Customer Reviews

The End of the Line - Rochester's Subway

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I'd seen The End of the Line - Rochester's Subway several years ago on The History Channel and enjoyed it enough to purchase my own VHS copy. Originally produced in 1994, the film compresses the story of Rochester, NY's ill-fated subway from its birth in the abandoned Erie Canal to its own abandonment in 1956. Along the way, it details the line's thirty years of operation with photos, film clips and interviews with people who were directly involved in its history. What impressed me most about the film was the sheer volume of images, probably because of Rochester's connection with its best-known company, Kodak. In forty-five quick minutes The End of the Line travels the first half of the twentieth century and brings us up to date on its finish. It's a great documentary of how things changed from the days of trolleys to the transportation systems of today. Near the end of the film we see rush hour cars and one bus leaving the city in the highway that replaced the canal and subway's route. Watching it made me think of this summer's hurricanes and how dependent we've all become on cars.

More than ten years after the film was produced the Subway is still in the news. During Rochester's mayoral campaign plans were announced to fill in the subway's abandoned tunnel with dirt. Suddenly, Rochester's underground history has taken a life of its own, making it all the way to the pages of The New York Times. Groups have been formed to save the tunnel and Rochester's mayoral candidates have had to back away from the fill-in plan, at least until after the election. It's a perfect time for Animatus Studio, producers of The End of the Line, to come out with a Special Edition DVD. It's a good deal for the money, since the price is the same, $29.95. But the best part is that there is so much more; forty-five minutes of new material, enough about The Rochester Subway to satisfy any railfan for a lifetime.

The extras start with the cover. The insert, made to look like a subway timetable, breaks the original film down into chapters. Flipping it over reveals a detailed map of the subway's route. This is a great aid for following the system and the extra features, which are many. But first about the film. The producers have left it exactly as it was in 1994, but the images look better on the DVD format. There is also the option of closed-captioned subtitles, which make things nice for the hard-of-hearing, or in my case, the hard-to-understand. These features enhance the original production without changing its impact or focus.

After watching the film, with it's all its what-ifs, it's a real delight to open the extras. The first one on the menu is simply called, "The Archive" and consists of over 150 still photos and other images of the subway. They go by too fast and I took the producer's suggestion to slow down my DVD player. Again, there's a subtitle option, which details the exact location of the photos.

The next feature on the menu is "The Steel Wheel", a silent color film about the subway made in 1956. As the producers explain, it has been combined with the soundtrack from a lost 1950 film about the same subject. The effect is of watching a 1950's industrial film, complete with corny stock music and a narrator who sounds like a local radio announcer. Its a little like watching "Last of the Giants" made on a much smaller budget. I especially liked the part where kids (probably the cameramen's) walk on tracks and wave as the subway passes by. How things have changed.

Next is a piece called "Prodigal Son", a combination of the story of Car 60, the subway's last surviving passenger car and Don Espenmiller, one of the last men to run it. The first part is a montage of Car 60 in operation, how it escaped the fate of its brothers, was moved several times and eventually returned home for restoration. The second part is an extended interview with Don Espenmiller seated in front of Car 60. Born in 1917, Mr. Espenmiller explains the day-to-day workings of the subway with detailed, funny and tragic stories. He also gives his own opinions on the current state of Car 60 and the subway's tunnel. It's a great piece of first-person history.

After that comes perhaps the strongest of the new features, "Motherless Child", a moody piano backed montage of the abandoned tunnel. Watching these images made me think of something from a horror movie like "Phantom of the Opera". Fans of abandoned places will love it. The montage finishes on a spider web in an abandoned station then proceeds to the most impressive feature I've seen in a railfan video. Starting from a period film clip shot inside a subway car entering the tunnel we are suddenly transformed to a point-of-view of the car itself in what must be the most bizarre and extreme head end shot ever filmed. The filmmakers managed to somehow replicate the perspective of a motorman driving through the entire mile and a half of the abandoned tunnel. Dreamlike and unreal, it is at the same time completely convincing. Only the missing tracks remind you that it is somehow impossible. The impressive stunt gives new meaning to the term, "Phantom Run" and is alone worth the price of admission.

After catching your breath, the DVD's next feature is a welcome relief. Two outtakes are presented in which the filmmakers reveal the frustrating, hilarious and sometimes dangerous steps they took to make the film.

There are a few other extras that I'll let viewers discover for themselves. Suffice it to say this DVD is a lot more than the VHS original with some extra stuff thrown in. It is a full immersion into a strange world and as much of the Rochester Subway as you'll ever need to know. I enjoyed it very much.

