New York several years ago. Bruce Black- adar shared his “Winter Trips,” and we wrapped up with Ed Saalig’s multimedia presentation covering the history of Santa Fe’s Budd RDC’s. Several hundred dollars were raised to benefit the NRHS Railway Heritage Grants program. We were up bright and early on Saturday morning so we could be there to greet the throngs of visitors who come to do some shopping at the railroadiana show prior to the start of Winterail. The first few hundred through the door were given complimentary copies of R&R as well as the NRHS Bulletin. The theatre doors opened at 11:00, and
the show began promptly at 12:00 with a few announcements from Vic. The first show up was Randy Nelson’s “Randy’s Texas Shorts —BNSF in North Texas.” This was a delightful and light-hearted show that took us on a tour of local BNSF operations. The show closed out with a tribute to the SD40-2, which Randy first became acquainted with during his days growing up in Oregon, and in an odd twist of fate, they were put into storage not far from his home in Texas. Next were the Winterail Shorts. First up
was “NWP Returns to Service” by Mike Pechner (whom you may know as Win- terail’s official meteorologist). The show gave a quick synopsis of the end of service on the NWP, the subsequent washouts, and its rebuilding and return to service. Things are looking up for the old NWP! Following that was another short by
Bryan Bechtold, titled simply, “Lisbon.” Im- mediately we were transported to Portugal for a tour of the city’s extensive tram sys- tem. Everyone in the room was glued to the screen. Bryan presented bright and colorful images of the contrast of vintage trams wrapped in modern advertising serving the narrow streets of this old port city. This was a very appealing show, and in my mind, one of the standouts of Winterail. The final short came from Dave Wilker-
son, who took us on a brief tour of the Fill- more & Western, more commonly known as
“Hollywood’s Railroad.” Next up was an unexpected treat, a por-
tion of a video entitled, “Rotaries: Avalanche on the Mountain” by Brendan Compton. This was part of a phenomenal documentary look at Union Pacific’s operation of rotaries and other snow-fighting equipment on Don- ner Pass. The focus was on the winter of 2011, and the men who kept the pass open through the worst of what Mother Nature was dishing out. This 30 minute tease took us from the offices to the yards and into the cabs and up on the mountain. Wonderfully produced, excellent interviews, and overall great timing and pacing made this an enjoy- able experience (the whole program is avail- able from BA Productions). Mike Danneman followed with his show,
“Last of a Breed: A Rio Grande Finale at Helper, Utah.” I was looking forward to this, as I had previously enjoyed Mike’s 2009 book of the same title. We were instantly transported to the small railroad town of Helper, Utah, and introduced to the men and machines that were guarding the last outpost of Rio Grande identity in the 21st century. Besides the locomotives, Mike also introduced us to the railroaders who be- friended him and made the experience that much richer for it. Veteran photographer Stan Kistler pre-
sented “The Photography of Al Rose,” a pro- lific Western photographer who had been shooting in color and black and white since the late 1930s. As you can imagine, Mr. Rose captured a fine collection of subjects in the intervening 60 years. Quite enjoyable, and a nice touch was having the Rose family in at- tendance to enjoy the enthusiastic applause following the show. Following the dinner break, Vic Neves presented the photo contest awards. Then it was time to welcome the latest member of the Winterail Hall of Fame: Tom Gilder- sleeve. Tom is a native of California, and has photographed trains for more than 60 years, authored many articles, books, calendars, and more. He is probably most well known
STEVE BARRY
New Book Now Available!
Now available —– railroading in 2011 as seen through the lens of Steve Barry. Hardcover 240 pages, full color.
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Tom Gildersleeve (right) is the newest member of the Winterail Hall of Fame. Tom was inducted by Winterail producer Vic Neves on March 10, 2012.
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