" LOADED FOR WAR " SANTA FE RAILROAD IN WORLD WAR II AT&SF STEAM LOCOMOTIVES MD31180

[@scottroland6577]

Outstanding ! Makes me proud to be an American ! My Dad served in WW2 on BB56, Battleship Washington, sister ship to the North Carolina. Thanks for preserving and sharing these important memories, and inspirations.

[@PeriscopeFilm]

Thank you for sharing your Dad's story! God bless him and all who served @scottroland6577

[@baldviking1970]

I loved how they not only fixed the mechanics of that old locomotive but gave it a fresh paint job too. It shows their dedication to their job 😊

[@dalecomer5951]

3723 was a passenger locomotive so they would have wanted it to look good even in time of war. It was only a little over 20 years old when the film was made, not that old for a locomotive. All class 3700 locomotives were scrapped between 1950 and 1955.

[@baldviking1970]

@@dalecomer5951 I was under the impression that US Railway companies replaced their rolling stock at a very high rate. I agree that 20 years is not much for a locomotive. Some of the heritage locomotives we run at our 3 heritage railways, had 60-70 years in active service at our national railway company before being discarded.

[@baldviking1970]

@@dalecomer5951 njk.no/kroderbanen njk.no/gamle-vossebanen njk.no/norsk-museumstog

[@dalecomer5951]

@@baldviking1970 Since most of those lasted more than 30 yrs they probably got their monies worth. Now, if they would show all the office work they needed to run the railroad ...

[@sergeantmarcusstackerM1903]

Never hurts to paint anything, it helps prevent rusting

[@georgeroberts442]

My father, LeRoy Roberts, was a Fireman on the Santa Fe for the duration of the war. I've long held a low opinion of him, and thought of his railroading as a shirker's way to avoid fighting for our country. This film has changed my mind, or rather, my perspective on the matter. Regardless of his personal motivations, he did serve his country fulfilling a vital role working on the railroad. He has come up a notch in my estimation. Thanks for posting this video exposing an important part of America's history.

[@trappenweisseguy27]

He may have had a perforated eardrum, flat feet, nearsightedness etc that disqualified him from the services.

[@todaywefly4370]

If you knew so little about him and the war, you had no right to judge in the first place.

[@lukestrawwalker]

Both my grandpa's were 4F during the war, meaning they were rejected for military service for various health reasons. One worked in the oil patch and the other worked in the Baytown oil refineries, making aviation gasoline. His job was risky to say the least-- ships were being torpedoed all the time right offshore within sight of Galveston at the time, and their main target was oil (fuel) tankers. If they could have gotten planes within range, no doubt they'd have bombed the refineries, and sabotage was always a concern. The oilfield has always been a dangerous job regardless of wartime or not. A friend of Grandpa's was a merchant marine on an oil tanker, and told the story how a group of tanker set out in convoy one night from Galveston to sail around Florida and up to New York for the transatlantic crossing... As soon as they left the breakwater into the open Gulf, the first tanker in line blew up into a massive fireball and sank. Then the second ship blew up and sank, then the third. They were the last of four ships and basically he said they made their peace with God, expecting to meet him at any moment, because they KNEW they were next. Death never came... the only thing they could figure was that the German U-boat had run out of torpedoes (which they often did) and so they were spared. They continued on to New York. Not everybody serves in uniform in the front lines. In fact, without the guys back home working to keep them armed and equipped and fed and fueled and supplied with ammunition, the guys at the front line are screwed. That's why we poured so much effort into bombing factories like Schweinfurt, oil refineries like Ploiesti, and every rail line and locomotive and train we could possible put sights on... cripple the industry supplying everything to the armies, deprive them of fuel to move and maneuver, and destroy their ability to move whatever WAS produced from the fields and factories to where it was needed, and you crippled the armed forces. Later! OL J R :)

[@EllieMaes-Grandad]

@@lukestrawwalker Eventually, the US military become sufficiently well organised to provide adequate convoy defence and curb the coastal illuminations. Germany's u-boat arm called early 1942 on the US east coast their "second happy time". The British merchant marine paid a heavy price until they did.

