Alcos, Iron Ore and More!

Producer: Marc S. Balkin

Timeframe: 1985

Locations: Escanaba, Green Bay, Marquette, more…

Length: 1 hour

Source: Marc Balkin

Join Jim Boyd on a three day tour. Editor of Railfan & Railroad Magazine. He travels with Marc Balkin of Mark 1 Video.  They videotape this show in July, 1985.

They set out to record the still operating Chicago and North Western Alco Century 628 locomotives. Lake Superior and Escanaba, Baldwin in Great Northern colors. Lake Superior and Ishpeming operations. A bit more.

Jim Boyd is an enthusiastic narrator! The script is a little on the sparse side. Time left to hear the locomotives operate. Enough information is provided. 6702 gets a great pacing sequence!

Chicago and North Western. Lake Superior and Ishpeming, are the main railroads featured. Along with Escanaba and Lake Superior. No Chapter Menu. A single DVD-R. Sturdy hardshell plastic case.

Escanaba Yard, has CNW C628, in old and new paint schemes.

The Century engines are nearly worth the price of admission. But wait, there’s more…

Image quality is an obvious video source. Minor tape flaws appear all during the show. It is like watching an old video. Has a constant horizontal  distortion bar along bottom of the screen. Color balance is fine. Sound levels are good. Narrative and live sound. Assorted maps. On-screen graphics with additional information.

On Escanaba & Lake Superior. A clean Baldwin RS12, in Great Northern colors! All the rage it was in 1985. It is great to hear the odd sounding Baldwin operate, as paced.

The pacing sequences are all shot smoothly. This Baldwin pulls a short cut. There are steady pacing shots throughout the show.

A trio of red LS&I units. Included their only running General Electric U25C.

Lake, Superior & Ishpeming. The various jobs are described concisely. Yet, detailed enough for viewers. Dock Job shown here.

Good views of the loading of an ore boat. Camera work is rock solid.

C&NW trains are interjected, from time to time.

Excellent details on heritage of the various LS&I units shown. RSD12s from C&O, for example.

Former Santa Fe ‘Alligator’ Alco RSD15, wait for a crew. Eagle Mills Yard.

Appleton Yard,  former New York Central, Alco RS32 locomotives. Now working for Chicago and North Western.

The Green Bay and Western gets a single train. Street chase at Green Bay, Wisconsin. Yes, this Engineer hollers at  careless driver! No, you can’t hear him. 

Not a caboose to be found in this show. Let’s begin to  close, with this shot of our lively host. Nice work, Jim and Marc!

Alcos, Iron Ore and More! The Diesels of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Delivers on the promised locomotives. Good visual and audio presentation. Video flaws are too much for ignoring. Very good show, with the hard to find power in service, on the Upper Peninsula and Green Bay area.

Rating: 4 Stars

Denver & Rio Grande Western

Producer: Pentrex

Timeframe: 1986

Locations: Denver, Royal Gorge, Moffat Tunnel, Tennessee Pass, Winter Park,…

Length: 1 hour 52 minutes

Rio Grande’s entire mainline, is covered from, Denver to Salt Lake City. The year of 1986 had, many solid DRGW lash-ups. Some of the best scenery in the United States, is on this railroad.

All of the major locations are visited. Moffat Tunnel. Climb to the summit of Tennessee Pass. Ski Train at Winter Park. A bonus Cab ride through the beautiful Royal Gorge. This program is jam packed, with a non- stop tour across this historic line.

A detailed Chapter Menu, allows convenient navigation over the single DVD. No on screen graphics. Basic maps for the straightforward line routes. On/ Off narration.

View from Rio Grande tracks, in Royal Gorge.

David Drui, with his smooth and professional narration. Classic Pentrex, with high quality in all departments. 

Action at six mile long, Moffat Tunnel.

Viewing a Rio Grande diesel that is this clean, is rare!

Model Railroaders. Quick quiz. How do you justify double the locomotives on a regular California Zephyr?… Answer… Add some private varnish on the rear!

Quite a few Amtrak views in this show.

Excitement as we are transported into multiple views from, a cab.

Another Cab ride. This time, in Gore Canyon

In the hole we go.. Meeting a Coal Train.

Checkout those Missouri Pacific units in Canary paint.

Red rocks provide a scenic backdrop. Spectacular scenery throughout this program. Cameras have viewpoints both, near and far. A sense of scale, will be communicated to the viewer.

Glenwood Springs has always been a popular tourist destination. Scenery is highlighted, along with the station.

Minturn Yard is a busy place. Here, a meet. Just a fast look here.

The Joint Line has been the subject of it’s own shows. A brief visit in this program. Burlington Northern and Santa Fe shared this trackage with Rio Grande.

Ski Train has a Chapter. Denver to Winter Park.

