Catenary Video Productions
Catenary Video Productions was established in 1986 by Donald L. Olsen. Encouraged by the fine cinematography of his father, Leslie, Don took up movie making, and found it an ideal medium for recording his major interests -- steam railroading, interurbans and steamships.
He has accumulated a library of some 50,000 feet of 16mm film, adding to his own films footage from the cameras of fine cinematographers such as Art Alter, Chuck Savage, Wil Whittaker, and Lous Stein. Although the library covers subjects back to the turn of the century, the majority of the footage was taken from the 1930's to the 1950's, and is in color.
Clips from his historical collection have been used in some outstanding local TV programs on transportation in the Bay Area. Don's goal is to transfer much of it to high quality video so it is available for the enjoyment of interested persons and placed in suitable archives.
Don's most exciting experience was firing on the Shasta Division of the Southern Pacific in 1947-48. Steam was still king, and most of the time was spent on cab-ahead helpers out of Dunsmuir. Seeing that beautiful country at all times of the day and year from cabs of thundering steam was the ultimate job for a born steam fan!
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A Rough Cut Life: Logging Railroad StoriesIn this thirty minute documentary, five steam locomotive enginemen tell anecdotes of their experiences in the woods, which are intercut with 16mm archival films dating back to 1903.Wrecks, run-aways, humorous incidents in camp, and double-headed snow ...more info
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Rails to the Redwood Empire Northwestern PacificRails to the Redwood Empire, originally released in 1991, is a pictorial history of the steam era on the Northwestern Pacific Railroad, which featured four distinct modes of transportation. The early, pre-1900 period was mostly narrow gauge, depicted in ...more info
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Southern Pacifics Circa 1950 Series 1-4 with storage boxOur spectacular programs documenting the zenith of steam-era railroading on the Shasta, San Joaquin and Coast Daylight Routes are all now on DVD. A handsome storage box will be included FREE with the purchase of this 4 DVD set. See the individual ...more info
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Southern Pacifics Coast Daylight Route Volume 4"The Most Beautiful Train In The World", SP's Coast Daylight, was a favorite of fans and travelers during its heyday in the 1940's. The luxurious, strikingly painted streamliner was conceived in the depths of the depression, and revolutionized rail ...more info
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Southern Pacifics San Joaquin Route Circa 1950 Volume 3"Southern Pacific's San Joaquin Route, circa 1950", Volume 3, provides an in-depth study of one of SP's major north-south arteries in the post-WW II decade. In this exciting era, the diesel gained ascendancy, but steam soldiered on until the middle ...more info
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Southern Pacifics Shasta Route Circa 1950 Volume 1"SP's SHASTA ROUTE, c.1950", Volume 1, features SP's north-south West Coast Route — from the Bay Area to Portland, Oregon -- with its steep grades requiring heavy power and multiple helpers. Special sections on SP's famous cab-forwards and mountain ...more info
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Southern Pacifics Shasta Route Circa 1950 Volume 2Lumbering played a vital role in Oregon's development and economy. Rare footage shows logging trains powered by as many as slx "hogs" on the Tillamook Branch, and the last regular passenger train on the Coos Bay Branch.<p>Portland's vast ...more info
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