Twilight of the Original "California Zephyr" (Running on Santa Fe, Western Pacific, Rio Grande, and CB&Q) (The Films of Frank W. Schlegel)
At the very end of the 1950s, Frank Schlegel was in pursuit of a very endangered rail operation – the last steam power on the Norfolk and Western Railway – making a number of trips to Virginia and West Virginia to record the demise of the steam giants. A decade later, he was again chasing an endangered institution – the Silver Lady – the famed scenic train running between Oakland, California, and Chicago over the Western Pacific, Denver and Rio Grande Western, and Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railroads – the iconic “California Zephyr.” The train – called by some a National Treasure – was up for discontinuance.
In the cold weather of 1969, Frank took his brand new Super Eight movie camera and headed west aboard the Santa Fe’s combined “El Capitan” and “Super Chief” through southern Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona – headed for California and the “Zephyr.” See trains passing through spectacular scenery with many incomparable scenic vistas throughout this program.
Note: This DVD has been down-converted from our High Definition Video Master, and formatted for both Wide-screen and 4x3 TVs -- This DVD will properly play on Wide-screen televisions as 16x9 and on 4x3 televisions as pan & scan 4x3
