“ ONCE UPON THE WABASH RAILROAD " 1953 BLUE BIRD PASSENGER TRAIN CHICAGO TO ST. LOUIS MD10054
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- Опубликовано: 10 сен 2024
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This 1953 color film directed by Alan S. Lee and produced by Condor Films, Inc. of St. Louis for the Wabash Railroad Company features Barry Hopkins, Charles Flynn, Mina Kolb, and the personnel of the Wabash in a promotional travelogue that highlights the convenient offerings of the “Blue Bird” streamlined passenger line. The film features the songs, “You Can Bank on the Wabash” by Tom Hayes & Stan Kay and “Riding the Wabash Road” by Cy Elsmo (TRT: 25:57).
The Wabash Railroad logo, “Follow the Flag, The Wabash Railroad Company Presents, Once Upon the Wabash,” opening credits (0:08). 1950s automobiles drive a country road. We are introduced to newlyweds Mike and Molly Molloy, who sing while riding in a convertible. A streamlined Wabash “Blue Bird” diesel locomotive barrels down the tracks alongside them, making better time (0:55). Through the magic of filmmaking, the couple is transported to a passenger car on the train. Their car continues driving without them. “Boy, what a way to travel” (2:19). The car’s domed top allows a view of the train ahead. A porter walks down an aisle of “Sleepy Hollow” seats. A “drawing room” (2:49). Painted murals. The “Blue Bird Room,” a cocktail lounge, and dining car in montage. Staff wear uniforms with epaulettes (3:16). A child demonstrates automatic doors. A woman takes a staircase to a dome coach (3:57). A coffee shop counter. A club car for coach passengers (4:21). Blueprints and decorating plans for the modern streamliner. Passing landscapes (4:35). Asbestos soundproofing. A spring system for shock absorbing wheels. An air conditioning unit l(5:05). The train’s engineer checks dials and gauges. The engineer toots the horn (5:27). The Blue Bird rolls to a stop at a train station (6:22). A flashback to the days of the “old iron horse.” A model Rogers steam locomotive makes its debut in Meredosia for a crowd with top hats and 19th century attire. A man with a mustache issues a proclamation (6:46). The train appears to pull away as onlookers wave (7:44). A map shows Meredosia, Illinois, with rails extending to Omaha, Buffalo, Kansas City, and Detroit. A heart appears (8:43). Waterfalls, the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge (9:15). A Wabash freighter on Lake Michigan, the Detroit River (9:25). A shipping captain at the helm (9:50). The Blue Bird reappears. A private bedroom with one man, another with a mother and children (10:09). Union Station in Kansas City, St. Louis, Toledo, Detroit, Chicago, Omaha (10:49). Freight trains over scenes of shipping and agriculture. A train’s POV crossing a bridge. Ice cubes refrigerate cars. Grains and boxcars (11:29). Skylines of St. Louis and Detroit. “Detroit Union Produce Terminal, St. Louis Produce Market”, crates of oranges, grapes (12:44). Trainyard montage: An engineer works on an engine. Welding, freight car construction (13:26). A train dispatcher or switchboard operator. Trains pass safely (15:32). Tracks switch to allow the Blue Bird passage (16:22). A mechanical long-distance writing system transmits a handwritten message (16:40). 19th century travelers disembark, covered in soot (17:25). Lunch is served in the dining car: Braised shoulder of lamb, fried Maine scallops, chicken croquettes, a “salad bowl,” baked ham, a chicken sandwich, broiled whitefish, steak (17:50). A cramped dining car kitchen compared to the modern commissary. Meat in transit (19:51). The purchasing dept. Parts and supplies. An engineer charts a course on a map (21:08). Driving stakes into train tracks, throwing a switch. Uncoupling freight cars (22:07). A Ford auto assembly plant in Michigan. An engine pulls forward, showing off the Wabash logo. A John Deere plant. The Aluminium Corp. of America, Phelps Dodge Copper, Stanley Manufacturing, Lincoln-Mercury (23:12). Foods and appliances (24:18). A vision of a world without railroads: Overground tracks, empty parking lots, vacant stations (24:34). Our hero lights a cigar, returns to his convertible humming a jingle (25:12).
