Nostalgia & History > Short Movie Footage on Wabash Fourth District 1

This is a clip from a 30 minute movie that Wabash Railroader Larry Lett and I made from old 8mm home movies taken by various Wabash railroaders and my late uncle, John T Pierce. The 30 minute amateur movie, "Wabash Memories" is available from the Wabash Railroad Historical Society at a very reasonable price. (Proceeds from the sale of these movies go towards the restoration of the two Wabash cabooses at Monticello, Illinois owned by the WRRHS.)

I apologize that the scenes are so short, but these were hand crank cameras and the photographers were attempting to conserve film too. For those of you that have purchased my Wabash Fourth District book, you may enjoy the Wabash Memories movie as it was mostly taken on the Fourth District, though the movie is very amateur, sometimes with poor lighting and fuzziness but mostly in color. (There is some steam footage.)

This clip is the eastbound Gary Local mixed train (No. 52) at New Paris, Indiana in the 1950s. Note that trainorders are being hooped up from the agent's TO stand at New Paris. By this time, the interlocking tower was gone and the interlocking automated. Also, note that the combine is in the older Pullman green paint but has the later "UP" style lettering! Some of these old combines (and some baggage cars) were never repainted into the newer blue paint. The GP9 is running long end forward (reverse for the Wabash) but by this time the loco for the mixed (now diesel) didn't need to be turned at Gary, though it usually was. This footage was taken by Conductor Clarence Montgomery, who is featured in the book. An entire chapter in the book is devoted to the mixed train.


Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com
For more information on the book, go to my website.
I only have a few hundred books left.



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 11/19/14 20:26 by wabash2800.

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Notice how a crew member was handing off the side of the locomotive to hook the orders.

Yes, and there was a crew member standing at a baggage door and another on the end of the combine. Perhaps they were all hamming it up as they knew they were being filmed? I should have asked Clarence, but perhaps they stopped the train and Clarence ran ahead to get this film sequence?

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com

Folks, I would post more clips but my "High Speed" DSL with Earthlink can't do it. Too bad, as I've got some steam too.

Victor A. Baird
http://www.erstwhilepublications.com