[@jollyjohnthepirate3168]

The U.S. Navy was utterly incompetent as regards convoys. The British had learned this lesson the hard way. Our navy dismissed conveying merchant shipping. Coastal cities refused to dim their lights at night. U boats would surface at night near the coast and sink individual ships as they were illuminated by commercial lights ashore. This went on for 6 months.

[@livefree223]

If our country ever needs this kind of mobilization again, I can tell you as a railroader, we'll get em there!

[@killemtoenjoythesilence]

Sadly I don't think our nation could come together like this anymore. The Democrats are making sure an enemy can walk right in the front door anyway. We're on the "weak men" part of the old saying... Hard times make strong men, Strong men make easy times, Easy times make weak men, Weak men make hard times.

[@robertdipaola3447]

@@killemtoenjoythesilence so true, the devilcrats are ruining our country, our country needs to be cleansed of them they are a cancer that needs to be cut out

[@hankhill3417]

War on masculinity

[@uuuultra]

it's all made overseas now

[@frankschultz4170]

Not with bean counters running the railroads. There are very few real railroaders in management these days.

[@jebzjaworksi8378]

"From cow-catcher to caboose!" -the best line in the film

[@tylerzorn6152]

Simply put,... God bless each and every one of them!!!! And amen to all.

[@alphadog6970]

Amen to war !

[@tylerzorn6152]

@Ronnie Jace thank you i will definitely check it out !!

[@steamtorch]

I volunteered to work on a steam locomotive restoration. While called an "inspection" about 40% of a 200 ton locomotive gets replaced. Very interesting to work on a project where a small part weighs 500 lbs, LOL. Anyway, It's obvious why diesel electric replaced steam as quickly as was practical, steam locomotives are just extremely labor intensive to keep in service.

[@ericoxner9767]

I am in awe seeing a side lined locomotive.Pull into the shop and rebuilt into a new locomotive.Keep in mind all railroad across this country.

[@asullivan4047]

Interesting/informative/entertaining. My uncle was a WW2 R.R. inspector checking the rails for German sabotage along the Eastern Seaboard. Wishing viewers/R.R. employees a safe/healthy/prosperous ( 2024 ). Remember the " Singing Break man" Jimmy Rogers-? A genuine break man till switching careers to a singing entertainer🎸🎶 ( 1926 thru 1933 ) most memorable song " Break Man's Blues😭 " .

[@Baynewsvideo]

Hey...That narrator just called 3723 an "Old Slober Bucket" @15:23 those are fighting words chappy!

[@martialmusic]

Magnificent contribution

[@mshotz1]

The FT freight diesels shown may have contributed more to the Pacific War than anything else the Santa Fe. They ran the section of Arizona/New Mexico that was all desert and what water there was there was severely alkaline. Even with water treatment, the Santa Fe had to run water trains to provide enough water to the water stations to keep the railroad fluid. And that was before the war. After Pearl Harbor, the situation became so bad, they had to divert traffic to the UP and SP because there could not provide enough water to run the steam engines. Even though the US War Production Board had placed severe restrictions on diesel locomotive production (The engines were needed for the Navy), the Santa Fe convinced them to allow them to buy some GM FT Model freight engines. The guys at GM did some calculations and told the Santa Fe that 13 sets would do the job. Everyone at the Santa Fe and the War Department were skeptical about that claim. When the FT's were delivered, they moved the freight faster over the line than the steamers could, had quicker turnaround times and had 98% availability. Those 13 sets helped win the war. And sealed the fate for steam power in the Post-war era.

[@scratchdog2216]

Impressive production.

[@TrainMedia00]

I love the line says THIS IS AN ENGINE OF WAR 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🚂🚃🚃🚃🚃🪖🪖

[@daleherd723]

At 8:05....is that the launching of the Jeremiah O'Brien?

