Wartime Trains: OWI and US Army Railroad Film Speed Graphic Film and Video 2026-09-21 | Wartime Trains: OWI and US Army Railroad Film
Prairie Journal: Report from Nebraska (1945) Speed Graphic Film and Video 2024-04-08 | These scenes were taken by an Army film crew in Nebraska in August 1945. In the archives, these are filed under the heading "Report from Nebraska."00:19 According to the notes with the film, these scenes are of the city of North Platte.02:22 Detasseling corn. Hot and tiring work.03:31 Grain-fed cattle on a ranch near Hershey.04:14 Small-town scenes. Some of these may have been filmed in Elsie.05:49 Sales barn in North Platte.06:01 Creamery bottling and delivery. Note the three-digit telephone number on the truck.06:32 Mechanical corn husking.07:10 Wheat harvesting.09:07 Haying.The original film is silent, so I've added music by Aaron Copland, Prairie Journal, to the soundtrack.
Stopping at the North Platte Canteen, August 1945 Speed Graphic Film and Video 2024-03-27 | In the first weeks of August 1945, troop trains were moving personnel all over the country as part of the build-up for the invasion of the Japanese home islands. On the Union Pacific, those trains always stopped at the legendary canteen at the North Platte station. Through a tremendous community effort there was always coffee and a friendly welcome waiting for the soldiers and sailors passing through. And somebody was always the birthday boy, even if it wasn't actually their birthday.This is film taken by the Army of several different trains stopping at North Platte. I've cut them together into a single sequence. In the still-segregated Army, Black soldiers apparently rode in separate cars. Did they ride in separate trains? I don't know. Black soldiers were, however, welcome in the canteen, and weren't just served outside.Only weeks after this film was shot, of course, the war was over, Japan having surrendered. Back alive in '45, indeed. Sadly, the depot was torn down in 1973, despite community efforts to save it.The original film is silent, so I've added music by American composer Samuel Barber to the soundtrack, excerpts from his Capricorn Concerto, written 1943 while he was in the Army.Note: after the credits is one shot taken from a train moving the opposite direction. It just didn't fit into the edit.
Mainline Freight on the Chesapeake & Ohio, May 1951 Speed Graphic Film and Video 2024-03-25 | In May of 1951, an army film crew caught this C&O freight train on the main line somewhere between Richmond and Newport News. At its head is 2-8-2 K3a No. 2324 (ALCO, 1926). In the consist there appears to be some army materiel, which is perhaps why they filmed it.It appears to me that the crew deployed three cameras to film a single run-past. The first and second shots are about 100 yards apart, and the second and third shots appear to be filmed back-to-back.The original film is silent, so I've added some appropriate music ("Roll On Freight Train" by Randy Hughes and the Nite Owls), which was, coincidentally, recorded in 1951.
Steam and Snow on the Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington, February 2023 Speed Graphic Film and Video 2023-02-21 | It was a cold, clear day in Maine when I made my first visit to the Wiscasset, Waterville & Farmington Railway in February 2023. Here's a few shots from the day.
Hollywood Outtakes: Los Angeles Streets at Night, 1949 Speed Graphic Film and Video 2023-02-01 | I don't know what film these shots were taken for, but they're the classic background shots for a car-interior scene: one shot left, one right, and one straight back. The background in this case is the streets of Los Angeles on some night in 1949. Mixed in with the automobiles and people are the streetcars of the Pacific Electric and the Los Angeles Railways. The process of replacing streetcars with buses would begin in a year or two.0:11 The first shot starts on Third Street, headed east.0:17 Crossing Spring Street.0:32 As we turn north onto Main Street, we can see the big sign on the Hotel Barclay a block away. On Main Street, the standard-gauge Pacific Electric cars share the street with the narrow-gauge LA Railway cars, hence the three-rail right-of-way.0:47 The Harbor Cafe (263 S. Main) is on the right.1:02 A stop at the intersection with Second Street.1:22 Club 153 is on the right.1:35 Turning east onto First Street.1:55 Crossing Los Angeles Street.2:21 Crossing San Pedro Street. The Civic Inn (254 E 1st) and the Miyako Hotel (258 E. 1st) are on the left.2:27 The second shot starts on Main Street around Fourth Street, headed south.2:34 The banner at the burlesque house says "Bumps and Grinds of Forty-Nine."2:49 Passing the Hotel Rosslyn (112 W. 5th St.) In window reflection, we can see the marquee of the Regent Theater (448 S. Main).2:55 The Rosslyn's Turquoise Room neon sign advertises cocktails and television.3:09 Passing the Gayety Theater (523 S. Main St.).3:13 Another marquee advertises the films "The Counterfeiters" (released May 1948) and "Canadian Pacific" (released May 1949).3:15 Parking costs 25¢ and hour while a Frosty Malt is 10¢. A billboard advertises the Santa Fe Railway, saying, "Why drive to Chicago? Costs less... El Capitan."3:19 Turning east on Sixth Street.3:48 Crossing Los Angeles Street, we see an entrance to the Pacific Electric building.3:54 Behind the Standard gas station are the elevated platforms of the Pacific Electric.4:25 In the distance, we can see the Hotel Cecil's (640 S. Main) illuminated sign.4:30 Headed East on Third Street, passing Eagleson's (259 S. Spring).4:50 Once again, turning north on Main Street.5:00 Second time passing The Harbor.5:34 Second time passing Club 153.5:54 Once again, turning east on First Street.6:21 Except for the liquor store signs, not many lights on on this side of the street.I'm not familiar with Los Angeles, so I've done the best I could with old maps and directories to try to figure out locations in this video. If you have corrections or additions, please leave a comment.I try not to re-use music in my video, but these tracks from Miles Davis (soundtrack music for Elevator to the Scaffold) are my film-noir gotos!
Hollywood Outtakes: California Oil Wells Speed Graphic Film and Video 2023-01-06 | For most of the first half of the twentieth century, the coast of southern California was oil country. Forests of oil derricks lined the shore north and south of Los Angeles. These film clips give a bit of an idea of what it looked like--oil rigs side-by-side with beach houses.While some of the oil fields were starting to go dry in the 1960's, the thing that really finished off the California oil business was the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill. The largest spill at the time, it was the result of a blowout on an offshore oil platform, and dumped some 80,000 to 100,000 barrels of crude into the Pacific Ocean. A good deal of it ended up on the beaches. The incident got national news coverage and provided impetus for the Clean Water Act and the formation of the EPA.While the derricks are gone, I've read that you can still see small pumps here and there, still extracting crude.I can’t tell you much about the song OIL! that I put on the soundtrack. I can’t tell you thing about the writer or the performers. It just turned up in the archive. The other song is the flip side.
