This is my old neighborhood and it looks fine to me. We used to walk from home to this train station, North Philadelphia Station on Broad st at Lehigh ave. We lived at 18th and Cumberland in N Philly from about 1948 till 1967 or so. So I remember this area from basically the era portrayed in this film and it's very wonderful for these old eyes to see. Brings back great memories. Thanks NASS and keep up the good work.
I was thinking the same thing... it stopped at the North Philadelphia station, which is still in use today, but it made stops at some others which today's trains heading north do not do today. Or perhaps they were local stations, like on the Reading commuter line.
@@warrengibson7898 It was electric when I rode the Silver Star from Philly to the deep south in the '70s, they changed to diesel in Washington DC. But I don't know what the power was in the '40s.
Philly used to be a big clothing manufacturing city until we got sold out by the deepstate and corrupt politicians to China and whoever else willing to buy us and launder political dollars.
@@matrox Nor deepstate nor corrupt politicians, thats how unregulated capitalism works. But Trump won't tell you that because capitalism works in his favor.
@@cytrynowy_melon6604 Honest capitalism works in everyone's favor if you have the brains to take advantage of it. Sounds like you too have been brainwashed by the Dems and Fake News that Socialism is the way to go now.
@@matrox How do you define "honest capitalism", and how is diverting production to offshore sweatshops "dishonest" when profit at any cost is the only goal?
@@andyjay729 A bigger question is ...why are you in favor of Off Shore Sweatshops? Is it so you can save a dime? Thats the problem, people like you would rather save a dime instead of saving an American job. Its called the selling out of America. I a for American capitalism in America. Not Globalism at the expense of America like the DemocRATS and Deep State are pushing.
I used to date a girl from Philly. This was back around 1967 and 1968. She lived on Alleghenny Avenue. I remember I used to travel by train from my hometown, Newark, NJ, down to the North Philly station. I remember the wood panelling in the main terminal. The North Philadephia station used to be a stop on the old Pennsylvania RR line that ran from Boston to Washington, DC. But, these days, the N. Philly station is a commuter stop and Amtrak only stops the Penn Station on 30th Street. All of the factories you see in this clip are closed and many have been torn down, but a few of those buildings still stand, just empty out old hulks now. It's interesting to see them here, as they used to be.
This is North Philly, all of those industrial facilities are now gone and the buildings razed or if they’re still standing in derelict condition, the surrounding neighborhoods impoverished.
I love these old restored films, those old beautiful cars, city streets, just fantastic. I can completely lose myself watching these wonderful films & imagine I am actually there. They are the closest thing to actual time travel we have. I hope you can find plenty more of those films to restore. Its great stuff.
If anyone is interested to see this same route today, use google maps, this video begins at Germantown and Sedgley Avenue Philadelphia PA. The Airco Air Reduction bldg is still there, the school on the opposite corner is also still there. Follow along the rail line and you are looking to the north, and you will see most of the stretch from Morgolis Fuels to Margo Wines now an electrical substation. The PRR freight yard is now a Social Security Admin center. Passing over Broad Street at 1.04 gives a nice view of a few homes on North Broad that are still there today. The parking lot is still there. When pulling into the station the McCormick Deering Farm Equipment plant is still there, but totally gutted.
@@bazza945 Compressed gases, like oxygen, nitrogen, argon. They probably had acetylene as well. I worked for Air Reduction Co (AIRCO) in Chicago, They merged with Ohio Medical and then eventually got bought by BOC Gases from the UK. They eventually merged with Edwards Vacuum from the UK and then went through some divestures, etc over the years. I'm still with the company now, but AIRCO has been gone for 20+ years.
This is incredible. Both of my grandfathers were just kids when this video was made and they were living in Philadelphia. To get to see such high quality footage of what the city looked like when they were growing up is amazing. Thank you for posting these!
Great eye!!! And a great movie! I actually got to meet Lizbeth Scott about 20 years ago. She was a sweet tiny little thing and she still had that raspy voice. She called me tall and handsome. I blushed all the way home. :)
Well thanks for this I'm a locomotive engineer and 80 years later I run my train every day from TRENTON to PHILLY and of course I STOP at NORTH PHILADELPHIA
Film from those times is grainy and aged. It makes no sense but somehow I came to subconciously imagine that life must have been seen the same way by those alive then. The videos that NASS does dispel that idea completely. The difference is astounding. Some comments say that there is too much or too little of this & that but to me, given the time consuming difficulties, this remastering is a new and different step forward; something I never imagined could be possible. braVO!
Thanks for sharing, I run trains on this route, and always wondered how things must of been in the past with the factories still running and neighborhoods still vibrant.
It is the old Pennsylvania Railroad mainline that is now Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor with one track now used by Conrail Shared Assets for freight service.
@@alvinwagner6085 It roughly follows I-95 and State Road until it reaches Frankford Creek when it briefly follows Erie, and then turns at St. Chris's to follow Sedgley and Glenwood.
I love these rare films on UA-cam - this is the closest you could get to actually going back in time for a brief visit. I had a lot of ancestors who settled in Philadelphia, Bucks County, etc., from parts of Germany. I have worked a lot on Market Street, and always got a deja vu feeling when visiting there and around the city. Thank you for this amazing film footage
I have a strong bent toward nostalgia especially regarding trains and real people just doing what they did back in the time depicted in this video. Someone else previously stated these videos are the closest thing to going back in time ....I just love this stuff..I find much comfort viewing this sort of everyday life scene..sincere thanks to the person responsible for posting this trip down memory lane.....
