Grand Trunk - last steam powered passenger run, March 27, 1960

[mahatmakanejeeves]

57 years ago. I have reason to believe this is an amateur video.

[Warpy]

1. You can still ride a regular steam passenger train

but you'll have to go to South America to do it. They switch to steam up in the mountains because diesel doesn't work at extremely high altitude.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

2. I did not know that. I had thought it was gone everywhere. I mean, not counting excursions. NT

[Stuart G]

3. Wonderful video from a past era....no text

[WinkyDink]

4. So THAT'S where the name came from!

[Saboburns]

5. Chicago Tribune article

http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1960/03/28/page/13/article/steam-engines-use-last-puff-on-railroads

[blaze]

6. Hahaha!!!

Gotta love the finger over the lens.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

7. Fortunately, Mr. Zapruder learned from his mistake, and the next time he shot a historic video....NT

[hunter]

8. Not a video. Video cameras and recorders were not portable back then.

Get off my lawn.



Fifty years ago smaller video cameras were the size of a large microwave oven and were connected by a thick cable to a videotape recorder the size of a washing machine. Then you had to find someplace to plug it in. An ordinary 15 amp outlet wouldn't do.

I know this YouTube video is obviously a transfer from film; it just strikes me that my adult kids call everything "video," even old home movies. I have my grandfather's old eight millimeter movies, but my kids have never seen the projector set up. We can't even make our living room or family room entirely dark. Even with the blinds closed the streetlights still shine in. My grandparents always had blackout drapes in their living room, even after the World War II necessity had passed, which was very handy for showing slides and movies.

As for this film, how about that guy standing with his foot in the switch, and all the kids dangling their legs over the platform?

Back then most people would say, "What's the problem? There's no train coming yet."

Nowadays we're all taught NEVER to do things like that, just in case we are a bit absent minded or distracted one day and don't notice the train coming or the track switching.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

9. You're right. The original is film.

By the way, the name of the thing where the guy is standing is "turnout," not switch.