The Blue Bird operated from 1938 to 1971. The “Domeliner” with its “Vista-Dome” car and E-unit diesel locomotives from Electro-Motive Division debuted in 1950, carrying passengers between Chicago, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri.
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I remember when the Blue Bird used to pass by my parent's farm on it's St Louis to Chicago runs. My third grade class took a field trip to Decatur,IL in 1965. A very exciting experience as a kid.
Lucky you! That's got to be over 100 miles eastward of passing through plenty of those hick towns in our Heartland. It's an intimate thing, much of which few today can understand. Decatur's a place that everyone should visit, even when just passing through.
@@TugIronChief I was on a grade school field trip. I could hardly care less about trains 50 +years later.
I rode this with my mother many times in the 1950's and 1960's from Chicago to Litchfield (where we took a taxi to Vandalia to stay with grandparents). Very nice train. It always passed through a car washer shortly after departing Dearborn station. Great food. They served iced tea the right way - a pot of freshly brewed tea and a glass full of ice to pour it over. I always got the open face hot turkey sandwich for lunch. Once when nearly finished, I bit into a piece of turkey bone. The dining car attendant saw this and immediately came over and I said it was OK. But he took my plate and brought me another whole open face hot turkey sandwich? My older brother suggested that after that I should carry a little piece of turkey bone in my pocket to take on the train.
Simply, a time capsule of train travel in the 1950s and an excellent production as well!
A Beautiful time we can enjoy again , thanks to whoever made this film. Thanks for posting this!
Commissioned to Condor Pictures in 1953 by Wabash Railroad. The prints were made in Kodachrome
I first rode the "Blue Bird" the year this was filmed! It was a beautiful train. There was nothing running bet ween Chicago and St. Louis that could compare with it!
uhhhh, the Super Chief?
At 2:54 you can see that the nearest dome car in view has squarish windows when all the others are rounded. This was not one of the original cars and was ordered later. The original car set was made by Budd and those include the dome car that the camera is in and the two dome cars in the distance. Wabash needed another dome car to expand the train and Budd was booked up and couldn't deliver quickly, so they got the additional car from Pullman-Standard. Also, the Pullman-Standard car didn't have stainless steel fluted sides and was painted as best they could to match the rest of the train. You can see the interior of this Pullman-Standard dome with its flat glass at 3:28. And the "Blue Bird Room" they mentioned was in this car. Trivia fact about dome cars: They always tried to run the cars so that when you were going up the stairs to the dome you faced forward in the train. This is so that if the train suddenly braked, you would lurch toward the stairs, and not into the air off the stairs.
Perfect! Wabash Railroad for Norfolk Southern Heritage unit.
This is sooo much better than today's garbage on television!
You are sooo correct! I agree 100 percent!
The Blue Bird was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Wabash Railroad and its successor the Norfolk and Western Railway between Chicago, Illinois, and St. Louis, Missouri. It operated from 1938 to 1971. Beginning in 1950 it was one of the few Wabash passenger trains to carry a dome car and the first dome train in regular operation between the two cities. The train was cut back to Decatur, Illinois, in 1968 and renamed City of Decatur. Amtrak did not retain the City of Decatur, and it made its last run on April 30, 1971.
Que hermoso documental de un bello país que siempre pensó en grande ,porque grande eran sus Estados y en el bienestar de la gente que tenía que recorrer largas distancias, también pensando en que todo tenia que estar bien hecho para que tuviera una larga vida útil, había un concepto de trasladar el hogar al transporte y eso lo hacía amigable y agradable, hermoso gracias.
From civility to irrational emotional chaos in under 75 years. Quite an accomplishment.
It makes me so sad to watch this and see what we as a society have thrown away.
Absolute truth. "Progress" my *ss.
It's what happens when we let mental illness run rampant. Conspiracy theories and blatant lies keep the weak minded angry at the world and afraid of their own shadow. They're actually willing to throw away the United States democracy and the constitution in the the name of patriotism. You can't make this up folks.
