The 16mm Railroad Movies of John M. Prophet III

[@redrock717]

Listening to John talk makes me realize how blessed I am. As a railfan, having a dad who was a locomotive engineer for 40 years is something. The stories I get to hear are mostly amazing.

[@paulbookbinder4899]

Being a rail fan, a steam fan in particular, and a native of Buffalo NY, this is the holy grail of train videos to me. Thank you for saving and sharing this

[@haroldwilkes6608]

John Prophet...A legacy worthy of sharing with posterity. Thank you.

[@LivingwithSteam]

It certainly. But the more I dig into John's work, I come across other career railfans that were making recordings and films exactly like how John was. So much more content coming soon.

[@taofledermaus]

Very enjoyable. I felt like was sitting in the living room with you.

[@rsc9520]

Me too !!!

[@cavemanballistics6338]

WOW I am 62 now and tried to get a job on the RR the first 30yrs of my life. I love the RR now as much as ever and suck up everything i can watch or read. This has to be on of the best collections ever. The time you spent with this kind man was truly a gift. I can't thank you enough for sharing your special moment in time with such interesting human being.

[@HunterLohseRRVideos]

May I say I have watched this maybe 100 times over, I am in my late 20s, and volunteer as a railroad archivist preserving 8mm, Super 8mm, and 16mm movies of railroads, and am making videos now in hopes of being part of the next generation of vintage railroad video. The encapsulates the thrill that we all who are into it have had. Talking to the guys who actually shot the footage giving you all the info needed that no one else could, seeing something spectacular you know not many others have seen, and knowing that film was actually there when what you are seeing was all actually happening, it truly feels like going back in time. Funny thing is, Herron was actually a huge inspiration for doing what Im doing now. As someone who is doing the exact same work that you are doing, and a listener of your podcast, all this material is excellent, and I appreciate you putting this out there!

[@LindaShafto]

You have a Wonderful prize there . I wished I taped my Dad back in the Day .. He Loved the Work he did on the Trains and Taking us kid to Barnegat … He work on the Trains as an Engineer at Earle for 25 years .. miss him

[@whereisthedollar]

Oh boy, I have too stop and look up Church street in Buffalo to see what it is today. Don't know why, but your commentary sure had the eyes tear up. Great post, Thanks.

[@LivingwithSteam]

Yep. Just stand at the corner of Bingham and Church and look toward City Hall. Ignore WKBW's building. Everything else is almost the way John saw it.

[@asullivan4047]

Bank robber " Pretty Boy 👦 " Floyd resided 825-Delaware st. Fall to call ( 1933 thru 1934 ). Wonder if he took time to visit Niagara falls -???😲.

[@georgesealy4706]

Wow, this is a treasure. Glad that you recorded your evening with him. This era was just a little before my time. When I was really little there were steam engines that I saw. Passenger service to my hometown in southwestern PA had just ended. However, the remnants still existed. There was a passenger station in my town along with a loading station. The station is still there, but it has been converted to a library.

[@louGriggs1944]

Wonderful. So glad there are people like you and John Prophet III around to preserve these scenes. Thank you.

[@LivingwithSteam]

So much more to come. Thanks for watching.

[@abrahamaig544]

BEAUTIFUL!!!

[@SteamKing2160]

really enjoyed the video and really happy to own the herron rail dvd's that feature john m prophet III's railroad movies I hope the ones shown here that aren't on the herron rail dvds (like the NYC passenger train at Buffalo's church street) will be used in future herron rail videos

[@jessicasmith6275]

This is awesome in so many ways. I'm a fourth generation railroader from western Pa. I'm an engineer/train buff/hillbilly historian. This my woman's account. Thank you so much for sharing this man with us. And I rode Amtrak recently from Pa to Texas. At least 80 Or so Amish the whole way. They were on a family vacation just riding the train....

[@RTWest-kn5fr]

Wow! You had me right from 'the git-go! I was born in Buffalo, NY 9 December 1949. From about 6 years old my dad, to relax and escape the pressure of his work day, would take me about 6 miles from where we lived in the western edge of the Village of Hamburg, New York, down towards Lake Erie, and his favorite spot to view the trains going south out of Buffalo, to cities and towns along the lake and typically to end in Chicago. What a different world back then! This brings back so many memories. Gracias por tu video. RT sends, envía, Colonia Centro Histórico, Puebla, México...

[@stephenesposito6885]

Thanks for putting the video and John's narration together! What a treasure! It was a thrill to watch this, especially seeing the couple of sequences with the Atlantics! Since John said he was using Kodachrome which was a "positive" film, I'm thinking there wouldn't be an internegative archived? The "copies" might have been done on Ektachrome which would have degraded the way the second film looks in as little as a decade after they were made. Sad they degraded but still wonderful to see.

