Condor Films, Inc., St. Louis

Corny. Even back THEN, this script dialogue was corny. But, oh, that pristine first-generation diesel, domed streamliner. Wabash’s Blue Bird. That WAS the way to travel.

This was the best color version I could find online — I had to chop off the bottom portion on many screen caps account frikken Periscope Films’ “counter” running through the entire picture. Spoilsports.

Anyway, color scenes of freight and passenger equipment from the postwar era are always a treat to look at, even though Wabash was a bit late to the streamliner game.

Follow the Flag!

Leading this Chicago – St. Louis domeliner (the Blue Bird, #21 southbound; #24 northbound) is EMD E8A WAB #1000 built in 1951 and producing 2,250 horsepower.

Once upon a time, there was a young couple named, Mark (played by Barry Hopkins) and Molly (played by Mina Kolb) Molloy…

…tooling along in their 1947 Ford (THANKS BIG BROTHER), not a care in the world, singing a silly song, goofy smiles on their faces…

When from out of the South, overtaking them was a blue and silver streamliner, the likes of which they’d never seen. Molly is horror-stricken!

Well, not really. As the E8A pulls alongside, note the unit has doors over the front coupler. “Gee, I wish we were on it.” blurts Molly, pointing at the domeliner. Careful what you wish for, Mol…

GAH! Who is THIS creepy guy montaged over the diesel? (I like the unit number displayed across his nose.) WHOOP! Mark & Molly find themselves teleported into a couple of choice dome seats. But how? Who’s driving their car now?

NOBODY’S driving their car now. It turns out creepy guy (We’ll call him Wabash Tooth Fairy or WTF) granted Molly’s wish and brought them onboard for a tour of the Blue Bird. And changed their clothes…

First – a view ahead. M&M are seated in a Budd-built dome (curved glass), but the dome car ahead (flat glass panels) appears to be from Pullman-Standard.

Second – look at all these onboard amenities. Perhaps a nice cocktail under the dome in the Blue Bird room; lunch or dinner in the diner with white-coated waiters;

Last Image above: On the left, with the awful haircut sipping coffee, is Heinrich Himmler while on the far right, Miss Gulch (Margaret Hamilton) looks on.

Molly is s-l-o-w-l-y beginning to grasp what it’s like to Travel Wabash, but Mark is hopelessly befuddled.

Condor Films seemed to have an obsession with montages. I tried to avoid those screen caps as much as possible, but sometimes it’s unavoidable.

Let’s take a cab ride. Our engineer has the speed pegged at 75mph. Meet Shot! The Bird holds the main and blasts past an F unit-led freight. Nice wave from the Fireman and the Brakeman in caboose cupola is on all fours to look us over.

“Landru seeks tranquility, peace for all, the universal good.“ Good Grief. WTF is up in the cab of the E8A blowing the horn.

A train led by WAB #1103 (an EMD F7A, built 1949) makes a stop at a small town as a crowd watches from the platform. It’s right about here that Molly blurts out, “I wish I could have been there…”

WHOOP! WTF transports the jolly couple back to November 8, 1838 and takes them for a ride on Wabash’s first steam locomotive “ROGERS”…complete with period attire.

The locomotive seen here was a replica built by Wabash and supposedly is still in existence at the Illinois Railway Museum — although I wasn’t able to find it on their website.

Triple Montage! WTF has a confused Molly under his spell as an F7A speeds past a mail crane…which segues into a map of the Wabash System.

Car ferry across Lake Michigan and car float across the Detroit River into Canada — the Wabash had quite the navy.

Wabash also hosted Union Pacific’s “City of St. Louis” streamliner westward as far as Kansas City.

Hey! Why isn’t the dispatcher wearing his eyeshade? Old style CTC board helps route trains safely around each other.

WHOOP! A clean-shaven WTF has transported the Molloys back to the 20th Century. They find themselves in the dining car, presented with a bewildering variety of choices. As Molly happily peruses the “Streamliner” menu, Mark is still somewhere in outer space.

“Braised Shoulder of Lamb, fried Maine scallops, Chicken Croquettes, Salad Bowl, Baked Ham, Chicken Sandwich, Broiled Whitefish, or perhaps a nice steak”.

That’s a lot of dishes to wash.

Now I’m all hungry. Wow, the Wabash sure had a lot of EMD cab units. Very distinct looking cabooses too.

As Molly finishes her coffee, Mark is presented with a big cigar and poses with it like a big shot. WHOOP! WTF puts the dynamic duo back in their Ford and they resume their journey.

AAAAHHHHH! WTF is back! He’s going to eat the train! Oh thank heavens, he sank below the horizon….

If you’d like to view the feature I reviewed yourself, the link is below:

That is, if it’s still on YouTube.

If you have ANY information about this movie you’d like to share, please contact me at: Lindsay.Korst@gmail.com, or leave a comment. Thanks and enjoy the blog!

THE END