Interesting film about the last days of steam in Canada

[Ulrich]

The National Film Board of Canada has hundreds if not thousands of  interesting films about all aspects of how life once was in Canada. One such film, made in 1959,  depicts the end of steam. 

 http://www.nfb.ca/film/end_of_line

 

[seppburgh2]

Thanks for sharing!

[lone geep]

If you go to the site and scroll down from that, there is also a short documentary on railroaders in the Revelstoke BC area in 1958. That is also very interesting even though there is no steam. 

[BaltACD]

Opening segment also has shots of a Alco FPA-16 hauling a passenger train - engine looks so stubby in the shot. 

Why is is music with steam railroading is always done with banjo's?  Also noticed the Pete Seeger provided some of the musci for the film.

[dknelson]

While I am not a banjo fan I liked the music to that film and thought it captured the "something venerable is about to disappear forever feel of the movie which is a good mix of talking heads and great shots of diesel and steam.  Not only are the diesels it shows now as seemingly antique as the steam locomotives, but the cameras used by the railfans at the photo runbys are all museum pieces too!   And it wasn't just Canadians who'd get dressed in suits and ties for a railfan jaunt.  Older Phil Hastings shots show that US railfans did the same.

The same page has a link to Buster Keaton's last film, the Railrodder, where he crosses Canada on a CN "speeder" - it has sound but he doesn't say a word.  There is some classic comedy -- the opening shows Keaton as a British gentleman reading his newspaper, with Big Ben in the background.  A full page ad says something like "See Canada Now" so he promptly jumps in the Thames River in London.  Next thing you know he is staggering to shore presumably in Nova Scotia.  In a nod to his silent film The General, he simply steals a CN speeder and takes off.  The speeder crew running up to the tracks when they see their speeder has been taken from them is a direct "quote" from The General.

Dave Nelson

[sallesublime]

Also worth noting that CP 2816 makes a brief appearance near the end of this documentary. It was fantastic seeing the vintage footage of her, and I was rather moved by the fact that in all of that somber footage of lost engines, here was one that survived to be restored. The filmmaker couldn't have known it at the time; just a happy accident.