Spirit of America Bookstore

Railroad  Film  Festival
Documentaries on DVD & Online

Spirit of America's
Railroad Film Festival Pages

top of page one
books on railroad movies
collections & documentaries
railroad movies, A thru F
on page two:
railroad movies, G thru O
on page three:
railroad movies, P thru S
on page four:
railroad movies, T thru Z
        location filming on a railroad in Canada        here on page 5:


selected documentaries
(in chronological order)


TV documentaries


DVD collections



Selected  Railroad  Documentaries
browse DVDs about trains/railroads {returns 800+ titles} at Amazon

                                          

1940 'The Passenger Train' educational short film  "The Passenger Train" [E.R.P.I. 1940]
featuring B&O diesel train leaving Baltimore and AT&SF diesel train at the station at Lamy, NM (latter portion duplicated in 1954 version) Produced by Erpi Classroom Films, Arthur I. Gates PhD, and Celeste G. Peardon MA • not listed at IMDb • watch movie [11:21] online at Internet Archive
1946 'Film Series About Jobs - The Railwaymen' from U.K.  "The Railwaymen (Film Series About Jobs)" [U.K. Crown Film Unit 1946]
Produced for The Ministry of Transport by the Central Office of Information; starring G&W locomotive 5066 'Wardour Castle'
not listed on IMDb • watch complete b&w film [21:45] at YouTube
Desert Empire theatrical promo film for D&RGW Railroad  "Desert Empire" [Universal Pictures Commercial Dept. 1948]
29-minute travelogue film by the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad filled with Utah history and scenery from the 1940s; featuring D&RGW trains {D&RGW 4-8-4 locomotive #1803}, Arches Monument, 'enough coal to supply the United States for 250 years', farming & irrigation, copper mining, Black Rock Beach, salt beds, and a Salt Lake Tabernacle organ recital • Produced by Robert M. Connell for the D&RGW Railroad; directed by Carlton T. Sills; narrated by Don Wilson
Quality Information Publrs b&w DVD [2009] for $10.99 + s/h via Amazon third party
Quality Information Publrs b&w DVD [2009] for $10.99 + s/h via Amazon third party
not listed at IMDb • watch full movie [29:40] online at YouTube

"Trains - Wheels A-Rolling: 100 Years of American Railroad Progress" [1948]
color title for 'Trains Wheels A-Rolling' color documentary film of 1948  
souvenir 1949 Official Guide Book of the 'Wheels A-Rolling' Pageant - cover price 15 cents  
Promotional theatrical film for the Chicago Railroad Fair of 1948 and 1949; includes the Pageant as performed each day, featuring Henry Ford's 1829 "Rocket" replica; 1831 "John Bull" (1927 B&O replica); 1830 "Best Friend of Charleston" replica; "DeWitt Clinton" (N.Y.C.R.R. 1893 replica); 1837 4-2-0 "Lafayette" (B&O 1927 replica); 1830 "Tom Thumb" (1927 B&O replica); 1832 "Atlantic" (1892 replica); original 1832 4-2-0 "Pioneer" & tender & coach; original 1856 B&O 4-4-0 locomotive #25 "William Mason" (Lincoln funeral train); Rock Island construction train; U.P.R.R. 4-4-0 #119 (modified 1892 CB&Q #35); Central Pacific 4-4-0 "Jupiter" (modi-fied 1873 Virginia & Truckee RR 'Genoa'); AT&SF loco and two yellow coaches; 1892 Burlington 4-6-0 loco #637; Porter 0-4-0T Northern Pacific Railway #1 "Minnetonka"; 1861 St. Paul & Pacific RR 4-4-0 loco #1 "William Crooks" & combine & coach; horse-drawn Chicago City Railway Archer Avenue streetcar #10; self-powered cable car; Empire State Express locomotive #999 & green coach; several early motorcars & firetruck; 1905 Chicago & Eastern Illinois 4-4-2 loco #222 & maroon coach; 1934 CB&Q streamline Pioneer Zephyr" diesel railcar; C&EI diesel locomotive set #1403; Burlington diesel locomotive set #129 — along with any number of horses and buggies and wagons and stagecoaches Produced by Lenox R. Lohr & D.M. MacMaster; written by Edward Hungerford; directed by Helen Tieken Geraghty; narrated by Gilbert Reade & Judith Jeffrey, with Aristedes Copulos as Abraham Lincoln {at 15:00}
not listed at IMDb • watch movie [33:46] online at YouTube

1954 'The Passenger Train' educational short film  "The Passenger Train (Second Edition)" [E.B. Films 1954]
Young Bobby Watson travels alone on the Santa Fe Chief streamliner from Kansas City to Lamy, New Mexico to spend the summer on his uncle's ranch
Produced by Encyclopaedia Britannica Films, Milan Herzog, and Ernest Horn PhD
not listed at IMDb • watch movie [10:47] online at Internet Archive

"Last of The Giants: Union Pacific's Big Boys" [1959]
Volume I: color documentary about the famed Union Pacific 'Big Boy' steam locomotives, the largest ever run on
American rails; Volume II: The shops and yards at Cheyenne, Wyoming described by Steve Lee, U.P. Manager of
Steam Operations; Volume III: trains climbing Sherman Hill, from 16mm footage shot between 1955 & 1958

http://www.amazon.com/Americas-Railroads-Steam-Legacy-Giants/dp/B0053A0BC4/
http://www.amazon.com/Last-Giants-Pacific-Historical-Society/dp/B00456NU3O/
http://www.amazon.com/Last-Giants-Union-Pacifics-Boys/dp/B001KTWWBA/
http://www.amazon.com/Last-Giants-Vol-Cheyenne-Shops/dp/B003SEQV8U/
http://www.amazon.com/Sherman-Hill-Last-Giants-III/dp/B002NDVQOG/

"Black Five: The Last Days of Steam" [1967-70]
Black Five docufilms about British steam railways  Three color shorts by Paul Barnes from the British Film Institute; includes 22-minute color short "Black Five" [B.F.I. 1968] { IMDb }, with poignant voice-overs by the men around Carnforth Station in Lancashire (the setting for David Lean’s "Brief Encounter" [1945] romance) who were facing great change in their lives, their reminiscences an elegy to a time now gone by, their skills no longer needed to operate and maintain the heavy iron beasts. DVD also contains: 21-minute "The Painter and The Engines" [B.F.I. 1967] { IMDb }, which follows painter David Shepherd’s race against time to record on canvas the magic and romance of steam during the locomotives’ last weeks at South London’s Nine Elms sheds; and 11-minute "King George V" [National Coal Board 1970] { IMDb }, which charts the history of the celebrated locomotive that was taken out of service in 1965 but offered a length of siding at H.P. Bulmers Cider [est. 1887] of Hereford to continue running, in steam. • Region 1 VHS/DVD not available

Sacramento Railfair 1991 on DVD  "Sacramento Railfair 1991" [Pentrex 1991]
60-minute main documentary, plus 20-minutes of shorts showing trains traveling to Railfest 91
Exec produced by Gary Tomsic; co-written & directed by Berry Landen; co-produced & co-written by Herb A. Lightman; co-written by Dan Blackburn; hosted by Hoyt Axton; featuring Walter P. Gray, director of the California State Railroad Museum [est. 1981]
color DVD available at Train Video Depot [1991] for $9.95 + s/h
full credits at IMDbwatch full movie [5/2015 upload; 1:03:45] online at YouTube
Great American Circus & Show Trains video  "Great American Circus & Show Trains" [Pentrex 1999]
105-minute documentary that includes footage of the formerly-annual Circus World Museum loadup & move from Baraboo to Milwaukee, Wisconsin and of the 61-car James E. Strates Carnival train.
Pentrex color DVD [10/99] out of prodn/used
Pentrex color VHS [10/99] for $41.29
more on Spirit of America Bookstore's 'The American Circus' Page
see also Spirit of America Bookstore's Circus Film Festival
Catching Out documentary film  "Catching Out: A Film About Trainhopping and Living Free" [indep Aug 2003]
A grant in 1995 for a documentary about contemporary hoboes made director Sarah George an enthusatic rider of the rails; she continued filming and riding for seven years, completed the film, then rode around the country by rail to exhibit the film; she has so far logged 10,000 miles by freight train. Co-produced & directed by Sarah George; interviewees include Duffy Littlejohn, Fred Northbank, Isaiah, Jessica, Lee, Luther the Jet & hobo couple Baby Girl & Switch
Microcinema color DVD [6/2008] for $22.49
full credits at IMDbofficial movie site

