The Conrail Southern Tier Line Volume 1

Producer: John Pechulis

Locations: Deposit, Erwin, Starrucca Viaduct

Timeframe: 1979-1985

Length: 63 minutes

Source: David Deyo

The former Erie Lackawanna mainline has become Conrail Southern Tier Line. Filmed between 1979 to 1985. Both Conrail along with Delaware and Hudson are the stars.

A single DVD-R. Fine quality film restoration by JPM. Original on location Deyo audio of train sounds sounds good. Levels are balanced. Images vary. The faster trains are less focused overall. Colors are solid.

Main Chapter Menu. Chapter advance function. This show has a simple route map. No other extras. Narrated by Mike Bednar.

Conrail allowed D&H via trackage rights. The line is between Suffern and Buffalo, New York. This volume has action between Deposit, New York, and Gang Mills Yard in Erwin, New York.

To the Trains… 👉

Conrail 6340 and 3628 pull through Gulf Summit in 1981.

CR 3174, in June 1979, approaches Gulf Summit. Still some ex: Penn Central black locomotives to be viewed. Blue paint dominates with the timeline.

Conrail 3640 is an ex: Reading at Binghamton in 1982.

Train at left is passing the waiting freight. Symbols are slurred and hard to decipher. At Horseheads.

At BD with DH 7419 and B&M units 306/ 310. East Deerfield to Buffalo.

Boston and Maine 203  leads these 4 engines. Train orders are hooped up to the crew by Ruth at FS Tower.

An Intermodal at Cascade Crossing. CR 8222 leads here.

TV-301S hauls APL double-stacks in East Owego. A newer service in 1984.

Conrail 5034, 5022, and 5064. This lash-up is a newer set of GE motors. Trailvan is westbound on Starrucca Viaduct in 1984. There are only a brief few minutes of 1985 footage on one long double-stack Sea-Land move.

Assorted cabooses from Conrail and others. Pushers appear sometimes.

The Conrail Southern Tier Line Volume 1

A worthwhile visit to the Southern Tier Line in this timeframe. Nice cinematography. It’s a pretty good-looking show. Cabooses are even on the Intermodals. The camera tends not to have a sharp focus on higher road speeds.

Narrator Mike has consistent information, including dates, locations, and train symbols. He sometimes is difficult listening on parts. Slurring speech at times.

Delaware and Hudson adds good variety. As does the B&M, MEC, and NW locomotives.

This is a well put together show. Upstate New York does have cool scenery. Model Railroaders may take note of some period scenes.

Rating: 4 1/2 Stars