1914 Pacific Electric Railroad Motorman & Conductor Training Film Interurban Trolley 17334 (1913)

Synopsis

Made in 1913-1914 for the Pacific Electric, this silent motorman and conductor training film was rescued from destruction by Robert Warr and Wally Shidler. Only about ¼ of the original production survived, but what does remain provides an intriguing look back on the early days of the Los Angeles streetcar system. At 1:35, a crossing with a defective automatic flagman is shown, and a multi-car trolley with 500 class units almost hits a passing Model T. The location is near present-day Venice Blvd. and Sepulveda. At 2:20, a car motorman uses a phone to inform the dispatcher of the issue while at 2:40 the conductor surveys the area and helps a passenger board before giving the all-clear. At 3:09, a conductor is seen getting in a conversation with a lady passenger and missing a passenger stop. He is chewed out by the passenger. At 4:22 a courteous conductor is shown assisting passengers in unloading and loading. At 4:59, a train being operated at a high rate of speed nearly runs down passengers getting off of an inbound train. At 5:25 a motorman uses proper procedure and slows down when nearing a stopped car. At 6:00, a conductor uses a phone box to phone the dispatcher. The proper forms not being available results in an issue with the trip paperwork, causing a near head on collision (8:50) with another car. At 8:29, work motor car 1543 is briefly shown. At 9:00, car 547 operated at too high a rate of speed in a curve strikes a pedestrian walking on a bridge on the Glendale…

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Details

Running time

22 minutes

Collection

Ephemeral Films

Subjects on the Internet Archive

• Stock Footage