Sunday, February 02, 2014

Tri-State Chapter NRHS - Monthly Meeting Notice - Thursday, Feb 13, 2014 - 7:15 PM - "A Night at the Movies" - GG1 and Raymond Loewy

Received the following via email.

The TRI-STATE RAILWAY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC.

Presents "A Night at the Movies" with Mitch Dakelman at the Bickford Theater
Morris Museum, 6 Normandy Heights Road, Morristown, NJ 07960. Thursday,
February 13, 2014, 7:00 PM

Tri-State continues its 50th Anniversary year by featuring long-time members as presenters. For Thursday, February 13th, we'll feature some classic movies from avid railroad film collector Mitch Dakelman. First will be film called "GG1: An American Classic." During the final weeks of GG1 operation in 1983, Mike and Marianne Autorino, of Avanti Productions, documented GG1 4877. It was the pride of the fleet as the only one remaining still in a heritage paint scheme, the attractive Tuscan red that was developed in 1952 to run with Pennsy's new and luxurious Congressional. Mike, who passed away in November 2013, mounted cameras on the "motor," to provide dramatic angles rarely seen by a traveler. Cliff Underwood, a veteran PRR engineer, wrote a song called "Big Red," which is heard throughout the film by a local musical group. Expertly narrated by well-known NRHS member and professional voice-over artist Tom Moran, this is a great story about a legendary engine, filmed in color and with on-location sound. The GG1 4877 in this film is in the URHS collection in Boonton, and has recently be restored to its original Brunswick Green and gold stripes. This film is one of the best-done efforts from anyone in the railroad field, and it's worth a look.

Next we'll see "Raymond Loewy, Industrial Designer." Loewy's design work was everywhere in the 1930s and '40s, and he's the man who improved the look and design of the GG1s. He designed everything from automobiles to the Princess Phone to Spacelab (in 1979). Loewy was interviewed on a 60 Minutes program, and the segment was sold by CBS to school and public libraries for additional screenings. Mitch was able to acquire a 16mm copy on eBay and will be pleased to run the film for the audience. We'll be watching vintage films on a vintage project projector, as these films were meant to be seen. This is a program not to miss.

We will have a selection of books, videos and memorabilia for sale before the meeting. Light refreshments will be available. Doors open at 7:00 p.m., meeting at 7:30, entertainment about 8:00 p.m. Admission is free, all are welcome. For weather updates see our website at www.tristaterail.org, or visit Tri-State Chapter NRHS on Facebook.