Description

The Complete Sierra

The Sierra is portrayed in the mid-20th century at the zenith of steam operations. We see locomotives 34, 36, and articulated 48 with freights that stretch to the horizon, as well as double-headers and two different triple-headers.  Numbers 3 and 28 sport different colors and road names as they serve the movie industry.

The film covers the foundations on which the Sierra was built, gold, timber and hydro-power, and continues through the period when the railroad became the holy grail for makers of Hollywood Westerns and the Mecca of railroad enthusiasts world-wide. See the final steam run and the arrival of the three famous S-12 diesels. The film closes with the 104 year old Number 3 as it appeared in 1995 to celebrate Modesto's 125th Anniversary.

The Yosemite Valley Railroad, the Hetch-Hetchy, and the Yosemite Short Line are presented in archival black and white stills and elaborate 4 color maps. Their relationship to the Sierra and other rivals are highlighted. Photographed by John F. Kirkland, Glenn Beier, Jim Vail and Mac Owen. 79 minutes.