The weather has turned warm. We wound
our way through the Chicago construction and resultant traffic, and shot
across Indiana to Milan, Ohio. Tomorrow we head for the self acclaimed,
"Roller Coaster Capitol of the World." And of course, they have trains.
Today was another hot and steamy
day. We headed to our
shoot
site, Cedar Point Amusement Park, which is on a peninsula jutting into Lake
Erie outside of Sandusky, Ohio. CP is an old amusement park, originally
started in the late 1800's. Today it is noted for it's roller coasters,
and it boasts some of the fastest (120 MPH) and innovative coasters in the
world. But that wasn't why w came. We came to see the narrow gauge
steam operation. The park has three primary operating engines, all
little 2-4-0's that run about a two mile loop through the park. We shot
a lot of the coasters and trains in action, and walked the Midway. There
were a lot of people here, and at several points we
thought we were going to get shut down due to rain. But in all cases,
the weather broke up and passed by. This is important, as the high rides
all close down when winds get to 30+ mph, and there is the threat of
lightning. There was another film crew here today, but we never saw
them. What was amazing, was how stupid some people act when they see a
TV camera. I don't recall ever having so many people yelling and mugging
at the camera, ever when it plainly wasn't on. But we were kind, and
persevered. The park has a mixture of coasters - metal, hybrid, and
wood. And they all go very fast and twist, loop, turn and drop.
One has a 95 degree drop. Needless to say, the lines were long and the
thrills immense. We had a long day, and were glad we stuck with it, as
we finished most of the shooting in good weather.
The weather held today, and we went
off to the park in finish the segment. We ran into some initial
difficulty, as everywhere we wanted to do a standup interview with the park
media rep, there were speakers playing loud music. So we improvised, and
put the light kit box over the most annoying unit. The hard case if
filled with foams, and sufficiently muffled the music. We shot a bit
more - the Maverick coaster, the log flume, and some general amusement park
rides. We still didn't get into the observation tower due to the winds.
But the sky was blue, the humidity was down, and it was a gorgeous day.
Everyone at Cedar Point was great, and helped us immensely. It's fun to
be there - especially if you like coasters.
That completed, we headed down the road to Coshocton, and
out next segment, which is a feature on the Ohio Central Railroad. We
hooked up with an old friend who is now the property manager, and the owner.
They had a whole schedule
laid
out for us. To get a jump on things, we went about a mile south of the
main office, and shot a crew laying new track for a bran new ethanol plant.
Our motel was 40 miles away, due to the fact that all the local hotels are
booked solid for the construction crews. We did manage to stumble on
another one only half the distance, so will move to the new one tomorrow.
OHIO CENTRAL RAILROAD - SEASON 7
July 12-14, 2007
We were off early to meet the folks
at the Ohio Central System in Coshocton. The system is comprised of 10
short line railroads, which share a dispatching system, engines, and
infrastructure. The owner, Jerry Jacobson, is a former anesthesiologist,
who decided that his passion in life was railroading, and started with some
track and a steam engine in 1985. The OC is now one of the largest short
line operations in the country, serving freight, coal, and other rail related
services throughout southern Ohio. And they certainly have an impressive
array of locomotives. The railroad has ten steam
locos, three of which are operational. The others are in various states
of restoration. There is a large roster of vintage diesels, including
the largest compliment of GE B23 Super 7s, Fairbanks Morse switchers,
Baldwin's, Alco's and a wide variety of passenger cars. Many of these
engines are actually purchased on the eBay website. The railroad pulled
out #33, a 2-8-0
Consolidation, which was the standard heavy freight loco for the early 20th
century. Re-letters in the LS&I livery,
she did some switching and pulled a string of cars through the countryside.
We did have a first. We had a situation where a shot from a riverbed of
the train passing through a three span truss bridge
would
have been awesome. But try as we might, we just couldn't figure out how
to get down to the river. We shot some footage of a coal train serving a
large area power plant, and a couple of interviews at the main office yard.
All in all, we had a good day, made possible by the immense cooperation of the
entire staff of the Ohio Central. We also found a motel slightly closer,
and will start again tomorrow.
We had a slight change of plans this
morning. Instead of doing interviews, the railroad put together a short
freight so that we could do some run-by's in different locations. They
were
gracious
enough to hold the train at three points while we got set up at each, and then
once were finished, they pulled a locomotive and a couple of cars off to
another destination. I must say that the cooperation of the staff here
has been superb. The itinerary has worked well, and John B Corns is to be
commended for his effort in putting this together. The president of the
railroad did a
great interview as did the dispatcher. We shot a bit of footage at the
Morgan Run shops, where much of the steam and diesel collection is stored.
The shops were in the process of rebuilding a locomotive and the crews dropped
a new generator in behind a rebuilt prime mover. We also got a briefing
on the new Quantum dispatch system which the railroad is testing in
conjunction with the Federal Railroad Administration. The system will
link GPS locators with data transponders on each locomotive. It will
build a database of the railroad relating to terrain, crossings, and other
physical characteristics. It will monitor location, loco systems, and
will literally bring an engine to a safe stop without overrunning a block.
