On May 10th 1869 two great railroad lines met at Promontory Summit and a golden spike was driven into the rails to join them. The result was the Overland Route, which linked the existing eastern rail network with the local lines in California to form America’s first transcontinental railroad – the railroad that united the United States.

Originally released in 2004, this DVD tells the story of the construction of the Overland Route in the Promontory Story and also shows, in five further programs, spectacular Overland steam footage from the end of the twentieth century.

Promontory Story
Our first feature tells the story of how the Overland Route came to be built, illustrated by scenes of Old Sacramento the California State Railroad Museum and the Golden Spike National Historic Site. We also enjoy  a ride along the original Central Pacific grade (track-bed to Brits), see a recreation of the famous meeting of the Union Pacific no. 119 and Central Pacific "Jupiter at Promontory on 10th May 1869, see a "Big Boy" and a "Big Blow" and feel the spirit of the "Hell on Wheels” gambling fever. The story comes up to date as a Union Pacific freight heads into the Sierra Mountains through the streets of Reno, “Vegas’s Little Brother” (Running time - 20 minutes)

Freight Today on the Overland Route
At the heart of railroads today is freight traffic, and freight is now
hauled across The Overland Route by one company - Union Pacific. We follow traffic from the streets of Oakland, California via the vast  marshalling yard at Roseville up into the Sierra Mountains and Donner Pass. Massive stack trains and manifests race across the deserts of Nevada and Wyoming and we see them at Tie Siding at the top of the legendary Sherman Hill. As an aside, we see an enormous train on UP’s rival BNSF in the streets of Fort Collins, behind 8 locomotives! (Running time - 35 minutes)

Passengers – The California Way
California – The Golden State. This was the destination of all those pioneers who took the wagon trains to the West Coast: today it is one of the foremost users of passenger trains, form the California Zephyr to the streetcars and cable cars of San Francisco. This programme shows you all the glorious variety, from the “Muni” cars to Amtrak’s sleek silver streamliners in the Sierras at the western and of the Overland Route. (Running time - 16 minutes)

Chasing the Challenger
Our principal feature is a one hour special pursuing Union Pacifics two massive steam locomotives across the States of Wyoming, Utah, Nevada and California on their marathon six-day tour to the 1999 Railfair in Sacramento. Double-heading was the order of the day and we see them in all kinds of classic Overland Route scenery -from the depot at Cheyenne, up Sherman Hill, along the Green River, over the Great Salt Lake. through Palisade Canyon and threading the famous Donnor Pass in the Sierra Mountains, all with incredible displays of smoke and steam! (Running time - 61 minutes)

The Great Salt Lake Rail & Air Show  -  Running time - 18 minutes

Riding the Challenger  
These two programmes are extended versions of two highlights of the "Chasing the Challenger" story. In the "Great Salt Lake Rail and Air Show" we take to the air for helicopter views of the locomotives crossing the famous 25-mile cause-wav over the Great Salt Lake, whilst in “Riding the Challenger" we experience what must be the ultimate cab ride ever - in the cab of the Challenger through the Nevada canyons of Carlin and Palisade along the Humbolt River. (Running time - 31 minutes)

Produced by - Unique Transport
Running time - 180 minutes (2 discs)
Footage: DVD PAL
Colour
Region 0 All Regions
DVD only
Originally released in 2004
Re-Released - November 2024