Sunday River Productions

A fascinating look at the monsters that ruled Eastern United States for almost a generation. It opens with scenes from Sunday River's "Baltimore and Ohio" and closes with Archie Julian's "Battle for the Blue Ridge". It features - in spectacular sync sound - the last and most efficient Main Line articulateds built in America, the B&O 2-8-8-4 "Yellowstone" locomotives. See the rigid frame 2-6-6-6 Allegheny of the Chesapeake & Ohio, the world's most powerful steam locomotive, as well as the President Class 4-6-2s on the crack B&O limiteds, "Cinncinnatian" and "Washingtonian". C&O streamlined Hudson's haul "The Sportsman" and "The George Washington". A single 2-6-6-6 westbound from Covington with 100 loaded hoppers creeps to the summit at barely 5 MPH and in contrast fast freights race thru White Sulfur and B&O articulateds pound thru Confluence and New Castle. A definitive study of these powerful articulated engines!

This route can be followed in the Appalachia & Piedmont edition of SPV's Comprehensive Railroad Atlas.

by Sunday River Productions 34 mins * colour * narration

This visually stunning feature chronicles the fabled narrow gauge steam trains of the Southern Pacific which once crossed the desert reaches of California's Owens Valley. Against a backdrop of soaring snow-capped peaks, the trains make their way to and from lonely mining operations at the foot of the mountains in the sparkling clear days of late Autumn.

The entire line as it still survived in 1960 is covered, including stations, bridges, water tanks, and turntables. Narrow gauge gondolas run up a specially-built trestle to dump into standard-gauge cars below. Enormous bars of silver, too heavy to steal, are piled at trackside to wait the train's arrival. The road's quaint and unique caboose/ combine brings up the rear of the train as a Native American from the local reservation, according to official company policy, hitches a ride on a boxcar roof. All this, as the highest peaks in the lower 48 stand watch under the crystal-blue dome of the desert sky. A jewel of a show!

by Sunday River Productions 31 mins * colour * narrated

Completely revised Double in Length

In the first part,shot by Arthur E LaSalle in 1949, the westbound Overland Limited arrives Reno behind a cab forward and The Virginia and Truckee daily mixed departs from the opposite side of the station for a three hour run the entire length of the line. Next, Wilbur C. Whittaker captures the highlights of an NRHS special: Reno to Carson City. Finally, from the Otto Perry collection, the last passenger train and the final official train, each from Reno to Minden in May 1950.

The V and T was built to serve:the Comstock lode. This is the railroad that carried more than the combined weight of all its rails and stock in pure glistening silver from the richest hill on earth.

It includes a visit to the 17 stall sandstone round house in Carson City, eyeball to eyeball pacing at a thunderous 45 MPH and lonely shots of a tiny train against the snow capped peaks that frame the desolate Washoe valley. Running time 44 minutes.

by Sunday River Productions 44 mins * colour * narration

The whole story of one of the world's most famous streamlined trains, from birth to burial. The whole trip from Dearborn Station, Chicago to Union Terminal, Los Angeles, with particular attention to the Great Bridges across the Mississippi and Missouri and the Great Passes: Raton, Glorieta and Cajon. Above Raton the Sangre de Cristo peaks sparkle in the breathtaking white of early winter against a diamond blue New Mexico sky. The Super Chief squeezes onto the sinuous single track hung in the slot canyon above Apache Creek as it squirms toward Glorieta Pass ( as high and more spectacular than Raton, but rarely photographed).

Feel the suction of air as the train roars past on the prairie. See inside the luxury consist, and glimpse the rest of the Santa Fe's streamlined fleet in action, including the San Francisco Chief, The Texas Chief, The Grand Canyon, The El Capitan, and Alco PAs leading The San Diegan along the Pacific surf.

73 mins

by Sunday River Productions 118 mins * colour * narrated

GLENN BEIER"S EXHAUSTIVE COVERAGE

This shows you the West Side Flume and Logging Company Railroad when it was really a working railroad. You see dozens of narrow gauge trains with empty log skeletons battling better than 5% grades to the high camps and then loaded with logs of garganuan size, the retainer set, the hand brakes tied down and the wheels smoking as the whole crew sweats to keep the train from getting away. The spindly trestles towering above the canyon walls, the dramatic, airborne ballet at the reloads, with ten ton logs poised for feather light placement, the explosive water dumps. Even the very last train ever to run on The West Side!

This is a work of devotion by a motion picture professional, Glenn Beier. It is not a collection of film scraps scrounged from the some cutting room floor. This is the ultimate source for information and dramatic, color photography of the West Side.

by Sunday River Productions 120 mins * colour * narrated

Gorre and Daphetid (Gory and Defeated) is the most famous model railroad built in this century. Two weeks after the death of it designer and builder, John Allen, it was destroyed by fire. All recordings were believed to have been destroyed.

Thanks to recent discovery of the films, this tape, remastered, offers you the ultimate of model railroading: a vast network of standard, narrow gauge and mixed gauge- even a trolley line. More than 100 bridges, no two alike, some soaring 5 feet above the floor, others crawling the labyrinthine canyons of the Akinback Mountain range, complete with working cable cars and water wheels. Includes the saga of the notorious Sore Feats Gang and their terrible but richly-deserved final demise.

We've used John's own slides to magnify his exquisite detail, from snow capped peaks to ocean car ferry, and bring to life to the thousands of miniature people and working railroad artifacts that surprised and delighted so many- even non- modelers.

by Sunday River Productions 113 mins * colour * narrated

Every kind of steam locomotive ever conceived to haul logs: Shays, Heislers , Climaxes, Articulated rod and Rigid frame Engines. You'll see the Feather River Shays high on S-curved trestles, getting a run at a 5.5% grade with 25 degree curves, and the fireworks pin-wheel of Climaxes tackling 6% grades on the Hillcrest. Heislers dance around the log dump like daddy long legs spiders. Climb in to the cab as Rayonier Mallet #8 heads for tall timber and returns with logs of Bunyan size. Two versions of the McLeod operation: first, a double-headed fan trip with an SP daylight consist and - in the 10 foot drifts of February - a sparkling vignette in brilliant sunshine with Mt Shasta towering behind.

Running time 54 minutes.

by Sunday River Productions 54 mins * colour * narrated