In 2005, the Kentucky Railroad Museum in New Haven, Kentucky, celebrated the 100th birthday of former Louisville & Nashville 4-6-2 Pacific #152. On October 15 and 16, just as the fall colors were starting to turn, Diverging Clear Productions visited to catch the century old locomotive in action.
The Kentucky Railway Museum operates excursion trains between New Haven and Boston over a former Louisville & Nashville branch line. The museum brings out #152 several times each year to pull its trains. Our cameras filmed throughout the weekend, with multiple cameras trackside and on the locomotive.
The program starts before dawn as the locomotive is pulled out of the shop, and as the sun breaks over the horizon museum volunteers ready the locomotive for the day's run. Once she is hot, cameras mounted in the cab and on top of the tender catch the sights and sounds as #152 first switches her train with former Santa Fe CF7 #2546, and then pulls the train to Boston. The run to Boston is presented in real-time, with trackside scenes complementing the cab and tender-top footage.
In Boston, passengers detrain and #152 runs around the train to pull it tender-first back to New Haven. Trackside and cab scenes cover the run back to New Haven, where the locomotive is put away after the run.
Narration explains the history of the locomotive and explains the basics of the action, but most of the talking is left to #152. Her mellow chime whistle never sounded better, and there are a few hills to make the locomotive's exhaust bark as only a steam engine can.
Any fan of steam in action will enjoy this video from Diverging Clear Productions.