Several decades before the middle class exodus to the suburbs and deindustrialization took hold in North Philly and many other working class urban areas in the U.S.
@@Ryan-on5on Middle class exodus indeed.. it caused these cities to lose much of their middle class populations.. to this day. Accessible housing in the suburbs became an option after ww2 and the exodus only accelerated when the factories started relocating or closing and the social problems of the 60s resulted in unrest, crime, and even riots in some cities. This exodus was also characterized as white flight, as the middle class was mostly white and many of them wanted to flee the growing crime and unrest for greener pastures.. and the cities most affected by this declining population lost their tax base for many years to come.. which created a downward spiral and even worse problems in these cities. Many never recovered.. including Philadelphia. As a truck driver, I have to drive into many of these formerly livable cities and I always feel sad each time because I see the landscape filled with abandoned factories and the rundown condition from decades of under investment. I just heard today that Philadelphia, among many other cities in the U.S., is short staffed by over 600 cops due to another type of exodus.. and crime has been way up. Not very encouraging for anyone who would love to see these cities return to their former glory.. as depicted so well in this video.. among so many others on youtube. Until these cities have a healthy middle class component in their populations, I dont think much will change unfortunately.
@@MK-fc2hn Sounds like big cities like Chicago. Lots of people leaving Chicago as a result of many issues that occurred within as of late. I myself am trying to move out of Chi town
@@The1Music2MyEars It's a shame to have to leave your hometown, but everyone reaches their own tipping point right?? .. I'm sure leaving will feel like a loss.. especially Chicago, which is so nice in some areas.. I visited it 2 years ago and enjoyed its special character.. but I know the problems there run deep and will probably take many, many years to fix. There are probably some short term solutions that would help, but I wouldn't hold my breath on any of those being done.. it seems dysfunction and corruption are entrenched in many cities unfortunately. Moving out of a city can be sad, but also an exciting time.. GOOD LUCK on a smooth transition!
@@MK-fc2hn How do you think 🤔those problems arised.The Govt made and catered to whites.The GI Bill.°Rdlining of banks.inadeqate jobs and schools.A Justus justice system etc..Today's problems are continuation and exemplifications of the pandemic and legacies of inequalities. America never addressed their issues and placed thir head in the sand and made excuses about an idyllic time😒🙄
Nice shot of a streetcar at 1:08. You don't get that sort of immediacy for streetcars very often, very nostalgic. All the train cars on the sidings look just like my old Lionel trainset.
That is route 2 trolley on Indiana Avenue about to turn right (south) onto Broad Street, one of the very few places that trolleys ever operated on Broad Street.
Sorry if I talk to the wrong spotters, but can anybody of you confirm or deny if the dark car in the lower field of that same scene is a Chrysler Airflow? That would make my day ...
@@bescheuerterbruder719 If you mean that greenish car in the parking lot... Hard for me to tell... maybe a '41 Airflow? I don't think it's from the '30s when the rear wheels were covered.
@@james5460 Actually no. I meant the rather black car halfway below the streetcar on which you have a sideview and which is waiting to turn left. You see it better in 1.09 where it is in the lower centre of the image. It looks like a 30s car with integrated headlamps which was a feature first found on the 34-37 Airflow and its DeSoto counterpart. Until now i haven't seen one in the NASS movie collection.
Wonderful video restoration, although the audio is off---there were no steam engines on this route, the Pennsylvania Railroad used electric locomotives. Sad to note that nearly every factory shown here is now abandoned. The full parking lot at North Philadelphia Station is nearly empty these days--no one would dare park their car there now!
Great film , but heartbreaking in a way. The city was clean and orderly. Business was thriving. The same trip today is like traveling through no man's land.
The only inaccurate thing about this video is the steam locomotive sounds as this train would have been pulled by a PRR GG1 electric as it on an electrified route.... But other than that it’s a great video.
Wonderful. Always enjoy these great films by NASS. Thank you for sharing. People should realize when the commenting on how clean everything is in a certain city, that much of that cleanliness comes from the filters, etc. that NASS applies to the film itself, to enhance viewing, as they mention in their remarks at the beginning of the post. What's nice is not to see all that graffiti that is now on most railroad cars and many buildings!
Forgive my ignorance, am I understanding this correctly that you're saying that through an editing/filtering process they can make existing trash in the film disappear?
@@ramseydieter I may have mis-spoke slightly. I know the filters can add color, and they seem to soften the focus somewhat from the original b&w copy. How much effect that has on eliminating actual litter in the streets I would not be sure of. I would guess some smaller items of trash would disappear because of this process. Researching original source material may be helpful.
It's so great that someone back then thought to do this. The soundtrack, though, would not be accurate. Within Philly, PRR ran electric commuter cars or locos.
My mom, dad, grandparents, etc, and I are from Philadelphia. While I wasn't born yet, my mom, dad, grandparents, and great-grandparents were around in the 1940's, and it's nice to see the Philadelphia that they used to see.
Looks like this was filmed along the Pennsylvania Railroad from all the "Pennsy" freight cars seen and sometime in the early 1940s based on the automobiles in the parking lots. Nice shots of "Philly" as seen from a vintage train at a vintage time. Thanks for sharing!
One person above says they can see '46 and'47 cars in the lots. Can you perhaps correct them (I'm not a car style expert)? Another person says the trolleys briefly glimpsed last ran on that particular route in June of 1947. Since I don't see any obvious wartime advertising (not even a lone "Buy War Bonds"), I don't think this was during WW2. So that would leave a relatively narrow window (between 1945 and 1947), unless you really think this is the early '40s.
