225,000 Mile Proving Ground Railroad Research & Development (1953)

Synopsis

This color educational film is about railroad research and advancements in railroad technology, including the development of the diesel and gas turbine locomotives which were beginning to supplant steam engines at the time. Copyright is 1953. The film stars Hugh Beaumont as E.D. Gillespie. ( Beaumont is best known for his portrayal of Ward Cleaver on the television series Leave It to Beaver.) Titles: 225,000 Mile Proving Ground (:08-:24). A streamline passenger train races by, probably the Sunset Limited. People sit in a Skyline type dome car or eat in the dining car on a train. People look out of the observation car. A steam powered freight train races by. Flashback to another era: a horse and wagon move slowly. Railroad replaced that. Scenes from the Chicago Railroad Fair show railroad history. A door placard reads: Feature Editor, E.D. Gillespie. Gillespie, who is apparently a magazine article writer, starts talking to the viewer about railroad technological research and development. In a factory, research is being conducted (:25-2:20). Exterior of the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. Central Research Laboratory, of the Association of American Railroads. A rail is being tested. Chemists in a laboratory. Steel rails examined under microscopes. as a train goes down a track. Freight train rides the rails. A train goes down the tracks. A crane from the car moves rails into place for laying the train's tracks. Machines assist bolting the tracks (2:21-4:18). A…

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Details

Running time

18 minutes

Collection

Ephemeral Films

Subjects on the Internet Archive

• Stock Footage