“FAST FREIGHT” 1954 RAILROAD TRAIN CREWMEN FILM RICHMOND, FREDERICKSBURG & POTOMAC RR XD82945

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This short film explains how fast freight trains operate in the United States and shows how railroad workers are essential to the train functioning properly and operating on schedule. This film is a RKO-Pathe, Inc. production. It was produced by Jay Bonafield and written and directed by Clement Stigdon. It was photographed by Harry W. Smith and narrated by Jim Boles. The film opens with freight trains running on train tracks (00:46). Man wearing a hat sits in a car (1:05). Three cars in a parking lot (1:12). Fast freight engineer walks up to the R.F. & P.R.R.Co. (The Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad) train that passes by (1:34). Train conductor looks out of the caboose (1:41). Train caboose and watch tower (1:51). Fireman walks and chats with his fellow workers (1:54). Crew members talk to each other (2:07). Train pulls out while one of the rail workers watches it (2:14). Rail worker looks at a schedule (2:25). Rail worker writes on the schedule (2:34). Rail workers check train numbers and their clock (2:49). Rail workers inspect freight trains (3:00). Rail workers roll tires (3:16). Rail worker checks the journal boxes on the train (3:31). Rail worker in a tower sits in front of a control panel (3:53). Trains are switched on to the correct track (3:59). A hump yard, maze of train tracks and freight cars (4:10). Controller looks out from the tower and controls the control panel (4:12). Teletype switch list (4:15). Train cars are switched to their proper place in the hump yard (4:26). Large freight train with a rail worker walking next to it (4:53). Fruit Growers Express freight car (5:07). Armour freight car (5:10). Freight car with the words, “State of Maine” (5:23). Freight car with the words, “Wabash” (5:29). Rail worker connects two freight cars (5:47). Rail worker jumps on the train’s back ladder (5:52). National Car Co. freight car with the word, “Milk,” on it (5:59). Baltimore and Ohio freight car (6:08). Canadian Pacific Railway freight car (6:10). Freight car with the words, “CO Progress” (6:14). Northern Pacific freight car (6:15). Fruit Growers Express freight car (6:18). B&O shipping container riding on a stout (6:21). Tractor trailer truck (6:26). R.F. & P.R.R.Co. freight train (6:33). Train horn (6:43). Rail worker climbs down the controller car (6:46). Train engineer looks out the window (6:51). Conductor walks next to the train (6:55). Engineer checks the control panel (7:02). Engineer picks up the phone and clears the train with the conductor (7:09). Baltimore and Ohio freight trains pull out of the station (7:50). Train engineer in a train (9:14). Speed gauge on train (9:17). Rail workers on train (9:31). Country house (9:39). Train engineer on the phone with a rail worker (9:46). Train passing another train (9:58). Country pasture with grazing cows (10:22). Kids run to wave to the train as it goes by (10:27). Freight cars moving fast along the tracks (10:36). Wheels of the train (10:42). The assistant engineer switches places with the head engineer (10:46). Rail workers get off the tracks because of the incoming train and they look at the train as it passes by (11:32). The conductor looks out of the caboose (12:09). The flag worker checks the train as the tracks curve (12:19). Rail worker looks out the rear cab of the train (12:24). Freight car with the words, “Atlantic Collect Line” (13:31). Baltimore and Ohio freight train (13:39). Rail worker tests the temperature inside a cooled freight car by putting a thermometer next to bananas (13:54). Rail workers push ice packs into freight cars (13:56). Freight train moves quickly on the tracks (14:10). Freight delivered outside of a big city (14:24). Rail workers talk on the train (14:50).
The Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac Railroad (reporting mark RFP) was a railroad connecting Richmond, Virginia, to Washington, D.C. The track is now the RF&P Subdivision of the CSX Transportation system; the original corporation is no longer a railroad company. The RF&P was a bridge line, with a slogan of "Linking North & South," on a system that stretched about 113 miles.
This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit www.PeriscopeFilm.com

[@reetyul88]

Boy, what a trip down memory lane! Put me right back in the right hand seat again. The Glory Days of railroading.

