49 Chicago Railroad Fair "Wheels a Rolling" Musical History of Trains 51854 (1948)

Synopsis

This 1958 color film is from the “Wheels-A-Rolling” musical presentation that was part of the 1948 and 1949 Chicago Railroad Fair, at which 39 railroad companies participated. This was the high water mark for the passenger railroads, and just before the nation's airlines forced them to reconfigure their business model. The musical numbers showcase the life-size replicas of transportation and train development. The actors are dressed in corresponding costumes of the time period. This is a John Ott Picture and produced by Lenox Lohr. The show opens with Native Americans singing and walking across the stage with horses and carrying canoes. Father Marquette arrives at Lake Michigan and befriends the Indians. Their pathways become roadways in transporting early settlers (:35- 2:28 ). The Rocket, designed by Robert Stephenson in 1829 in England, was the most advanced steam locomotive of its day ( 2:29 - 3:03 ). He followed that in 1831 with the John Bull ( 3:04 - 3:15 ). The 1831 West Point was the third steam locomotive constructed in the U.S. and built for the South Carolina Railroad ( 3:16 - 4:07 ). Also in 1831, the DeWitt Clinton was the fourth steam locomotive built for service in the U.S. for the Mohawk and Hudson Railroad to operate in New York ( 4:08 - 4:30 ). In 1829, the Tom Thumb was invented by Peter Cooper. It races against a horse-drawn carriage and loses ( 4:31 - 5:20 ). In 1832, the Atlantic was built by Phineas Davis for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad ( 5:21 -…

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Details

Running time

26 minutes

Language

English

Collection

Ephemeral Films

Subjects on the Internet Archive

• Stock Footage