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Newsletter - JUNE 2009
Previous Newsletters
NEW DVDS
Visit Canada from 1939 to 1973 from New Brunswick to Vancouver Island. We bring lots of steam and the early diesels in both freight and passenger service. Many maps and special diagrams were specially prepared to highlight the features in this video. The film sources are numerous from many of the most famous rail fans that were active from the 1940s through the 1970s. See steam, electric and early diesel action from coast to coast! In-cab and trackside action brings you great scenery and a nostalgic look of stations and even tracks that disappeared years ago. CANADIAN PACIFIC CANADIAN NATIONAL DEUX MONTAGNES ELECTRICS QRL&P RAILWAY QUEBEC CENTRAL ESQUIMALT & NANAIMO LOGGING LINES PACIFIC GREAT EASTERN CP SHIPS Lots of history and the best locations such as Banff, Lake Louise, Kicking Horse Pass Spiral Tunnels and Crowsnest Pass in the days of steam and diesel. Also, the Pacific Great Eastern Railway, Grand Trunk, Central Vermont, Soo Line logging lines and much more!
89 mins colour Narration Regular price £21.00 NEW RELEASE OFFER UNTIL 17th July 2009 - £20 (free UK & European p&p)
Hershey is on Union Pacfic’s quadruple track just east of O’Fallons, Nebraska and is the busiest piece of freight railroad in the world, with up to 140 trains a day in busy periods. With so many trains, meets are common, as are multiple trains and even side-by-sides. Amazing action!
105 mins colour Narration Regular price £21.00 NEW RELEASE OFFER UNTIL 17th July 2009 - £20 (free UK & European p&p)
New Books From
Nickel Plate Road In Color Volume 1: 1946 - 1959 by Stephen M. Timko
The Nickel Plate was the place to be in the 1950’s when the next headlight might be a pair of sleek PA’s or a thundering Berk.
£ 42.00 (Incl. UK p&p)
Seaboard Air Line In Color Volume 1: Motive Power and Memories by Paul Faulk
The end of steam and the entire diesel roster from Centipedes and FT’s to C420’s and GP40’s – all in vivid color
Trackside along the Erie Railroad and its Connections with Jim Kostibos by Jim Kostibos
An all-color retrospective on the Erie and EL and key freight connections east of Hornell, NY.
Louisville & Nashville In Color Volume 2 by R. C. Borkowski, Jr.
A system-wide examination of the L&N from the steam era right up to its absorption into the Seaboard System.
By the mid 1950s the Norfolk & Western was America’s last steam stronghold. With diesels on the horizon, the period from 1955 to 1959 brought more photographers to this railroad than any other southern line, resulting in an abundance of fine quality material. Volume 1 Beginning with an overview of the main N&W locomotive classes, journey on to Columbus and Portsmouth, Ohio to view locomotive classes A, K2a, M and S1a. Then, at Kenova, West Virginia, witness a grand parade of main line freight and passenger trains. the Kenova Union Station, straddling the C&O main line on its lower level also served the N&W on the upper level. With the yards nearby, the depot offered time freights and coal drags of 180 hoppers pulled by 2-6-6-4 A class articulateds, passenger runs assigned to J and K2a class engines and other runs handled by Y, K1 and S1a class engines. The C&O was putting on its own show with newly acquired diesels! On to the famed Abingdon Branch where mixed trains 201 and 202 were running with M class 4-8-0s. Chase this backwoods operation and go along as a passenger. Known as the “Virginia Creeper”, the line gained fame in the mid-1950s with O. Winston Link’s incredible photography and recordings. Also, we look at the diesels coming with GP9s in red & black plus Alco RS11s. Volume 2 We focus in the operations in the Roanoke, Virginia area. Roanoke was the heart and hub of this Pocahontas coal carrier with company headquarters, shops and terminal facilities. Just east of Roanoke lies the Blue Ridge where the greatest show in eastern steam was regularly seen. Beginning at Shaffer’s Crossing, take a tour of America’s last big steam centre with views of the servicing areas, roundhouse, hump, yards and passenger station. Then re-live some events of the 1957 NRHS convention when the shops and Shaffer’s Crossing roundhouse were opened to conventioners as well as a triple headed excursion with M class 4-6-0s. At Blue Ridge take a good look at Mountain climbing articulateds as only N&W could provide. Also shown are encroaching diesels.Locomotive classes seen include: ‘A’ 2-6-6-4, ‘Y5-6-6A-6B’ 2-8-8-2. ‘K1’ & ‘K2a’ 4-8-2, ‘J’ 4-8-4, ‘TE’ JAWN HENRY, ‘S1’ & ‘S1a” 0-8-0, GP9s in red and black and much more.