And from chaos in 2023...imagine the cycle in 75yrs...🌎
At the end, they are riding in a car on the highway that foretold the end of passenger train travel. Oh the irony!
The Wabash Railroad would later become part of the Norfolk & Western Railway, which would merge with the Southern Railway in 1982 to become Norfolk Southern.
@@davidandrew477 totally .all the class ones are horrible companies that treat their employees like shit😠
@@chuckabbate5924 The employees are free to get other jobs if they don't like working there.
@@ednorton47 lovely
Definitely earlier than 1957. The cars look early 50s. What a great video. Films like this make me quite sentimental. They remind me of my boyhood in the 50s.
description shows it was made in 1953
The railways (in the US) were just beginning to seriously be challenged by airlines in 1957. It was all downhill from here.
yeah, i'd take a train all day over going through an airport and putting up with all the insanity on airplanes themselves. just imagine if they had that insanity in '57, people would hold onto those trains harder than ever. If an Amtrak ticket was cheaper than an airlplane ticket, i'd do it, but it's usually more expensive and more out of the way for me. I can fly to Dallas and back home for a couple hundred bucks and it takes only a few hours, or pay over 300 and it takes basically all day. We need fast cheap trains, but that's basically impossible in this nightmare world now.
@@frydemwingz It’s not impossible, it’s just that Americans lack the will to build anything anymore. Everybody wants lower taxes while ignoring the deterioration of our infrastructure. We haven’t had a national building project of consequence since Eisenhower’s interstate highway system, which was another factor in the decline of our railroads.
@@jacksons1010 We don't have the money any more. Money we used to spend on infrastructure programs that benefitted every one and encouraged growth and better things for our economy now gets spent on endless social programs that are black hole money pits that reward and encourage laziness and undesirable lifestyle choices that drag everyone down.
travel wise planes make more sense the railroads got bent over by unions and the govt that's what smoked their ass!!!
@@TugIronChief lol yeah, retiring after 30 years assembling "Big Macs" sure ain't what I would ever aspire to.
A gallant attempt of a forlorn hope.
Only ran between Chicago and St Louis..pity with such wonderful features.
The Wabash Railroad served both sides of the Mississippi River! You could ride on a Wabash train from Detroit to Decatur, St. Louis and Kansas City with no change of carrier! And at the end of this film, Mike chooses to smoke a smelly cigar after dinner with Molly. His health turned bad over the years!
we'll the predictions about the future of the railroad proved false, never took into account the semi-trucks as well, as other factors,. the technology was so antiquated, but, got the work done. just a great film. what fun and exciting way of traveling!
A nostalgic look at rail travel before it mutated into Amtrak. Wish I could have experienced a train trip like that back in the day. 🚂
Amtrak replaced the superb Pullman rolling stock (soundless, no rocking, just click-clack) with the beer cans they now use for trains.
I experienced train travel as a 3rd grader in December of 1961. It was a Christmas trip to see my grandparents. It was the Texas and Pacific from Dallas to St. Louis. We traveled as a family. My parents and the little ones slept in a suite. My brothers and I slept in a compartment that converted to beds at night. We slept all night from Dallas to St. Louis and rolled into St. Louis the following morning. We had a layover and traveled the B & O from St. Louis to Washington D.C. Between St. Louis and Washington, D.C. we rode coach, which was like riding a bus. Sometimes, when we stopped in small towns along the way, my father would get off the train and buy snacks for the family. The trains were disappearing as a form of transportation. Even then, it was far more exciting to go to the airport and watch the planes land and take off. The smell of burning jet fuel even had an effect of creating of creating an atmosphere of movement and energy. The airport was a much more exciting place to be than a train station.
@@nesbitstreet I think the Superliners are great, not the best but still great
Awesome someone uploaded the full version!
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What an awesome promotional video for the Wabash’s Blue Bird! Love that Wabash Railroad paint scheme!
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a beautiful train, back when people dressed " to the 9's" while traveling!
People dressed like that everyday back then. Now people go out wearing pajamas. Wish I was living back then.
