if you ever stop to think of a really important railroad car have you ever thought of what it takes for the millions of people in this great country to be able to travel from one end of the land to the other with speed safety com finished products are delivered from where they are made to where they are needed in all parts of the country have you ever wondered how the foods we eat are always being delivered from the farms to our markets and how the answers to those questions make up one of the most fascinating and important stories in the history of our country the story of the american railroad in order to tell you that story we're going to visit the railroad yard we're going into the railroad stations and out along the track in that way you will get a better idea of what the nation's railroad system is like and the big important job trains are always doing in the next time you're on a train or the next time you see a train speeding off into the distance you'll understand how much we all depend on railroad much in this land of the most wonderful and prosperous nation in the world when our country was young and much smaller than it is today traveling was slow uncomfortable and dangerous and so people didn't travel very much then just a little more than a hundred years ago came the once in a young country needed to grow into an important nation adequate protection that transportation came in the form of  early trains were funny little affairs when compared with the big trains we see rolling today they had a lot to do with opening up developing vast new territories which later became st you could say that america and her railroad grew up together as the railroads pushed ahead settlers stations grew when prospered into big important don't always see the trains which serve us maybe everyone doesn't realize how essential railroads are to our everyday living everyone likes to travel suppose we see what happens when we take a train trip we'll go along with these two friends of ours carol and jimmy that is if jimmy can ever get carol suitcase in real life their parents would probably go along with them but for those pictures suppose we let carol and jimmy travel by themselves ok almost every town has a railroad station some are larger than others but all railroad station large or small are very interesting place for example at most railroad stations you will usually find the railway express you will see people checking and sorting packages to make certain that they will be put aboard the train which will take them to their destinations without delay and remember they will handle almost anything including your dog in the yards of many railroad stations cars are cleaned inside and out to put them into tip top condition for the passengers who will soon be getting abo in another part of the yard dining cars are stocked with fresh vegetables meat milk and all the other foods that will be needed for the meals that will be served when the train is on its way maybe you wondered how great big locomotives are turn around jimmy they are arriving in plenty of time to check their baggage and buy their tickets before their train is scheduled to leave me the taxi driver to me and get a check from the red cab for each one of your h the next stop is to buy tickets now let's see jimmy and carol are going to visit there and uncle at a town about a thousand miles away they will be coming back by train so they will buy round trip tickets buying round trip tickets they will be saving money to the ticket cleric's stamps each ticket with the date on which the ticket is purchased and the date on which the ticket is used so far so good as carol and jimmy are going to sleep on the train they will have to have sleeping car tickets to that's right you're all set now say you better not take too much time paying for your tickets jimmy they cause here comes your train there's nothing quite as exciting as a railroad station the train from the time the train arrives until it is ready to leave again it's usually only a matter of a few minutes but during that short period many things happen trunks luggage and other such items are loaded into the baggage car near the head end of the train the united states mail is put aboard the railway mail car friends and relatives bit each other last minute goodbye just about time now for the train to pull out all the train conductor signals to the locomotive engineer it's almost like a travel motion picture one of the most interesting motion pictures you could possibly imagine most passenger trains carry the united states mail for the railroad postal car is the very backbone of our country's mail server these men are railway postal clerk just like the clerks in the post office at home except that here they work while the train speeds along watch them sort the mail getting it ready for delivery by the time the train reaches the proper station one of the most popular cars on almost any bad new train is the dining car a real restaurant on we table for to right this way now carolyn jimmy what do you think you'd like doing what is showing almost anything you can think up ahead of you need any help the steward is only too pleased to offer some suggestions here's an interesting part of the train most people never get a chance to see that dining car kitchen no space is wasted and everything is speaking in spanish that food really looks good enough to eat doesn't it though carolyn jimmy topped off their meal with ice cream there are many types of accommodations on modern train there are single rooms like this call room and more spacious drawing rooms all with the latest conveniences rooms which make up into sleeping rooms at night getting pretty late so goodnight jimmy and carol and plan undream always remember that you're traveling the safest and soundest way there is to travel when you travel by train we've been talking mostly about passenger trains and how many of you know that about half of the trains in the country carry no passengers at all that's right they carry fre things that are so important in our daily lives more on to the mill then later on when the grains have been ground the railroads moved products such as flowers to the cities and towns to be baked into the bread which we find every day on the moving cattle and sheep from the great ranges of the west is another important railroad job the cattle are first rounded up in their little special railroad cars to lose some time alone distance where they are dressed then the meats are moved again to the meat market some of eventually through the help of railroads we have meat on our dinner table fresh fruits and vegetables things known as perishables are handled in special refrigerator cars kept cool with ice or with machinery that works like your refrigerator at home to keep perishables fresh while they are being moved sometimes as far as three thousand miles railroads are dependent upon to move the nation's raw materials to factories which will make them into finished product iron ore scooped from the mines of alabama and the great ranges of minnesota are moved to the nation's blast furnace to be made into iron and steel the railroads also buy millions of tons of finished iron in steel every year for their cars and locomotive tracks and bridges coal is one of the most important things carry by the railroad millions of tons are moved every year to keep power plants and factories working railroads are dependent upon to deliver the coal to towns and  to keep homes hospitals school houses and other buildings heated during the cold w where it is made into place for clothing and thousands of other important boilers moved by the railroads in huge quantities too and the railroads buy and use a large part of all the fuel oil sold in the country every year that things from other countries can be loaded directly into railroad cars for delivery all over america when you stop to think about it you realize what a great big job the railroads are always doing why they are the nation's most important form of transportation always on the move day and night delivering all the many things that america needs  and here is something that many of you may not have realized before about the railroads of america that is and they pay enough in school taxes alone to provide an education for hundreds of thousands of school children it looks like they're at a local er pretty happy to see them too we certainly hope you had a nice time coming along on this trip with this man that you learned something about railroad that perhaps you didn't know before we all be genevra one of you will be able to take a trip on a train very soon perhaps you'll want to visit a big city maybe you'll prefer to take a vacation trip to the wide open space or maybe some of you will prefer the seashore but no matter where you might want to go remember there are always trains to take you and when you go you will see how big an hour wonderful your own united states of america really real roads are an important part of america they play an important part in our daily lives carrying millions of tons of freight and millions of people every day of the year that's one of the wonderful things about this country here people can go where they want to go when they want  yes this is indeed a great land a land of opportunity land made great by the efforts of individuals individual efforts which have raised ours to the world's higher standard of here in america a person can worship god if he chooses he can go to the church of his this is a land where a person can go to school and be educated to the extent of his ability and desire from kindergarten to universities as fine as are to be found anywhere in the world this is a great country america a country not the people by the people for the