[@sarjim4381]

I swear I've seen this before, but in black and white. The narration is distinctive enough to remember. I wonder if B&W and color versions were distributed. The color in this print has held up amazingly well. Very little fading, and things like the blue sky and green grass show up like it was a film made yesterday. Thanks for finding and uploading this film, "without delays and confusion". :-)

[@blueboats7530]

I read somewhere these newsreels and short docs were often filmed in color but distributed to movie theaters in BW because the feature film was often BW or the shorts would look better than the feature. So many BW copies of these shorts existed so that's what's been seen by us most often to this day, while the color originals often don't come out.

[@trappenweisseguy27]

It’s possible it’s been colourized as colour film back then was expensive .

[@MsMutt1]

No more brothers wars. And God bless every one of these fine men.

[@donald6815]

Move all available equipment to military bases? What kind of a disaster would that cause? And to what purpose? Our military bases in 1941 were nearly empty, our amy was smaller than Portugal's We were still using WW! equipment, or broomsticks.

[@davegreenlaw5654]

Just 2 1/2 years earlier, Canada's army was referred to as a 'bow and arrow army', because that's pretty much all they had after years of government cutbacks that started almost right after WW I. But by the time The United States had officially entered, Canada had quickly built it's forces up to respectable levels.

[@EllieMaes-Grandad]

@@davegreenlaw5654 Like the UK, they had more than two years' head start . . .

[@frankschultz4170]

Moving the stuff to military bases provided some security against sabotage.

[@djscrizzle]

This was the pre-nuclear age. Now, equipment would, in theory, be dispersed away from bases and potential targets.

Just awesome. What we can achieve when we put our backs into it!

[@tracynation239]

A superb video. ♡ T.E.N.

[@manhoot]

This is what I call carrying the freight

[@benjaminbingaman1848]

11:42 it wasn’t all that long ago when the steam engines ruled the rails

[@michaelmccarthy4615]

Did people read slower back in the day? Because the epilogue stays on the screen longer then today....

[@HPaulHonsinger]

Yes. The literacy level was much lower and many adults read on only a second or third grade level. Less than half of the adult population graduated from high school and a typical small town might have only handful of college graduates: the town doctor, an attorney or two, some of the schoolteachers, and maybe the minister if the denomination was one that tended to have an educated clergy. My father graduated from high school in 1954 and, although the both sides of his family were known for their intelligence, he was the first person in his lineage to graduate from college since Elder William Brewster who came to America on the Mayflower.

[@johnt.4947]

I've noticed the same thing in movies of that time, whenever showing anything printed during the film.

[@todaywefly4370]

I reckon you’re barking up the wrong tree. They left them up longer then because no one sold the advertising time and space back then.

[@EllieMaes-Grandad]

They read more slowly . . .

[@joeguzman3558]

Wars are bad but they bring jobs

[@sergeantmarcusstackerM1903]

Out of all those M10 tank destroyers on the flatcars, I wonder how many of them survived the war.

[@patricknesbitt4003]

My father's uncle Anthony Barile drove one of those. He came home, don't know about his '10 though.

[@danf321]

Very few survived initially. What made the difference and a victory was quantity. The best Panzer Tanks could not survive an onslaught of several cheap-o tanks.

[@Baumeister40]

Any chance that was narrated by Gary Cooper? Man! It sounds just like him! Super video not just about rail power but the ingenuity & stick-to-it've-ness of the American patriots from sea to shining sea!

[@mitchdakelman4470]

An outstanding film, thank you for listing it. Where do you find these great movies?

[@uuuultra]

they make them

[@jeromewhelan6723]

Looking at message signature at 02:51, does anyone else see "K3GEL" ?

[@EllieMaes-Grandad]

Lathe operators are wearing safety spex - UK factories didn't have them widely available at this time.

[@jingorat]

Makes you really think about every step of the supply line and all the logistics that go into having this all in one country. Now I wonder if another world war were to happen how different the mobilization for war would happen. The railroads run things so tight for profit these days, I'm not sure they could react as quickly. Even as covid is here in North america, you can see the issues of importing so much from outside north america. It's not that we don't always make these things here. I think there's just too many people period.

[@trappenweisseguy27]

Many believe that the sheer supply of armaments and materiel was what won WWII for the allies.