[@toddpilcher3804]

It doesn't get any better then this !

[@LivingwithSteam]

Thank you so much for your comment. I'm doing all of this as a labor of love and a deep appreciation for John and his accomplishments. It's super nice to know it's appreciated.

[@therealjizzwizz]

I cant wait for someone to restore this footage. The quality's already impeccable

[@LivingwithSteam]

That may happen sooner rather than later. I'm working on trying to obtain John's original negative/print of the Horseshoe Curve footage and will restore it and have it available as soon as it's ready.

[@gregorykayne6054]

Thank you for this! I can't wait see Mr. Prophet's original film! Thanks! My turn to gush, Santa Claus!

[@brookspotts9312]

The Duplex S1 was in particular my favorite part of this with it being on display. Incredible. This footage is and should be archived to avoid any further deterioration. We are lucky that you managed to get narration from the man himself while discussing his videos. These rare snapshots into the daily operations of the PRR are priceless. Rather than looking at old papers, and time tables, we get to physically see how these operations coexisted. Even the fact that horseshoe curve was scaled by an L1, M1, and a T1 which I never knew that the T1's would end up in a triple header, much less a double header. Now looking on at it, seems a funny choice because of their wheel slip problem. I guess if you had it available use it! Thank you for the production and information. This was truly enriching.

[@LivingwithSteam]

John "talking too much" was a blessing. I've had many who knew John tell me it was impossible to shut him up and how he just went on and on without taking a breath. Well, that may have been the case when he was a younger man living the life of a dedicate railfan with others like him. But as the railroad industry started to vanish in Buffalo, and John's fellow enthusiasts began to pass on, the ability for John to "go on and on" needed to happen. NO details were left out... nothing was neglected in telling a story or describing how something worked. I have dozens of hours of recordings of John's voice talking about everything from hamburgers and ice cream, to PRR engines on Horseshoe Curve, to the best place to get slides printed. John visited my wife and I once a week and when we'd be in my kitchen drinking coffee and talking, my poor wife would be in our living gnashing her teeth wishing John would SHUT UP AND TAKE A BREATH so I could get a word in. It was wonderful!

[@kenmunozatmmrrailroad6853]

I’d like to add now that I’ve watched this in its entirety. No need to apologize for enthusiasm- obviously anyone would similarly, showing respect to a man who in his youth, dedicated time and effort to record history which at the time, none of us would’ve predicted the changes coming and the priceless visual history recorded. These gentlemen are leaving us soon. I hope you’re able to do this again with others; simultaneous narration bringing this to life. A bang up job you’ve done and I tip my hat to you!💪🏽👍🏽

[@juanbanzai]

Thanks very much. John was a dear friend of mine and I wanted to do everything possible to get him to talk about what we were watching in his films. Asking the obvious questions really made him open up and talk about his memories. Not only that, I really WAS gushing at some of the footage I was seeing since this was the first time I was seeing these films.

[@jeffshorts6052]

Thank You for doing this. My best friends Dad was a engineer for the PRR. His name was F.Dean Bell. He worked out of Oil City and started during the 1930’s as a fireman. He told us he always had his wife pack extra food for the hobos. The Pennsylvania let them ride. As a result the hobos would tell them where the bad sections of track were. They would send a crew to check it out. True to their word the track was bad. The PRR said it saved them lots and lots of money. So the official’s said let them ride. Glad I found this. I will share it with his son.

[@LivingwithSteam]

I absolutely love "Hobo Stories" no matter the content. I think John only brought up encounters with hoboes if, somehow, the spotting of one riding a train he either photographed or recorded was caught while he and I were reviewing his archival material. Otherwise, I was too overwhelmed with everything else to bring hobos up on my own.

[@grahamsawyer831]

hi from the UK! watching this on a decent size screen... fantastic footage, very good quality upload too. due to our 'toytown' loading gauge we have nothing comparable to the rolling Art Deco mountains (for starters!) in this film. many, many thanks for posting - this is history that deserves being kept alive. thank you sir!

[@LivingwithSteam]

I'm so glad you enjoyed it. I'm always envious of the rail system you have in the UK. Your preservation efforts are top notch.

[@grumbeast]

This is an astonishing film and a wonderful oral history, you should never need to excuse the clear enthusiasm you exhibit in the recording and i have to applaud your foresight in recording the whole evening with John. This kind of artifact is priceless, thankyou so much!

[@bobpaulino4714]

Great presentation. Amazing memory and narration. What a wealth of information. Thank you so much. Sure beats the bland, uniform wide/ comfort cabs, despite livery, of the locos of today. *** I was told by an old railroader that some of the pans had float systems for refilling once the level dropped. The original, if still viable, should be in a museum if ever found.

