"CHALLENGE FOR TOMORROW" VINTAGE SANTA FE RAILROAD SAFETY FILM 71002

yesterday our grandparents looked at this locomotive in amazement today it is a curiosity the locomotive has he changed we have the place is Atchison Kansas the time a sunny day in june santa fe president girly presents a new union depot to the city of Atchison as that birthplace of the Santa Fe celebrates its centennial in the span of years between the erection of the old Atchison default and the presentation to the city of this new modern structure lies a great era of Santa Fe Progress dramatically portrayed here as the centennial celebration brings the past and the present side-by-side as the set of fake grew smaller locomotives gave way to big ones and the big ones gave way to steaming Giants and then even the Giants were no longer good enough and the glamor of steam had to make way for the efficiency of the decent accompanied by the fond affection of many Santa Fe veterans 50 34 heads for the Roundhouse and the pages of history the railroad on which this train once ran no longer exists the very rails along which it traveled have long since been replaced the Santa Fe of yesterday has been rebuilt from the ground up the days of fifty and sixty pound rail are long gone and even the heavier rail which replaced it is now itself being replaced by rails a hundred and thirty pounds or more the margin of safety must be maintained as heavier power comes into use and the rails must change with the load they bear on the Santa Fe nothing is permanent except progress new equipment demands new methods methods in which rail is laid not in 39 foot lengths but 1,400 feet at a time the rail is centered and it's off for the old on with the new a crane gets ready to pick up the new rail ahead of the crane a crew quickly lines up the tied lights the new rail is dropped into place and then with the air hammers drive the spikes one two three and the job is done even the sounds of the railroad are changing with this new butt welded rail no longer will be heard the familiar clickety click as the wheels pass over the joints stop says the Train order signal and out comes the agent with orders to take sighting a scene which is swiftly disappearing and along with it other causes of train delay today keep a-movin is the aim of the men of Santa Fe where centralized traffic control is in effect no longer do trains wait in sightings or brakeman clamor down to set switches with CTC the dispatcher determines where trains shall pass he turns a button and hundreds of miles away a switch opens double yellow proceed at medium speed says the signal and prepare to enter a diverging route red / green diverging clear proceed through diverging route travel at prescribed speed through the turn out the signals talked the engineman into the siding to meet the other train without interruption both trains proceed on their way proceeds as the signal and back to the main track goes the Train the running need accomplished with a maximum of safety and a minimum of delay CTC is another step in the story of Santa Fe progress the story of finding better ways to build a better railroad a better way of coupling than this old-time link-and-pin coupler certainly needed to be found watch this the development of automatic couplers enables this switchman to stand clear of the cars and make the coupling with complete safety but safety is not only a question of equipment safety is also alertness and proper supervision it is noticing that a man has his hand too far back on the claw bar and cautioning him to take a safer grip here we avoid perhaps only a few bruised fingers but that same alertness when a crew is working with noisy power tools saves not fingers but lives train coming says the foreman shut off the tools get to clear and one by one the men leave their work the men on one side Foreman on the other to observe the passing train and see that all as well every department of Santa Fe plays its part in the progress of the road this Santa Fe crew is the most highly mechanized Thai gang in the world replacing ties one of the most laborious jobs in maintenance work is done completely by machine this rig pushes out the old time other machines in succession clear out the ballast to make room insert the new tie and tamp down the ballast again with new equipment or old safety is often a matter of little things we do or fail to do take that handle out of the jacks as the foreman why should I that's why little things a little piece of wood for example why is the safety committee Minh waving it at someone what's the matter Ross well let's go back a few minutes to Carmen are working on the repair track doing a good job as they usually do when one of them picks up some pages from a magazine probably has some interesting article perhaps on the international situation that's no way to keep your mind on the job fellow he's bewitched bothered and bewildered for sure he puts the handle in then takes it out again he's pumping the jack but where's his piece of wood he knows the rule is never to jack metal against metal you better forget that picture fella you're all confused a little piece of wood but it could have caused a tragedy the old hand car was one of the first casualties of modern railroad progress but equipment whether new or old whether maintenance operating or mechanical is still run by people when all is said and done it is what people do with equipment that makes the difference and as we say most times it's the little things we do that count lots of different people operate motorcars let's take two of them one in Texas and one in California Jill