Producer: Revelation Video, T&TI
Locations: USA, Canada, Mexico
Timeframe: 1978
Length: 73 minutes
Source: Chris Skow
Here is a recent reissue of this Revelation Video title. Nationwide coverage as filmed by Chris Skow. 8 also traveled into Mexico and Canada. Covered Wagons from Electromotive locomotives. Alco and MLW are shown. Even stored Baldwin.
A single DVD-R. Shot on movie film with sound. Fullscreen picture. Films are clean. Soundtrack contains some music. Levels are generally balanced. These films are not pro shot or to modern standards. Historical value.
A main Chapter Menu by Railroad. A chapter advance function. Subtitles with additional details. Narrated by Chris Skow.
There are many more locomotives than shown in this review. Assorted roadnames with stored locomotives, as well. A little bit of everything to see here. There are plenty of surprises left to find.
To the Trains…
Western Pacific is first. Repainted 913 leads the 3 other F units operating here. The 913 was the only F7 repainted in orange and silver.
A visit to Mexico yields a number of interesting F3 ,F7 F9 in varied A/B units. Alco 6507 on the N de M is one of the last operational FA type units.
Burlington Northern had the largest number of rostered F units at 114 diesels. BN 704 on the point of a freight, in the Pacific Northwest. A fleet of ex: Burlington Route E9A engines are seen in Chicago commuter service.
Louisiana & Northwest Railroad has several various F units. Check these, still sporting Kansas City Southern paint.
His Canadian film includes GO Transit rebuilt diesels. CP Rail, Ontario Northland, Canadian National and VIA. Some are FPA-4 which were Canadian built.
Bangor and Aroostook still has six active F engines. A rare BL-2 is still working, as well.
Boston commuter trains are powered by F’s of assorted heritage. A mecca for covered Wagons in 1978. Also, there are Electromotive E units and Alco PA. See a variety of paint jobs. Hard to beat for appearances, the Delaware and Hudson Alco PA diesels catch the cinematographers eye for multiple scenes.
NJ Transit in New Jersey. The larger cousin to the F is the E unit. That model is featured here. Mixed heritage and paint on this commuter roads grab bag.
At Cleveland was a concentration of F power on Conrail. These appear as relettered Penn Central engines. Cockroach lettering, none in Conrail blue.
Gulf, Mobile, and Ohio was a late operator of F3 to F7 locomotives straight into Illinois Central Gulf. The F3A 880B powered a local commuter train called The Plug and is at Joliet. Serving a Joliet to Chicago route. The commuter served suburban towns like Willow Springs and Lemont. Several more F units performed freight duty to St. Louis. All of this under Illinois Central Gulf in 1978.
Rock Island had both E and F units in various liveries which are still active.
Chicago and NorthWestern had a number of E and F class on Chicago Commuter runs. Even more F units did freight in Iowa. Even hideous RTA repaints are seen.
Covered Wagons 1, 1978
Over a couple of dozen railroad operations are surveyed. Everything from Class One to Shortline and Industrial.The various survivors are seen in all kinds of revenue service. Proving their versatility.
Single blat of vintage airhorn on some F units brings back memories of watching the covered Wagons in the 1960s and 1970s.
Cinematographer Chris Skow provides a good narrative. Enough talk to give many locations and details. Live audio sections allow viewers to hear the normally aspirated engines work their tasks.
Camerawork is decent, although not professional. Overall, image quality is very good. Solid colors from original films. Enjoyable but not always the best framing or consistent audio production. It is an intriguing tour that meets the advertised content. Bump it up for the cornucopia of content.
In summary, this is a whirlwind survey of still active F units in 1978. Coverage of three countries packs a plethora of action!
Rating: 4 Stars
American Train Video Reviews 