Historic Railroad and Train Building Films, 3 DVD Collectors Set

Vintage Railroad History Films Collection

3 DVD Set!

Fast forward to the early to mid 1900's, and you have the railroad as an integral part of American life.  This collection of vintage railroad films, contains rare hard to find footage of early New York Railroads, the Northwest Pacific Railroad, New Haven, Hartford, and much much more.  Sure to please any railroad aficionado.

This DVD collection contains over 5 hours of films on 3 DVD's!  Each DVD has a fully interactive menu.  The list of films on this historic collection is as follows:

DVD 1

Importance of railroads to 1950s America. Directed by Haford Kerbawy.

2 Parts, Sound, Color, 26:27

Beef's importance to American society and economy, and the Union Pacific Railroads's importance to the beef industry.  The film starts out with a dreadful animation of a cow ringing a bell indicating dinner. (GET it? BEEF rings the BELL?) After that comes a wonderful plateau of cows roaming the open range, chewing grass, being herded, chewing grass, being branded. "The cows, soon, go in one direction" the narrator says, and yes that's right.. "To Market". Soon, you're just dreading where this film is heading. The film slowly builds on that and takes us through the cows being loaded on (Union Pacific!) railcars, being auctioned off, being kept in holding pens, and then.... We cut AFTER the dirty part, the slab of beef is on a hook! Anyways, if you're somewhat disappointed in the skipping of the most obvious step, the actual cutting up of the carcass into different selections of beef will certainly appease you, as the butcher digs in with his knife, fat falling off the carcass, and us losing our lunches. The narrator hilariously says during all of this, 'the thought of this beef, with dripping gravy on fluffy mashed potatoes!' The whole thing ends off with not one but TWO barbecues, with big juicy steaks and plump hamburgers!

2 Parts, Sound, Color, 27:38

Operations of the New York Central Railroad. Producer and director: Victor Solow. Introduced by NYCRR president Alfred E. Perlman.  Made by the New York Central Railroad, this 50s film tells us how railroads are modernizing in standard industrial film style. It goes into a great deal of detail about this in a rather dry fashion. Railroad buffs will probably find it interesting. The last part of the film is a lecture by Alfred Pearlman about how the government subsidizes other forms of transportation, but lets the railroads shift for themselves. This is a quite historically interesting record of where the railroads were at in the 50s.

2 Parts, Sound, Color, 26:14

Railroads and how they keep the U.S. economy rolling.

Sound, Color, 23:54

Golden Spike ceremonies and celebration for the completion of the Northwestern Pacific Rail Road, October 23-25, 1914. Filmed in Willits, Cain Rock, Arcata and Eureka, California.  Film begins a short way north of its starting point in Willits (Northern California) and continues over trestles and through tunnels until it reaches the point of celebration at Cain Rock. (The celebration with Mayor Rolph and the Eureka Mayor and other officials. The next day festivities in Arcata, California and Eureka, California are reported.

2 Parts, Silent, B&W, 29:59

Railroad tour through the state of Utah, stopping off at many natural attractions and in Salt Lake City. Shows Arches National Monument and the mineral resources of Utah, including coal and copper. Director: Carlton T. Sills.

3 Parts, Sound, B&W, 29:44

Everything there is to know about the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.  This presents a fine time capsule look at railroads, and industry in general in the 1940s. It is especially fascinating to see how trains cars are sorted and switches set before the days of computers and automation.

3 Parts, Sound, B&W, 39:24

Importance of railroads in the U.S. economy, with many great running views of freight and passenger trains.

Sound, Color, 19:04

Railroad transporting tourists to top of Marin County's highest peak.

Silent, B&W, 1:58

The "story of a new South whose roots are embedded deep in the honored tradition of the old." Shows the economy of the Southeast, white and African American workers, cities, and daily life, all in the context of railroad business and operations. Producer and Director: Carl Dudley. Script: Herman Boxer.

Sound, Color, 17:54

DVD 3

Condensed version of Golden Spike Celebration on 10/23/14 for the completion of the Northwestern Pacific Railroad, held at Cain Rock, Humboldt County, California.

Silent, B&W, 15:32

Driving is compared with running a railroad train. With excellent images of steam-era passenger trains.

Sound, B&W, 7:39

Operations of the Southern Pacific Railroad, with many images of the territory that it serves. With excellent footage of snow management and removal operations in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Sound, Color, 28:57

Operations of the Rock Island Lines. Includes shots of high-speed "Rocket" freight trains; the operation of classification yards; and scenes of agricultural and industrial areas served by the railroad. Writer and Director: John A. McGee.

Sound, Color, 19:02

DVD Menu Sampler: