See the replicas of the two locomotives that met 150 years ago at Promontory Point, and the Steam Driven Man that made it possible! Two shows on one DVD:
A Steam Driven Man, Chad O'Conner: Chad O'Connor has built or reconstructed his own operating steam boat, tugboat, automobile, truck, and locomotive. He designed steam power plants, rebuilt over a dozen steam locomotives, and constructed replicas of the Jupiter and No. 119 that operate today at the Golden Spike National Historic Site. When he wasn't working on steam locomotives he loved to film them, as you'll see in this entertaining tribute to a lifetime of remarkable achievements. You'll see him at his workshop, and view the Porter, Shay, Climax, Daylight, and other classic steam locomotives he recorded on film. It was his love of filming steam locomotives that brought him, in a roundabout way, the most fame: To keep the film camera steady as he shot the big steam of the time, he invented the Fluid Head for his tripod (winning an Oscar!). It's a wonderful story for all to enjoy! 38 Minutes, Color, Narration.
Jupiter & Number 119, Locomotives of the Golden Spike: This 24 minute show, put together with the help of Chad O'Conner and the Union Pacific Railroad, shows the rebuilding of the famous Jupiter (Central Pacific #60) and Union Pacific #119. This story tells how the engineering documents were made with almost no written data and how the engines are used now. 26 minutes, Color, Narration.
A Steam Driven Man, Chad O'Conner: Chad O'Connor has built or reconstructed his own operating steam boat, tugboat, automobile, truck, and locomotive. He designed steam power plants, rebuilt over a dozen steam locomotives, and constructed replicas of the Jupiter and No. 119 that operate today at the Golden Spike National Historic Site. When he wasn't working on steam locomotives he loved to film them, as you'll see in this entertaining tribute to a lifetime of remarkable achievements. You'll see him at his workshop, and view the Porter, Shay, Climax, Daylight, and other classic steam locomotives he recorded on film. It was his love of filming steam locomotives that brought him, in a roundabout way, the most fame: To keep the film camera steady as he shot the big steam of the time, he invented the Fluid Head for his tripod (winning an Oscar!). It's a wonderful story for all to enjoy! 38 Minutes, Color, Narration.
Jupiter & Number 119, Locomotives of the Golden Spike: This 24 minute show, put together with the help of Chad O'Conner and the Union Pacific Railroad, shows the rebuilding of the famous Jupiter (Central Pacific #60) and Union Pacific #119. This story tells how the engineering documents were made with almost no written data and how the engines are used now. 26 minutes, Color, Narration.
Customer Reviews
- 5 of 5
This program covers the life of Chad O'Connor who was born in the Greater Boston Massachusetts area & also includes a pair of 1979 replicas of Union Pacific 4-4-0 number 119 & Central Pacific 4-4-0 number 60 at the Golden Spike National Historic Site in Utah. There are other locomotives in this double feature: Southern Pacific GS class 4-8-4s on the Daylight, SP Narrow Gauge 4-6-0 number 9, an 0-4-0 tank engine number 1, Canadian Pacific 4-4-0 number 144, Virginia & Truckee 4-6-0 number 26, The Disneyland Railroad & Grizzly Flatts Railroad with Walt Disney & Ward Kimball, Texas & Pacific 2-10-4 number 610 stored in the shops during the building of the replicas for Promontory Utah, Yuma Arizona Railroad 2-8-2 number 5, 0-4-0 tank engine number 4, 0-4-2 tank engine number 99, a 3 truck shay number 8, Hillcrest Lumber Company Climax number 10 that is now at the Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad in Washington State, a Santa Fe 4-6-0 making a test run in streamlined livery, a trio of Rio Grande 2-8-0s Tripleheading, the Best Friend of Charleston, a Baltimore & Ohio 4-2-0, a Western Railroad 4-6-0, Union Pacific 8444 from the 1981 short film: Eighty Four Forty Four that was also shown in the 2001 Pentrex Video: Union Pacific Trilogy plus the Opening & Closing Credits for the forgotten PBS Show: Shining Time Station, A Norfolk & Western K Class 4-8-2, SP 2-8-2 number 3742, & Grand Trunk Western 6322. The main Pentrex Documentary with Mr. O'Connor was made in 1997 in conjunction with the California State Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento, the Marblehead Massachusetts Historical Society, & the Peabody Essex Museum in nearby Salem Massachusetts, not to mention a bonus thanks to the Walt Disney company for the historic still images of the creator of Mickey Mouse operating on some railroads, while the bonus film of how the replicas of the 2 4-4-0s were constructed was made in 1985.
Additional comments:
Narration: Just enough.
Image quality: Excellent!
Value: Good value.
Recommend? "Must Have"!
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