[@prsearls]

I really like watching these old films. I probably saw some of them in grade school. They portray a more simple, uncomplicated life which was not reality. Every age has its own set of problems and concerns we tend to forget as we struggle with our present ones. America was certainly different in 1954.

[@user-mr3ct1dm9p]

You mean, better.

[@Frida3728]

No better. Different, the 1950s had wars, pink scares, labor wars

[@3xfaster]

This is amongst the most mature comments I’ve seen on a video, kudos to you sir.

[@irish89055]

Those films were very much reality

[@user-ii6rl1vs5p]

Railfans should take notice of this film, it's that good. Nice preservation work, PeriscopeFilm.

[@therealxunil2]

I’m watching it. That’s notice right?

[@johnkoval1898]

“6000 horses all there in his left hand”. My heart is STILL pounding!

[@tomhowe1510]

Twice that in a nitro funny car.

[@jim7544]

Five guys in the crew!

[@kelvintorrence5994]

No any more the cheap cheap railroads dont want the 2 they have now,they want no manned trains to

[@asteroidrules]

Significantly more than you see nowadays. The biggest railroads run crews of just two, when they don't automate fully, unless they need to bring in extra engines for steep hills where they'll have an extra couple pair onboard.

[@RILEYLEIFSON_UTAH]

​@kelvintorrence5994 No, they don't. Not trains on the mainline anyway. Every UP train runs with a crew. My friend is an Engineer for UP here in Utah. He's got a DAMN GOOD job. Them boys got it made in the shade and are VERRRY well compensated for their work. Sorry...But exactly ZERO "automated" fully loaded coal trains are running down (or up) the canyon, along Hwy. 6 from Helper through Thistle, Spanish Fork and North to SLC.👌🏻 That's one of the steepest and most dangerous passes in the entire U.S. and you'd better have your game face on when you climb aboard and take the reigns.💯 Those trains will never be automated. My buddy says: "If you can bring a fully loaded coal train down THAT canyon and not let it get away from ya... You're good to run any load, on any stretch of line anywhere in the country."

[@thejerseyj5479]

​@RILEYLEIFSON_UTAH Very good to hear that there are still railroad men doing what must be a fabulous job. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a railroad engineer. What little boy hasn't at one time or another?

[@RILEYLEIFSON_UTAH]

@@thejerseyj5479 Yessirr.👍🏻 We've got some good ol boy railmen who kept/keep the world turning, here in our neck of the woods. I'm so jealous of what he (they) get to do. I ask 'em all sorts of questions like a wide-eyed 5 year old would... and STILL get that feeling I did as a kid, every single time I see a train anywhere! Without fail. I'm also blessed to know and be friends with several men who are 1-2 generations wiser than my 40 yr. old (still a pup) self. Men that are my late father and granddaddy's age who retired from UP after 25-50 years of railroading, back in the good ol days. Shout out to some local UP Legends: - Mr. George Jones. Salem, UT. (Ret) - Andy Ottesen. Salem, UT. (Ret) - Glade Collard. Salem, UT. (Ret) - Zach Forebush. Spanish Fork, UT. 🛤 🚂🚃🚃🚃🚃🇺🇲💨

[@PatrickW-rx1mm]

My Dad, I still miss him, drove trains for 40 years with the ACL, Seaboard Coastline. Started in 1938 retired in 1978. What a guy. They didn't call him "Sport" without reason.

[@irish89055]

Probably within a quarter mile of where I'm sitting ..the CSX Mainline, Florida to Richmond is right down the street

[@1208bug]

A Rail fan's delight!

[@eddieafterburner]

5:57 Fascinating, if you don’t fill the milk tanker up completely, it magically becomes a butter tanker by the time you get to the other terminal

[@jacksons1010]

But you can’t get it out of the tank. 😂

[@ToBeAnnounced2024]

They told the story, used the camera.. understood. 👌 Easy to watch. Doesn't even matter what they're saying.

[@bmingo2828]

Holy white noise!

[@vancepomerening4794]

Richmond Fredericksburg and Potomac train gets humped at Potomac Yard (Pot 9:52 in Alexandria, Virginia. A set of Baltimore and Ohio F-units takes over for a trip north. Guessing that is either Baltimore or Philadelphia as the terminus. Interesting to see milk cars as they would soon dissappear from the railroad scene.