"Train Life" documentary short [2006] /tt0814359/
http://www.maxpictures.com/trainlife/home.html

"Mechanic To Millionaire: The Peter Cooper Story" [G.D.G. March 2009]
Mechanic To Millionaire / The Peter Cooper Story documentary  Inventer & entrepreneur Peter Cooper [1791-1883] built the Tom Thumb locomotive in 1830 for the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, then sold them the iron rail that they needed to run it; three-part docudrama covering Cooper's early life, his businesses, and his late-life philanthropy.
Produced & directed by Janet P. Gardner; written by Elena Mannes; starring Richard Brundage
indep widescreen color DVD [11/2015] for $29.95
full credits at IMDbofficial movie site

"Steamin' Summer" documentary films [2011]
Steamin' Summer Volume 1 on DVD  Volume 1 91-minute color film; Part 1: The Little River Railroad [est. 1975] in Coldwater, Michigan threw an impressive three-day party for their 100-year-old Baldwin 4-6-2 steam locomotive #110; 1908 0-4-0T tank engine Little River Railroad #1 was joined by three visiting tank engines: Viscose Company #6, Flagg Coal #75, and Lehigh Valley Coal #126; the first two days featured four daily trips between Coldwater and Quincy and a longer trip to Hillsdale, Michigan pulled by #110; on the third day, all five engines teamed up to power two spectacular Quincy trips. Part 2: the three visiting tank engines were carefully loaded on special trucks and shipped as heavy loads over the highway to the four-day Rock Island Train Festival {see below}
Directed & edited by Steve Mitchell
Yard Goat Images color DVD [11/2011] out of prodn/used
watch 11/2011 official promo [2:18] online at Vimeo
Steamin' Summer Volume 2 on DVD  Volume 2 80-minute color film; Part 1: QJs to Rock Island - Iowa Interstate Railroad’s two Chinese 2-10-2 QJ steam locomotives traveled to the festival as a double-header, the first day with a passenger consist from Newton to Iowa City; the next day they brought a record-setting 55 car freight train to Rock Island; Part 2: N.K.P. 765 to Rock Island - a portion of 1944 Nickel Plate 2-8-4 Berkshire steam locomotive #765‘s journey across Indiana on the Toledo, Peoria & Western Railway; Part 3: The Silver Creek & Stephenson Railroad is a Freeport, Illinois operating railroad museum that conveniently scheduled a Photographer’s Special between the events at Little River Railroad and the Rock Island Train Festival; great steam action provided by a 1912 Heisler #2, plus a 1945 Brookville diesel 'critter' #5 and other equipment; Part 4: Rock Island Train Festival, Days 1 & 2 - one-time event that brought together 7 steam locomotives, historic & modern diesels, and much more to a riverside site in Rock Island, Illinois; festival featured daily steam trips to Walcott, Iowa and all-day trips to other destinations pulled by steam and diesel, here featuring Day 1 Walcott trips pulled by NKP #765 and QJ #6988 from onboard and trackside, and the Day 2 all-day Bureau, Illinois excursion with #765 ; also the excitement on the festival grounds and a cab ride in #765
Directed & edited by Steve Mitchell
Yard Goat Images color DVD [11/2011] out of prodn/used
watch 11/2011 official promo [3:43] online at Vimeo
Steamin' Summer Volume 3 on DVD  Volume 3 87-minute color film; Part 1: Rock Island Train Festival, Days 3 & 4 - features QJ 6988 with an all-day run to Iowa City and QJ 7081 on two Walcott, Iowa trips on Day 3; Day 4 coverage begins with the historic 1936 diesel-powered Nebraska Zephyr trainset on an all-day journey to Bureau Junction, Illinois and the afternoon Walcott trip; festival ground action includes late Day 4 locomotive movements as trains are made up for journeys home for #765 and the QJs; Part 2: 765 Travels Home - the beautiful Lima steam locomotive travels across Illinois to Logansport, Indiana with its passenger consist; Part 3: The QJs Return to Newton, Iowa - a high-speed chase across Iowa as the QJ steam locomotives double-head home pulling two Iowa Interstate business cars and a short freight train; Part 4: Steam at Monticello - the Monticello Railway Museum [est. 1966] in Illinois operates 1907 Southern Railway 2-8-0 steam locomotive #401 one weekend per month • Directed & edited by Steve Mitchell
Yard Goat Images color DVD [11/2011] out of prodn/used
watch 11/2011 official promo [3:10] online at Vimeo

Golden Spike 150th Anniversary Celebration, May 2019
Union Pacific 4-8-8-4 'Big Boy' steam locomotive #4014 was certified as fully restored on 1 May 2019; short test runs took place at Cheyenne, Wyoming on May 1st & 2nd; then very confident U.P. hooked up three locomotives and 9 cars which took off for Ogden, Utah; the consist was: U.P. steam locomotive #4014 + extra tender Jim Adams #809; U.P. 4-8-4 Northern steam locomotive #844 + extra tender #814; EMD SD70 diesel locomotive #8936; and 9 cars (which changed order several times): Omaha car #200, Willie James combo #202, Art Lockman REA baggage #207, Lynn Nystrom baggage #5714, coach, Howard Ross #208, City of San Francisco dome car #9309, Overland dining car #304, Idaho rear window lounge #203.

"Union Pacific 4014 First Test Run on May 2": watch video [13:53] online at YouTube
"Big Boy #4014 UP #844 Double-Header Cheyenne to Rawlins, Wyoming": watch video [21:26] online at YouTube
"Big Boy #4014 UP #844 Double-Header Rawlins to Rock Springs, Wyoming": watch video [15:35] online at YouTube
"Big Boy 4014 and 844 Double-Header Steam Locomotives to Ogden": watch video [16:45] online at YouTube
"2019 Union Pacific Big Boy 4014 The Great Race to Ogden - Fifth Day": watch video [24:28] online at YouTube
"The Golden Spike 150th Anniversary Celebration at Ogden": watch 5/10/2019 video [5:56] online at YouTube

photo at May 10th ceremony for Transcontinetal 150th Anniversary at U.P. Ogden, Utah         photo at May 10th ceremony for Transcontinetal 150th Anniversary at Promontory Point, Utah

"All Trains in Walt Disney's Animated Films, 1923-1967" [11/2020 upload; 22:43] at YouTube

Compiled by railfan Walt's Nephew; "Puss In Boots" [1922]; "Alice's Wonderland" [1923]; "Alice's Tin Pony" [1925]; "Trolley Trouble" [1927] = oswald rabbit; "Silly Symphony: Midnight In A Toyshop" [1930] (non-train clip); "Hungry Hobos" [1928]; "Mickey's Choo-Choo" sound cartoon [1929]; "Mickey's Orphans" [1931]; "Mickey's Good Deed" [1932]; "Santa's Workshop" [1932]; "The Night Before Christmas" [1933]; "Mickey's Steamroller" [1934]; "The Cookie Carnival" [1935 color]; "The Country Cousin" [1936 color]; "Donald's Ostrich" [1937 color]; "Snow White animated color feature [1937]; "Mickey's Trailer" [1938 color]; "Mr. Mouse Takes A Trip" [1940 color]; "Baggage Buster" [1941 color] = goofy; "Timber" [1941 color]; "The Reluctant Dragon" [1941 b&w]; "Dumbo" animated color feature [1941]; "Donald's Gold Mine" [1942 color]; "How To Swim" [1942 color] = goofy; "Victory Through Air Power" animated color feature [1943]; "Victory Vehicles" [1943 color] = goofy; "The Plastics Inventor" [1944 color] = donald; "Donald's Day Off" [1944 color]; "The Three Caballeros" [1945 color]; "Hockey Homicide" [1945 color] (non-train clip); "Make Mine Music" [1946 color]; "Fun and Fancy Free" [1947 color]; "Adventures of Ichabod & Mr. Toad" [1949 color]; "Tinker Toys" [1949 color] = donald + chip & dale; "The Brave Engineer" [1950 color]; "Motor Mania" [1950 color] = goofy; "Cold War" [1951 color] = goofy; "Fathers Are People" [1951 color] = goofy; "Out of Scale" [1951 color] = donald + chip & dale; "Susie The Little Blue Coupe" [1952 color]; "The Little House" [1952 color]; "Two Weeks Vacation" [1952 color] = goofy; "How To Be A Detective" [1952 color]; "Adventures In Music" [1953 color]; "How To Sleep" [1953 color] = goofy; "Spare The Rod" [1954 color]; "Casey Bats Again" [1954 color]; "Pigs Is Pigs" [1954 color]; "Social Lion" [1954 color]; "Lady and The Tramp" animated color feature [1955]; "Bearly Asleep" [1955]; "How To Have An Accident In The Home" [1956] = donald; "A Cowboy Needs A Horse" [1956]; "Our Friend the Atom" [1957]; "The Story of Anyburg, USA" [1957]; "Magic Highway, USA" [1958]; "Paul Bunyan" [1958]; "Donald In Mathmagic Land" [1959]; "Donald and The Wheel" [1961]; () "The Sword In The Stone" animated color feature [1963]; "EPCOT" [1967]; and "Scrooge McDuck and Money" [1967]

lots more info on Walt Disney's love of railroad trains on the
Walt Disney's Trains Page at Magic Lantern


