Right of Way, 1940s

Attention please. The Silver Meteor due to leave at 2:45 will be about 50 minutes late. The tracks will be announced later. Your train's late and then you can't get a seat. It's an upper or nothing. What club? No stir. Sometimes you can't get on at all. You need a priority to travel by plane. You have trouble getting a taxi. Buses are crowded. Would you send us tomorrow, please? Sorry, no deliveries until next week. You use your car and then a tire goes flat. Sometimes you can't find gas even with ration tickets. That's the situation now and it isn't going to get any better for the duration. But there are important reasons behind it. American transportation is doing the biggest job in its history and the best. But it's all geared to war. Every line, every carrier, every road leads to the battlefronts of the United Nations. Although we try to serve you as best we can, you've had to suffer some discomfort. Remember this, our trains did run to serve you only. Now they're serving the war. Watch us in action and you will understand why. Here in Washington, we have a director of traffic movement who receives constant reports over teletype machines on the movement of trains throughout the country. Looks like trouble, Henry. [Music] Yes. And the congestion is worse in those Pittsburgh yards. Route those eastbound freight trains out. PJ, no PJ, you'll have to route fre. No room for train 347 on track 42. Well, hold the chief then. 347 has got to go through. In peace time this through express was always on schedule. It whizzed past local trains and freights in disdain. But today even the express must wait [Music] because freight train number 347 is carrying American war goods to a waiting convoy in eastern port. It must get there on time. [Music] The engineer of the freight knows he has a long hard pull ahead of him. If he's going to reach the port with his load of machinery, food, and ammunition in time for the convoy sailing at dawn the next morning, he has the right of way. Trains are controlled from one central power room. All trains, freight and passenger. A troop train is speeding towards the port. It too must reach the convoy to sail at dawn. Even though this means ordinary travelers must wait. Heading for the port too is a truck carrying airplane parts badly needed overseas. Its driver knows he must get there in time. The skipper is waiting. It is his ship which the freight train, troop train, and truck are speeding to reach before the convoy sails. And sailing time is approaching. We can't sail with our crew. Three men short. Okay, try Boston then. [Music] Sure. We can send you 3A. Give me the go. All right, Tom. I got a job for 3AB going down my plane. Going to call up the priority. Okay, Frank. Sure they can go through. They'll make the convoy. So that these merchant seammen can get to their ship, three non-essential travelers had to give up their places. That's the way priority works. [Music] Freight 347 is highballing heat. The troop train 2 is speeding through the night and its engineer has a tough run ahead of it. But his cars full of American soldiers must reach port by dawn. And the truck with its precious load must get there even though it means driving all night. [Music] [Music] [Music] Hey, baby. We made it. [Music] Well, we made it, Joe. [Music] We did it. All right. Our convoys carrying the men and materials of war are making it, too. When you're being inconvenience, remember that. And here's how you can help. Don't travel unless you have to. Don't drive your car unless you have to. And if you do, cool your car with your neighbor. Don't ask for any more package delivery service than you can do without. And understand that the inconveniences you are putting up with are merely evidence of the fact that America is delivering the goods. [Music]