[@vancepomerening4794]

Meant to say (Pot Yard)

[@asteroidrules]

I'm guessing the locomotives are either F3 or F7 units, although I'm not sure which. The number board on the lead says 692 but according to the B&O's roster that number should belong to a GP9.

[@toolsteel8482]

Really nice A-B-B-A set of locomotives. I’m surprised to see bulk milk tank cars, didn’t think they had these. The joint rail seems always so well maintained in these days. R F& P, linking North and South. Thanks periscope again for a nice film of historical heritage.

[@paulwest3905]

Nice find guys! Appreciate your efforts to preserve these.

[@Jack-xo2zp]

I think the switching yard at the beginning is Potomac Yard, which is in Alexandria, VA, along US 1. All the tracks were removed in 1982 except for the through tracks. Several large strip shopping centers were built there in the 1990s, and Jack Kent Cooke, owner of the Washington Redskins, tried to move the team there to a new stadium in the 90s, but failed. Just recently, Governor Glenn Youngkin of VA and Ted Leonsis, owner of the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals, tried to move both teams to a new stadium at Potomac Yard, but the Democrats stopped that move. The area keeps striking out for a sports team.

[@irish89055]

I remember when I lived in Arlington in the early sixties seeing that busy Freight yard there.. seeing cars that were pushed over the hump often with the New York Central Railroad logo on it

[@billsimpson604]

Imagine the ice they needed every day to keep those cars cool during the summer in the USA. Now they have individual refrigeration units. I bet they never imagined that people anywhere could watch the trains zoom by in real time in color in La Plata, Missouri on the internet from their living room. Except for continuous welded rails, most things haven't changed very much. Someday they might be using electric power. But that will take a while. Containers changed the world of shipping and lowered the cost of shipping a lot. No globalization without containers. They are probably the simplest thing to change the world since the wheel. And it was all caused by traffic jams along the East Coast.

[@annpeerkat2020]

1:16 "when he's not working, he drives a small car" showing man getting out of an auto the size of a small freightcar.

[@misterwhipple2870]

Looked like a '52 Chevy. That was a very practical car for the time.

[@aberdeenbranch]

@@misterwhipple2870 Chrysler product, probably a Plymouth. Might have the optional radio and heater, but almost certainly a three-on-the-tree shift.

[@misterwhipple2870]

@@aberdeenbranch You're right. I did not look closely enough. It's probably a '52, but definitely a Mopar. Thanks for keeping me straight.

[@joelmoyer2462]

Followed by, "He's working today." Meaning he is driving the "big car" aka the locomotive.

[@navinrjohnson5047]

All of these guys were 40 yrs old

[@ronaldvrooman9695]

Nearly all of them were 55-65 years old.

[@azmike1]

Incredible Technology. Even back then. Great stuff! Too bad we couldn't return to such efficiency. Life was good then.

[@OldsVistaCruiser]

I guess that roller bearings hadn't taken over yet. I remember seeing a 1949 animated cartoon made by Timken touting the advantages of roller bearings. It was called "Big Tim."

[@robbrown3519]

They were all Hyatt journal boxes. Don't think Timken was used yet.

[@keonikaig9247]

Well done 👌 Thank you 🤠

[@dragonmeddler2152]

I grew up in a Santa Fe town. Topeka. The T in A,T&SF. I think in the 1950s, half the town worked for or were related to someone who was employed at either the Santa Fe corporate offices downtown or at the shops, located in the Oakland neighborhood. The rest of our town were out at the Air Force base, where they flew the beautiful B-47, 24 hours a day. It was a great place to be if you loved trains and airplanes like me.

[@gusfring9895]

Nice to see some Potomac Yard footage! The audio quality was a little dodgy, as if the film reels got a little too close to a magnet large enough to disturb the sound recording.

[@65gtotrips]

@1:09 Murphy drives a ‘small’ car ? Cars back then were anything but small ! 😊

[@stanpatterson5033]

Murph left his window down, too. Hope it didn't rain while he was gone.

[@joelmoyer2462]

Only when he's not working. Today he is working [driving the "big car" or locomotive].

[@manhoot]

Talk about carrying the freight!

