58 Minutes
The “Berkshire Montage Series” is a news style, year-in-review program.
Volume
1 begins with coverage of the Kentucky Railway Museum’s Ex-L&N,
Light Pacific, #152 on her inaugural run between Louisville and
Lexington, Kentucky. Runbys, pacing, and in-cab footage, it’s all in
this story, plus a rare doubleheader with ex-Monon BL-2, #32.
The
second story in this video is about the Fort Wayne Railroad Historical
Society’s ex-Nickel Plate Berkshire No. 765. The 765’s 1986 season
started out as her most ambitious season ever, but the insurance crisis
of 1986 brought things to a halt. FWRHS Operations Manager Rich Melvin
explains what happened and what the future holds for the excursion
industry.
The next story is about a group of dedicated
craftsmen who transform museum relics into operating time machines. Gary
Bensman and the men of Diversified Rail Services travel throughout the
country restoring steam locomotives and other historic railroad
equipment. We caught up with Gary and his crew in Youngstown, Ohio where
they were performing major boiler repairs on Canadian National #1551.
The
final story in Volume 1 is about a new home for an old friend, the
Steamtown National Historic Site, in Scranton, PA. After many years
tucked away in the rugged woods of Vermont, Steamtown now operates a
twenty-six mile round trip excursion into the Pocono Mountains. The
queen of this line is ex-Canadian Pacific #2317. We’ll take you in the
cab for a ride up the mountain and show you the rest of the Steamtown
collection.
