"ASSEMBLING A FREIGHT TRAIN" 1950s SANTA FE RAILROAD EDUCATIONAL FILM XD81165

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“Assembling A Freight Train” is a color, educational short film made by Bisbee-Downer Production for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company. Thought to be from the early to mid-1950s, the film offers the viewer a behind-the-scenes look at the work that happens at the freight yard before an ATSF freight train heads out across the country.

Traffic light turns in train yard, Santa Fe ALco-RS2 2099 switch engine with black & white “zebra stripes” pulls towards camera, opening credits begin to play over footage as train horn blows (0:08). Group of Santa Fe El Capitan double door boxcars parked in depot (0:25). Aerial view of freight yard with city skyline in background (0:40). Santa Fe Railroad turntable and roundhouse (0:48). Engineers and firemen who run one of the diesels walk along freight yard tracks in uniform, climb into Santa Fe EMD F-Unit Diesel (0:55). View of Santa Fe El Capitan double door boxcars down a railroad (1:08). ATSF Drop-End Gondola Car loaded with manufactured vehicles; montage of other items carried in freight cars to be delivered around the country (1:14). Intermountain 45430-01 Santa Fe "Grand Canyon Line" Box Car (1:25). Freshly produced tin cans roll off of external conveyor belt out of an American Can Company facility into Santa Fe box car; industry clerk walks out of office with clipboard to inspect how many cars are ready to go and apply “bill of lading” and delivery sticker (1:40). Close-up of card directing goods to go to Los Angeles, “Carding” the car (2:16). Industry clerk inspects locks, makes sure doors are properly closed (2:25). Industry clerk applies cards to tank cars (2:32). Montage other industry clerks carding other cars: flat car, box car, hoppers, tank cars, gondolas (2:43). Industry clerk enters freight office and hands all bills of ladings over to employee sitting at desk (3:02). Santa Fe ALco-RS2 2099 switch engines (3:15). Employee at freight office types orders on typewriter to let switch engine crew know which freight cars to pick up; switch engine crew heads out to pick up cars (3:24). Aerial view switch engine pulls freight cars back to freight yard (3:58). Rows of bronze colored freight cars waiting to be sorted in freight yard (4:11). Another Santa Fe Alco-RS2 2099 switch engine puts all freight cars on same train onto same track, pulls cars onto switching track, as train passes man looks at cards and writes down which train each var belongs in (4:17). Switchman waves flag to direct freight car, aerial view of freight cars switched onto different tracks (4:35). Other Santa Fe ALco-RS2 2099 switch engines group freight cars going in same direction by city/ final destination “blocking the train” (5:50). Aerial view of model train to demonstrate blocking process (6:26). Caboose added to freight cars once they are all in proper order (7:14). Blue flag added to signal men are still working on the train, montage of inspectors fixing cars before they are sent out: hook up airline, check air hoses between cars, wheels and axles inspected (7:20). Man walks along train track with walkie talkie radio, reads off numbers of all train cars - cuts to employee in freight office listening to Bendix Radio (7:58). Clerk sits at typewriter and types list of call cars in train, where it's going, and what they contain (8:20). Another employee exits office caring rail waybills for each train, flips through wheel report (8:27). Rear brakeman walks along track with clipboard to conduct his own inspection (8:37). Santa Fe EMD F-Unit diesel arrives to attach to organized freight cars, blue flag added to engine (8:46). Engineer conducts brake test from inside diesel locomotive while yard men walk along train to see all brakes working well (9:13). Engineer pulls throttle, train starts to move out of freight yard, conductor and rear brakemen jump onto caboose (9:54). Train passes through valley of mountainous landscape (10:15). Ending credits play over footage of freight yard (10:28).

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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 http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com