The Roar of the Rails

The Roar of the Rails is an American children's television series that aired on CBS from October to December 1948, and in October to December 1949. Each episode is 15 minutes long and was essentially a live commercial for the toy manufacturer A. C. Gilbert Company.[1] The series is notable as being one of the first infomercials to air on a major television network.

The Roar of the Rails
GenreChildren's
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
Production
Running time15 minutes
Release
Original networkCBS Television
Picture formatBlack-and-white
Audio formatMonaural
Original releaseOctober 26, 1948 (1948-10-26) –
December 1949 (1949-12)

Overview

To sell American Flyer electric trains and other A.C. Gilbert products, the live series appeared for the eight weeks leading to Christmas 1948 and again in 1949. The format featured a retired railroad worker reminiscing dramatically about olden times. Each story featured actors plus in-studio electric trains and elaborate layouts to substitute for authentic train footage as the old-timer told his grandson exciting stories of earlier times in railroading.

Episode status

Seven 1949 kinescoped episodes of the series exist at the Library of Congress in the J. Fred and Leslie W. MacDonald Collection. The episodes contain complete commercials for American Flyer electric trains, Erector sets, Microscopes, and Chemistry sets. The episodes include:

  1. "Episode at Red Gulch Siding" (aired October 24, 1949)
  2. "Runaway Trains" (aired October 31, 1949)
  3. "The Johnstown Flood" (aired November 7, 1949)
  4. "Operation Explosion" (aired November 14, 1949)
  5. "Death Valley Scotty" (aired November 21, 1949)
  6. "Baltimore Fire" (aired November 28, 1949)
  7. "Acme Plant Fire" (aired December 12, 1949)

See also

References
  1. Woolery, George W. (1985). Children's Television: The First Thirty-Five Years, 1946-1981, Part II: Live, Film, and Tape Series. The Scarecrow Press. p. 420. ISBN 0-8108-1651-2.


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