Railroad  Documentaries  on  Television
browse DVDs about trains/railroads {returns 800+ titles} at Amazon

                                          

"The National Dream" TV miniseries [Canada March-April 1974]
8-episode Canadian 1974 TV miniseries 'The National Dream'  Non-fiction account of the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the 1880s, 'written with the panache of a good novel, bringing the personalities and historical events to vivid life'. The eight episode titles are: "The Great Lone Land", "The Pacific Scandal", "The Horrid B.C. Business", "The Great Debate", "The Railway General", "The Sea of Mountains", "The Desperate Days", and "The Last Spike". There has never been a home video release, but it is available to educational institutions on DVD by special license from the C.B.C. • Produced by James Murray; directed by James Murray & Eric Till; written by William Whitehead & Timothy Findley, based on two books by Pierre Berton; hosted by Pierre Berton; starring John Colicos, Gillie Fenwick, William Hutt, Joseph Shaw, Gerard Parkes & Chris Wiggins
series credits at IMDbseries entry at Wikipedia
double book 'The National Dream' & 'The Last Spike' by Pierre Berton  
"The National Dream / The Last Spike" double book [1974] by Pierre Berton
McClelland & Stewart 8¼x5¼ pb [1974] out of print/40+ used
McClelland & Stewart 10x7 pb [1974] out of print/scarce
American edition "The Impossible Railway: The Building of The Canadian Pacific" [1972]
Alfred A. Knopf 9½x6¾ hardcover [1972] out of print/50+ used
National Dream / Great Railway 1871–1881 book by Pierre Berton  "The National Dream: The Great Railway, 1871–1881" [1970] by Pierre Berton
The leaders of the 4-year-old nation of Canada decided to build a transcontinental railroad across its mostly-unexplored territory; the population was then below 4 million, and the cost of the railroad projected to be $2 million - a truly reckless vision for the future of Canada.
Kindle Edition from Anchor Canada/Random House [6/2011] for $13.00
Anchor Canada 9x6 pb [8/2001] for $21.51
McClelland & Stewart 9¾x6¼ hardcover [1971] out of print/80+ used
book entry at Wikipedia
The Last Spike / Great Railway 1881-1885 book by Pierre Berton  "The Last Spike: The Great Railway, 1881-1885" [1971] by Pierre Berton
The 2,000 miles of track west of Ontario was completed in an astonishing five years and united the new nation of Canada; hurdles overcome included the terrain, bankruptcy, land speculation, and the Riel Rebellion.
Kindle Edition from Anchor Canada/Random House [12/2010] for $11.07
Anchor Canada 9x6 pb [8/2001] for $11.65
McClelland & Stewart 9½x6½ hardcover [1971] out of print/70+ used
McClelland & Stewart 9x6½ hardcover [1971] out of print/used
book entry at Wikipedia
                                          

"Great Railway Journeys (of The World)" TV series [BBC-TV 1980-1999]
no BBC-TV official website • series at Wikipedia

Season 1 [Oct-Dec 1980]: short promo & seven episodes • season credits at IMDb
filmed in Australia, Europe, Great Britain, India, South Africa, South America, and U.S.A.

"Great Little Railways" [Feb-March 1983]: seven episodes • season credits at IMDb
filmed in Alaska & Canada, Ecuador, Greece, India, Philippines, Portugal, and Poland

Season 2 [Jan-Feb 1994]: six episodes • season credits at IMDb
filmed in Asia, Ireland, Pakistan, Russia, South Africa, and South America

Season 3 [Sept-Oct 1996]: seven episodes • season credits at IMDb
filmed in Africa, Argentina, Canada, Europe, Great Britain, South Africa, and Syria & Jordan

Season 4 [Jan-April 1999]: seven episodes • season credits at IMDb
filmed in Africa, Cuba, India, Japan, Mexico, Southeast Asia, and Spain

Great Railway Journeys of The World on VHS & DVD  "Great Railway Journeys of The World" [2009]
CAVEAT: same title, but not at all related to the BBC-TV series
Delta color DVD [2009] out of prodn/used

"Great Railway Journeys of The World 6-Pack" [1994]
six BBC-TV first-year episodes, run time 300 minutes
Image Ent. color VHS box set [11/94] 6 tapes - out of prodn/used

Great Railway Journeys of The World book from the B.B.C.  "Great Railway Journeys of The World" [B.B.C. Books 1981]
by Michael Frayn, Ludovic Kennedy, Miles Kington, Michael Palin, Eric Robson, Brian Thompson, and Michael Wood

Crown Publns 8½x7½ pb [9/81] out of print/many used
E.P. Dutton, Inc. hardcover [9/82] out of print/60+ used
Crown Publns 8½x7½ hardcover [9/81] out of print/used
Great Little Railways book from the B.B.C.  "Great Little Railways" [B.B.C. Books 1984]
by Russell Chamberlin, Colin Garrat, Peter Hillmore, Simon Hoggart, Stanley Reynolds, Lyn Webster & Michael Wood

B.B.C. Books 8¾x7½ hardcover [5/84] out of print/used
Great Railway Journeys book from the B.B.C.  "Great Railway Journeys" [B.B.C. Books 1994]
by Clive Anderson, Natalia Makarova, Rian Malan, Michael Palin, Lisa St. Aubin de Teran, and Mark Tully, with photographs by Tom Owen Edmunds

Penguin Books, Ltd. 7¾x5 pb [7/95] out of print/used
B.B.C. Books 11¼x8¾ hardcover [8/94] out of print/50+ used
More Great Railway Journeys book from the B.B.C.  "More Great Railway Journeys" [B.B.C. Books 1996]
by Benedict Allen, Chris Bonington, Henry Louis Gates, Buck Henry, Ben Okri, Alexi Sayle, and Victoria Wood, with photographs by Tom Owen Edmunds

Penguin Books, Ltd. 7¾x5 pb [12/97] out of print/used
B.B.C. Books 10x7½ hardcover [9/96] out of print/used
                                          

"Tracks Ahead" half-hour TV series [PBS/Milwaukee Public TV 1990-2012]
logo for Milwaukee Public TV's 'Tracks Ahead' series  Sporadic half-hour TV series that was broadcast for eight seasons from 1990 to 2012, for a total of 107 episodes; very successful series: shown on over 200 P.B.S. stations & won 3 awards at World-Fest Houston; hosted by Spencer Christian & others; original title of first season was "On Track"; multiple segments per episode, a mix of commercial railroads (historic & modern), model rail-roads, foreign railroads, and railroad stations & equipment; some individual episodes are available on Instant Video and on DVD at Amazon; some complete seasons were issued on DVD
series credits at IMDbMPTV official website

Modern Marvels Transcontinental Railroad video from History Channel  "Modern Marvels: Transcontinental Railroad" [History Channel Jan 1995]
The transcontinental railroad project was unprecedented in both size and scope, from the time the first spike was driven into the ground to the modern rail transportation system as we know it today.
Narrated by Harlan Saperstein
A&E Home Video color DVD [12/2006] for $22.49
full credits at IMDb
Railroads That Tamed The West video from History Channel  "Modern Marvels: Railroads That Tamed The West" [History Channel Feb 1996]
After completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869, millions of acres of territory were still virtually unreachable; to conquer these new lands, thousands of miles of new rails were laid in the late 1800's, opening the West to settlement, commerce & exploitation. Narrated by Harlan Saperstein
A&E Home Video color DVD [12/2005] for $13.99
full credits at IMDb
                                          

