Category: WB Video

ATVR Reviews WB Video

Abo Canyon and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway

Post author By William J. Hudson
Post date March 21, 2024
No Comments on Abo Canyon and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway

Producer: WB Video

Locations: Belen, Abo Canyon, Mountainair

Timeframe: 1998

Length: 58 minutes

Source: William Brown.

Abo Canyon is located on the old Santa Fe Chicago to Los Angeles mainline. It has seven bridges. BNSF predecessors and some with original paint. New BNSF liveries, as well.

The tour begins at the ex: Santa Fe yard in Belen, New Mexico. Circa 1998.

A single DVD-R. Hidden Chapter advance. On screen graphics. Previews. Narration by Tom Jensen.

Videography is solid. Well composed scenes. Natural audio. The narrative is hard panned to one channel or another.

To the Trains…

Belen

Belen Yard is briefly seen. Quickly, moves along to the first bridge. The longest of the seven. Double-stack traffic is dominant in this show. The tour on the first half is Eastbound to Mountainair.

Bridge One

Ten locomotives on the over 500 foot long Bridge One. Likely, a power balance move.

Bridge 2 is on a slight curve. Original Santa Fe scheme on the leader.

Bridge 4 hosts a quadruple set of BN green plus one Blue Santa Fe.

Newest BNSF scheme in front

Two different BNSF paint schemes on the point of this double-stack.

BNSF lettered Warbonnets

BNSF reletters on Santa Fe warbonnets are seen on bridges four and five.

A blue and yellow warbonnet SD45 is on the point of an Intermodal at Bridge Five.

Abo

Abo, New Mexico is at milepost 862. BNSF 4924, 4311 in orange and green. Relettered SF Warbonnet 742. Dash 9- 44CW engines with a mixed freight.

BNSF 8205 at Mountanair

Mountainair Depot. A grimy 8205 on a trio with a double-stack train. Turnaround and back towards Belen is next.

Bridge 7

Westbounders are next. Similar to first half of this show. Note the black cow, seems oblivious to the passing train above. An untouched Burlington Northern SD40-2 leads.

Bridge 6

General Electric C44-9W on the point. All of the pre and post merger paint schemes are present in this lash-up. Bridge six.

Abo Canyon and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway

Extensive coverage of Abo Canyon. This is from both directions. Videography is excellent. The soundtrack is very good. Although the narration is oddly placed, either left or right.

In summary. This is an out and back tour covering around 15 miles through Abo Canyon. Early enough in the merger years to see a variety of locomotives. Paint ranges from original to the then current BNSF liveries.

A satisfactory program. Script is on the lightweight side. Little in historical background. Mainly, it is power focused, and locations are well documented.

Fine visual coverage of the route.

Rating: 4 Stars

Tags American Train Video Reviews, Burlington Northern, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, non-fiction, Railroad, railway, Santa Fe

ATVR Reviews WB Video

BNSF A Time of Change 2

Producer: William Brown

Locations: Crozier Canyon, Peach Springs, Nelson Tunnel, Pico

Timeframe: 2000

Length: 1 hour

Source: William Brown

A look at the BNSF Transcon. Coverage is in Western Arizona. Volume 2 of a short series. The vintage WB titles are hit or miss. Let’s see one of these contemporary shows now.

A single DVD-R. No Chapter menu. On-screen graphics with subtitles. Hidden Chapter advance. Brief Previews.

Narration by Tom Jensen. Lively and energetic narrator.

Picture is excellent, although not wide-screen. Live audio soundtrack. The audio is loud. Well composed scenes.

New. Running soundtrack on a full-on stereo, as well. Outstanding separation! Trains come and go. One channel to the other. WOW!

Script is the rather basic style. Eastbound, Westbound and generic descriptions. The train sounds and consist views are centerpieces.

Pica steam era tanks

Begins at old abandoned facilities in Pica. Arizona. Where’s this place?

A 10 engine lash-up

Cool catch as 10 engines roar by…light!

Nelson Tunnel East

Nelson Tunnel. Milepost 457. East of Peach Springs. Never heard of either one. Good action on the East portal.

Manifest to Yemple, Texas

A Barstow to Temple, Texas with mixed power.

BN 6811 leads at the West Portal

West Portal is next with afternoon trains. 6811 leads an Electromotive and a B unit.

Peach Springs

Peach Springs the next morning. A sunny day. Three Warbonnets and a BNSF Heritage unit lead an Intermodal. Milepost 462. He mentions this is the month of April.

Crozier Canyon

Crozier Canyon is West of Peach Springs. 6348 leads 3 Santa Fe units.