[@EllieMaes-Grandad]

@@trappenweisseguy27 Indeed it was. The reference to WW1 should bear in mind that the USA came late to that conflict and used much European equipment.

[@asteroidrules]

I have to wonder if we'd need the sort of mobilization the railroads got in the Civil War, and the First World War. In both of those conflicts due to railroads being unable/unwilling to coordinate on a large scale to provide for the war effort, the US government fully nationalized the rails.

[@tylergreen4843]

11:41 thats an 1800 class 2-6-2 prairie. we have a few preserved, except 1838 sadly

[@benjaminbingaman1848]

7:18🎵 when I was a locomotive 20 cars long I carried the pioneers I helped build a country young and strong and that took a couple of years 🎵

[@azmike1]

great!

[@nscaledelights]

"And if you wanted to ride on a tank going through the country side you could"

[@martialmusic]

TiCTAC2930 I saw a train full of tanks go through suburban Houston last month 😊

[@uraqtee]

I believe those men were armed air guards

[@kathieharine5982]

I remember "Santa Fe All the way. "

[@greglivo]

"Look at this old slobber bucket!" LOL Also, mesothelioma alert at 16:37.

[@pingpaul]

On literacy of the populace, the current populace reads at about a 7th grade level. Google has increased the level of literacy, I believe, wiith the possibility of instant lookup of definitions. I’m glad they mentioned the maintenence of way workers.

[@apocyldoomer]

Awesome, certainly a different generation, no drooping drawers showing their butt, lazy kids of today, it's a shame, have a good Memorial Day, in remembrance of the fallen, 2020, even the Confederate soldiers!!

[@samsonn25]

A train every 48 seconds

[@joeguzman3558]

If not for ww2 the depression was to go on for the next 10 years

[@mikerice5298]

2008 9 trillion missing

[@fromthesidelines]

Originally released in 1942.

[@BblastedD]

"loved it" is the new "wanna be friends". Be careful.

[@CarminesRCTipsandTricks]

@@TugIronChief SPAM! 😖

[@billt8504]

Well there you go. That's why we lost the Vietnam War. The damn railroads obviously didn't do enough.

[@lukestrawwalker]

Yeah they didn't run over LBJ and McNamara... LOL:) OL J R :)

[@robertdipaola3447]

When America got things none, unlike today

[@lukestrawwalker]

When America still made things, unlike today....

[@just-incase3483]

The bands of steel that made the rockafellars filthy rich and drunk on power🤔

[@brucebechdel3524]

I. think your. referring to. MAYBE the 1880 period of the "Robber. Barons" when the rich such as the rockafellars & before the ICC creation DID have much control over the American railroads occur. But after WWII certain railroads & in particular PARTS OF the country were experiencing dismal revenue and bleeding passenger losses, and the merger era began These bands of steel ONLY from over capacity. & too much duplication of RR's & trackage in the midwest to the biggest railroad disaster creation of the PENN CENTRAL RR {FOR ones uneducated the merger of the Pennsylvania & much more progressive & forward thinking New York Central RR in 1968 {& inclusion of the bankrupt New Haven RR in 1969} did railroads in the Northeast lead to a national crisis. This along with other Northeastern lines by the early 1970's collapse lead to ConRail rescue & the revival of that regions rail traffic. The Corrupt & terribly crooked. & even evil mismanagement of the Penn Central RR lead to one of the largest business bankruptcy in history after only 2 years of operation.That in great part failed because they REFUSED TO Make it work. Back in 1978 there were at least 9 Class 1 railroads in the mid-America ALONE, Now TODAY thru merger after merger & combining of even successful RR's & just a few were in a bankrupt state there exist ONLY 4 Class 1 RR's. Up until the early mid 1960's & only in the Northeast and later some in the Midwest were there railroads at or nearing bankruptcy. Elsewhere The nations other RR's I. wouldn't call them "Rich" as you put it, but were better termed successful, in good health & in good hands. So you need to learn your more accurate history BEFORE you go calling American RR;s. industrialists "filthy rich & drunk on power".

[@michaelmckinnon7314]

Probably along with other railroads and service Locomotives from the US and UK predominantly. Wouldn't surprise me to see a Dean Goods.