"Trains Unlimited" [History Channel 1997-98]

'Trains Unlimited' TV series on History Channel  
Hour-long documentary TV series of possibly 26 episodes,
some are available on VHS/DVD, as below
{listed alphabetically here due to scant info}

series credits at IMDb • no entry at Wikipedia
"Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe" [undated]

"Built For Speed" [undated] • credits at IMDb
A&E Home Video VHS [1/2001] for $15.00

Trains Unlimited episode 'The Caboose'  "Trains Unlimited: The Caboose" [History Channel May 1998]
Narrated by Danny Dark
A&E Home Video color VHS [8/2001] list $15.95 - sold out
credits at IMDbwatch full episode [1/2018 upload; 47:13] online at YouTube

"The Circus Train" [undated]
A&E Home Video VHS [8/2001] for $15.95

"The Engineers" [S2, Ep11 - July 1998] • credits at IMDb

"Grand Central" [undated]
A&E Home Video VHS [8/2001] for $4.28

"Great Railroad Visionaries" [S2, Ep10 - July 1998] • credits at IMDb
A&E Home Video 50-minute DVD-R [4/2006] for $24.95

"Great Train Disasters" [undated] • credits at IMDb
A&E Home Video DVD-R [5/2006] for $15.93
A&E Home Video 50-minute VHS [8/2001] for $35.00

"Model Railroads" [undated] • credits at IMDb

"The New York Central: The Water Level Route" [S2, Ep7 - May 1998] • credits at IMDb
A&E Home Video 50-minute VHS [8/2001] for $8.89

"Pennsylvania Station" [undated] • credits at IMDb

"Power and Speed: Diesel Locomotives" [undated] • not listed on IMDb
A&E Home Video 50-minute DVD-R [7/2008] for $24.95

"The Pullman Palace Cars" [undated]

"Railroad Police" [undated] • not listed on IMDb
A&E Home Video 50-minute DVD-R [4/2006] for $24.95
A&E Home Video 50-minute VHS [8/2001] for $6.93

"Railway Marvels" [undated] • credits at IMDb
A&E Home Video 50-minute DVD-R [4/2006] for $24.95
A&E Home Video 50-minute VHS [8/2001] for $13.00

"Steam Trains" [S1, Ep7 - Oct. 1997] • credits at IMDb
A&E Home Video 50-minute VHS [4/2006] out of prodn/used

"Stokin' The Fires: What Makes Trains Go" [undated] • credits at IMDb
A&E Home Video 50-minute DVD-R [4/2006] for $24.95
A&E Home Video 50-minute VHS [8/2001] for $15.00

"Streamliners" [undated] • credits at IMDb

"Trains In War" [S1, Ep6 Oct 1997] • credits at IMDb
A&E Home Video 50-minute DVD-R [7/2008] for $24.95
A&E Home Video 50-minute VHS [8/2001] for $19.99

"Trans-Canadian Railway" [undated] • not listed on IMDb
A&E Home Video 50-minute DVD-R [4/2006] for $24.95

"Urban Trains" [undated] • not listed on IMDb
A&E Home Video 50-minute DVD-R [4/2006] for $24.95
A&E Home Video 50-minute VHS [8/2001] for $19.95

"The Wabash Cannonball" [undated] • credits at IMDb
A&E Home Video 50-minute DVD-R [4/2006] for $24.95
A&E Home Video 50-minute VHS [8/2001] for $11.99

"When Giants Roamed: The Golden Age of Steam" [undated] • credits at IMDb
A&E Home Video DVD [7/2005] for $20.58
A&E Home Video VHS [8/2001] for $7.41

                                          

Riding The Rails episode of 'American Experience'  "American Experience: Riding The Rails" [P.B.S. April 1998]
The Great Depression forced four million Americans away from their homes and onto the railroads in search of food & lodging; of this number, a disturbing 250,000 were children. Filmmakers interview now-aged survivors of that time and of that transient lifestyle. Co-produced, co-written & co-directed by Lexy Lovell & Michael Uys; narrated by Richard Thomas; won a Peabody Award, won DGA Outstanding Director-Documentary Award; won 3 awards at Canyonlands Film Festival & Silver Hugo at Chicago; won award at Great Plains Film Festival, Heartland Film Festival, WorldFest Houston
P.B.S. color DVD [2/2003] for $12.99
WGBH-TV Boston color VHS [3/2000] out of prodn/used
full credits at IMDbofficial movie site

ugly cover for Train On The Brain docufilm DVD  "Train On The Brain: The Ultimate Railroad Movie" [I.B.A. Channel 4 2000]
British filmmaker Alison Murray rode the rails across Canada and the U.S.A. gathering footage for this 50-minute documentary, which shows the beauty and the freedom and the danger of life along the rails, with the music of Beck in the background
Hollywood Can Suck It! color DVD [6/2008] out of prodn/used
bare credits at IMDb
American Experience Transcontinental Railroad video from PBS  "American Experience: Transcontinental Railroad" [P.B.S. Jan 2003]
A fascinating look at one of the most spectacular engineering feats of the XIXth Century, as legions of tireless workers toiled for six years to realize the vision of imaginative engineers and shady entrepreneurs. Co-produced, written & co-directed by Mark Zwonitzer: co-directed by Michael Chin; narrator Michael Murphy
PBS Home Video color DVD [6/2006] for $22.49
PBS Home Video color VHS [2/2003] out of prodn/used
full credits at IMDbPBS official movie site

Mark Williams On The Rails 2004 TV series  "Mark Williams: On The Rails" TV series [Discovery Channel U.K. 2004]
12-episode half-hour TV series celebrating 200 years of railways; hosted by Mark Williams; episode titles are: "Cornish Steam Giant", "The Carriage Kings", "Moving Mountains", "Rocketmen", "Brunel", "George Stephen-son", "Death On The Tracks", "Big Country", "Speed & Power", "Out of Steam", "Going Under-ground", and "Diesel Generation"
Region 1 DVD not available • bare credits at IMDb
Modern Marvels episode Freight Trains (generic cover)  "Modern Marvels: Freight Trains" Season 12, Episode 33 [History Sept 2006]
50-minute color documentary, details absent
A&E Direct color DVD [9/2006] for $24.98
credits at IMDb

"Fred Dibnah's World of Steam, Steel and Stone" TV series [BBC-TV 2006-2007]
Fred Dibnah's World of Steam, Steel and Stone on DVD  twelve half-hour color episodes: #1 "The Industrial Landscape", July 2006; #2 "Backstreet Mechanic", July 2006; #3 "The Machines That Changed The World", July 2006; #4 "Men of Iron", Aug 2006; #5 "The Victorian Gentleman", Aug 2006; #6 "Preserving Our Past", Aug 2006; #7 "All Steamed Up", Aug 2006; #8 "Riches Beneath The Earth", Aug 2006; #9 "Changing The Landscape", Sept 2006; #10 "Great British Builders", Sept 2006; #11 "Masters of Their Trade", Sept 2006; and #12 "A Good Day's Work", April 2007 • Produced & directed by David Hall; featuring host Fred Dibnah MBE, widow Sheila Dibnah, brother Graham Dibnah
series credits at IMDbFred Dibnah entry at Wikipedia
Acorn Media DVD [2013] 6 disks - out of prodn/used
B.B.C. Home Video DVD [2013] 2 disks - out of prodn/used

"Fred Dibnah's Railway Collection" video release [BBC-TV/Acorn Media 2008-2009]
Fred Dibnah's Railway Collection video release from Acorn Media   compiled from unused sections of footage & narration from several previous Fred Dibnah BBC-TV documen-taries; fifteen half-hour color episodes: #1 "The Early Pioneers", Aug 2008; #2 "The First Railways"; #3 "Chang-ing The Landscape"; #4 "Brunel and The Great Western"; #5 "The Great Days of Steam"; #6 "Railway Preser-vation"; #7 "Historic Railways"; #8 "Narrow Gauge Railways"; #9 "Ffestiniog Railway"; #10 "The Main Line Experience"; #11 "Bluebell Railway"; #12 "Railway Yards and Workshops"; #13 "Midland Railway"; #14 "Severn Valley Railway"; and #15 "Great Central Railway"
Co-produced & directed by David Hall; hosted by Fred Dibnah [1938-2004] • bare credits at IMDb
DVD/Blu-ray not available •

