Marion The Trainwatching Capitol of Ohio
Green Frog Productions
Format DVD Length: 57 minutes
Location: Marion, Ohio
Time Period: Late 1980’s – Early 1990’s.
Source: Steve Neff
At the time this was filmed, Marion, Ohio had at least 30 scheduled trains a day! Conrail had 16 trains a day, Norfolk Southern had 10+ extras, CSX had 4+ extras. There is no lull in this busy show.
The program begins with a brief tour of the town landmarks and some local history. The Erie Railroad was once the town’s largest employer. President Harding lived here. Union Tankcar is headquartered here, in the old Erie Lackawanna facilities. We see the local model railroad club, and more.
Once the trains start rolling, it’s non stop action. This is late 2nd generation railroading. Standardized equipment isn’t as compelling as earlier years. Check Green Frog’s Erie Lackawanna release, if you want a more interesting Marion. However, the show is far from boring. On the contrary, there are unending freights moving through the area. Standard freights, Piggyback hotshots, Grain trains, albeit without cabooses.
The CSX gets the nod for the many, transitional paint schemed locos. Norfolk Southern fields a muscular line-up with it’s big, black and white, thoroughbred diesels. Conrail is all over the place.
Steve Neff is a fine photographer. High quality shots and varying views keep the viewer’s attention. Live sound takes you trackside. Sometimes the horns are loud! Narration is done, as needed, you get to enjoy the sounds.
It’s a solid production and well done. The area is somewhat bland, compared to mountain railroading. At this time, the trains themselves are pretty standardized. So, I won’t give it a 5 star rating, based on the content. If this locale and era is you, then by all means, bump it up!
Rating 4 stars.
American Train Video Reviews 