Tough Times on the Southern Pacific
SKU: DVD-PNX-TTSPOriginal price was: $29.95.$24.95Current price is: $24.95.
This collection of archival footage documents the trauma that Mother Nature and Murphy’s Law inflicted upon Southern Pacific and how the railroad coped with these setbacks.
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| Producer | Pentrex |
|---|---|
| Run Time | 54 minutes |
| Narration | Yes |
| Shrink Wrap | Yes, Brand New |
| Technical Details | No Region Code, NTSC |
This collection of archival footage documents the trauma that Mother Nature and Murphy’s Law inflicted upon Southern Pacific and how the railroad coped with these setbacks. Southern Pacific’s own film crews created most of this material to display the railroad’s efficiency and resourcefulness in times of great stress. Now you can experience these challenges, from an earthquake on the San Joaquin Division in 1952 to the Roseville Yard bomb explosions of 1973. Flood, fire, derailments, and worse — here’s what you’ll see in Tough Times on the Southern Pacific:
Eel River Canyon
“The Christmas Flood of 1964” was a deluge that wiped out entire towns along the South Fork of the Eel River and either swept away nearly 100 miles of rails or left them dangling along the cliffs like giant garlands. It took 177 days to repair what nature did in hours.
Recovery of the 8946
In 1971, a derailed train crashed down the mountainside on Donner Pass. You’ll see how 3 bulldozers and a pair of locomotives hauled the damaged engine uphill and back onto the rails.
Trestle Fire on the Great Salt Lake
In 1956, a fire burned 645 feet of trestle, putting the Lucin Cutoff out of service. SP and Morrison-Knudsen cooperated in rebuilding the trestle, and SP crews laid 650 feet of new track in just one week.
Earthquake on the San Joaquin Division
In 1952, the second most severe earthquake in California’s recorded history damaged tunnels and destroyed tracks. Yet 25 days later, the tunnels were daylighted or by-passed and the tracks were restored.
Flooding along the Rio Grande
In 1954, one of the worst floods in Texas history stripped away tracks and soil, trapping the Sunset Limited. But within two days, 559 men and 88 pieces of equipment were at work putting back what nature had washed away.
Explosion in Roseville Yard
In 1973, a train carrying over 7,200 bombs caught fire and soon the bombs began to explode. Shrapnel flew for miles around. The town of Antelope was destroyed. Unexploded bombs were found up to a mile away. Remarkably, no one was killed and six days later SP’s yard was rebuilt enough to resume service. You’ll see the explosions and the remarkable aftermath.
Curtis Watson –
Seeing these disasters is already mind-blowing, but seeing how the SP rebuilds from them is even more amazing! This is a must-have for anyone’s collection!
Lloyd –
Tough Times is a simple word to describe what we see in this video. The SP people did a fine job preserving the footage for us to see. Floods, fires, earthquakes, and a derailed engine down a mountain. Wowww. Amaizenly, was the speed that the railroad was able to recover from these incidents. An awesome video covering some of the hardships that railroads have suffered.
rickyfreni –
Floods, Fires, Explosions, Derailments, & Expensive headaches that test the metal of a mighty railroad: Southern Pacific. This 2013 DVD features lots of spine tingling, heart breaking company films on how the SP tried to battle against mother Nature & Murphy’s law. From the 1952 earthquake, to SD45 number 8946 being lifted on the rails again, to a live news flash of the Roseville bombs and destroying the nearby towns in 1973. While it’s very important to work on the railroad to keep the trains rolling, and keep the times moving, This is a jaw dropping look back to the disasters on how and why the SP cleans up their big messes.
Don Robinson –
Good DVD in standard definition and colour featuring the following : Eel River Canyon flood of 1964, Recovery and re-railing of locomotive #8946 at Donner Pass, the 1956 Salt Lake trestle fire, 1952 San Joaquin earthquake, 1954 Flooding along the Rio Grande River in Texas and (reason why I purchased ) the 1973 explosion in Roseville Yard in which 7,200 bombs caught fire and started exploding eventually destroying the town of Antelope. Well worth it.
Dylan Jones –
This video shows a lot of footage that was really and truly un-heard of. My favorite scene was the re railing of an SD45 that derailed on Donner Pass that rolled down an embankment. It was also great news that despite the immense damage the unit received.