[@bezuglich]

The Tyrone Public Library had a copy of the Don Ball book discussed. I know because I checked it out! This must have been in 1999, while teaching at the Greer School in Birmingham (just east of Tyrone). Favorite spot to railfan was Iron Furnace, farther east. This video compilation is stupendous!

[@kiwitrainguy]

I have a copy of the book shown at 1:05:48 and also a copy of the Herron Videos PRR Glory Vol.3 so a lot of this footage is familiar to me. I have watched all of this video except the last bit where John gets "dark". I know that it's closing the stable door after the horse has bolted but when you have a collection that people want to borrow the rule I would follow is to make a copy of what they are interested in and lend them the copy. Always retain your originals.

[@LivingwithSteam]

I agree completely. But perhaps it was a different "world" for the career railfans like John was... where more trust without worry was the norm. A lot of what the guys did was trade resources...ie "send me a tape and I'll make a copy of the activity I recorded at Tower 50." Or, "can you make a copy of the film you shot at Kinzua Bridge back on August 4th 1944..." In this case, it sounds like John was just a tad TOO trusting, which during our conversation" he sadly realized.

[@Gaz3801]

Absolutely stunning video. This is a testament to John M. Prophet for his tireless work and dedication to capturing railway history and what has befallen. The narration is pure magic with clear explanations of each film sequence. A must to watch for any fan of the bygone era of steam, diesel and electric traction. Cheers, Gary.

[@LivingwithSteam]

He was remembering everything down to the last detail. The film I'm going to be releasing the weekend of September 10th features narration by John of a film shot on December 7, 1941 in which he was a passenger. I asked John what the consensus was on board the train when it was announced that Pearl Harbor was bombed. He paused, and rather sheepishly said that he didn't remember because he was too busy looking out of the window at trains. 🙂

[@Gaz3801]

@@LivingwithSteam I'll be looking forward to this film indeed ! Thank you again for sharing some of John's memories with us right across the globe. I bet John would not have thought that his film recordings would reach such a vast audience ! Cheers, Gary.

[@viktordubowskii695]

Thank you very much for the upload. This is worth more than gold. I've never enjoyed a train video, as much as this one. I wish I could go back to that time even if, just for one day. I'm a big Reading fan, I was just 11, when the Reading faded into history but, I remember the Reading very well. Philly VIK 1965.

[@jjjcmo]

Wow! Just wow!

[@jeffjoniec1777]

Wow John is the grandfather of railfanning both my son and I railfan the Harrisburg line and the keystone there are a lot of changes to the area from then I till today. Thank you for sharing the videos

[@tommymartin4827]

What a treat. Thanks for sharing

[@NormanSilver]

THANK YOU! More history being reintroduced to a VERY INTERESTED public

[@concorde2003]

WOW, this is amazing. Thanks for uploading.

[@franzkoviakalak6981]

What an absolute gem. Thanks for sharing.

[@dcarder3336]

Thank you!

[@mr.j2776]

Wow - I have only watched the first 15 minutes, but I feel that I have to comment. I feel as if I am sitting in the living room with good friends or relatives who share a similar interest of mine. So great to see this historic footage - from a time when railroading was perhaps "thriving" compared to later years. Looking forward to watching the rest of it. Thank you for sharing this.

[@LivingwithSteam]

My pleasure. That's how it was for me when I found the tape and played it back... hearing John's voice describing the films which I hadn't heard since 1995.

[@clinthowe7629]

Hey thanks! really is a fine collection.

[@tompPRR8976]

Amazing footage. Thank you for posting. Thank you to John Prophet for making these films and for his vision to co-found the PRR Technical & Historical Society.

[@ericjohnson3746]

Thanks for sharing. I will listen and watch this many many times. Since I was a teenager I have listened to the stories of just about anyone older. Those stories are the spice to whatever histories I focus on. And their memories become part of my collective whole. Wonderful stuff. Thank you.

[@primemoverRR]

What a wonderful historical collection of those trains long gone. Thank you so much for sharing John's movies and the narration with us.

[@LivingwithSteam]

You're very welcome. Another video coming soon.

[@gaborgredely1848]

​@@LivingwithSteam Hatalmas kortörténeti dokumentum. Az amerikai vasút fénykorát mutatja. Itt Európában sok dologban különbözik a vasúti üzem az ottanitól. Sokkal kisebbek.rövidebbek a vonatok. Ha már 2mozdony vontat egy szerelvényt az nagynak számít. A távolságok is kisebbek. Itt 300km már nagynak számít. Köszönöm a feltöltést. Thanks.

