Rio Grande of the Rockies

Producer: WB Video

Locations: Durango, Salida,Marshall Pass, Tennessee Pass, more..

Timeframe: 1940s – 1950s

Length: One hour

Source: Irving August

Here is Irving August, with his own collection of vintage Rio Grande films. Steam to the diesel transition era. Color with Black and white film.

The quality 16 mm footage includes various classes of steamers. Standard and Narrow gauge! There is much coverage.

The cinematography is nicely done. Sometimes, there were 2 cameras to record scenes. Excellent views. Well positioned on S -Curves. Onboard views.

This old program is well edited. Nowadays it appears dated. The picture is soft, on a large modern screen. Scene quality can vary, as this was filmed over the years. Still very watchable.

No Chapter Menu. No maps. Has a small transfer flaw or something, across the bottom of the screen.

Narration by Irving E. August himself. An oldtimer’s voice. Reading a script from a page. Every bit as stiff, and dry as it sounds. This was how some houses, were doing videos in the 1980s.

Rege Cordic performs a smooth introduction. They should have stayed with him. Oh well, moving on.

At Minturn. Locomotive servicing areas are shown.

Natural sounds let the viewers hear the engines operate. Dubbed of course. Some scenes work better than others. Levels are even. Good balance.

Tennesee Pass in color, with mid train steam helpers.

Irving is knowledgeable. An excellent cinematographer! He is informative. He is also somewhat tedious, to listen to in this show. Like a very old fashioned school teacher, reading from a book.

By the fall of 1956. Steam on the standard gauge is almost through. That white plume blows high in the zero degrees!