Burlington Northern’s St Joe Line

Producer: Bob Ernst

Locations: Kansas City, St. Joseph, Lincoln

Timeframe: 1994

Length: 1 hour 49 minutes

Source: Bob Ernst

MoKan Video with a visit to Burlington Northern’s St. Joe Line, circa 1994. This visit is going from Kansas City to Lincoln. A distance of 202 miles.

A single DVD-R. No Chapter menu. There is not a hidden chapter advance either. On-screen graphics with informative subtitles. Map is the hand drawn line. Shown on the front cover of the slipcase.

Narrated show. Bob Ernst with a dry style. Conveys information as if reading from a script. Occasionally, he has details on a specific train or location. Limited narration.

Video sourced originally. Restoration has been performed. Good to very good on modern HDTV. Just don’t expect today’s sharpness.

Colors are muted. Range is fair to good . Many scenes are back-lit or too dark. These could have been edited down.

Live environmental audio. Good balance on levels.

This is also known as the Kansas City line. Action immediately at Murray Yard. Coal is king on this line. Unit hopper trains are dominant.

Many trains show whole or large chunks of the consists. Not enough clarity for details. Good enough for modelers to get an idea of the freight consists.

Train 21 with a GP30 leading. Farley location.

Bridge over the Platte River with some action.

At Weston. BN SD9 6134 and 6192 with an Eastbound local freight.

BN SD40-2 6385 pulls Westbound train 21 across the Missouri River bridge.

Union Pacific with trio of GP38 units at Fall City Yard.

Plenty of General Electric C30-7 units are working this line.

At Hickman, a Montana Rail Link fronts on Train 181.

Eastbound at Roca with a caboose behind the power.

There are many lighting issues in this program. BN coal train looks fine on approach. Turn the camera to the meet and shadows.

BN Hobson Yard at Lincoln, Nebraska.

Oakway Leasing pair at Lincoln, Nebraska. There are plenty of Oakway locomotives in this program.

Although uncommon in 1994. There are some trains with a BN caboose.

Burlington Northern’s St Joe Line

This BN show does not stand up well versus a competitive market. That BN green and EMD blue, are mostly muted. Most scenes have a brownish cast.

The camera seems to have issues with lighting. There are too many dark or shadowy trains.

Videography skills are there. Technical issues are the main concerns.

Narration puts me to sleep. Not much energy and uninteresting.

The audio is fine and a strong point. There is no real map with any towns.

All in all, it is an unnecessary show. Rather tedious to sit through. Hardcore fans may still want it. Not all bad. Plenty of trains. Just keep expectations realistic.

Rating: 3 Stars