[@bluesboyst]

Wow .. Outstanding....

[@scottnyc6572]

You did impeccable work restoring the long lost footage and the fact you have John’s firsthand accounts of all the routes and engines.This is priceless for future generations to enjoy.Thank You!! New subscriber here

[@LivingwithSteam]

Thanks. It's a labor of love to restore these films. Well worth the money spent on the tools needed to clean them up.

[@shakedydogshake]

I absolutely love the J1 & M1 views, Rockville bridge plus The Big Engine, rolling away on the treadmill display!

[@williamlarson3623]

Really nice to see. Thank you! A truly great production here.

[@mdlanor5414]

Back in the Early 60’s my Aunt lived in an apartment that was right next to the tracks a few hundred yards outside the West End of the Gallitzin Tunnels. I’m pretty sure the Gallitzin Post Office was in the bottom floor of her apartment building. When my family would visit her. I always wanted to sleep at her apartment. So I could watch freight trains go by. At night listening to the Freight Trains go by would put me to sleep. As I’m watching this video I see there are some GG-I’s . Steam Locomotives inAltoona, Gallitzin, Horseshoe Curve and many other Rail Lines. Some history of my immediate family. My Great Grandfather was a Locomotive Engineer on the Pennsylvania Railroad, My Dads Mother, her Brothers were Conductors on the Pennsylvania Railroad. My Dad was a Conductor on the Pennsylvania Railroad,Penn Central and NJTRO. My brother was a Conductor on Penn Central Railroad and NJTRO. Two of my dads brothers and one of their brother in law’s were railroaders. I’m a Fourth Generation Railroader Penn Central Railroad and NJTRO. Both of my Sons are Locomotive Engineers on NJTRO and my oldest Grandson is a Conductor on NJTRO. Making him a Sixth Generation Railroader. I hired on the Penn Central as a Fireman at 18 years old on March 19,1974. Went to Locomotive Engineer Training Program in October 1975 until I was Promoted to Locomotive Engineer in July of 1976. I’ll go through my days as a Fireman, from 1974 to 1982. In mid 1974 as a Fireman. My Locomotive Engineer trained me how to operate GG-1’s on passenger trains from South Amboy NJ to Penn Station NYC to Sunny Side Yard Queens NYC. I also worked assignments on mostly E-8’s and some E-7’s on the NY and Long Branch Railroad from South Amboy NJ to Bayhead NJ. After I was promoted to Locomotive Engineer in July 1976. I was instantly demoted back to Fireman. I would get promoted to Locomotive Engineer every July and demoted in August from 1979 thru 1981. I would always get assigned a Penn Station NYC Drill Job. Operated GG-1’s drilling Mail cars and Passenger Coaches on and off thru trains. Or a Drill Job in Sunny Side Yard Queens NYC. When I was demoted I was usually Number 1 thru 5 firemen on the roster in the NY Division from 1976 to December 1981. After I was Promoted and the Demoted. I went to the Washington DC pool from either starting point,Sunny Side Yard Queens NYC or Penn Station NYC to Union Station Washington DC. I worked the Harrisburg Pool on and off to stay qualified and stay familiar with the railroad. In the Washington DC pool, I was on conventional passenger trains until the new Amfleet Coaches were put into service. That is when I bid on a Metroliner assignment. This was when the self propelled Multiple Unit Bud Cars ones were being taken out of service and temporarily replaced with a GG-1, and 3 to 5 brand new Amfleet Coaches,and updated trucks on Mail Cars that were converted to a Diesel engine and a generator. Called Head end power to provide electricity to the new Amfleet Coaches. The GG-1 would easily get up to 100MPH and more. After the AEM-7’s started showing up. I stayed on these Metroliners until I was permanently promoted to Locomotive Engineer in January 1,1982 and went to work for NJTRO. I was assigned a Sunny Side Queens NYC job and operated GG-1’s up until their retirement in October 1983. The GG-1 was by far the most reliable Electric Locomotive I’ve ever operated. You had to be trained on how to operate the GG-1. You couldn’t just jump on it and throttle out like on a diesel locomotive. While operating the GG-1. You had to carefully watch the Amperage Gauges. When first starting, you could only draw maximum 1,500 amps until the locomotive got up between 10 and 15 MPH when the AC traction motors would start. If you look close at the driver wheels that are spoked. There are these rubber cushioned tickler motors. These were used to get the locomotive going until you had enough speed to allow the AC traction motors to kick in. Then you could throttle out up to 2,250 amps. It’s has been almost 40 years since I’ve operated a GG-1. So what I’ve written is based on what I remember of the few years I had the opportunity to operate the GG-1 locomotive.

