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No More Mindless Runbys
Below are the ten newest releases from Big "E" Productions in both DVD-R and VHS format.

The Short Line - CSX's LCL Subdivision DVD

CSX’s LCL Subdivision between Cincinnati and Louisville, better known as the Short Line, is a busy mountain railroad smack dab in the middle of the Midwest. This spectacular, former Louisville and Nashville line parallels but does not follow the meandering south bank of the Ohio River in northern Kentucky accounting for the many hills or hogbacks that trains must traverse as they cross streams that flow northward into the Ohio River. Southbounds and northbounds each face a half a dozen climbs over one percent. When constructed in the late 1860s this was considered to be a superbly engineered line that included six tunnels and two high trestles although little straight track. Today the Short Line is a key link between North and South for CSX with upwards of twenty trains a day using this congested, single track, CTC equipped line. This program shows thirty hours of action on the railfan friendly Short Line, CSX’s LCL Subdivision between Cincinnati and Louisville, in May of 2013, including a train traversing the street running in La Grange. “The Short Line – CSX’s LCL Subdivision” is 67 minutes in length. Both the Blu-ray and DVD versions sell for $30.95 plus $5.00 for shipping and handling. This DVD can be watched with or without narration.

Price: $30.95

Attributes

  • Video Format: DVD

The Short Line - CSX's LCL Subdivision Blu-ray

CSX’s LCL Subdivision between Cincinnati and Louisville, better known as the Short Line, is a busy mountain railroad smack dab in the middle of the Midwest. This spectacular, former Louisville and Nashville line parallels but does not follow the meandering south bank of the Ohio River in northern Kentucky accounting for the many hills or hogbacks that trains must traverse as they cross streams that flow northward into the Ohio River. Southbounds and northbounds each face a half a dozen climbs over one percent. When constructed in the late 1860s this was considered to be a superbly engineered line that included six tunnels and two high trestles although little straight track. Today the Short Line is a key link between North and South for CSX with upwards of twenty trains a day using this congested, single track, CTC equipped line. This program shows thirty hours of action on the railfan friendly Short Line, CSX’s LCL Subdivision between Cincinnati and Louisville, in May of 2013, including a train traversing the street running in La Grange. “The Short Line – CSX’s LCL Subdivision” is 67 minutes in length. Both the Blu-ray and DVD versions sell for $30.95 plus $5.00 for shipping and handling. This DVD can be watched with or without narration.

Price: $0.00

Norfolk Southern's Birmingham to Meridian Main DVD

This program shows over twenty-four hours of action on Norfolk Southern’s busy line between Birmingham, Alabama and Meridian Mississippi. Trains were videotaped between Meridian and York, Alabama, on both sides of the Alabama – Mississippi line, in October of 2012. Thanks to the 2006 agreement between Kansas City Southern and Norfolk Southern that gave NS a thirty percent share of KCS’s Meridian to Shreveport Speedway and the right to connect with Union Pacific at Shreveport, the train count through Meridian has been growing as Union Pacific shifts their intermodal traffic between the West Coast and Southeast to the Meridian gateway, and the economy continues to slowly recover from the great recession. This route via KCS at Meridian and UP at Shreveport known as the Meridian Speedway is the shortest route from Atlanta to the West Coast. Today this historic former Southern Railway main line hosts many long intermodal and manifest trains, some with distributed power, along with Amtrak’s Crescent. UP, KCS, and NS power is freely mixed on the trains that flow between NS in Atlanta, and UP in Shreveport or KCS in Dallas. Norfolk Southern's Birmingham to Meridian Main is 65 minutes in length. This DVD can be watched with or without narration.

Price: $30.95

Attributes

  • Video Format: DVD

Norfolk Southern's Birmingham to Meridian Main

This program shows over twenty-four hours of action on Norfolk Southern’s busy line between Birmingham, Alabama and Meridian Mississippi. Trains were videotaped between Meridian and York, Alabama, on both sides of the Alabama – Mississippi line, in October of 2012. Thanks to the 2006 agreement between Kansas City Southern and Norfolk Southern that gave NS a thirty percent share of KCS’s Meridian to Shreveport Speedway and the right to connect with Union Pacific at Shreveport, the train count through Meridian has been growing as Union Pacific shifts their intermodal traffic between the West Coast and Southeast to the Meridian gateway, and the economy continues to slowly recover from the great recession. This route via KCS at Meridian and UP at Shreveport known as the Meridian Speedway is the shortest route from Atlanta to the West Coast. Today this historic former Southern Railway main line hosts many long intermodal and manifest trains, some with distributed power, along with Amtrak’s Crescent. UP, KCS, and NS power is freely mixed on the trains that flow between NS in Atlanta, and UP in Shreveport or KCS in Dallas. Norfolk Southern's Birmingham to Meridian Main is 65 minutes in length. This DVD can be watched with or without narration.

