The Air Mail Story; The Iron Road; Trolley: The Cars That Built Our Cities

This trio of transportation stories offer insightful and somewhat nostalgic looks back to the days when technological advancements were widely considered to be unmixed blessings. The Air Mail Story chronicles the early attempts to deliver mail through the skies--whether by balloon, dirigible, or carrier pigeon--in the latter part of the 19th century, and then moves forward to the pioneering efforts of airplane pilots in the wake of Orville and Wilbur Wright's fantastic discovery at Kitty Hawk. Initially a government activity, the beginning U.S. airmail service was confined to the Washington, Philadelphia, and New York route. Expanding to Chicago brought a greater distance and some new weather hazards, which gave that particular route the nickname "Suicide Run" during the early 1920s. As safety improved, however, the rise of the commercial air service soon took over the role of the government carriers. Early commercial air mail pilots included such then "unknown" flyers as Charles Lindbergh and Amelia Earhart. Filled with amusing anecdotes (we especially liked the one about the farmer who forced one pilot to climb higher in the air over a particular stretch, because the farmer felt the airplane was causing low egg production amongst his poultry), interesting photos and stories about postal stamps of the time, as well as an engaging history of the subject, The Air Mail Story will be welcomed by aviation buffs and philatelists alike. Originally broadcast on The American Experience, The Iron Road tells the incredible story of the building of the first transcontinental railroad. Written, produced, and directed by Neil Goodwin, the film begins with four Sacramento businessmen who listened to the ideas of Theodore Judah. Judah had a notion that a railroad could be built across the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Judah's contemporaries thought he was basically crazier than the proverbial bedbug, and were therefore quite surprised when the entrepreneurial quartet of businessmen agreed to fund Judah's brainstorm. Judah wouldn't live to see his dream bear fruit, but an agreement was struck between the Sacramento group's newly formed Central Pacific and the Union Pacific in the East to build a railroad which would link the coasts. The better part of the 1860s were devoted to achieving that impossible seeming dream. The Iron Road is an admirable record of the visionaries, the moneyed interests, and the thousands of hard-working mostly Chinese Americans who worked sometimes in concert and sometimes at loggerheads with one another to meet on May 10, 1869 in the little town of Promontory, Utah where the blood, sweat, and tears of thousands of Americans were commemorated in the driving of the Golden Spike, linking East and West. A thrilling and inspiring piece of Americana. The last entry, Trolley: The Cars That Built Our Cities is a good program that doesn't carry quite the wide appeal of the other two programs. Outlining the transition from horse-drawn carriages to the advent of cable cars, the program offers a wealth of film footage (dating back to the 1890s) chronicling the rise and evolution of the "trolley" car. One of the most interesting segments of the program focuses on the "inter-urban" trolley car, which would zip back and forth between cities, dropping folks off at their respective farms along the way. The popular and increasingly affordable automobile would eventually spell the demise of most of the trolley car and cable car systems (with the obviously notable exception of San Francisco). In addition to highlights showing the final runs of various trolley lines, the program also discusses the recent revival of interest in mass transit, and looks at some of the more successful projects in major cities. The Air Mail Story is highly recommended. The Iron Road is highly recommended and an Editor's Choice. Trolley: The Cars That Built Our Cities is recommended. (Available from most distributors.)