@@andyjay729 I watched this film again and paid closer attention to the automobiles. Most early postwar cars were basically "warmed over" prewar models with some differences in trim. The first really new postwar designed cars where considered the 1947 Studebakers and Kaiser-Frazers. I couldn't find any in this film. Good point about the lack of wartime advertising in this film. So, this could have been filmed in the years 1945, '46 or '47. I'd doubt it was beyond 1947 as you should start to see those Studebakers, K-Fs and even the new "stepdown" Hudson design.
I think this trip would’ve been on an inter urban electric passenger train with a motorized lead car pulling. The steam locomotive sound effect is probably not accurate. There is also no smoke blowback in any of the frame, which suggests to me that this was an all electric commuter train .
Seeing North Philadelphia station on what is now the Amtrak NE corridor is a trip..I ride past daily on the Trenton train and boy does it look different 😢
I can't help thinking about all those cars which don't exist anymore. I would be glad to own any one of them now. 40's and early 50's are my favorites.
What a time machine! And probably the only way you'll be able to see a clean Philadelphia before it was overrun with crime and trash. I love those old billboards!
Terrific! The train is approaching North Philadelphia Station from New York/Trenton or Atlantic City. We lived on Carlisle Street, near Clearfield Street, just a few blocks from the station at Broad and Glenwood. The steam locomotive on the adjoining Chestnut Hill Branch (which was electrified) is interesting which probably served quarries in Whitemarsh Township via a Branch off of Ivy Hill Road. Thank you.
This source footage is again the backdrop for a movie studio isn't it? This time with two shots taken at the same time, one looking half forwards and the other looking back. They'd have projected the two halves synchronised behind the "action" in a fake carriage in the studio. It would be truly great to find the film they were used in.
That's probably it. The original BW film (check the link in the description) starts off with a guy closing a movie clipboard (unfortunately without a date).
The opening scene, going past "Airco", Air Reduction". I worked for Airco in Chicago in the late 80's and 90's before they were bought out by BOC Gases which were based in the UK. I am still with the company, now after a handful of changes and purchases along the way lol
I grew up in the Northern Liberties section of Philly in the 80's and 90's... in a row home adjacent to an abandoned factory....many of the factories you see here were abandoned when I was growing up and covered in ivy and overgrowth ..some still stand today.. I always found the abandoned industrial spaces to be a bit magical and spooky , like a ship wreck..This is just amazing... to see them operational and to see the city so pristine looking.... However it's sobering to think of what it has become. The economic impact of all of that industry departing Philadelphia has had lasting devastating effects. Is that north Broad St facing North at about 5:21 ? I could weep to think of what it looks like now... What it was...and what it could be
I attended a boarding school about an hour outside of Philly in themid-90's. One evening we took a trip into downtown Philly, and on the way home we drove down Broad St. I was aghast at all the boarded-up businesses that we passed, thinking "I couldn't think of downtown Toronto being as abandoned as this."
Looks like the Pennsylvania Railroad mainline going through North Philly, stopping at North Philadelphia Station. (I think the station is seen twice in this film; with the camera facing south and then facing north?) The steam sound effect was not accurate; this line was electrified. It's shocking to see so many cars parked at the station: they would be vandalized if they were left there today! We lived in Northeast Philly from 1949 to 1969 and often took the train from this station to go see our relatives in New York. Interesting to see a McCormick farm equipment factory near the station; today it is abandoned as are almost all of the other factories along this route.
Yes...my first thought was, "What's with the chug chug chug?" I think this line was electrified at least as far back as the 1930's. Other than that, it's a great video.
Not from my era but I'm a poor mans history buff. It brings a nostalgic tear to my eye. This city really truly was an authentic industrial town surrounded by neighborhoods. A trolley usually took you right to the front door of your job. It's often said to a point being cliche that pictures are worth a thousand words and eras never repeat themselves. It will never be this way again.
This is on the P.RR main line between NYC and Washington D.C. T are are overhead columns holding the wires for the commuters and long distance trains . T he long distance trains changed from electric locks to steam or diesel locks for points south and to Miami. Iam a New Yorker who grew up a few miles from Penn Station 1950s... 1980s.
"Nearly Everybody Reads the Bulletin" but not enough to keep it in business. I miss having 4-5 newspapers - The Inquirer, Bulletin, Courier Post, the Daily News and I forget the paper that had the pretty gals on page 5 or something like that - maybe The Journal??
I love watching these old remastered videos from yesteryear I'm not nearly old enough to have lived in this time period, But yet somehow they feel strangely comforting and familiar to me and I do believe in reincarnation by the way I hope I live long enough to see VR (virtual reality technology) is sophisticated enough and advanced enough to where you don't just have to sit and watch an old video from this time. But you can actually immerse yourself into this world I think that would be the only reason why I would buy a VR set is if I could time travel back to the 1930s and 40s and see the world the way it used to be...
Truly exceptional footage. Late 40's, maybe even as late as 1949, judging by a single car at 1:13. What's kind of amazing is, developing film wasn't exactly cheap, and so who would take a moving picture of a "nothing" train ride through industrial Philly? Really interesting footage!
A movie studio, making a movie. This was a "process plate", which was background footage used for the background scene when some actors are shown sitting in a moving vehicle. Often the vehicle is a car, but in this case it would be two people in facing seats in a train carriage. The first half is background when the camera is capturing one actor, the rest is background for a shot of the other seat. The actors were actually sitting on stationary seats in a sound stage, and this image was projected on a big screen in the background behind them.
