Hannibal Victory: Railroad
to the Philippines — Eight oil-fired U.S. Army Railroad 2-8-0 steam
locomotives are transported by the Victory Ship “Hannibal” from San Francisco
to the Philippines during World War II, along with their tenders and a
cargo of trucks and car frames from which rolling stock will be assembled.
The rail yards and wheel foundry in Hannibal, Mo., from which the vessel
takes its name, are shown, and the locomotives get named for characters
created by Hannibal’s most famous son, writer Mark Twain. The 55-ton locomotives,
lashed to the deck for the voyage, are unloaded under fire in Lingayen
Gulf. The trucks and car frames are unloaded and assembled in Manila, where
they eventually join up with the locomotives. Included are USA RR locomotives
866, 867,869 and 875 (plus others whose numbers aren’t visible). Produced
by the U.S. Maritime Commission in 1945. Color. 30 minutes. $19.95 plus
$4.00 shipping.
DOUBLE
FEATURE!: The Army Railroad — Official U.S. Army
orientation film on Camp Claiborne, Louisiana, home of the 725th Railway
Operating Battalion and center for training soldier-railroaders during
World War II. See rolling stock assembled, boiler tubes installed, tires
fired onto locomotive drivers, telegraphy and rules classes and trains
made up in the yard. The highlight is a live-fire bombing run on the 50-mile
rail line to Camp Polk, after which wrecker crews rush to the scene and
rebuild the track while armed troops safeguard the perimeter. Featurues
U.S. Army Railroad 2-8-0 No. 22, a diesel switch engine and railway motor
cars. And stay turned for...
Derailment — With derailment of Axis trains an important tool
in the war in Europe — along with prevention of Allied trains being derailed
— the Office of Strategic Services conducted an experiment in derailment
on the Camp Claiborne-Camp Polk railroad March 8-10, 1944. The result:
it’s much harder to derail U.S. Army Railroad 2-8-0 No. 4 and its load
of gondolas than you might think. B&W. 20 minutes. $19.95 plus $4.00
shipping.
The Alaska Railroad —
Dedicated train crews fight snow and cold on America’s northernmost railroad
in this official documentary produced by the United States Department of
the Interior during the early 1950s. The Department of the Interior then
owned and operated the railroad.
F7A 1506, FP7 1510, FP7 1514 and other locomotives pull mixed
freights, tank-car unit trains, passenger trains and other consists. A
Jordan spreader blasts through snow drifts and moose stroll casually across
the rails and into the path of the train.
The Alaska Railroad today is owned by the State of Alaska. Recording
record profits in recent years, it carries both a heavy cargo of freight
and more than half-a-million passengers a year. Color. 14 minutes. $14.95
plus $4.00 shipping.
Men and Mail in Transit
— This official orientation/training film for Railway Post Office workers
documents the entire operation from the details of the equipment each man
carried to setting up the mail care for handling the run. A senior RPO
worker is followed through his preparations for a trip, and explaining
the job to a new recruit. Included is a demonstration of how mail was kicked
off and "hooped up" to non-stop trains at rural stations. The B&O,
Santa Fe, Union Pacific, Rock Island and other railroads are seen in action.
This film was produced by the U.S. Post Office in 1956. Black and White.
27 minutes. $19.95 plus $4.00 shipping.