13:33 The footage of the HoJo Service Plazas is a great memory. When my family rode the Turnpike in the late 60s, the oil companies were Boron, Esso and Gulf.
Always wanted to work for the PA Turnpike, love that highway. lots of memories of having picnics on the highway, made many day drives to random spots when i was a kid. Miss PA.
I have done some consultation work for the Turnpike on the history end. So I was employed by them for one day which resulted in a book the PTC published~
Eisenhower made a mandate in the 50s to have a national high-speed highway network for military use in a possible war emergency scenario. He was a fan of the German autobahns built by Hitler. I grew up around Youngstown, Ohio, and we used to get on the Ohio turnpike yo the PA turnpike just to cruise and relax. At times, it was practically vacant in that rural section. We'd drive to Pittsburgh just to party.
Those road-side tables were not safe, and all of them had to go. Besides, people were real pigs in those days. It was amazing and disgusting how much and how casually people littered back then! They thought nothing of it.
@@misterwhipple2870 I don't remember the litter because it was everywhere back then. I loved those tables, and remember picnics and short hikes, but even as a kid, I knew how dangerous it was getting back onto the road. Not surprised they're gone, but I still miss them.
The roadside tables on the turnpike went away in around 1967 or so. I remember a trip with the family and my mom being disappointed that they were gone. We had ham salad sandwiches packed in the cooler with a big jug of Kool-Aid. (That was my mom's standard travel food, also what she packed when we went to a drive-in.) My parents had a thermos of coffee, the big treat was always a big bag of store brand Cheeze puffs. Roadside tables were still pretty common on country roads in Pennsylvania and West Virginia through most of the 1970s. Eventually, fast food joins made them all but disappear.
@@davidcampbell1899 I once drove a 1962 Formal Limo, with divider, from LA to Vegas then down to Arizona and back. It was like riding on a cloud. It is even better when it is a '60's hearse.
Remember how safe you used to feel back then . I traveled the TP as a kid and now when I stop at one I'm always aware of my surroundings . Much of that was just being a kid but things have changed along with the faces .
These old videos of the Pa Turnpike are fun to guess where they are at and what service plaza they are showing. So much has changed in look. I recognize some areas of roadway easily though.
Going west to east (early 1970's), our first time through a turnpike in Oklahoma. my mom explained how the card worked that they gave you at the start of the turnpike. How they would check the time at the end of the turnpike. If you had gone too fast, you would get a ticket. So, we stopped at a rest stop for two hours and also stopped to eat at a restaurant. When we got to the end, we gave the card to a man in a booth. He punched it into a machine, then looked at the read out. He asked if we stopped somewhere. "We stopped for gas", which was the truth, but just a small part. "Okay" he grumbled, and we went on our way.
@@harrisonc985way more reliable than cars today. Mechanic, driving a 1960 Fury since 1988. New cars are good, maybe better, in the first 5-8 years, than the problems start and they are not as easy to solve as worn ignition points, or a plugged fuel filter. New cars are safer and have better rust protection. That's it.
This film was made over 60 years ago, and yes -- many changes even high tolls when the plan was to remove them many years ago. But there have been some rather expensive projects to upgrade the turnpike which will ultimately lose the character of the highway we remember.
Im so glad they are making it 6 lanes in some areas. left lane hogs and heavy truck traffic make this highway a bad experience. But it cannot be denied that the route is very scenic and beautiful in all seasons. The large mountains, tunnels, cliffside vistas, and that epic straitaway pas carlisle (now 6 lanes) is fantastic. I have driven on much of the country’s highways and this one will always stand out as being perhapse the most beautiful and scenic on the east coast.
I find these things so fascinating. Who was the original audience for this? Where would it have screened? Traveled the turnpike many times in the 70s on family trips to Illinois to see family.
Maybe as an infomercial at a movie theatre. Back then before the movie started you would see infomercials like this instead of previews of future movies
The film, made in 16mm, was made by folks who worked for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. It was not a theatrical film, but shown to civic groups, in schools and as a public relations film for local TV. Only a dozen or so prints were made, the one you see here is one of them and probably the best preserved.