If the engineer follows the directions of the on-board unit, it will tell how
to run the train for best efficiency and safety. And with a web
interface, it can be monitored from a hand held device from anyplace on the
planet. It's now in use in Panama and Brazil and this is the first big
test in the US. I rode the coal train back from Conesville to the Clow
Street switchyard, but the footage I shot will be in Dv as we didn't know how
to turn the unit into HDv. So I may have to repeat that. So
everything on the itinerary was checked off for today. We had one brief
rain show, but I was able to check all my boxes. A good day.
Today dawned cool and foggy.
At least it was foggy at 4:30 AM when we left for the railroad and some
special things planned for us in Zanesville. We were shooting the lift
bridge and swing
bridge
across the Muskingum River by 6:30 or so. The bridges actually don't
pertain to the river itself, but rather to a navigable canal that was built to
bypass the river rapids. There was a set of locks, and these were part
of a very extensive Ohio
canal system that connected to the Ohio River. The federal government
still keeps these waterways open. One bridge is a swing bridge, which is
very difficult to open, and the other is an automated bascule type lift
bridge. While the crew was shooting that, I was shooting POV material up
the track to the bakery that makes all the buns for Wendy's, east of the
Mississippi. So that was rather fun. Lunch was at a great little
restaurant that had a patio that decked out over the river. Actually, we
could have stayed there for some time, but
duty
called. Once we saw several trains cross the river, we headed up to
McLuney Tunnel, where the railroad is lowering the tunnel floor by 6 feet, so
that they can more efficiently run coal trains from the mines to the power
plant up at Conesville. Andy by that time, it was pretty much over.
We did a couple of shots of the Muskingum
County Building, which was built in 1874 and in all it's restored splendor.
Zanesville was one the capitol of Ohio, and boasted up to 56 passenger trains
per day. It was a major meeting point for rail lines up and down the
east coast, and off to points west. And that was the end of the shoot.
The people at the Ohio Central were extremely helpful, and we could not have
done this as efficiently as we did without their support. Many thanks to
the entire staff.
ZANE TRACE MODEL RR CLUB - SEASON 7
July 15-16, 2007
We
started today by shooting some of the Y Bridge in Zanesville. This is
the only remaining one in the world, and part of the old National Road, which
is now Highway 40. And then it was off to the third floor walkup of the
Zane Trace Model Railroad Club. The club has been around since the
1970's and is considered (well maybe not so
much anymore) southern Ohio secret. The stairs are daunting, but once on
site, the visitor is greeted a meandering operation with many different
vignettes pertaining to the area. There are coal mines, steam and
diesel facilities, all set in rolling hills. This is the third layout at
this location, and there is probably a bunch of money in the bench work.
One of the club members had a lot of wild cherry
trees
on his property. He cut them down, and used the wood for the layout.
The club has excellent track work. In shooting these videos, we have to
continually back trains up, sometimes for long distances. We had no
difficulties here. There are animated areas and lots of detail to really
give the illusion of realism in miniature. And of course, the Ohio Central
is included in the layout. The Charleston steam facility is new, and
quite impressive. Equally as large is the steel mill, which a former
member built off site and just brought in as a single unit. The club has also
used mirrors at the end points, to provide added depth to the areas.
We blew out of Zanesville early, and left a hazy trail
across lower Ohio and Indiana. The drive back was pretty easy with even
Chicago traffic parting for us. Having a iPass certainly helps! So
this ends our Ohio swing. Three more segments are shot. Now for a
big trip in just three weeks.
shoot
site, Cedar Point Amusement Park, which is on a peninsula jutting into Lake
Erie outside of Sandusky, Ohio. CP is an old amusement park, originally
started in the late 1800's. Today it is noted for it's roller coasters,
and it boasts some of the fastest (120 MPH) and innovative coasters in the
world. But that wasn't why w came. We came to see the narrow gauge
steam operation. The park has three primary operating engines, all
little 2-4-0's that run about a two mile loop through the park. We shot
a lot of the coasters and trains in action, and walked the Midway. There
were a lot of people here, and at several points we
thought we were going to get shut down due to rain. But in all cases,
the weather broke up and passed by. This is important, as the high rides
all close down when winds get to 30+ mph, and there is the threat of
lightning. There was another film crew here today, but we never saw
them. What was amazing, was how stupid some people act when they see a
TV camera.
I don't recall ever having so many people yelling and mugging
at the camera, ever when it plainly wasn't on. But we were kind, and
persevered. The park has a mixture of coasters - metal, hybrid, and
wood. And they all go very fast and twist, loop, turn and drop.
One has a 95 degree drop. Needless to say, the lines were long and the
thrills immense. We had a long day, and were glad we stuck with it, as
we finished most of the shooting in good weather.
laid
out for us. To get a jump on things, we went about a mile south of the
main office, and shot a crew laying new track for a bran new ethanol plant.
