Southern Pacific Herington Sub

Producer: MoKan Video Productions

Locations: KC, Topeka, Herington

Timeframe: 1993

Length: 2 hours

Source: Bob Ernst

MoKan explores the Southern Pacific’s Herington sub. A pre- merger visit. Solid SP sets abound! Union Pacific has a good supply of trains on their trackage.

Main Menu. Highly detailed 70 Chapter Menu. On-screen graphics, with many details. No maps. Any type of map references, are always helpful. Single DVD-R.

Show is narrated by Bob Ernst. This narrator seems to read off a written script. Very flat and dry presentation. Not an engaging performance.

Enviornmental audio for the remainder. Train sounds and radio scanner. This part of the soundtrack sounds excellent.

Visuals are a common concern with the MoKan label. Absolutely correct. Soft on a new 55″ widescreen. Watchable, but not today’s standard. Historical value. Color balance is pretty good, for the most part.

This is action packed. Southern Pacific. Union Pacific are the main players. Additional foreign power appears. Conrail, Rio Grande, and CSX to name a few. Leased and run through agreements.

Freight traffic is plentiful. Various trains. Manifests, Intermodals, Coal and locals. Even some Maintenance of Way equipment.

Locomotives are in a wide variety. New to older power. Electromotive to General Electric.

Highlights only. Two Hour Show.

SP Armourdale Yard

Our tour begins at Armourdale Yard. This is a Southern Pacific railyard, in Kansas City. A former Rock Island facility.

A pair of EMD units pull a freight, from an Armourdale Yard origin.

SP runs 68 miles to Topeka via trackage rights. This section is on Union Pacific. Trains are seen in the vicinity of the yard. Many freight cars are viewed. Traffic is heavy in both directions. Union Pacific is busy, as well. This is their rails. UP has a yard, next to the Southern Pacific one.

Union Pacific with BN run through power.

Good action at an old bridge.

Lawrence provides plenty of action! Besides the above Tunnel motors. A definite hotspot is some curved trackage…

A Westbound on Don Ball Curve.

Don Ball Curve. Named after the well known Railfan, Author and Photographer. A Westbound SP Hotshot moves through.

Railfanning continues along this UP Marysville sub. Camera work is very good overall. Sometimes, the images are backlit. Colors are good. Natural, Enviornmental Audio is excellent.

Plenty of Two Way traffic!

Bob comments a 2 to 1 UP dominance. Obviously, UP dispatchers favor their own brand, on home rails.

Topeka. (63 miles to Herington)

Union Pacific Coal Train at Least Topeka.

East Topeka curve at Grain elevators. This particular place is a photogenic place.

SJ Junction is where SP exits UP. Milepost 89 from St Joe. Trains a plenty here. The Cotton Belt GP60 at SJ Junction is about to cross the river.

Conrail leased locomotive is on the lead of this SP move.

The leading Conrail locomotive is leased. SP was power short in 1993. A fair amount of foreign units are to be found in this show.

CSX leads here. Usually they are buried in the Lashups.

A rare caboose find in 1993.

Only a couple of caboose scenes by 1993. Southern Pacific bay window is a classic.

Southern Pacific Herington Sub.

This is a good show, with a couple of issues. The picture quality is not to current standards. The larger the screen, the bigger the problem. The narrator gives a very, flat and dry presentation.

Train sounds are excellent. Locations are mentioned or displayed. Mileposts, as well. Some map references, would have been great.

Historical value is here. Good job on including plenty of the train consists. Southern Pacific fans may decide to overlook the problems. It is still a very good document of SP in 1993.

Rating: 4 Stars