Hollywood Outtakes: Next Stop, Grand Central Terminal, New York Speed Graphic Film and Video 2022-12-30 | In this video, we're riding a train on the last couple of miles to Grand Central Terminal, New York. Based on internal evidence, the film appears to have been taken in 1946 or 1947.0:14 The film starts at 138th Street station in the Bronx.0:38 A quick view of Major Deegan Boulevard. (The Expressway was in the planning stages at this time.) Traffic is light both ways.0:52 Crossing the New York Central's swing bridge across the Harlem River. This bridge was replaced in the 1950's with the present lift bridge.1:03 A good view of the Lackawanna's extensive car float operations in the Bronx, along with signs saying "For Victory" and "Ruppert Beer"1:09 A long-haul passenger train headed the opposite direction interrupts the view.1:27 An MU commuter train flashes by.2:28 125th Street station, but we're not stopping.3:38 Skipping ahead to East 116th Street.3:45 Between 115th and 112th Streets, the James Weldon Johnson Houses are under construction. These opened in late 1947.4:10 A brief glimpse of Manhattan P.S. 101, which closed in 2010 and is now a Success Academy charter school.5:16 Another long-haul train flashes by.5:29 Headed underground.The original film is silent, so I've added some contemporary music--the Miles Davis Nonet doing a live performance of "Godchild"
Hollywood Outtakes: Outtakes from Mr. Soft Touch (1949) Speed Graphic Film and Video 2022-12-23 | Mr. Soft Touch is a film noir that opened in August 1949. It begins with car chase, shot on location, through the streets of San Francisco.0:00 This is my recut of the Third Street Bridge scene, using shots from the archive, including an unused, interesting perspective from the rising bridge itself. The sound is from the original film cut.0:20 This first series of shots were taken on Seventh Street, next to the Southern Pacific railroad tracks. The shots start about Daggett Street and end with the camera car turning onto Hooper Street. If you've been following this channel, you already saw these scenes in "Trackside, Seventh Street, San Francisco" (youtube.com/watch?v=z8QuYAYH79Q).1:00 This scene today is dominated by elevated Interstate 280.1:41 None of these shots appears in the final cut, though in this one we do see the pursuit car chasing the camera car.2:32 The following shots were taken at the Third Street Bridge, built 1933 and also known today as the Lefty O'Doul Bridge.3:34 This is the corner of Kearny and Union Streets. The Garfield Market is gone, but many of the houses seen here are still standing in 2022.3:59 The car then turns onto Genoa Place.4:04 And now, the first six minutes of "Mr. Soft Touch"5:02 The action starts with composite shots along Seventh Street.5:25 The chase continues along the Embarcadero south of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. We get a glimpse of long-gone piers 34 and 36. The cars turn onto Brannan Street.5:39 Now the scene at the Third Street Bridge. (The geographic continuity here isn't great.)5:56 Transition to a scene that appears to have been shot on Yerba Buena Island, headed for the Bay Bridge. (Again, the geographic continuity is off.)6:06 An extended scene at a toll booth. I don't know where this was shot.8:01 Police pursuit across the Bay Bridge.8:21 Appears to be an off-ramp from the Bay Bridge, with the Key System tracks on a parallel ramp.8:34 The scene at Kearny and Union Streets.8:39 This does not appear to be Genoa Place, which is built on a steep grade.8:55 Was Honest Pete an actual used car dealer?
Hollywood Outtakes: Around Manhattan in Four Minutes Speed Graphic Film and Video 2022-12-16 | This is the short, sped-up version of this video. To see the regular video, go here: youtube.com/watch?v=AsGwA3UChv8One day in the 1930's, somebody from Columbia Pictures put a camera on a boat and took this film as they circumnavigated New York's Manhattan Island. Starting from a pier in New Jersey, they sailed across the Hudson River, around lower Manhattan, up the East River and the Harlem River, then down the Hudson again. The whole trip would have taken two or three hours. Who knows how much film they shot, but this 20-odd minutes of film is all that I can find in the archive.0:00 The film starts from one of the big piers on the New Jersey side of the Hudson. I haven't been able to identify the small ocean liner tied up at the next pier over. A lighter goes by and, as the boat turns south, the skyscrapers of lower Manhattan swing into view.0:51 South of the Battery now, with a view of Castle Garden and the ferry terminals. At 5:36 you can just see a Ninth Avenue Elevated train headed north, which indicates that this film was shot before 1940.1:21 Now headed north on the East River, looking back towards lower Manhattan.1:36 The shore is lined with coal-fired plants to serve the city's voracious appetite for power.1:53 Still headed north on the East River, this time looking ahead towards the 59th Street Bridge and what was then known as either Blackwell's Island or Welfare Island.2:06 On the Harlem River, looking at what was then known as the Harlem River Speedway. 2:42 Skipping well ahead, we're now on the Hudson River, passing under the new George Washington Bridge.3:15 Looking at the Manhattan side of the Hudson again, we see Grant's tomb and Riverside Church in its original configuration.3:31 In the final shot, we see the old piers of lower Manhattan.The music is by Aaron Copland, from his Short Symphony (Symphony No. 2), written at about the same time this film was taken.
Hollywood Outtakes: Around Manhattan in Twenty Minutes Speed Graphic Film and Video 2022-12-16 | This is the regular version of this video. To see the short, sped-up version, go here: youtube.com/watch?v=jAzodrl_8OkOne day in the 1930's, somebody from Columbia Pictures put a camera on a boat and took this film as they circumnavigated New York's Manhattan Island. Starting from a pier in New Jersey, they sailed across the Hudson River, around lower Manhattan, up the East River and the Harlem River, then down the Hudson again. The whole trip would have taken two or three hours. Who knows how much film they shot, but this 20-odd minutes of film is all that I can find in the archive.00:00 The film starts from one of the big piers on the New Jersey side of the Hudson. I haven't been able to identify the small ocean liner tied up at the next pier over. A lighter goes by and, as the boat turns south, the skyscrapers of lower Manhattan swing into view.04:49 South of the Battery now, with a view of Castle Garden and the ferry terminals. At 5:36 you can just see a Ninth Avenue Elevated train headed north, which indicates that this film was shot before 1940.07:22 Now headed north on the East River, looking back towards lower Manhattan.08:36 The shore is lined with coal-fired plants to serve the city's voracious appetite for power.09:39 Still headed north on the East River, this time looking ahead towards the 59th Street Bridge and what was then known as either Blackwell's Island or Welfare Island.11:04 This shot of a tugboat and barge on the Harlem River was taken about the same time, but was shot by Pere Lorenz and Floyd Crosby for a never-completed feature film.11:17 On the Harlem River, looking at what was then known as the Harlem River Speedway. 14:15 Skipping well ahead, we're now on the Hudson River, passing under the new George Washington Bridge.17:02 Looking at the Manhattan side of the Hudson again, we see Grant's tomb and Riverside Church in its original configuration.18:20 In the final shot, we see the old piers of lower Manhattan.The music is large excerpts from Aaron Copland's Third Symphony. I wish I could have fitted it all in.
Hollywood Outtakes: Three Takes on the Macombs Dam Bridge Speed Graphic Film and Video 2022-12-09 | 0:20 In this video, we'll see three takes, shot sometime in the late 1940's, of the same car ride across the Macombs Dam Bridge in New York City.0:35 Take one. Looking east on 161st Street in the Bronx. Above is the 161st Street stop on the Jerome Avenue line.0:40 That's the Bronx County Courthouse, opened 1934, in the background.0:50 Yankee Stadium is on the right. We'll see more of it in take two.Turning left onto the bridge approach.0:58 In the distance are the elevated tracks of the Polo Grounds shuttle line, a vestige of the Ninth Avenue Elevated.1:25 The Chrysler and the DeSoto are part of the production and are following the camera car. But when another car cuts in unexpectedly from Odgen Street, both attempt to overtake it.1:38 The first span goes over the New York Central tracks. The main span crosses the Harlem River.1:50 Turning right onto the 155th Street viaduct. There's a crosstown streetcar going the other way, followed by a double-decker bus belonging to Fifth Avenue Coach Lines. The trolley crosses the bridge while the bus heads downtown.2:45 Take two, back on 161st Street in the Bronx. Looking to the right, we get a good long look the original Yankee Stadium, the "house that Ruth built."3:10 Again, turning left onto the Bridge approach.3:20 Rising above the six-story apartments around it is 900 Grand Concourse, a ten-story apartment building that opened in 1923, the same year as Yankee Stadium did.4:05 The Macombs Dam Bridge opened in 1895, and is a swing bridge. The swing span is just over 400 feet long.4:20 Turning onto the 155th Street viaduct.4:35 $1.25 for a car wash then is equivalent to about $15 in 2022.4:45 Ad here for Father Divine, the charismatic and controversial African-American spiritual leader.4:54 This pull-out formerly connected to the 151st Street station on the Ninth Avenue Elevated. The Ninth Avenue El closed in 1940.5:0 0 Black Horse Ale was imported from Canada.5:03 Take three.5:13 The new Yankee Stadium now occupies this park.5:35 Another brief view here of the Polo Grounds shuttle and the Anderson-Jerome Avenue station. The shuttle was discontinued in 1958 after the Giants left town. The route, including the bridge across the Harlem, was dismantled.5:41 A view up Anderson Avenue here.6:06 The large old building here belonged to the American Female Guardian Society and Home for the Friendless. Built in 1901, The Society left it in 1974. The building was extensively refurbished and is now the Highbridge-Woodycrest Center.6:11 The old Ogden Avenue connector joins here, carrying the Third Avenue street railway's tracks onto the bridge. Buses would soon replace the trolley, and the connector will be replaced with an entrance ramp when the Major Deegan Expressway is built a few years later.Waiting for traffic at the end of the bridge.7:00 Now headed up the viaduct for the third time. Sadly, the film ends before we get a glimpse of the Polo Grounds, which are just to the left.7:27 Here is a view from the viaduct taken in 2022. The Macombs Dam Bridge and the viaduct still stand. The bridge was extensively refurbished about 20 years ago, and is the third-oldest major bridge in New York City.P.S.: Some years ago, I made a video that included this area and mispronounced "Macombs." Hope I did better this time.
