diesel switcher is highlighted as a workhorse that operates almost continuously. 11:05 The piggyback system, where a truck trailer is loaded onto a flat car to avoid a long highway trip, saving gasoline and tires, a detail noted as important during wartime. 12:55 Safety and maintenance are emphasized in a scene at a signal tower, where an operator's vigilant alertness ensures trains are routed correctly 24/7. 13:51 Workers cleaning and maintaining the signals. Regular inspection and overhauling of signal mechanisms. 17:26 The "hump," a hill in a classification yard used to reassemble incoming freight trains. Cars are uncoupled at the top and roll down by gravity, with retarders used to control their speed and switches directing them to the correct tracks. 19:25 For less-than-carload lots, the film shows a "transfer" facility where merchandise is unloaded and reassembled into new cars for different destinations. 19:55 Equipment maintenance, showing both light repairs at local yards and heavy overhauls at a central locomotive shop. Every locomotive is sent for a complete overhaul after running 120,000 to 400,000 miles. 23:03 Overhauled locomotives are tested on a "slip track" to simulate real-world conditions. 24:22 A tour of railroad warehouses reveals the vast amount of materials—from ties and tools to repair parts—needed to keep the railroad running. 28:20 Modern, mechanized track-laying equipment, highlighting the constant renewal of tracks for safety. 29:16 The Yankee Clipper arrives in New Haven, where its steam locomotive is replaced by an electric locomotive for the final part of its journey to New York. The New Haven was a pioneer in electrification. 30:37 The railroad's own power house, where powdered coal generates steam to power turbo-generators that produce electricity. 32:18 The train goes underground as it enters New York City. A subterranean signal tower in Grand Central Terminal, which guides over 600 trains a day. 33:33 The Yankee Clipper arrives at Grand Central, which has two levels of tracks for the millions of passengers it serves annually. 35:38 A piece of machinery is delivered by the railroad to a waiting ship. The railroad has a fleet of lighters and tugboats. It also shows a bicycle being delivered to a boy in New York. The End. Motion picture films don't last forever; many have already been lost or destroyed. For almost two decades, we've worked to collect, scan and preserve the world as it was captured on 35mm, 16mm and 8mm movies -- including home movies, industrial films, and other non-fiction. If you have endangered films you'd like to have scanned, or wish to donate celluloid to Periscope Film so that we can share them with the world, we'd love to hear from you. Contact us via the weblink below. 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