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New England Short Lines DVD
 4 of 5 (1)

New England Short Lines DVD Sunday River Productions DVD-NESL
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The vibrancy of these short lines give us a picture of life in New England in the mid-1930s, after the Great Depression. These scrappy lines, some only 7 or 8 miles long, were often built to serve a specific commodity such as milk, ice, limestone, iron ore or granite, and their survival was dependent on both Yankee ingenuity and the market for these items. In the 1930s these railroads operated independently, beyond the control of the major rail systems, and did business much as they had done when they were first built in the mid-1800s. In order on the DVD:

The Belfast and Moosehead Lake

The Knox

The Lake Champlain & Moriah

The Claremont

The Montpelier & Wells River

The Barre

The Saint Johnsbury & Lake Champlain

The Suncook Valley

Photographed by Albert Hale and L. Peter Cornwall. Sound by Preston S. Johnson and Sunday River. Black and White, 38 min.


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DVD Item#:DVD-NESL
Runtime:38 Mins ($0.83/min)
Producer:Sunday River Productions
Aspect Ratio:Full Screen
Shrink Wrapped?:NO!
Disc Type:DVD
Region Code:0 Worldwide NTSC

ITEM NOTES REGARDING THIS PRODUCER
  • This producer chooses not to shrinkwrap most of their products. All the products we sell are brand new direct from the producer. We never sell used or second-hand products.
New England Short Lines DVD
Steamboy (Revere MA US) on 2020-03-11 17:58:48.

  •  4 of 5


In this recently turned 30 year old program from 1990, it starts with a look at a 2-6-0 in Rockland maine. Here it drops off and picks up passengers followed by a ferryboat on the water. Next there is a map of maine, followed by a gangcar, then comes a 4-4-0 with 2 coaches. Beginning with the Belfast and moosehead lake, a look at the route is shown as the same 4-4-0 arrives in Belfast, then it departs the depot. The men are loading the mail bags in the cars, as there is some riding footage included from the rear of the train. On one scene it makes a meet with a freight. At brooks, there is a passenger stop. Then the train leaves the depot. The riding resumes. Another stop was made in thorndike. The mixed train arrives in unity. Moving onto the winter scenes, it began with a ten wheeler being serviced at Belfast, then it leaves the depot. Same riding footage is included, but it's in the snow. A passenger stop was made in brooks, and the train resumes. At thorndike, another passenger stop was made. In unity, ten wheeler number 17 picks up a milk car. As it leaves, note the brakeman on top. Another passenger pickup, and the train resumes it's journey down the line concluding the B&ML segment.

On the Knox railroad, it also operates in maine. First we see a bird's eye view of the mountain, followed by some town street action in union. Engine number 6 is carrying 2 gondolas. Number 6 is a 2-6-2 tank engine. It's seen again going bunker first with the same gondolas after the load. Next the locomotive picks up another car after it was empty. Note the cow in the going away shot. Afterwards, number 6 is passing by some blossom trees and shrubs. Later it ran around the cars, and pushes them to the limestone loading area. With the cars loaded up again, the tank engine passes by the work zone, and later moves into the shed for a well deserved rest.

Moving onto the lake Champlain & moriah, it operates in New Hampshire and Vermont. First we see some mikados being serviced in port Henry. One engine backs up, then we see number 16 on an ore train. It's seen again as it goes under the tell tale pole. At Claremont New Hampshire, which is located near the Vermont state line, an electric engine does some street running. Another one: number 20 does some switching with some poles. More street running is shown as this scene concludes the Claremont.

On the Montpellier and wells river, 2-8-0 number 19 is standing by for service. Next, we see the morning train at wells river. It's led by a 4-4-0. The same train is seen again as it passes by the spur track, then we see another 2-8-0 on a different train. The same engine crosses the bridge and arrives at the depot. After a split second pan, a westbound mixed freight is shown. It's led by a 4-4-0. The same train passes by the siding as another 2-8-0 is on a mixed freight as the snow is falling. The same freight negotiates the bend near a lake. A 4-4-0 departs Montpellier with a passenger train. A Sunday mixed train to woodsville is shown as it's being led by a 2-8-0. A piece of string is on the southeast corner of the screen for the freight chase, as well as caboose riding footage. Another 2-8-0 runs tender first, followed by a water stop, and then crosses the Canadian Pacific. In Montpellier, there is some switching to be done. Another 2-8-0 departs the yard, then we.see a mixed train crossing the bridge. A doubleheader is shown at it heads for wells river. It's powered by number 19 and 2-8-0 number 18. The freight leaves the yard, crosses a bridge, and negotiates a bend at the same time.

At Barre Vermont, there were 4 railroads: the central Vermont, the Montpellier and wells river, the Barre railroad, and the Montpellier and Barre traction. Here we see rock of ages 0-6-0 number 27 going backwards first, then it does some switching. A 2-6-2 tank engine is iding, as 0-6-2 number 5 does the honors. Number 27 uncouples and backs up. Number 5 games on water, and ran bunker first with 2 cars, then it runs light. Number 5 arrives with its new car then it backs up. After that performance, it ran light again. Then it concludes with number 6 leaving with a flatbed.

Moving onto the saint johnsbury and lake Champlain, a look at the station is shown as a 2-8-0 passes by with a freight, then it goes over the bridge while negotiating a bend. Next, the Sunday only milk train is West from saint johnsbury. Here there is more riding footage from the caboose. 2-8-0 number 38 picks up a car and resumes it's journey down the line. At last, the train arrives at the depot. Here it does some switching, and continues down the line which includes one scene showing the locomotive crossing the covered bridge. The mixed freight goes over the covered bridge, and makes a meet with the milk train with engine 36. Number 36 arrives with the milk train in a local station.

Our last railroad is the suncook valley. Here we see an engine leaving its shed in New Hampshire. It's 4-4-0 number 3 which was built by porter. A look at the engineer is shown as number 3 ran light. Next a 2-6-0 is on a passenger run with one coach. The engine took a spin on the turntable. It's identified as engine 1. At suncook, the mail is loaded, while at Pittsfield, there is riding included. Another engine took a spin on the turntable. Then it backs into the station and later heads for it's destination. A mixed freight is shown at Pittsfield. In Epsom, it passes by a field. Later it ran tender first. Then it picks up some cars and ran around the freight. Number 3 backs into the shed concluding the main program.

Additional remarks by Steamboy:
Narration: Just enough.
Would kids enjoy this? Maybe.
Image quality: A little rough around the edges.
DVD Value: Seemed a little high, but not too bad.
Recommend to others? Yes.

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