AV Geeks 16mm Lunch 12-20-2024

hi everybody this is Skip Alzheimer welcome to the AV Geeks lunchtime streaming show where we watch old 16mm films that uh be was from the film that I showed on Wednesday called uh new eyes and new ears which had that beautiful title sequence with the uh superimposed reels turning so Dynamic and wonderful anyways uh I'm not live today because I have a cold and uh I'm kind of feeling so I recorded this before things get worse CU that's usually what happens with my colds uh but what we're going to watch today uh we're going to watch films with rides so the first one we're going to watch uh and we've shown this before but it's been four years Joy Ride which is this wonderful film about these two teenage boys that go Jo joy riding then here's a caterpillar film made by Centron called Everything rides on the roads and then finally a look to the Future Circuit of the mid 70s with the ride of the future and uh watching this makes me think of The Simpsons uh episode where the monreal comes to town because this features a monreal anyhow thanks for watching we should be back live on Monday I hope you have a great weekend if you like what you saw hit the thumbs up hit the like button and subscribe if you haven't subscribed that's a great way to support us uh and also watch other films that we've been uploading to the channel um we get little pennies or nickels every time you watch one of those with watching ads so uh have a great weekend and we will see you soon take care bye man we need a car hey Tony is that Julie see what I mean about a car [Music] all right coming home now let's go throw it home's go now what he say what look at that hot shot Rand you seen his new car what a hot got it's pretty nice it's probably over in the parking lot want to go take a look at it you know I used to know that guy when he was all right he's okay he's not a bad guy you want to go take a look at his car what a hot shot come on let's go take a look at his car why do I want to take a look at his car hello there it is what do you think it's not so hot well it's not so bad either look at that he left his keys in the car man what a dummy want to take him for a little spin are you kidding me no they'll be practicing for another two hours you're not serious sure we'll be back in two hours easy I don't know you won't find out he'll never even know what's gone just check your watch and we'll be back in two hours come on all right all right Rand that's way to go man shoot him out all [Music] right howy do you think your old man's ever going to let you get a car I don't know only thing he ever talks to me about is when I'm going to get my next haircut yeah I remember when I was a kid I used to have a barber name Mr CS hey let's see how fast this thing will do 0 to 60 3 2 1 [Music] zero all right all right oh no you broke my heart so now your per [Music] smile well that's done let's go call up the girls sounds good I'll drive you over to the phone hey I called him last time you call him this time hey we don't have much time come on you call you're better at that stuff than I am yeah you did blow up the last time I did not you blew it okay if I blew it then you call them hey man I'm driving you [Music] [Music] [Music] call get do it up you [Music] yeah hi guys nice car isn't that Randall's car yeah you loed to us you did yeah that randle's all right you can't drive you don't even have a license drove here didn't I if you get caught you'll be in so much trouble what are they going to do take away his library card come on girls let's go for a ride well what do you think we have nothing else to do yeah but they don't have a license and I don't [Music] know well if you want to sit around and be bored all day that's fine with us [Music] how do you like the car girls it's all right rides well yeah but the wind Shields cracked probably got hit by a baseball yeah but other than that it's pretty nice well I've got a friend that's got a porch what's so great about a Porsche hey let's go for a ride up in the hill yeah that's sounds good okay hey I know a great place up there too just good friends but who can see [Music] around it's right over to the left what is is it you'll [Music] see hey I don't want to go down there there might be some snakes no there aren't come on come on let's go check it out what's down there anyway it's a great old car come on let's go see it who wants to see a car come on let's go all right stay here come on you come on well don't blame me when you get bitten by a snake sure you there it is what do you think hey that's NE Vicky Tim B come on you guys this isn't funny [Music] [Music] B about 5 minutes R's going to find all his cars gone don't you know you have it he said he loaned it to you oh we kind of took it well let's go got a at be make time got line [Applause] don't you think you're going a little fast yeah take it easy come on slow down pleas oh [Music] no absolutely crazy sing minute [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] now you got to stop I think we lost my don't team anymore you got to stop you lost okay just take it easy huh no I got to put some [Music] distance stop stop [Music] just stop stop fighting fighting [Music] [Music] fting I want to stay [Music] [Music] we' see around the [Music] [Music] la [Music] the place a small town near the Great Smoky Mountains the man Zach Massie remembering back more than 80 years and my father grew to Backa and he had to go to Asheville to Market and uh it took him two days to go to Asheville we got from crab tree from FES Creek to Canton in one day and then from Canton to Asheville the next day and sold his tobacco the next day and took five days to go from there to Ash and B how far was that uh about 40 miles how fast can you do it today where you can go from here to Asheville in 35 40 minutes lot of difference a lot of difference yes there are a lot of differences between the America of today and the America of Zach massie's Boyhood within the span of a single lifetime we have literally moved mountains to build the world's finest Highway System including the shorter