As a postscript, I know some folks who work at the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, and recently received about 3000 feet of blank 16mm leader, and an unused 400 feet of Ektachrome film that Mr. Visconti, who filmed this movie, simply never used!
Some portions of Pennsylvania's turnpike carve along mountain sides. Pittshburg is beautiful city at night. when driving past its brightly lit bridges along the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers.
@@OldsVistaCruiser That was because only one Lehigh Tunnel existed when the route number was signed(the second tunnel was not added until the 1990s), meaning that it did not qualify for interstate standards. This is despite the fact they let the mainline was become part of the system in the late 1950s, even though all of the routes traveled through the two lane tunnels it had, which were not fully eliminated until 1971.
@@OldsVistaCruiser Also i was taking about the toll free segments. the toll segments oldest stretch of roadway actually predates the interstate highway system by a year.
Thanks! This comes from the collection of a friend of ours who has preserved dozens of films about the New Jersey turnpike. Please consider becoming a channel member or join us on Patreon.com/Periscopefilm
When I lived in Allison park when I was a kid, we used the pike from exit 4 to the valley forge exit to visit grandma. Never knew how narrow the road was til I drove a Pete 379 over it. Loved the rest stops and going thru the tunnels. Used to duck below the window line of the car when we would Pass by TMI after it’s accident. And pump my arm to get the semis to blow their horns. Miss traveling on that road as a kid. Not so much as a trucker.
I can remember when Pennsylvania was a wonderful state. About 30-40 years ago. No more, too many New Jersey and New York people have moved in. And just like locus, they destroy everything they touch.
The old school toll booths with the workers are cool. Today it's all electronic tolling. You either have an ez pass or the camera reads your plate and they send you a bill in the mail.
That started during the pandemic, before they did have toll collectors in some booths. They laid them all off during it and started the bill by plate and never brought them back
@@cuginoeddie8677terrible. You could always ask the toll booth collector for directions if you got off at the wrong exit. People are MUCH better than Google Maps in my experience.
@@guyintenn no they didn’t, I drive a truck for a living and been on 476 daily up to the pandemic, they still had toll collectors till covid. The PA turnpike system along with the bridges (WW and BF) laid their employees off and they did bill by plate. The bridges eventually brought their collectors back in maybe 2-3 months, PA turnpike system never did.
@@cuginoeddie8677 They eliminated the old toll booth near the turnpike toll bridge as part of the I-95 interchange project in 2016. The rest of the turnpike was converted later.
Remember the old Howard Johnsons's along the way. If you find any of their old china, sell it, it's worth $. I found a small individual creamer in perfect condition here in Illinois. Sold on ebay for $50.
“ The best driver in the family should be behind the wheel during high speed driving “ While the video shows a car pulled over and mom gives up the drivers seat to dad. 😂😂😂 The makers of this film would be doxxed and cancelled by the feminists if this were made today. 😂😂😂
Let the teenager drive, you will get to your location faster! Only time the car will see the speed limit is on the way by it, if you look quick enough! I was always getting shit from my mother for doing 90mph!
I believe this was filmed in 1962-1963 and released a public relations film in 1963, promoting the Turnpike. Bob Hetherington, who made the film for the PTC went on to make films for the Pennsylvania Dept of Transportation. Amazing that the film survived and available once again for public viewing.
@@SnepperStepTV I do in reality. That has to be a tough job. Standing there for 8 hours in all kinds of weather with vehicle exhaust in your face all day. And I’m sure the motorists can be just as nasty as anyone.
Several were able to get in-office jobs in Harrisburg and became good friends after learning my interest in the history and preservation of Turnpike artifacts.
@@misterwhipple2870 Modern for the time, but as we explain in a book I authored with Neal Schorr, its design while on par in 1940 became very outdated as newer roads had wider medians -- its mentioned in the film, and all new reconstruction projects, will reflect a modern 21st century highway losing the character of the original Turnpike.
Very interesting. When did they stop the maintenance assistance? I am from PA (and live there now) but I lived in FL for almost 10 years. There I was shocked that you could call the FHP and they would send a 'Road Ranger' if you got a flat or ran out of gas. I had never heard of such a thing in PA. But this film makes it seem like we did have something similar....once upon a time.