Someone else in the comments from Philly said that the trolleys briefly seen last ran on that particular route in 1947. I'm guessing we need more car experts to help pin this down. Can you spot any more postwar cars? Already I'm guessing this wasn't during the war years because I don't see any obvious wartime advertising ("Buy War Bonds", "Keep 'Em Flying" "Smoke Out Hitler with Lucky Strike", etc.). Maybe it could be pre-Pearl Harbor, but again, do you see any other postwar cars?
@@andyjay729 I am no car expert, but it is very difficult to be able to tell the difference between 1942 cars and 1946/47 cars from a distance, unless you have really specific knowledge. This is what we would expect, knowing the car mfrs were completely disrupted by the war, etc etc. In the end, I could be pretty easily persuaded that this film was from **either** 1942 or 46/47 (but NOT any time in between without some War Bond signs) and I have nothing to prove/disprove otherwise.
@@pneumatic00 You're correct about immediate postwar cars. The companies didn't have much time to retool after four years of war production; to meet pent-up demand they pretty much build brand-new 1942 cars in 1946.
No graffiti. No trash of any kind. No idle people mulling around looking to cause trouble. Different times. These old films show us just how far down our society has come. (Sigh.)
7:45 Even 80 years ago finding a parking space was hard. What year would you guess this was taken? I didn't notice any billboards mentioning war bonds or anything similar.
Someone above posted that this film clip was originally intended for rear projection shots to be included in a gangster film called DEAD RECKONING, which was released in 1947.
How I wish I had lived in that time after 1940, to see what clothes shops, car showrooms, food stores, restaurants looked like, to taste that food, pizza, chocolate ... I am very interested in everything and I think that everything was more beautiful than today, from today I would just take a mobile phone there so that everyone can find me wherever I am.
Awesome colorization job but I question if this was a steam loco powered train on an elevated track instead of electric. I could be wrong but mostly think this was an electric line.
![Italy 1940s in color, during World War II [60fps, Remastered] w/sound design added](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EQ0Rns8tkFY/mqdefault.jpg)
![Italy 1940s in color, during World War II [60fps, Remastered] w/sound design added](/img/tr.png)
![Southern California 1940s in color [60fps,Remastered] w/sound design added](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/aq2Ig-p9WNs/mqdefault.jpg)
Share Please 🙏
which software you use????
Please show us how your videos are made in your next video
It’s really sad in a way, all those people, most buildings and all those cars are all dead.
Can you please make more Philadelphia videos
This is my old neighborhood and it looks fine to me. We used to walk from home to this train station, North Philadelphia Station on Broad st at Lehigh ave. We lived at 18th and Cumberland in N Philly from about 1948 till 1967 or so. So I remember this area from basically the era portrayed in this film and it's very wonderful for these old eyes to see. Brings back great memories. Thanks NASS and keep up the good work.
Thx 🥰 🙏
I was thinking the same thing... it stopped at the North Philadelphia station, which is still in use today, but it made stops at some others which today's trains heading north do not do today. Or perhaps they were local stations, like on the Reading commuter line.
@@madelinemagee6646 as a little kid in the early 50s my dad would take me to the Logan station to watch the big steam engines.
Would this have been an electrified line?
@@warrengibson7898 It was electric when I rode the Silver Star from Philly to the deep south in the '70s, they changed to diesel in Washington DC. But I don't know what the power was in the '40s.
As a Philadelphian who loves history ,transit ,and rides that same trackage to this day im just amazed.....beyond amazed ,thanks for this upload!
North Philadelphia Station. When Philadelphia was a manufacturing powerhouse. Love the scene crossing over North Broad Street.
Philly used to be a big clothing manufacturing city until we got sold out by the deepstate and corrupt politicians to China and whoever else willing to buy us and launder political dollars.
@@matrox Nor deepstate nor corrupt politicians, thats how unregulated capitalism works. But Trump won't tell you that because capitalism works in his favor.
@@cytrynowy_melon6604 Honest capitalism works in everyone's favor if you have the brains to take advantage of it. Sounds like you too have been brainwashed by the Dems and Fake News that Socialism is the way to go now.
@@matrox How do you define "honest capitalism", and how is diverting production to offshore sweatshops "dishonest" when profit at any cost is the only goal?
@@andyjay729 A bigger question is ...why are you in favor of Off Shore Sweatshops? Is it so you can save a dime? Thats the problem, people like you would rather save a dime instead of saving an American job. Its called the selling out of America. I a for American capitalism in America. Not Globalism at the expense of America like the DemocRATS and Deep State are pushing.
I used to date a girl from Philly. This was back around 1967 and 1968. She lived on Alleghenny Avenue. I remember I used to travel by train from my hometown, Newark, NJ, down to the North Philly station. I remember the wood panelling in the main terminal. The North Philadephia station used to be a stop on the old Pennsylvania RR line that ran from Boston to Washington, DC. But, these days, the N. Philly station is a commuter stop and Amtrak only stops the Penn Station on 30th Street. All of the factories you see in this clip are closed and many have been torn down, but a few of those buildings still stand, just empty out old hulks now. It's interesting to see them here, as they used to be.
My grandfather worked at this station
ohh!! ^^
This is North Philly, all of those industrial facilities are now gone and the buildings razed or if they’re still standing in derelict condition, the surrounding neighborhoods impoverished.
very sad!!!!
Diversity is magnificent, isn’t it?
I lived there for 8 years. It's probably the biggest slum in the U.S. now.
@@JW-uy2on Every major city in America is a slum.