82 mins colour Narration Regular price £21.00 NEW RELEASE OFFER UNTIL 17th July 2009 - £18 (free UK & European p&p)
Volume 3 Steam Through The Shenandoah In the mid to late 1950s, Harry P. Dodge and Bob Flack headed into the Shenandoah Valley to record on 16mm film the steam season finale of the Norfolk & Western. Braving the elements, they duly and dramatically captured the time freights, mixed trains, coal drags, yard scenes and picturesque ambience of the Shenandoah Division while steam still held forth. You will see Y6 2-8-8-2s, K2s, Ms and S1a class shifters at work in their daily assignments. With the majestic Shenandoah Valley for a background, no portrayal of the N&W was ever more beautiful. Winter is perhaps the most dramatic time to pursue steam and the sequence of steam in snow and beside the frozen Shenandoah River is stunning, perhaps worth the tape alone! Also included is a chase of a rare 1956 excursion with K1 and K2 mountain types doubleheaded.
Volume 4 Tipple To Tidewater Filmed in the late 1950s, this all steam rememberance of coal movement is heavy action in every sense. Never were the Glory Machines more glorious. Beginning at a West Virginia coal mine, you will follow the Y6s on their eastbound struggle to conquer the grades of Bluefield, Christiansburg and Blue Ridge. You will find Y class 2-8-8-2s, A class 2-6-6-4s, switchers and even a J class 4-8-4 on coal assignments all the way to the Lamberts Point docks at Norfolk. The most interesting Lamberts Point operation is seen in detail with coal tonnage being transferred between railroad hopper and ship’s hold by Barneys (mechanical mules), rotary dumpers and giant electric hopper cars.
80 mins colour Narration Regular price £21.00 NEW RELEASE OFFER UNTIL 17th July 2009 - £18 (free UK & European p&p)
Volume 5 The Powhatan Arrow! The Pocahontas! The Tennessean! The Pelican! The Cavalier! These and other trains are included in this action-packed video of N&W’s greatest passenger trains in the 1950s with J, K, M and E class steam locos! Visit Norfolk, Petersburg, Roanoke, Bluefield, Norton, Blacksburg, New River Valley, and many other locations. See famed J class 611 at 90 mph on its 1959 retirement run! All 14 Js are seen plus Pacifics, Mountains, and M class 4-8-0s.
Volume 6 A Class 2-6-6-4s! Y Class 2-8-8-2s! N&W and Virginian Electrics! All hard at work on coal trrains, freight trains, local freights, pushers, hump service. All in the 1950s! Visit Norfolk, Petersburg, Roanoke, Bluefield, Princeton. Rare film of N&W electrics in action in 1930s! Blue Ridge in its glory with A and Y class locos lifting long coal drags over the crest! Follow freights from Norfolk westward. See Virginian’s big electrics in action!
102 mins colour Narration Regular price £21.00 NEW RELEASE OFFER UNTIL 17th July 2009 - £18 (free UK & European p&p)
BUY ALL 6 VOLUMES OF POCAHONTAS GLORYFOR ONLY £50
See zebra-striped switch engines and GP9s; and blue & yellow F-units, GP9s, U-Boats, GP35s, SD45s, and F45s in this fantastic collection of Santa Fe training and promotional films from the 1950s and 1970s! You’ll also see a welded rail train, a track geometry car, repair shows, icing docks, and much, much more. Each of the six films included in this program is a vintage gem! Here’s what you’ll experience in Workin’ on the Santa Fe: • Team Effort. Track repairmen learn safe handling techniques for the many tools they’ll use, such as the spike maul, pick and sledge, claw bar, lining bar, rail fork, and others. • Count the Seconds. Yard workers learn what happens when safety isn’t uppermost in mind as they work around moving equipment! • The Continuing Challenge. Santa Fe mounted a camera underneath an empty car to find out why derailments occurred on high-speed trains in 1974, with shocking results! • Barstow: Nerve Center in the Desert. See the construction efforts that enabled Santa Fe to move 4,000 cars in and out of the “new yard at Barstow” every day. • Pay Day. This 1950s film shows what happens when loading, locking down, coupling, and taking up slack aren’t done right! • The Argentine Yard – A Design for Tomorrow. Santa Fe’s new systems process up to 3,100 cars a day, twice as many as before computerization. Enjoy this nostalgic trip back in time as you explore one of the all-time favorite fallen flags. You’re Workin’ on the Santa Fe!
90 mins colour Narration Regular price £21.00 NEW RELEASE OFFER UNTIL 17th July 2009 - £10 (free UK & European p&p)
In 2001, Pentrex was proud to release six rare Union Pacific publicity and safety training films that had never before been presented to the general public. Now this classic collection is available to you on one DVD. Produced by the Union Pacific during the 1970s, these films bring you a nostalgic view into the day-to-day workings of a railroading icon. Included on this disc are: • The Trainmaster: Man on the Move. Travel throughout the UP system to experience the challenges faced by Trainmasters as they keep the railroad running smoothly. • Wired for Safety. This safety training film for railroad electricians includes glimpses of Centennial locomotive 6902 and E-unit 954. • Careful, Carman! Employees working on freight cars learn safe practices and procedures in this instructional film. • Rails on the Move. Follow the progress of a steel rail from its manufacture, through welding into strings, to installation in the field. Watch each machine perform its step in the rail-laying process. Ride on a welded rail train as it curves through the mountains on a Utah branch line. • Track Team. Produced to instruct track workers about safety procedures, this film covers the use of hand tools, power machinery, and motor cars. • Freight Car Pit Stop. Visit a mechanized car repair facility and learn how it functions to keep the freight car fleet on the road. These vintage films take you back a generation yet they are as entertaining and informational today as they were 30 years ago! You’re Workin’ on the Union Pacific!