safer route he now takes to Asheville and this road Network the backbone of our transportation system has had a profound effect on all our lives whether we live in quiet little country towns or in the more heavily populated metropolitan areas our road system makes possible a bountiful array of choices an almost Limitless range of goods as like a giant Nationwide conveyor belt our roadways provide Swift efficient passage for products from any one part of the country to another America America's tremendous productivity yields a rich and varied Caravan a continuous outpouring of goods Goods the majority of people on Earth are still only hoping to attain our products roll off the assembly lines and keep right on rolling to waiting customers over a system whose importance we seldom considered we are so accustomed to the big haulers which bring cattle and Hogs to market now that we find it hard to believe how livestock traveled to the packing house in Zach massie's youth be a Cattleman come through buying up cattle you see and Hogs and he had employed me one time to help him drive we had to drive from 18 miles to Clyde over these muddy roads Hogs lay down in the road in the mud hole and water and get up and go on you know and so we'd get in there about about uh 5:00 in the afternoon and I did all that for 50 cents then had to walk back home that night back then as today some goods and passengers traveled on America's navigable waterways with the emphasis now being on bulk Commodities such as grain or on fuel such as coal and oil along with ores and other raw materials San Francisco may find it hard to relinquish its sentimental attachment to cable cars but newer modes of mass transit are now serving thousands of Bay Area Shoppers and commuters and other metropolitan areas daily meet the challenge of transporting thousands over relatively short distances on the longer runs Amtrak and commuter trains concentrate on meeting passenger needs however most railroads today move Freight so that even when goods are carried by another means of Transit the relationship between highways and other forms of transportation is apparent the package that goes on the Railroad Flat Car is equally at home on the road and highways provide the connection between manufacturing plants and their shipping facilities or between a ship and customers on Shore Air Freight is also likely to travel Road Lanes as well as airlanes and air Travelers familiar with the fact that airports tend to be far out places are also aware of the essential Earthbound links in the chain for while each is important in its own right all are ultimately dependent upon our highway system all must ultimately acknowledge the basic nature of the downto earth Network through which the throbbing pulse the life blood of Commerce largely flows a part of that Commerce ends up on our tables and thanks to our highway system we eat better than any other nation in the world enjoying a variety of fresh crisp produce produce which is usually only minutes away from the growing Fields when it takes to the road produce which is rushed to Consumers all across the country while it is still tasty and packed with nutrition hey good buddy this here's Humpty Dumpty heading not for Big D I want you to give me plenty of room I got a quar million eggs on board and I don't want any crack UPS 10 full Cold Storage eggs once made the first meal of the day an unappetizing one but not anymore the hens of Arkansas now have a highway connection with the breakfast plates of America and Cold Storage eggs are a thing of the past and this intricate and vital network not only provides for the movement of goods but also for delivery right to the door in many cases no matter how out of the way a destination may be it affords easy accessibility over almost any kind of terrain and provides for convenient and dependable Connections in short no other method of transportation quite Compares with the one which gets almost anything almost anywhere as everything rides on the roads like the man said you got that product likely a trucker brought it to you if our highway system can be and often is taken for granted it is seldom by the truckers by the men such as George Miller who know firsthand the effect which the improvements in roads during the last 10 or 20 years have had on them as individuals saved a lot a lot of money I mean saves fuel I'll say with these interstate highways I'll say you save 40 gallon fuel run between here and Chicago when I stop the start because you stop the start it takes more fuel but after you're rolling get your rolling speed your 55 M hour with the fal log requires you can just hold and set the hold that all day long no problem but the road is good the roads ain't balancy you don't break up your equipment you don't tear up your tars you don't bust your tars up you don't tear your transmission up your engine up you just keep running steady speed all day long for instance I'm a meat man when we bring the meat to your family in Philadelphia or New York area you're getting fresh meat you're not getting meat been laying around for a few days when I bring it to the butcher you have a fresh meat out of the way we used to leave on Saturdays to get there to get in Chicago Monday morning but now we can we can eat dinner home on Sunday and be there for Monday morning uh there's no comparison between the roads today and the old road the old roads are very very dangerous half a place when he broke down in the olden days you couldn't even get to the side but today you get on the side of these roads they have cut offs they got some of the finnest rest areas ever was on these roads [Music] [Music] today George Miller's experience has been gained from 45 years of making a living on the road Good morning George morning how you doing how come you so late you had night how come what happened well I don't want to say have breakfast or just coffe no just coffee okay thank you but most of us don't put in quite that much time getting acquainted with highway conditions Nationwide true two out of 10 American families move every year often to improve