18:48
-The Shining
The train ferry to Windsor is no more. There is a waterfront park now, but they did keep a launch area as a historical reminder.
I remember catching the Bluebird and Banner Blue from St Louis to Chicago as a kid. Best Club Sandwich I ever had,
The Wabash was a proud outfit, now most of the Blue Bird's track north of Decatur is gone or downgraded :( I LOVE this video!
if only the quality of service was like this today . but the governments of the world only love the darn car
7:56 the train cars are being rocked back and forth using manual force as someone walks to the rear of the train, holding up fresh cut branches to give the effect of movement.
I just love classic visual effects, so analog and elementary in their creativity.
'Long Distance Writing System' now that is something I've rarely seen on film
Its connected to an ipad at the other end
Trains without all the Shit scrawled on them! Beautiful
Fun fact: The "Rogers" engine prop is at IRM, you just aren't allowed to see it.
I like how at 15:14 you can see that the "Rogers" is only the front half of a prop when you look at the left edge of the screen. The earlier sequences of them moving on it probably used extras carrying tree branches behind them.
Not even concerned that their car has lost control and that they just lost it
lol
Where the Blue Bird once flew, a contractor removes the crossties... this was the caption under a Railroad News Photo which appeared in Trains magazine in the late 1980s, showing the dismantling of a Wabash route.
You can see that the train name board (long blue rectangle on the white stripe) on engine 1000 at 2:01 is blank. When first procured, railroads still tended to think in terms of an engine and a passenger train as being a "set" (and some early ones were articulated sets and incapable of having components separated). This same engine later did have "City of Kansas City" lettering added in this area when it was used with that train. But no engine ever had "Blue Bird" put in this area. Interestingly, in some of the printed advertising materials it was added in that panel even though it never existed. Railroads quickly learned it was best to be able to move equipment around as needed and not "marry" an engine to a train. With the first repainting, these engines no longer had that name board area and it just became part of the white area.
Great video, I actually live about 3 miles south of the Wabash 4th District Line in Kingsbury, Indiana sadly all that's left is the trestle bridge over the CN formerly the GTW.
Some of the old people on the train were born in the 19th century.
This video is perfect for me. Born in 1953 in St. Louis, between 2001 and 2013 I rode all the AMTRAK rail routes west of St. Louis to see The West, in 5 weekend to weekend trips (connections in K.C. and Chicago), and became a bit of a rail history buff for those routes. I remember in the 1960s my Dad and I going to the Delmar St. Louis suburb station to pick up timetables, as my Dad was a rail buff who built a large Lionel train layout in our basement in the 1960s. As shown in the video Wabash used the downtown Union Station, but that suburb Delmar station if I remember right was a frequently used station for Wabash in St. Louis as well. Maybe somebody out there knows more of the connection between the Delmar suburb station and Wabash.
Excellent job fellows!!!!!!
The dining car even serves meals, no kidding?
While obviously more inviting than today, for once I didn't succumb to that odd nostalgia for a time I was never even a part of. And all it took was One-Trip, One-Time on a long-distance passenger train!
I rode Amtrak 3 days on the California Zephyr and loved it! Different strokes, I guess.
I've traveled Amtrak round trip between Midwest and Arizona; I travel a lot and love driving my own vehicle long trips, but did a rail trip just for the experience. I'd do it again if I get the chance. If it wasn't so expensive, would even do it more often.
@@kansaskactusiijlk4986 I'm beginning to become genuinely baffled, and am to edit my original comment. Since this is the 3rd or 4th such "objection" to what I said. Apparently their is no corner of life that has ceased to become infected with the disease of "mind-reading".
But special just for you, here's a little more detail. You understand, the kind of detail you could Never possibly know based on the small amount you were given from my words?
The train I was on was similarly accommodated to the one in the video. Not quite the "premium" that's required for any marketing video, but it all existed. It was just fine.
And now please forgive my sin, but I nevertheless did not enjoy it. The horror! Apparently.