Hollywood Outtakes: Southern Pacific Narrow Gauge 4-6-0 No. 9 Speed Graphic Film and Video 2022-12-02 | In the 1950's, the Southern Pacific Railroad still operated one narrow-gauge line: the former Carson & Colorado Railway, which ran from just outside Carson City, Nevada to Keeler, California. Its location in the scenic Owens Valley, and its roster of vintage steam power, made it a choice location for movie westerns.4-6-0 Ten-Wheeler No. 9 (Baldwin, 1909) got the call for this shoot, an unknown western. We see it stopped by a group of riders, then two men uncoupling it from its train and running away with it.2:40 After the credits are some excerpts from season 1, episode 1 of the Annie Oakley television show. Broadcast in 1954, some of the scenes appear similar to these outtakes, but none match.Southern Pacific abandoned the Keeler branch in 1960. The "Desert Princesses", No. 9 and sister engines No. 8 and No. 18, were all preserved. No. 9, known as the "Slim Princess", is now at the Laws Railroad Museum in Laws, California.
Hollywood Outtakes: Trackside, Seventh Street, San Francisco Speed Graphic Film and Video 2022-11-25 | The following scenes were shot in San Francisco for the movie "Mr. Soft Touch" (1949). They appear in the opening scene in the film, where Glenn Ford is driving alongside some railroad tracks.The filming location was along 7th Street, on the edge of the Mission Bay district. The shooting assignment was to film the street and a train going in the opposite direction. The following six takes were the result. 0:37 Take 1. The tracks belong to the Southern Pacific Railroad and lead to its depot at Third and Townsend Streets.1:21 Take 2, this time looking out the back of the car. In the distance, we can see the Southern Pacific's Mission Bay roundhouse facilities. Watch for the backing locomotive at the very end of this take.2:10 Take 3, looking ahead again. Most of the buildings seen here--Savage Transportation, Glidden Paints--are gone, but the Standard Oil of California building is still standing in 2022, even if its former tenant is long gone.2:47 Take 4, looking back. At that time, Hubble and Irwin Streets extended across the tracks and the grade crossings there had watchmen with flags and hand-held stop signs.3:25 Take 5, looking at an angle across the tracks. Mission Bay was originally wetlands that got filled in in the early years of the 20th century. It became a large commercial and industrial area, a good deal of it occupied by the Southern Pacific.4:27 Take 6: No trains in this take, but instead we get a good look at some of the parked cars in the area. Studebakers, Packards and many more.5:13 So this is what 7th Street looked like then--5:19 --and this is what it looks like in 2022: a view dominated by elevated I-280.Thanks to YouTuber Bruce Cronin for identifying the film these were taken for.
Hollywood Outtakes: Hammond Lumber No. 11 Speed Graphic Film and Video 2022-11-18 | The Hammond Lumber Railroad operated out of Samoa, on the northern California coast. 2-8-0 No. 11 was built in the Samoa shops in 1910. Who took this pair of shots, coming and going, of her at work? I don't know if anybody knows at this point. This was the only film I could find of her in the archives.The Hammond Lumber Company operated a large sawmill complex in Samoa on a spit of land across Arcata Bay from Eureka, California. Its railroad brought wood to Samoa from further north up the coast. Connected, for a time, to the national rail network via the Northwestern Pacific, it inherited some of its trackage when the latter pulled out of the area. The last train on the line ran in 1948.The original film is silent, unfortunately, and I haven't added any sound effects or music.
Hollywood Outtakes: Virginia & Truckee No. 27 in Roar of the Iron Horse Speed Graphic Film and Video 2022-11-18 | I could only find one scene of the legendary Virginia & Truckee Railroad in the archives. This single less-than-a-minute long clip was taken in 1951, after the railroad officially ceased operations, for the movie serial Roar of the Iron Horse.4-6-0 locomotive No. 27 (Baldwin, 1913) hauled the last official V&T train in May 1950. But in 1951, she was brought out of retirement to be in the movies. Since then, she has been cosmetically restored and on display in Virginia City, Nevada. The caboose has been restored and is in use at the Nevada State Railroad Museum in Carson City, Nevada. (Thanks to YouTuber Mark French for this info.)Movie serials were already on the way out by 1951. But Roar of the Iron Horse has all the classic elements: the handsome, two-fisted hero, Jim, in his white neckerchief; the good-looking, rifle-shooting Carol; the evil Baron, always stirring up trouble; the melodramatic soundtrack; and the cliffhanger at the end of each chapter.00:05 Here's the original clip of No. 27 with its train--a side-door caboose and a flat car loaded with track workers and ties. There is no sound with the clip.01:00 After the credits, I've included a low-quality VHS copy of chapter 3 of Roar of the Iron Horse, which includes three pieces of the archive shot. I've re-edited it to eliminate the previous week's cliffhanger resolution and include the following week's.04:19 Here's the first part of the shot.06:25 Here's the second part of the shot.06:42 Here's the third part of the shot.16:27 This shot is being run backwards.
Hollywood Outtakes: A Southern Pacific Scrapbook Speed Graphic Film and Video 2022-11-11 | Here is another selection of clips from stock shots and outtakes at archive.org, all of these being of the Southern Pacific Railroad.0:10 This is a staged shot--on a very rainy night, a passenger train stops at a rural station to let a special passenger off. P-5 4-6-2 Pacific No. 2445 (Baldwin, 1912) leads a four-car train. The stationmaster and the passenger are probably actors, but the train crew appear to be railroad employees. Location, and what film this may have been for, are unknown.1:26 A passenger train arrives at the Suisun-Fairfield (CA) railroad station. The station still stands, but the scene is today dominated by the Highway 12 overpass. The locomotive appears to be a 4-6-2 Pacific, but I can't tell anything else about it or the train.2:03 This is a staged shot, and an odd one at that. Two trains pass, and as they pass, the track is suddenly swarming with men jumping on and off trains. This is a background shot for Wild Boys of the Road (1933). Thanks to YouTuber Alex Clement for the ID.One locomotive is 4-8-2 Mt-1 Mountain No. 4324 (Alco, 1923), while I can't tell anything about the other. Even the name on the tender has been painted over.3:10 There was no Mountside station on the Southern Pacific or any other railroad, as far as I know, so this is likely a staged shot. The location could be the old depot at Chatsworth, CA. P-5 4-6-2 Pacific No. 2440 (Baldwin, 1912) does the honors.3:57 This is 4-8-2 Mt-1 Mountain No. 4338 (Alco, 1923) at the head of the Sunset Limited.4:08 This is 2-8-0 C-9 No. 2859 (Brooks), smoking it up for the camera. The location is possibly the Burbank branch of the SP.4:22 A doubleheader making time with a streamlined consist. That's all I know about this.4:32 Most of the time, when movies need a head-on shot of an approaching train, they'll film a train backing away and reverse the film. Not this shot--the camera is mounted on some sort of swivel, and the locomotive (the 2440 again) hits it and pushes it aside.4:56 The last shot in this video is a long one, showing a lone diesel switcher moving a long cut of cars. About half-way through the shot, 0-6-0 S-8 switcher no. 1184 backs into the scene and waits. This was taken in San Francisco in the Mission Bay area. The mainline from the Third Street depot is in the foreground; locomotives at the Mission Bay roundhouse can be seen in the distance.The original films are silent, so I've added music by Aaron Copland: excerpts from is ballet Billy the Kid, arranged for Piano by Lucas Foss. The performance, from 1949, is by Oscar Levant.If you have any more information about any of these clips, please leave a comment and I'll incorporate your info into this description. Thanks.
