EXTRA SOUTH
H.REID
An Unscheduled, Unhurried Look At Dixie Steam Railroading
From the famous to the obscure, Extra South ex- plores the days of steam railroading in Dixie. Starting with the Wreck of Old 97 and continuing to the Tweetsie, H. Reid weaves the tales of the rail- roads and railroaders in an entertaining and delightful fashion. The book con- cludes with a selection of black & white photographs of main lines and short lines taken by John Krause, William S. Young and others.C00053 $21.95+s&h
Order on-line:
www.carstensbookstore.com Carstens Publications, Inc.
ness whose owner chats and plays. Part of the line is operated by the Vermont Railway, but most of the right of way has all but dis- appeared under highway construction or reclamation by Mother Nature. Here and there masonry works such as culverts, bridge abutments, and water tank footings are visible, while the yards at Chatham and Troy have disappeared. Photos and archival movies (some in color, but dark) from many sources bring the area back to life. The program is organized into 12 chap- ters which progress from north to south. Each segment generally includes a topo- graphic map in addition to the visuals and personal anecdotes. Many people are shown on screen and when possible, then and now photos of the railroad, its rolling stock, infra- structure, stations, towns, and people, along with still photos of steam- and diesel-pow- ered passenger and freight trains, and movies when available. Farming was big back then, so feed mills and milk provided much of the traffic. One segment of right of way exists as an access road for power utility poles and another park is a hiking trail which is contiguous and in seeming harmo- ny with nature. On the other hand in anoth- er town, the railroad fill was removed and replaced by an athletic field. At Chatham, Amtrak and CSX trains roll past the origi- nal Boston & Albany downtown station, which survives as a restaurant. Through his photos, Jim Shaughnessy recalls the Rut- land’s picturesque Chatham engine termi- nal and yard, which today is barren acreage. In modern times, VTR freights are shown around North Bennington and on today’s connection to Pan Am’s former Boston &
Maine at Hoosick Junction, N.Y., along with some shots of the Battenkill Railroad’s Alcos pulling freight on former Delaware & Hud- son trackage near Eagle Bridge, N.Y., and Canadian Pacific power on the Battenkill connection running over Pan Am near John- sonville. Troy, N.Y. (Shaughnessy’s home town), is also visited. The Rutland’s passen- ger service ended there, and at one time five railroads came together at Troy. Bonus footage includes the producer de- scribing the behind the scenes work in- volved in creating the series (it helps to live locally, considering the time involved and the relatively infrequent operations) while Shaughnessy recalls his relationship with the Rutland and its management, which led to his book The Rutland Road. He also de- scribes how he took his classic night shots of diesel freights on high bridges. All in all, this is a very educational pro-
gram, in the main a very good oral history of not just the railroad but also its environs. Local school kids should see this program and of course, those who lived the era and live in the region would enjoy it. The mile- post by milepost approach, the use of b&w photos, movies, modern video, and maps, in- terviews with retired railroaders and pres- ent day residents, and the coverage of both railroad and local history combined with good research, narration, and editing make for a fine show. Railfans everywhere would benefit from viewing this to gain an appreci- ation of how to assemble a similar documen- tary on lines or other railroad points of inter- est in their locale. The rest of the series should be enjoyable viewing for Rutland fans as well. — TOM KELCEC
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62