This video is about WP & BN Feather River Canyon as filmed by Stephen Harris in 1971. It shows Burlington Northern in its early transition phase and Western Pacific running through the canyon and the Keddie Wye.
I want to thank you for giving us a chance to relive the times of the WP. I come from 3 generations of the WP family. My grandfather, father, 3 uncle's and my cousin all retired or went with the merger buy out. I road the rode the SW-2's FA'S and FP 7'S. Spent many trips up and the canyon in the caboose and locomotives. We lived in Oroville all those great years of the changes with the building of the dam and the reroute of the WP. Spent time in the roundhouse with the mechanics and electricians. Frank Rogers master electrician, was my 4H electrical leader. Thank God we have the memories and the museum at Portola.
Thank you so much for these comments. What a terrific family history you have. My father was a UP Conductor and ran out of Ogden to Green River. Other relatives worked in the Evanston shops and Roundhouse. Yes, Portola is a great museum.
Thank you so much for this. My father worked for WP in the 70s He used to go in that canyon with the derrick crew to clean up the mess. My older brother went to work for them. I remember being so sad when UP took WP over. I miss WP, I used to collect WP memorabilia. I grew up in Paradise and still visit the canyon.
Thanks for relating this story. I'm glad the video meant something to you. My father was a UP conductor working Ogden to Green River, Wyoming for 30 years. I love Feather River Canyon. Wish Amtrak went through there.
I worked canyon for many years hated when up screwed it up so was such a great family company Probably met your father cause I am sure to have created a mess he cleaned
@@brucegordon3566 hey Bruce my father was Ray Herrera he used to carpool with Bill Lutz from paradise to the Oroville yard. My brother Nick Herrera worked for them in Oroville for a while. Lol he said his first job was getting his boss a bourbon. This was back in the early 80s I'm sure he was kidding. He was also kidding about the time he was filling up locomotives with diesel and fell asleep using one of those white foam/fabric grease blocks for a pillow and dumped 5000 gallons of diesel on the yard and when his boss drove into the yard over the tracks and through the puddle of diesel he thought he was going to get fired but they told him just write it up so it looks like the fuel went in other locos and it's ok. It just looks like they are working hard. Ahhh the good ol days lol
@@LeeWitten it's crazy how I have a love for trains from my father working for them. There used to be a dinner train that went through the feather river canyon but I'm not sure if it still runs. Most likely not. It's a shame the beautiful things that are lost to time.
@@WillaHerrera Only special chartered private trains go through there. Would love to be on one. I did go through back during the big train expo in Sacramento in 2000 I think. UP was supposed to head up with their Challenger but there was trouble with their steam equipment, 844 blew its tubes, so they used a diesel instead.
Calvin, we have met at the Union Station Library. Thanks for tuning in to the videos. I'm still working to get more of these uploaded. Railroad history means a lot to me having my dad as a Union Pacific conductor when growing up.
In 1946 or 48 my parents planned a trip from FtW through Colorado Springs, Salt Lake City west through Feather River Canyon to San Francisco. They were both employed by a RRY Co in TX. We went through the FR Canyon in a vista-dome car. Was a great adventure for a 10 or 12 yo. Love the many train videos on you tube.
What a wonderful treat to have this experience in your memories. I rode the remnant of the Zephyr, the Rio Grande Zephyr, from Salt Lake City to Denver and back. So I at least got to experience the zephyr domes.
The sound of multiple Geeps chugging along brings back great memories as a youngster . The Silver and Orange Western Pacific livery was of the best looking ever 😍
I miss western pacific trains back in the 1980s especially seeing them on the Union Pacific routes in L.A. and in the harbor port of long beach and los Angeles
Great video , with plenty of chinese red Burlington, GN big sky blue, S.P&S. Tan and pullman green and of course W.P. in Silver and Orange. Thanks for sharing, I really enjoed it.
Thanks for taking the time to dupe / transfer / edit all that film. Lots of stuff exists for the BIG railroads, but less for our beloved WP. Will be looked forward to the MILW stuff as well.
+Patrick Flynn (RETIRED) Thanks for the kind remarks. I'm a retired school teacher and am enjoying being the volunteer archive at the museum. Stephen Harris made 123 silent films and 10 sound ones. Its fun to search through them and pick out the "lesser lights" of railroading as well as the big companies.
+WikdSeafood Back in '99 I was able to take a UP special excursion through the canyon to Keddie Wye and back to Sacramento. I imagined being on the WP section of the California Zephyr, my favorite classic train.
+yardhog Thanks for the comment. Many thanks to our now deceased rail fan who filmed these scenes for posterity back then. I'm enjoying editing them. Many more to come as I find the time.
Early essence of Highline railroad. Steve did a great job documenting early Highline trains from the early 70's. Ex-SP&S Alco 636's and C425's were smoking it up. Unpainted Great Northern (although renumbered) F45's and CB&Q's ex-GP-35's were also regulars in the Feather River Canyon. He also documented the crew change at Keddie at the end of his film. WP was in transition too. Alfred Perlman is now running the WP and the diesels change from silver and orange to green and orange. Some of the diesels he filmed were only one month old. Many shots of EMD GP35, GP40's, and GE U30B's were featured here. Great post here and thank you for posting.
+Christopher Clipper Thanks for the comments. This era had a rich variety of power units and color schemes. I'll be getting some SP and Milwaukee Road shots up especially the Milwaukee electrics.
Shared on my Railroad Bridges, Related Photos & Video page, as well as Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad (Burlington Route), and Great Northern Railway pages on Facebook. My Paternal Grandfather and one of his brothers were career CB&Q men.
Thanks for you comments. I also have a family connection with railroading. My dad was a UP conductor running between Ogden and Greenriver Wyoming. These films mean a lot to me as well. Glad you are viewing them.
I also have connections to BN, UP, Mo-Pac, Santa Fe, N&W, and KCS. I do a railroad blog legaciesontherails.wordpress.com if you would like to email me a piece on your family's railroad story, along with any pics, links to videos you would want used to legaciesontherails@gmail.com, I'd be happy to do a feature on it.
Nice to know that. Two fellows that I'm acquainted with who work for the Utah Transit Authority are rail fans and excellent painters. They are painting a GP9 former SP to Western Pacific livery and it will be put on display at the Union Station. Will be nice to have WP represented.
Great Highline action. It's ironic that BNSF purchased the 'ol Highline in the late 1990s. Good sound dubs. Some could use a little Alco road power layered in but overall a great effort
@@LeeWitten Hi Lee Witten. I wish I did have Alco road diesel sounds but I don't or I'd 'foley' them in myself on a couple of silent film clips in my collection
+D.E. Mitchel I have a 27inch iMac and use iMovie editing software. I produce audio clips from other archival films including some from the few sound films that Stephen Harris made. I make the clips using Audio HiJack software.
The camera he is using is a 8mm, I used these in same time period and they had no auto stabiliser. I dare say you could do no better trying to use one of those cameras and do any better!! I tried it and mine came out similar.