Modern Marvels episode Locomotives (generic cover)  "Modern Marvels: Locomotives" Season 14, Episode 11 [History April 2008]
50-minute color documentary, details absent
A&E Direct color DVD [5/2009] for $24.98
credits at IMDbwatch full episode [44:51] free online at History Channel
Ian Hislop Goes Off the Rails BBC-TV special  "Ian Hislop Goes Off The Rails" [BBC-TV Oct 2008]
hour-long color TV documentary that examines the effect of the Beeching railway closures of the 1960s and whether Beeching and the government ministers made the right decision • Co-produced & directed by Deborah Lee; hosted by Ian Hislop; featuring Richard Morant {reading extracts}, Charles Loft, historian Christian Wolmar, Jonathan Glancey, John Nunneley, Lord Bill Bradshaw, Richard Marsh, Madge Elliott, Trevor Knight, Rod Thompson, with archive footage of Richard Beeching, Ernest Marples, Tony Hancock, Harold Macmillan, Harold Wilson, John Betjeman • full credits at IMDb
DVD/Blu-ray not available • watch full movie [1/2011 playlist of six parts] online at YouTube

Between the Lines: Railways In Fiction and Film BBC-TV show  "Between The Lines: Railways In Fiction and Film" [Oct 2008]
episode of "Time Shift" [BBC-TV 2002-2013]

Hour-long examination of the literary attitudes about railways and locomotives, from fear in the 1850s to admiration in the late 1800s and thru both World Wars, to final decline in the 1950s • Co-produced & directed by Sebastian Barfield; written & hosted by Andrew Martin; featuring editor Peter Ashley, author Ian Jack & historian Christian Wolmar
DVD/Blu-ray not available • full credits at IMDbofficial BBC-TV movie site

"The Bullet Train Story" [2004 TV] /tt0827205/
aka "Shinkansen wo Tsukutta Otokotachi"

"Modern Marvels: Bullet Trains" [History 2008]
http://www.amazon.com/History----Modern-Marvels-Bullet/dp/B001CU95QC/
http://www.amazon.com/Bullet-Trains-Modern-Marvels/dp/B000CDO2NQ/ = vhs

"Bullet Trains" [History 2009]
http://www.amazon.com/Bullet-Trains-Artist-Not-Provided/dp/B001AD8ON6/

                                          

"Great British Railway Journeys" TV series [B.B.C. Two 2010-2015]
Half-hour TV episodes hosted by Michael Portillo using the 1863 "Bradshaw's Handbook" – Britain's first national tourist guide
specifically organized around railway journeys – as source, showing what has changed on each route in 150 years.
official websiteseries entry at Wikipedia

Season 1 [Jan 2010] 20 episodes: BBC2 episode guidecredits at IMDb
Season 2 [Jan-Feb 2011] 30 episodes: BBC2 episode guidecredits at IMDb
Season 3 [Jan-Feb 2012] 20 episodes: BBC2 episode guidecredits at IMDb
Season 4 [Jan-Feb 2013] 25 episodes: BBC2 episode guidecredits at IMDb
Season 5 [Jan 2014] 20 episodes: BBC2 episode guidecredits at IMDb
Season 6 [Jan 2015] 20 episodes: BBC2 episode guidecredits at IMDb

host Michael Portillo at a train station   Season 1: BBC2 color DVD [2011] 4 disks - out of prodn/used
Season 2 not available on Region 1 DVD
Season 3: DVD [2013] 5 disks - out of prodn/used
Bradshaw's Handbook from 1863  "Bradshaw's Handbook" [W.J. Adams of London 1863]
Britain's first national tourist guide specifically organized around railway journeys;
developed by George Bradshaw [1801-1853] and continued after his death until 1961.

Kindle Edition from Old House Books [3/2012] - 'pricing info not available'
Old House Books 6x7¼ hardcover [7/2012] for $13.49
                                          

"Great Continental Railway Journeys" TV series [B.B.C. Two 2012-2014]
One-hour and half-hour TV episodes hosted by Michael Portillo using the 1913 "Bradshaw's Guide To European Rail Travel" as source,
showing what has changed on each route in 100 years. Each season was originally broadcast as full-hour episodes which were later
re-broadcast as half-hour 'Part 1' and 'Part 2' episodes.
official websiteseries entry at Wikipedia

Season 1 [Nov-Dec 2012] 5 episodes: BBC2 episode guide'Reversions' episode guidecredits at IMDb
Season 2 [Oct-Dec 2013] 6 episodes: BBC2 episode guide'Reversions' episode guidecredits at IMDb
Season 3 [Nov-Dec 2014] 6 episodes: BBC2 episode guidecredits at IMDb

Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide book  "Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide and General Handbook: Illustrated, With Local and Other Maps - Special Edition 3/6" [1913]
ABRIDGED Kindle Edition from Shire Books [1/2013] for $9.99
Old House Books hardcover [9/2012] out of print/used
Old House Books 7x5 hardcover [9/2012] out of print/used
Michael Portillo across the river from The Parliament Building in Budapest, Hungary  "Great Continental Railway Journeys" [2015] by Michael Portillo
Simon & Schuster hardcover [10/2015] for $19.72
                                          

"The Amtrak Acela Express" TV documentary [indep Sept 2014]
poster for Amtrak's Acela Express Boston to DC   Amtrak's Acela Express high-speed trains run daily from Boston to New York to Philadelphia to Washington, DC in six hours; the twenty dedicated trainsets complete 35 long & short trips every day at up to 150 mph (280 kph) • not listed on IMDb
watch full movie [9/2014 upload; 42:53] online at YouTube
                                          

"Amtrak Announces Avelia Liberty Express" TV promo [Amtrak Aug 2016]
newest 5th generation rail technology could be in use on Northeast Corridor in 2021
watch 8/2016 short promo ad [3:48] online at YouTube


Railroad  Documentary  Collections
browse DVDs about trains/railroads {returns 800+ titles} at Amazon

                                          

Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Freight Train on DVD  "Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Freight Train" on DVD [1990]
A two-day special 'San Juan Express' excursion was set up in September 1990 for railfan photographers on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad along the border between Colorado and New Mexico, with coal-fired Baldwin-built 2-8-2 Mikado locomotive #488 at the head, and frequent stops for full-steam run-bys • no entry on IMDb
Pentrex 1-hour color DVD [undated] out of prodn/used

Great American Train Rides, Volumes 1-4 on DVD or VHS  "Great American Train Rides" Volumes 1-4 [1999]
240 minutes on four tapes or on 2 DVDs •• Volume 1 shows Western tourist sites Yreka Western RR and the Portola Railroad Museum in California, Virginia & Tuckee RR and Nevada Northern Railway Museum in Nevada, the Golden Spike National Historic Site in Utah, and the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge RR, Manitou & Pike's Peak Railway, and Georgetown Loop RR in Colorado •• Volume 2 features California Western RR, Napa Valley Wine Train, Railtown 1897, Roaring Camp & Big Trees Narrow Gauge RR, the Santa Cruz, Big Trees & Pacific Railway, Western Railway Museum, and Yosemite Mountain Sugar Pine RR of California, and the narrow-gauge Cumbres & Toltec Scenic RR of Colorado and New Mexico •• the Volumes 3 & 4 disk displays Eastern tourist sites Adirondack Scenic RR, Baltimore & Ohio RR Museum, Baltimore Streetcar Museum, Blue Mountain & Reading RR, Cass Scenic RR State Park, Connecticut Trolley Museum, East Broad Top RR, Green Mountain RR, Lowell National Historical Park, Mt. Washing-ton Cog Railway, New Jersey Museum of Trans-portation, North Carolina Transportation Museum, Pennsylvania Trolley Museum, Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, Rockhill Trolley Museum, Seashore Trolley Museum, Shore Line Trolley Museum, the Strasburg Railroad, Strasburg Toy Train Museum, Valley Railroad Company, and Western Maryland Scenic RR
Pentrex color DVD set [2011] 2 disks - sold out!
Volume 1: Pentrex color VHS [1999] for 50¢ {sic}
Volume 2: Pentrex color VHS [1999] for $1.71 {sic}
Volume 3: Pentrex color VHS [1999] for $18.11
Volume 4: Pentrex color VHS [1999] for $16.98