It's a result of the deliberate annihilation of the middle class
I love these old restored films, those old beautiful cars, city streets, just fantastic. I can completely lose myself watching these wonderful films & imagine I am actually there. They are the closest thing to actual time travel we have. I hope you can find plenty more of those films to restore. Its great stuff.
i agree with everything you said...well put...
they were made to rust. planned obsolescence.
@@beeqool the cars?
@@darinp5612 yes
@@beeqool wrong... very wrong. That's why they're still around today and today's plastic/sheet metal slushboxes rust away
These films look like they've been shot on a smartphone! Amazing
Thanks for putting this up. I lived in Philly for many years and this means a lot to me to see this.
Thanks 🙏
If anyone is interested to see this same route today, use google maps, this video begins at Germantown and Sedgley Avenue Philadelphia PA. The Airco Air Reduction bldg is still there, the school on the opposite corner is also still there. Follow along the rail line and you are looking to the north, and you will see most of the stretch from Morgolis Fuels to Margo Wines now an electrical substation. The PRR freight yard is now a Social Security Admin center. Passing over Broad Street at 1.04 gives a nice view of a few homes on North Broad that are still there today. The parking lot is still there. When pulling into the station the McCormick Deering Farm Equipment plant is still there, but totally gutted.
I thought the point roofs looked familiar - thanks.
It begs the question, what is air reduction? Compressed air?
@@bazza945 Compressed gases, like oxygen, nitrogen, argon. They probably had acetylene as well. I worked for Air Reduction Co (AIRCO) in Chicago, They merged with Ohio Medical and then eventually got bought by BOC Gases from the UK. They eventually merged with Edwards Vacuum from the UK and then went through some divestures, etc over the years. I'm still with the company now, but AIRCO has been gone for 20+ years.
Thank You very helpful.
This is incredible. Both of my grandfathers were just kids when this video was made and they were living in Philadelphia. To get to see such high quality footage of what the city looked like when they were growing up is amazing. Thank you for posting these!
Used for rear projection in the windows of the train set in the movie "Dead Reckoning", which premiered Jan. 15, 1947.
Great eye!!! And a great movie! I actually got to meet Lizbeth Scott about 20 years ago. She was a sweet tiny little thing and she still had that raspy voice. She called me tall and handsome. I blushed all the way home. :)
Was the whole movie set in Philly ? Or just this clip used...
@@ramseydieter North Philadelphia station was one of the stops on a Southbound train trip.
I was an employee of the Phila Bulletin in advertising 1964 to 1980 thrilled to see Advertisment for the Bulletin!
remember the philadelphia bulletin's yearly almanac?
@@misterruggles9736 Oh yes I collected them I have them displayed in my den. Such great memories.
I was a Bulletin carrier 1968-70, had 135 daily’s
The old Bulletin Bldg is now part of Drexel. The immediate area is called Schuylkill Yards.
Miss the Bulliten. Isnt sad how Downhill the Inquirer has gone? Once a great paper now a national laughing stock
Well thanks for this I'm a locomotive engineer and 80 years later I run my train every day from TRENTON to PHILLY and of course I STOP at NORTH PHILADELPHIA
Ah, the good old R7!
Film from those times is grainy and aged. It makes no sense but somehow I came to subconciously imagine that life must have been seen the same way by those alive then. The videos that NASS does dispel that idea completely. The difference is astounding. Some comments say that there is too much or too little of this & that but to me, given the time consuming difficulties, this remastering is a new and different step forward; something I never imagined could be possible. braVO!
Thanks 🙏
Thanks for sharing, I run trains on this route, and always wondered how things must of been in the past with the factories still running and neighborhoods still vibrant.
What line is this?
It is the old Pennsylvania Railroad mainline that is now Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor with one track now used by Conrail Shared Assets for freight service.
@@mrjsanchez1 So what streets does this run along? I live in Philly, some of these bigger buildings look somewhat familiar
@@alvinwagner6085 It roughly follows I-95 and State Road until it reaches Frankford Creek when it briefly follows Erie, and then turns at St. Chris's to follow Sedgley and Glenwood.
@@spclanghorne4494 Thank you.
I'm from Brazil, and I love this vídeos.
🇧🇷🇧🇷🇺🇸🇺🇸
wow this city was so much better back then everything was awesome as well
I recently came across this channel and enjoy your videos very much. Thank you so much.
how cool Is that! Thank U for cleaning this up, love the sharpness, clarity. 👏😁
^^
I like the metal fence at the end of both films here. It looks like a digital virtual fence!
Amazing Video
Everything Looks So Pure & Clean
Couldn't Believe All The Factories We Had Here
Thank You
5 / 25 /21
For those wondering, this line is still in operation as the Northeast Corridor and the SEPTA Trenton Line.
A reflection of life and then you enhance that reflection. Well done
I love these rare films on UA-cam - this is the closest you could get to actually going back in time for a brief visit. I had a lot of ancestors who settled in Philadelphia, Bucks County, etc., from parts of Germany. I have worked a lot on Market Street, and always got a deja vu feeling when visiting there and around the city. Thank you for this amazing film footage
Hands down my favourite yt channel atm.
god bless you
Alot of cities seem to look better in the old time footage from back in the day
I have a strong bent toward nostalgia especially regarding trains and real people just doing what they did back in the time depicted in this video. Someone else previously stated these videos are the closest thing to going back in time ....I just love this stuff..I find much comfort viewing this sort of everyday life scene..sincere thanks to the person responsible for posting this trip down memory lane.....
Is it me or did Philly look so clean in the 1940s and not the hell hole it became by the 1970s? Thanks for the video!