Some of the unused South Penn is extant but on private property. But in Bucannon Forest on the now unused Turnpike there is lots to see just south of the old Turnpike
@@margaretklos8937 NJ had primitive Turnpikes in the 18trh century, but it was the first modern Turnpike, in Pennsylvania, opened in 1940. Next came the Maine Turnpike in 1947, followed by New Jersey in 1951-52. Both Pa and NJ connected their turnpikes in 1956.
Yes back in the day it was great and to say the least it was a pleasure to drive on. Now it's a money making racket. It was to only be a toll road until it was paid for well needless to say it's not and never will be. They make too much money off this friggen money pit! I absolutely will not run that thing because of the cost to run it. Needless to say OHIO, INDIANA and WEST VIRGINIA is following suit. Cost money money money that's all they think about money.
@@OldsVistaCruiser it takes longer to get to I80 from cincinnatti than the turnpike. in my experience the drive on 80 adds time. its also easier to speed on the turnpike. less state troopers and lower chance of a deer encounter.
@@harrisonc985 - Cincinnati is in southern Ohio. I-80 is in the northern part of OH and PA. I was thinking more of Cleveland or Toledo. I use OH 2 to avoid the Ohio Turnpike.
@@OldsVistaCruiser I use 80-90 when I'm in a hurry, but OH 2 is a much nicer drive. BTW I had an Olds Vista Cruiser. I loved it, except when the gang asked "who's gonna drive?" Guess who every eye went to.
13:33 The footage of the HoJo Service Plazas is a great memory. When my family rode the Turnpike in the late 60s, the oil companies were Boron, Esso and Gulf.
Always wanted to work for the PA Turnpike, love that highway. lots of memories of having picnics on the highway, made many day drives to random spots when i was a kid. Miss PA.
Traveled with my Dad as a child he was a truck driver so knew where good food was. We always stopped at Howard Johnson’s I loved the orange sherbert .
where u now ?
@@kidkique Texas
I have done some consultation work for the Turnpike on the history end. So I was employed by them for one day which resulted in a book the PTC published~
Driven the Turnpike 100's of times! Always enjoyed the trips over the last 70 years!
Eisenhower made a mandate in the 50s to have a national high-speed highway network for military use in a possible war emergency scenario. He was a fan of the German autobahns built by Hitler. I grew up around Youngstown, Ohio, and we used to get on the Ohio turnpike yo the PA turnpike just to cruise and relax. At times, it was practically vacant in that rural section. We'd drive to Pittsburgh just to party.
Cool!
Same! I'm from Sandusky, Ohio. Although it has changed a lot.
Heavy military equipment doesn't like steep grades and it was for national security purposes
Of course it was a federal highway, built with your money. Who invited Pantsylvania to charge tolls?
15:15 “most occasions tables are shaded by broad trees” … shows family eating lunch at a table situated in baking, blazing, full-on, direct sun.
Due to Federal Highway Administration rules, the roadside picnic tables were removed years ago.
Those road-side tables were not safe, and all of them had to go. Besides, people were real pigs in those days. It was amazing and disgusting how much and how casually people littered back then! They thought nothing of it.
@@misterwhipple2870 I don't remember the litter because it was everywhere back then. I loved those tables, and remember picnics and short hikes, but even as a kid, I knew how dangerous it was getting back onto the road. Not surprised they're gone, but I still miss them.
The roadside tables on the turnpike went away in around 1967 or so. I remember a trip with the family and my mom being disappointed that they were gone. We had ham salad sandwiches packed in the cooler with a big jug of Kool-Aid. (That was my mom's standard travel food, also what she packed when we went to a drive-in.) My parents had a thermos of coffee, the big treat was always a big bag of store brand Cheeze puffs. Roadside tables were still pretty common on country roads in Pennsylvania and West Virginia through most of the 1970s. Eventually, fast food joins made them all but disappear.
5:41 There is nothing better than being out on the open highway with a '60's model Cadillac.
Go FORD or go home! Cadillac pooie!!!!
@@davidcampbell1899 Never driven a '60's Cadillac, have you?
