THE ROYAL GORGE For a short time in the late 1940s, a passenger train named The Royal Gorge traveled between St. Louis, Missouri and Oakland, California. The train was jointly operated by the Missouri Pacific, Rio Grande, and Western Pacific railroads and to attract riders, they produced this beautiful promotional color film. We see the heavyweight train departing St. Louis Union Station behind MoPac E-units and arriving at Pueblo, Colorado behind MoPac steam. Rio Grande steam then takes over for a doubleheaded run through the famous Royal Gorge and over Tennessee Pass. During a brief stop in Glenwood Springs, there's time to visit its famous hot pools. Continuing west past Castle Gate, Utah, over Soldier Summit, The Royal Gorge heads into Salt Lake City. Extremely rare footage shows the nearby Saltair Resort's "rail transit system" carrying tourists to the shore of the Great Salt Lake. Back at the depot, steam power is again changed and The Royal Gorge moves onto Western Pacific Rails where thrilling, rare footage shows a WP 4-8-4 steam engine streaking past the Great Salt Lake and then winding down through the Feather River Canyon with its passenger train in tow. Our journey ends with a ferry trip from Oakland across the bay to San Francisco. On-board scenes offer a glimpse of what travel was like on heavyweight trains more than 50 years ago. Visits to several cities along the way include views of their passenger stations and the classic styling of buses and automobiles in the 1940s. It's a captivating trip back in time! TROUBLE AT TROUBLESOME On May 15, 1956, two Rio Grande freight trains collided at Troublesome Siding on the Moffat Tunnel Route in Colorado. After completing its investigation, the railroad staged a reenactment of the events leading up to that accident and made this film to help educate employees about the safe operation of trains. You'll see classic Rio Grande F-units in their original pinstripe paint scheme and find out what went wrong that fateful day at Troublesome. Footage of the actual derailment cleanup includes steam-powered Big Hooks from Denver and Grand Junction clearing the jumble of cars. Once the main line is open, the California Zephyr glides past the site with the beautiful Rocky Mountains in the background. It's a fascinating story! 40 Minutes Two films on one cassette In Color with Original Sound and Narration Packaged in Colorful Cardboard Slipcase Released by Pentrex 1999 |
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