" THREE GIANT STEPS " 1957 NEW YORK CENTRAL RAILROAD CENTRALIZED TRAFFIC CONTROL XD14274 

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“Three Giant Steps” (1957) is a black-and-white promotional film made by New York Central Railroad that details the “three giant steps” that the company undertook to optimize their freight and passenger services. Established in 1853, New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The three improvements or "giant steps" undertaken by New York Central included: Centralized traffic control (CTC) railway signaling between Buffalo and Cleveland, the opening of an automated frontier hump yard in Buffalo, and the introduction of the Flexi-Van service.
Introduction: Title text flashes across screen, train horn blows as passenger train speeds along rail track (0:08). Montage shots of trains speeding towards camera along various tracks while narrator begins introduction; New York Central EMD E7 passenger diesel locomotives (0:36). Centralized traffic control: close-up of knobs, switches on switchboard before scene changes to wide shot of railroad employee sitting in front of large switchboard, New York Central Synchro Scan System (1:35). Camera pans track diagram included on panel of New York Central Synchro Scan System operating in Eerie, Pennsylvania; Allows dispatcher to have control of rails of entire territory between Buffalo, New York and Cleveland, Ohio (2:07). Close-up of melting clump of snow on rail after dispatcher turned on electric snow melters (2:26). Automatic recorder on the control machine; Close-up as pen traces lines on chart representing different trains (2:39). Example of dispatcher handling typical scenario on control system: Shots of freight train and Empire State Express passenger train barreling along snow-lined track, dispatcher turns knob on switchboard to redirect trains and avoid traffic (2:56). Close-up interior view of switchboard mechanisms, electronics at work after dispatcher turns knob (3:40). Aerial view as Empire State Express moves from track 1 to track 2 and passes slower freight train; Montage scenes of passenger and freight trains (3:51-5:16). Old method of classifying freight cars by weight (5:18). Aerial view New York Central Buffalo Yards “The Frontier Yards” (5:32). Switch man sits in office in front of switchboard and uses switches to electrically route incoming trains to proper track (6:09). Shippers information read off as cars pass, recorded at central car record office using 1947 Gray Audograph Dictating Machine (6:30). Two New York Central train yard employees listen to recorded information at desk and write out switching lists; Typewriter types out information (6:43). Classification Yard: Locomotive pulls cars back from receiving yard and push them onto classification tracks (6:54). Hump conductor sits before switch board, demos how to switch car to any of the 63 tracks; Close-up of board with buttons corresponding to illuminated track numbers (7:19). Electronic automation: Shot of electrical memory system which controls switching tracks, car retarders, steel jaws (7:34). Hopper Truck Lines Freight truck drives over highway overpass as another drives along road below (9:23). Silver freight Flexi-Van car (9:28). Delivery of Fruehauf Trailer Corporation manufactured Flexi-Vans to train yard; Demonstration of Flexi-Van transferred onto prototype of New York Central Flexi-Van flatcar (9:37). Close-up as self-locking hydraulic hoist attached to deck takes van’s weight and lowers it from either side of flat car (10:51). Rail yard employee helps adjust front and rear of van before it locks into place automatically (11:03). Flexi-Van now attached to trailer truck drives out of rail yard (11:09). Narrator closing words, train horn blows as montage of shots of New York Central passenger and freight trains speed along railway (11:31). New York Central logo, closing credits, film ends (11:57).
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