Hollywood Outtakes: On the Streets of London in WWII Speed Graphic Film and Video 2022-11-04 | These stock shots of pedestrians and vehicles in London were shot some time during World War II. The large number of men and women in uniform and the relative lack of private vehicles on the streets all attest to that.0:07 This shot is looking north on Great Windmill Street from Shaftsbury Avenue. In the distance is the famous Windmill Theatre.0:40 This and the next three scenes were taken at the corner of Great Windmill Street and Coventry Street, at the eastern end of Piccadilly Circus.1:58 In this second shot, we can see the long-gone Winston Hotel across the street from the tobacconist's.3:44 In this shot, looking towards the heart of Piccadilly Circus, we can see the base of the Shaftsbury Memorial Fountain (popularly, but incorrectly, known as "Eros"), under cover.This is original color film, not colorized black-and-white. You can find versions of these clips online that have been stabilized, interpolated and color-corrected to the point that they look like they were shot yesterday. I've chosen to let the film show its age.The music is from A London Symphony (Symphony No. 2) by Ralph Vaughan Williams. It is performed, in a classic recording, by the Hallé Orchestra conducted by Sir John Barbirolli.
Hollywood Outtakes: Alco PA-1s Arriving at South Station, Boston Speed Graphic Film and Video 2022-10-28 | The New Haven Railroad had emerged from its first bankruptcy just a few years before these shots were taken. The railroad took delivery of 27 Alco PA-1's in 1948 and 1949, including the two seen here, the 0778 and the 0762. The former is in traditional New Haven green and yellow, but the latter is in the rarely-seen light-orange and green paint with silver pinstriping.
Hollywood Outtakes: Lower Manhattan in the 1930s Speed Graphic Film and Video 2022-10-21 | The following film was taken some time in the 1930's from a boat sailing around the south end of Manhattan Island. It's a beautiful day out, and Battery Park is full of people....0:12 On the left is Pier A, then occupied by the Department of Docks and the Harbor Police.0:15 Down the street from Pier A is the Battery Place station of the Ninth Avenue Elevated.0:20 There's an idle steam pile driver on the edge of the park.0:29 The New York Fire Department building here was the quarters for what was then known as Engine 57. It was demolished around 1941 in preparation for building the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel. The fireboat is the John J. Harvey, built 1931, decommissioned 1994 and since preserved.0:40 Right next to it is Castle Garden. Originally built as Fort Clinton, in the 1930's it housed the New York Aquarium. The Aquarium was relocated and the structure partially demolished in the 1940's as part of Robert Moses's plans for the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel.1:05 Look quickly and you'll see a three car train headed north on the Ninth Avenue El.1:24 In the 1930's, ferry service to Bedloe's Island and the Statue of Liberty was provided by the excursion boat Hook Mountain. Neither of these two small boats appear to be that boat.1:49 The large steamboat is the City of Keansburg. Built in 1926, it ran between the Battery and Keansburg, New Jersey until 1962.2:01 The ferry boat coming into berth here is the Ellis Island ferry, Ellis Island. Built in 1904, it ran until Ellis Island closed in 1954. It sank at its pier at Ellis Island in 1968 and its remains were removed in 2009.The substantial building behind the ferry slip is the U. S. Barge office, where immigrants and their baggage first set foot in Manhattan. The third building of that name to occupy the site, it was built in 1911 and torn down in the 1940's, again as part of work on the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel.2:20 The small white ferry is the General Charles H. Humphries, the U. S. Army's boat to Governor's Island.2:33 This is the Staten Island Ferry's Whitehall Terminal. This terminal opened in 1909 and was replaced in the 1950's. That one, in turn, was replaced in the 2000's.The boat on the left is the Dongan Hills, built 1929 and retired in the 1960's. The other appears to be the Mayor Gaynor, delivered 1924, scrapped 1951. 2:45 Can anybody tell me which ferry boat this is?2:55 The South Street Ferry Terminal, now known as the Battery Maritime Building, also opened in 1909. It and the Whitehall terminal were supposed to be part of a grand seven-slip ferry terminal, but the central portion was never built. Nonetheless, the slips here were always numbered 5, 6 and 7.Ferries from here went to 39th Street, Atlantic Avenue and Hamilton Avenue in Brooklyn. The 39th Street ferry shut down in 1938, while the Atlantic and Hamilton Avenue ferry services were combined, then discontinued, in 1942.When the Brooklyn Ferries shut down, the Governor's Island Ferry switched to the South Street Terminal, so that it no longer had to cross the Staten Island ferries' route.3:25 East River piers 5 and 6 are the New York State Barge Canal terminal. Behind them is a building sign for the Industrial Workers of the World. Though the "Wobblies" were in general decline by the 1930's, they were still a force among organized dock workers.3:55 A common sight, even into the 1960's: a railroad barge moving freight cars around New York Harbor.
Hollywood Outtakes: the Ghost Train to the Empty Station Speed Graphic Film and Video 2022-10-14 | I can't tell you much about film in this video except that it shows a Southern Pacific passenger train, (mostly) devoid of passengers, arrive and depart at an unpopulated railroad station. There are six takes, the first two taken on a sunny day, the others taken in the rain.The location is Chatsworth, California. The old depot seen here was torn down in 1962.The original film is silent, so I've added some ambient sounds to it. I don't do dubbed sound effects.
Hollywood Outtakes: Pennsylvania Station, New York, June 1945 Speed Graphic Film and Video 2022-10-07 | Unlike many of the outtakes in the Internet Archive, we not only know when and where this film was taken, but for what movie as well. It was shot on June 12, 1945 in New York's Pennsylvania Station, and the movie it was intended for was YOUNG WIDOW (1946), one of Jane Russell's first films. As far as I can tell, though, none of these scenes actually appear in the movie.Not much happens in this video--just people waiting for their train. But they're interesting in and of themselves. Lots of men--and a few women--in uniform, as the country is still on full war footing. Everybody dresses well when they travel. Most of the older ones wear hats, but younger men and women sometimes go without.The other thing to see, of course, is Penn Station itself, one of New York City's great lost landmarks. Its vast interior was one of the city's great indoor spaces. Filled with natural light from the glass ceiling, that light then filtered down to the platform level through circular glass plugs in the floor. Just 18 years later, it would be demolished to make way for the new Madison Square Garden. Its loss would inspire the city's 1965 landmarks preservation law.The original film is silent, so I've added some music by Leonard Bernstein from the musical ON THE TOWN, which opened in New York just six months earlier.Oh yes--I can't tell whether the woman in black (3:00-3:45) is an extra or just a passerby, but she is definitely not Jane Russell.
