Everett White in the West 4 of 5 (1)
Everett White was a prolific documentarian of the rails. In about 1940, he began traveling America and the world, capturing in still and moving pictures all manner of railroads, with an especially keen eye for electric lines.
Transit Gloria Mundi is proud to present the first collection of White's traction movies released on DVD. This premiere installment, Everett White in the West, covers the US from Chicago to the West Coast. The earliest footage, from 1940, includes cable cars in Seattle, and several San Francisco cable car lines no longer in operation. The most recent footage comes from the mid-1960s and includes the quirky Leonard's M&O subway in Ft. Worth. All the systems on this DVD are listed below. Several were even filmed in two different time periods.
Mr. White's movies come to us courtesy of Don Harold.
Typeface indicates extent of coverage:
Better coverage · Average coverage · Light coverage
Cedar Rapids & Iowa City Charles City Western Chicago, Aurora & Elgin Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee Chicago Rapid Transit Chicago Transit Authority Chicago, South Shore & South Bend Dallas Railway & Terminal Denver Tramways Des Moines & Central Iowa Des Moines Railway El Paso City Lines Fort Dodge, Des Moines & Southern Gary Railways Illinois Terminal Railroad Co. Kansas City Public Service Co. Leonard's M&O Subway (Ft. Worth) Los Angeles Railway Co. Milwaukee Electric Railway New Orleans Public Service Oklahoma Railway Co. Pacific Electric Phoenix Street Railway Salt Lake, Garfield & Western Sacramento Northern San Diego Electric Railway San Francisco: Cal Cable Market Street Railway Municipal Railway Sand Springs Railway Seattle Municipal Street Railway St. Louis Public Service Texas Electric Union Traction Co. Utah Power and Light (Salt Lake City) Waterloo, Cedar Falls & Northern
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DVD Item#: | EWW | Runtime: | 1 Hour, 00 Mins ($0.37/min) |
Producer: | Transit Gloria Mundi |
Aspect Ratio: | Full Screen | Shrink Wrapped?: | Yes | Disc Type: | DVD |
Region Code: | 0 Worldwide NTSC |
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Everett White in the West Jeffrey Ornstein on 2009-10-24 14:48:34.
People who found this review helpful: 14
Any vintage traction enthusiast should put this video at the top of their list of videos to buy. It is pure eye-candy for the trolley/traction/transit buff. Dozens of systems are highlighted in this program of films shot by Everett White in the Western United States during the 1940's. The program travels geographically, from East (Chicago is the starting point) to California. At the beginning of every segment, you see a map of the USA, and it zooms in on the specific system of the segment. There are no trolley sounds; it is all narration set to jazz or classical music. It's mostly color but some black & white scenes are part of the presentation. What makes this program special is the sheer variety of systems and cars, some of which rarely, if ever, have appeared in video. Some of the earlier video is grainy, but TGM has done a good job utilizing digital technology in smoothing and sharpening these old films. According to TGM, this is only the first installment of Everett White's films, and I certainly look forward to future videos of this photographer's work.
Additional remarks by Jeffrey Ornstein: Narration: A little bit too much. Would kids enjoy this? Maybe. Image quality: A little rough around the edges. DVD Value: Good Value Recommend to others? Definitely.
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