messages at sea

Happy 2017! As we look to the year ahead, a message from the past, from my pre-Christmas inbox, thanks to Patryk. This time he takes me to 1960, to the classic war film Sink the Bismark! Central to the action and the quest to sink that ship, prominently positioned in the headquarters of the British Admiralty, is a large as life Lamson tube system.

Messages come and go, arriving in the background as characters plot and strategise. Apparently the tubes play an important role in catching the Bismark. I am only halfway through the movie so far, so I am yet to find out how, but you can see for yourself here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFWwPYB74ac

Thanks again Patryk for another piece of fantastic pneumatic post!

keeping American rolling

A railway yardmaster stays connected to the central office via pneumatic tubes, Chicago, Illinois, 1942:

There is so much to find of interest in this photo - the pinstripes and polished shoes, the cans of paint (?) and rags, the war effort posters, yesterday's newspapers and of course the bolts and metal and pipes smelling of grease, hammering and clanking away.

Gorgeous medium-format negative by Jack Delano for the Office of War Information, reposted from the Shorpy website. Further use of image on blogs to be attributed to Shorpy.