[@michaelfisher7170]

I like how the summary toward the end of the film announces that after the war rail will still be used for the transport of...stuff. Nothing said about passenger service, and yet post war American passenger rail was, for a short, short time a marvellous thing. Then it declined, because Wall Street and the Manhattan ad companies wanted us buying cars. We did, passenger rail became the red headed stepchild of the railroads and remains so today as Amtrak. If America ever dropped a ball on a potentially lucrative, profitable service it was with its passenger rail. Europe, Japan, even Russia surpassed us in that regard. But...hey, there are cars, and miles and miles of interstate highway festooned with endless billboard advertisements for Lawyers and boner pills. Remember Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Yeah, so do i.

[@CATech1138]

cheap fuel killed passenger service in the US...i love to travel by rail but the tickets cost more than the gas for a car I'm already supporting for local use

[@rwinger2481]

I remember that this footage was used in the children’s video, There Goes a Train.

[@macsdaddy3383]

Was a very good video. WWII national industrial production has always fascinated me. I am guessing this was made sometime in mid to later 1942 judging by the tanks being shipped, though the troops were wearing M1 helmets. It amazes me how our nation mobilized itself for WWII, how many people of so many skills were essential to the War Effort and were safe from being called to military service. We really do not hear more about them. One thing I have never been able to figure out is if there were already the 1st. Gen. EMD Diesel Engine units in use on the SF lines as early as '42 or so, why then didn't the rail industry recognize their efficiency and greater utility then and just go whole hog into using them instead of waiting until the early 1950's?

[@michaelmoses8745]

world war 2 is why diesels didn't take over in the 40's. All the submarines, ships, and other diesel engines needed diesel. Steam was also proven technology at this point. Diesel was not. In war, you use what you know works and not mess around with new tech unless you REALLY have to.

[@greglivo]

The government limited Dieselization to ensure there was enough motive power available. Many of the big names in locomotive production were not allowed to produce their own Diesel units. The government wanted them making steam. EMD didn't make steam locos and already had their own Diesel locos so they continued to produce and develop Diesel technology throughout the war. Once the war ended these restrictions were lifted and the other locomotive builders introduced their own Diesel locomotives. However EMD already had a 5 year head start. It's one of the reasons they dominated Diesel locomotive production for the next 30 years or so.

[@roberthuron9160]

And how did the Executive,and Congress pay the railroads for the services rendered?? Simply by building Highways[Subsidized],parallelling the railroads[who were required to pay taxes,to maintain their competition],add the airlines,waterways,again,Subsidized,and the inevitable bankruptcies,of the Eastern,and eventually all the internal transport systems! There has been-NO EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW,as the public transport systems have been systematically discriminated against! The next war,isn't going to be a walk in the park,as one consideration to remember,the Pullman Company had 10,000 pieces of rolling stock,Amtrak,now is lucky to field 3000+,and the population is 4 times as great! Ponder those figures,and ask,can a mobilization be realized today,on short notice?? Note also,the highways,have only 25% percent of the capacity of the railroads! The airlines,aren't much better! Thank you for the forum! Thank you 😇 😊!

[@beyondmiddleagedman7240]

The first 5 minutes dialog is unbelievable propaganda. But the film footage is great . The BS calms down from there but is the typical we're great and everything is wonderful that strokes the ego of the 'every man'. The state of the railroads at the beginning of the war was excellent. At the end of the war nearly everything was scrap. It had had the wheels run off it with only minimum repairs that were absolutely necessary to keep them moving. The material to refit was going overseas for the war. It took some time post war to bring everything back up to snuff. Fortunately the pressure was off and there was time.

[@eastcoastrifraf]

I bet they showed this in schools. Probably grade 8.

[@AckzaTV]

FYI youre all allowed to use any of periscopes footage he does NOT own these, WE OWN THEM its AMERICAN NATIONAL ARCHIVE HERITAGE PUBLIC DOMAIn by law so dont let him lie and say you cant use them for your own projects you certainly can and should.