Hollywood Outtakes: 50th Street and 8th Avenue, Manhattan, June 1945 Speed Graphic Film and Video 2022-10-07 | These scenes were taken in June 1945 for the movie YOUNG WIDOW, one of Jane Russell's first films. In an early scene in the movie, there's a taxi ride from the piers on the west side of Manhattan downtown to Pennsylvania Station. The ride goes crosstown on 50th Street, then turns south onto Eighth Avenue. After several U-turns, the ride ends at 34th Street.0:03 Driving south under the Miller (West Side) Highway, then turning east onto 50th Street.0:49 Eleventh Avenue, sometimes referred to "Death Avenue", owing to the New York Central railroad tracks running down the middle. The tracks had been relocated a number of years earlier.That's the Horn and Hardart office and bakery at 600 West 50th. Horn & Hardart restaurants, cafeterias and Automats, very popular at the time, started to disappear in the 1960's.0:58 The church here, then known at Saints Cyril and Methodius, served the Croatian community. It's still standing in 2022 and is now the Saints Kyril and Metodi Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Diocesan Cathedral.1:17 Crossing over the New York Central's West Side Line.1:27 Tenth Avenue. Streetcars still run down the middle, though they will be replaced by buses by the following year.2:01 Ninth Avenue. There used to be a station on the Ninth Avenue El here.The Cushman bakery on the corner was one of over 100 in the city, gleaming white art-deco stores designed by Raymond Loewy. They all closed in 1964.2:40 Old Madison Square Garden is on the left, along with Iceland, a skating rink where the New York Rangers used to practice. In a couple of days, Rocky Graziano will take on Red Cochrane here at the Garden and will KO him in the tenth round.Now we're headed south on Eighth Avenue. Like most of the avenues in Manhattan, traffic is two-way.Then as now, there are plenty of jaywalkers, red-light runners and double parkers.3:54 On the left is the Hotel Lincoln, later known as the Manhattan Hotel, the Royal Manhattan, the Milford Plaza, the Milford New York and Row NYC.4:21 As we bump across the tracks at 42nd Street, we can see a streetcar waiting for the light to change. It, too, will be replaced by buses before the end of 1946.4:35 We make a U-turn here, just below 42nd Street.5:00 Back at 39th Street now, headed north on Eighth Avenue.The taxicabs, big Checkers, DeSotos and Packards, can carry five or six passengers.5:41 The stately building on the left is the Franklin Savings Bank. Opened 1901, enlarged in 1926, torn down in the 1970's.6:05 Once again, northbound at 39th Street.6:35 On the right is the future site of the Port Authority Bus Terminal.7:16 At last, headed south, moving out of Hell's Kitchen into the edge of the garment district.7:31 The back of Pennsylvania Station is on the left, the General Post Office on the right. Time to catch that train back home.8:20 (after the credits) The taxi ride scene from YOUNG WIDOW.
Hollywood Outtakes: Entering Chicago on the Pennsylvania Railroad Speed Graphic Film and Video 2022-09-30 | This is background stock footage, taken from a Pennsylvania Railroad train coming into Chicago some time in the early 1940's.0:20 The clip begins near the intersection of South Archer Avenue and South Canal Street. The train is headed north, and we're looking west towards the south branch of the Chicago River.0:32 A switch engine and caboose are hiding behind a Chicago & Eastern Illinois boxcar and caboose.0:40 The large building belongs to the Cuneo Press. We also get a brief glimpse of a second, smaller building behind it, also belonging to them.0:49 As we cross Cermak Road, we can see the Cermak Road Bridge, a double leaf Scherzer rolling lift bridge. Across the river is the Thomson and Taylor spice warehouse. The bridge, the spice warehouse and the smaller Cuneo building are now part of an historic district.1:09 Now we cross the Santa Fe main line.1:13 The Canal Street bridge, another Scherzer rolling lift, is open. It was replaced in 1949.1:20 Now we cross the river on Pennsylvania Railroad Bridge 466, a vertical lift bridge built in 1914 and a Chicago landmark. Notice its shadows on the ground.1:41 We just went under the 18th Street overpass.1:42 Passing the Schoenhofen Brewery complex. The building with the square brick tower was the power house, and is one of two buildings still standing on the site. Both are national historical landmarks.1:52 This is the big T junction where the Burlington's east-west tracks come in.2:00 The briefest of glimpses of a Pennsylvania Railroad locomotive there. Almost all the Pennsylvania's passenger rolling stock is in Fleet-of-Modernism livery, designed by Raymond Loewy. Introduced in 1938, it was phased out after the war.2:04 These two overpasses connect to the St. Charles Air Line Bridge and the Baltimore & Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad bridges, both behind us.2:26 A Burlington Pacific flashes by. The Burlington passenger cars with open end platforms are part of their commuter fleet.2:49 One of the Burlington's early diesels, an EMD, awaits a call.2:57 Passing under Roosevelt Road.Thanks to Oren B. Helbok for some of the locomotive ID's.
Hollywood Outtakes: Southern Pacific Cab-Forwards Speed Graphic Film and Video 2022-09-23 | Pulling together a bunch of shots of Southern Pacific cab-forward locomotives. Some of these have appeared in prior videos of mine, some have not.0:08 SP 4-8-8-2 AC-10 No. 4228, at the head of train no. 58, The Sequoia, slows down to grab a mail sack on the fly. The location is Saugus, California, looking north from just north of the Saugus train station. (Thanks to YouTuber Steven Lester for the location ID!)1:40 Unknown locomotive, train and location.2:07 A pair of shots, taken simultaneously from either side of the tracks. Can't make out the locomotive number, but the train is no. 1-60, first section of The West Coast, out of Portland and Seattle, bound for Los Angeles. Unknown location. Taken for, but never used in, The Al Jolson Story.3:25 The West Coast, again, arriving at Glendale station with AC-10 4-8-8-2 No. 4225 at its head.The original film is silent, so I've added a contemporary soundtrack.
Hollywood Outtakes: New York City Elevateds Speed Graphic Film and Video 2022-09-23 | A few evocative shots of New York's old elevated lines. The film quality isn't that good, perhaps because these shots were taking from release prints. Furthermore, because many were taken at dusk or at night, the film had to be undercranked in order to get enough exposure. I've compensated for this on playback, but you'll see that the film looks noticeably jerky.0:00 The initial shot shows the flyovers that connected the Second Avenue Line to the tracks on the Queensboro Bridge.0:41 Three shots in a row of trains going through the S-curve at Coenties Slip on the Third Avenue Line.1:31 A brief shot, looking the other way at Coenties Slip.1:34 This shot appears to be the of Sixth Avenue Line where it passes Bryant Park.2:13 A final shot, at night this time, at Coenties Slip. Before the train moves off, you can see a passenger walking through the cars.
Hollywood Outtakes: Lucius Beebe on the 20th Century Limited Speed Graphic Film and Video 2022-09-16 | Lucius Beebe (1902-1966) was a writer, traveler, man-about-town and railfan. He was an especial fan of the New York Central's 20th Century Limited, about which he wrote a book, "20th Century: the Greatest Train of all Time." The narration for this video is drawn from that book.Aside from a couple of views of Grand Central Terminal, this video consists of two extended stock shots: passengers boarding the pre-streamlined 20th Century Limited in New York and Chicago.
Hollywood Outtakes: Glendale CA on the Southern Pacific Speed Graphic Film and Video 2022-09-09 | There's no information accompanying this stock footage in the archive, but the location appears to be the Southern Pacific's station in Glendale California, and the time looks like World War II. There many men in uniform, as well as a number of women travelling with young children. And the trains are packed.0:05 In the this shot, we see what appears to be train number 1-70, the first section of The Coaster, coming to a stop at Glendale. Headed up by a streamlined GS-4 4-8-4, the Coaster was a tourist-class overnight train between San Francisco and Los Angeles.2:10 Somewhat later, train number 1-60, The West Coast, arrives in Glendale. At its head, cab-forward AC-10 4-8-8-2 No. 4225. The West Coast originated in Seattle and Portland and took the San Joaquin Valley line to Glendale.Both of these were morning trains (The Coaster around 7:30am, the West Coast about an hour later), so Glenn Miller's Sunrise Serenade is appropriate.
Hollywood Outtakes: On Set or On Location Railroad Stations Speed Graphic Film and Video 2022-09-02 | Here is a series of clips, outtakes from Hollywood studio productions, of busy interiors of big-city railroad stations. Which ones were filmed on-set? Which ones were filmed on location? Can you tell? If you think you know, leave a comment saying which you think is which.Here are my guesses:1. (0:19) Can't be sure, but the scene appears to have a lot of depth, even if it is rather small. On location?2. (0:30) The clapboard says "stock," so this could not only be on-location, but the people in it might be actual travelers. The scene is certainly well-lit, though. Busy, too. Location.3. (2:06) Definitely a set. The lockers on the back wall almost look painted on.4. (2:38) Sure looks like track 26 at Grand Central Terminal in New York. But the second set of doors in the back aren't right, as well as the chains and railings. Set?5. (3:04) Looks, at first, like the same track-26 set in number 4, except that the car listing next to the train board is gone. Again, the doors in the back suggest that it is a set.6. (3:26) A third take on New York's Grand Central Terminal, only this time we see the train and platform. Pretty convincing, until the train starts to move. No New York Central passenger train would start that jerkily. Set.7. (4:30) Looks like location to me. Wish I knew where it was.8. (4:53) Looks like a set to me. The man in spats cuts in line.9. (5:22) Tight shot. Looks like a set to me.10. (5:36) Is this supposed to be Los Angeles Union Station? Set?11. (6:01) Definitely a set--the forced perspective gives it away. The painted ceiling looks a little like Washington D. C.The film is silent (though by watching the actors, you can practically hear the director yell "Action" and "Cut"), so I've added some music by Australian composer Arthur Benjamin to the soundtrack.
