Producer: Highball
Locations: Southern Arizona
Timeframe: 1997- 1998
Length: 2 hours
Here is Union Pacific coverage on the former Southern Pacific Sunset Route. The featured line runs from Steins, New Mexico to Yuma, Arizona. This Southern tour is very different to the Northern transcon. A desert crossing with plenty of ex: SP power.
A single DVD-R. Fullscreen 4×3 aspect ratio. Live environmental audio.
No menus or extras. Hidden Chapter advance function at an unruly 96 chapters. Narrated by Pete Falconi.
To the Trains… 👉
SP SD45 8705 leads these 3 units upgrade to Steins, New Mexico.
Chicago NorthWestern 8649 (C44-9W) leads a couple of Union Pacific SD40-2 motors with a mixed Piggyback and double-stack train.
At Bowie, we have a solid set of Southern Pacific behind SP 9626 traveling to Phoenix. Note the coaling tower in the background. It’s long gone now.
Triple GP60 lash-up. Cotton Belt 9642, SP 9606 plus another Cotton Belt 9695 hauling containers at Sybil.
Union Pacific 438 (C30-7) with a Westbound stacker at Mescal. Note the coal tower. A brief news clip shows the demolition in 1998. 52ms
At Dusk, Eastbound SP ducks under the bridge in Davidson Canyon.
At Tucson, Amtrak #2 passes the yard.
Steam era water tank at Red Rock. SP 8122 with leased Amtrak F40 locomotives and a whopping 6 additional freight motors. Mixed freight cars.
Union Pacific 5965 (SD60) is the leader as it waits on an opposing train led by 9 locomotives, including leased Amtrak F40 power. Southern Pacific 8122 is on the point ovdr there. This scene is in Arizona at Milepost 958. Circa 1998.
The Casa Grande local is led by SP 7611. The Eastbound Intermodal is behind UP 3805, as it passes the stopped train at West Eloy.
Three Union Pacific SD40 and two CSX engines are followed against the vast open desert terrain. Gila Bend is 13 miles behind this scene.
Union Pacific on the Sunset Route
Here is a fast-paced program with heavy mainline traffic. Wide range of locomotives with dark grey of SP and Cotton Belt paint dominant. Plentiful supply of Union Pacific.
Steady videography is nicely framed. Good colors. The strong sunlight does get bouncing around at times. Images look very good. Not modern standard, but excellent for the time.
The narrative is lightweight. Simple descriptions, sparse, and minimal information overall. Still, it is adequate and beats no narration.
A nice tour across Arizona. The famous Sunset Route still appears to be a Southern Pacific line in so many scenes. Still has enough Union Pacific to keep those fans satisfied.
Rating: 4 Stars
American Train Video Reviews 