We started today at 4 AM. Why, you ask?
The reason is that we needed to get to Stillwater, Minnesota, by 10 AM so that
we could shoot
the
Noon run of the Minnesota Zephyr Dinner Train. There were two runs today, a
night time run on Saturday, and another Noon run on Sunday. And to see the
train, we needed daylight. It was a fast, but foggy trip, with our
navigational system unerringly getting us to the depot. Where we found that
there would be no runs, as the power car had blown the generator. So there
was no AC for the cars, the food service, or anything. The Cat repair guys
were hard at work on what was a suspected leaking cylinder liner, but at that
point, the train was going nowhere. So, as the weather was good, we started
to work. We shot all the train exteriors, some table
setups, and some scenic shots of the town. Stillwater is a very nice little
place, and the
people
were unbelievably polite. It is an old logging town, which has recreated
itself as a tourist spot with antique shops, and the like. In fact,
apparently the Minnesota Transportation Museum was here, but the city fathers
caved in to people complaining about the noise, and the Museum went to Duluth.
This was much to the dismay of the business community. There are a lot of old
Victorian style home left over from the boom days, and they have been
restored. Stillwater was at one time the third largest city in Minnesota, but
once the logging left, it fell on hard times. Fortunately, it has seemed to
bounce back, with antiques, restored buildings, and, of course, the train.
There is also a
great old center span lift bridge, which is a bit of an historical landmark
for the town. We did get a break. The Cat guys had to go for parts, and
while they did that, the company moved the train for us.
So
we were able to get all the exterior run-bys in good weather. This was a
plus, because it is supposed to rain for the next couple of days. We did a
bit of material in the town, which has a bad traffic problem for such a small
place, and then, dead tired, we headed to the motel. Tomorrow we will
continue with interiors, food preparation, and the dinner itself.
As luck would have it,
the pestilential weather that was promised for today, did not materialize.
Instead, we were greeted with a bright, sunny, albeit windy day. We spent the
morning at the Mall of America, just wandering and looking at the stores. Mid
afternoon, we went back to the railroad, and set up for the shoot. The
evening trip was going out as scheduled, so we shot car interiors, table set
up, and people arriving at the station. The
train consists of three coaches, which were originally from the City of New
Orleans, a converted Budd Vista Dome car which was built for eastern railroads
and proved one inch to high for the eastern tunnels, and the operation's pride
and joy, one of the last remaining Grand Dome cars in existence. The
interiors have been refurbished, and the paint scheme on the train makes for
quite a striking look. We did some work in the station. The
structure is new, but was built in the style of the original structure.
There are some historical displays
inside,
and a very cozy waiting area with station clock and fireplace. People
started arriving around 5:30, and we did some work as they arrived.
Finally, just about the time the sun set, the train departed, and we commenced
with the dinner. The only problem we ran into was the fact that the train,
without telling us, turned out al the lights in the cars and just used
candlelight. Needless to say, this made videotaping just a bit difficult. I
did get our car steward to leave the overhead lights on (truthfully, he forgot
to turn them off) so we have some footage with a rather fun group of women.
The Zephyr Cabaret
singers walked the cars with period music, and worked with us to provide some
interesting set-ups. I’m not certain how I’m going to construct the
script so that we have some sort of continuity between day and night footage.
It will be a challenge. The food was good, and at the end of the three hour
ride, we were treated to the start of the expected terrible weather. The
weather front produced some spectacular lighting shows. I haven’t seen
anything like this in quite some time, and it was amazing. There were huge
arcs from cloud to cloud that just lighted up the sky over and over. There
was no rain, and surprisingly, no thunder. We found out later that there was
a tornado about twenty miles north of us, but the light show was impressive.
There isn’t much to
report. We got up, we hit the road, and got home mid afternoon. It was an
interesting time, and without the support of the Zephyr crew, we would have
had great difficulty.
the
Noon run of the Minnesota Zephyr Dinner Train. There were two runs today, a
night time run on Saturday, and another Noon run on Sunday. And to see the
train, we needed daylight. It was a fast, but foggy trip, with our
navigational system unerringly getting us to the depot. Where we found that
there would be no runs, as the power car had blown the generator. So there
was no AC for the cars, the food service, or anything. The Cat repair guys
were hard at work on what was a suspected leaking cylinder liner, but at that
point, the train was going nowhere. So, as the weather was good, we started
to work. We shot all the train exteriors, some table
setups, and some scenic shots of the town. Stillwater is a very nice little
place, and the
people
were unbelievably polite. It is an old logging town, which has recreated
itself as a tourist spot with antique shops, and the like. In fact,
apparently the Minnesota Transportation Museum was here, but the city fathers
caved in to people complaining about the noise, and the Museum went to Duluth.
This was much to the dismay of the business community. There are a lot of old
Victorian style home left over from the boom days, and they have been
restored. Stillwater was at one time the third largest city in Minnesota, but
once the logging left, it fell on hard times. Fortunately, it has seemed to
bounce back, with antiques, restored buildings, and, of course, the train.
There is also a
great old center span lift bridge, which is a bit of an historical landmark
for the town. We did get a break. The Cat guys had to go for parts, and
while they did that, the company moved the train for us.
So
we were able to get all the exterior run-bys in good weather. This was a
plus, because it is supposed to rain for the next couple of days. We did a
bit of material in the town, which has a bad traffic problem for such a small
place, and then, dead tired, we headed to the motel. Tomorrow we will
continue with interiors, food preparation, and the dinner itself.
train consists of three coaches, which were originally from the City of New
Orleans, a converted Budd Vista Dome car which was built for eastern railroads
and proved one inch to high for the eastern tunnels, and the operation's pride
and joy, one of the last remaining Grand Dome cars in existence. The
interiors have been refurbished, and the paint scheme on the train makes for
quite a striking look. We did some work in the station. The
structure is new, but was built in the style of the original structure.
There are some historical displays
inside,
and a very cozy waiting area with station clock and fireplace. People
started arriving around 5:30, and we did some work as they arrived.
Finally, just about the time the sun set, the train departed, and we commenced
with the dinner. The only problem we ran into was the fact that the train,
without telling us, turned out al the lights in the cars and just used
candlelight. Needless to say, this made videotaping just a bit difficult. I
did get our car steward to leave the overhead lights on (truthfully, he forgot
to turn them off) so we have some footage with a rather fun group of women.
The Zephyr Cabaret
singers walked the cars with period music, and worked with us to provide some
interesting set-ups. I’m not certain how I’m going to construct the
script so that we have some sort of continuity between day and night footage.
It will be a challenge. The food was good, and at the end of the three hour
ride, we were treated to the start of the expected terrible weather. The
weather front produced some spectacular lighting shows. I haven’t seen
anything like this in quite some time, and it was amazing. There were huge
arcs from cloud to cloud that just lighted up the sky over and over. There
was no rain, and surprisingly, no thunder. We found out later that there was
a tornado about twenty miles north of us, but the light show was impressive.