[@horacerumpole6912]

Great film!!!

[@truckerkevthepaidtourist]

Oh there's a classic fallen flag right there at the RFP

[@Slithey7433]

This film was surprisingly interesting! 👍🏻😊

[@robertmckeever6910]

Title said RF&P, but the main train in the film was B&O!

[@jz1340]

Featherbedding...Fireman on a diesel electric engine. Gone today along with the brakeman.

[@CAROLDDISCOVER-FINDER2525]

Move 80 ft and caboose not moved yet. Big George. Before my time but sure sounds nice when you can make a big thing out of something that we probably don't even think about nowadays. News back then..

[@lwilton]

And if Murphy was sloppy, he was up to 10 MPH in those 80 feet. That meant the caboose went from 0 to 10 MPH instantly when the slack came out, and everyone in it fell over. Then Murphy got a good talking to by his conductor at the next stop. Proper slack management, especially on passenger and mixed freight, was a real art, and something the engineer needed to think about.

[@breakalegfpv9532]

things were built right back then. .

[@antoniocareddu4094]

bellissimo video grazie.

[@J_Calvin_Hobbes]

thumb 👍

[@eddieafterburner]

9:56 As this was filmed between Richmond and DC, I’m wondering if that was the Auto Train just after it left Lorton

[@ivertranes2516]

The Auto Train wouldn't appear for another 29 years.

[@tomhowe1510]

Shoestring and Stobe mighta road on one of these.

[@user-op9ig5ox7i]

Ага особенно сейчас в Америке поезда очень хорошо ездят и без железной дороги, но только недалеко)

[@gvalley07]

Where's all the graffiti on the cars?!

[@johnkoval1898]

No graffiti and no tattoos. A much more wholesome society back then.

[@lwilton]

@@johnkoval1898 Plenty of tattoos. On sailors, for the most part. And men. Tattooed ladies were very scarce. If you saw someone with tattooed arms, you could virtually bet he was a Navy man. By the 60s tattoos had somewhat gone out of style, then in the late 60s onward they came back with a vengeance.

[@raylrodr]

I hate grafitti on freight cars.

[@patricktierney4392]

Spray paint had been invented, but was just starting to catch on.

[@George-tz1cv]

This was filmed back when people still found the time to raise their kids teaching them right from wrong.

[@mbart5113]

I’m not surprised about the modern North American Baltimore And Ohio Railroad long sturdy streamlined diesel electric freight trains.

[@MrMega360noscope]

Big George’s ladies

[@andrewlaverghetta715]

Ugh. That was “cringe” as the kids call it.

[@Nicks66Service]

How many crew in '54 compared to the 2 today?

[@lwilton]

Original crew in steam era was engineer, fireman, conductor, front and rear brakemen. As time went on the brakemen were dropped (because air brakes came along), then the fireman was dropped (because there was no fire to tend), leaving just the conductor and engineer. Then the caboose was dropped in place of a FRED or "rear end device" that transmitted rear brake pressure indication to the cab of the lead engine, and the conductor now rides in the fireman's position on a freight. On a passenger train he rides back in a passenger car.

[@switchman12]

high ball

[@lwilton]

"Highball" = "clear track". The original train signal was a large red ball that was hoisted when the track was clear and it was safe to move. Thus "high ball" meant "go". The ball signal disappeared almost instantly, to be replaced with several other types. But the "high ball" concept stuck, and was concatenated to just "highball".

[@DMBall]

Very diplomatic, calling the fireman the "assistant engineer." It took the railroads decades of contract negotiations to get rid of these do-nothing nobodies after diesel engines took over.

[@thomasklimchuk441]

Then in the 1970s, the railways had a brain fart when they realized their engineers started to retire

[@misterwhipple2870]

The unions fought to the death to keep those feather-bedding old geezers in those jobs, but the handwriting was on the wall! When GM rolled out the Diesels in '39, it was a matter of time!!!!!!!!