Hollywood Outtakes: Arriving in Los Angeles on the Southern Pacific Speed Graphic Film and Video 2022-08-26 | 0:09 Southern Pacific train no. 76, the Lark, pulls into Los Angeles Union Station. The all-sleeper, deluxe train was the way to travel between San Francisco and Los Angeles. At its head, three-unit diesel no. 6002, an A-B-B E7 set fresh from EMD in 1947. They are in their original "Golden State" livery, but do not have a road number beneath the headlight, which suggests that this film was taken before 1949.1:51 It looks like less than half the passengers remember to tip the Pullman-car porter.2:52 Another day, and another Southern Pacific train arrives in LA. Although the shield on the engine nose says "Shasta Daylight," the train number says that this is the Sunset Limited out of New Orleans.4:29 An unknown train slowly slides in on track 10.A correction: the music on the soundtrack is the Harry James version of "You Made Me Love You." Thanks to YouTuber newdealswing for pointing this out!
Hollywood Outtakes: The Lost Pre-Code Movie CONVENTION CITY (1933) Speed Graphic Film and Video 2022-08-19 | "Convention City", made in 1933 just before the Moving Picture Production Code clamped down, is one of the more famous lost films of the pre-Code era. There are no known prints, just a few clips at Getty Images and The Internet Archive. This video incorporates the Internet Archive clips.This video's narration gives some more history of the film. Here are some notes on the locations seen in the film clips:1:20 This and the next scene are supposed to show the previous week's conventioneers, the Ever-Ready Bandage Company, leaving town. This was filmed in Los Angeles on the Santa Fe Railway. Note the painted-out railroad name on one of the coaches.1:40 The Honeywell Rubber Company arrives. This was filmed at the Santa Fe's La Grande Station on Santa Fe Avenue in Los Angeles. The First Street Viaduct can be seen in the background of this shot. The locomotive, AT&SF No. 3524 (Baldwin, 1914), was originally built as a compound 4-6-2 Pacific, but was converted to simple operation in the 1920's.3:03 Another shot of the Honeywell group arriving. Again, taken at La Grande Station.4:24 A final shot at La Grande Station, showing a last drunken guest leaving, only to be caught up in a crowd of the next wave of conventioneers, this time from the Hercules Tool Corporation.4:52 On location in Atlantic City. This is the Pennsylvania Railroad's Atlantic City terminal, which was located on North South Carolina Avenue between Atlantic and Artic. While the Pennsylvania and Reading's Atlantic City operations had recently been merged into the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines, their trains still operated to separate terminals. Atlantic City Union Station would not be built until the following year.6:26 This is the Philadelphia & Reading's Atlantic City Terminal, which faced Atlantic Avenue. This is the North Arkansas Avenue side.
Hollywood Outtakes: C&NW-UP City of Los Angeles Arrives in L.A. Speed Graphic Film and Video 2022-08-12 | This is the seventh in a series of videos drawn from a pool of 1940's-era Hollywood feature-film outtakes and stock shots. What film these might have been taken for, or when they were shot, is unknown. But the location is obviously Union Station in Los Angeles0:00 This video begins with three well-dressed actresses in a scene on the station platform. You can see one of them occasionally look to the camera for direction.0:47 Now it's train time. UP train no. 103, the City of Los Angeles, makes its entrance. At its head, an E6A-E6B-F3B combination of EMD diesels. Included in the consist is the Pullman Olvera (Pullman-Standard, 1941). Note: if you have more information on the train consist, please leave a comment.2:07 The passengers are a well-dressed group, though this young fellow in the checked shirt looks pretty casual.2:30 A woman in heels runs down the platform to enthusiastically greet a group of passengers.3:03 While the other passengers are aware of the camera's presence, only this man in the dark fedora and double-breasted suit hams it up for a second, then thinks better of it. Youtube user @wildswan60021 suggests that the gentleman could be Kay Kyser, the bandleader and radio personality.The original film is silent, so I've added a period-appropriate soundtrack: a 1960's recreation of Glenn Miller's Tuxedo Junction, taken from Time-Life's album The Swing Era.
Hollywood Outtakes: In Pursuit of Southern Pacific GS4s Speed Graphic Film and Video 2022-08-05 | This is the sixth in a series of videos drawn from a pool of 1940's-era Hollywood feature-film outtakes and stock shots. I don't know what film they were shot for, but it's possible that they were for a Sam Katzman-produced movie serial. The plot seemed to involve cars chasing trains.Regardless, the stars of this show are Southern Pacific's magnificent streamlined GS-4 4-8-4's. We see them in three shots:0:00 This is train No. 76, The Lark, Southern Pacific's extremely popular all-Pullman train between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The location is unknown, but it appears to be morning somewhere in the Los Angeles area. There are twenty cars behind that GS-4.0:58 Another day, another shot of a 20-car Lark consist. Only this is just the first section of No. 76!1:43 The rest of this video is one long pacing shot of an unknown GS-4 at the head of an unknown train. It's twilight, and the film was likely underexposed to make it look like night. And while the cameraman sometimes seems unsure of what his subject is, there are some thrilling moments here as that streamlined nose edges in and out of the frame.The original film is silent, so I've added some appropriate music.
Hollywood Outtakes: Two Cameras on the Southern Pacific Speed Graphic Film and Video 2022-07-29 | This is the fifth in a series of videos drawn from a pool of 1940's-era Hollywood feature-film outtakes and stock shots. The clapboards for these clips say that these were taken in April 1946 for The Jolson Story.Interestingly, the team set up two cameras at each location and filmed the same train from both sides simultaneously.0:18 The first pair of clips shows train no. 71, a nameless coach-and-mail train that ran daily between Los Angeles and San Francisco.1:26 This pair of clips shows one of SP's famous cab-forward articulateds pulling train no. 1-60.2:52 (after the credits) Here are the train clips in the released version of The Jolson Story. These are, as you'll see, in color--half-way through production, the film got switched from black-and-white to Technicolor and everything had to be re-shot. The first two clips look like the same no. 71 in the same location, but the last clip replaces the cab-forward with a Santa Fe 4-8-2. The original clips are silent, so I've added some period-appropriate music.
Hollywood Outtakes: 1940s Street View: Market Street, San Francisco Speed Graphic Film and Video 2022-07-22 | This is fourth in a series of videos drawn from a pool of 1940's-era Hollywood feature-film outtakes and stock shots. There is no information in the archive about these, if you know what film these might have been taken for, please leave a comment.Most of this footage was taken out the back of a vehicle driving on Market Street in San Francisco. Based on the movies listed on theater marquees, it was probably taken in the spring of 1944. From the number of uniforms on the street, to the military-related storefronts, to the lack of cars on the street, this is a city in the midst of World War II. And the streetcars still ruled Market Street, with four parallel tracks to run on.All told, there are five clips in this video:00:06 This clip starts on Market Street near the Ferry Building and goes to around Montgomery Street.02:38 The second clip picks up approximately where the first left off and ends at about 5th Street (I think).05:05 This is a long clip, taken at an angle from a moving vehicle. It starts just before the intersection of Market and California Streets (you can see an empty cable car waiting at the end of the line) and ends just before the intersection of Market and Kearny.07:58 Headed back towards the Ferry Building now, this time on a Streetcar.09:10 (Bonus footage, after the credits) Headed north from the Ferry Building.The original film is silent, so I've added some music by Bela Bartok that was written at about the same time.P.S.: I've only visited the lovely city of San Francisco a few times, so please feel free to correct my geography.
