On rails, to ships, to victory! Keep 'em rolling
Three stacked pictures: a heavy gun on a Union Pacific flatcar, a cargo ship at sea, and the same type of gun firing on land. The headline runs down the left side across them, and the foot reads 'Keep 'em rolling' and 'The railroads are the backbone of offense'. The sequence ties the railroad to the firing gun (transfer), and 'victory' is a virtue word.
Propaganda techniques used in this poster
- Date
- 1941
- Period
- Second World War
- Made by
- Unnamed sponsor (railroad industry); artist Willmarth
- Region
- North America
- Country
- United States
- Medium
- Poster
- Issuer type
- Mixed
- Regime
- Roosevelt Administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Audience
- Domestic public
- Purpose
- Persuade or win support
- Themes
- War and the military, Home front
- Event
- World War II
- Regime
- Roosevelt administration
- Leader
- Franklin D. Roosevelt
- Source
- Identified Openly sourced: the speaker is who they say they are
- Source
- U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 44, World War II Posters, retrieved October 4, 2026
- Rights
- Public domain (U.S. government work)
Unnamed sponsor (railroad industry). National Archives and Records Administration, RG 44, 44-PA-1449 (NAID 515112).
Text on the object
ON RAILS.. TO SHIPS.. TO VICTORY! UNION PACIFIC UNION "KEEP 'EM ROLLING" THE RAILROADS ARE THE BACKBONE OF OFFENSE [signature: WILLMARTH]