their standards of living but it is unlikely that they give much credit to ease of travel for making possible a wider choice of career opportunities it's even doubtful if during vacations many of us give any particular thought to the fact that our present Roads Take us to places where Generations before us could only dream of going to enjoy sites Americans once could only read about or year to see n [Music] a [Music] n [Music] most of the traveling most of us due is not to some dazzling vacation spot however most of it is the day after day after day kind the Stop and Go fundamentals of going to town to shop or driving back and forth to work but if our road syst system has given us a choice of Lifestyles freeing many workers from living in the shadows of the factories it has also been a two-way [Music] street a two-way street headed toward everybody's all-time favorite destination for whether we're driving a rental from the airport or using the family car all the way it is always the highway which leads the way back home are you hungry got that turkey [Music] ready amen well how was the roads oh they were pretty good up until about 20 M south of Cleveland there society as well as the family responds to our human need to gather together to care and to share and all of the big events all of the choices Society offers are dependent on the highway system both to gather the groups together and to disperse them afterward [Music] who we are what we are is interwoven with the roads that bring us together with a memorable events of Americana Happening Here and Now [Music] a Small Town Festival a county fair or a Marty [Music] gr the differences are only those of degree for we are social beings and whatever our social problems we move more often toward one another than away gathering together in celebration seeking to rise above whatever interferes with a sense of [Music] community but however High We may soar wherever the Winds of chance may carry us when we come back to Earth we will end up on whatever kind of Road system we have had the foresight to provide for and unfortunately there may be some stormy going [Music] ahead for anyone who thinks that our highway system can be taken for granted that we're traveling on easy street is dangerously close to being all wet both for our personal safety and for Urgent economic reasons we must be prepared to protect a tremendous asset a road system in which we have a multi-billion dollar investment we must be willing to keep the good roads good and to make the bad roads better to keep America rolling for in spite of all the demands we make on it our road system is inadequate nowhere near what it ought to be 40 years ago when we had slightly more than 3 million miles of Highways we had about 30 million Vehicles today we still have only about 3 million plus miles in the system but we have more than 140 million Vehicles more than four times as much traffic on about the same number of miles of Road that's right most of our highways have been around for more than 50 years and most of the bridges we cross were built in the era of the Great Depression they are narrow inadequate and sometimes ready to fall in if they haven't [Music] already safety research studies indicate that one out of five highway accidents can be attributed to built-in death traps such as this built in obstacles along the course of horse and buggy highways still in use in an automotive [Music] age and where an Old Road cannot or at least has not been widened to meet today's traffic needs there seems to be a stopper available for every bottleneck heirlooms can be lovely unless you have to drive on them the features of an Antiquated Road include among others things narrow or non-existent shoulders which make changing attire a death defying act something only the bravest of Good Samaritans would take part in watch out if you have any trouble on a road like this more trouble may be right behind you some of the roads which have been around for too long rise and fall like a ro roller coaster creating visibility and passing problems potential disaster lurks over the crest of every Hill the sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach experienced at the bottom of some of the dips is nothing compared to nothing compared to what sometimes awaits you at the top of a rise we send our kids out on highways booby trapped with killer corners and curving grades which are unsafe whatever the weather treacherous drop offs lurk within inches of hurtling tires waiting to snag a wheel and sometimes causing skidding even when the road isn't [Music] icy rail crossings as you may have noticed can often be as rough as tank traps real axle Busters which shuck off Mufflers right and left adding to the cost we incur from Bad roads and they do cost counting vehicle wear and tear and increased fuel consumption a road like this costs nearly twice as much per mile nearly twice as much to drive as a safer more more comfortable and usually more direct Road such as this one but weather is the great Destroyer as freezing and thaing split surfaces [Music] asunder use takes its toll too as Wheels fall like sledgehammers into potholes or gnaw at broken ples for the pounding pounding pounding that our Roads Take is not without its price [Music] it should come as no surprise that our roads are wearing out 50% faster than road crews can repair them and if we suffer from all the jouncing the springs and shock absorbers are often fairing worse Little Wonder that many of the cars still in operation look hardly better than the ones that are not little wonder that the screens around the junkyards cannot hide the fact that our $35 billion a year loss from accident damage is mounting ever higher compounded by the pain and suffering of L es too great to measure even the interstates safest of all our highways are now upwards of 20 years old some of them and the older ones are in need of repair and resurfacing the interstate system serves and benefits the total population yet it makes up less than 2% of our total Road mileage furthermore until the system is completed some parts of the