St Louis & Midwest in Film

This is sort of a companion and sequel to the "Chicagoland in Film" video I posted last month. Largely composed from the Red Moser collection, the first segment details his trip on the final B&O trains from DC to Cincinnati to St Louis. Then we have scenes from both Red and myself, in and around St Louis including Union Station both pre- and post-Amtrak, TRRA and the Manufacturers Railway. I had some Phil Elder clips of the Midwest I put together for part 3, then the final part is Red's return from the Chicago trip in 1974 via St Louis and then to Harrisburg. Sounds are from my video collection with a few assists from Arkay Records' diesel recordings. Thanks also to Walt Berko of Railroad Video for the Phil Elder clips.

[@johnsimms6184]

My dad would have loved this video, he worked for the TRRA right after WWII.

[@pgronemeier]

THIS WAS THE BEST 40MINS I'VE EVER SPENT ON KZbin!! EVERYTHING RAILROAD IN THE 70's!!!! (As dirty and dilapidated as it was...) A MILLION Thumbs-Ups!

[@rockywood4958]

Awesome footage! Very cool to see all the variety. I was born in 97 so I never got to experience all the variety of different railroads of the past but it’s cool that we can still watch that from films.

[@drby0788]

I live in Colukbus,Ohio. We used to have a train station downtown called Union Station, and it looked and resembled alot like St. Louise's station did(from what I've gathered from pics). High St ran over top of it, so you entered at street level, then went down below to board the trains. Sadly, it was torn down in 1977 over some controversy with the city. They saved an arch from it, and put it in a park with a Plaque. It was designed with an art deco style, which was one of only two art deco style buildings in the city. A real shame the city lost that building.

[@miker2002]

2:14 -- Meanwhile, at the Hall of Justice...

[@johncox2284]

I have a copy of a TRRA employees timetable from 1929. At that time there was a move in and out of St Louis Union Station every 5 minutes round the clock.

[@vindictivetiger]

Those platforms in DC at the beginning of this video are still there and still look like that. I remember the trains coming down Wharf street way back in the day (and it will always be Wharf Street, not Eleanor K Sullivan Blvd to a true St. Louisian native.) We used to be able to park for free and enjoy the breezes of a summer evening down there.

[@trussell8510]

This is wonderful. The colors, the logos the slogans of the fallen flags all on parade. So much more color and variety than the bland unit trains of today. Very happy that someone captured it on film.

[@admydragon]

Holy crap! You can see the L&N's "cone" yard at 6:42. Quite the rarity.

[@WAL_DC-6B]

Wonderful, nostalgic, early 1970s St Louis area railroad and local sites home movies. I especially like the first part with the B&O/C&O's last passenger train from Washington D.C. to St. Louis. A little bit of a film version of the book, "Journey to Amtrak." Thanks for sharing!

[@littlebitseaton2925]

nice to see vintage films and someone who takes the time to enhance film and add sound. great job!!!

[@alcopower5710]

Outstanding work putting this together. Lots to like as usual. Think my favorite might be at 4:00......although lots of great Santa Fe and Amtrak footage as well as everything around St Louis (I live close by in Alton, IL).

[@jamessneed8789]

This was a very good video I love the details of it. The only sad part was an empty Union station with weeds growing all around it. And I'm glad you had Manufactured railroad and Terminal railroad . Consider me a new subscriber I'm gonna enjoy the rest of the videos that you have up.

[@modeltrainsandtracks]

Thank you, an excellent look back in time and worth every second! I know there are folks out there with old snatched film from the 60s and 70s like this (my Dad used to shoot them here in the UK) and they tell us so much about how things were - they're wonderful!

[@erikmcc804]

Thank you ever so much. it brought back memories of St Louis Union Station. omg i really enjoyed it and Thanks again :-) and amazing images of the Arch and the river front :-)

[@peterhanahoe4913]

This is phenomenal, mind you, not so good for anyone who is loyal to just one RR. I could not guess what was coming next, great variety and a fantastic job of the sound track.

[@chrisg7160]

Very cool video!!

[@allegheny48]

Thanks so much for putting all this together along with the added sound effects. It was good to see all the pre-AMTRAK passenger trains along with the magnificent big city train stations. This video has a little bit of everything. Thanks again.

[@hartmutlorentzen9659]

A wonderful video, Thanks for the presentation, from Germany

[@fmnut]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@WRProductions]

This is fantastic. Thank you for posting.

[@tommythomason6187]

Priceless - every second of it, and glad it was long. I especially enjoyed the big, inner-city passenger terminal scenes at trackside. Wish someone had caught footage of such operations like that in Atlanta during that period. We had two downtown stations; Union Station (L&N, Georgia Railroad) and the larger, Spanish Mission-styled Terminal Station nearby. It hosted Southern Railway System, Atlanta & West Point and Seaboard Coast Line trains. Both bit the dust in 1972.

[@fmnut]

I will be working on a similar video for Atlanta and Birmingham once I am done with some current projects. The film quality is not as good as this video, but still worth doing. Thanks for watching.

[@tommythomason6187]

@@fmnut I'll be watching them when you post them. Don't know if you have Station footage, but that Moorish looking Birmingham Terminal Station was a sight to behold. So was the one that sat on a 4-acre plot of downtown Atlanta real estate. Both Union and Terminal Stations got down at the heels in their later years, but many there were very displeased over Terminal Station's demolition.