@@mexicanspec Of course not!!! I drive a Toyota, LOL!!!!
@@davidcampbell1899 I once drove a 1962 Formal Limo, with divider, from LA to Vegas then down to Arizona and back. It was like riding on a cloud. It is even better when it is a '60's hearse.
Try a period Chrysler. They are in every way superior, except assembly quality maybe.
Remember how safe you used to feel back then . I traveled the TP as a kid and now when I stop at one I'm always aware of my surroundings . Much of that was just being a kid but things have changed along with the faces .
Hart-Celler Act.
These old videos of the Pa Turnpike are fun to guess where they are at and what service plaza they are showing. So much has changed in look. I recognize some areas of roadway easily though.
Production date on this film is about 1963.
Going west to east (early 1970's), our first time through a turnpike in Oklahoma. my mom explained how the card worked that they gave you at the start of the turnpike. How they would check the time at the end of the turnpike. If you had gone too fast, you would get a ticket. So, we stopped at a rest stop for two hours and also stopped to eat at a restaurant. When we got to the end, we gave the card to a man in a booth. He punched it into a machine, then looked at the read out. He asked if we stopped somewhere. "We stopped for gas", which was the truth, but just a small part. "Okay" he grumbled, and we went on our way.
Time and distance can get you a ticket if you're not careful good observation 👌
I doubt that ever happened. You gave the to the collector, he took your money and you were off.
@@mitchelldakelman7006 agree drove turnpike 100s of times
No one was checking entrance and exit times
I’ll take ‘Things that never happened’ for $100, Alex.
Imagine if they did equipment checks today before you got on the turnpike!
there were less stopovers and cars were less reliable
@@harrisonc985cars were more reliable if anything…
@@harrisonc985way more reliable than cars today. Mechanic, driving a 1960 Fury since 1988. New cars are good, maybe better, in the first 5-8 years, than the problems start and they are not as easy to solve as worn ignition points, or a plugged fuel filter. New cars are safer and have better rust protection. That's it.
@@bigblockjalopy what about braking and acceleration time and crash protection? you cant seriously tell me that was better back then
@@harrisonc985can you actually read? Then read again.
I certainly miss HoJo's!
That sure isn't the turnpike today.
This film was made over 60 years ago, and yes -- many changes even high tolls when the plan was to remove them many years ago. But there have been some rather expensive projects to upgrade the turnpike which will ultimately lose the character of the highway we remember.
Im so glad they are making it 6 lanes in some areas. left lane hogs and heavy truck traffic make this highway a bad experience. But it cannot be denied that the route is very scenic and beautiful in all seasons. The large mountains, tunnels, cliffside vistas, and that epic straitaway pas carlisle (now 6 lanes) is fantastic. I have driven on much of the country’s highways and this one will always stand out as being perhapse the most beautiful and scenic on the east coast.
Remember when our public servants took their jobs seriously and worked hard to keep the public safe?
Pepperidge Farm remembers.
I find these things so fascinating. Who was the original audience for this? Where would it have screened? Traveled the turnpike many times in the 70s on family trips to Illinois to see family.
Maybe as an infomercial at a movie theatre. Back then before the movie started you would see infomercials like this instead of previews of future movies
The film, made in 16mm, was made by folks who worked for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. It was not a theatrical film, but shown to civic groups, in schools and as a public relations film for local TV. Only a dozen or so prints were made, the one you see here is one of them and probably the best preserved.
@@thefrase7884: Investors. PA Turnpike Commission's initial funding was generated with muni bonds.
As a postscript, I know some folks who work at the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, and recently received about 3000 feet of blank 16mm leader, and an unused 400 feet of Ektachrome film that Mr. Visconti, who filmed this movie, simply never used!
Some portions of Pennsylvania's turnpike carve along mountain sides. Pittshburg is beautiful city at night. when driving past its brightly lit bridges along the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers.
Turnpike doesn’t go anywhere near downtown pgh
The Northeast Extension of the PA Turnpike (I 476) is the longest 3 digit interstate in the interstate system.. about 130 miles...
Only the 112.1 miles north of the mainline Turnpike are part of the Northeast Extension. The lower 20 miles are toll-free.