interstates are only jump off places unfulfilled Promises of the kinds of safety and usefulness we could be building into our Highway Network today we get our funds for road maintenance and improvements by sharing the costs through a small tax per gallon on motor fuel the idea is that the user foots the bill on a pay as youo basis except that now he doesn't foot the bill not quite inflation is eating away at the f funds available for both maintenance and improvements on primary and secondary roads alike eating away at the funds necessary to protect our multi-billion dollar investment as a result state and local governments besieged by Rising costs are finding it more and more difficult to provide their share of the money needed to upgrade and maintain the system the urgency of the situation is hammered home by the obvious futility of stop Gap measures we cannot patch our way out of the problem we will either fix them now or fix them later beveled by increasing numbers of injuries and accidents as more of the system crumbles fix them now or fix them later burdened by the rapidly escalating costs of putting off what we know is necessary for if subst Cal additional funds are not made available soon if what needs to be done is not done then our whole Transportation network will be threatened this is the loom on which the fabric of Our Lives is woven this is the warp and the weft for the way we live whether we are commuting to work conveying our Lifeline of essential goods and services bringing farm products into the distribution centers or simply getting together to enjoy each other's company most of our human exchanges are dependent upon our highway system where we will be tomorrow depends upon it too including the places where we will shop and the places where we will work everything rides on our ability to get wherever we need to be at least as well as and maybe better than we do today everything rides on our willingness to provide additional funds to upgrade and maintain an indispensable [Music] system for the conclusion is inescapable the way to a brighter tomorrow tomorrow lies in our realization that we must attend to the roads today for everything including the course of our future rides on the roads [Music] the family vacation seeing America by car a symbol of our modern way of life we have become dependent upon the automobile but as great a convenience as it is the automobile has also helped to create some of America's most difficult problems it uses huge quantities of energy it is a contributor to environmental pollution its bulk clogs and congests our cities experts agree that to some of these problems practical Solutions must be found and people are working on answers come take a ride of the future I [Music] but this is not the future this is the 70s and you are riding PRT PRT personal Rapid Transit an alternative in urban Transportation PRT is at work here in its first practical application at morgant toown West Virginia n among the picturesque Hills on the winding manaila River the city was tied up in its own traffic and parking problems the greater morgant town area with a population of 50,000 had a traffic situation which was critical and typical of large urban areas here is the home of the state's Century Old West Virginia University with its 18,000 students and 6,000 faculty and staff [Music] the university is located on separated campuses about 2 mi apart six of WVU schools and colleges are located on the downtown campus six other schools and colleges are on the Evansdale campus and nearby the medical center includes four more schools and the teaching Hospital the university is located between the city's Central business district and a fast growing residential area there are only two through streets connecting these areas a few years ago during the morning and evening rush hours and during University class changes people often spent as much as an hour in traffic in its own right morgant Town's problem was as frustrating as the traffic jams that strangle America's large metropolitan areas parking was a problem [Music] too each day there are 12,000 students and faculty trips between campuses five Peak traffic periods WBU tried to solve this problem by operating an extensive bus system the buses helped move people but they also added to the traffic congestion one solution to this Urban problem is PRT personal Rapid Transit Engineers throughout the world have been working to make Urban Rapid Transit more convenient and therefore more popular but to date experiments have been mainly with mass transit buses Subways and trains in the mid 1960s an Industrial Engineer and transportation computer specialist at WVU saw the morgant town area as a place to test a personal transportation system that man was Dr Sammy Elias the PRT is called personal because the cars are small where a single passenger could ride alone non-stop to the destination he selected system is sometimes described as a horizontal elevator there are no drivers it is totally controlled and monitored electronically the PRT is highly adaptable to the different terrain weather conditions and the volume demands about the time WVU became involved in the subject The United State's Department of Transportation initiated research development and demonstrations in New transit systems the urban mass Transportation Administration became interested in Morgantown as a test site and funded the PRT project the Boeing Aerospace company of Seattle Washington was named the system manager responsible for design and construction of the entire project the guideways the cars the control systems Arthur hitzman Boeing's Morgantown program manager the Morgantown project is the the first demonstration project sponsored by the urban mass Transportation Administration its purpose is to evaluate the technological operational and economic feasibility of the of a personal rapid transit system in a real world Urban environment we at Boeing expect that these systems will be utilized throughout the country in areas which have severe concentration of people and pollution problems and will provide an alternate to