Southern Railway Promotional Film

J3a-614 · **Posted:** Wed Aug 15, 2012 8:18 am

In the field of vintage railway promotional films, we have this one that's new, at least to me, from Southern Railway, in the 1950s:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQCJG1bt ... re=related

Frisco1522 · **Posted:** Wed Aug 15, 2012 12:00 pm

Wish it were shot ten years earlier!
Sounds a lot like William Conrad narrating. I didn't stick around for the credits.

Lincoln Penn · **Joined:** Wed Feb 02, 2011 9:40 pm **Posts:** 841

Jeff Lisowski wrote:

I wonder why there is very little footage of Southern steam from that era.

Probably because in that era, SR was almost or totally dieselized, IF you mean the era when the promotional film was made.

Jim Herron · **Posted:** Thu Aug 16, 2012 10:04 pm

Actually, only part of that SR footage has been used in a DVD. The first scenes of the PS4 lettered for Crescent Limited are from our "Glory Machines Volume 1". I never found the name of the shooter but it was in a big reel of 16mm film that became the basis of that show which was out first program. It obviously dates from the few years when the locos we lettered for the train. We released it in 1985 and still offer it. It is much sharper on the DVD than it appears in that You Tube clip.

Unfortunately, Southern regular service steam film is rare and hard to find. The other scenes are mostly on the CNO&TP and were shot in the 1930's and '40's on trips by the Cincinnati RR Club to Somerset and/or Georgetown, KY. If I ever locate enough film to do a Southern Ry show, I'll produce it.

There are some PS2 Pacifics in our "Reflections of American Railroading" from Louisville on the last run of the St. Louis train which I think was in 1952 plus a couple of pacing scened in "Glory Machines Vol 5" which I think were shot on Southern's Memphis line and a couple of scenes at Atlanta. All of these are color.
-Jim Herron