@@OldsVistaCruiser they were the parts constructed as part of the interstate highway system.
@@Insertgenericusernamehere809 - The Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike was PA route 9 for many years.
@@OldsVistaCruiser That was because only one Lehigh Tunnel existed when the route number was signed(the second tunnel was not added until the 1990s), meaning that it did not qualify for interstate standards. This is despite the fact they let the mainline was become part of the system in the late 1950s, even though all of the routes traveled through the two lane tunnels it had, which were not fully eliminated until 1971.
@@OldsVistaCruiser Also i was taking about the toll free segments. the toll segments oldest stretch of roadway actually predates the interstate highway system by a year.
Amazing once again.
Thanks! This comes from the collection of a friend of ours who has preserved dozens of films about the New Jersey turnpike. Please consider becoming a channel member or join us on Patreon.com/Periscopefilm
@@PeriscopeFilmgoing to do that as I have enjoyed a number of your videos.
When I lived in Allison park when I was a kid, we used the pike from exit 4 to the valley forge exit to visit grandma. Never knew how narrow the road was til I drove a Pete 379 over it. Loved the rest stops and going thru the tunnels. Used to duck below the window line of the car when we would Pass by TMI after it’s accident. And pump my arm to get the semis to blow their horns. Miss traveling on that road as a kid. Not so much as a trucker.
I can remember when Pennsylvania was a wonderful state. About 30-40 years ago. No more, too many New Jersey and New York people have moved in. And just like locus, they destroy everything they touch.
They did the same thing to Florida. I lived in the Amish Country only twenty years ago, and even since then PA has gone down-hill.
I love me a good turnpike!
The old school toll booths with the workers are cool. Today it's all electronic tolling. You either have an ez pass or the camera reads your plate and they send you a bill in the mail.
That started during the pandemic, before they did have toll collectors in some booths. They laid them all off during it and started the bill by plate and never brought them back
@@cuginoeddie8677terrible. You could always ask the toll booth collector for directions if you got off at the wrong exit. People are MUCH better than Google Maps in my experience.
@@guyintenn no they didn’t, I drive a truck for a living and been on 476 daily up to the pandemic, they still had toll collectors till covid. The PA turnpike system along with the bridges (WW and BF) laid their employees off and they did bill by plate. The bridges eventually brought their collectors back in maybe 2-3 months, PA turnpike system never did.
@@cuginoeddie8677 They eliminated the old toll booth near the turnpike toll bridge as part of the I-95 interchange project in 2016. The rest of the turnpike was converted later.
Was that a Japanese license plate at 24:03?
Special plate issued to US military personnel for use in Japan.
I have driven from Breezewood to the Ohio line, at least a hundred times!
Me too. But last year (2023) the toll from Youngstown cost $90+ so I'll be looking for a new route next time.
Remember the old Howard Johnsons's along the way. If you find any of their old china, sell it, it's worth $. I found a small individual creamer in perfect condition here in Illinois. Sold on ebay for $50.
“ The best driver in the family should be behind the wheel during high speed driving “ While the video shows a car pulled over and mom gives up the drivers seat to dad. 😂😂😂
The makers of this film would be doxxed and cancelled by the feminists if this were made today. 😂😂😂
🤣
Let the teenager drive, you will get to your location faster! Only time the car will see the speed limit is on the way by it, if you look quick enough! I was always getting shit from my mother for doing 90mph!
What was the speed limit there in 1962?
I could see myself working there a little tips and tricks safety person for you
The newest cars I saw were 1963 models.
I believe this was filmed in 1962-1963 and released a public relations film in 1963, promoting the Turnpike. Bob Hetherington, who made the film for the PTC went on to make films for the Pennsylvania Dept of Transportation. Amazing that the film survived and available once again for public viewing.
What year is your Vista Cruiser?
@@stepheng3667 - I owned three 1969 models between 1982-2020.
Here's my experience driving through the 4 active tunnels of the I-76 Pennsylvania Turnpike: ruclips.net/video/YbFQa5d1T80/видео.html
“Courteous officers accept tolls” 😂😂😂😂 I found some of them to be the most grouchiest and nasty workers around.