[@LivingwithSteam]

Thank you so much for sharing this. Yours was truly a railroad family. I've never had the privilege of seeing a GG-1 let alone be inside of one. If I may say so, I'm jealous. I'm relatively certain John Prophet made some recordings of GG-1s, but I can't quite place where he would have done so. I don't have access to his notes at the present time, but I'm thinking perhaps in Philadelphia he captured the GG-1? If he did, I'll be sure to feature them in an upcoming episode of the Living with Steam podcast.

[@mdlanor5414]

@@LivingwithSteam You’re welcome. In the late 90’s. I had the opportunity to operate a Chesapeake and Ohio,Number 614 a J3A 4-8-4 configuration. From Raritan Yard NJ to Hoboken. Took 2 GP-40’s from South Kearney NJ to pull this Steam Locomotive back to Hoboken NJ. When we got to Raritan the Owner of the 614 asked me if I wanted to operate it to Hoboken,pulling the GP-40’s. I said absolutely. The Chief Train Dispatcher was being impatient and wanted the Locomotive in Hoboken as soon as possible. So I just pulled it to Hoboken. I really enjoyed your video and look forward to more. Especially Steam

[@jtveg]

Thanks so much for sharing. 😉👌🏻

[@Zoomer3989]

Excellent vid, would have loved to meet John! Thank you for posting this, it's a real treat to watch

[@markm.j.lewandowskijr1171]

This was a great program to watch there at the banquet and I'm glad that I could see it again here at my own pace. Fantastic job.

[@LivingwithSteam]

Thanks very much, Mark. I was so glad to be able to share the video at the banquet, but even more so now that it's on YT with the additional footage.

[@jet468]

Wow, amazing stuff. Thanks for sharing!

[@grahamsawyer831]

this is fantastic, almost like a time machine. love the 3rd film - all the scenery, people crossing behind the train etc.; particularly like the engines ploughing through the water pans, must have been a sight to see!! many thanks for uploading

[@LivingwithSteam]

With the exception of John, other members of the local chapter of the NRHS felt that PEOPLE were just as important as the train they were gawking at. I'll be featuring many films in the coming months that have people prominently featured... especially the early films from the 1930s.

[@chrisweller5805]

Awesome! Many thanks for preserving these great memories!

[@brandonoconnor1079]

Incredible video!

[@StephenCarlBaldwin]

INCREDIBLE footage. Thanks so much for making this video and sharing it with us. You've given the railfan community a great gift.

[@LivingwithSteam]

My pleasure. I've actually found MORE interviews with John and other members of the NRHS that I was close to back in the mid 90s. Once again, we watched movies while the "experts" narrated. I'm going to be working on those soon.

[@chopperbillintexas5854]

Great NARRATOR voice!! I am a professional broadcaster in Texas, and always notice and enjoy good voices.

[@LivingwithSteam]

Thanks so much for your kind words. It's often hard to simply "narrate" and not sound like I'm reading. Often, I'll go back and recut a narrative because, to me, I think I sometimes sound like someone delivering the news. "Topping tonight's Eyewitness News... Hog Prices are down."

[@bradmcewen]

I'm just a casual rail fan but this is remarkable. Not only the trains but the backgrounds too.The narration being unique in time was actually a respite from the usual sound that you can almost 'hear' anyway ! Nice real life post. 👌

[@LivingwithSteam]

Thanks for watching. More to come.

[@WilliamHBaird-eq2hp]

Wow Buffalo was something else back in the steam days! Even later in the mid 1970-early 1990's when I was young SK, Bison, Tifft Street and Frontier Yard were incredible!

[@wabisabi6875]

Absolutely wonderful! thanks for sharing!

[@harri2626]

A wonderful documentary sequence of the PRR in its heyday, described by an expert railfan. Thanks goodness chaps like John took the time, effort and expense to take these films.

[@LivingwithSteam]

These films prove that he lived this stuff every day. The PRR was his "wife."

[@peteengard9966]

Thank you for preserving these invaluable content.

[@allenctracy6511]

This is special. I knew a lot of the Lehigh valley railroad old timers my father would take me to the veterans meetings and I knew then I should buy a video camera and tape the stories they were telling but I never had the money. Now they are all gone. I went to the funerals to. Life as we knew it is gone and I wonder if this younger generation will even care or will there even be a USA. Times are changing fast. Take care of yourself if you are reading this you know what I mean.