~as for mentioning the saltiness of my food or something, I couldn't begin to understand what you're referring to. But it sounds like you further think I was acting like a snob? Or a snob AND a bigot? How my opinion on train travel gave you that is anyone's guess. But just in case, I'll help calm this issue for you as well. It was only @ 2 years ago that became able to finally start saving any money for the first time. Hope that helps you deal.
But by FAR your most interesting words come from the last thing you said. Wow, it is special!
"Boys", huh? Amazing, you truly are. Clearly you once again think you're able to read my thoughts, but instead expose some real insidiousness. Because I can only guess (see how I admit I don't actually know?) you are referring to the one-time large crew of porters on passenger trains. Here's the thing, if that's true then it is ONLY YOU thought of them in those terms. Tada!
Do you see it? It is YOU who believes "the other guy" thinks in those terms. They don't (with the fewest exceptions). And ONLY b/c you and your hordes believe (so absolutely) that others feels that way, the current culture has been poisoned by your malignant fantasy.
But don't take my word for it. Take a moment to remember how many people you've EVER known that referred to men as "boys" (or similar, and with conviction). Then go further & ask your friends & neighbors how many they've met. Hell, take a poll of strangers on the street to ask them. And after you tally your results, what will you do? Will you keep telling yourself "but OF COURSE it's true, they repeat it non-stop. It's so obvious. Everyone is just hiding it Reallly good"?
Or will you believe your life experience as taken in by your own eyes & ears?
If something is so pervasive culture-wide, yet you never genuinely run into it, are you sure?
Good luck.
@@kansaskactusiijlk4986 Okey dokey
@@kansaskactusiijlk4986 yeah, I'm not playing along. You gave me one explanation, and that was fine. But apparently not. Did you not believe yourself?
So now you're back. To tell me what I'm Really about. Sounds familiar, I thought I was wrong the first time? But please, do keep on. It's mildly amusing witnessing insignificant flailing.
The copyright date on this film looks to be MCMLIII, 1953, but it's hidden behind the PF watermark.
It is from 1953 (thanks Google) and bless her heart Mina Kolb is still alive at around 95 years of age. She would have been about 27 at the time of this film.
Riding the trains now is way more expensive and not nearly as luxurious as it was back then. Even flying is not as nice as it used to be. It seems like those who provide transportation for us are more concerned with the bottom line than service.
That's capitalism: look at your medical bills!
Companies would provide a better experience if people were willing to pay for it. Airlines were regulated by the government, prices were set and airlines had to compete on service. Now it’s all about price; people want cheap and cheap is what they get. One thing though - adjusting for inflation prices now are somewhat lower than they were back when this video was made, not higher. A train ticket in 1957 wasn’t cheap - they could charge more because those regulated airline prices were high too.
The people are also not as nice as they used to be. Imagine people dressing up in a suit to ride on a train today. These days, many men don't even own a suit.
well no shit!! where the hell have you been??
@@None-zc5vg the bills are thanks to ambulance chasing shysters and their bullshit lawsuits!!! capitalism has nothing to do with it!!
Crazy to think that within five years of this film the train probably ran half empty.
The ancestor of the. Wabash in. Carroll. County. Indiana was the. Toledo. Wabash and. Western and entered the scene in 1856.
Thx.
A few years back, I rode an excursion train with N&W 611 from Roanoke, VA to Bradford, VA. I rode in a Wabash stainless steel coach from the era portrayed in the film. My closest run with the 'Wabash. N&W wisely purchased the Wabash and Nickel Plate Road at the same time (approx.) and merged them into their system.
Gotta love that soundproofing material lol
Two of The Wabash Bluebird dome cars were procured by The Southern Railway System some time in the late 1960s.
First, they ran on Central Of Georgia's Atlanta/Savannah "Nancy Hanks," but when that train was canceled upon the coming of Amtrak, Southern used them on their remaining passenger trains, most notably, the New York/Washington/Charlotte/Atlanta/Birmingham/New Orleans "Southern Crescent."
The domes ran the Atlanta/Birmingham segment. Central Of Georgia was part of Southern Railway System. I do not know what became of the domes.
Tommy; They junked those Dome cars
Got Rid of them Years ago !!!!