Several decades before the middle class exodus to the suburbs and deindustrialization took hold in North Philly and many other working class urban areas in the U.S.
@@Ryan-on5on Middle class exodus indeed.. it caused these cities to lose much of their middle class populations.. to this day. Accessible housing in the suburbs became an option after ww2 and the exodus only accelerated when the factories started relocating or closing and the social problems of the 60s resulted in unrest, crime, and even riots in some cities. This exodus was also characterized as white flight, as the middle class was mostly white and many of them wanted to flee the growing crime and unrest for greener pastures.. and the cities most affected by this declining population lost their tax base for many years to come.. which created a downward spiral and even worse problems in these cities. Many never recovered.. including Philadelphia. As a truck driver, I have to drive into many of these formerly livable cities and I always feel sad each time because I see the landscape filled with abandoned factories and the rundown condition from decades of under investment. I just heard today that Philadelphia, among many other cities in the U.S., is short staffed by over 600 cops due to another type of exodus.. and crime has been way up. Not very encouraging for anyone who would love to see these cities return to their former glory.. as depicted so well in this video.. among so many others on youtube. Until these cities have a healthy middle class component in their populations, I dont think much will change unfortunately.
@@MK-fc2hn Sounds like big cities like Chicago. Lots of people leaving Chicago as a result of many issues that occurred within as of late. I myself am trying to move out of Chi town
@@The1Music2MyEars It's a shame to have to leave your hometown, but everyone reaches their own tipping point right?? .. I'm sure leaving will feel like a loss.. especially Chicago, which is so nice in some areas.. I visited it 2 years ago and enjoyed its special character.. but I know the problems there run deep and will probably take many, many years to fix. There are probably some short term solutions that would help, but I wouldn't hold my breath on any of those being done.. it seems dysfunction and corruption are entrenched in many cities unfortunately. Moving out of a city can be sad, but also an exciting time.. GOOD LUCK on a smooth transition!
@@MK-fc2hn How do you think 🤔those problems arised.The Govt made and catered to whites.The GI Bill.°Rdlining of banks.inadeqate jobs and schools.A Justus justice system etc..Today's problems are continuation and exemplifications of the pandemic and legacies of inequalities. America never addressed their issues and placed thir head in the sand and made excuses about an idyllic time😒🙄
Nice shot of a streetcar at 1:08. You don't get that sort of immediacy for streetcars very often, very nostalgic. All the train cars on the sidings look just like my old Lionel trainset.
That is route 2 trolley on Indiana Avenue about to turn right (south) onto Broad Street, one of the very few places that trolleys ever operated on Broad Street.
Sorry if I talk to the wrong spotters, but can anybody of you confirm or deny if the dark car in the lower field of that same scene is a Chrysler Airflow? That would make my day ...
@@bescheuerterbruder719 If you mean that greenish car in the parking lot... Hard for me to tell... maybe a '41 Airflow? I don't think it's from the '30s when the rear wheels were covered.
@@james5460 Actually no. I meant the rather black car halfway below the streetcar on which you have a sideview and which is waiting to turn left. You see it better in 1.09 where it is in the lower centre of the image. It looks like a 30s car with integrated headlamps which was a feature first found on the 34-37 Airflow and its DeSoto counterpart. Until now i haven't seen one in the NASS movie collection.
Love the style back then the building,cars and signage..
Great job 💛 Greetings from Ireland 🇮🇪
Thanks 🙏
Wonderful video restoration, although the audio is off---there were no steam engines on this route, the Pennsylvania Railroad used electric locomotives. Sad to note that nearly every factory shown here is now abandoned. The full parking lot at North Philadelphia Station is nearly empty these days--no one would dare park their car there now!
Great film , but heartbreaking in a way. The city was clean and orderly. Business was thriving. The same trip today is like traveling through no man's land.
It’s always been strange how a society can self-destruct.
lol yeah i wouldn't go walking alone through these parts today
The only inaccurate thing about this video is the steam locomotive sounds as this train would have been pulled by a PRR GG1 electric as it on an electrified route.... But other than that it’s a great video.
Yes I was waiting for this comment!
I would think that this ride happened aboard a string of MP54e electric MU rail cars.
What about the faces of the people 🤔🤔🤔
Wonderful. Always enjoy these great films by NASS. Thank you for sharing. People should realize when the commenting on how clean everything is in a certain city, that much of that cleanliness comes from the filters, etc. that NASS applies to the film itself, to enhance viewing, as they mention in their remarks at the beginning of the post. What's nice is not to see all that graffiti that is now on most railroad cars and many buildings!
Forgive my ignorance, am I understanding this correctly that you're saying that through an editing/filtering process they can make existing trash in the film disappear?
@@ramseydieter I may have mis-spoke slightly. I know the filters can add color, and they seem to soften the focus somewhat from the original b&w copy. How much effect that has on eliminating actual litter in the streets I would not be sure of. I would guess some smaller items of trash would disappear because of this process. Researching original source material may be helpful.
It's so great that someone back then thought to do this. The soundtrack, though, would not be accurate. Within Philly, PRR ran electric commuter cars or locos.
NASS! lovely work again!
Thx 🥰 🙏
My mom, dad, grandparents, etc, and I are from Philadelphia. While I wasn't born yet, my mom, dad, grandparents, and great-grandparents were around in the 1940's, and it's nice to see the Philadelphia that they used to see.
