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Here is a link to a promotional film made for the Southern Belle just after it went into service. The first third has the Miss Southern Belle pageant and the rest is about the train and KCS connecting bus service. Has some good film of the sleeping car, dining car and lounge area.
Be assured youngsters, documentary filmaking has come a long way since 'back in my day', when the male monotone narrator read his lines with the "pitty pat' background music. Oh, and nary a frown from the "actors' ("models' is more descriptive).
However, I think the dating of the Wabash RR film is off a bit, while it was produced later than 1952, as that was when the P-S Parlor Dome was added to the 1950 Budd "Blue Bird" consist, it was earlier than the 1957 date noted. I recall seeing that film at Summer Camp, and those years were Summers 1952-55 (Meredith NH on the B&M).
Ken Burns has indeed advanced the "state of the art".
RR4me Member # 6052
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Ken Burns makes fine documentaries, but I absolutely enjoyed watching as many of those old newsreel accounts as I could yesterday. They load very slow on my computer, but certainly worth the wait. A big thanks for posting the link.
Tanner929 Member # 3720
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I think the this showed an old addage.. People love to go to the train station to meet the train but never get on the train.
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