here reads his line up looks at the timetable and checks his watch he assures himself that he has ample time to go ahead of the next train out in California Skippy seems preoccupied he reads his lineup checks his watch but today he fails to look at his timetable now he knows that number one is on time but he doesn't check to see when number one is due bill on the other hand is alert as he rides along he looks behind him to make sure he's in the clear the motor car indicator shows a train in the block as bill approaches the set up he checks the indicator and sees that he must set off well it was all right he's in the clear but what about Skippy there sure is something wrong today he isn't even looking around to see what's coming wonder what's the matter seems to be in some kind of a daze that's not like skip why look at that he never noticed that signal or even the motor-car indicator there's a train in the block and he's passing his set off look around skip look around we don't know how that could have happened and it'll be a long time before Skippy is able to tell us a thousand miles away bill is in the clear safety on a railroad is a lot of people doing things right it's not extra work it's doing whatever you are doing the way it ought to be done if you work the job right you go home every time when the day's work is done that's safety toe dancing is a wonderful talent and many people have danced their way up the ladder of success ouch the best way is to take a firm grip with a hand plant the foot sideways to get as much of the sole of the shoe as possible on the run the only time we can have an accident is when we get ourselves in a position for it to happen standing in the center of the car this man has 20 to 25 feet to recover his balance in case of slack action but with the position this man is in if the car stops with a jerk he's going to fall off and if he hits that ground he's a goner maybe we better pick a softer place for him to light falling from cars is serious business and it's only in the movies that you can pick the place you land incidentally this really could happen or didn't you know that Santa FA was a seagoing railroad well it is freight cars are transported across San Francisco Bay on barges cars come to the end of the line at Richmond and are then distributed by barge to points around the bay the skills and ingenuity of Santa Fe men take a new twist as the cars are switched to the barge and Santa Fe takes to the water a railroad is a changing thing changing because it is run by and for people meeting their demands and expressing their ambitions every day brings a new demand on our service a new adventure in serving the nation on the santa fe nothing is permanent except progress no problem is so big that it cannot be solved by teamwork moving 164 tons of diesel through the air is a routine job today but only because Santa Fe people met the challenge of the coming of the diesel with cooperation and creative ability old methods of handling truck sides such as this were awkward and inefficient out of the skill and imagination of Santa Fe men came this new safe effective way of holding and positioning a truck side while necessary repairs are made these new and ingenious devices express not only the creative ability of Santa Fe people but their pride in the road but just as important they expressed the concern of the men for safety this wire for example is wild on an armature at high tension there is always a chance the wire will snap yet it must be closely watched as it is one so employees devised this guard which can be opened when it is necessary to adjust the wire and then closed as winding is resumed handling caustic soda requires a good deal of care to prevent its coming in contact with the men who pour it into the cleaning tank drums used to be lifted with a rope sling making it necessary for the men to stand near the tank ingenuity produced this new rig which enables the men to stand clear of the tank in case the solution boils over Willie works in the battery shop and he really gets a charge out of his worth of course he doesn't bother to wear goggles that's only sulfuric acid in that battery tester yank well the acid was in the tester but now Willie thinks there's some in his eyes and he's bellowing like a bull the foreman taking no chances rushes Willie to the neutralizer tank kept ready for such emergencies and then to the shower which dilutes the acid hey you're getting that water in my eyes says Willie ending the false alarm Willie's all wet but the foreman is burned up I protection against glare sparks fragments and flying particles is one of the most vital of safety measures few gifts are more precious than sight say where's your goggles oh gee I must have forgot them well you can always get new goggles thanks John the safety committee Minh but you can't get new eyes people talk about gambling with safety but it's no gamble it's only a sucker bet even if you win all you get is the stake you started out with anyway and you know that your number is bound to come up sooner or later nobody can throw seven every time thinking is the basis of achievement in safety and every other field this machine conceived and built by Santa Fe men solves the problem of winding large steel tubes in a conical shape for use in steam generating units axles wheels and other parts must be inspected and machined to precise dimensions before they are put in service or restored to use after repair the latest automatic machinery is helping to keep Santa Fe in the lead among modern railroads everybody sees the gleaming new diesels and the silvery new trains