95 mins colour & b/w Narration Regular price £21.00 NEW RELEASE OFFER UNTIL 17th July 2009 - £10 (free UK & European p&p)
This collection of rare training and PR films was produced by the Southern Pacific Railroad in the 1950s and Pentrex is proud to present them together for the first time ever! Early diesels, including E- and F-Units, PAs, and F-Ms dominate the motive roster, many in Black Widow paint scheme. Included are: • Men, Wheels and Power. SP takes you on a grand tour of its motive power and car maintenance departments where you’ll observe new car construction, including SP’s first dome car; visit foundries where iron wheels and brass journals are manufactured; explore the shops where freight cars are reconditioned; and visit stations and yards from Eugene to El Paso. 27 minutes. Color. • One Spot System of Car Repair. The mechanized car repair shed at its Roseville Yard allowed SP to get Bad Order cars back on the rails fast. You’ll see how the three-track shed and its automated systems worked, including a truly speedy truck replacement system! 12 minutes. Color. • Progress Through Safety. Protecting against the uncontrolled movement of cars and engines is the subject of this safety training film. After looking at the fatal consequences of failing to comply with safety rules, SP operators are shown the precise sequence of steps to follow for securing engines and setting out cars on grades. 15 minutes. B&W. • The Lost Picnic. The California Highway Patrol and the SP Safety Training Department teamed up to present this public service film that shows viewers what happens when crossing signals warnings are not heeded! 23 minutes. Color. • This is Piggy-back. Southern Pacific had one of the largest piggyback fleets in the nation and designed its own rolling stock. You’ll see flatcar assembly and specialized equipment such as refrigerator vans, open top vans, and sliding top vans. A trip to a brewery in San Francisco demonstrates how the combined use of truck and train made overnight delivery to distributors in Southern California possible. 23 minutes. Color.
100 mins colour & b/w Narration Regular price £21.00 NEW RELEASE OFFER UNTIL 17th July 2009 - £10 (free UK & European p&p)
Don't Forget, Magazines Subscriptions make great presents enjoyed the whole year round
MAGAZINE SUBSCRIPTIONS MAKE GREAT GIFTS - ENYOYED ALL YEAR ROUND!
DIESEL ERA (£5.80 - sub £34) Mar/April issue available
CLASSIC TRAINS (£5.00 - sub £18.50) Summer issue available
TRAINS (£4.60 - sub £49) July issue available
MODEL RAILROADER (£4.60 - sub £49) July issue available
NARROW GAUGE & SHORTLINE GAZETTE (£6.40 - sub £30) May/June issue available
GARDEN RAILWAYS (£4.95 - sub £28) Mar/April issue available
RAILFAN (£3.20 - sub £33) May issue available
RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN (£3.40 - sub £35) May issue available
N SCALE (£6.00 - sub £34) May/June issue available
Magazines UK p&p now included - Rest of Europe + £ 0.50 Annual Sub: UK p&p incl. - Europe £5
SEE SPV AT
Chathham Show 2009 Sat - Sun 13th-14th June 2009 The Historic Dockyard, Chatham, Kent. about
ARDENRAIL 2009 Sat 27th June 2009 Arden School in Knowle, near Solihull in the West Midlands B93 0PT about
Your chance to watch the DVDs, see the books and browse the magazines See y’all there!
SPV News
This months newsletter is smaller due to our printers unfortunately going bankrupt. It is a sign of the times and with more and more people using the internet and not having printing, they could no longer stay in business. SPV will still produce a hard copy newsletter but we will also be doing more promotions on our web site. This will include limited special offers and forthcoming releases. At the moment we do an email mailshot of our newsletter just before we send out the hard copy. It is easy to add yourself to the email mailshot by going on to our web page at www.spv.co.uk and on the left hand side you can enter your name, email address and your location. Although it has come to my attention, that some of you are finding that it is being put in “junk mail” automatically by your mail provider. This is due to it being a mass email mailshot that some mail providers automatically think is “junk mail”. If you find it there, simply right click the message and create a rule to put it into the inbox. I will be sending a mailshot on the 11th June so you can find out where yours is going.
California & Nevada Railroad Atlas Mike Walker has now completed a brand new revised edition of California & Nevada. It will be going to print soon and will be available in our next newsletter. We still have some of the older version available and have discounted these down to £10. If you order a copy now you will be sent the older version unless you specifically state that you want to pre-order the revised edition. Stu
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