I had no idea this existed.

"Have Steam Engine, Will Travel" crisscrosses the country with the Gramlings and their engines from Connecticut to Oklahoma and Wisconsin to Florida.

https://us.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B ... 1602774838

It's a little hokey, a little "played up for TV", but I gotta say, it does a great job of not making everyone in this hobby look like lunatics.

Good on them for not only doing this, but doing well enough with it to have two seasons!

I discovered this last year, and thoroughly enjoyed it! I've heard that it cost $80k an episode to produce. The producers would like to do a 3rd season, but the money is just not available. Getting as many views and likes on Amazon will help. There are also a few episodes on YouTube, and there is a Facebook page as well.

Eric

Ed - Thanks for posting this and I checked it out last night. I have to give the Gramblings credit for transporting the locomotives to different locations. This gives many younger people a chance to see a working steam locomotive. A live steam locomotive conveys so much more than a dead locomotive in a museum or park!

I watched it when I got on Prime. It was good but overly cheesy and the standard plotline all such shows must have:
* Guys doing something that makes you wonder if this is their day job
* The older guy is a crusty old coot who talks down to the younger guy(s)
* The younger guy(s) is/are total boobs often, with facial expressions like Dennis the Menace (in real life, I'd never seen anyone with an expression like that)
* Everyone seems to like having them around
There were plenty of moments that clearly were created for the show and the second season was more like ads for where they went...

Did you just describe John and Barney as a crusty old coot and a total boob?

They’ve done as much or more for steam train rail preservation than anyone I know of. Not just for their own 3 operating locomotives, but also for the 1225 and Little River engine.

Shame that you would speak of them in such a fashion.

That is for sure how they're depicted on the show. It's just the standard format that most shows of this type have going these days.
You can see the same formula all the time for shows like this on TV.

Don’t all pile onto Lee now.

Contrary to popular belief (and Johnny Cash), the Gramlings and their locomotives have not been everywhere, man. Not everyone has had the pleasure of meeting them yet. Television shows don’t show everything and yes, speaking from personal experience, things are a little “hammed” up for entertainment value. Barney, John, and don’t forget Pat (I have yet to meet Barney’s wife), are loads of fun and genuinely nice people. They enjoy what they do and sharing what they love, which you’d think would be steam engines. I’d like to think it’s the interaction with people and the friendships they develop. The antics between John and Barney are real. They pick on each other. They pick on everyone. It’s fun. It’s a sport.

Lee, I hope you have the opportunity to meet and work with the Gramlings some day. I think you’d like them. We hosted them at the NAUG/RMNE in Thomaston, CT for several seasons, five I think, and always look forward to having them back even just to visit.

p51, unless you've met them, I would strongly suggest that you refrain from passing judgement on them. You're forming an opinion without first hand knowledge (gained from meeting them) solely from what you've seen. Would be the same thing as me basing my current opinion of you on what I've read on this post instead of meeting you in person.

Oh, for the love of...
I've twice said I was referring to how they are depicted, a current standard in shows like this.
I'm tired of this shtick as you see it all the time in these types of shows.
I never once said this is who they are, I just wish these "reality" shows would try something new and not use the same forumla.

The depiction was why I lost interest in the show after a few episodes. I've met Barney a couple of times and while he's definitely goofy, the producers just crank that aspect up to 11 and mash together anything that can in the cutting room just to achieve this end. Lee's interpretation of the Gramlings as they appear on the show isn't wrong. I highly doubt that applying this interpretation to the Gramlings personally would be correct, but that's not the case here.

Yeah, I'm not a fan of the way they ham all that up.

But still, compared with fare like Extreme Trains or whatever that Discovery show was, this is a nice breath of fresh air.