Many of you may not be familiar with this area, so a little background is perhaps appropriate. A regional railroad, the San Luis and Rio Grande operates trackage from Alamosa east to Walsenburg, over the steep La Veta Pass, plus two shorter branches out of Alamosa. In 2007 they operated former SP 2-6-0 number 1744, and we have a video on those only charter runs, called “Southern Pacific 1744”. The railroad obtained former Lake Superior & Ishpeming Railroad #18 and 20 from the Grand Canyon Railroad. These engines ran in Michigan until the early 1960's.
#18 is a loud 2-8-0, and puts on a great show as we do 3 different photo charters. The first was on May 3-4, 2008 a two-day freight charter on both sides of La Veta Pass. There are some sections nearly 3% grade. There are also a couple of tunnels and several loops and scenic views.
On August 26, 2010 a passenger train consist photo charter was operated by the railroad (SLRG), and we see some fine shots of 18 and its train on this run.
The third and final charter was viewed only in the early morning hours of October 18, 2012 with a freight consist. If you liked our Southern Pacific 1744 show, you will surely enjoy this one just as much. There was no more steam on the railroad after the fall of 2012, and both 18 and 20 have since been sold. If you are not familiar with the remote La Veta Pass I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
72 Minutes plus previews of other shows.
#18 is a loud 2-8-0, and puts on a great show as we do 3 different photo charters. The first was on May 3-4, 2008 a two-day freight charter on both sides of La Veta Pass. There are some sections nearly 3% grade. There are also a couple of tunnels and several loops and scenic views.
On August 26, 2010 a passenger train consist photo charter was operated by the railroad (SLRG), and we see some fine shots of 18 and its train on this run.
The third and final charter was viewed only in the early morning hours of October 18, 2012 with a freight consist. If you liked our Southern Pacific 1744 show, you will surely enjoy this one just as much. There was no more steam on the railroad after the fall of 2012, and both 18 and 20 have since been sold. If you are not familiar with the remote La Veta Pass I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
72 Minutes plus previews of other shows.
Customer Reviews
- 5 of 5
In this 2021 Sequel to Part 1 with Southern Pacific 1744, Former Lake Superior & Ishpeming 2-8-0 number 18 Participated in not 1, not 2, but 3 specials. The Segments shown in order are: May 3rd & 4th 2008 with a mostly Hopper Car Train & 2 ore dump cars from Alamosa to La Veta & Back which fun fact: Peter Crooke of Highball Productions was also on the same freight special. There is even a caboose ride as well as a meet with a freight that is led by B40-8 number 8527, plus a Ballast Regulator. This is the Longest Segment in this Program, & on the day after the 2 day Steam Freight Special, the same photographer went to Palmer Lake on the Joint Line which was covered in Another GSVP 2021 title: BNSF Variety. August 25th 2010 with a 5 coach passenger train as this trip was photographed after the Durango & Silverton held its Traditional Railfest from 1999 to 2016. Unfortunately, the battery on the camera died on one scene at Milepost 211.8, east of Sierra but was Quickly Recharged or Swapped with a Back-up Battery. And another Freight Special this time on October 18, 2012 where 2 diesels operated the coaches for the people who booked this 1 day event. All of these scenes were photographed by Ron Burkhard with informative Narration from Chris Kovacs. Nowadays since the closure of the San Luis & Rio Grande Scenic Railroad in 2019, Number 18 is at the Colebrookdale Railroad in Pennsylvania.
Additional comments:
Narration: Could have used more.
Image quality: Excellent!
Value: Good value.
Recommend? Definitely.
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