Before the Wires Came Down

Before the Wires Came Down

(The Springfield Terminal Railway)

A&R Productions

Length: 45 minutes

Time Period: 1950’s

Sources: Karl Hartman, Bill Orne

MSRP:

Vintage film collection of diminutive Springfield   Terminal Railway. This shortline was 8 miles long. It interchanged with Boston & Maine at Charleston, New Hampshire.

Beginning with some black and white film of the ST. Proceeds with Karl Hartman’s color films. Amateur shot on 8mm film. Camera shake is ever present. A variety of viewpoints do show a healthy inclusion of cab rides. Pacing, runbys, and street views. Period towns and traffic are interesting.

Audio has dubbed sounds. These are adequate at best. Levels are uneven. Ted Dalaku clearly narrates. Some history and equipment, includes final dispositions of featured units. Heavy on locations.

Baldwin-Westinghouse number 20 is the feautured motor in the first half of the show.

                         Number 8 is homebuilt. Equipped for maintenance jobs.

Motorcar 16 is the featured on two fantrips on the second half. Arranged by Karl Hartman in 1956. Karl is the only fan on these trips!

Too much time is spent on, loading and transporting the retired equipment. This is filler.

A so-so trolley video. There are higher quality programs about trolley lines.

The amateur camera relegates this to hardcore fans.

Rating: 2 1/2 Stars

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Chessie & Seaboard Hall of Fame

Chessie & Seaboard Hall of Fame

Charles Smiley Presents

Length: 2 Hours + Previews

Time Period: 1950’s- 1990’s

Locations: Systemwide

Sources: Robert Zook, Jack Kuiphoff, Will Whittaker, Ed Kaspriske, Nelson Rath

MSRP: 29.50

A double feature and loaded with rarities. CSX heritage is thoroughly covered in this latest  release from Charles Smiley Presents. A Hall of Fame series that contains total vintage, all color film. Freight and passenger operations are seen in a wide array of trains.

Chessie System and predecessor railroads : B&O, C&O and WM. These are the main subjects in the first half of the program. Interurban fans get a treat with a brief visit on Potomac Edison. Circa 1950’s era C&O showcases a Brill car operating in Appalachia.

Seaboard System and these components: SCL, L&N, and Family Lines members. There are numerous rarities to be savored within Seaboard. The majority of this collection is hard to find material.

Louisville and Nashville 4099 leads a mixed lash-up, with a Seaboard Coast Line unit. This EMD locomotive is a GP-38-2, built in 1972. Plenty of trains travel past the camera at Waldo, Florida in the 1970’s. This show provides more L&N, another tough to find film subject.

RF&P receives an extended chapter. This road is another that has been a scarce video find.

Western Maryland GP35 units 3580, 3577 and NW 2910 are one of many WM trains.

Additional Locomotives from: NW, NS, SOU, PC, SP, EL, Conrail, IC and Monon are included. Norfolk & Western 2910 was the lone GP35 from Nickel Plate Road.

Charles Smiley is a consistent producer who maintains high production standards. He gives much value with every release. Every detail is equally important. All of the many elements that combine to create an enjoyable and informative experience, are smoothly presented.

This show is 100% vintage film. Quality is very good to excellent. Digital restoration and enhancement gives the best possible picture. Audio is excellent and matched to the train.

This map displays Seaboard Coast Line. As the story develops, connecting railroads are added to the map. Specific areas are highlighted, and closer views are used as needed.

The 1970’s are great for seeing Chessie System engines with excellent paint. Most of the second generation locomotive fleet is pretty clean at the time.

Graphics are a key element. Custom made maps are frequently referenced. Locations, years and statistics are included.

Charles is a great narrator. A wealth of historical information is discussed. Fascinating ‘what- if ‘ scenarios offer even more perspective. The nicely balanced presentation has viewers enjoying straight trainwatching sequences as well.

Chessie System

Fascinating , a cornucopia of colorful trains with main action in the 1960’s thru 1980’s.

The Brill car is ridden and operated in the Appalachians. A must see has the 9050 riding on a creaking turntable!

Passenger trains from all three predecessors are included.

B&O 3722 is a GP40 built in 1969. Western Maryland tracks at Williamsport, MD.

Alco FA units with a trailing RS3 are the helper set. These tracks are a bike trail today.

C&O 7511 in 1975. The large roster of Chessie and CSX had unrepainted power roaming the rails for years, such as this SD40 with the C&O For Progress nose herald.

B&O GP30 with the CSXT renumbering. Esthetically, these were much better than ugly patch jobs on other railroad mergers. Original paint schemes were fun to find on CSX.

Chessie aficionados will be satisfied with this show. This review can only give a small sample of the numerous trains.

Seaboard System

The Seaboard Coast Line is prominently featured with a treasure trove of SCL footage. Early Seaboard Railroad is shown. Louisville & Nashville is another film rarity. Family Lines has plenty of coverage. Clinchfield Railroad even makes some cameo appearances. After the satisfying chapters of those railroads, Seaboard System is seen, before and early CSX era. This Seaboard half of the release is worth the price of admission. Viewers will benefit with intelligent background knowledge, and a plethora of trains.

Charles is extremely thorough when he produces a program. Both shows reach back into the 1950’s with relevant footage of uncommon scenes. Various passenger trains operating to be shown, but this is one of the surprises!

SCL 1753 is a GE U36B. There is a good variety of power, paint and cabooses

L&N is a major component of Family Lines. A revelation is the L&N route mileage.

Explanation of Family Lines puts that group in perspective.

Seaboard System is the final incarnation before CSX merger.

Cabooses are plentiful and an intriguing package of 1970’s – 1980 era.

Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac

The RF&P bridge line is reviewed, before the line was absorbed. Yet, another hard to find railroad.

CSX F7A 118 is one of several later era scenes. The show progresses into the CSX Racetrack livery.

Chessie Seaboard Hall of Fame is a big winner. Railfans and model railroaders will find this a goldmine. The rare factor alone makes this a must have program.

Once again, Charles Smiley has set the bar for vintage railroad shows.

Rating: 5 Stars

Corn Belt Railroads In the 1950’s

Corn Belt Railroads In the 1950’s

C. Vision Productions

Length: 66 minutes + previews

Time Period: 1950’s

Locations: Des Moines, LaCrosse, Oelwein and many more..

Source: George Niles

MSRP: 29.95

A collection of midwestern action that includes some rare scenes. Steam and diesel, as well as an interurban gas car. Filmed by George Niles.  Wisconsin and Iowa locations. Passenger and freight. All color film. Narration and music soundtrack.

C Vision has this interesting variety of late steam and early diesel action in Corn Belt. The Rock Island stars for nearly half of the show. Milwaukee Road has plenty of screentime. Chicago, Burlington & Quincy is present. A little Chicago Great Western. An industrial train at Redfield Brick and Tile. Some definite rare trains and equipment are on hand in this program.

The color 8mm films were shot by George Niles. He has various viewpoints that work well overall. At times he was too close to the trains. Fortunately, the majority of scenes have good composition. All of the films are pretty clean looking. There are some damaged frames too. Quality is good to very good. The colors are bright and vibrant. Perhaps these reels were well preserved somewhere.

Don Grant performs the narrative. The script has some detail and good information. More narration would have been welcome. On / off switchable musical background. They have expanded from some earlier efforts in the music department. Relaxed pace and sometimes too laidback. Many locations and no maps are included.

At Grand Tower. Baldwin S12 does switching. The 1951 Oldsmobile Rocket 88 is George’s.

Locations are by on screen graphics and descriptive narration. Chapter menu and organization is nicely done. Editing is sharp and smooth. The only concern, is some apparent film skipping or camera jumping. Not much can be done there. The rarity means that viewers live with the flaws. Otherwise, it is mostly good, clean footage.

Opening with coverage of Rock Island, near Des Moines, Iowa. What an awesome record of transitional era action. An overview of all types of activity. It has mostly slower speeds, that are conducive to trainwatching.

Original red and black paint schemes were a reflection of the 1950’s. Deluxe and attractive passenger equipment too. The Rock Island never looked as prosperous. It is a sight to see the different early diesels operating in new condition.

Check that super rare EMC TA as the trailing unit on a football game special! These were built in 1937 as a lightweight locomotive for smaller Rock Island streamliners. Rated at 1200 horsepower, they were the forerunner of the F unit series. Here, it just passes by quietly.

Milwaukee Road 233 crosses over the high bridge at Des Moines. This is one of the spots, where he was too close to get good views of the trains.

The Milwaukee Road is also impressive. Some big steam operates along with the newer EMD diesels here. Between Des Moines and Spirit Lake, Iowa is a visit to a gas electric interurban on Milwaukee Road.

The Gas Electric train is ridden on a branchline to Spirit Lake. The exterior shows a typical ’50’s era scene. A steam era watertank and period automobile set the scene. This gas car action is very rare.

A different age. At Spencer, Iowa the little train will encounter 3 steam powered locals. At Spirit Lake, see the engine on an Armstrong turntable.

Burlington Route has limited coverage. A 1952 view of a passing Zephyr moves slowly through a junction at Grand Tower.

Chicago Great Western gets a few scenes. This is the Corn Belt scheme.