Give them a break, those tolls didn't go to giving them air conditioning nearly as often as it should have after the roads were paid off.
@@SnepperStepTV I do in reality. That has to be a tough job. Standing there for 8 hours in all kinds of weather with vehicle exhaust in your face all day. And I’m sure the motorists can be just as nasty as anyone.
Unfortunately, all of the Pennsylvania Turnpike toll collectors were laid off in favor of toll-by-mail.
Also, PA toll collectors were friendly. NJ and NY toll collectors won't say hello, goodbye or "F-U"!
Several were able to get in-office jobs in Harrisburg and became good friends after learning my interest in the history and preservation of Turnpike artifacts.
Those Safety Station Wagons are really something...do you think the driver was wearing a seat belt?
No seat belts, they had bias ply tires and no power drum brakes or power steering and I bet they drove them 100 mph, just like the cop cars!!
I wonder how much drag that roof-top speedometer created and how much extra gas it cost him.
@@davidcampbell1899 People think of it as a golden age, but cars were really crappy back then.
I get the sense that it was very "modern".
In THOSE days it was! Middle-aged and old people in this film grew up riding Model-Ts and Model-As on dirt country roads.
@@misterwhipple2870 Modern for the time, but as we explain in a book I authored with Neal Schorr, its design while on par in 1940 became very outdated as newer roads had wider medians -- its mentioned in the film, and all new reconstruction projects, will reflect a modern 21st century highway losing the character of the original Turnpike.
13:33 did anyone notice the bullet holes in the sign??
Top left on the “L” and the “e”
think those are dents/reflections
Very interesting. When did they stop the maintenance assistance? I am from PA (and live there now) but I lived in FL for almost 10 years. There I was shocked that you could call the FHP and they would send a 'Road Ranger' if you got a flat or ran out of gas. I had never heard of such a thing in PA. But this film makes it seem like we did have something similar....once upon a time.
They still provide the service but you need to call on your cell phone or wait for police
Lot different nowdays on the PA turnpike
It was a pioneer because of the incomplete railroad. A lot of work had already been done.
Of the original turnpike. Only about 40% of it was built on the old railroad grade. The rest of tjr turnpike was new construction.
Some of the unused South Penn is extant but on private property. But in Bucannon Forest on the now unused Turnpike there is lots to see just south of the old Turnpike
Didn't we as in NJ have the first turnpike?
No. Pennsylvania had the first turnpike.
@@margaretklos8937 NJ had primitive Turnpikes in the 18trh century, but it was the first modern Turnpike, in Pennsylvania, opened in 1940. Next came the Maine Turnpike in 1947, followed by New Jersey in 1951-52. Both Pa and NJ connected their turnpikes in 1956.
@@mitchelldakelman7006 the PA turnpike was also expanded from 1950 to 1956.
Yes back in the day it was great and to say the least it was a pleasure to drive on. Now it's a money making racket. It was to only be a toll road until it was paid for well needless to say it's not and never will be. They make too much money off this friggen money pit! I absolutely will not run that thing because of the cost to run it. Needless to say OHIO, INDIANA and WEST VIRGINIA is following suit. Cost money money money that's all they think about money.
Yep. It was supposed to be toll free by the 1950s, but for whatever reason were never removed
$90 to travel the turnpike, de mon rat run.
Going west from new jersey it has always been faster than I80
@Harrison C - That's odd because I-80 in PA is 311 miles vs. 359 miles on the Turnpike.
@@OldsVistaCruiser it takes longer to get to I80 from cincinnatti than the turnpike. in my experience the drive on 80 adds time. its also easier to speed on the turnpike. less state troopers and lower chance of a deer encounter.
@@harrisonc985 - Cincinnati is in southern Ohio. I-80 is in the northern part of OH and PA. I was thinking more of Cleveland or Toledo. I use OH 2 to avoid the Ohio Turnpike.
@@OldsVistaCruiser I use 80-90 when I'm in a hurry, but OH 2 is a much nicer drive.
BTW I had an Olds Vista Cruiser. I loved it, except when the gang asked "who's gonna drive?" Guess who every eye went to.
Biggest ripoff to the American driving public! Never use it!