In the last 24 hours, Pentrex uploaded their video Denver & Rio Grande Western to YouTube. It is one of the best railroad videos ever produced and has been one of my personal favorites since the days of VHS! If you haven't seen it, you owe it to yourself to view it. I would give you the ability to watch it below, but Pentrex--understandably--wants to keep it exclusively on YouTube. While I personally can't stand the terrible ads placed by YouTube*, viewers will not be disappointed by nearly 2 hours of the Rio Grande in the 1990s. From Amtrak's California Zephyr climbing to the Moffat Tunnel to the sweeping vistas of the Tennessee Pass line and Glenwood Canyon on out to Ruby Canyon, images from this video come to mind whenever someone talks to me about the Rio Grande in its heyday.
While readers of this blog know a prime topic explores what was so special about railroads in Colorado in the 20th century, this video should be "exhibit 'A'." I don't know how many times I've seen this video (dozens certainly, possibly hundreds), but I've left it for weeks in my DVD player to play whenever I needed a moment of calm train watching goodness. It is my absolute favorite video to watch whenever I want to relive the days of personal railfanning standard gauge from the 1970s, 80s and 90s! Is it perfect and free of errors? No, but it's damn close! Seriously, I've never seen this kind of work elsewhere. How did the videographer get permission to sit with the cab door open on what looks to be at best a 20°F. November morning in South Boulder Canyon all the way to the Moffat Tunnel? I admire the dedication in that cab, and I envy them a bit too.
Go! Go and watch it. If railroading, especially mountain railroading, is in your blood, you will not be disappointed! ⚒
* - Seriously now, who wants to hear about promised "prostate tricks" and toilet rust ring removers? Non-subscribers seem to be mercifully spared the worst of the ads and they only appear every 30 minutes at the time of this post.
