Diesel Engines Replace Steam -- "A Date with West Virginia" (1956)
From the 1800s until the mid-1900s, steam engines dominated railroads and rivers as a way to move barges and trains full of West Virginia coal. Diesel engines were invented in the late 1800s, but it took years to improve them to compete with steam.
Unlike steam engines, which were individually made, diesel engines could be mass produce and easier to repair and maintain. By the 1960s, steam engines had mostly been replaced by diesel engines for commercial and industrial use.
This video is composed of clips from the 1956 version of "A Date with West Virginia," produced by John Bransby for Humble Oil (later Esso Standard Oil Co.). John Bransby produced films for Esso Standard Oil for over 25 years.
This film is from the collection of the West Virginia State Archives. Edited by Luke Williams.
To read more about the West Virginia Turnpike, go to http://www.wvculture.org/history/wvhs...
To visit the West Virginia State Archives online, go to http://www.wvculture.org/history/arch...