[@kittiemuffins6609]

Very unusual and varied perspectives. Quite enjoyable.

[@vettebecker1]

Love the E &F unit locomotives

[@tommythomason6187]

Read in Trains Magazine' Amtrak anniversay issue years ago, that Amtrak put all of their acquired E units through a rebuilding program. Article stated that Amtrak approached EMD about building an, "E10" unit, but that the carbody blueprint had been thrown away, making production costs prohibitive. The Rainbow Era was fascinating but some of the trains I rode then were in rough shape - nothing like the Southern Railway passenger trains "Piedmont," and, "Southern Crescent." Penn Central had such a plethora of E units that, despite the railroad's poor physical condition, it was likely by default that they had so many in good enough shape that Amtrak bought them.

[@fmnut]

Not sure that ALL Amtrak's E's were rebuilt, the ones that were lost their portholes and there were a few HEP conversions which lasted into the early 80's, 2 went to BM&R and 2 to Conrail and later Bennett Levin. As to the templates for the classic "bulldog" nose being "lost", I think that's a bit of railfan lore that found its way into print. EMD's licensee Clyde in Australia built the CLP/CLF class locos for Commonwealth Railways in 1969-1970. These were effectively SD40's under the cowl, and resembled an SDP40F with a classic bulldog nose. If EMD had been really serious about doing the job, they could have gotten the templates from Clyde even if the originals had been discarded. It was just easier and probably more profitable to discourage the more complicated construction and push the SDP40F on Amtrak instead. As to Amtrak "buying" PC's E units, it wasn't really a purchase. Railroads joining Amtrak had to either contribute cash or equipment equal to half the road's passenger losses for 1970. Since PC at that point was cash strapped, I'm sure they scraped the bottom of the barrel for the units in the worst condition, keeping the better ones for the commuter services they were still required to operate.

[@tommythomason6187]

@@fmnut Did not know a lot of that. I stand corrected. The article mentioned that many would be surprised, considering Penn Central's aged locomotives, and the general poor shape they were in, that Amtrak had so many of them.

[@fmnut]

@@tommythomason6187 That's because PC had by far the largest number of both trains and routes going into Amtrak. Pre-Amtrak PC had 73 trains that were either absorbed or discontinued, while the next largest was BN with 20. The average number of trains for the rest joining was around 7. That's not route mileage, just daily train starts. The western roads had far longer routes, but fewer trains on them. Because of this, PC's annual 1970 losses were far greater than those of the other roads combined, and therefore PC's contribution of equipment was proportionally higher than anyone else's.

[@tommythomason6187]

@@fmnut Yes, indeed. Like I said, Amtrak got lots of PC units by default because of the road's sheer size. And, Amtrak must have been aware of their physical condition, too, in, at least, some of the locomotives they accepted, because when Southern Railway System offered the passenger railroad all 17 of it's E8s, Amtrak balked - dubious of the condition of the high-mileage units.

[@colemanerik]

Nice seeing Cincinnati! Wish they wouldn't have torn down so much of the concourse for the rail yard.

[@jimikrentkowski4073]

Classic!

[@straightto8]

I don’t keep up on latest railway happenings, what became of the Manufacturers Railway? Great video, love all the old film, thanks for sharing.

[@fmnut]

The MRS as a common carrier was shut down by Anheuser Busch in 2011 due to a shift in traffic to trucks and no remaining outside rail customers. The remaining in-plant switching operations and the rail equipment went to Foster Townsend Rail Logistics, a non-common carrier contract operator.

[@straightto8]

@@fmnut Thamk you sir, if anyone would know, I figured it’d be you! I will say they sure had a snappy looking paint scheme.

[@imacgra1]

30:30 I don't recognise that kind of loco! Looks like a GE but what model? Gotta add this: I'm not American, but seriously, this video shows so much of the country that most of the world never sees. The rough industrial power, but then right at the end, the country those AMTRAK trains go through give us just a glimpse of a seriously beautiful place. You don't get that contrast on TV or in the tourist brochures. Well up on my long "to visit" list for the trains (so different now!) and the place.

[@fmnut]

It's a GE U30CG. Only made for ATSF, they were GE's attempt to compete with EMD's FP45 in the passenger market to replace aging E and F units. Only 6 were built. They only lasted 2 years in passenger service before a derailment suspected to be caused by their high speed tracking qualities led to their demotion to freight service as seen here. A similar fate befell Amtrak's SDP40F's a decade later when derailments suspected to have been caused by the HTC truck led to their banning by some railroads.

[@imacgra1]

@@fmnut cheers mate.

[@videothen]

i'd love to see the locations and passenger trains in Part #3 identified.

[@fmnut]

So would I. Unfortunately the photographer is long gone and I don't have a clue.

[@314birdstudios7]

Hello I am looking for permission to use a couple of shots from this video in my up coming documentary.

[@fmnut]

Feel free to use what you want.

[@314birdstudios7]

@@fmnut May I email you a video release form giving me written permission to use, its required working on film.

[@fmnut]

@@314birdstudios7 yes. fmnut "at" msn.com

[@314birdstudios7]

@@fmnut Thank you again!

[@davehughesfarm7983]

Dang wish I could go back and I wasnt even born till 1975