slightly O/T 1957 AAR classroom film

Richard Glueck · **Posted:** Tue Nov 22, 2011 1:18 pm

http://www.archive.org/details/Mainline1957

20 minutes of your life. Kind of fun.

If you can stomach the announcer's platitudes, here is another classic classroom film from the late 50's. The trains barely include steam locomotive, but the Diesels are all first-generation antiques, not to mention the variety of companies. So sit back with Timmy and Susie, and see why America is the best and will always be production leaders!

Bob Davis · **Joined:** Sat Aug 28, 2004 3:25 am **Posts:** 1025

This film reminded me of a similar movie that my daughters saw in school around 1970. One of them came home from class and told me about the film on railroads they had seen that day, commenting, "....and it must have been an awfully old movie--it showed a steam engine being turned on a turntable."

EDM · **Posted:** Tue Nov 22, 2011 5:09 pm

It may have been about this film or a similar one I have on VHS, but my wife made the comment, "Did the narrarator have to go to school learn to talk like that?" Nice vintage diesel footage, though-

My youngest son just got his driver's license; he had Behind-the Wheel in school, some of which took place in what must have been a really old simulator. The film that was projected while the students were 'driving' had F units at a grade crossing. Really up-to-date-

PCook · **Joined:** Sat Jul 02, 2005 7:16 am **Posts:** 2127

It is very sad that it shows so graphically how times have changed. The factories that employed thousands of people each are now crumbling graffiti covered ruins, miles and miles of them visible if you ride commuter rail in the NYC area. The sidings that served them are now disconnected, abandoned, and overgrown. In my area we have over 150 textile mills, more than half of them are completely empty and unused, none of the ones still occupied support any textile businesses. Those that still are used at all house storage facilities, antique shops, and a few small businesses, while two of the better ones are being converted into housing. The local railroad yard that was a busy place and had an engine facility when I was a kid now is one track with the rest converted into a parking lot.

A few years ago somebody got the great idea of creating a textile museum here. They discovered that in the 150+ mills, each of which had thousands of looms in their day, there was not one complete set of textile processing machinery left in the entire city. And that was the end of the textile museum, there was nothing left to display.

PC