Crawford Hill On The Powder River Coal Line  "Crawford Hill On Burlington Northern's Powder River Coal Line"
Crawford Hill is a helper district east of Crawford, Nebraska. The first DVD is from Fall 1995 in Burlington Northern paint; later DVD shows diesel units in BNSF orange, Sante Fe warbonnet, and Cascade green.
Highball Prodns color DVD [undated] 2 hours for $29.95 via Amazon third party
"Crawford Hill Revisited"
Highball Prodns color DVD [undated] 2 hours for $35.95 via Amazon third party
double DVD set
Highball Prodns color DVD [undated] 4 hours on 2 disks for $59.95 via Amazon third party

Canadian Pacific 2816 Restoration To Inaugural Run two DVD set  "Canadian Pacific 2816, Restoration To Inaugural Run" [indep 2001]
Total of 116 minutes about Canadian Pacific's Hudson 4-6-4 locomotive #2816 'Empress': built 1930, retired 1960, completely restored 2001 • DISK 1 "Restoration & Testing" covers the restoration at CP's Vancouver shops; DISK 2 "The Inaugural Run" covers 2816's 600-mile post-restoration trip in 2001 from the Vancouver shops to Calgary, Alberta - including trackside, in-cab & helicopter footage
Greg Scholl Video Prodns color DVD set [2012] 2 disks - out of prodn/used
locomotive 2816's official homepageproducer's official website
Great American Rail Journeys, Coast Starlight on DVD  
"Great American Rail Journeys: The Coast Starlight" [2003]
54-minute modern-era (diesel) footage docufilm that includes Los Angeles Union Station, 'unreachable scenic areas', the Napa Valley Wine Train, and Hearst Castle
GoodTimes Ent. color DVD [2003] out of prodn/used
GoodTimes Ent. color VHS [2003] for $2.03 {sic}
The Big Six, Largest Shay in the World on DVD  "The Big Six: Largest Shay In The World!" [video release 1981, DVD 2005]
48 minutes of color film featuring Western & Maryland Shay-geared steam locomotive #6 hauling wood products and coal on the W&M Greenbrier Branch prior to 1981; also footage of double-headed Cass Scenic RR Shays going up Cheat Mountain on a foggy day.
Hopewell prodns color DVD [2014] for $14.95 + s/h via third party
'Steam in the Spring' color railroad movies on DVD  "Steam In The Spring" [2005] directed by Les Jarrett
105-minute color video featuring: a logging train with Heisler #6 on the Cass Scenic Railroad of West Virginia; Soo Line 2-8-2 #1003 pulling freight in Wisconsin; Pere Marquette 2-8-4 #1225 pulling a passenger extra in Michigan; Ohio Central 4-8-4 #6325 pulling a passenger train; and Cumbres & Toltec narrow-gauge 2-8-2 locomotives #484 & #488 along the entire line between Antonito, Colorado & Chama, New Mexico.
Railway Prodns color DVD [10/2005] for $24.95
Choo Choo Christmas video  "Choo Choo Christmas" video [indep 2005] by Les Jarrett
The VHS edition and the first half-hour of the DVD contain scenes of steam and diesel locomotives, freight and passenger trains, and working snowplows, some with narration and-or holiday music; additional 15 minutes on the DVD with natural sound only
Railway Prodns 45-minute color DVD [10/2005] for $14.95
Counter Top Video 30-minute color VHS [6/96] for $5.99
Extreme Steam Trains 6-DVD box set  "Extreme Steam: America's Greatest Steam Trains"  6 DVD Box Set [2005]
locomotives featured include Canadian Pacific 2816 & 3716; Cotton Belt 819; Frisco 1522; Mil- waukee Road 261; Mt. Rainer Scenic #7 & #17 & Heisler #2; Nickel Plate 587; Norfolk & Western 1218; Northern Pacific 328; Ohio Central 1293 & 6325; Santa Fe 3751; Soo Line 1003 & 2719; Southern Pacific Daylight 4449; Spokane, Portland & Seattle 700; and Union Pacific 3985 & 8444
Questar color/b&w DVD set [11/2005] 6 disks for $23.99
Canadian Pacific 2816 Empress of Steam  "Canadian Pacific 2816: Canada's Empress of Steam" [indep 2006]
70-minute docufilm directed by Les Jarrett about Canadian Pacific's Hudson 4-6-4 locomotive #2816 'Empress': built 1930, retired 1960, completely restored 2001
locomotive 2816's official homepagelocomotive 2816's entry at Wikipedia
Railway Productions widescreen color DVD [2006] out of prodn/used
four Rail Industry Films on DVD from Greg Scholl Video Prodns  "Rail Industry Films" [G.S.V.P. 2006]
90-minute DVD with two color films from U.S. Steel, New York Central's b&w short film "The Steam Loco-motive" [1938], and Pennsylvania Railroad's 1930s b&w silent short film "On To Washington" (music added)
G.S.V.P. color/b&w DVD [2006] for $24.90
'The Uintah Railway' video from 1926 on DVD  "The Uintah Railway" [2006]
45-minute compilation includes original 1926 film footage of the new Uintah articulated locomotives on the 7½% grades of Baxter Pass; video combines historic motion picture film from the Lucian Sprague family and the Colorado Railroad Museum archives, plus still photographs and other film clips
CustomFlix mostly b&w DVD-R [7/2006] for $24.95
Classic Railroad Video Northeast Steam on DVD  "Classic Railroad Videos: Northeast Steam" [2007]
includes Edison footage of the Ulster & Delaware RR, Reading RR (terminal & Green Street enginehouse), B&O 4-8-2s & articulateds, Delaware & Hudson (Mt. Ararat, Cobbleskill, Saratoga), Rutland RR (Bellows Falls), and the Green Mountain "Flyer".
A&R Prodns 46-minute color/b&w DVD [2007] out of prodn/used
Lots and Lots of Trains 3-video set  "Lots and Lots of Trains" [2007] Directed by Tom Edinger
Intended for kids; over 300 clips on each volume, with railroad song sing-alongs
Volume 1: Marshall Publng & Promotions 45-minute color DVD [1/2007] for $9.95
Volume 2: Marshall Publng & Promotions 45-minute color DVD [1/2007] for $9.95
Volume 3: Marshall Publng & Promotions 90-minute color DVD [11/2007] for $12.95
Vols 1-3: Marshall P&P color DVD set [11/2007] 3 disks for $34.95 + s/h via Amazon third party
On & Off The Rails DVD box set  "On & Off The Rails, 1951-1980" DVD Box Set [2007]
Kino Lorber Films b&w/color DVD set [9/2007] 2 disks for $27.20
featuring 14 classic British railroading short films from the British Transport Films Collection: "This Year - London" [1951]; "Train Time" [1952]; "This Is York" [1953]; "Elizabethan Express" [1954]; "Snowdrift At Bleath Gill" [1955]; "A Day of One's Own" [1956]; "The Diesel Train Driver" [1959]; "Under The River"
[1959]; "Blue Pullman" [1960]; "John Betjeman Goes By Train" [1962]; "The Great Highway" [1966]; "Cybernetica" [1972]; "Rail 150" [1975]; and "On Track For The Eighties" [1980]
America's Railroads / Steam Train Legacy on DVD  "America's Railroads: The Steam Train Legacy" [2008]
300-minute collection of short films with introductions by noted railroad historians
Walter P. Gray and Don DeNevi • not listed at IMDb

Shout! Factory / Timeless Media DVD [5/2008] 2 disks for $17.99
Ultimate Railroads Collection DVD box set  "The Ultimate Railroads Collection: Lifeline of A Nation"  6 DVD Gift Set [2008]
includes 29 'features' covering the history of railroads in America, as well as film from the Steam Era, movies of trains in Europe & Canada, and behind the scenes film of how the railroads are operated
St. Clair Vision color 750-minute DVD set [6/2008] 6 disks - out of prodn/used
History of American Railroads DVD set  "The History of American Railroads"  2 DVD Set [2008]
Columbia River Ent. color/b&w DVD [6/2008] 2 disks for $11.49
Volume 1: "The Years of Steam" [2007]
Columbia River Ent. color/b&w DVD [6/2007] for $8.98
Four hours of film, from the Twenties to the Twilight of Steam, with journeys on & along rails of: the Baltimore & Ohio; Canadian Pacific; Central Railroad of New Jersey; Delaware & Hudson; New York Central; Ontario & Western; Pennsylvania Railroad; Reading Railroad – and many other lines
Volume 2: "The Era of Diesel {Passenger Trains}" [2007]
Columbia River Ent. color/b&w DVD [6/2007] for $8.98
Four & a half hours of film, showcasing passenger trains of the past, with journeys on & along rails of: the Atlantic Coast Line; Baltimore & Ohio; Denver & Rio Grande Western; Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis; New York Central; Penn Central; Pennsylvania Railroad; Santa Fe; Union Pacific – and more

