Seen Around St. Louis, June 1954

[Silexrifl2]

Is that camera you show exactly the one he used? The one with fixed focus?

[gothpapa]

@Silexrifl2 Yes and No. It is not the actual camera he used (my brother has that) but it is identical to it. I found it on ebay a couple of years ago -- in the original box with the manual!

[ALS2001]

Only video I have ever seen that has TRRA Steam in action!

[gothpapa]

@ALS2001 I have always wondered exactly what that was. What is TRRA?

[sickmessiah]

My grandparents whom helped raise me both passed away this year .> i found this camera in there bedroom and now own it .. I was looking for a video to see what the quality of video is that it can produce because i make music and soon will make music videos with this camera as a alternate angle camera with a different style of video .. Anyhow .> I AM A HUGE Nine INch Nails fan and this is the first video i found .. Kinda like a sign maybe .. IDK ..

[gothpapa]

@sickmessiah Wow, I actually used NIN in one of my videos?! I can't believe I did that! ;-)).

About your camera. Exactly what is the "this camera" that you found? If it is an old Kodak 8mm/Super8mm you might have problems finding the correct film and getting it developed. If its possible to do that it might be fun to play with it -- kinda like restoring and driving a Model T Ford.

[gaycowboy31]

nice vintage IT footage

[stevenfd123]

This is great film!! Even has the IT Streamliners at 1:23. That is the only action footage of them I have ever seen.

[pm0501]

WOW... When I was a kid I rode on the IT from Springfield to Auburn. It shut down when I was 4. After 1956, my uncle had to pick us up from Springfield and drive us to Auburn. I lost a brand new "Blondie" comic book at the station on my last ride. The station was a musty heating oil smelling place I remember all too well.

My Aunt lived about a block from the tracks in Auburn and I was always warned not to wander off. Of course I didn't listen and my older cousin had to fetch me.

[LostOzarkRambler]

Cool. My uncle used to work for the IT in St. Louis. He would have loved to have seen this.

[robertgift]

Nice tribute to your father.

Thanks for sharing it with the world.

[Intransitman]

That film is a treasure, thanks for sharing it.

[waynebrasler]

I do remember those streetcar bodies stacked up, and streetcars on steam train flat cars, wafting through East St. Louis to other destination. You can still ride Illinois Traction streetcars from St. Louis in San Francisco.

[gothpapa]

My original soundtrack for this was the Paul Desmond cover of the "Trolley Song" -- a perfect fit. Unfortunately, the copyright police caught up with me. I had the choice of taking the video down altogether, muting it, or replacing the soundtrack with something from YouTube's long and boring list of acceptable alternatives, none of which did justice to the subject. I finally selected an electronic cover of "Ghosts" by nine-inch-nails. It sorta works I guess. Too bad.

[rodedawg74]

nice vid i like that old footage.

[jacero10]

Wow, what a treasure! A wonderful tribute to your father and a window into an era that was passing even then.

[BenAliGtor]

Awesome. Not only great traction shots, but that steam switcher, and the GMO freight were terrific.

[M1903A1]

Your movie is fantastic.

The streetcar bodies stacked up in the junkyard at the start of your movie were former Chicago PCC streetcars. At only about six years old, they had been sent back to St. Louis Car Co. to be stripped of parts, which were reapplied to new bodies to form the modern Chicago "L" cars seen in your 1968 movie.

The two car train at about 1:45 was at Edwardsville, IL. (to be continued)

[M1903A1]

They were cars 101 and 104, held there as a "commuter protection train" in the event that the morning local into St. Louis was late. In practice, by the time they'd scrambled around and assembled a three-man crew the late train was usually there, so the train was used only about five times in six years. Cars 101 and 104 are preserved today at Union and St. Louis, respectively.

[boazrg]

I rode the Chicago PCC's, and the "spam can" El cars made of PCC components. Great streetcars but terrible subway cars - unbearably noisy in the tunnels. They did provide close to fifty years of service. The Chicago PCC's were 2 man cars, wider and longer than standard PCC's, so no other PCC operators (Boston, Philly, Toronto) could buy them. Sad, they were barely used at all. We used to call them "Green Hornets".

[buntik1687]

Very Cool.

[waynebrasler]

My dad was a streetcar motorman in St. Louis and on days off would take my brother and I downtown to ride the green trolleys of the Illinois Terminal over to Granite City and, once, to Alton. Reading the story of your father, and seeing this wonderful film, touched me deeply.

[SugaMetal07]

Wow.. that's great! : ) The story is sad, but how cool to be able to see what he saw! : )

[brocczz]

Fantastic....and Paul Desmond as well...begs for a zillion screen shots!!

Thanks

[gothpapa]

A belated "Thanks" for your comment Unfortunately, the copyright police caught up with me and made me replace the Paul Desmond. I had to choose something from YouTube's long and boring list of acceptable alternatives, none of which did justice to the subject. I finally selected an electronic cover of "Ghosts" by nine-inch-nails. It sorta wortks I guess.

[subwaymark]

Wow, what a great story which makes this video mush more important then jsut the great IT itself. Thanks for sharing!!

[critter1993]

Awesome video!! Great tribute to your father. Thanks for sharing.