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Want to support this channel and help us preserve old films? Visit Visit our website This educational film is an episode of the TV program titled “Discovery” followed by the year, in which the program was released – in this case, “Discovery ‘70”. It aired on ABC from 1962 until 1971 as an award-winning children’s program about the history and culture of America. This episode, titled “Discovery ’70 Fast Freight to Nashville”, is hosted by Virginia Gibson and Bill Owen. It shows the process and functionalities of transporting freight from the Strawberry Yard in Louisville to the Radnor Yard in Nashville, and how freight cars are then sorted to be transported further. A steam locomotive pulling a train (00:08). A modern diesel freight train (00:24). Discovery 70 titles (00:41). A freight train pulling 130 railcars en route to Nashville (01:07). Hosts Virginia Gibson and Bill Owen introduced the episode (01:26). The cars containing freight including Domino Sugar, lumber, chemicals used for production, and automobiles (01:39). Hosts Virginia Gibson and Bill Owen are at the Louisville Strawberry Yard (02:17). Freight cars are separated, and new ones are attached at the Strawberry Yard (02:23). A Louisville and Nashville (L&N) switching engine (02:55). Other railcars from L&N (03:04). Train cars are being attached together (03:16). The directed of train tracks are switched (03:23). Further preparations and work on the freight trains are done at the Strawberry Yard (03:36). Bill Owen explains the engine and speed of trains over 100 years prior (05:14). “The General” 4-4-0 locomotive used during the Civil War (05:30). Virginia Gibson explains the “Berkshire” 2-8-4 wheel configuration steam engine locomotive (06:52). A L&N modern oil burning diesel train (07:32). Train nr. 73 is prepared and tested before beginning its journey (07:53). Railroad engineering students are taught using the train cab by their teacher (08:52). A loaded freight train exits the Strawberry Yard and starts its journey from Louisville (09:19). It crosses residential towns, industrial areas, and agricultural areas to deliver and pick up freight (10:10). The brakeman, the conductor, and the flagman all work to keep the journey safe (11:23). They discover smoke coming from the train (11:34) and use radios to communicate with each other across the cars (11:39). The issue is solved and the journey proceeds while the railroad engineering teacher educated his students aboard the moving train (12:01). They pass another freight train (13:26). The train arrives to the Radnor Rail Yard in Nashville, Tennessee, and all freight cars are sorted to continue their journey with other trains (14:10). Bill Owens explains the work done at Radnor Yard (14:19), such as the role of the superintendent (14:50), the task of classifying any unclassified trains (15:13), and the task of separating each freight car destined for different cities onto separate tracks (15:43). The nr. 73 train drives slowly across the Radnor Yard and releases cars by pulling the cut-lever one by one onto its correct tracks (16:18). The tracks are sloped, and the individual cars are moved by gravity towards their destined tracks (16:42) where they are slowed using retarders mounted on the side of the tracks (17:08). The cut freight car attaches itself to a freight car of the new train (18:05). The welding process of long rail tracks (18:42). Virginia Gibson and Bill Owens concludes the episode about ‘Fast Freight to Nashville’ (20:56). Credentials (21:40). The Louisville and Nashville Railroad, often called the L&N, operated freight and passenger services in the southeast. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of the great success stories of American business. Operating under one name continuously for 132 years, it survived the Civil War and economic depression and several waves of social and technological change. Under Milton H. Smith, president of the company for 30 years, the L&N grew from a road with less than three hundred miles (480 km) of track to a 6,000-mile (9,700 km) system serving fourteen states and cities such as St. Louis, Memphis, Atlanta, and New Orleans. The railroad was economically strong throughout its lifetime, operating freight and passenger trains in a manner that earned it the nickname, “The Old Reliable.“ Growth of the railroad continued until its purchase and the tumultuous rail consolidations of the 1980s. By the end of 1970, L&N operated 6,063 miles (9,757 km) of road on 10,051 miles (16,176 km) of track, not including the Carrollton Railroad. This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit
