Steve Sloan's Video Blog

I made some error when I set up my project and captured this video. I have not yet figured it out, but I will. On November 21, 2008 Modesto and Empire Traction 70 Tonners are hard at work between Modesto and Empire, California. These little General Electric locomotives are over 50-years old. Their days are numbered because their replacements were coming as these videos were shot.

Part 3 of 3 The last of my three part coverage of the Spirit of Washington on June 8, 2007. This is the train on its former route between Renton and Woodinville, Washington. This provides an overview of all three short videos with special coverage of the return of the day's lunch charter and the dinner train on the spectacular trestle near Bellevue. This also features the Oriskany Strings song, The Train Don't Run Here Anymore.

Fourth of July 2007 Party Yesterday we went to our friends Tyler and Mary's house where we had wine and great food with them and other friends [photos.] That was a lot of fun. After the movie we went to a nearby park and saw an impressive fireworks show. I shot video of the fireworks and edited it into the film you see here. This film is also posted on YouTube.

Last weekend we went to the aquarium I was very impressed. I created this short movie that contains some of my impressions. It is available above in Quicktime format or it can be viewed here on YouTube.

Spirit of Washington Train, Part Two On June 8, 2007 I shot video of the Spirit of Washington, a dinner train, that runs from Renton to Woodinville, Washington. It uses rare locomotives called F-units. The track it runs on is due to be removed for a highway project and it only has about a month left to run. They ran two Spirit trains on June 8, including a lunch charter train for employees of T-mobile. The Quicktime movie above is the train after it left Renton. This video focuses on the train in Woodinville, Washington. This follows part one, previously released.

I am in Yakima, which looks amazingly like Barstow Except, it does not have as many trains as Barstow. Yesterday I had a great day of train chasing. I shot the Spirit of Washington, a dinner train, that runs from Renton to Woodinville, Washington. It uses rare locomotives called F-units. The track it runs on is due to be removed for a highway project and it only has about a month left to run. They ran two Spirit trains yesterday, including a lunch charter train for employees of T-mobile. The Quicktime movie above is the train leaving Renton, followed by the also soon to be retired freight train.

Meet at Mott, May 31, 2007 These two Northbound Union Pacific freights met today at Mott siding, just on the former SP Shasta line. As the trains met clouds rolled in from an approaching thunder storm. I am heading north and this seven minute Track Warrants video is the first for this trip. I am on the road! This was Quicktime Video shot less than five hours ago and edited in a campground near Ashland on my laptop and posted using a nearby open wireless network.

SP Finales, 1985, Farewell to Commutes and U-Boats In the Summer of 1985 SP power stopped being used on the peninsula commute trains. Meanwhile, across the bay, some of SP's last U-boats were being scrapped. This video, converted from super-eight Kodachrome movies, captures that period. As these movies were silent, this video includes the song "What I'm Missing" by Everyday Jones.

"Scab Trains" of Altamont Pass In May of 1985 the Southern Pacific Railroad was preparing for a possible union strike. To train its management crews to operate trains in the absence of union crews, the SP conducted management training on the embargoed SP rail line over Altamont Pass. The union train crews called these the scab trains. It was SP's last use of this famous line.

My older son's are now grown men with families of their own. This video, taken from family movies and told from their mother's perspective, shows the world when they were little as told to the music of Heather Sullivan.