Union Pacific’s Big Boy Combo DVD, Part 2
SKU: DVD-PNX-BBC2Original price was: $29.95.$24.95Current price is: $24.95.
Just 25 Big Boys were built and they only remained in service for 18 years before the end of the steam era. Yet their power and performance make them as popular today as in their own day. This is Part Two of a two part series.
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| Producer | Pentrex |
|---|---|
| Run Time | 2 hours 20 minutes |
| Narration | Yes |
| Shrink Wrap | Yes, Brand New |
| Technical Details | No Region Code, NTSC |
Weighing in at one and a quarter million pounds, measuring 132 feet long, Union Pacific Big Boys were the giants of the rails. Just 25 Big Boys were built and they only remained in service for 18 years before the end of the steam era. Yet their power and performance make them as popular today as in their own day. This Big Boy Combo DVD (Part 2) brings you two viewing treats: a Pentrex documentary focusing on Big Boy operations over Sherman Hill and a 1950s television drama about a Big Boy engineer.
Last of the Giants Volume 3: Sherman Hill (70 Minutes)
Allan Krieg, writer and director of Last of the Giants, shares the challenges his camera crews faced while capturing the Big Boys on film. Scenes of the running gear in motion, shot from a camera car on a parallel track, and pacing sequences of the Big Boys on the road are thrilling to see. You’ll ride in the cabs and watch the firemen and engineers at work. Interviews with surviving crew members give you a sense of what it was like to run these giant engines over Sherman Hill. All the scenes shown in this production are compiled from 16mm color film shot between 1955 and 1958.
Big Boys on TV (70 Minutes)
Ed Begley stars in this 1950s NBC Lucky Strike Theater drama about a Big Boy engineer who is struggling with fears about his future. The live broadcast takes you right into the heart of this railroader’s life at home and in the cab of his Big Boy. Pentrex incorporated some of the original footage shot on location showing Big Boys on Sherman Hill and in the Cheyenne yards. (It’s all new material, not used in other Pentrex videos.) We also included the old commercials that aired with the broadcast. They will make you smile. This is a program the whole family can enjoy.
Curtis Watson –
Not as good as the first DVD, but overall very satisfying. Love hearing the interviews with people who worked on these engines, and to see what TV was like back in the day.
Ricky –
In last of the giants 3 made in 1993, there is a visit to fairplex in Pomona California where big boy 4014 used to be on display, but it is still under restoration at Cheyenne. For kids who are familiar with this opening footage, Railplex was shown in the 1994 preschool video: kidsongs boppin with the biggles for the locomotion and little red caboose segments. Allan Krieg who worked in the 1960 film, met with the pentrex team and told them about his hard work on the film. Plus a look at 4014’s cab as Allan explains the situation with the film crew and the steam crew while the big boy is operating down the line. Then the main 16mm films of the giants are eventually shown as the mighty monsters battle over Sherman hill as Allan explains the biggest challenges he facrdd in the story of the percentages he faced. More interviews with Jim Ehrenburger, Steve Lee, and the retired Union Pacific Empoyees who used to work in the big boy years are included as well as some more footages of other engines which some survived but 93% of these shown in that program had since been scrapped. Some highlights include a head on shot of 4020, 1958 footage of 6537 and 2295 In Denver to demonstrate the word doubleheading, 5511 hauling freight at green river and now on display in the Cheyenne roundhouse, plus November 1958 footage of 1243 hauling freight and also on display in Cheyenne. There is a semi-awkward moment at the turntabe where 4013 had to be turned, as some pieces of toilet paper was used to smooth the wheels of the handcar. There is also February 1993 footage at the Forney Museum in Denver with 4005, and in the Cheyenne Shops with 3985 & 844 still in the 2-tone grey scheme but unoperated due to an expired boiler rebuild. Plus a look at 4004 in Holiday Park. This was shot in 100% color. In Big boys on TV made in 1997, there are lots of black and white footages of the giants and early diesels as the whole family enjoys a 60 minute TV show called Lucky Strike Theater which was one of NBC’s first TV shows. Some commercial breaks don’t have anything to do with the union pacific, but I think that vintage film collectors would enjoy this rare piece of early television history compare to today’s unacceptable nonsense.
TrainboySD40-2 –
Both parts of this video are great. Great stories, great video, great sound. Nothing could replicate the sheer size and presence of these brutish locomotives, but these videos certainly do them justice.
rrvideoman –
Part # 2 of the Big Boy Combo takes us to Sherman Hill. And what a treat to see these giants working hard. Real footage from the actual events, as we are able to ride the cab, stand along side the rails, listen to the stories of the men who were there and so much more. With interesting scenes and camera angles, it is a production that you will want to see over many times. Live the action at the time and place. The Combo series concludes with a Hollywood type tv program about an engineer, his love for the Big Boys, and the battle with his son over the coming of the diesels. This is a family type movie, not just a video of trains. Like the other 2 Parts of the Combo series, Big Boys are in action. It is a nice finally to the series on the Giants that once ruled the rails. Very excellent production that is a “must have”.