Hollywood Outtakes: Chasing Southern Pacific No. 2859 Speed Graphic Film and Video 2022-07-15 | This is the third in a series of videos drawn from a pool of 1940's-era Hollywood feature-film outtakes and stock shots. There is no information in the archive about these, if you know what film these might have been taken for, or where they were filmed, please leave a comment.Whatever film this was for, at some point the script called for an automobile to chase a freight train. The chase was supposed to take place at night, which is why the car's headlights are on and many of the shots are underexposed.The star of the show, Southern Pacific Railroad's 2-8-0 No. 2859 was one of hundreds of "Harriman Common Standard" Consolidations owned by the road. Its oil-fired boiler is clearly being over-fired for the camera.
Hollywood Outtakes: Arriving in Los Angeles on the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Speed Graphic Film and Video 2022-07-08 | This is the second in a series of videos drawn from a pool of 1940's-era Hollywood feature-film outtakes and stock shots. There is no information in the archive about these films, so if you know something more about them, please leave a comment.0:00 One of the Santa Fe's giant 4-8-4's, No. 3785 (Baldwin, 1941), brings its train into Los Angeles Union Station. In the consist is baggage-dorm-lounge car No. 1382 San Fernando, dorm-lounge No. 1374 Santa Clara (both Budd, 1937), diner No. 1498 and a seemingly endless number of Pullmans.1:25 Another 4-8-4, No. 3779 (Baldwin, 1941), comes into the station, bell ringing.2:32 E6 A-B unit No. 15 (EMD, 1941) comes gliding into Union Station under the eye of two Navy policemen. The consist includes baggage-dorm-lounge San Acacia (Budd, 1937) and sleeper Yampai (Pullman, 1938).2:59 Boarding an unknown train. In the consist is dorm-club-lounge Agathla, which had a barber shop.3:14 El Capitan, train No. 21, pulls into Union Station. All-reserved, all-chair-car accommodations, it made its twice-weekly run from Chicago to Los Angeles in a little under 40 hours.4:19 An unknown train pulls into Union Station behind a classic A-B-B-A set of EMD F-units.5:00 A few hours after El Capitan, the Santa Fe's flagship, the Super Chief, pulls into Los Angeles. An all-sleeper extra-fare train, it was the choice of celebrities and movie stars when travelling to Hollywood.06:14 An unknown train arrives behind four-unit EMD FT No. 158. Originally intended for freight service, the FT's were repainted and given steam generators for passenger service.06:53 A troop train filled with Navy men pulls into Union Station, with 4-8-2 Mountain No. 3731 (Baldwin, 1921) at its head. Two navy policemen speak to an officer from the train.8:03 Another Mountain, No. 3729 (Baldwin, 1921) brings a string of heavyweight cars into the station.8:32 This video closes with an odd clip: a side-on of a string of old empty passenger cars rolling slowly by. Included in the consist is Pullman car Walworth (Pullman, 1911), and Santa Fe parlor-observation car No. 3217. The latter was sold and re-sold many times, but the web suggests that it survived into the twenty-first century.The original film is silent, so I have added some music by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, one of the great Hollywood composers of the 1940's, to the soundtrack.
Hollywood Outtakes: from New York to North Philadelphia on the Pennsylvania Railroad Speed Graphic Film and Video 2022-07-01 | This is the first in a series of videos drawn from a pool of 1940's-era Hollywood feature-film outtakes and stock shots. I haven't yet identified what film these shots were for, so if you recognize something, leave a comment.0:00 The video begins with an establishing shot of the front of New York's legendary Pennsylvania Station on Seventh Avenue.0:14 Looking east from Tenth Avenue towards the Manhattan (Farley) Post Office Annex. A GG1 brings one of the railroad's limiteds into Penn Station. This track area is now completely covered over.1:05 Now we're inside Penn Station, where we see four actors walk swiftly through the crowd to a train gate.1:42 On board now, looking out the right side of the train as it leaves Newark Penn Station. The small gas station building at 1:52 can still (as of July 2022) be seen on Google street view. The standing passenger cars belong to the Hudson & Manhattan (later PATH).3:38 Coming into North Philadelphia now. Industry crowds the track. At 4:28 there's a brief glimpse of a trolley line that went out of service in 1947.4:47 GG1 No. 4923 brings a seemingly endless line of Pullmans and coaches into the North Philadelphia station.5:27 Back on board the train again as it comes to a stop. The camera comes to rest on the platform for the Chestnut Hill branch, where, deep in electric territory, one of the PRR's 0-6-0 switchers is waiting.The original film is silent, so I've added some contemporary American classical music, an excerpt from David Diamond's Rounds. Not your taste in music? There's always the mute button.
2102 Fanfare Speed Graphic Film and Video 2022-06-14 | To celebrate the return of Reading & Northern's magnificent 4-8-4 No. 2102 to service, I combined video images of the locomotive with music by American Composer Henry Cowell. "Grinnell Fanfare" was written in 1948, just a few years after the 2102 made its debut.To see and hear 2102 in all its glory, here is the original sound and footage: youtube.com/watch?v=tkNqMTK7Z_E
Reading & Northern 4-8-4 No. 2102, May 28 2022 Speed Graphic Film and Video 2022-06-10 | It's been quite a while (ahem pandemic) since my camcorder and I have gotten out into the field to see steam locomotion. But what a return! Newly-restored ex-Reading 4-8-4 No. 2102 officially returned to service on May 28, 2022 and I (along with thousands of others) was there. The weather was sunny, rainy and all points in between, but that didn't matter. Stick around for the chase video at the end!
Scenes of American Railroading in the 1930s - Lorentz/Crosby - Volume 3 Speed Graphic Film and Video 2021-05-10 | Another collection of Lorentz/Crosby mystery shots from the National Archives. These are mostly of industrial switching operations.In the late 1930's, director Pare Lorentz (The Plow that Broke the Plains, the River) and cameraman Floyd Crosby (the River, High Noon) hit the road to take documentary footage for a planned feature film. The film was never made, and the hours of footage they took ended up in the U. S. National Archives.Unfortunately, there is no information in the Archives about where or when any of it was shot. All the descriptive information below is based on what's in the film itself.0:13 Loaded hoppers inside a steel plant.0:37 A Baltimore & Ohio steam locomotive backing up past a Bessemer converter.0:48 Unknown location and railroad at another steel plant.1:08 A venerable 0-6-0 belonging to Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co. switches some gondolas. YS&T had plants in Ohio and Indiana.1:33 Switching operations. Unknown location and railroad.2:07 Yet more industrial switching. Is the cab lettered "O. C. R. R."?2:37 Switcher awaiting orders. These shots were, I believe, taken outside the Amaizo plant in Hammond, Indiana.2:57 Outside some large steel operation. A steam crane with an electromagnet collects scrap metal. The yard is mostly empty.If you have additional info about any of these shots, leave a comment and I will update this description.The original 35mm footage is silent. The National Archives has done an excellent job digitizing the original film. I've added some music, but feel free to mute it if it's not to your taste.
The Fiery Furnace: Steelmaking in the 1930s - Lorentz/Crosby Speed Graphic Film and Video 2021-05-10 | In the late 1930's, director Pare Lorentz (The Plow that Broke the Plains, the River) and cameraman Floyd Crosby (the River, High Noon) hit the road to take documentary footage for a planned feature film. The film was never made, and the hours of footage they took ended up in the U. S. National Archives.One subject they focused on was the steel industry. Like many of the documentary photographers of the time, they must have been drawn to its strong visual elements. Crosby's camera captures the architecture as well as the pyrotechnics of the business. It appears that, unlike their work on THE RIVER, they did not get inside access. Instead, all the scenes here appear to have been shot from nearby public roads and overpasses.This video includes scenes from at least two sites: a steel plant with an out-of-doors Bessemer converter (from 1:07 to 2:36), and another large steel operation (all the other scenes). If you recognize either location, please leave a comment and I'll include the information in this description.
