Wheels A’ Rolling

357. WHEELS A’ ROLLING (1948 -USA). A Pageant Play With Music. Presented by the Chicago Railroad Fair. Produced by LENOX LOHR. “For a full century, railroads have forged our destiny. They have cleaved the horizon with twin bands of steel …spanned a continent and united a nation …stretched arteries of illimitable strength across our illimitable land. This is a story of unique magnificence, for the romance of transportation, the adventure of speed and progress, is more than the history of AmericaÑit is the lifeblood of the nation!” The epic drama of the railroads was enacted in a colorful musical pageant-performed on outdoor stages at the 1934 Chicago Railroad Fair, and preserved for posterity in this unusual movie. The ambitious stage production included the conquering of the wilderness, to development of the first steam engines and locomotives, the 1849 Gold Rush, the Civil War, the expansion of the railroad lines (highlighted by the joining of East and West by the “Spike of Gold” in 1869), the building of frontier towns and
railroad empires, and the rise of other methods of transportation, particularly the automobile. The film ends with footage of “today’s dieseI engines, climaxing a century of railroad achievements. An intriguing film for railroad buffs, as well as for anyone interested in a unique piece of Americana. 30 minutes. Documentary Pageant