NEW PRODUCT NEWS AND REVIEWS BY OUR STAFF Calendar Call


Our final calendar for 2016 (issued in 2015)


is the Historic Railroad Scenes of Frank- lin County, Massachusetts, 2016 Calen- dar. As the name implies, all the black & white scenes were taken in one county. The cover shows a Central Vermont 4-4-0 at the East Northfield engine house around 1910. Inside scenes include Hoosac Tunnel’s East Portal Tower in 1930; a Boston & Maine RS2 on a passenger train at the Greenfield station in 1950; a Consolidation on its side after a wreck at the No. 2 dam on the Deerfield Riv- er around 1920; the Erving depot and freight house around 1930; boxcab electrics towing a steam train towards Hoosac Tunnel around 1940; the Greenfield depot and yard around 1930; a 1912 scene of the New Haven’s Turn- ers Falls depot; the Gill flag stop shelter at Northfield around 1890; the Central Ver- mont’s Northfield Farms depot around 1910; a wooden combine with an interesting history at Greenfield in 1934; a circa 1915 view of a Boston & Maine crane working at South River Station in West Deerfield; and B&M 0-6-0 No. 626 getting sand at East Deerfield in 1930. Each photo has a detailed caption, and there are some interesting stories contained there- in. There is also a map of Franklin County that shows where some of the photos were taken. The calendar folds out to 11"x17" and is available for $12.00 plus $3.00 shipping from Roberge Associates Land Surveying, 21 Mohawk Trail, Greenfield, MA 01301.


Video Reviews Classic Florida Rails Volume 1 from Herron


Rail Video, 2016 N. Village Avenue, Tampa, FL 33612; www.https://www.ribbonrail.com/Herr- onRail/index.php; 88 minutes long, DVD $39.95 plus $6.00 domestic shipping. The first of two very enjoyable titles showing us some serious passen- ger train action, Florida style, is here and what a treat it is. Covering from the 1940s right into the early 1970s, this disk shows you what the pas- senger action was like on the Florida East Coast, Seaboard Air Line, At-


lantic Coast Line, and Seaboard Coast Line back then, along with a touch of early Am- trak. Most of the action is on the west coast of Florida and places like St. Petersburg, Clear- water, Tampa, Lakeland, and Auburndale feature prominently. The disk starts with some very informative


maps that help us make sense of the various lines and locations we’re about to see. Next it’s “prepare to drool” time for sure as a Flor- ida East Coast streamlined Champion rolls past with the entire crew waving at us. On we go through another FEC train with streamlined power, followed by several more shots with FEC E-units in both the yellow and red and solid blue paint schemes. Then it’s on to the Seaboard Air Line where we see a train led by a good old-fashioned E4 in all its streamlined glory. More high-quality SAL action follows, and then the rest of the disk is chock-full of nonstop Seaboard Coast Line and early Amtrak action.


One of the best things about this title is the


wide variety of both motive power and roll- ing stock that we are treated to. A tour of the former ACL passenger yard in St. Petersburg is a great example, as we see cars from sev- eral roads waiting for their next trip north. Many of the trains we see have passenger stock mixed in from roads like the Pennsylva- nia and Norfolk & Western, and it makes for quite the colorful show. Another little gem I really liked is the ac-


tion in Clearwater as we see an SCL U18B power a local freight just before Amtrak rolls into town. The SAL line had street running in Clearwater, and it’s a lot of fun to see an Amtrak SDP40F and train come rolling to a stop right in the middle of the road. More street running follows as we see an


ACL passenger train roll right trough the cen- ter of Gainesville. This footage was especially interesting to me, since my oldest daughter went to the University of Florida (Go Gators!), and by the time I got to visit Gainesville the line was nothing more than a bike trail. Next we go on an extended tour of Tampa