Our motel was 40 miles away, due to the fact that all the local hotels are
booked solid for the construction crews. We did manage to stumble on
another one only half the distance, so will move to the new one tomorrow.
locos, three of which are operational. The others are in various states
of restoration. There is a large roster of vintage diesels, including
the largest compliment of GE B23 Super 7s, Fairbanks Morse switchers,
Baldwin's, Alco's and a wide variety of passenger cars. Many of these
engines are actually purchased on the eBay website. The railroad pulled
out #33, a 2-8-0
Consolidation, which was the standard heavy freight loco for the early 20th
century. Re-letters in the LS&I livery,
she did some switching and pulled a string of cars through the countryside.
We did have a first. We had a situation where a shot from a riverbed of
the train passing through a three span truss bridge
would
have been awesome. But try as we might, we just couldn't figure out how
to get down to the river. We shot some footage of a coal train serving a
large area power plant, and a couple of interviews at the main office yard.
All in all, we had a good day, made possible by the immense cooperation of the
entire staff of the Ohio Central. We also found a motel slightly closer,
and will start again tomorrow.
gracious
enough to hold the train at three points while we got set up at each, and then
once were finished, they pulled a locomotive and a couple of cars off to
another destination. I must say that the cooperation of the staff here
has been superb. The itinerary has worked well, and John B Corns is to be
commended for his effort in putting this together. The president of the
railroad did a
great interview as did the dispatcher. We shot a bit of footage at the
Morgan Run shops, where much of the steam and diesel collection is stored.
The shops were in the process of rebuilding a locomotive and the crews dropped
a new generator in behind a rebuilt prime mover. We also got a briefing
on the new Quantum dispatch system which the railroad is testing in
conjunction with the Federal Railroad Administration. The system will
link GPS locators with data transponders on each locomotive. It will
build a database of the railroad relating to terrain, crossings, and other
physical characteristics. It will monitor location, loco systems, and
will literally bring an engine to a safe stop without overrunning a block.
If the engineer follows the directions of the on-board unit, it will tell how
to run the train for best efficiency and safety. And with a web
interface, it can be monitored from a hand held device from anyplace on the
planet. It's now in use in Panama and Brazil and this is the first big
test in the US. I rode the coal train back from Conesville to the Clow
Street switchyard, but the footage I shot will be in Dv as we didn't know how
to turn the unit into HDv. So I may have to repeat that. So
everything on the itinerary was checked off for today. We had one brief
rain show, but I was able to check all my boxes. A good day.
bridge
across the Muskingum River by 6:30 or so. The bridges actually don't
pertain to the river itself, but rather to a navigable canal that was built to
bypass the river rapids. There was a set of locks, and these were part
of a very extensive Ohio
canal system that connected to the Ohio River. The federal government
still keeps these waterways open. One bridge is a swing bridge, which is
very difficult to open, and the other is an automated bascule type lift
bridge. While the crew was shooting that, I was shooting POV material up
the track to the bakery that makes all the buns for Wendy's, east of the
Mississippi. So that was rather fun. Lunch was at a great little
restaurant that had a patio that decked out over the river. Actually, we
could have stayed there for some time, but
duty
called. Once we saw several trains cross the river, we headed up to
McLuney Tunnel, where the railroad is lowering the tunnel floor by 6 feet, so
that they can more efficiently run coal trains from the mines to the power
plant up at Conesville. Andy by that time, it was pretty much over.
We did a couple of shots of the Muskingum
County Building, which was built in 1874 and in all it's restored splendor.
Zanesville was one the capitol of Ohio, and boasted up to 56 passenger trains
per day. It was a major meeting point for rail lines up and down the
east coast, and off to points west. And that was the end of the shoot.
The people at the Ohio Central were extremely helpful, and we could not have
done this as efficiently as we did without their support. Many thanks to
the entire staff.
We
started today by shooting some of the Y Bridge in Zanesville. This is
the only remaining one in the world, and part of the old National Road, which
is now Highway 40. And then it was off to the third floor walkup of the
Zane Trace Model Railroad Club. The club has been around since the
1970's and is considered (well maybe not so
much anymore) southern Ohio secret. The stairs are daunting, but once on
site, the visitor is greeted a meandering operation with many different
vignettes pertaining to the area. There are coal mines, steam and
diesel facilities, all set in rolling hills. This is the third layout at
this location, and there is probably a bunch of money in the bench work.
One of the club members had a lot of wild cherry
trees
on his property. He cut them down, and used the wood for the layout.
The club has excellent track work. In shooting these videos, we have to
continually back trains up, sometimes for long distances. We had no
difficulties here. There
are animated areas and lots of detail to really
give the illusion of realism in miniature. And of course, the Ohio Central
is included in the layout. The Charleston steam facility is new, and
quite impressive. Equally as large is the steel mill, which a former
member built off site and just brought in as a single unit. The club has also
used mirrors at the end points, to provide added depth to the areas.
