A Railroad at Work - Milwaukee Road Promo Film

[@MilesL.auto-train4013]

Of all the stuff I've made, this is the video that gets the most views. Ok.

[@michaelheck3742]

If it makes you feel better, little Johnny was probably drafted into Vietnam

[@thomasomeara4705]

I grew up in Chicago. The Milwaukee Road line that goes out to Elgin and beyond was a mere 1000 feet from my bedroom window. This video show’s primarily steam locomotives and the earliest EMD diesel locomotives. So I would date this as right around 1939. One of our next door neighbors was a Milwaukee Road employee. He arranged for me to get a summertime job when I was a high school student in the 60s. It isn’t around anymore but there was a freight yard situated underneath the Central Avenue bridge. It handled LCL (less than carload) shipments for Montgomery Ward stores in the neighboring states. Wisconsin, both North and South Dakota’s. Around 1955 MILW took over as the connector railroad from The Chicago Northwestern to handle the Union Pacific passenger trains from the west coast when they reached Omaha.

[@JLfromEdinburgh1951]

​ @@thomasomeara4705 : I guessed it was made about 1946, as it says the company is nearly a hundred years old, and the Milwaukee Road was founded in 1847. Johnny looks about 7 or 8 to me, and it's poignant to think that, if he's alive today, he must be in his 80s. If you're right about 1939 of course that would put him in his 90s. I think he's the real star of the film. Of course this is the company's own promotional film, but it gave me the impression of a well-run professional organisation. I especially liked the idea of the tip cards, allowing ordinary workers to feel they could contribute. Yet it's sobering to think that within some 35 years of this film, the railway had completely collapsed. For an organisation of that size and complexity to fail, must have been absolutely devastating to a lot of people.

[@harrisonofcolorado8886]

First time? I have also got stuff that I DIDN'T make get the most views.

[@greglammers9905]

My uncle was a depot agent for the Milwaukee road. I am a little young to remember the steam engines, but remember the old diesel locomotives rolling thru town. We used to ride downtown to the depot and watch the trains roll through. Great memories

[@captainmorgan757]

Johnny doesn't realize that the Milwaukee Road's main line was just a stone's through away from my grandparent's house, so it stands to reason that the Milwaukee Road holds a special place in my heart. Thank you for posting!

[@Ad_Valorem]

Made at Wilding Studios, in Chicago, just up the block from where I grew up in the '50s. I fondly remember taking the Arrow back and forth from home to college.

[@77hodag]

My grandfather was an engineer on the Milwaukee Road - lived in Janesville WI.

[@codyhilton1750]

My favorite railroad that I first rode in WWII.

[@jamesfaber6959]

Love the Milwaukee Road...grandmothers brother-in law, from Oskosh, was an engineer and was transferred to the 'Electric Division' out west. The family relocated to Montana. The Dunn Family.

[@gobbletegook]

Wow...thanks for finding & posting. I remember that round house in the film...in Milwaukee's Menominee Valley. It was still there until about the mid 60's, That train yard stretched between 13th street and about 45th streets...and had so many lights on at night that it glowed from miles away. They had towers with office shacks on them that were higher than the 16th, 27th, and 35th street viaducts ...constructed to see over the entire train yard, where they would call out which cars needed to be switched to which track with mega phones or by radios. How on earth these guys worked in the freezing Milwaukee winters I will never know.

[@MilesL.auto-train4013]

Because kzbin.info/www/bejne/nnK6k514gs14p5Y is why

[@mhurlock]

What a nice piece of Milwaukee history, I’ve learned!

[@olddude7109]

Thanks for sharing this with us on KZbin, it is a rare find. Notice the so-called "Beavertail" observation cars used on the premier passenger being washed in the yard which helps date the video

[@Anthony-tb5vg]

Awesome I love these nostalgic videos about my favorite subject, railroading!

[@brianbickley8368]

Love these old rail films!

[@jkol8781]

Thanks for sharing this film. I love the Milwaukee Road....America's Resourceful Railroad.

[@kyletroknya2419]

8:48 Milwaukee Road 265 is in the roundhouse! I like that engine!

[@AndreiTupolev]

I love the wonderfully dramatic orchestral soundtrack they always used in these promotional films. How did I know the boy with the bike was going to be called Johnny?

[@paulwarner5395]

A great movie. what year late 40s or early 50s?? Oh to have a time machine and go back for a ride.

[@toddinde]

It’s definitely before 1948 when the new passenger cars came into service. It also doesn’t mention the war or postwar prosperity. Steam is primary. My guess would be 1941?

[@thomasomeara4705]

My best guess is 1938 to 1940 time frame. Steam locomotives still predominated and EMD had just brought out diesel electric which you can see in short segments of the video.

[@toddinde]

@@thomasomeara4705 Agreed!

[@damonm7541]

Early 40’s - the FT’s shown being serviced were built ‘41-45.

[@mitchelldakelman7006]

I have a 16mm copy but its been some time since I watched it!

[@zeppelinkiddy]

What's amazing is the massive number of people needed to run and maintain a railroad like the Milwaukee in those days.

[@blainenodes8182]

Yes indeed..."something about a train going by" we had mrd.deliver to local Ford plant,100 ft from apt,2012 last train,tracks still walk em weekly👍

[@noisefuljoy]

Thanks for sharing this treasure.

[@dalewunderlich]

And this young couple... Mmmm

[@johndoe-sv9th]

I died when he said that, lmao 😂😂 I don't know why.

[@0759trainz]

I find it funny how MILW still used wooden passenger cars throughout the 40s, even though most railroads phased out wooden passenger cars as early as the 20s.