Tennessee Pass at over 10,000 feet. Power is largely SD40T-2 locomotives. The newer SD50 class are out in force. GP40 engines round out most of the DRGW units. Perhaps, older locos were in less critical service. 

 

Besides Cotton Belt and Southern Pacific. Burlington Northern run throughs will frequent the lash-ups.

An add-on Bonus coverage feature. A 23 minute Cab Ride. A GP40 pair with a local. Tours Royal Gorge Canyon! November, 5 1986. Other trains are encountered. Awesome!

One of the very few cabooses that appear. Was tough to find this one, with a clear view. Doesn’t meet advertised. Promised many cabooses. A few is the reality. Not a deal breaker.

Denver and Rio Grande Western. An excellent visual overview. Seemingly endless viewpoints.  Narrative is an early Pentrex. Lightweight on details. They make up for it with later releases, that cover the same territory.

This show has great mainline coverage of a pre-merger Rio Grande. They did a fine job of filming the railroad. A show that fans will want to rewatch multiple times.

Rating: 5 Stars

 

Classic Chicago and North Western Vol 2

Producer: CVP

Timeframe: 1977- 88

Locations: Iowa, Minn., Wisc.,NE, Glen Ellyn, Escanaba…

Length: 98 minutes

Source: Fred Crissey

This middle Volume follows the CNW in the Midwest via Fred Crissey’s movie camera. Predominantly a rural show.

Some lines have since been abandoned. A long Chapter of steamer 1385 from a 1986 outing is included. Also, the big Alco Century locomotives appear.

Typical of the other C Vision and Fred Crissey programs. All color 8mm film. Musical background soundtrack. Switchable on/ off at the menu.

A basic narrative. Generally, it offers locations. On-screen graphics denote similar information. Sometimes, a specific year is mentioned. A few line details.

Films are original condition in appearance. Clean overall, with good color balance. Handheld camera. Steady for the most part.
Quite a bit of the first half is shot with some distance from the camera. The only real concern with most Fred Crissey film collections. Though, not a deal breaker by any means.

Several overview maps. Simple, but effective. Here, is a really handy one!

He doesn’t train chase as extensively, as some other times. Save the 1385. This results in a better program.
Many trains are fronted by SD40 or even SD45 units. Those SD40s were ubiquitous, at the time.

Union Pacific or Conrail trailing power are not uncommon. Run through units, as the Union Pacific pair. An occasional Milwaukee Road, as well.

CNW at Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

Although harder to find. Other engine classes work the lines. Left in some extra graphics, for additional information.

Knapp Hill with a steep grade.

GP50s lead a hot TOFC train. Near Glen Ellyn, Ill. at Deadman’s Curve.

Observe this hard to find, EMD cow and calf set!

Back on the main. A GP30 lash-up with a set out car of fertilizer.

At the Kate Shelly bridge. A CNW locomotive, leads Amtrak’s California Zephyr, which was detoured.

CNW 808 leads a GP30 pair on a ballast train in Iowa. I believe the heavy green stripe painted, were ex: Chicago Great Western units.

Major bridges throughout the program. Blair, Nebraska shown here.

Escanaba, Michigan to Green Bay,Wisconsin. The Alco C628 locomotives in ore car service. Former Norfolk and Western power here. Behemoth diesels that are seen in multiple unit lash-ups.

A Century pair on a general freight gets chased to Green Bay. The 6709 leads.

Volume 2. A rural looking CNW. A wide ranging show. It gives an interesting look at branch, and mainline action.

Wide variety of freight trains. The 1385 is alright. The big Centuries are a quick bonus. A strong entry in this three volume series.

Rating: 3 1/2 Stars

The Anthracite Roads in the 70s Vol.4 Reading Lines

Producer: John Pechulis

Timeframe: 1970s

Locations: Bethlehem, Allentown, Rutherford, Reading

Length: 76 minutes

Sources: J. Reck, T. Nemeth, T. Kelcec, W. Chaplik, D. Latshaw

Sampled one of these Anthracite Roads shows. This one features Reading Railroad. Seems to be about 1972 to 1975, based on the narrative. Very focused on mostly freight operations of the Reading. Some passenger, in the forms of: Budd cars, Push- Pull and traditional FP7 led trains.

Having a clear preference for freight trains. Took a chance, on how this would work out. Very satisfied, with the heavy emphasis on freight traffic.

Too much to cover everything. Let’s see some highlights…

The show has a detailed Chapter Menu. No maps or additional graphics. Added sound are train sounds.

Various film sources have been compiled to complete this program. Some minor variations. The ultra fine restoration process by JPM, has everything appearing in best possible quality.

The overall visuals are excellent! Any flaws are minor. The color balance is outstanding. All of the Cinematography is very well shot.

Mike Bednar provides an informative and colorful narration. He has a true, insider viewpoint. Knowing the train symbols, loads, and much more! Learn why some hopper strings are on the front or rear of a mixed freight, on the Reading.