the use of the automobile in these situations development of the guideways and stations followed traditional methods of construction [Music] various footer designs were used to adapt to different physical requirements of the guideway and its location piping for a heating system was installed during cold weather a hot solution is pumped through these pipes to prevent rain or snow from freezing on the guideway [Music] the steering rails are custom made to match the steering arms of each vehicle another distinctive aspect of the PRT construction is a series of groov likee slots which were cut into the guideway they contain the PRT control wiring these cables will provide Constant Contact between each of the vehicles and the controlling computer the loops are embedded and sealed in the [Music] slots these trays will shield the electrical wiring like many other components of the system they are several times larger than the size present needed this will permit future expansion this power rail will house the muscles of the system electricity and conduits along the side of the guideway will carry the system's high voltage power which will operate the vehicles meanwhile the PRT stations began to take shape their configuration falls into two types this station has a traffic flow through through design and this type has an end ofthe line guideway pattern and platform location the stations and guideways were designed by Frederick R Harris of Stanford Connecticut years before the development of the Morgantown PRT research was underway at the Olden self Transit Systems Corporation at Bedford Massachusetts it was the alen star car concept which Dr Elias and his team found to be the most attractive during early feasibility studies alen a subcontractor developed the steering power collection and other vehicle features of the PRT William alen president of Olden Corporation the PRT cabin was also fabricated here we used one piece molded fiberglass construction such as used with a boats and cars there's large Windows to afford visibility for the pass passengers in the cabin another important contribution that Alden made to the morgant town system was the steering and switching mechanisms in each vehicle uh the PRT vehicles are Guided by Wheels extending from the sides of the vehicle to the guideway walls this onboard steering is unique in that it does not require movement of the guideway itself as trains do permitting much closer safe spacing between cars World attention was quickly focused on the Morgantown PRT project and West Virginia University a and West Virginia governor breakr today at West Virginia University for the nation's first automated rapid transit system the PRT system has more than 45 Vehicles operating its speeds up to 30 mph on 5.4 single Lane miles of guideway this station in the heart of Morgantown is the best example of the ability of PRT to adapt to an urban environment the guideway laces around existing structures with a minimum use of ground space it is supported from relatively small Cason bases the guideway splits as it approaches the station and has four loading positions on each side of the [Music] building one of the important characteristics of PRT is its potential for expansion additional Spurs can easily be added so PRT can Branch out to other areas of the community access to the PRT system is by use of a coded pass card which provides unlimited use for the holder occasional Riders may use single magnetic cards [Music] the busiest terminal on the downtown campus shows the distinctive offline nature of PRT stations by going under the station a car May bypass this station without slowing down or a car can enter the station to pick up or discharge passengers and then continue in its original direction or it may Loop through the station and completely reverse its [Music] direction perhaps the most unique aspect of the PRT system is its Total Computer control of each car movement speed and spacing each station has a computer which monitors and determines all of the vehicle flow in and out of that [Music] station incoming cars are guided to Precision stops at a vacant Bay on the station platform and the doors are opened by the computer to permit passengers to exit and enter [Music] each station is linked to the Central Computer where operators are on duty Around the Clock they have visual displays which give them instant monitoring of the entire PRT system PRT is termed fail safe if a problem should occur anywhere the computer will automatically bring the total system to a safe operating condition then by a series of monitoring devices the control room operator is informed of the problem and the computer will print out corrective instructions each PRT vehicle is a complex machine with its steering braking control and other subsystems the power arms extend and retract as required to meet the configuration of the guideway [Music] servicing of the vehicles is performed by trained technicians in this fully equipped maintenance area also here is a test facility complete with its own computer and a storage yard cars not in use are rooted here by the Central Computer to be parked during non- Peak periods effective maintenance is one of the most important aspects of an automated transit system here in this PRT facility each car received the attention required to assure smooth running and reliable system but most important the PRT design combines the element of public transportation and the convenience of the personal Transit the personal Rapid Transit concept has proved itself here in Morgantown and PRT May well become the Forerunner of similar projects around the world West Virginia University is becoming a transportation Research Center attracting experts in the field from all over the world this system has become a transportation laboratory where Innovations can be tested in a controlled environment personal rapid transit is one part of the answer to the distressing snars of traffic which choke so many of our communities and seriously impair the lifestyle quality of civilization personal Rapid Transit a ride of the future [Music] oh [Music]