Railroads: Tracks Across America

I'm happy with it.
I'm not a shill for the producer of the DVD collection, I actually feel this collection of 'old media' newsreels/industry shorts/propaganda is worth my money.

I even paid more than MSRP on my set and still feel I got my moneys worth. Since these shorts are all 'old media' from the 30's/40's/50's you really can't expect HiDef quality.

There's a lot of work in actually gathering together all these videos into one compilation and then transferring the film work into digital media.

Maybe it's just memories that they bring back to me from 'the day' when I was growing up, but I've really enjoyed watching each and every short on the disks.

I think in total there are about 37 different videos.

Also not being a railroad knowledgeable person, I've learned a lot more about Railroad operations than I ever knew.

Modernism on Twentieth-Century Tracks
These two DVDs hold a collection of 36 short films originally produced as public relations (read "advertising") creations by a variety of American railroad companies and a few, as I recall, by the Association of American Railroads touting the entire industry. Almost all of these films date from the mid-twentieth century, are generally monochromatic, and, obviously, predate the "high definition" era of twenty-first century film making. The true beauty and wonder of these films are that they are not some sort of modern dramatization, re-creation, or documentary but are the original "real things."

Portrayed as "new, efficient and modern" are intriguing varieties of steam and early-generation Diesel locomotives, not to mention the massive GG-1 electrics of the Pennsylvania Railroad. Now-historic freight and passenger cars appear as stars of modernization, efficiency, and, in the case of passenger equipment, comfort. In no other video collection that I know of can one find...

Well Worth the Money
Granted this is a compilation of corporate productions and advertising, however if you love trains as I do and would like a peak into a better, slower more innocent era get this disk. You will not regret it!!!

Click to Editorial Reviews