Great American Train Ride box set on DVD  "Great American Train Ride Deluxe Box Set" [2008]
320 minutes on 4 disks that includes: 80-minute "The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad"; 100-minute "Winter Steam Spectacular" with Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge RR 2-8-2 #473 charging up Animas Canyon in the dead of winter, Heber Valley RR 2-8-0 #618 in Utah's snow-covered Wasatch Mountains, Nevada Northern 4-6-0 #40 and 2-8-0 #93 pulling passengers and freight, and Western Maryland Scenic RR locomotive #734 pushes a freight train through the mountains; 100-minute "Santa Fe Mainline Memories"; and 40-minute "Alaska's White Pass & Yukon" climbing from Skagway to White Pass in Alaska.
Topics Ent. color DVD [4/2011] 4 disks for $19.79
Topics Ent. color DVD [2/2008] 4 disks for $24.99

Complete History of America's Railroads DVD box set  "The Complete History of America's Railroads" DVD Box Set [2009]
Marshall Publng & Promotions DVD set [8/2009] for $19.95
contains 4 documentary films by Jim Whitefield, totalling 80 minutes: Part One 'A Wild and Impractical Scheme (1800-1845)'; Part Two 'One Nation ... Indivisible (1845 1865)'; Part Three 'Transcontinental Expansion (1865 1880)'; and Part Four 'The Golden Age (1880 1916)'; persons highlighted include John Stevens [1749-1838], George Pullman [1831-97], and Fred Harvey [1835-1901]
Great American Scenic Railroads 12-hour DVD box set  "Great American Scenic Railroads: 12 Hours of Spectacular Rail Journeys" [2009]
disk titles are: "Continental Divide and Donner Summit Rail Journeys"; "The Surfline and California Western Rail Journeys"; "The Blue Mountains and Mt. Rainier Rail Journeys"; "Great Mississippi and Shenandoah Rail Journeys"; "Durango & Silverton and Cumbres & Toltec Rail Journeys"; and "Rio Grande and Union Pacific Rail Journeys" This is an excellent deal, and thus RECOMMENDED
Questar color DVD set [1/2009] 6 disks for $23.80
Questar color DVD set [3/2004] 6 disks out of prodn/many used
Questar color DVD set [2/2003] 6 disks out of prodn/used

Trains 24-Pack DVD Set  "Trains 24-Pack" DVD Set [2009]
contains 1,800 minutes {30 hours!} on 24 DVDs: disk 1: "Texas Steam Treasure" (45 min); disk 2: "Narrow Gauge Combo" (120 min); disk 3: "Tennessee Pass & The Royal Gorge Route" (90 min); disk 4: "The Trains of Lafayette" (90 min); disk 5: "The Trains of Galesburg" (90 min); disk 6: "Winter Steam Spectacular" (100 min); disk 7: "Steam To The State Fair" (100 min); disk 8: "The Illinois Railway Museum" (60 min); disk 9: "Garden Railroad Specta-cular" (52 min); disk 10: "Chicago's Metro" (60 min); disk 11: "Milwaukee District Cab Car Ride" (60 min); disk 12: "On The Road With Frisco 1522" (60 min); disk 13: "BNSF's Stevens Pass" (60 min); disk 14: "BNSF's Abo Canyon" (60 min); disk 15: "BNSF's Arizona Divide" (60 min); disk 16: "U.P. Challenger 3985" (60 min); disk 17: "Choo Choo Christmas" (30 min); disk 18: "Colorado's Scenic Train Rides" (100 min); disk 19: "The Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad" (60 min); disk 20: "Santa Fe Mainline Memories" (100 min); disk 21: "Steam In The Spring" (105 min); disk 22: "Steam In The Summer" (85 min); disk 23: "Steam In The Winter" (90 min); and disk 24: "Steam In The Autumn" (120 min)
Topics Ent. color/b&w DVD [10/2009] 24 disks for $199.99
Topics Ent. color/b&w DVD [10/2009] 24 disks - out of prodn/used

Great Scenic Railway Journeys / Celebrating North America's Steam Railways  "Great Scenic Railway Journeys: Celebrating North America's Steam Railways" [2010]
120-minute documentary program covers 17 steam railroads in North America, from Alaska and Canada to South Dakota and Arizona to the Steamtown historic site in Pennsylvania.
Produced by Robert C. Van Camp; hosted by folk musician David Holt
Wide Eye Prodns color DVD [2010] for $29.27
not listed on IMDb • official series website
NOTE: Amazon reviewers complain of poor quality
Great Scenic Railway Journeys / Celebrating 175 Years of The American Railroad  "Great Scenic Railway Journeys: Celebrating 175 Years of The American Railroad" [2010]
120-minute documentary program covers 21 steam-powered tourist railroads in North America
Produced by Robert C. Van Camp; hosted by folk musician David Holt
Wide Eye Prodns color DVD [2010] out of prodn/used
Wide Eye Prodns color VHS [undated] for $40.00
not listed on IMDb • official series website
NOTE: Amazon reviewers complain of poor quality
Weekend Railroaders feature documentary  "Weekend Railroaders" [Crew Media 2010]
Filmed at railcar meets around Texas and Oklahoma, featuring railroad historian Leon Sapp
Produced & directed by Scott Peterson of Rockwall, Texas
Blu-ray & DVD available onlineofficial websiteproducer website
Denver Union Station, Portal To Progress independent documentary  "Denver Union Station: Portal To Progress" [indep 2010]
37-minute documentary film by Jim Havey

Havey Prodns color DVD [4/2010] for $19.28
not listed at IMDb • official movie site
watch official trailer [6:01] at Vimeo
High Country Rails documentary  "High Country Rails" [Colorado P.B.S. 2010]
produced by Colorado's Rocky Mountain Public Broadcasting Network; DVD says 'Emmy winning', but no record found on IMDb or Wikipedia or the Emmy website to confirm; 55-minute documentary program feat-uring: winter scenery on the Leadville, Colorado & Southern Railroad; the Georgetown Loop Railroad; the Cripple Creek Railroad; the Manitou & Pikes Peak Cog Railway; the now-defunct Ski Train from downtown Denver up to the Winter Park Ski Resort; and Galloping Goose #5 on the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad
Topics Ent. color DVD [5/2010] for $14.99
BETTER DEAL?: "Colorado Steam" [2010] described as four half-hour films, said to include "High Country Rails" {shortened?}, "Trains", "Railways", and Emmy-winning "Steam Trains"
Topics Ent. color DVD set [4/2010] 4 disks for $12.48
Railroads - Tracks Across America on DVD  
"Railroads: Tracks Across America" [2010]
12-hour & 36-minute compilation of 36 short films & clips from the 1930s, 1940s & 1950s
Mill Creek Ent. color DVD in collector's tin box [4/2011] 2 disks for $19.00
Mill Creek Ent. color DVD [7/2010] 2 disks for $16.24
HD Trains Blu-ray box set  "HD Trains" Blu-ray Box Set [2010]
contains 4 feature films: "Steam Giants" featuring Southern Pacific's #4449 Daylight, Union Pacific’s #844 Challenger, and Nickel Plate's #765 Berkshire steam locomotives; "Winter Steam In The Rockies" on Colo-rado’s famous Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, with a series of steam freight trains from the 1930s and footage of High Line, the Animas River Canyon, and Needleton in the winter; "Steam Ghosts" featuring the Nevada Northern Railway (steam-powered freight & passenger trains), and Utah's mountainous Heber Valley Railroad; and "Cavalcade of Steam" featuring the Strasburg Railroad in Pennsylvania, and the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad along the border between Colorado and New Mexico
Topics Ent. color/b&w Blu-ray set [10/2010] 4 disks for $5.99