but few see the massive specialized machinery which maintains them in their swift passage in the shops as in the yards on the trains along the right-of-way in stations and in offices the skills of Santa Fe people combined with new equipment to keep Santa Fe constantly moving forward in addition to this wheel lathe in the shops a still newer machine Truths the wheels without removing them from the locomotive the latest development of its time a portion of the track is pulled back and the cutting tool is brought in contact with the wheel once again the ingenuity of Santa Fe people keeps the diesels in tip-top condition for the smooth and safe movement of freight and passengers alike it takes cooperation to meet the challenge of competition this diesel engine a small brother of the locomotive engine is a powerful weapon in equipping Santa Fe to attract shippers of commodities needing refrigerated or freezing temperatures progress from manual icing of cars to automatic icing machines and now to mechanical temperature control is an example of how foresight and cooperative work on the part of all leads to an ever-greater railroad when the installation is completed the car is tested at various temperatures with the thermometer showing 10 below the door in itself a new development is open it's cold in there anybody want a ship a polar bear emergencies will occur as long as human beings exist nobody is perfect good planning proper preparation will take care of those emergencies one may occur but the greatness of a railroad lies not in coping with emergencies but in preventing them two factors contribute to safety and progress the first and most important is people people striving to do a better job more safely the second factor is equipment and the thorough testing of the this reflective scope actually sees internal flaws in axles wheels and other parts and prevents defective parts from ever getting in service all couplers used by the Santa Fe are inspected for cracks by magnetic particle inspection which detects the slightest irregularity the metallurgical microscope helps prevent many equipment failures by revealing their cause high magnification shows the actual grain structure of metal objects all system construction made of concrete is tested in this laboratory an actual sample of the concrete used is subjected to compression until it reaches the breaking point this point is then compared with the specifications for the structure in which it was used equipment includes protective devices worn or used by employees in their work here rubber gloves used by linemen are checked periodically after the technician puts water inside the gloves and puts them in a water-filled tank he subjects them to a current of 10,000 volts various types of soles and heels found in work shoes are tested in this machine along with different types of running boards the object is to find which types of footwear are most resistant to slipping and which running board provides maximum safety for the men who use it in addition to dry tests like this the materials are examined under laboratory conditions of rain and ice the machine provides an accurate comparative measurement of different designs and materials the chemical laboratory of the test department conducts many analyses even drinking water from all parts of the system is analyzed bacteria logically as an assurance that it is pure and safe the elements of greatness may in themselves seem small yet the whole reputation of Santa Fe is nothing but the addition of little things from all over the system that is why every challenge no matter how small must be met fortunately the people of Santa Fe are safety conscious indeed not a yard or a shop but has its safety signs a reminder from the men to themselves never to relax the drive for safety nor to shirk the responsibility for life and well-being safety is one field where the motto is the less the merrier where zero is the perfect mark a railroad is run by people all kinds of people doing all kinds of work each contributing in his own way to that total of all our efforts which is the modern Santa Fe on the coast on the Gulf in the West in the East Santa Fe people continuously create the skill and experience which meet the challenge life places before us we Santa Fe people represent a sum of experience a total of skill which is one of the greatest resources of our nation working together we move passengers and freight over the thirteen thousand miles of the Santa Fe system fulfilling a function vital to the health and prosperity of the nation out of the yard out of the Train out of the right-of-way the station the office the school from the knowledge of past and present transmitted to the future comes the skill and leadership which guides us in the neverending race for supremacy of service and reputation the pride with which we tell those we meet I work on the Santa Fe is among the most valuable possessions of the whole railroad for we could not be proud of the road unless we were proud of ourselves and the others who keep it running and growing new trains and better trains will come new equipment will be devised but people will still run the Santa Fe and from the experience of the past the skill and safety of the present will surely come leadership to meet the challenge of tomorrow

Channel: PeriscopeFilm

Views: 206,375

Keywords: Periscope Film, Stock Footage, Train, Railroad, Rail Transport (Industry), Trains, Station, Accident (Cause Of Death), derailment, Santa Fe, railroad accidents, engineer, railroad

Id: B9VqccMWF-c

Length: 27min 18sec (1638 seconds)

Published: Tue Feb 24 2015