Looks like this was filmed along the Pennsylvania Railroad from all the "Pennsy" freight cars seen and sometime in the early 1940s based on the automobiles in the parking lots. Nice shots of "Philly" as seen from a vintage train at a vintage time. Thanks for sharing!
Thx ^^
One person above says they can see '46 and'47 cars in the lots. Can you perhaps correct them (I'm not a car style expert)? Another person says the trolleys briefly glimpsed last ran on that particular route in June of 1947. Since I don't see any obvious wartime advertising (not even a lone "Buy War Bonds"), I don't think this was during WW2. So that would leave a relatively narrow window (between 1945 and 1947), unless you really think this is the early '40s.
@@andyjay729 I watched this film again and paid closer attention to the automobiles. Most early postwar cars were basically "warmed over" prewar models with some differences in trim. The first really new postwar designed cars where considered the 1947 Studebakers and Kaiser-Frazers. I couldn't find any in this film. Good point about the lack of wartime advertising in this film. So, this could have been filmed in the years 1945, '46 or '47. I'd doubt it was beyond 1947 as you should start to see those Studebakers, K-Fs and even the new "stepdown" Hudson design.
I think this trip would’ve been on an inter urban electric passenger train with a motorized lead car pulling. The steam locomotive sound effect is probably not accurate. There is also no smoke blowback in any of the frame, which suggests to me that this was an all electric commuter train .
My first thought as well, but saw no catenary masts - will take a second look...
Thank you very much NASS. I will gonna watch this video at least 5 times.
Thanks bro 🙏
Seeing North Philadelphia station on what is now the Amtrak NE corridor is a trip..I ride past daily on the Trenton train and boy does it look different 😢
I can't help thinking about all those cars which don't exist anymore. I would be glad to own any one of them now. 40's and early 50's are my favorites.
Back then, everyone drove a classic!
my first thought too. they were made to rust. planned obsolescence.
What a time machine! And probably the only way you'll be able to see a clean Philadelphia before it was overrun with crime and trash. I love those old billboards!
Wonderful. How you make this?.
Congratulations. Saludos desde Paraguay
Forget the chug-chug sound. That line had long been electrified.
Fantástico! Esses vídeos antigos me emocionam profundamente! Parece que tenho uma relação muito estreita com o passado!
Amo esse canal!
Marvellous, thanks from New Zealand.
Thx^^
Terrific! The train is approaching North Philadelphia Station from New York/Trenton or Atlantic City. We lived on Carlisle Street, near Clearfield Street, just a few blocks from the station at Broad and Glenwood. The steam locomotive on the adjoining Chestnut Hill Branch (which was electrified) is interesting which probably served quarries in Whitemarsh Township via a Branch off of Ivy Hill Road. Thank you.
Wonderful sense of immediacy to this film. Great work!
Thx ;)
I love these videos! Greetings from Switzerland. 🇨🇭
I've taken that ride many times .. I wish it showed Broad street as it was pulling outt from the Lehigh station. Awesome bro.
Look how clean it was
How wonderful to see this bit of history.
Just magnificent! Thank you.
My friday is saved!
Thanks NASS!
Edit: Kingston in Philadelphia today is so sad!
Thanks 🙏
Sadly, yes. My Grandmother's family all lived in and around Kensington back then and it's not even safe to visit their gravesites.
@@elizabethm6657 .. That's Sad😢. I was watching Kensington on UA-cam today it's unimaginable with all the drugs and that Park called needle park.
Streets look so clean.
I think one of the reasons the city seems so much cleaner then is because there were so many fewer cars on the roads
Ah....the advertising billboards---"Nearly everybody reads the Bulletin.".....delivered it as a kid and until it closed.
do they carry with them the equipment for record the sound or is it just added by you? Thanks for the job. It's really nice.
This source footage is again the backdrop for a movie studio isn't it? This time with two shots taken at the same time, one looking half forwards and the other looking back. They'd have projected the two halves synchronised behind the "action" in a fake carriage in the studio. It would be truly great to find the film they were used in.
That's probably it. The original BW film (check the link in the description) starts off with a guy closing a movie clipboard (unfortunately without a date).
Amazing! Thanks so much for this!
Good work. Greetings from India🇮🇳
Fantastic!!! I love old Philly stuff. Can you find more stuff like that somewhere?
The opening scene, going past "Airco", Air Reduction". I worked for Airco in Chicago in the late 80's and 90's before they were bought out by BOC Gases which were based in the UK. I am still with the company, now after a handful of changes and purchases along the way lol
5:23 that’s broad street looking south. I took this route to and from Philly every day before covid.
Isn't that Broad St looking North?
That's North.
The church in the middle is at Broad and Allegheny.
I grew up in the Northern Liberties section of Philly in the 80's and 90's... in a row home adjacent to an abandoned factory....many of the factories you see here were abandoned when I was growing up and covered in ivy and overgrowth ..some still stand today.. I always found the abandoned industrial spaces to be a bit magical and spooky , like a ship wreck..This is just amazing... to see them operational and to see the city so pristine looking.... However it's sobering to think of what it has become. The economic impact of all of that industry departing Philadelphia has had lasting devastating effects. Is that north Broad St facing North at about 5:21 ? I could weep to think of what it looks like now... What it was...and what it could be
I attended a boarding school about an hour outside of Philly in themid-90's. One evening we took a trip into downtown Philly, and on the way home we drove down Broad St. I was aghast at all the boarded-up businesses that we passed, thinking "I couldn't think of downtown Toronto being as abandoned as this."
It's hard to believe how anybody could give this a thumbs down there must be something wrong with them
Pretty cool …I would love to see more in Philly from back then if you got more !