[@PeriscopeFilm]

The films we post are from our own collection. They are not part of the National Archives. Visit stock.periscopefilm.com to learn more.

[@mohammmeedalking9965]

1940 : Americans men making their country the best country. 2020 : GAY marriage.

[@richmanwisco]

Ooh, I can do that, too. Watch: 1942 : Americans making their country the best country. 2020: MAGA That was fun. Your turn.

[@lukestrawwalker]

Yup... 1940: 2 genders, equality starting to be demonstrated by circumstances requiring it, but a long way to go. 2020: 70-some-odd genders, most don't know which bathroom or pronoun to use and are penalized for it, kids eating Tide pods...

[@mikerice5298]

90 million people die

[@kutamsterdam]

I know ... sign of the time ... but what a tiring voice!.

[@johnt.4947]

Yes, and he does love his adjectives!!

[@colonelkurtz2269]

How many of the people in this film questioned their gender? 😆 I can't see any of them posting on Instagram. Ask them to take a photo of their dessert? 😆

[@uuuultra]

what's your point?

[@colonelkurtz2269]

@@uuuultra they were a more authentic generation who knew who they were and would not act like future generations. Social media tells our kids what gender they are and pronouns to use. It would be comedic if it weren't so damaging.

[@77goofyguy]

That narrator was SO corny

[@EllieMaes-Grandad]

It was the style of the time.

[@joegoldman3065]

Like propaganda everywhere, this film is practically ridiculous. In terms of the job they did, the railroads In Russia, Germany, Britain and a few other places were just as impressive. This stupid thing makes it look like the only country that was good at this stuff was the United States, a notion that I'd nonsense. How did Britain, Germany and Russia fight so hard?They too had awesome remote systems and capabilities

[@uuuultra]

it was made for Americans

[@hornetobiker]

Bloody hell, that's some propaganda commentary.

[@jacksons1010]

1943, Paul, with America mobilized for an actual declared war. It’s a reality we can barely imagine.

[@AugustusOakstar]

I was 11 years old, my dad was a RR engineer. He would be gone 3 or 4days out of 5. He made 4.00$ a hour. Then do it again it was 5 years before he took me and my mom on vacation. That was standard for Everyone.

[@identitydixie1061]

BlOoDy HeLl my tea cup has cat piss in it ... stop being sour

[@kdkatz-ef2us]

"Private enterprise takes a back seat to socialistic cooperation during the duration of the duration, leading to greater profitability!"

[@theyangview1898]

What ???

[@kdkatz-ef2us]

@@theyangview1898 just a joke

[@joeguzman3558]

Ten nitwits didn't like

[@rickprusak9326]

If the EPA was around during this time, the steam locomotives would be in a scrap yard overnight. I've seen trains 🚆 carry military 🪖 vehicles to the shores towards the war in Afghanistan and other points eastward. Look how many trains 🚆 it takes to ship the millions of USA military equipment towards Ukraine.

[@filipinainaforeignland3552]

Get the damn countdown clocks off your videos!

[@EllieMaes-Grandad]

They have a purpose. For those wanting to use clips, the appropriate sections were easily identifiable.

[@PeriscopeFilm]

Here's the issue: Tens of thousands of films similar to this one have been lost forever -- destroyed -- and many others are at risk. Our company preserves these precious bits of history one film at a time. How do we afford to do that? By selling them as stock footage to documentary filmmakers and broadcasters. If we did not have a counter, we could not afford to post films like these online, and no films would be preserved. It's that simple. So we ask you to bear with the watermark and timecodes. In the past we tried many different systems including placing our timer at the bottom corner of our videos. What happened? Unscrupulous KZbin users downloaded our vids, blew them up so the timer was not visible, and re-posted them as their own content! We had to use content control to have the videos removed and shut down these channels. It's hard enough work preserving these films and posting them, without having to spend precious time dealing with policing thievery -- and not what we devoted ourselves to do. Love our channel and want to support what we do? You can help us save and post more orphaned films! Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/PeriscopeFilm Even a really tiny contribution can make a difference.

[@uuuultra]

@@PeriscopeFilmnice