Quartet of Warbonnets

Four Warbonnets upgrade in opposite direction.

Perfect scene for Model Railroaders

Overhead and trackside views. Many trains at various spots in Crozier Canyon. One awesome scene after another! A show within the show.

A high view

Even more great scenery near Valentine, Arizona. The action continues onward in Western Arizona on former Santa Fe trackage.

Listen to the train pass by the camera

The stereo experience adds to enjoyment. As the camera pans the trains, stereo imaging accompanies the scene. What fun!

BNSF A Time of Change 2

An excellent production. Stunning videography in Crozier Canyon. Audio features the natural train sounds. Stereo listening adds to the feeling of being trackside. Narration is simple but enthusiastic. Beats a non-narrated by a country mile.

Yes, a map would be handy. On the other hand. The program only highlights several locations on the mainline. Mile markers are noted.

The sum total. A fine film featuring Crozier Canyon and Nelson Tunnel (rare). An enjoyable hour of BNSF by WB Video. Great for any Railfan or Model Railroader.

Rating: 5 Stars

Tags American Train Video Reviews, Arizona, Burlington Northern, Santa Fe

ATVR Reviews WB Video

Santa Fe’s Raton Route

Producer: Bill Brown

Locations: Raton Pass, Glorieta Pass, Las Vegas, NM.

Timeframe: 1989- 1991

Length: 112 minutes

Source: Dave Gross

WB Video with a Santa Fe Raton Pass area show.

A single DVD-R. No Chapter menu. Hidden chapter breaks for access. Map is referenced with the Chapter changes. Narration by Rege Cordic.

Picture looks really good. Not modern of course. Excellent for the time. Live environmental audio. Bit of music on Chapter breaks.

Videography is great. Pro level. Colors look fine. Everything is slightly soft on an HDTV.

Amtrak tour begins the show. The Southwest Limited. Train designation is #3. Starts in Colorado. Most efficient method to cover this line. It crosses the territory quickly.

Amtrak 3. The Southwest Limited is held to 20 mph in a Canyon. Raised to 80 mph at Wagon Mound, New Mexico. So, the speed limits vary widely.

Amtrak #3 travels into Las Vegas, New Mexico. The Casteneda Hotel built 1896.

Amtrak Southwest Limited

Gloriana Pass is a scenic location . Curving route and bridges. Amtrak’s Southwest Limited is speed restricted through here.

Lamy Station and end of the Amtrak tour.

Santa Fe slug set meets a BN freight

La Junta Colorado is East end of Raton sub. Kodachrome SD39 1568 with slug 1139. Burlington Northern Grain Extra is going to the Colorado Joint Line.

Western portal of Raton Tunnel. Santa Fe Piggyback Q Trains are the hotshots.

Las Vegas and Glorietta subs

Train 804 leaves Las Vegas, New Mexico

9513 on 8 unit lash-up. Many red units. Train 804 departs Las Vegas, NM.

Train 448 on a curve, West of Blanchard

Train 448 is a Manifest with midtrain helpers.

Mix of old and new scheme Warbonnets

Apache Canyon and Spider Bridge. Train is EPKC. El Paso to Kansas City Q train.

Santa Fe, New Mexico. A Branchline that has a connection at Lamy, NM.

Kansas City- El Paso Q Trains

Fast Q piggyback at Springer depot

SD45-2u 5812 is on the point. Passes the Springer depot with a Q for Quality piggyback.

Los Angeles CA- La Junta CO trains

Serious 4% mountain grade action at Raton Pass. Doubling the Hill is a common practice here.

Amtrak #3 meets Santa Fe’s 804

Santa Fe Train 804 has stopped for a rolling Amtrak 3. Southwest Limited at La Loma, New Mexico.

War Bonnets

101 leads in 1990

FP45 101 leads a KC-EP at Kyoto, NM.

Coal Trains

The Cochise. A regular Unit Coal to Arizona is featured.

Colorado and Wyoming yard

In depth coverage of a Santa Fe Coal Train. Colorado and Wyoming. Allen Mine Branch.

ATSF business car #50

Closeout with a beautiful business car. Santa Fe #50.

Santa Fe’s Raton Route

A fine assortment of Santa Fe locomotives. Kodachrome paint throughout.

Amtrak fans shall find a good amount of action. Particularly on the opening chapter.

A fine program. WB has been hit or miss on DVD quality. This release is a good one.