[@WideWorldofTrains]

Good stuff, I was hoping to See Dunkirk NY in there

[@JamesSmith-mv9fp]

The famous (even in Britain) "Horeshoe Curve" gradient of "91ft rise per mile"(as stated in the film), comes out (in English) at "1 in 58", but the curvature makes the gradient effectively steeper. At a rough guess something more like 1 in 45, which is steep for steam locos, as they will have to "slog" their way up. Fortunately in Britain we still have something like 500 fully operational preserved steam locos, many used on National Railroad tracks for weekend steam fan specials. And its the gradients in the West of England these steam specials frequently head for. Between the cities of Exeter & Plymouth are 3 notorious gradients, of between 1 in 38 & 1 in 42. (Called Hemerdon, Rattery & Dainton). Almost weekly there's at least 1 steam special over this notoriously hilly mainline (from London). Large crowds also gather to watch, as not every steam special has managed to get up these wicked hills. There are dozens of bits of modern film of these steam trains thrashing their way over these gradients, here on KZbin !!! Thanks for posting these rare & valuable Historical pieces of film of USA steam. Especially the locos collecting water at speed on the water troughs !!!

[@anthonyledger2768]

Absolute solid gold, so good to compare some scenes with the views gained from the Virtual Railfans cameras these days. Thank you from UK.

[@LivingwithSteam]

YES! The virtual railfan cameras are such an incredible asset. Can you imagine if guys like John or O. Winston Link could see that type of technology? I know John would never leave his house!

[@asullivan4047]

Interesting/informative/entertaining. Excellent photography job enabling viewers to better understand what the orator is describing. My only experiences with steam locomotives are. The scenic steam locomotives train 🚂 rides. Smoky mountains national park. Durango/Silverton Colorado excursions. Very relaxing & enjoyable -!😉. Remember the " Singing Break Men ' Jimmie Rogers -? Whom was a genuine break men till changing careers. Performing before audiences with 🎸 & singing🎶🎶. ( 1926 thru 1933 ) Most memorable song " Break Man's Blues 😭" viewing the presentation from the comfort zone of my computer room. Along the " Space Coast " 🚀 of Florida 🐊🐊. No steam locomotives in this region 😭. Wishing viewers a safe/healthy/prosperous ( 2024 )🌈🎉😉.

[@oldschool4325]

Thank you John.

[@normstrains]

Great footage with some rare locations. I really enjoy your show on Spotify!

[@LivingwithSteam]

Thanks very much for listening (and watching). There's so much more to come. I just need TWO of me to get everything produced that's in the works.😄

[@ocsrc]

Seeing the amount of infrastructure the number of tracks and all of the telephone poles and the miles and miles millions of miles of cable that ran alongside these tracks and here in Pennsylvania over the years watching as the lines became less and less used and then abandon and ripped up and turned into bicycle paths it really breaks my heart but seeing how much infrastructure used to exist prior to my time it's incredible that all of it was allowed to disappear. Just as I remember the streetcar tracks still existing even though there were no street cars because the car companies bought them all Hearing stories from my parents and relatives about how places that for me were difficult to get to even with a vehicle and took a long time how they used to be able to get on a trolley from any town and get to these remote places and how before there were interstates you could take the trolleys to a city like Troy New York and take a train directly to New York City and connect anywhere or like with the D&H that they had not just dedicated passenger service but they had whistle stops and they had these little flatbed cars and open air seating and the freight cars would be at the front of the train and the locomotive would pull into town and blow the whistle and at the back of the train were all of these cars and guys with their lunch pail would get onto these flatbed cars and ride to the city where they worked I remember when I first started driving and how much of a Long haul on back roads it was to get from upstate New York to the Lehigh Valley and I remembered when I was a kid the Delaware and Hudson had direct trains that ran through Mechanicville and through Scotia and Schenectady and down along where i-88 is now but back then there wasn't anything except the small single Lane Road of route 7 but the train would go with passenger service every day to those little towns and to Binghamton and to Scranton and all the way down into Bethlehem and Allentown and you could take the reading from there either through Quakertown or on the Perkiomen branch through the Perkiomen Valley and all the little towns there and eventually into Philadelphia but you literally could get from anywhere to anywhere via train and trolley and that all disappeared

[@bobpaulino4714]

And they call the garbage roads that we have now progress! I'd rather take the train.

[@LivingwithSteam]

Thanks for your thoughts. I've recently coming into a film made by a contemporary of John Prophet's who was CRAZY about Buffalo, NY's street car system. It was just mind-boggling how many street cars there were and where within the city-limits they operated. In the early to mid-20th Century, you didn't need to own a car... the trolley could take you anywhere. But as I watched these films, you can slowly see the intrusion of cars, trucks, and busses on the city streets, until by 1950, the streetcar system was gone.

