819 Arkansas Steam DVD
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Click to enlargeNote: Cover image may differ from actual product

St. Louis Southwestern Railway, better known as The Cotton Belt had some lovely 4-8-4 dual service locomotives. One such locomotive number 819 was given to the city of Pine Bluff, Arkansas and was restored back to operating condition in 1986. The engine was only used for a few special appearances over the course of 2-3 years. So at the urging of one of our customers we made a trip to Arkansas for the once per year event held in Fordyce, Arkansas.

The day before the run, we are at the Cotton Belt shop where 819 was restored and kept. We then see the preparations, and the fire-up. Then we view action shots of the train running from Pine Bluff to Fordyce. We see it cross the Saline River bridge, and a photo runby among other shots. There is a day off between the two runs, and Sunday we are back at Fordyce. The engine is pulled out of the siding along with the passenger coaches. The train has to head southwest to a wye where the engine will be turned for the trip back to Pine Bluff. This allows us a couple of extra shots. We then chase the train back to Pine Bluff which includes a brief pacing scene. This was all shot during April of 1988. This was trackage owned by Southern Pacific.

This video was originally released in 1988 on VHS. We were able to capture the entire 3/4 inch master to digital some years ago. It was imported into our editing system where we made a few transition changes (dissolves and dips to black for better viewing). The video has been repackaged, but the content is pretty much the same scenes. Due to the short distance the train traveled, the video length is shorter. However, we have added 35 minutes of previews at the end to basically double your viewing experience.

Another video we have available, Steam In St. Louis 1990 also has more coverage of this engine.

Live audio and limited narration.

35 Minutes Plus Previews