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Challenger Through the Rocky Mountains
The video opens with Union Pacific 4-8-4 No. 844 and 4-6-6-4 No. X3985 being refuelled from road tankers, with a background of the snow covered Rocky Mountains in Green River, Wyoming. The train moves off, enveloped in steam, soon to be seen again in a series of beautiful morning sunlit views of the 12 car train, the black smoke and white steam billowing in the cold morning air, with scenery quite unique. At Evanston, with snow covering the mountains in the distance, a centre cab switcher is turning on the roundhouse turntable, and soon, the train is away again, with magnificent side lit scenes, taken from pacing alongside, (with an absolutely steady camera), and sunlit red rock faces as a backdrop. This segment ends at Salt Lake City, where we are shown some of the highlights of the City.
Next, Challenger takes a train alone, There are brief views of Ogden's Union Station and roundhouse, then, as the train departs Ogden its articulated frames are clearly seen matching the tight curves of the station yard. A change of scenery as the train clings to a hillside past a reservoir, races past grain elevators and then receives a service, with the power grease guns being fed with grease cartridges. After a brief look at 5 diesels on a freight in grand mountain scenery, its on to Jackson, a very wild west looking town. Challenger's front engine goes into a slip as the train departs, then 65 mph runpasts, and alongside shots as the train returns to Salt Lake City.
Now to Railfair 91, with a look at the adjacent old style buildings, and operating tram line with vintage tram. Virginia and Truckee 4-4-0 old timer turns on the turntable and moves off. 4-2-0 "Lafeyette" chugs by, then the 1830 vintage vertical boilered, vertical cylindered geared loco "Tom Thumb" moves along a section of track. Soon, high wheeled Pacific 4272 steams into Railfair, as a stern wheeler on the adjacent Sacremento River passes through the swing bridge, which is then seen closing. 4272, immaculate in shiny black with white tyres, double heads Southern Pacific Daylight 4429 in black and orange over a lift bridge, and is seen in several runpasts. Then the Daylight is seen alone on its matching cars, complete with observation car, in an unforgettable scene beside the water with a background of the huge steel bridge.
Finally, the two big Union Pacific locos 844 and Challenger head home from Railfair through the picturesque Feather River Canyon, to conclude what is I believe one of EK Video's best tapes. On videos of US trains the whistling, to our ears, is often greatly overdone, but on this tape that is definitely NOT so, and the camera angles and technique are superb.
Taken on Professional ENG cameras and duplicated in Australia from one inch master tape. PQ A