Union Station and the lines serving it. This area has changed dramatically since this foot- age was shot and I’m grateful Danny Harmon had the good sense to shoot it for us. A whole bunch more of good stuff follows —


runby after runby of SCL E-units in full cry, Amtrak E-units and SDP40Fs, and quite a few SCL freights with plenty of Alcos as well. Lots to see, hear, and enjoy here. The film quality is great for the era and the


sound is nice and clear, too. I really and truly enjoyed watching this title as there literally wasn’t a dull moment. Very informative yet unobtrusive narration made this an absolute delight to watch and it’s great value at 88 minutes long. I give this one five stars for sure and will


be looking forward to reviewing Volume 2 for you in the near future. Pick up your copy to- day, since you are bound to enjoy this DVD yourself! — FRANK GARON


Thunder on Cranberry: 614 Battles the


Steep Grades from Sunday River Productions, P.O. Box 436, Vallecito, CA 95251; 866-544- 7771; www.sundayriverproductions.com; 32 minutes long, DVD $34.95 plus $5.38 domestic shipping.


The early 1980s were


a wonderful time to be a mainline steam fan. Railfan-friendly


rail-


roads like the Chessie System, the Southern, and the Norfolk & West- ern were busy keeping us east coast railfans knee- deep in cinders with fan favorites like 611, 2716 and 614 racking up thou-


sands of miles in a season. It was the good old days all over again, and those of us who were able took advantage and got trackside or rode as often as humanly possible. While every trip I was fortunate enough


to ride or chase was special in its own right, there was one trip in particular that, to this day, is still number one in my book. That trip? The Chessie Safety Express excursion from Cumberland, Md., to Terra


Alta, W.Va., way back in September 1981. All these years later I can still see and hear and feel what it was like to ride behind Ches- apeake & Ohio 4-8-4 No. 614 as she tackled the mountain grades of the former B&O St. Louis mainline. From watching her strut her stuff on the fast track west of Cumberland to feeling literally every push from her pistons as she climbed 17 Mile Grade at less than a walking speed, this trip was a complete and total sensory overload and that is no exagger- ation.


This new DVD from Sunday River Produc-


tions will show you exactly what I mean.We start out with a brief introduction to arguably the finest 4-8-4s Lima ever built, then it’s on to a veritable feast of hardcore stack talk as we watch 614 take its trainload of eager railfans (including this reviewer and your es- teemed editor) up, over, and down some of the steepest railroad grades east of the Mississip- pi River. We see her pulling out of Cumberland


station and running fast under the Western Maryland bridge west of town, and then it’s down to a literal crawl east of Oakland. I only wish there was more footage of this trip be- cause you had to see it to believe it — main- line steam working its heart out for all the world to hear! We then cut to some interesting scenes on


the deadhead move for this trip. Two scenes at what I believe to be Musselman, Ohio, and West Junction, Ohio, on the now-abandoned St. Louis mainline are very rare and unex- pected bonuses.We’re then treated to a really nice pacing sequence with 614 running at a really fast clip. Some footage of 614 on Sand Patch grade is


next, followed by some serious action as she climbs the 2 percent grade out of Pittsburgh on the now mostly abandoned Pittsburgh to Wheeling, W.Va., line. All too soon we are watching the end cred-


its roll and left wishing there was more of 614 in all her glory to see and experience. At 32 minutes long, this DVD is a bit on the short side for my tastes but the crisp sound and the extremely sharp film clarity go a long way to- wards making up for it. If you enjoyed seeing 611 and 765 make


their rounds this year then you will really love seeing what the Chessie System had to offer back in the day as well. Happy to give this one two thumbs up! — FRANK GARON


Book Review Norfolk and Western Six-Eleven: 3 Times


A Lady by Timothy R. Hensley and Kenneth L. Miller with a foreward by Preston Claytor; Pocahontas Productions, Dept. F, P.O. Box 384, Kenova, WV 25530; hardcover, 11"x81


/2" hori-


zontal format, 96 pages, b&w and color photos; $35.00 plus $6.00 shipping for one copy, $10.00 shipping for two or more.


There’s no doubt


one of the biggest stories of 2015 was the return of Norfolk & West- ern 4-8-4 No. 611 to mainline excur- sion service. Now housed at the Vir-


ginia Museum of Transportation, the J-Class 23


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