As originally seen on the History Channel and WXXI-TV, PBS Rochester.

Animatus Studio has remastered the original documentary (previously only available on VHS) and included 45 minutes of new features.

Soundtrack music by folk group The Dady Brothers. Additional music by renowned pianist Philip C. Carli.

THREE ALL NEW FEATURETTES

* The Steel Wheel
Experience a round trip ride on the subway as it existed in the 1950s.

* Prodigal Son - Rochester Car 60
Video of the subway's last surviving passenger car and an all new interview with one of the last motormen.

* Motherless Child - Remnants of the Subway
A look at the subway as it exists today. Includes a "phantom run" through the abandoned Broad Street tunnel.

PHOTO ARCHIVE
A library of 150 still images.

CLOSED CAPTIONING

CHAPTER SELECTION

OUTTAKES

SUBWAY MAP INSERT

Having grown up and living in the area my entire life (can't believe I've been deranged enough to spend that many winters in the Lake Ontario snow belt!), and having spent more than my share of time downing exotic drafts at the Rochester Dinosaur BBQ (awesome food!) which once served as the Court St. terminal among other things, I just had to check this video out. From where I can stand in the small parking lot of that establishment, surrounded by motorcycles and holding a cold one, I can look around and see all sorts of remnants of Rochester history going back some 90-100 years or more and much of it is related to the old subway that closed shortly before my time. It's a strange feeling when you can look at an old picture of the area where everything is absolutely unrecognizable, but yet, there's the brick on the corner of that building I was just leaning against! That said, I've gone through this video several times and have found it completely fascinating. Also completely fascinating was when, imagine my surprise while reading the credits when I realized that the narrator is someone I'd known very well for many years...yep, it's a small world alright! Walter, are you still around? I thought the price was a bit steep but I can't complain too much. It seems that about 10 years since the original production in the mid-90's, they made the effort to update and have added several extra worthwhile features including; a sped up, "phantom" ride through the present day tunnel remains - complete with sound effects, a very nice photo gallery of the Rochester area from canal town days through the building of the subway, a short video update on the last remaining car, and more. The features probably double the original content of the video, so, for the price it isn't bad. You won't find all this reminiscing and information in one package anywhere else. If you're a Rochester native and/or history buff, or if you just have this "thing" for subways and trains, you really NEED to add this to your collection.

I just bought a copy of this because I had remembered seeing it on TV. Absolutely a must see for anyone from Rochester. It's loaded with images and footage you won't see anywhere else. My family had a blast watching this. Also check out http://www.rochestersubway.com for more cool Rochester Subway stuff.

I'm not a train nut or anything, but I did live in Rochester for several years so this was a real treat. And in fact, it turns out I lived just a few blocks from one of the old subway stops! I was amazed at all of the footage the filmmakers were able to dig up. At 38 minutes, the main feature is quite short, but it also manages to pack a lot of history into its run time.

The story of Rochester's subway has all the ups and downs of a major motion picture. The storied history of the Erie Canal and how it was rerouted out of the city. What to do with the empty canal bed? Aha -- lay down train tracks and use it as a subway! The initial excitement and promises of the city leaders reminded me all too much of the recent Fast Ferry debacle. When will they ever learn? There are some surprise developments and moments of sadness in the story that really tugged at my heart strings.

The subway was an optimistic endeavor that was largely the victim of bad timing. The stock market crash of 1929 occurred just after the subway began running, then WWII, and it wasn't long before the financial woes set in. But what a great 25 years it must have been.

True, only a portion of the subway was subterranean; maybe 1 mile or so that ran through the heart of downtown. Most of it ran outside, down the bed of the old Erie canal, which today has been replaced by route 490.

The extras are also very good, and easily double the length of the DVD to 90 minutes or so. Great stills, great footage, great interviews. It's a very pleasant surprise for rail fans or anyone who's familiar with Rochester. Highly recommended!

A wonderful trip down memory lane for me and also for my family. Raised in the Rochester, NY area in the '50s, I can remember the excitement as a child riding the subway. To watch the changing scenery as Rochester changed during the course of the video brought back fond memories. For anyone with Rochester connections, I would highly reccommend this video.

As a Rochestarian, I think this is a bit of our history that we should not forget. For example, if someone proposes a new light rail system, what can we learn from the last time we tried and failed?
It's also a good general example of what happens when government tries to get involved in transportation. Sometimes it works (Erie Canal, NYC Subway) and sometimes it doesn't (Rochester Subway, Rochester-Toronto Ferry). Can we tell why?
Nice production.
I especially enjoyed the DVD extra of the promo film produced in the early 1950's.

An excellent tour through the past.