Price: $30.95

BNSF's Birmingham to Memphis Main DVD

BNSF main lines blanket over half of the U. S., but one of the areas that you would not expect to see BNSF trains is in northern Mississippi and Alabama on former St. Louis-San Francisco track. Thanks to predecessor Kansas City, Memphis and Birmingham completing a line between Memphis and Birmingham 125 years ago, BNSF’s easternmost gateway is Birmingham in northern Alabama where BNSF and CSX share an important connection. Today this line hosts a wide mix of train types from hot “Z” trains to nineteen thousand ton coal and taconite trains with radio controlled distributed power on both ends of the train. The new Toyota assembly plant just south of where we videotaped has added new business and this line is the primary interchange in the Southeast for intermodal business between CSX and BNSF. BNSF also gets finished autos from Norfolk Southern in Birmingham. This program shows over 30 hours of action on BNSF’s Birmingham to Memphis main in northern Mississippi in October of 2012. "BNSF's Birmingham to Memphis Main" is 62 minutes in length. This DVD can be watched with or without narration.

Price: $30.95

Attributes

  • Video Format: DVD

BNSF's Birmingham to Memphis Main

BNSF main lines blanket over half of the U. S., but one of the areas that you would not expect to see BNSF trains is in northern Mississippi and Alabama on former St. Louis-San Francisco track. Thanks to predecessor Kansas City, Memphis and Birmingham completing a line between Memphis and Birmingham 125 years ago, BNSF’s easternmost gateway is Birmingham in northern Alabama where BNSF and CSX share an important connection. Today this line hosts a wide mix of train types from hot “Z” trains to nineteen thousand ton coal and taconite trains with radio controlled distributed power on both ends of the train. The new Toyota assembly plant just south of where we videotaped has added new business and this line is the primary interchange in the Southeast for intermodal business between CSX and BNSF. BNSF also gets finished autos from Norfolk Southern in Birmingham. This program shows over 30 hours of action on BNSF’s Birmingham to Memphis main in northern Mississippi in October of 2012. "BNSF's Birmingham to Memphis Main" is 62 minutes in length. This DVD can be watched with or without narration.

Price: $30.95

CN AND CP Southwestern Ontario Mains DVD

For over 120 years Canadian National and Canadian Pacific railways and their predecessors have competed for traffic in Southwestern Ontario between Toronto and the Buffalo – Niagara Falls gateway and the U. S. border at Sarnia or Windsor with the large industrial city and one-time crew change point of London roughly midway between Toronto and the border. “CN and CP Southwestern Ontario Mains” shows over twenty-four hours of action in September of 2012 on both CN and CP main lines in southwestern Ontario. Canadian National was videotaped first on their Dundas Subdivision in the beautiful Thames River valley east of London around Ingersoll, then Canadian Pacific was videotaped on their Windsor Sub west of London in the flatter farmland of extreme southwestern Ontario. CN’s Dundas Sub between Toronto and London is two main tracks with CTC and also hosts five pair of Via passenger trains, while CP’s Windsor sub is a throwback to a previous era of railroading with automatic block signals, hand thrown siding switches, and track occupancy warrants issued by radio. “CN and CP Southwestern Ontario Mains” is 1 hour and 25 minutes in length and has the option of being viewed with or without narration.

Price: $32.95

Attributes

  • Video Format: DVD

CN AND CP Southwestern Ontario Mains

For over 120 years Canadian National and Canadian Pacific railways and their predecessors have competed for traffic in Southwestern Ontario between Toronto and the Buffalo – Niagara Falls gateway and the U. S. border at Sarnia or Windsor with the large industrial city and one-time crew change point of London roughly midway between Toronto and the border. “CN and CP Southwestern Ontario Mains” shows over twenty-four hours of action in September of 2012 on both CN and CP main lines in southwestern Ontario. Canadian National was videotaped first on their Dundas Subdivision in the beautiful Thames River valley east of London around Ingersoll, then Canadian Pacific was videotaped on their Windsor Sub west of London in the flatter farmland of extreme southwestern Ontario. CN’s Dundas Sub between Toronto and London is two main tracks with CTC and also hosts five pair of Via passenger trains, while CP’s Windsor sub is a throwback to a previous era of railroading with automatic block signals, hand thrown siding switches, and track occupancy warrants issued by radio. “CN and CP Southwestern Ontario Mains” is 1 hour and 25 minutes in length and has the option of being viewed with or without narration.

