I have always had a huge interest in maps for as far back as I can remember. In all of my pursuits over the years, maps were either a necessary tool to accomplish the task at hand or an adjunct to augment the experience. As a child I had a massive aeronautical chart of Los Angeles hanging on my wall and I would study it for hours. Through that exercise I garnered an appreciation for distance and topography, as well as infrastructure and the historical aspects of the places listed before me. Soon maps became part of me and I would seek out and go to map stores like some kids would go to record stores or arcades…
BNSF Unveils a New Site for "Friends"
A few days ago BNSF unveiled a new web offering called “Friends of BNSF.”
According to John Ambler, BNSF vice president, Corporate Relations,
“Friends of BNSF will allow us to keep the community informed about issues that are important to freight rail transportation and its role in the U.S. economy. Rail fans, freight rail advocates, members of communities in which BNSF operates, and of course our employees and retirees are all welcome at Friends of BNSF.”
Our Best Trip Ever - Part 6 - More Chasing at the La Posada Hotel
Our Best Trip Ever - Part 4 - A Railfan Oasis, The La Posada Hotel
There are some, but not many, places that offer a spectacular railroad viewing opportunity coupled with truly refreshing and luxurious accommodations track side. Our favorite, to date, is located in Winslow, Arizona and it is truly an oasis for railfans and travelers alike. It is the La Posada Hotel , a National Historic Landmark, and billed as “Arizona’s grandest estate…”
HDR Photography Visually Explained
I am often asked how I captured the details when I show someone my photography. The comment that their “photos don’t look like that.” I then explain the process of capturing the details, through proper exposure, and the benefits of High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography. I though it might help to produce a post that visually details how to capture a scene in HDR an show that everyone can do it…
BNSF and Others Threw Quite the Railroad Party
Lately I have been consulting for a couple of rail and historical web sites to include standing up new web presences for each entity and creating accompanying artwork. This effort has occupied all of my free time, as the lack recent posts can attest to. However, I made sure to clear my calendar for Saturday, November 13, 2010. In my calendar I created an entry to block out my time and labeled it simply “Cajon Day…”
BLOGGER SPOTLIGHT: Provincial Supertramp
Inspired by a Book to Try Something New
Review: Pentrex's "Doublestacks over Donner"
One of Pentrex’s latest releases, Doublestacks over Donner.
Back in May, when I ordered the “At the Throttle Cab Ride Volume 5 - The Surfline” from Pentrex, I also ordered their latest release, at the time, Doublestacks over Donner.
Donner Pass has always been one of my favorite locations for vacations with the family. The area is steeped in history and offers a myriad of outdoor activities to do and breathtaking vistas to behold.
For the railfan, Donner Pass is one of the premier locations due to the arduous climb that trains must make through tunnel and snow sheds to conquer the pass. This route dates back to the original transcontinental route that the Central Pacific Railroad completed in the late 1860’s to meet up with the Union Pacific Railroad at Promontory, Utah on May 10, 1869.
Considering most of the line was built back in the 1860’s, many of the tunnels can no longer accommodate the longer and larger containers that are part of today’s international transportation system. As such, this line saw a marked decrease in traffic with many of the doublestack trains being rerouted through the longer, yet less-restrictive, Feather River Canyon route.
Through the years of mergers and acquisitions, this line eventually became part the Union Pacific Railroad and remains a core east-west corridor for the Union Pacific Railroad today. As such, UP decided it was profitable to increase the tunnel clearances on Donner Pass to accommodate the new doublestacks and shorten the distance for trains heading over the Sierra Nevada Mountains. So in 2008, UP began modifying the tunnel portals and linings accordingly.
This video documents the renewed life that the line over Donner Pass is experiencing thanks to Union Pacific’s work in the tunnels. I couldn’t be happier. There’s little that rivals seeing Theodore Judah’s dream of a railroad over the Sierras come true with a nearly 2-mile long doublestack train clawing at the grade! But I digress…
The video presents the glory and splendor of the Donner Pass region unlike any other video I’ve seen in recent memory. The video quality and post-production work is good and the 16x9 format lends itself nicely to wide vistas and spectacle that is Donner Pass. The piece is well written and the narration is spot on. A nice surprise of the DVD is the little bits of historical and operational datum that the narration provides.
If I could be critical of one aspect of the production, it would be the maps displayed in the video. They are just not on par with all of the other aspects this gem. A rework of the maps, with more details and a fresh look, would have completed this effort perfectly.
However, this is one of my favorite videos from any railfan video publisher. I highly recommend it. A job well done Pentrex, it is truly fun to watch. I will watch it often until I can get back to Donner personally.
My Rating: A+
2 Hours
In Color with Stereo Sound and Narration
Presented in High Definition 16x9 Format
ISBN: 1-56342-295-6
UPC: 7-48268-00578-7
Review: Pentrex's "At the Throttle Cab Ride Volume 5 - The Surfline"
Pentrex’s latest episode in their popular “At the Throttle” series, “The Surfline”
Most rail enthusiasts and photographers have a few railroad DVDs or videos as part of our movie collections. At one time, it seemed, it was a requisite element for expressing your membership in the club - it was about ownership.
Before the proliferation of video cameras and content that we see today, it was rare to see a “movie” devoted entirely to railfanning in general, let alone on on a particular subdivision or topic…