Railroad Forums 

  • "Extreme Trains" hosted by Matt Bown

  • Discussion related to railroads/trains that show up in TV shows, commercials, movies, literature (books, poems and more), songs, the Internet, and more... Also includes discussion of well-known figures in the railroad industry or the rail enthusiast hobby.
Discussion related to railroads/trains that show up in TV shows, commercials, movies, literature (books, poems and more), songs, the Internet, and more... Also includes discussion of well-known figures in the railroad industry or the rail enthusiast hobby.

Moderator: Aa3rt

 #625203  by GSC
 
A repeated show? A repeat? Already?

What did they make, six of 'em so far?

Sure way for once-interested watchers to find something else to watch.
 #625771  by Kamen Rider
 
GSC wrote:A repeated show? A repeat? Already?

What did they make, six of 'em so far?

Sure way for once-interested watchers to find something else to watch.
It was 8. That's all that they made.
 #627332  by Allegheny
 
Overall, I find the show interesting, but as mentioned in many of the posts above, there are some goofy parts that I think might give the general, non-railfanning public some inaccurate information. One thing that sticks in my head is the segment on the UP Produce Express where Matt took us to the UP repair shop (which was cool), but one of the traction motors went down and they had to repair the engine before they could proceed. Now, you railroaders out there tell me please, if this is a priority train, would they wait until this unit was repaired, or would they just cut it out of the train and replace it with an operable locomotive and get back on the line? Seems like uncoupling the damaged unit and replacing it with one ready to go would take much less time. I can see changing a wheelset on a freight car right on the mainline, that's one thing, but not waiting for a loco to be repaired. The other thing I noticed is that at times, they show a different locomotive than the one he has been riding. I'm not a rivet counter by any means, but when he has been riding in a nice new wide cab GE and then they show an old GP40 "ready to go", I think even non-railfan folks will notice this and wonder where the nice engine he had been riding in went to. I also agree about the produce train from Washington to Schenectady - Where was Chicago, Buffalo, etc.? I live in NY and would have liked to see some of that footage. How about a shot of Lake Erie in the background, or running parallel to the NS line here? How about the locks on the old barge canal along the Mohawk? He could have talked about how this was the main mode of freight transportation before the railroads came along.

That being said, though, alot of the side visits that he takes us on are very interesting, although I think they might want to stick with locations that have more to do with the main topic being discussed that episode. I did like the NS coal train episode, with info on coal mining and how the train is loaded and unloaded. I've never seen a rotary car dumper work before. I liked seeing loading of the containers on the intermodal BNSF train and harvesting cherries and the produce warehouse in Washington. This shows where the products come from, how they are loaded and unloaded, which I think gives the public a general idea of how things get from one place to another. I also thought the circus train was fascinating, as I have never seen how they move the animals and all that equipment from the train to the circus location. I don't think the circus will ever come to my town of 500 people, so this show is probably the only place I will ever see anything like that. I thought the parade of animals down through town was neat, as I'm sure the locals that get to see it feel as well.

I think that Matt does seem to get a little carried away with excitement too, especially someone who does this for a living. I can see keeping things exciting, but he gets a little goofy at times. Oh well, as others have said, at least this puts the railroad industry in a positive light and helps the general public see how important railroads are in delivering goods, and that running a train isn't always a bowl of cherries. Let's hope there are some more interesting episodes coming up this year.

Allegheny
 #627459  by nessman
 
I'm guessing when the train was coming through NY it was at night... on the other hand they only have so much $$$ in the production budget.

As for the wheelset, wouldn't they just set the car out on a siding as a bad order and continue on with the trip?
 #627570  by Allegheny
 
I would think that changing a wheelset is still much quicker than bringing in another freight car and transferring the load. It appeared to be a relatively simple operation - just jack up the car, roll out the bad wheelset, and roll in a new one, drop the car back down, and away you go. As long as you can access the train with the necessary equipment, as they did on the show.
 #627571  by Allegheny
 
One other thought I had on the produce train, would they run the UP units all the way, or change to CSX units? I'm thinking they would run the UP units all the way, since I think they talked about monitors in the cab that indicate if all the refrigerator units are working properly. Seems like it might be a hassle to change locomotives if the UP units are so equipped. Maybe the UP engines are dedicated to this job. Any insight from the railroaders out there?
 #627856  by nessman
 
I think the power stays with the train... as it's a "hot" train, changing power would require brake tests and all the assorted goodies that go along with the job.
 #631079  by moosespider21
 
Hey guys!
It seems that most of you have enjoyed the series which is great! The arm motion thing bothers me a little too when I watch it, BUT..... that's what comes natural so I don't know if I can fix it :) I noticed someone commented on rules violations at BNSF but if I remember right they don't enforce safety glasses in the cab. As long as the windows are closed. I may be wrong. As far as the handbrake violation I may need to be retrained.... I mean c-mon!!! I've been putting handbrakes on for almost 13 year so that kind of cracked me up! o my back..... No CSXConductor it's all good my friend. I attacked that handbrake because they finally let me do something I was familiar with. (your probably right!)
A lot of the editing is what it is. Different locos on different trains or that number doesn't match up with that number. If you're a rail fan it surley stands out, beleave me I know. Thank the stars I mentioned the correct track guage in the Transcon episode. Phew!
Anyway I just wanted to tell each and everyone of you thanks for watching and here's to hoping for a season 2. May be I'll see some of you trackside!
Matt
 #631108  by toolmaker
 
Matt, Welcome aboard! I was only able to catch a couple of shows but anything to do with trains is fine with me. :-) Are they going to re-run the 1 season again?

Thanks!
 #631166  by gprimr1
 
Yeah, they are replaying the episodes. I just watched Freight Train on HistoryHD and it was incredible. Just like being up in the Cajon pass.
Last edited by gprimr1 on Sat Jan 31, 2009 10:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
 #631270  by dhaugh
 
What I'd be interested in knowing is if all of the episodes were taped within a single time period. Just curious - I mean how long can any RRer get away from their day job? I enjoyed it, especially the reefer train episode - even my wife will watch it despite all the times I bore her with my hobby. Matt kind of answered my question about if there will be more episodes... I certainly hope so. Keeping my fingers crossed in Minnesota. Dave
 #631323  by SteveO
 
I too thoroughly enjoyed the show, and learned some things I didn't know. I do wish they had included more sounds of the trains and less music, but other than that it was pretty cool.

Matt, in the 844 episode, why no mention of the DD40X? I know the 844 was the star but that monster is pretty impressive too. Was it helping power the train, or just along for show?
Aerie wrote:I love the show. I hope they do the next series in HD.
It was in HD here, does your cable co. carry History HD?
 #631363  by rrfoose
 
Amazing is right... It would seem that his presence is as close to direct interaction with someone "famous" as most of us will get. And the fact that he read our comments means that come next season, he'll be able to apply that info to help produce a better product - it's a win-win situation here! Hope you're back next season Matt!
 #631714  by Mattydred
 
Anyway I just wanted to tell each and everyone of you thanks for watching and here's to hoping for a season 2. May be I'll see some of you trackside!
I think you did a great job Matt.

Everyone's a damn critic. Like they could have done any better. I'm hoping this won't be the last of Extreme Trains for the History Channel. Aah, railfanning is great once you set aside the smelly dorks and detail freaks that give Star Wars fans a run for their money.
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