A Day in the Woods - Steam Logging Railroading DVD
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Logging history explored in this new, one-of-a-kind DVD.

Is there nothing so rare as a day in the woods? Especially if you stumble upon a railroad that takes you back in time.

A Day in the Woods

Carefully restored old films and exclusive new footage help tell the story of logging in North America.

Authentic photo freights of steam logging trains gives added detail to old footage shot in the woods.

(On this page are screen shots from the film.)

Lumber was North America's first major export. A Day In The Woods explores North America's unique logging heritage going way back to earliest colonial days.

Our new DVD is both entertaining for all the rare scenes presented, as well as a film of discovery. It is broken down into indexed chapters for educational purposes as well as enjoyment.

Hobbyists who are into modeling railroad operations will particularly appreciate seeing how logging operations, steam yarding, and railroad equipment was operated in the woods.

Using as much action footage as possible, we see hand-felling of trees the way the colonists had to do it.

We see ways they devised to move logs through the woods using only hand tools, horse and oxen.

You'll see the evolution of simple innovations as early loggers grappled with timber stands that became increasingly remote. Moving logs was always the biggest challenge.

You'll see dangerous river log drives that took many a man's life as they fought to keep the logs moving.

You'll see how logging the prized cypress trees from the swamps of the Southern States required a whole different approach than in the mountains of the North.

With the arrival of steam power, you'll see how locomotives had to be redesigned to handle the special demands of often rickety logging railroads.

Many an impressive railroad trestle was engineered in the woods without even a blueprint.

All manner of mechanical marvels were developed to increase the efficiency of logging operations.

You'll see the evolution of the logging camps from tents into portable towns where whole families grew up.

Rarely seen films of steam donkeys, yarders, and loaders have been synchronized with authentic recordings made in the woods of steam logging equipment at work.

The biggest trees on the planet were once logged with wild adandon. You'll see harvesting the big trees of the West Coast. See the evolution of yarding operations in action. Sawmills small and large. An old paper mill. Straddle carriers for sorting finished lumber. The loading of finished lumber onto trains and ships in ways we no longer see.

The introduction of the 1st Caterpillar Tractor into the woods showed how the days of logging railroads were numbered.

Modern Logging

A Day In The Woods also traces the beginnings of forest replanting. The critical importance of maintaining healthy forests is powerfully revealed.

In the final chapter of the film, we follow the transition from steam power to the highly-mechanized logging done today.

Image Restoration

A lot of the old film was very difficult to appreciate due to deterioration and neglect. Some of the footage was so shaky, we thought it really couldn't be used. But, thanks to available image-restoration processing, we can now enjoy some un-duplicatable action in the context of a comprehensive overview of our logging history.

Equipment Restoration

Important railroad action is enhanced in A Day In The Woods by incorporating footage of carefully restored and authentically staged steam locomotives in the woods on an old logging line.

Authentic logging railroad equipment courtesy of the Mt Rainier Scenic Railroad.

The logging steam engines and train consists are courtesy of the ever-expanding railroad collection of the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad in Washington State.

A great debt of gratitude is owed to all the photographers who thought to take a picture of such an ordinary thing as another Day In The Woods. (Especially photographers Clark & Darius Kinsey (see below.)

A Day In The Woods can be revisited many times for all the detail presented.
The DVD even offers the ability to do repeat viewings without narration allowing the images and sounds to highlight the action surrounding the story.

A Day In The Woods is presented in 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound.
97 min plus additional outtake action scenes
DVD featuring 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound