Norfolk & Western Railroad circa 1950 - "Operation Fast Freight" - Historic Freight Trains

In this educational documentary we follow a boxcar eastward on the Norfolk & Western Railroad from Columbus, Ohio to Norfolk, Virginia as a part of an early 1950's steam-era freight train - No. 86. Track repairs and major shop work are also shown to help give a better understanding of what is required to operate a large railroad company.

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norfolk_...
The City Point Railroad (established in 1838) was a nine-mile railroad which started just south of Richmond, Virginia, from City Point (now part of the independent City of Hopewell) on the navigable portion of the James River to Petersburg, Virginia. It was acquired by the South Side Railroad in 1854.

After the Civil War, it became part of the Atlantic, Mississippi and Ohio Railroad (A,M&O), a trunk line across Virginia's southern tier formed by mergers in 1870 by William Mahone, who had been builder of the Norfolk and Petersburg Railroad in the 1850s. The A,M&O was the oldest portion of the Norfolk and Western (N&W) when it was formed in 1881, under new owners with a keen interest and financial investments in the coal fields of Western Virginia and West Virginia, a product which came to define and enrich the railroad.

• Category

  Education

[bcbloc02]

The year of this video would be 1949 by the brand new 1949 Chevy they were delivering at 23:56

[wdtvlive42]

It took 38000 views before someone noticed something to accurately date the film! Thanks :-)

[pumkinvine]

That's a 1950 John Deere Model B at 24:18

[wdtvlive42]

Thanks for the info. Guess we'll settle for the movie being "circa 1950".

[Darion Fox]

where did u find this?

[wdtvlive42]

I've been collecting old movies for many many years

[kentcourtney]

This is a terrific look at railroading in the 1940s with fast moving action scenes of articulateds, like the Y6b, and even the Powhatan Arrow making an appearance. There's coal and lots of forty foot boxcars in classic lettering schemes. This is the era when these United States were at their industrial best. There's shop footage, too, showing machinists working with a rare skill. There was little dependance on foreign oil when coal was king.

[sjh7132]

Fed-ex of the 40s.

[eoj2495]

Great film! Thanks for sharing.

[Kabuki Kitsune]

I'd figure it's late 49, early 50. That's about the time both the tractor and the car would be around at the same time, both new.

[DerangedDragon99]

Late '40s, early '50s. I think it was produced back in 1951.

[Supercharged2160]

K1 at 24:33

[Supercharged2160]

The last steam railroad of America, The British Railroad of America, the railroad that ended the steam age, and the railroad with the most saxophonist whistles are the Norfolk and Western's nicknames. [Trust me a hooter sounds like a high-pitched saxophone]

[PfadiHH]

Nice picture with interesting details, thank you for posting!

[Aizoon]

Delightful! There's a book of photos "Last Steam Railroad in America", about the N&W. Well worth reading.

[irish89055]

they were coming on strong... first ones in the late 30's but the war put off production...

[irish89055]

just like in Hollywood movies, the date of release can be into the next year from production ... I believe this loco is the same class as the N&W 1218, now in a museum in Roanoke and maybe back on the rails again. The observers? Thanks teacher for showing this...she must have had a headache..

[lukebccb]

Boxcars with no graffiti.  How novel.