NEW PRODUCT NEWS AND REVIEWS BY OUR STAFF Book Review
Railroad Vision: Steam Era Images from the Trains Magazine Archive, edited by Wendy Burton and Jeff Brouws with an introduction and captions by Kevin P. Keefe; The Quantuck Lane Press, distribution by W.W. Norton Company, 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10110; hard- cover, 111
/2"x103 images; $59.95 /4
", 200 pages, 156 duo-tone Sometimes
you
know what to ex- pect, and Railroad Vision lives up to all the expecta- tions that names like Trains, Kev- in
Keefe, Jeff
Brouws, and Wen- dy Burton would imply. Photogra-
phy has been the pillar of Trains from the be- ginning, and readers throughout the decades have experienced fantastic photography along- side captivating writing in every issue. Jeff Brouws and Wendy Burton have curated over a dozen railroad photography books, and each one features an attention to quality and detail that is rare in publishing. Kevin P. Keefe has an established record as one of the top jour- nalists in railroading, and any article penned by him is likely to capture the subject well. Put these three things together and you have the recipe for an exceptionally nice volume of steam era railroad photographs. Railroad Vision is a collection of photo-
graphs selected from the Kalmbach Library. The book begins with a 14-page essay by Keefe — former editor of Trains and current VP-Editorial at Kalmbach — about how the photography library evolved from the first is- sue of Model Railroader in the 1930s to the current day library that handles digital im- agery for several magazines. Keefe master- fully tells the story of Al Kalmbach’s passion that drove the early vision of Trains. Great things are typically created with the help of others, and Keefe provides a detailed look at the support Kalmbach received from photog- raphers like Jim Shaughnessy, Phil Hastings, Richard Steinheimer, William Middleton, and many others. Trains might not have been as successful if it didn’t receive unwavering sup- port from the railroad industry in the form of publicity photos covering nearly every aspect of railroading from companies such as Bald- win, EMD, Pullman, and Union Switch & Sig- nal. All these photographs ended up stored in dozens of filing cabinets that eventually filled a good-sized room in the offices of Kalmbach Publishing. No magazine can be successful without ex-
cellent editorial direction. Kalmbach was just the person to start Trains. His passion for rail- roading, knack for telling stories with simple, pithy prose, and his photography skills were the perfect combination when he launched Trains in 1940. Under his leadership Trains filled its vision — to serve the railroad enthu- siast community that had taken shape over the previous decade or two. The text covers in detail how Trains’ vision continued to come into reality under the editorship of David P. Morgan. Although the evolution of the library post-1960 is discussed, the text stays focused on the steam era portions of Trains history.
There are over 200 duo-tone images, all
from the steam era covering a variety of railroads and photographers. Images from well-known photographers such as Philip Hastings, Richard Steinheimer, Lucius Bee- be, David Plowden, and Jim Shaughnessy are present in significant numbers in the volume; however, considerable space is also given to lesser-known photographers such as Fred Eidenbenz, Aaron Fryer, and Alex Darragh. Also include are photographs that have no photographer credited but rather the compa- ny that provided them as publicity photos — the Long Island Rail Road, Illinois Central, and Pennsylvania Railroad to name a few. Images are included from nearly every region of the United States, as well as Canada, so there is something for everyone in Railroad Vision. The images are presented one to a page with a short caption; extended captions are at the end of the book. This is a very well-done book that gives
the reader a glimpse into a photographic archive that most would not have the op- portunity to see any other way. It is a high quality photography book with an insightful essay into the beginnings of one of the most impactful journals the rail enthusiast com- munity has to offer. Photographic reproduc- tion is excellent, the layout is elegant, and overall the book provides a high value for its price. I would highly recommend Rail- road Vision to anyone with an interest in the steam era of railroading or photography. — JEFFREY S. SMITH
Video Reviews
Burlington Northern Finale: Powder River Coal; Broken Knuckle Video Productions, 112 Tollgate Road, Canajoharie, NY 13317; www.
bkvp.com or email
bkvp@bkvp.com; DVD only, 90 minutes; $19.95 plus $4.00 domestic ship- ping.
The Burlington Northern action on the Powder Riv- er line flies fast and furi- ous on this new offering from the good folks over at Broken Knuckle Video Productions. Filmed right after the BNSF merger, this video tour-de-force shows us what late-era BN heavy duty mainline action was really like.
We start out in Lincoln, Neb., as we see BN
power mix with both EMD and GE “power by the hour” leased units. We then head west as a Union Pacific unit leads a coal train through York and then stops for a meet with a pair of “Grinstein green” units at Bradshaw. This sequence sets the bar really high and the rest of the footage only keeps it there. Before I go further into the review allow
me to mention something really outstanding about this title. It didn’t take me more than two minutes (maximum) to be absolutely blown away by how clear and crisp the sound is in this DVD. Hearing heavy coal trains ac- celerate under load with this clarity of sound is nothing short of sonic-induced bliss. You can literally feel the trains move past you. To my mind the sound quality you hear on any given railroad video matters just as much as the video quality, and this title certainly de-
livers on both accounts! Next we’re off to Grand Island as a pair
of Chicago & North Western U-boats leads a piggyback train under the BN as a BN coal train passes overhead in short order. More lo- cal action follows and then it’s on to Cairo and Ravenna. By this time we are only ten min- utes into the movie and we’ve seen at least seven different paint schemes and heard at least as many different style horns. Great stuff here for sure. Two Kansas City Southern units under
heavy load roll through Ellsworth for another auditory and visual bonanza. As we get closer to Alliance, another coal train with a BN C30-7 adds to the enjoyment. A good look around the yard and shops at Alliance follows and then we head to Northport, Neb. A quick tour and it’s off to the heart of the Powder River Basin. In what has to be the best action scene out
of a DVD absolutely full of action, a BN coal drag labors uphill while another coal train with UP and C&NW power catches up and passes it. Off to Wyoming and South Dakota we go for even more nonstop coal train action. Crawford sees some bonus Dakota, Minneso- ta & Eastern, action along with a BN helper set consisting of two SD40-2’s with a fuel tank car in the middle. Our tour continues as we see train after
train of hardworking power struggling to move coal. There’s plenty of variety here, al- though I have to say I am partial to the scenes that show trains being lead by BN’s C30-7s since there were a ton of these babies running when I railfanned the line back in Novem- ber 1980. They were tough locomotives that looked great and sounded even better. Alas, all good things must end and so our
video does just that, right at the 90 minute mark. Our ears are ringing, our eyes are bulg- ing, and we are covered in (digital) coal dust. A really fun video to watch. Have to say that I enjoyed this title immensely and at the bar- gain price of $19.95 it belongs in every rail- fan’s DVD collection. So here’s a hearty “Job very well done, Bro-
ken Knuckle!”, and I really look forward to re- viewing more of the company’s most excellent work in the near future. — FRANK GARON
Railfanning With The Bednars Volume 7; John Pechulis Media, 937 Camden Avenue NW, Palm Bay, Florida 32907; 570/899-0656; www.
johnpmedia.com; DVD only, 76 minutes; $30.00 plus $5.00 domestic shipping. A year and a half ago I had the pleasure of re- viewing Volume 6 in this series, and at the time I didn’t think there was any way for John Pechu- lis to top both the film quality and the enter- tainment value. It turns out I was wrong. You see, John Pechulis
has a singular talent for taking vintage rail- road movie footage and restoring it so that it looks like it was literally just filmed yester- day. Combine that with the unique talent of local railfan/railroad employee Mike Bednar narrating the video, and you have quite the winning combination for your railfan enjoy- ment. The boys are both back in fine form
23
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 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74