Rocky Mountain Mainlines of the Rio Grande

Producer: A&R/ Steve Bransfield

Locations: Joint Line, Minturn, Tennessee Pass…

Timeframe: 1950s – 1970s

Length: 48 minutes

Source: Blackhawk collection

Various diesel and limited steam in vintage action within Colorado. Blackhawk collection. Plenty of famous locations. Mixture of longview scenic scenes with close shots as trains pass the camera.

Rio Grande is the star of the show. Santa Fe plus Colorado and Southern trains have interesting segments. Union Pacific has a single scene.

A single DVD-R. Full screen 4×3 aspect ratio. Mostly color film. Appears to be 8mm. Unrestored but clean films. Audio has dubbed train sounds. Good levels and well-balanced.

No main chapter menu. A hidden chapter advance. Frequent map references at the right times. Narrator is Ted Dalaku. Too much to see for a review format. There is much more.

To the Trains… 👉

Coverage begins on The Joint Line. Denver to Pueblo route. A Santa Fe freight is chased from South Denver. ATSF 270 leads an F unit lash-up here. Those are Rio Grande rails in the rear. Foreground tracks are Santa Fe.

At Castle Rock Siding. Santa Fe freight waits, while an E8A led passenger train flys past on a Southbound. Engine 270 then departs with three trailing F7B diesels.

Santa Fe 7508 is a GE U30C, wearing blue with yellow pinstripe. Train is chased through Castle Rock.

The C&S trainnumber 75 is out of Denver. Now at Louviers. These CB&Q engines wear Chinese Red or earlier black and gray liveries. This Burlington Route freight operates via trackage rights on the Joint Line. The Burlington Route 881 is on the point.

Here is a BN freight. The BN Merger is in place. A GN U33C  leads a trio of SD40 engines. Notice the new BN painted units and a red CB&Q hauling mixed freight at Palmer Lake. Some narrative errors. This is a U33C, not a U30C. Several train chases contain different locomotives. Either different trains or power swaps.

At South Denver with Rio Grande 5310 ( SD-9). Four more engines in the lash-up.

Rio Grande 3023 (GP30) departs the Santa Fe yard at Colorado Springs. DRGW 3034 (GP35) , and 3014(GP30 with large lettering) trail in the lash-up .This train is routed to Denver.

More steam with a large DRGW 2-8-8-2 on a doubleheader. It is all Rio Grande steam. Some are lettered as Denver & Salt Lake.

In Royal Gorge. A Mountain type is paired with an Articulated engine traverse along the river.

Tennessee Pass with a route map! Eastbound traffic all had helpers added at Minturn.

5711 enters the yard area with the six helpers. The train is chased out of Minturn with the helpers Mid- train. GP30 #3018 leads it through the Tennessee Pass East Portal.

More Tennessee Pass action. Larger SD-45 locomotives lead a GP30.

Rocky Mountain Mainlines of the Rio Grande

The Mainlines with the most coverage. Parallel Rio Grande and Santa Fe on The Joint Line. Tennessee Pass is another feature. Colorado and Southern seen under Burlington Route and Burlington Northern.

Colorado is a very scenic State. Loaded with panoramic views. Trains are often chased. Predominantly a diesel show. Brief bits from the steam era include the big 2-8-8-2 engines.

A reminder, this is vintage footage. Do not expect modern viewing quality. Worthwhile for the fans of 1960s to 1970s era.

A&R has a nice collection of some Colorado railroading here. Well organized and map references, as needed. Good narration and pacing is fine. An interesting release that will stand-up to repeated viewings.

Rating: 4 Stars