RAILROADIN' 1940s HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF RAILROADS IN THE UNTED STATES 49364

“Railroadin’” is a 1941 documentary on the development of railroads in the United States. The color educational film, produced in conjunction with the US Departments of War and Interior and the Association of American Railroads (AAR), gives an overview of the history and operation of railroads in the United States. (The AAR is an industry trade group representing primarily the major freight railroads of North America that works to improve the efficiency, safety and service of the railroad industry.) A steam locomotive engine chugs along at mark 01:15 followed by a swift passenger train before the narrator explains life among early settlers, who were forced to travel by foot or with a animal power. News of a railroad was met with opposition at first, as a re-enacted scene plays out starting near mark 03:00. “Folks were never meant to go that fast,” one character laments. But those folks soon forgot their fears, and by the mid-1800s railroads became an integral part of the United States as “steel ribbons brought life to the open plains.” The film stresses the important role railroads play in the Great Lakes regions as steel ore is shown being loaded into train cars (mark 04:30), as well as its importance to the steel industry in the upper Midwest and East Coast (mark 06:00). Trains also are used as troop transports (mark 06:38) as companies of men are shown marking along tracks to awaiting cars, as well as transporting everything from cattle to coal across the country.There are numerous scenes from a railroad yard starting at mark 09:48 as the film shows operations and behind-the-scenes” action the general public was not normally able to view. By mark 13:25, the viewer is shown how whether it is a sandstorm, flood, or snowstorm that the rails almost always remain open. It is also explained (starting at mark 16:10) how the implementation of time zones across the US aided travel. As it moves on, the film fills the screen with scenic images from across the country while the narrator explains how train travel gives passengers access to such wonders - in ease and comfort.
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