Unusual Railroads
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Unusual Railroads
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Henderson Mine/DVD
$24.95
The Henderson Mine is located 50 miles west of Denver, CO. The mine has been in operation since 1976 using a panel caving process and a rail transportation system to mine molybdenum. The rail system was a 42-inch cantenary style railroad. Motive power was supplied by 32 Swedish built ASEA electric locomotives. Each locomotive rode on two axles and weighed 55 tons and was dual voltage 1400 and 600 d.c. volts. The lower voltage was for safety purposes in close clearance portions of the mine. The Henderson Mine also had three small diesels on their roster for non-electrified portions of the line. The rail line moved ore 14 miles from the mine to the mill using 250 20 ton ore cars. The railroad included a 9.8 mile tunnel under the Continental Divide that was longer than either the Cascade or Moffat tunnels. The tunnel was said to be the 10th longest railroad tunnel in the world. After 23 years of operation the railroad ceased operation on July 30, 1999. This unique railroad was replaced by a conveyor belt system and an historic piece of Colorado mining history became a memory.
Swanton Pacific/DVD
$24.95
Twelve miles north of Santa Cruz, California on the beautiful 3200 acre Swanton Pacific Ranch you'll find the Swanton Pacific Railroad. The railroad has three one-third scale Pacific type locomotives and a miniature General Electric U25B diesel. The 19 inch gauge steam locomotives were built for Louis MacDermot’s Overfair Railway at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915. MacDermot built five locomotives for the railway, four Pacifics and a 0-6-0T switch engine. Only three of the Pacifics were operational and the 0-6-0T was used in the construction of the Overfair Railway. After several owners and three quarters of a century the Swanton Pacific has acquired three of the Pacifics and the 0-6-0T. The forth non-operational Pacific is on display at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento.The railroad has an operational turntable, roundhouse, truss bridge, and a miniature crane. All of these things can be seen in Machines of Iron’s Swanton Pacific. The San Francisco Zoo’s unique railroad is included as a bonus featurette.
To Mount Lowe With Love/DVD
$24.95
A "railroad to the stars" once ran from Pasadena to Mt. Wilson. By way of Pacific Electric Red Car, incline cable car, and electric trolley, passengers were carried on this scenic railway to beautiful mountain hotels and splendid restaurants. Built before the turn of the century, this engineering wonder is now gone. By way of black and white motion pictures and stills you can go back in time for a look at this great mountain experience.