[@ocsrc]

@@LivingwithSteam when I see the trolley tracks in Upstate New York and the passenger rail service and hear the stories of people from the 1940s that you could get on a trolley from almost anywhere and get to almost anywhere else and to see that all gone is so depressing My relatives would get on a trolley in Troy New York and take it to round Lake or Lake George or Saratoga Springs or Scotia and they could take the D&H out of Troy or Waterford or Cohoes and go to Albany and take the New York Central to New York City or take the Delaware and Hudson paralleling route 7 where i-88 is now through Binghamton and Scranton and down to Allentown and from there you could take the spur that went through Quakertown and down to Philadelphia or the Perkiomen branch and you could get to all these little towns and even what they call whistle stops where there was just a wooden platform and you could get off and walk a couple miles to the farms in these very rural areas It's awful to see that the corporate greed destroyed this incredible Network that existed in every major city just because the car companies wanted to sell cars to everyone and back then people lived and worked within a few miles of their home and you see all of these cars all of these huge parking lots that all the people would fill up and eventually they built the interstate highway system but it's still not finished and for a long time driving from the suburbs of Pennsylvania into Philadelphia was a nightmare because you had to travel on all these surface streets and the same thing for traveling in northern New Jersey and getting from Albany New York to Allentown Pennsylvania by car you had to travel the New York State Thruway either to Kingston and take i-84 and then take all of these singling roads at 30 or 40 miles an hour with traffic lights to get to Allentown or you had to drive 60 miles in northern New Jersey from suffern till you got to route 22 and then again all surface streets I-88 was worked on from the seventies and I think finished sometime in the 80s and I think 380 wasn't finished until the 90s which allowed you to drive from Binghamton on 81 and then connect up to i-80 and then connect to 476 which at that time was route 9 in Pennsylvania but at least that was a two-lane highway that you could take and get off on route 22 but it took just as long even though it was highway because it was more miles of driving To see the D&H timetables going out of Scotia to Binghamton to Allentown and to see that they were faster than any car even by today's standards and to see how slow Amtrak is compared to the passenger rail from the 1950s even into the 1960s and early seventies passenger rail was still faster

[@christophergilbransen1373]

Thank you so much for this amazing share!

[@christopherpartsch4302]

Thank you for sharing this, footage of anything on the Bald Eagle Branch during the steam era is scarce!

[@agems56]

Absolutely priceless! Great capture of history, and don't apologize for your enthusiasm! Sadly I can't find much on historical pictures and film of Calgary where I grew up and Midnapore Alberta to the south!

[@billconserva1461]

Wonderful! I have now seen film of things I could never have seen anywhere else ! Thank you so much for sharing !

[@FEStanley]

Fascinating, thanks for sharing

[@cmdrflake]

Gee. I caught his Big Boy’s and Challenger’s film at a Buffalo NRHS meeting. A turbo about a mile or two away was louder than the Challenger right in front of him. When the small one roared by it drowned out the cars as they roared by. Mighty impressive.

[@TheDarkPhoenix23]

This is great! Also, if you look at the map at 47:02, above Pittsburgh where is says "Butler Jc", that's where I live! I have many railroad pics of that place (and the Allegheny Valley JC) as my whole family were railroaders. Thanks for sharing!

[@briansmith-l1q]

i grew up next to a (old home for women) built in 1890, was called (Old Ladies Home) right in the granite . as it still was as i grew up. I loved going there and hearing stories, and i knew they were true since they were there. I'm 60 now, i really had the ones at that time, that were in their 80's and 90's. The stories were priceless. i asked as many quiestions as i thought for a ten year old,,,, i so wish i had asked more. My grandparents were born in 1888, and 1889. they had kids in the late 20's,, and i was the youngest of six. (my oldest brother was born in '49) with the knowledge i know, i have many interests, i feel young at 60, lol. (where in the hell did 60 come from!!!!) i grew up with going to Steam town, in VT. as a very young kid, i have some memories of going there when it was in NH. If I could put my useless memories to something else, i'd be rich, ha ha. great video,,,,,, priceless !

[@frankkie3849]

Glad you were able to get this history on film before it’s lost forever. Thanks again for your video.

[@richardbrobeck2384]

Amazing footage and great film !

[@sfbearcat8637]

Great work...There is another very nice Pennsy treasure I found not long ago, Itdoes not show up on pennsy you tube searches and it's called 1950s Train ride in Pennsylvina and its on a channel called things I like... It's a Pennsy passenger train ride Chicago to Philly and has lots of 1950s pennsy train and railroad scenes.

[@alexlarams]

God, this is so awesome. And for someone likes me who has always had a "thing" for the former PRR Chicago - New York mainline, it's just - WOW!

[@NLove-vn7hk]

Fabulous. Priceless. Cannot describe the appreciation for and pleasure derived from, nor the value of, this video. Endless, inexpressible, gratitude to you.

