Western Pacific Vintage West

See Western Pacific freight and passenger action like no previous video has ever provided. The 50s through the 1980 era are covered in lavish detail. See late-steam power and the early dieselization of the WP. The WP’s history is covered with many scenes that have previously escaped the screen — until now! See the WP re-route and the purpose-built Oro Dam railroad used in building the dam. This section was from three different rail historians that captured what the others all missed as a monumental, and historic, event.

Don’t miss the Feather River Canyon, and High-Line action in this historical video on the WP. See the WP rail ferry and Feather River Railway steam powered logging line that was one of the few sources of WP’s online traffic. One of WP’s properties was the plucky Sacramento Northern Railway that they bought in the late 1920s. We bring some great Sacramento Northern action shot by the historian, and prolific rail author, Harre Demoro in his teenage years. This is a wonderful look at Harre Demoro’s young and artistic dedication to Bay Area history.

See the Western Pacific’s section of the California Zephyr trains, as operated from Oakland, California to Salt Lake City, Utah. Visit the CZ on-board, trackside and though yards and stations. Some of these rare scenes were shot by the well-known and respected photographer, John Illman. Other CZ scenes came from the late George Barnes who — was also a well-known scratch-building model railroader of some marvelous O-gauge models.

To quote a review in Model Railroad News, “Charles Smiley combines lavish footage and a fine script to tell the story of this unusual little-big railroad… For long-time WP fans this is a labor of love.” Featuring: California Zephyr, Steam to Diesel, FT to F7 Power, U-boats and Geeps, SN Electric Freight, WP Rail Ferry, Feather River Ry. Including coverage of: Feather River, Nevada Desert, High Line, Oakland Pier, Stockton, Niles Canyon, Oro Dam.