[@frankmarkovcijr5459]

There is no point to have a fireman on a diesel locomotives. This is why they wanted to kill steam locomotives but they were not able to eliminate the position. C&O wanted to buy what was left of the Erie Lakawana RR but the unions demanded 6 people crew. Subway 🚇 trains only had 1 person in the cab. Same for street cars. If the RR knew that they would have to have fireman on diesels they would have kept steam locomotives. Many RR went broke from dieselization. Branch lines that were profitable with old cast off steam locomotives became unprofitable haveing to pay for the cost of a $250,000 locomotives when the job was performed by a$5,000 steam locomotives sent to scrap yards. Derelict steam locomotives sat in scap yards for decades as their previous owners slid into bankruptcy. Poetic justice ⚖️!

[@brucegordon4992]

At about 7:45 the narrator says the locomotive goes 80 feet before the caboose moves. If my elementary school math skills are holding that would be a bit more than 7.5 inches per car with 125 cars. Anyone happen to know how accurate that is?

[@garysprandel1817]

Remember hearing something about 6 inches of slack per coupler as a rule of thumb not counting for the modern hydroshock/cushion draft gear that would start showing up 10ìsh years later from when this film was made that could add more slack travel. Over a hundred cars 80 feet might have been a conservative estimate.

[@chrisdaigle3588]

That's Jason Robards narrating the film! Knew that sounded familiar!

[@wardy98px1]

Notch 8

[@chillydawgg4354]

How come we don't use trains for freight as much anymore? Trucks seem less efficient

[@joelmoyer2462]

Trains are for hauling. Trucks are for delivering. Unfortunately, trains can only go where the rails are laid and in bulk to be efficient. 100 single trucks can go anywhere at any time. The unit trains and intermodal hotshots on "through" runs still make sense. The way freights delivering to every town along the way, not so much. There's a lot of inefficiency -- equating to time -- in handling peddler freight. 50 years ago it was "please allow 4 to 6 weeks for delivery." Now it is "delivery guaranteed by tomorrow if you order before 3 pm." Trains can't compete with that.

[@davenone7312]

Odd number going west even going east. What about north or south?

[@lwilton]

All railroads in the US were laid out east-west, no matter what direction the track actually ran. For instance, on the SP, San Francisco was the west-most station on the line. So if you were on a train from an Diego to SF, you were going railroad west, even though it was pretty much geographic north. Tracks going north or south were assigned as east or west by convention on each railroad.

[@rogerkujawastrainsandplane5772]

North was typically even south was odd. Not all railroads were east and west. IC had both east west and north south. www.multimodalways.org/docs/railroads/companies/ICG/ICG%20ETTs/ICG%20MO%20Div%20ETT%20%231%202-14-1974.pdf

[@frankmarkovcijr5459]

Railroads built America giving good job that were who you were. You were a railroader . Back when we're were a prosperous country. Safe cities and safe schools.USA was great in black and white. No welfare states . No millions of illegals getting handouts from the government. We are now circling the toilet 🚽 and going down.😢😢

[@na63fets]

Wonderful. Films like this give a valuable insight into how automated and computerized processes were organized by hand and with a lot of intelligence back then. A real source for studying the history of technology.

[@davenone7312]

Now these modern trains employ only one person and have no caboose.

[@lwilton]

Two. Conductor is still there on US trains. He rides in the cab along with the engineer on a freight, in a passenger car on a passenger train.

[@xusmico187]

free rolling cars? an OSH geek just had a stroke

[@lwilton]

Hump yards still work exactly that same way today. The only difference is a computer is operating the switches and retarders.

[@joegoldman3065]

It was nice to see how many black people were employed by the railroad driving the trains

[@horacerumpole6912]

Ignorant remark-

[@TheLocoUnion]

No graffiti on any car!!

[@lwilton]

Graffiti wasn't completely unheard-of back then, but it was almost always done in chalk, and washed off by itself in the next rain.

[@tuffguy428]

Anybody in this film under than 70?

[@OldsVistaCruiser]

The film itself is 70 in 2024!

[@misterwhipple2870]

Nope. Those guys started running trains for General Sherman.

[@OldsVistaCruiser]

​@@misterwhipple2870- The conductor had 40 years under his belt. That means that he hired on in 1914.

[@misterwhipple2870]

@@OldsVistaCruiser I know that, I was exaggerating by about 50 years. It was a joke.

[@Cici_Dial]

I saw no graffiti on the cars. I suppose the demographic that produces graffiti "artists" was still under control in 1954 and did not dare deface the trains.

[@uuuultra]

😏😏😏

[@PeeFunnel]

Damn

[@lwilton]

Almost correct. The big difference was the nonexistence of the rattle can. There were hobos in those days (we would now call them homeless), and they would occasionally mark the sides of train cars. But the most common way to do this was chalk, and that would quickly wash off in the rain. Also, railroads had car wash facilities in those days, and again, the car washer would wash off chalk graffiti.

[@danielfantino1714]

And kids run toward the train to see it. Now.......

[@misterwhipple2870]

They had Railroad Police then, and they diiiiid nottttttttt plaaaaay! If they caught you, they could literally get away with murder, and noooooooobody gave a f*ck, and you had absolutely nooooooooo rights! So stay the f*ck off the railroad! Hoboes were in mortal danger, both from the railroad police and from each other. Besides, spray-paint was very rare and expensive!

[@bertprohaska1236]

Anthropomorphing and sexualizing trains is a little harsh on modern ears.

[@misterwhipple2870]

Political Correctness is VERY harsh on OLD ears!

[@horacerumpole6912]

Go have yourself a good cry...

[@joelmoyer2462]

Reading comments from poosies getting triggered by grammatical constructs is annoying. I bet the OP would be perfectly fine if some blue-haired 12-year-old twit on TikTok said she identified as cake as her gender.

[@johnjackson8401]

Yep, no graffiti. The country was booming in 1954.

[@joelmoyer2462]

If I recall my history correctly, the country was in a recession about that time during the Eisenhower administration. [Eisenhower had pulled out of Korea, causing job losses in the military-industrial complex, which he warned about in his farewell address. The deeper "Eisenhower Recession" came in 1957-58. There's a couple reasons why America is constantly at war. One is economics. The other is Congress has more "war time" powers than they do in peace time.]

[@johnjackson8401]

@joelmoyer2462 You need to re-recall your history. Yes, there was a recession in 1954, but the country still had a solid manufacturing base, steel making, aluminum making, energy independent, and the dollar was backed by silver. Today, the dollar is a "Federal Reserve Note'" that is backed by paper IOU because Congress created more dollars in order to spend more dollars. In addition, in 1954, Social Security was a true trust fund. Today, Social Security is in the "general fund" which means Congress now borrows from it (bankrupts it) regularly. And in 1954 we had a real President who did not have dementia and was laser focused on our national security. I will take 1954 with our borders secure even with its recession any day over 2024 with an over 30 trillion dollar national debt. Once again, re-recall your history with no political blinders.

[@joelmoyer2462]

@@johnjackson8401 I'm not the one making assumptions with political blinders. Reading comprehension might indicate that I'm not a Democrat by me mentioning Ike had *warned* about the military industrial complex. That would be before a certain political party tried to invade Cuba then sent troops in an "advisory capacity" to Vietnam to [try to] clean up France's mess. Would I love to have the Eisenhower mindset with modern technology? You bet. But I'm not going to gloss over history simply because I like Ike. He did the right thing disengaging from "perpetual war" for the country's benefit. Notwithstanding an economic downturn in 1953-54 as we pulled out of Korea or the sharper recession in 57-58. We weren't fully on the idiotic Keynesian sinking ship of inflation yet. Another video of a train wreck talked about the $60,000 cleanup costs of a train wreck from this time period really illuminates the effects of rampant inflation during the terms of that certain political party (Carter, 1st 2 years of Clinton until Republicans controlled Congress for the first time in decades, Obama, and Biden). I could have bought a whole train of goods in 1954 with my disposable income from 2024. But there are idiots who think $20 / hrs for flipping burgers is a good idea because they can't pay their rent on $15/hr. Still, the country was in a downturn in the 50s. Railroading especially. Dieselization wasn't because the railroads saw diesels as the inevitable future. It was mostly financial. Diesel was cheaper than coal and cleaner. They were dropping passenger service to save money. As much as we like to romanticize the 1950s (and there are reasons to), we can't ignore that it wasn't *all* lemonade on the front porch at sunset listening to the community band playing in the park gazebo.

[@notlisted-cl5ls]

grandma had a hot box.