[@toddinde]

Some perhaps. However, my dad far preferred the Milwaukee over the North Western believing the Milwaukee equipment to be newer and better and the service better overall.

[@brianmorgan5739]

@@toddinde. Also ironic how after 1955 the Union Pacific moved all their City Trains from the Chicago and Northwestern to the Milwaukee Road also with the same train of thought no pun intended.

[@toddinde]

@@brianmorgan5739 The UP made a good call. The Milwaukee was always a class act.

[@edwardmiessner6502]

Today The Milwaukee Road is extinct! 😭 We can't have nice things in this country even though our parents and grandparents used to 😢

[@MilesL.auto-train4013]

Truth be told they kinda shot themselves in the foot, it's a common business practice even today lol. Still, based railroad.

[@tonyromano6220]

You are delusional, things are much “nicer” now.

[@rickmiller1429]

@@tonyromano6220 Are they?

[@MilesL.auto-train4013]

@@rickmiller1429 Yes and no, but it's still asinine to make such a comparison. The whole point of evolving generations is to make it easier for the succeeding generations, which some seem to either agree with or feel entitled to sabotage.

[@longwindingroad]

"And this young couple " mmmm. He knew they were about to handle some adult business in the sleeper car.

[@Isochest]

I would love to hear from the descendents as a result. Hope they prospered

[@Bload72productions]

Awesome railroad one of my favorites, to bad they made every wrong decision in their last 35-40 years.

[@jamesrobertson5935]

I read many responses here. Pondering what we should think towards the future. Honor much of the past. Envision an America with electric rails.

[@Isochest]

The Wellbrook Act of 1935 messed that up. Private railways can thrive and prosper with electric traction. Government interference can mess it up. In the UK we had the 123 private railways grouped in 1923 to four companies. This stopped the electrification by the London Brighton and South Coast Railway, that of the North Eastern Railway, and of the Midland Railway,

[@Quebecoisegal]

Always good to see coal fired steam locos and cabooses!

[@oddjob1795]

Found 265

[@roanneabe7552]

Hey Ian H. long time fan how you doing

[@richardschickel2]

This has so much information. What year do you think it is from. I am guessing 1945-1955.

[@MilesL.auto-train4013]

Sadly, I do not know. Maybe early 50's?

[@scott112able]

Judging from the large number of active steam locomotives shown, I would guess no later than 1950.

[@damonm7541]

I would guess early to mid 40’s, favoring early 40’s. An EMD FT A-B-B-A set us shown, which were built ‘41-45. An Alco DL 109 set is shown as well and they’re an early cab unit. I didn’t happen to notice any E7 units, which were built starting in ‘46. The boy at 11:19 is running a Lionel pre-war train set.

[@garysprandel1817]

​@@damonm7541I'm going to say you're spot on with early 40s most likely 41 based on the FTs and guessing that promotional films such as this would have taken a secondary priority post December 7 41.

[@jimtrack3786]

Surprisingly, Johnny never went into railroading. He just sort of drifted. Why Johnny...why?

[@MilesL.auto-train4013]

"Labor does not contribute to profits"

[@pat370]

The Milwaukee Ro

[@VRDenshaOtaku]

If I could describe the Milwaukee road, I'd say... The

[@kleetus92]

Around the 20 minute mark, I had to laugh at the company spy network eavesdropping on riders listening for more business and work. And you thought spying on Americans was just a google thing... LOL!

[@MilesL.auto-train4013]

Thing is, you're in a public area on a train, while Google (I don't know why you limit it to only Google, practically the entire internet does so) is more in the private confines of your home or office, etc. etc. With internet business, it's more egregious because we give them all kinds of data while in the "privacy of our homes", in contrast to train travel where you're in a very social setting.

[@kleetus92]

@@MilesL.auto-train4013 While true to a point, you also wouldn't expect someone to be intently listening to a conversation you and a buddy would be having at a random lunch at mcdonalds and then suddenly have someone show up at your office to sell you brake pads for your car because you happened to mention you inspected your brakes while rotating the tires... I only picked google because they're likely the worst, but definitely not the only ones listening. Don't get me started with Alexa...

[@MilesL.auto-train4013]

@@kleetus92 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Musta been a more socially acceptable business practice back then, especially without the advantage of social media. Most business was word-of-mouth back then.

[@kleetus92]

@@MilesL.auto-train4013 customer to customer sure, while you're standing there and say, oh excuse me, I overheard your conversation about x, and my company can maybe offer some solutions is a good bit different than some unknown guy showing up at your place of work talking about a meeting that only the company people are supposed to know about... That's what I'm saying.

[@MilesL.auto-train4013]

​@@kleetus92 If that's the case, why are you discussing private company matters in public?

[@billsimpson604]

Since oil won't last forever, someday they will be all electric. Imagine what it will cost to run all those wires . I wonder how many bridges and tunnels will need to be rebuilt to make room for the overhead wires?

[@Bal4833]

The Milwaukee electrified approximately 500 miles of track in the far western mountain portion of their service territory by 1917. 3000 Volt DC power. My grandfather was an engineer for the Milwaukee out of Perry Iowa.

[@Isochest]

Electrification is much cheaper than the Oil Lobbyists BS you! About $1-200,000 per mile including substaions

[@thebusterdog921]

Now, never happen, we'll have blown our asses away as a society by then...lmao😂🤣😅😆

[@diesel_man26]

060 JD

[@tonyromano6220]

Oh promo, no porno…..

[@MilesL.auto-train4013]

You're using KZbin to find porn?? you know Pornhub and RedTube exist, right?

[@davoid96]

Filmed in good old Hell