Tom’s DVD of the Month Review July 2015 |
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| Title | Norfolk Southern Heritage Fleet Vol. 2 |
| Producer | C. Vision Productions |
| Format | DVD Wide Screen |
| Playing Time | 2 hrs. |
| Purchased From | Trainvideodepot.com |
| Date Purchased | 6/1/15 |
| Price Paid | $27.95 |
In 2012, to commemorate their 30th anniversary, Norfolk Southern painted twenty new GE ES44AC and EMD SD70ACe locomotives in the colors of the predecessor railroads that became part of their system. Ten of these units were shown in Volume 1 and this video shows the ten units that were not shown in Volume 1. It is presented in wide screen format and the videography is excellent.
First shown is the Heritage Unit that was the first one created in the series, the 8098 Conrail ES44AC unit. The 8098 is shown as the lead unit on NS trains in Michigan, Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana, and Virginia.
Next up is the 8103, an ES44AC painted in the blue and yellow colors of the Norfolk & Western. The first looks at this locomotive were at locations in Illinois that are outside of the NS System. We see the 8103 beginning its pull in a yard at Butler, WI, just after a crew change. Finally, we see the 8103 in Virginia and Tennessee. The 8103 is lashed-up with a Pennsylvania RR Heritage Unit in one of the scenes in Virginia.
This brings us to the bright red Lehigh Valley ES44AC number 8104. We see the 8104 in several Indiana locations and finally in New Jersey.
We next see the Erie RR Heritage Unit 1068, an EMD SD70ACe. This locomotive is dark green with a light green band down the middle bordered in gold. We see this unit leading a unit steel coil train in Michigan and then we see it in Georgia and Tennessee. We get a nice close-up view of 1068 pulling out of a siding at Apison, TN. Our last look at the Erie RR Heritage Unit 1068 is from Virginia.
Up next is the Central of New Jersey 1071, an SD70ACe. The colors are blue and orange. We are given a couple interesting facts about the CNJ’s history: they were the first American RR to require that their employees wear uniforms and one of their locomotives set a world speed record in 1892 of 105 MPH. The 1071 is shone in scenes from Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee, Minnesota, and Michigan.
We move on to the ES44AC Central of Georgia Heritage Unit 8101. We see the 8101 crossing the Mississippi River at Little Falls, MN, pulling a unit oil train of empty cars to the Bakken Oil Fields in North Dakota. After several locations in MN, we then move on to Chicago, IL.
We are next presented with ES44AC 8102, a Pennsylvania RR Heritage Unit. This locomotive is shown in scenes from Indiana, South Carolina, Alabama, Virginia, Georgia, and Pennsylvania.
The Heritage Unit commemorating the Illinois Terminal RR is the next one we see in the video. This is an EMD SD70ACe, number 1072, with is bright green paint job with yellow trim. We see this locomotive in action in Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. In the Indiana and Ohio scenes the 1072 is lashed-up with the Conrail Heritage Unit 8098.
Up next is the Penn Central Heritage Unit 1073, an SD70ACe. The 1073 is shown teamed up with the Illinois Terminal 1072 and operating as foreign power on BNSF trackage in Chicago on a unit crude oil train. This pair of locomotives is also seen in Minnesota and Wisconsin pulling unit crude oil trains. We see the 1073 doing some street running in Warsaw, IN, and then the last scenes with this locomotive were shot back in Illinois on a unit crude oil train with the NYC Heritage Unit at the rear of the train serving as a dpu.
This served as a good lead-in for our final Heritage Unit, the SD70ACe 1066 New York Central Heritage Unit. We are shown this unit in scenes from various locations in Indiana and then we see it leading unit crude oil trains in Illinois and Minnesota.
We are shown some vintage F7 A and B units as a bonus at the end of this video.
This is a very enjoyable video and it should be in your collection. The wide screen format, high quality image, good narration, and interesting subject matter make this video a “keeper.”
