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through a really tough few years of American railroading. At $19.95 and 302 all-color pages, this digi-
tal e-book is more than worth the asking price. One small critique is that the photos from the Cumberland, Md., and Grafton,
W.Va., areas are great but really don’t belong in a book that covers the “rust belt” area. Having said that, I’m not complaining because I’ll take all the Chessie System photos the author wants to give me (and also because this e-book is sim- ply massive value for money and then some). You may remember me telling you in a previous review that Bob Yanosey of Morning Sun Books should be commended for taking a chance on publishing this new series of digital ebooks. I’m very impressed by what I see so far, as Bob has taken the liberty of publish- ing some very interesting and unique titles that may never have seen the light of day in physical book form — so much so that I find myself checking the Morning Sun website at least once a week to see if there are any new titles worth buying! You would do well to sample a few of his
digital offerings as they really are well-done and highly enjoyable. At a third the price of a print book and containing almost two and a half times as many photos, these e-books are truly a bargain. I hope Morning Sun will con- tinue to expand their range of digital titles as more and more of us find out just how good these e-books really are. — FRANK GARON
Classic Midwest Rails; John Pechulis Media, 129 Hemlock Street, Sugar Notch, PA 18706; 570-899-0656;
www.johnpmedia.com. DVD only, 59 Minutes; $30.00 plus $5.00 domestic shipping.
Back in the summer of 1980 a good bud- dy and I loaded up his Chevy pickup truck, rolled west out of Long Island, N.Y., and spent the better part of a week railfanning our way across
northern
Ohio and Indiana and on out to Chica- go. It was both of our first times seeing
Chicago-area railroading, and I thought our eyes were going to pop right out of our heads at all the good stuff we were seeing. We camped along the Burlington Northern mainline west of Naperville, rode the South Shore electrics, and got to see all three Little Joes. We rode a rush hour Milwaukee Road commuter train behind an F40C, and we were positively woozy at seeing all the Chicago & North Western F7s and E8s in action. Alas, we were a few months too late to catch the Rock Island in service, but that was the only disappointment out of an amazing week that still ranks as one of my top three railfan trips of my 38 years trackside. Turns out my buddy Jay and I weren’t the
only ones with that same idea that summer. Jonathan Reck and his friends planned a very similar trip and, unlike us, they had the sense to record their road trip on video. Not only that, but they kept on going west past Chicago and got out as far as Nebraska on the Union Pacific. We are the better for them
having done so because this video is a clear winner and a fun trip down memory lane for those of us of a certain age. We open this title with three short clips of
UP freights barreling past us in rapid suc- cession, and this really helps set the pace for the rest of the video. Then the real cov- erage starts with Grand Trunk Western and Conrail action on the joint trackage through South Bend, Ind. Then it’s on to two of my favorite clips in the entire video — first, Am- trak’s Cardinal and a Chessie road freight pass through Wellsboro, Ind., on the soon to be abandoned C&O line from Cincinnati to Chicago, followed by a nice clip of a GTW freight passing through town. Next we see a Conrail westbound rolling though the former PRR station at Valparaiso, Ind., along with the “Valpo Dummy” commuter trains laying over for the weekend. A finishing shot shows a Norfolk & Western U-boat leading a freight running long hood forward (as it should be!) west of Valparaiso. The next morning starts out with some se-
rious Burlington Northern action in the Na- perville/Eola/Aurora, Ill., area. Two favorites here are four SD9s and a switcher on a local (complete with a BN wide vision caboose), and a “Scoot” with two bilevel commuter cars being pushed by E9 9915 running hell bent for leather (and for Chicago, too). Good, good stuff here, and the sound alone is worth the asking price for this DVD. Then the C&NW action starts and we are
treated to several Falcon piggyback trains roaring past us at 60-70 m.p.h. Left hand run- ning and “gumball machine” warning lights on the top of each unit let us know that we are truly in C&NW country. SD45s with no dynamic brakes, GP7s on switching duty, the tower and signal bridge at Nelson, Ill. — they are all here to enjoy. I should take a moment to tell you here how
much I enjoyed seeing the various freight cars on the trains shown — Jonathan was smart in that he didn’t put his camera away after the locomotives passed. We see all kinds of brand new tractor trailers and farm equip- ment on flatcars, lots of colorful boxcars (with no graffiti), piggyback trailers galore, and a whole bunch of cabooses, too. Lineside tele- phone poles and cars and trucks passing on the highways also help set the tone for some serious 1980s nostalgia here. We finish this DVD at the C&NW and UP interchange out at Fremont, Neb. Really in- teresting operations here as the C&NW hot- shots are handed off to the UP and vice versa. All too soon we’re at the 59-minute mark and we’re left to reflect on all the good stuff we just saw, and also left with a desire to see more from Jonathan and his traveling road show. John Pechulis promises a volume two that
shows more of the Union Pacific action in Ne- braska and some really interesting BN and Missouri Pacific action as we head back east through Missouri and Illinois. I really and truly enjoyed this DVD. Thank
God somebody had enough sense to record on video what was back then just “run of the mill” typical action of the day. The camera work is steady, the sound is crystal clear, and the narration is informative, unobtrusive, and en- tertaining.
Another clear winner from John
Pechulis Media, and I can happily give this release two thumbs up. — FRANK GARON
TO HAVE YOUR NEW railroad books (except fiction), calendars, and videos considered for this column, please send review copies to RAILFAN & RAILROAD, P.O. Box 554, Andover, NJ 07821. For UPS/FedEx please send materials to RAILFAN & RAILROAD, 5 Lenape Rd. #554, Andover, NJ 07821.
Seaboard Coast Line IN FLORIDA
Seaboard Coast Line arrived in 1967 following the merger of Atlantic Coast Line and Seaboard Air Line, ushering in a modern era of railroading in the southeast. From unit phosphates to Florida orange juice, from long passenger runs and special circus moves, you’ll enjoy 116 pages of quality black and white photography.
Go behind the scenes at Gary and Uceta shops. Visit charming stations and busy junctions. Witness the introduction of Amtrak and welcome back steam. Explore a bygone era in Florida railroading through the lenses of local photographers. Order your copy today!
$20.95
FLORIDA CLASSIC
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(877) 787-2467
WHITERIVERPRODUCTIONS.COM P.O. BOX 48, BUCKLIN, MO 64631
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