Life-Line of the Nation is a short film from the Association of American Railroads and produced by Carl Dudley in the mid-1940s (most likely 1944) that shows how America’s railroads are ensuring the defense of the nation by meeting the transportation needs of a country mobilized for war. The film opens with a shot of a train moving through snowy terrain. Off in the distance, a train goes over a bridge (01:22). There are several shots of various trains moving along tracks. At the U.S. Capitol Building (02:13), members of the military meet with members of Congress to discuss railroad needs in a wartime situation. People gather around a radio to listen to a broadcast of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Military trucks and tanks are loaded onto trains (03:45); men from every branch of the military board trains as they head out to war. A train moves along the track with snow-covered mountains in the background (04:48). Soldiers and equipment leave the trains and board the ships that will take them overseas (05:20). There are more shots of locomotives. A number of tanks are transported on a train (07:05) Iron ore is loaded onto train cars at a mine (07:18). The iron ore is dumped into barges (07:44). A train hauls coal (08:18); there is a shot of a coal plant. Oil tanker cars are pulled by locomotives (08:59). A newly built ship is sent out onto the water from the shipyard (10:05). There is a shot of the inside of the office of the Association of American Railroads-people diligently work to keep the trains running on time (11:00). There is a series of shots of railcars sporting the different railroad companies’ names and logos. A train crosses the border between the U.S. and Canada (13:34). Various railroad employees work on machining equipment for trains (14:10); men inspect a track. There is a shot of a retired locomotive (15:44), a printing press printing papers (16:55), and various locomotives pulling train cars. One of the final shots of the film is a train passing over a river on a bridge (18:32).
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit www.PeriscopeFilm.com