The author plans to follow this volume with an equally thorough and accurate New Eng- land Central Trackside Guide 2012 this spring and New England Central, The Recy- cled Railroad this summer. The latter will cover the recent reconstruction of the former Central Vermont route of Amtrak’s Vermon- ter from the ground up under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act High Speed Rail program and the newly rebuilt line’s restoration after Tropical Storm Irene de- stroyed a good part of it in September 2011. Very few railfans have the management connections and access that Kevin Burk- holder does, and you won’t find better infor- mation anywhere, let alone wrapped up so neatly in a concise, easy to use package like this one. — WALT LANKENAU
VIDEO REVIEW A Boatload of Steam
Yard Goat Images, 112 3rd Ave. Dept. RF, Minneapolis, MN 55413; www.yardgoat
images.com;
612/623-0167. 101 minutes,
DVD only. $24.95 plus $5.00 shipping; MN residents add sales tax.
The offerings to date from this relatively new producer cover contemporary
steam
operations around the country, ranging from live steam models to high-speed main line runs. This DVD pre- sents four subjects: Flagg Coal Co. 0-4-0T No.75,
the Hesston Steam Museum in In-
diana, and S.S. Badger, the last Lake Michi- gan car ferry. The other two subjects, an Iowa Interstate QJ 2-10-2 and Union Pacific 4-8-4 No. 844, are more familiar, but certain- ly not on the runs shown here.
Flagg Coal No. 75, an 0-4-0 saddle tank built in 1930 by the Vulcan Iron Works and owned by Byron and John Gramling, of Ash- ley, Ind., tours the eastern half of the U.S., operating on various tourist lines and at spe- cial events. Here it’s running at the White- water Valley tourist line in Connersville, Ind., slowly pulling and pushing coaches along the line to Metamora in a variety of weather. A fair amount of time is spent showing the fire-up process, with glimpses of other servicing tasks. Coverage ranges from trackside runbys in the woods to canal-side running to a “cab ride” shot from the vestibule of a trailing coach, since there is no room in the cab for a mouse. This engine is not prone to a lot of heavy chugging, but one runby really lets us hear the engine talk. The Hesston Steam Museum is located west of South Bend, Ind., and hosts a variety of events on summer weekends. Its normal operations consist of three rail lines and four gauges, ranging from 30″ to live steam in ¹/₄ and ¹/₈ scale. We see a nice variety of runbys with a 24″ gauge German 0-8-0 pulling a rake of tourist cars. The next locomotive fea- tured is a Wagner & Sons quarter-scale 4-6-4 inspired by the New York Central Dreyfuss Hudson. A variety of nice angles, pans, and close-ups of both engines is informative and good viewing. The museum has more equip- ment but it is not shown running. “Two Trains West” covers Iowa Interstate QJ 2-10-2 No. 7081, with a Southern whis- tle, making a ferry run west in November
2010 from Colfax to Council Bluffs, Iowa. The mixed consist is chased all day and shown in runbys at a variety of locations. The highlight is a scene at the Atlantic de- pot after a service stop, which is also shown. The next day, a hoped for meeting of the QJ and Union Pacific 844 comes close to happening in Council Bluffs, but no cigar. Over the next two days the UP 4-8-4 is chased from Omaha west to Cheyenne. As far as North Platte, Neb., it pulls the 20-car heritage passenger train, with its multiple domes and uniform paint scheme. The trip starts in the snow at Omaha but the weath- er rapidly changes to typical plains gales and seasonally barren soil. The full consist passes several times. (The lead service and crew cars are named after important UP Steam Team members, as well as artist Howard Fogg, and the open end observation car is named for former president John Kenefick.) At North Platte, Steve Lee re- ceives a retirement banner from his compa- triots before continuing on to Cheyenne. The special returns to Omaha from North Platte pulled by the executive E units and is seen once, on a sweeping curve. Then back to North Platte for a very high speed run with the 844 and crew cars to Cheyenne. Both the short train and the wind are fast and furi- ous. Locations vary from very fine setups to grab shots.
Possibly the best chapter covers the ex- Chesapeake & Ohio Great Lakes railroad car ferry S.S. Badger, which now carries mo- tor vehicles and passengers. Built in the ear- ly 1950s and used for decades to ferry rail- road cars across Lake Michigan, put out of service, then purchased and restored by an entrepreneur, since 1992 this last American coal-fired steamship has shuttled between Ludington, Mich., and Manitowoc, Wis., from mid-May to early October, shaving about four hours off the driving time via Chicago. The video was shot on a westbound voyage in sunny, calm weather. A variety of views cover boat operations as seen from public areas including loading vehicles, scenes en route, and at the end, views shot from the shore which show the ship arriving and leaving. Coal smoke wafts through the air most of the time, of course. In addition to very nice historical still pictures and intro- ductory narration, the captain and senior chief engineer each tell quite comprehensive stories of the ship, its history, repairs, longevity, operation, and comparisons to a local ice breaker (the Badger is stronger). This chapter is very well done and many au- diences will enjoy it.
The style of this program includes a nar-
rated introduction to each chapter followed by a ‘minimal narration’ main event, exactly as the producer states (“less talk, more steam”). Subtitles tell not only of locations but explain things whose content or purpose may not be obvious. The train sounds, recorded live, are very good. Runby locations and viewing angles range can be very good, depending on the circumstances. The edit- ing is quite good and multiple cameras add to the coverage in some instances. Camera technique also varies, with a bit of tripod jig- gle when too close to the tracks as the train passes and at times when chasing the 844 running flat out and there’s no time to make fine adjustments.
All in all, this is a nice potpourri of recent
steam events and will provide ideas for a rail-oriented vacation. — TOM KELCEC
Canadian Trackside Guide® 2012
The ONLY comprehensive guide to Canadian railways,
includes U.S. based operations.
5½” x 8½”, approx 700 pages $34.95 (all ppd.,taxes included)
Locomotives of CN (including IC, WC, GTW, B&LE, DW&P, EJ&E, DMIR), CPR, VIA, Regional & Shortline railways, plus all Industrial locomotives;
Urban Rail Transit, Passenger Cars, Cabooses; Preserved Canadian Locomotives & Equipment; Work Service Cars & other Non-revenue Equipment;
Subdivision details for all railways: station names, mileposts, radio frequencies, detector locations, divisional maps, detailed maps of major rail centres;
When Steam & Steel Get in Your Blood Reflections of a CPR Locomotive Fireman By Duncan H. du Fresne 8½” x 11½” soft cover
148 pages, 75 photos (5 in colour) $49.95 (all ppd.,taxes included)
Written by a C.P. engineman, “it’s a railway book like no other”.
Learn how a roundhouse hostler handled a potpourri of C.P. steam locomotives dating from 1904 to 1948, and ALCO S2s.
Explains details of the work, workers, Foremen, facilities, winter weather, and other working conditions.
(U.S. Orders in U.S. Funds) Send Cheque or Intl Money Order to:
BYTOWN RAILWAY SOCIETY P.O. Box 47076, Ottawa, ON Canada K1B 5P9
SUBSCRIBE TO RF
Start
training here.
Go to
www.greatesthobby.com and get links to hobby resources and reference materials, lists of train shows and events, and information about planning and building your first model railroad layout. We’ll even help you find a shop or club in your area willing to coach you one-on-one. It’s everything you need to know to start enjoying your new hobby. Getting started in the World’s Greatest Hobby has never been easier!
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