Producer: Chris Laskowski
Locations: Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin
Timeframe: 1970s
Length: 70 minutes
Source: Steve Horn
A collection of 1970s Midwest railroading films. Cinematographer Steve Horn was a conductor on Chicago and NorthWestern. He recorded in Chicago, Green Bay, Minneapolis, and Duluth areas to name several. A Milwaukee Road freight is chased on rare trackage.
A single DVD-R. Main Chapter Menu by locations. On-screen graphics. Hidden chapter advance function. Full screen aspect. Musical background that has an on/off choice. No maps. Narrated by Don Grant.
Amateur shot movie film. Has its flaws. Some camera shake, exposure issues, and bits of slipping film. General quality ranges fair to good. No deal-breakers. Yet, part of the overall viewing quality.
A multitude of brief railroad scenes. Here are a sampling to be somewhat representative of the various films from all seasons and assorted years.
To the Trains… 👉
A GM&O F3A 880-B was used on a daily commuter, The Plug. Operated by Illinois Central Gulf here. Lemont, Illinois.
April of 1976 the CNW at West Chicago with some Commuter trains. The matching E units look good. Metra paint was an ugly replacement. Yellow and green are the classics. Additional E8/9 locomotives are seen working on BN and Rock Island. Amtrak is using mostly newer power.
Brookfield with Burlington Northern traffic. Two SD9 engines lead a freight.
Soo Line at Chippewa Falls in 1977. The F unit waits for the geep led freight to pass.
North Freedom, Wisconsin. Mid-Continent Railway Museum. A tourist style train behind steam in 1974.
Superior, Wisconsin at the BN 28th Street Roundhouse. An ex: Great Northern SD7.
Duluth, Winnipeg & Pacific at Duluth, Minnesota. Alco RS-11 power.
On Chicago and NorthWestern. Check out the 1970’s details here. A pair of genuine General Electric U boats as U30C models. CNW 932 on the point. Notice the composite wooden boxcar, at left. A steel 40′ boxcar at far left. Unshielded auto racks on the right. The period Santa Fe 40′ semi trailer. Location is East St. Paul, Minnesota. Now, Model Railroaders may get busy recreating a 70s scene!
Milwaukee Road. This shot as seen from aboard Steve’s freight train on CNW in 1975. St. Louis Park, Minnesota. Assorted heritage painted consists on this Amtrak hiawatha. Various Amtraks are seen around Minneapolis, including a former Great Northern station.
Rock caboose hop. 42m
MN&S Baldwin DRS-1500 #15 with local freight. Richfield, MS.
Milwaukee Road teain 203 has engine 539. Chased in a rural area. Rare film and seen here at Fulda Depot.
There are several cabooses on different railroads. A rare BN bay window is a hard to find model. Actually, any caboose from this era is great to see.
Midwest Rails in the 1970s
A diverse look at Midwestern rail action in the mid-1970s to 1980. Visits 3 states. Chicago, rural Wisconsin and city/ rural Minnesota. Duluth and Minneapolis the urban locations. A rural Minnesota grab bag is the final chapter.
Original color 8mm footage is in the fair to good range. No train sounds. Music and narration. Location graphics.
A brisk paced show. Concentration on head end shots. Many trains are packed in here. Some Winter scenes, too.
Main railroads covered: Amtrak, BN, CNW, Milwaukee Road, MN&S. Also present are Soo Line, plus Green Bay and Western. An intriguing variety of locomotives from: Alco, Baldwin, Electro-motive, Fairbanks-Morse, and General Electric. One often didn’t know what engines would appear on any given day. Interesting era.
Although historical quality images. It is a good trip through the 1970s-era Midwest Railroading. Bump it up a little for the material.
Rating: 3 1/2 Stars
American Train Video Reviews 