Actually there was no wasted footage. RGS footage is rare to come by. There was very little poor footage that would be considered throw away.
When it comes to VINTAGE films of the steam era, particularly from the 40's there is never too much that you have to edit it all down.
In fact there is probably only about 40-44 minutes of footage, but the video time is more for several reasons-There is an opening piece thats about a minute, and closing minute for credits, that utilize some of the same footage we see in the show. Also there are some stills, and maps used with the narration to set up scenes and so forth. While we wish the show could have been longer it is what it is.
Also in the footage is a few minutes of the California Zephyr from Denver toward Grand Junction, as the photographer was riding in the cab.
He was meeting the other three guys from California at Grand Junction, and we have a clip from one guy, Russ, of Jack Alexander getting off the cab.
Jack was instrumental in setting up the 1951 charter of the goose(cost them 10 full fares to rent the goose for the day...roughly $52.50). What was neat was we had footage from 2 of the 4 guys in the program, and at the last minute we uncovered 3-4 more minutes of 16mm film from Mr. Johnson. Even though the price would not change of the show, I paid to have this footage transfered and included it in a little special segment before the credits. The scenes were different from the others.
So on that 1951 segment we have scenes from 3 different guys. The one who did not shoot films, was Clif Grandt(Dave's Father), who ultimately wound up with the films from Jack and Russ, which were the basis of the DVD we made up. I had a few minutes of B&W footage which was included from a previous purchase.
You have to realize how rare it is to see films of anything back in the 40's. With the RGS going out in 1951, few film guys shot the railroad. From what I gather, there are a ton of books on the RGS, but few videos.
Also kudos have to go to my info helpers on the DVD. As Dale Brown Mentioned he sent some good info, as did Ray Loose, Earl Knoob, and Clif Grandt. Clif provided some info on the people who shot the films and other info, plus some on the RGS. Earl and Ray knew a lot about the RGS, and locations as well.
We noted a couple of very minor things that could have been changed.
One refers to Mt. Sniffels, and that may be incorrect, as well as the pronunciation of Placerville. These are someone insignificant compared to the rest of the show. Only our helpers noted them, and by that time the dvd was done. It would have taken more than a day to correct, or change these!!!
Greg Scholl
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www.gregschollvideo.com]
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