Scenes of American Railroading in the 1930s - Lorentz/Crosby - Volume 2 Speed Graphic Film and Video 2021-05-02 | Another collection of Lorentz/Crosby mystery shots from the National Archives.In the late 1930's, director Pare Lorentz (The Plow that Broke the Plains, the River) and cameraman Floyd Crosby (the River, High Noon) hit the road to take documentary footage for a planned feature film. The film was never made, and the hours of footage they took ended up in the U. S. National Archives.Unfortunately, there is no information in the Archives about where or when any of it was shot. All the descriptive information below is based on what's in the film itself.0:00 Unknown location. The locomotive seen at the end of the shot appears to be lettered for the New York Central System.1:34 Unknown location.2:39 Unknown location. The factory in the background has a sign that says BRIGGS BODIES. Briggs Manufacturing made automotive bodyshells at various locations in the upper Midwest. A truck loaded with new bodies can be seen in the distance.4:50 Driving north on Indianapolis Blvd. in Whiting, Indiana, the camera catches an Elgin, Joliet & Eastern locomotive and train in front of the Standard Oil refinery.5:41 Another beautifully-framed Floyd Crosby shot. Unknown location.6:11 An extended sequence of shots as Grand Trunk Western 0-8-0 No. 8380 does some yard work. Notice also at the long row of workers' houses that front on the railroad yard. Remarkably, the 8380 has survived and is at the Illinois Railroad Museum. If you have additional info about any of these shots, leave a comment and I will update this description. Thanks to Oren Helbok for his identification help.The original 35mm footage is silent. The National Archives has done an excellent job digitizing the original film. I've added some music, but feel free to mute it if it's not to your taste.
Scenes of American Railroading in the 1930s - Lorentz/Crosby - Volume 1 Speed Graphic Film and Video 2021-04-29 | In the late 1930's, director Pare Lorentz (The Plow that Broke the Plains, the River) and cameraman Floyd Crosby (the River, High Noon) hit the road to take documentary footage for a planned feature film. The film was never made, and the hours of footage they took ended up in the U. S. National Archives.Unfortunately, there is no information in the Archives about where or when any of the scenes was shot. All the descriptive information below is based on what's in the film itself.0:00 Chicago: Northbound on South Torrance Avenue where it crosses the Calumet River. The Interlake coke plant is in the left distance, the Wisconsin Steel Works is on the right. The railroad is the Chicago & Western Indiana. And yes, the streetcar line really ended at the foot of the bridge!1:04 A 2-8-0 Consolidation shuffles by with freight of all types in tow. Unknown location, unknown railroad.1:38 A beautiful distance shot of a Southern Pacific cab-forward. Probably the San Joaquin Valley.1:59 A passenger train flashes by. Unknown location, possibly on the Southern Pacific.2:06 In Washington's Yakima River Canyon, looking down on a Northern Pacific freight train. The locomotive is definitely an articulated, likely a Z-3 2-8-8-2. In the final shot, you can see the locomotive's exhaust plume in the far distance.If you have additional info about any of these shots, leave a comment and I will update this description. Thanks to Thomas R. Schultz, Dale Sanders, Jan Hilbrand Brink and Oren Helbok for their identification work.The original 35mm footage is silent. The National Archives has done an excellent job digitizing the original film. I've added some music, but feel free to mute it if it's not to your taste.This is the first in a series of videos I plan to do using Lorentz/Crosby footage. Stay tuned.
Herbert Hoover Kodacolor Home Movies, 1928-1930 Speed Graphic Film and Video 2021-02-11 | Kodak's 1928 Kodacolor was the company's first color home movie film. Using it, somebody in the Hoover household took home movies of President Hoover, the First Lady Lou Henry Hoover, their relatives and staff, and other sights. This video contains selections from those films, which have been digitized for the Hoover Library and the National Archives.
Railroad Travel in Florida, 1936 Speed Graphic Film and Video 2021-01-24 | These clips are outtakes from a March of Time Newsreel intended to boost Florida tourism during the Great Depression. They show a few scenes of Florida passenger trains of the era. Aside from a few obvious station locations, I don't have much information on the trains themselves or where they were photographed.Some of the shots have sound, some are silent. I have not done any dubbing.
Vertical Take-Off and Landing, 1940s-50s Speed Graphic Film and Video 2021-01-22 | Three example of VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) aircraft from the 1940's and '50's.0:10 The Sikorsky VS-300 was an early helicopter prototype. This film of it was probably taken on the Housatonic River near the Sikorsky plant. The pilot is possibly Sikorsky himself. The date of the film is unknown.3:50 Who knows where this film of a Sikorsky H-5 landing at a drive-in was taken, but the people on the ground (possibly military families) appear glad to see Santa Claus.4:45 This film of the Ryan X-13 Vertijet was probably taken at its April 11, 1957 demonstration flight.5:40 (after the credits) This bonus footage of a gyro-boat was on the same reel of film as the X-13.
Three Flights in the 1950s (music-only version) Speed Graphic Film and Video 2021-01-17 | This is the music-only version of this video. To see the narrated version, go here: youtube.com/watch?v=zbSqcSLhiAUThese film clips, which were donated the National Archives, show three civilian aircraft from the 1950's: a Douglas DC-6, the Boeing 367-80, and one of Pan Am's first Boeing 707's.0:10 This montage shows a series of Douglas DC-6B's at embarkation, taking off, in flight, and landing. The careful viewer will note that the planes shown at embarkation and landing are not the same as the plane shown taking off and flying.2:03 The Boeing 367-80 was a one-off prototype that led to the famous 707. It is shown here taking off, in flight and landing.4:35 One of Pan Am's first 707's, N-707PA, is seen here embarking, taking off, in flight, landing, taxiing and disembarking.The original film is silent, so I've added two tracks from MILES AHEAD, Miles Davis' and Gil Evans' collaborative album of 1957.
Three Flights in the 1950s (narrated version) Speed Graphic Film and Video 2021-01-17 | This is the narrated version of this video. To see the music-only version, go here: youtube.com/watch?v=rPyDu45AR9sThese film clips, which were donated the National Archives, show three civilian aircraft from the 1950's: a Douglas DC-6, the Boeing 367-80, and one of Pan Am's first Boeing 707's.0:10 This montage shows a series of Douglas DC-6B's at embarkation, taking off, in flight, and landing. The careful viewer will note that the planes shown at embarkation and landing are not the same as the plane shown taking off and flying.2:03 The Boeing 367-80 was a one-off prototype that led to the famous 707. It is shown here taking off, in flight and landing.4:35 One of Pan Am's first 707's, N-707PA, is seen here embarking, taking off, in flight, landing, taxiing and disembarking.The original film is silent, so I've added two tracks from MILES AHEAD, Miles Davis' and Gil Evans' collaborative album of 1957.
On the Road in California, 1960 Speed Graphic Film and Video 2021-01-04 | In October and November of 1960, Tunku Abdul Rahman, prime minister of Malaya, visited the U.S. His visit was documented by USIA photographers. These are outtakes of his visit to San Francisco, Hollywood and Disneyland. They show California's newest highways, the cable cars of San Francisco, a visit to a Western backlot, Bob Hope and Lucille Ball meeting some of the prime minister's entourage, and of course a visit to Disneyland.Like most of the USIA library stock footage, the original film is silent, so I've added a track from Errol Garner's Concert by the Sea to it.
The Los Angeles Area, 1966 Speed Graphic Film and Video 2021-01-03 | This video is a snapshot of a time and a place--the Los Angeles area in the spring of 1966. It uses documentary film shot by the USIA in Los Angeles and the surrounding area, including Hollywood, Burbank and the UCLA campus. For music, of course, the Beach Boys' California Girls is a perfect fit.For those of us who remember the mid-60's, this is like a time capsule--the architecture, the cars, the clothes and hair were very specific to that time. Benjamin Braddock, from The Graduate, would feel right at home.