Looks like the Pennsylvania Railroad mainline going through North Philly, stopping at North Philadelphia Station. (I think the station is seen twice in this film; with the camera facing south and then facing north?) The steam sound effect was not accurate; this line was electrified. It's shocking to see so many cars parked at the station: they would be vandalized if they were left there today! We lived in Northeast Philly from 1949 to 1969 and often took the train from this station to go see our relatives in New York. Interesting to see a McCormick farm equipment factory near the station; today it is abandoned as are almost all of the other factories along this route.
Yes...my first thought was, "What's with the chug chug chug?" I think this line was electrified at least as far back as the 1930's. Other than that, it's a great video.
Love it! Just one question...Did they get the "added" train sound from the Magic Kingdom?
Not from my era but I'm a poor mans history buff. It brings a nostalgic tear to my eye. This city really truly was an authentic industrial town surrounded by neighborhoods. A trolley usually took you right to the front door of your job. It's often said to a point being cliche that pictures are worth a thousand words and eras never repeat themselves. It will never be this way again.
Wow. Factories that are actually running.
This is on the P.RR main line between NYC and Washington D.C. T are are overhead columns holding the wires for the
commuters and long distance trains . T he long distance trains changed from electric locks to steam or diesel locks
for points south and to Miami. Iam a New Yorker who grew up a few miles from Penn Station 1950s... 1980s.
Thankyou. Always. Respect
SOO CLEAN
When you watch this, its hard not to compare yesterday to today.
And I guess everyone has a preference, but Id give anything to go back in time.
Yeah I remember this route very well when taking the train to New York from Philly. Some buildings are the same some aren’t.
It's awesome! Thanks for the hard work!
Feel like a time traveler =)
Back then, no one was higher than Wiliam Penn.
Yep 500 feet until Rouse came along
Thanks for sharing !
"Nearly Everybody Reads the Bulletin" but not enough to keep it in business. I miss having 4-5 newspapers - The Inquirer, Bulletin, Courier Post, the Daily News and I forget the paper that had the pretty gals on page 5 or something like that - maybe The Journal??
Technically brilliant, fascinating subject, thank you.
I love watching these old remastered videos from yesteryear I'm not nearly old enough to have lived in this time period, But yet somehow they feel strangely comforting and familiar to me and I do believe in reincarnation by the way I hope I live long enough to see VR (virtual reality technology) is sophisticated enough and advanced enough to where you don't just have to sit and watch an old video from this time. But you can actually immerse yourself into this world I think that would be the only reason why I would buy a VR set is if I could time travel back to the 1930s and 40s and see the world the way it used to be...
Incredible
Truly exceptional footage. Late 40's, maybe even as late as 1949, judging by a single car at 1:13. What's kind of amazing is, developing film wasn't exactly cheap, and so who would take a moving picture of a "nothing" train ride through industrial Philly? Really interesting footage!
A movie studio, making a movie. This was a "process plate", which was background footage used for the background scene when some actors are shown sitting in a moving vehicle. Often the vehicle is a car, but in this case it would be two people in facing seats in a train carriage. The first half is background when the camera is capturing one actor, the rest is background for a shot of the other seat. The actors were actually sitting on stationary seats in a sound stage, and this image was projected on a big screen in the background behind them.
@@lwilton Interesting. Thanks for that detail!
Someone else in the comments from Philly said that the trolleys briefly seen last ran on that particular route in 1947. I'm guessing we need more car experts to help pin this down. Can you spot any more postwar cars? Already I'm guessing this wasn't during the war years because I don't see any obvious wartime advertising ("Buy War Bonds", "Keep 'Em Flying" "Smoke Out Hitler with Lucky Strike", etc.). Maybe it could be pre-Pearl Harbor, but again, do you see any other postwar cars?
@@andyjay729 I am no car expert, but it is very difficult to be able to tell the difference between 1942 cars and 1946/47 cars from a distance, unless you have really specific knowledge. This is what we would expect, knowing the car mfrs were completely disrupted by the war, etc etc. In the end, I could be pretty easily persuaded that this film was from **either** 1942 or 46/47 (but NOT any time in between without some War Bond signs) and I have nothing to prove/disprove otherwise.
@@pneumatic00 You're correct about immediate postwar cars. The companies didn't have much time to retool after four years of war production; to meet pent-up demand they pretty much build brand-new 1942 cars in 1946.
It’s nice to see all the rail cars, less trucks on the road
No graffiti. No trash of any kind. No idle people mulling around looking to cause trouble. Different times. These old films show us just how far down our society has come. (Sigh.)
Fantastic quality in all the videos
Great job!!! U rock 🎸
Thanks 🙏 🙏
Fuckin’ amazing how they make these old films look new.
WOW!! Fantastic!
7:45 Even 80 years ago finding a parking space was hard.
What year would you guess this was taken? I didn't notice any billboards mentioning war bonds or anything similar.
Someone above posted that this film clip was originally intended for rear projection shots to be included in a gangster film called DEAD RECKONING, which was released in 1947.
It’s nothing like this wow
Elevated railway industry, pretty cool.
the cars in the last minute have an odd look from digitizing ..nice
How I wish I had lived in that time after 1940, to see what clothes shops, car showrooms, food stores, restaurants looked like, to taste that food, pizza, chocolate ... I am very interested in everything and I think that everything was more beautiful than today, from today I would just take a mobile phone there so that everyone can find me wherever I am.
Awesome colorization job but I question if this was a steam loco powered train on an elevated track instead of electric. I could be wrong but mostly think this was an electric line.