Price: $32.95

Norfolk Southern's Fostoria District in 2012 DVD

“Norfolk Southern’s Fostoria District in 2012” shows over 24 hours of action on Norfolk Southern’s Fostoria District, west of Fostoria and east of New Haven, Indiana where the Fostoria District joins the former Wabash line from Detroit, in September of 2012. This part of the Fostoria District is nearly straight and very flat as it crosses what was once known as the Black Swamp of northwest Ohio. And it was the heart of the greatly admired Nickel Plate, arguably the financially strongest railroad in the East before its disappearance into the Norfolk and Western in 1964. Once the home of the famous 700 series Berkshires, today big GEs that have taken on the nickname catfish thunder across the northern Ohio countryside with long intermodal, auto, and manifest trains in tow. “Norfolk Southern’s Fostoria District in 2012” is 58 minutes in length and has the option of being watched with or without narration.

Price: $30.95

Attributes

  • Video Format: DVD

Norfolk Southern's Fostoria District in 2012

“Norfolk Southern’s Fostoria District in 2012” shows over 24 hours of action on Norfolk Southern’s Fostoria District, west of Fostoria and east of New Haven, Indiana where the Fostoria District joins the former Wabash line from Detroit, in September of 2012. This part of the Fostoria District is nearly straight and very flat as it crosses what was once known as the Black Swamp of northwest Ohio. And it was the heart of the greatly admired Nickel Plate, arguably the financially strongest railroad in the East before its disappearance into the Norfolk and Western in 1964. Once the home of the famous 700 series Berkshires, today big GEs that have taken on the nickname catfish thunder across the northern Ohio countryside with long intermodal, auto, and manifest trains in tow. “Norfolk Southern’s Fostoria District in 2012” is 58 minutes in length and has the option of being watched with or without narration.

Price: $30.95

 

                                                       Big “E” Productions

P.O. BOX 75

GREENLAND, NH 03840

Our DVDs show the whole train!

Our web page is at www.trainvideos.com, email us at bigeee@trainvideos.com.

 800-832-1228 or 603-430-3055   Visa, MasterCard, AMEX or Discover Card Orders Accepted.

Last updated 12/14/2023

 

Frequency – twice a year

 

 Issue #179                            December, 2023

May all of you have a great Christmas and a Happy New Year.

 

Remember, our DVDs make great Christmas gifts for the railfan in your family.  This Newsletter begins our 32th year of selling train videos.  As long as both my wife and I are in good health we intend to continue selling old videos and I still have some hope to do a few new programs. We will not be attending the Big Train Show in West Springfield, Massachusetts anymore.

 

Again no new programs.  I was recently diagnosed with AFib (atrial fibrillation – fast, erratic heartbeat).  Medication seems to help but it will be some time before I know how much.  Also both knees need to be replaced but it will also be some time before that can happen.  My wife is still recovering from having both knees replaced.  She is using a wheelchair and walker to get around.  I would still like to do more videotaping but this is looking less and less likely.  We hope that all of you are safe and sound.  Our next newsletter will be around June of 2024.  Railfan Depot in Indianapolis is now carrying some of our videos.

 

We have four grandkids playing sports right now – two here in New Hampshire and two in Illinois.  I hope to be able to see their games in person as much as I can.  And then we have 12 other grandkids and one great grandson to keep track of.  I am looking forward to attending the girls state basketball tournament in Illinois beginning in 2025 and the class IV boys baseball tournament here in New Hampshire next spring.

 

No other train video producer shows and explains railroading like we do and our catalogue includes programs on fallen flags ATSF, SP, BN, CNW,  IC, Wisconsin Central, and Conrail.  We almost always show the whole train and most of our videos show all of the action – day and night.  Our newest program is “PSR on CSX’s Chicago Line in Northern Indiana”, part of our look at PSR on eastern railroads.  This is our 49th program to be released in both Blu-ray and in regular DVD.  You need to specify what type of DVD you are ordering with programs available in both DVD and Blu-ray.  All of our DVD’s have chapters and menus and around half – everything videotaped from 2004 on plus a few programs from 2003 - have a choice of being watched with narration and without narration by using the menu or audio and language buttons on your DVD player controller.  321 programs are available in DVD (49 in Blu-ray) and all are listed in the flyers.  No other train video producer shows and explains railroading like we do and our catalogue includes programs on fallen flags ATSF, BN, SP, CNW. IC, Wisconsin Central, and Conrail.  Our shipping and handling charge on orders remains $5.00 with no charge on orders over $100.  We offer year-round discounts on large orders.  See flyers for details.  These discounts are available only by mail and phone.  If you have questions and get our answering machine, please leave your name and number and we will call you back as soon as possible.  You can reach us by email at bigeee@trainvideos.com or on our webpage at www.trainvideos.com.

 

If we are able to videotape again, the focus will be on changes on the western railroads due to PSR.

 

                                              Dick and Barb Eisfeller