Rating: 5 Stars

Tags American Train Video Reviews, Amtrak, Coal, Santa Fe

ATVR Reviews WB Video

Tehachapi ’88

Producer: WB Video

Timeframe: 1988

Locations: Mohave to Bakersfield

Length: 3 1/2 hours

Source: Bill Brown

Tehachapi Loop is the feature in this 2 DVD set. Southern Pacific owned the track. Santa Fe ran via trackage rights. WB Video shot video for ten days in the fall of 1988.

Let’s take a look at specifics. No Chapter Menu. No maps. No extras.. Narration.

The script and accompanying narrative are basic. Overall, natural audio becomes dominate. Good levels.

First disc covers five days and the runtime is two hours. Disc two, obviously gets the balance.

Kodachrome units are all over the place in 1988. Beautifully shot, and color balance retains it’s fine character.

Many trains have a caboose.

Oil can trains are common here.

EMD GP60 models were some of the newest locomotives.

Even older locomotives were repainted. This GP35 for example.

The show is organized by the day of the shoot. Not in a location order.

Exterior view of the Hill.

The classic shot. Famous Tehachapi Loop. Tunnel with a train, crossing over itself.

SP Kodachrome SD40T-2 in the lash-up. When the merger was not approved as expected. The Railfan slogan for the SPSF became, Shouldn’t Paint So Fast.

Three Santa Fe repaints, upfront on this ten unit set.

Upgrade near Tunnel 9.

At Cliff ,smoke pours out.

Helpers get the worst of it!

As Union Pacific fans ask, Where’s mine?

An awesome view from Cliff Siding.

Southern Pacific work train, with a single locomotive.

Meanwhile, down around Mohave.

Traffic is largely TOFC. Some COFC too. General freight, oil and coal trains.

The lengthy set is an excellent visit to a specific point in Tehachapi Pass history. While it may run long, chasing some trains. They hit the nail on the head. Recording an interesting Kodachrome Southern Pacific and Santa Fe.

Recommended for any Railfans and Model Railroaders with aligned interests. The sparse narrative will probably leave less serious types wondering, what the excitement is about. Nevermind them, if it has your name, you will know it.

Receives a high rating, on the strength of being, well filmed and the matching audio. Plus, the historical value of this clear show.

Rating: 5 Stars

Tags American Train Video Reviews, California, Santa Fe, Southern Pacific

ATVR Reviews WB Video

A Salute to Soldier Summit

Post author By William J. Hudson
Post date August 12, 2019
No Comments on A Salute to Soldier Summit

Producer: Bill Brown

Timeframe: 1988

Locations: Utah division

Length: 1 hour

Source: Dave Gross

Rio Grande action, on and around , Soldier Summit in Utah. Solid sets of black and orange DRGW diesels are common. Cabooses are still in service. Utah Railway is here. Splendid fall scenery in the Wasatch Mountains. Unmolested freight cars. Plenty to enjoy.

Rege Cordic narrates with his familiar voice. No Chapter Menu or extras.

Professionally shot video. Color balance is still good. Audio contains live train sounds. Balanced with the narrative at good levels.

One hour of non- stop train action. DRGW 5388 is an SD40T-2. Built by Electromotive in LaGrange, 8/78.

Denver & Rio Grande Western was in a pre- merger state in 1988.

The script is an interesting one. High level of detail. Local history, detailed train movements and such.

Amtrak trains begin this show. Several Amtrak moves, some need a little help. As this California Zephyr does.

Various DRGW freights are shown in the area. A map would have been helpful.

Ringling Brothers Circus train passes by the camera at track speed. The red train!

A GP30 is amoung one in this lash-up. Close-ups and individual call outs, in this scene.

At Soldier Summit, a Rio Grande freight passes a Utah Railway unit coal.

A helper awaits it’s next assignment.

Good to see freight cars in factory paint, at Gilluily. No graffiti on ’88! Buttheads.

Union Pacific with GE units leading.

Utah Railway is featured, as well. A 23 mile line that hauls coal. Their moves do travel onto the Rio Grande mainline.

Mid train helpers on an 11,000 ton Utah Railway coal train.

Thistle has an interesting story. Learn about a devasting flood, and remarkable line rebuild.

Gilluily has scenic curves and grades. SD45 and F45 engines, found new jobs on Utah Railway.

Excellent job by Dave Gross, behind the camera.

SD50 are the newest Rio Grande locomotives at this time. Also, their last.

WB Video had a well put together show. Mountainous scenery and those Rio Grande trains are a fine match.

A no brainier for Rio Grande fans. Should be a good time for everyone else. One of the top WB Video releases.

Rating: 5 Stars

Tags American Train Video Reviews, Amtrak, Coal, Rio Grande