Ultimate Railroads Collection DVD box set  "The Ultimate Railroads Collection: Lifeline of A Nation"  DVD Box Set [2010]
revision of 2008 DVD 6-pack, with different cover and two hours added; includes 29 'features' covering the history of railroads in America, as well as film from the Steam Era, movies of trains in Europe & Canada, and behind the scenes film of how the railroads are operated
Ent. Software color 875-minute DVD set [12/2010] 6 disks for $17.93
Railway Journeys - Vanishing Age of Steam on DVD   "Railway Journeys: The Vanishing Age of Steam" [2011]
NOTE: Amazon reviews are for the very different 5-disk Madacy product!
Image Ent. color DVD [4/2011] 2 disks for $7.99
"Railway Journeys: The Vanishing Age of Steam" [2011]
Madacy color DVD set [1/2011] 5 disks for $10.77

America By Rail Complete Collection DVD box set  "America By Rail: The Complete Collection" DVD Box Set [2011]
"Featuring The Most Beautiful Railways In The United States"; contains 520 minutes (8-2/3 hours) on six DVDs: "All Aboard The Potomac Eagle" is an excursion train powered by vintage 1950s-era diesel locomotives through the mountains of West Virginia along the Potomac River in Fall colors; "The West Coast" is a 1,600-mile train journey from San Diego to Seattle, with 'exciting side trips along the way'; "The Heartland" departs Washington, DC on Amtrak’s famed Capitol Limited and ends in the San Francisco Bay Area aboard the renowned California Zephyr; "Route of The Southwest Chief" travels from Chicago to Los Angeles with America’s wonderful scenery along the way; "Colorado Scenic Train Rides" includes footage from the Rockies to Raton Pass and from Denver to Durango, with segments in all, including the Pikes Peak Cog Railroad; and "Winter Wonderland" aboard Amtrak’s Cardinal traveling from Chicago to Washington, DC in the midst of heavy snowfall
Topics Ent. color DVD set [10/2011] 6 disks - out of prodn/used
Trains 12 DVD box set  "Trains 12 DVD Set Featuring The Most Beautiful Railways In The World" Box Set [2011]
contains 1000 minutes {16-2/3 hours!} on 12 DVDs, including five titles never before released in the United States: six films take you across America: see the California Zephyr, Union Pacific’s Challenger, the Capitol Limited, and more; six more films take you abroad: a romantic railway on Scotland’s Isle of Mull; the Flying Dutchman; the Flèche d’Or (Golden Arrow) from Calais to Paris, France; massive broad gauge steamers in Australia; the beautiful Garden Route in South Africa; a 100% steam railway in Paraguay; massive QJ steam engines in China; and some of the last steam trains in use in India, in troubled Khyber Pass
Topics Ent. color DVD set [2011] 12 disks for $32.15

Westbound documentary on hobo art by Jim Rivett  "Westbound: The Journey of A Lifetime" [indep 2011]
77-minute documentary film featuring the hobo art of 'Grand Duke of The Hobos' Adolph Vandertie, now collected & preserved by the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Co-produced, co-written & directed by Jim Rivett
purchase DVD via eBay for $20.00 + $3 s/h
purchase movie soundtrack via CDbaby: download $9.99, CD $15.00
full credits at IMDbwatch official trailer
Helen Gibson, Silent Serial Queen on DVD  "Helen Gibson: Silent Serial Queen" on DVD [2012]
featuring 'Fearless Helen' in three chapters of the "Hazards of Helen" serial [Kalem 1915-16] and three two-reel Western railroad dramas [Capital Film Co. 1920]; music composed & performed by Frederick Hodges
Bitterroot Mountain Publng DVD [2012] for $16.99
Lots and Lots of BIG TRAINS video  "Lots and Lots of BIG TRAINS" on DVD [2012]
Intended for kids; includes choice between sound track only or sound track plus music
Volume 1: Marshall Publng & Promotions 120-minute widescreen color DVD [2/2012] for $12.95
Volume 2 was never produced
Coal Country / On The Powder River Line  "Coal Country: B.N.S.F. and U.P. On The Powder River Line (in Wyoming)"
140 minutes of recent footage on the double-track line from Donkey Junction near Gillette
and south to Orin Junction west of Casper.

Highball Prodns widescreen color Blu-ray [2013] for $34.95 via Amazon third party
Highball Prodns widescreen color DVD [2013] for $29.95 via Amazon third party

Best of the British Transport Films on Blu-ray  "The Best of The British Transport Films (70th Anniversary Edition)" [B.F.I. May 2019]
21 short films from British Transport Films; all are newly digitally remastered by the B.F.I. National Archive to 2K video from original film materials, except for "Rail" [1967] which is presented in a stunning new 4K restoration; films include; "Farmer Moving South" [1952, 17 mins], "Train Time"
[1952, 28 mins], "This Is York" [1953, 20 mins], "Elizabethan Express" [1954, 20 mins], "Snowdrift At Bleath Gill" [1955, 10 mins], "Any Man's Kingdom" [1956, 20 mins], "Fully Fitted Freight" [1957, 21 mins], "Every Valley" [1957, 20 mins], "A Future On The Rail" [1957, 10 mins], "Between
The Tides" [1958, 22 mins], "A Letter For Wales" [1960, 25 mins], "They Take The High Road" [1960, 25 mins], "Blue Pullman" [1960, 25 mins], "Terminus" [1961, 20 mins], "The Third Sam" [1962, 10 mins], the legendary Geoffrey Jones color film "Rail" [1967, 13 mins], "Railways For Ever!"
[1970, 7 mins], "The Scene From Melbury House" [1972, 15 mins], "Wires Over The Border" [1974, 18 mins], "Locomotion" [1975, 15 mins], and "Overture One Two Five" [1978, 7 mins]

B.F.I. Region Free Blu-ray [5/2019] 6 hours on 2 disks for $8.22

Steam Northeast DVD http://www.traintapes.com/dvd/stne.html

Visit Our Other Online Film Festival Pages
Afro-American Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Atomic Film Festival at Spirit of America Bookstore
Auto- Racing Movies Film Festival at Magic Lantern
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Circus Film Festival at Spirit of America Bookstore
Classic Movies & Cinema Masters Film Festival at Magic Lantern
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Economics Film Festival at Maison d'Être Philosophy Bookstore
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Films Noir Festival at BlackHat Mystery Bookstore
Football Movies Film Festival at Magic Lantern
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Gangster Film Festival at Magic Lantern
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Native American Film Festival at 'Readers of The Purple Sage' Bookstore
Oscar-Winning Western Movies Page at 'Readers of the Purple Sage' Bookstore
Philosophy Film Festival at Maison d'Être Philosophy Bookstore
Pirate Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Political Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Spirit of America Bookstore's Railroad Film Festival Pages   « « you are here
'Rat Race' Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Road Movies Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Rock Music Film Festival at Spirit of America Bookstore
Samurai Films at Magic Lantern
Science Fiction Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Shakespeare On Film at Magic Lantern
Sports Film Festival Pages at Magic Lantern
War [& Anti-War] Film Festival Pages at Magic Lantern
Western Movies Film Festival at 'Readers of the Purple Sage' Bookstore

... and others on the Online Film Festivals Index Page

animated Union Pacific Challenger 4-6-6-4 steam locomotive

Spirit of America Bookstore's American Railroads Pages

on page one:  top of pageMuseumsClass I RailroadsShortline RailroadsLinks

on page two:  top of pageRailroad HistoryNarrow GaugeHistoric Rail Lines

on page three:  top of pageTranscontinental RailroadsRailroad MogulsRailroad Recordings

Spirit of America Bookstore's 'Railroads in Fiction' Pages
Spirit of America Bookstore's Railroads in Fiction - Books For Young Railfans Page

Spirit of America Bookstore's 'Non-Fiction Books About Railroads' Pages

America's Shortline Railroads Page

here on Spirit of America Bookstore's Railroad Film Festival Pages

on page one: top of pagebookscollections & documentariesmovies, A thru F

on page two: movies, G thru O • on page three: movies, P thru S • on page four: movies, T thru Z

here on page five: top of pageselected documentariesTV documentariesDVD collections


G.E. Nordell's Arizona Travel / Railroads Links Page
G.E. Nordell's California Travel / Railroads Links Page
G.E. Nordell's Colorado Travel / Railroads Links Pages
G.E. Nordell's Nevada Travel / Railroads Links Page
G.E. Nordell's New Mexico Travel / Railroads Links Page
G.E. Nordell's Utah Travel / Railroads Links Page
G.E. Nordell's Travel U.S.A. / Railroad Museums Page

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