Diesel assortment should satisfy most fans of the 1970s. First and Second Generation locomotives from: EMD and Alco are in daily service. GE U30C locomotives, as well.

Paint schemes range from: Original 50s, 2nd Generation 60s and 70s are all here.

Cabooses were a given. The RS3 engines were still in service. Although we see their fate, later on.

GP30 power always had that ‘hot rod’ look. More so, in the 1960s. Something, that only General Motors would come up with.

The GP35 would outline the design from Electromotive for many years to follow.

Give me a six axle Alco Century C630, with High Adhesion trucks. A man’s locomotive!

The late, dark green paint looked like a successful update for the colorful 1970s.

A nice inclusion. Also, not a common find. Several trains offer the consists. So many 40′ boxcars are still rolling. Model Railroaders- take note.

While we are it. What do loaded Anthracite cars look like?

A plethora of pure Reading lash-ups. Nearly endless.

Mike certainly gets a kick out of a Lehigh Valley ‘Snowbird’ shoving on a train.

Used to seeing Chessie System units in weathered paint on other shows. It’s a bit of a shocker to find brand new GP40s here.

Paired up B&O plus C&O engines, also power some moves.

Obligatory Budd car. Seemed unattractive. Funny, that Mike felt similar.

The FP7 was a smart looking locomotive, in Reading paint.

Checkout Rutherford Yard for a quick visit.

Wide Vision caboose. The best on the line.

This show is a targeted one. The Reading probably did not have as many trackside viewers, as the larger railroads. Due to location and it’s size. Here is a chance to be trackside. In the few years before it disappeared into Conrail. The show in this high quality is a must see, for those who wish to have been there.

Rating: 5 Stars

 

Into the Allegheny Range Volume 4

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Producer: Pentrex

Timeframe: 1990s

Locations: Cumberland to Sand Patch Grade, Meyersdale, Connellsville,PA.

Length: 4 hours

Source: Iron Horse America

Final entry in this extensive series by Iron Horse America. Comprehensive coverage of former B&O line from Cumberland, Maryland to Sand Patch Grade. Second disc continues onward: Meyersdale to Connellsville, Pennsylvania.

While filmed over a three period in the early 1990s, wait there’s more. Has interpolating, steam era, color footage, from William Price!

At a total length of 4 hours. There are the 2 DVDs in this Volume. This review will barely get the surface highlights. Quality is on par, with the other three shows. Par excellence!

Mountainous terrain and CSX trains fighting their way up those tough grades. Shot in all seasons and any weather conditions. No stone is left unturned.

All the previous extras are present. A generous supply of maps. Frequently referenced to mark our progress along the line. Elevation maps. Detailed, on-screen graphics with additional information.

Bob Taylor announced a detailed narrative. Even includes tips on photographing or traversing the area.

The journey begins at the Eastern end in Cumberland. This time period is the last stand for active, Armstrong towers.

Tunnels are numerous. Both ends of each bore are covered. Amtrak moves appear throughout.

Towers are visited. They may or may not exist now. Wonderful! How the Price footage is edited in so well

A cornucopia of locomotive types. Predecessor paint scheme galore!

Tom Biery gets credit for this sequence. This Western Maryland led freight is paced near Mt. Savage Jct. Shortly after the Chessie System merger.

Fairhope Tunnel provides a scene, that is perfect for Model Railroaders. The short tunnel, immediate bridge over a river, offer a wealth of possibilities.

 Mance is loaded with scenic opportunities. Receives an extended Chapter.

Mance has numerous close-up viewpoints. Note this former Louisville and Nashville GP38.

Majestic, aerial viewpoints are look alikes for model railroads. Some ambitious climbing, is how the Videographer attained some shots. Several are spectacular!

Sand Patch Tunnel is a centerpiece. Plenty of still painted Chessie System power, in service.

The CSX F unit set on a 1991 special.

 

SA Tower is visited. Pistol grip controls here. The operation is explained by Ed Karsted.

Yes, Bill Price includes early diesels.

Display map of Sandpatch Grade summit.

Disc Two continues the journey from the summit.

One more scene of those great B&O steam locomotives.

Watch, as the rails are pulled up on the Berlin branch. Witness the final train there.

A Somerset local on S&C with a rare Sunburst B&O GP30 in the lash-up.

Shoofly is an interesting tunnel.

Benford is great looking brick one.

Check that last GP16 operating on CSX.

Connellsville Yard has some fine; before and after film. At the time of this show, extremely limited usage.

A Cab ride aboard a Chessie System GP38 helper. About to pass under Salisbury Viaduct. This closes this show.

Volume 4 is a winner! If you can only afford a single release or want to sample only one. This issue has comprehensive coverage of world famous Sand Patch Grade. 

Rating: 5 Stars