[@cprtrain]

Incredible!!!!!!

[@JoeyBPhotography]

I was elated to see footage of trains in Elma, NY because that's where I grew up! Fantastic video, thanks for the work you put into this!

[@choirboyfromhell1]

Absolutely. Fabulous. Thank you for sharing!

[@jaminova_1969]

How special is this? Thank You for sharing!

[@Quebecoisegal]

At last, films of US steam locos at work, fantastic, thanks to all concerned. Saved for posterity.

[@leslie0965]

wow this is heaven big time

[@onemat2000]

Just great! I didn't hear over enthusiasm at all! Thank You for all the work you did on this video. Doing g the chapter list must've taken hours and hours.

[@2nd66tube2]

regardless of the of the film quality this is priceless footage thank you for sharing

[@shanan1124]

Yay for 16mm film!!! Thanks for sharing.

[@iancastledine7284]

I’m in the UK with a passing interest in US steam but this collection is incredible… thankfully it’s survives, amazing work

[@Iowaclass65]

This is AMAZING! What a wonderful video and commentary! This has to be the best rail video that I have ever seen! I especially love the gorge footage on the Rochester Branch! My GF and I hike the gorge trail regularly. I am a subscriber!

[@LivingwithSteam]

I actually have movies of the trip the NRHS chapter took back in 1951. If you listen to the Living with Steam podcast, you'll be able to hear a recording John made from the baggage car on a special Pennsy train that ran on the Rochester Branch. John started recording in Rochester and stopped when the excursion got just under the Portage Bridge across from Letchworth State Park.

[@markshogan2642]

My dad was a pennsy fireman out of Pittsburgh. They had track pans in Latrobe. He lowered the scoop at the engineers signal. The engineer forgot to signal my dad to raise the scoop. The results were devistating. About a mile of teak was torn up, ties and all. How they didn’t derail no one knows. They were going 45 miles per hour eastbound with a J1, circadian 1953.

[@rrubiom]

At 1:19:00....Q2 my favourite! Thanks Sirs

[@centeroftheearthmining4095]

Awesome!!!!!

[@HardRockMaster7577]

Yes, 6 hours of audio on a VHS in "slow mode" can still be HQ. I've often wondered why ministries, instead of hawking a 6 CD set of audio only, don't put all of that on one blu-ray for convenience. Many new cars today don't even come with a CD player standard. Just an SD card slot.

[@berthasitumorang9982]

Blue Ray never made it to many places.

[@BledsoeTrainsRC]

Thank you for sharing this

[@kenmunozatmmrrailroad6853]

Love what you’ve done here; consider me subbed. I too remember how good audio capture was on VHS tape!

[@LivingwithSteam]

As long as you can find a good quality VCR to play the tapes back, you've got it made. I often made the mistake of recording just audio, but NOT having a video source like color bars or some other throw away video. The true Hi-Fi VCRs from the 90s wouldn't have a problem playing back a tape that only had audio on it. Newer ones, I'm finding, can't play these tapes. I was real nervous when I popped the tape with John's visit in an old machine that I had to give a serious cleaning. If the tape didn't play, I don't know what I would have done.

[@jimclarke1108]

As good as it gets, amazing

[@AppalachiaRRlover]

This right here needs to be in the National Archives just cause. Its our cultural and National Heritage!!!

[@LivingwithSteam]

I agree. However, it's a shame that so many of these types of films are hidden away in museums and are never allowed to see the light of day again. This can't happen. I wonder if the first generation of railfans who captured these priceless moments of railroad history would be thrilled to know that the materials they donated to "Museum X" or "Historical Society X" would be hoarded in a vault and never seen again.

[@kleetus92]

This is absolutely fantastic! One of the things aside from the motive power that really impresses me is the quality of the roadbed and the lack of rocking back and forth. Our mainlines today would barely qualify for industry sidings in this era!

[@LivingwithSteam]

Yes! In reviewing many films shot by John and other members of the NRHS Buffalo Chapter from the 30s and 40s, there is a definite difference in the quality. There was no such thing as a gimble or any type of gyroscopic device to stabilize a camera, so most didn't even try. Many 8mm and 16mm cameras were small hand-held devices (not unlike today) and the photographer would simply stick their hand out in the air holding the camera... it being an extension of their arm. I had one gent tell me that he SWORE his arm was rock steady while shooting a segment of film, but when he later watched the print, he couldn't keep his eyes on the screen because it made him sick. John was pretty ingenious in the clamping system he designed. By using it, he removed the human element of trying to hold the camera steady. Any motion was that of the train and it was always very smooth. If the train bounced around like crazy, the passengers would be VERY upset, if you know what I mean.

[@Jared-91]

This is fantastic