Upstate Alcos

Producer: Andrew Terrece

Locations: New York, Pennsylvania

Timeframe: n/a

Length: 42 minutes

An unknown producer to me. Advanced Approach Videos with a show featuring Alco locomotives. Advertised with three Shortlines. Cab ride on an Alco FPA, as well as an Alco switcher. This looks different. Took a punt. Let’s see how it goes…

Single DVD-R. Live environmental audio. Amateur production with issues. See the summary.

No menus. Maps are included. Narrated by Evan Speck. Extremely low level of information. A few minutes of previews.

Advertised coverage of: New York and Lake Erie, The Oil Creek and Titusville, plus the Arcade and Attica.

To the Trains… 👉

New York and Lake Erie. Route is on ex: Erie tracks. Formed in 1978. South Gowanda scene. A mystery pair of Alco FPA diesels. It runs to Dayton, New York. There is no background on the Alco locomotives. The majority is filmed by crossing bells or has a locomotive bell sounding. This segment is ringing my ears almost endlessly. Unedited wind noise, as well. Amateur beginning.

The Oil Creek and Titusville is next. Alco switcher #75 hauls a mixed train. This is arriving at a place called Drake’s Well.

Must be tourist season. There are plenty of passengers after the freight cars. Business appears to be thriving. FYI, Oil Creek is in Pennsylvania. Would have been beneficial to hear about the freight traffic.

Cab ride footage. Switches to a lame, repetitive musical background, and the narrative has dropped out. Rough camera shake. Could have interviewed the crew. Locomotive and/ or operation description. A random bridge with zero information. It is a much too long segment that is amateur hour. This needs a chapter skip here or deletion. Let me out!!

At 30 minutes. A reprieve from the poor onboard camerawork. Arcade and Attica. Alco built 2-8-0 steam engine. About 5 minutes of video. Very little information.

A rough jump edit into a moving locomotive cab. FPA again. The audio levels have been uneven. It is hard to understand the narrator, with unbalanced locomotive sounds overwhelming the scene. No, I am unwilling to replay multiple times to sort it all out. By the way, this show ends at 42 minutes. Previews follow, and a child does some narration there.

Upstate Alcos

Took a chance on this show. Shortlines have the potential to be unique and interesting. However, solid production values make a world of difference. Compared to a quality label, like Charles Smiley Presents, for example. This is not even in that universe.

The script/ narrative is very weak. A natural for some Alco locomotive and location history. Little to none. Unbalanced soundtrack. Levels need leveling. The long and shaky Oil Creek cab ride feature is a major time waster. The FPA ride is also unsatisfactory.

Very little meat on the bone. Amateur production that may suit 1st graders for bell ringing. It is extremely disappointing. This show is not recommended for adults. Waste of my money.  Straight to the junk heap…

Rating: Not Recommended