Customer Reviews

American Steam: A Vanishing Era

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The three DVD's that comprise this collection are available separately, but save your money and buy all three together in this collection. Great footage of classic steam trains (most shot on 16mm film) are assembled with sounds of steam to produce a treat for steam locomotive fans. Great shots of mammoth Big Boys, Norfolk and Western Y and A class articulateds, and even the Goliath Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range Yellowstones hauling everything including coal, iron ore and farm implements. DVD transfer quality is pedestrian but clean.

This set contains 3 DVDs: 'Steam Giants Across America', '50's and 60's' and 'Twilight of Steam'. 'Steam Giants Across America' covers steam action mainly with UP BigBoys and Challengers. All color 16mm footage with some footage from vintage UP promotional films. '50's and 60's' covers classic railroads and excursion steam. Last, but not least, 'Twilight of Steam' covers Norfolk and Western Steam in it's last days as well as other railroads and their massive engines. There is no duplicate footage among the 3 DVDs and they are all color, mostly 16mm and some standard video of the more recent excursion trains. No annoying banjo music either, so you can listen to the sounds of steam without any interruption. The 'bonus' material is not much of a bonus, just a few paragraphs on some famous trains and robberies. The trivia is worth ignoring.