@@tomflendodo7297 Where did they end up?
Check out the Alaska Railroad "Gold Star." Some of the domes ended up there.
@@Dutch_Uncle Really? Thanks for that info.
Meredosia, my hometown!
I wish I could find a video of the "Ride on the Wabash the friendly friendly route" or whatever the lyrics are.
24:30 how prophetic 😢
I wonder how their car turned out as nice as it is
there is hardly ANY record of the Rogers steam loco. There is the 1950s mock-up, and all the drawings of it, but there is no record of what happened to it, what all it did, or even any decent, consistent drawings. I always assume the mockup to be the most accurate thing we have for it's looks....
That mockup was built on a tractor chassis for use in parades. All tire mounted vehicles for street use. Notice that nothing below the engine deck was shown.
@@michaelperkins5858 I know that lol, but thanks for the heads up! The tractor mock-up is currently at the Illinois railroad musem last I checked, feel free to fact check that and let me know if I'm wrong!
Wow they went from teens in the car instantly to mid thirties on the train! Trains are for grownups not children🤤
Imagine the CIVILITY of enjoying a cigar after dinner . . . .
I dont see what's civil about lung cancer.
@@AlCatSplat As the post says, "Imagine."
yeah freedom!!!
@@AlCatSplat you don;t like it don't do it but don't tell me i can't!!!
I wonder how many people could afford this railroad travel.
Service has gone way down by today standard
The entire line east of Omaha has been turned into a bike trail all the way to Missouri😢
There is still some East - West track operational at Chillocothe, Mo.
Turn up volume ,please.
This was a fascinating albeit corny and at times creepy look into 1950's cultural norms!
* The Blue Bird engineer is the same guy from 1838 and therefore is immortal like Jack Nicholson from The Shining
* Man makes sexist comment to his wife about taking too long to order food
* They called the black chefs in the kitchen "boys". Yikes.
When men wore a tie and a jacket to travel.
when i was a 5 ish year old kid, men wore a white shirt and skinny black tie to a supper club for dinner, or our local hotel
yeah well reality finally showed up and pretending went away hopefully for good!!!
@@phibber You see footage from baseball and football games from the 1950's and even into the 60's, men wearing ties , and often sport jackets and fedora's. I remember Tom Landry , coach of the Dallas Cowboys, the epitome of class, standing on the sidelines in a suit and hat. Compared to the drunken louts in the stands now days that half of them look like they just crawled out of a dumpster.
Im pretty sure the train is still in use in springdale arkansas. They give 4 hour excursions to van buren and back.
A time when people worked towards dreams. Loved the optimism when I was young.
Looking forward to the comments from today's do nothing, everything is evil, cancel culture comments lol.
Please try to be original with the hate tossing.
Coool
I`ll order meatloaf mashed with gravy and beets .
I wonder if Elon Musk got the idea for the tesla from Mike Maloy's self driving car at 2:23 ??
Like train
put a steamer on up front!!!
2:12 Ahhh! Creepy face! I don't care about you; I just want to see that streamliner.
2:23 Wow! I never knew they had auto pilot back then. Seriously, WTF?
3:57 Automatic doors too? You have to push a button on Amtrak trains.
15:11 LOL.
25:14 How is that car still on the road?!
25:35 Well there's your nightmare fuel for tonight folks.
Weirdest Railroad Advertisement film I have seen.
"they figured out ways of actually seeing trains and controlling them maybe hundreds of miles away." This 100% could be the reality today. Autonomous trains and centralized control could EASILY be done today. Sadly, it's often the unions that are against it since it would pretty much put them all out of jobs overnight.
I will end humanity because of dieselization
I cant watch this movie for all these son of bitchin ads!!
At present the. N and. S makes trips through the area with no. Passengers. Just freight. The towns of. Rockfield. And. Burrows. Were. Wabash towns. Burrows. Had. George. Burrows. Railroad official. As its namesake
oh if they could only see what the unions and govt would do to them back then!!!
Drop down, smack the lip WABASH, and then you just get pitted, sooo pitted!
Fake
Your life is fake numbnuts