Redfield Brick and Tile is an industrial narrow gauge that is another scarce find.

Corn Belt Railroads In the 1950’s, is one of the best vintage releases from C. Vision.

If you want to add to your vintage collection, this is a good choice. Railfans and model railroaders should enjoy this program.

Rating: 4 Stars

Smoke in Niles Canyon

Smoke in Niles Canyon

Catenary Video Productions

Length: 35 minutes

Time Period: 1920’s- Present

Sources: Don Olsen, Bill Straile, Warren Haack

MSRP: 19.95

A Pictorial History of The Niles Canyon Railway

Niles Canyon is presented in a ‘then and now ‘ format. Located west of San Francisco, California. Both Southern Pacific and Western Pacific had tracks through the canyon. SP abandoned their line. Pacific Locomotive Association operates a museum and vintage equipment on the now restored trackage. Known as, Niles Canyon Railway, the remainder of the show will focus on modern operations.

The historical films are from the Don Olsen collection. Black and white from 1926 begins the movie film coverage. Much color is seen in the archive assortment. Modern footage was shot in HD. Various early black and white, plus color photographs.

Clover Valley Lumber Company Mallet. Archive film that captures a logging train. For a short program, we visit beyond Niles Canyon. The benefit is the sight of some equipment heritage.

Narration by Warren Haack. He was raised in logging country and is an enthusiastic host. Warren has produced this release, with fine results. Dividing the show into chapters, we start with a look at the early history of the tracklaying period in 1869. The editing is smooth and sharp. No chapter menu or search function.

A PBS style format is used for this release. Narrative, train sounds, live sound, photographs and brief commentaries, all enhance this high quality show.

Custom maps are frequently referenced. Older SP/ WP and Niles Canyon current day.

Western Pacific California Zephyr. Multiple scenes with this famous train. Ride the train too. A few Cab Forwards on freights are seen, on the close proximity SP line.

          SP 2742 at Mission Bay.

Southern Pacific 2742. Vintage and contemporary views, of this classic engine.

California Western Skunk. These trolley/ interurbans are the diesel self-propelled type. Different color schemes and various models, are seen in the old films.

Modern Niles Canyon Railway is featured in the second half of this show. Four steamers were operating when this was filmed. Get a cab ride on this Robert Dollar Co. locomotive.

A photo freight special that swaps leading locos on this doubleheader.

The saddle tankers appear almost narrow gauge. Until coupled to standard gauge cars! More background information on these engines would be desirable. The 35 minutes packs much, but is a shorter release. If the log trains catch your fancy, check other Catenary titles.

Smoke in Niles Canyon is an excellent show for the whole family to enjoy! There is plenty to keep railfans and model railroaders interested, as well. A nicely balanced presentation.

Rating: 4 Stars

Lackawanna Legacy: The DL&W Electrics

Lackawanna Legacy: The DL&W Electrics

Mark 1 Video

Length: One hour

Time Period: July- August 1984

Lcations: Hoboken, Dover, Gladstone, Montclair

Sources: 1984 color footage

MSRP: 30.00

Mark 1 has a comprehensive show about DL&W interurban service in 1984.  Three lines in New Jersey are featured. Old electric mu’s, which were original Lackawanna equipment. Delaware, Lackawanna & Western was the original ailroad name. Merged with Erie Railroad in 1960. Erie Lackawanna was the result.

The last 2 months of Edison Era electrics are on color film. Many, vintage black and white photographs. History is interspersed within the program.

Nicknamed as Wickerliners. Anyone who has ridden in one of these ancient coaches will identify with the name.

Jim Boyd of Railfan Magazine, is our narrator. Good narrative. The service to Dover and Gladstone will originate from Hoboken. There is historical background which sets up our 1984 visit to the lines. Maps are often referenced along the way.  On screen graphics are frequently used to show exact locations.

Audio is a mixture of: train sounds, musical backgrounds, and narration. The soundtrack is balanced among those elements. You may hear the train over the music, as well. Interurban programs can be difficult to have accurate sounds. Attention to detail has brought the nice results.

Lackawanna’s right of way is a study in contrasts. Stations are sometimes, squeezed into the surrounding landscape. Further away from the metropolis, there is space and more greenery.

Diesels share the rails with the venerable electrics.

                                                                     Newark.

                                                                  Gladstone.

August 24, 1984 was the final run to Gladstone. Train 629 to Dover was the last train of the old electric service multiple units. NJ Transit reopened with a 25,000 volt modern system.

A brief segment with the new trains follows to close the show.

Lackawanna Legacy: The DL&W Electrics is an engaging look at that service. A well done program that pays tribute to the old Multiple unit electrics. Great for the railfan.

Rating: 4 Stars