Reported at:
https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/ ... %2C5784712



Scholl and his Greg Scholl Video Productions was among the very last(?) independent video producer still cranking out hard-copy videos for sale, with some 250 titles in his catalog, according to one of my associates. There remain a couple producers probably making more money off of YouTube and Facebook revenues than hard-copy production now, and a couple "labels" still distributing past products by the likes of Berkshire and Pentrex, but........

That is sad to hear. I knew Greg, we sell his products in the N&WHS Commissary. Unfortunately, like virtually all DVD products, those sales are down considerably over the last few years.

Greg was a nice fellow, good to deal with and honest.

Best wishes and condolences to his family

Ken Miller

He hadn't posted here since the mid-2000's (unless he had a second user name, possible if he lost his login information), but he posted to the Narrow Gauge forum within the last week, so it must have been unexpected. RIP.

very sad to hear this. My first train video as a young railfan was a Greg Scholl production. Over the years I accumulated quite a video collection and his were always among my favorites. I met Greg on an Ohio Central photo special and his personality was just as great as his videos.

Quick correction to that. My man John is the reason I still have a DVD player. https://www.johnpmedia.com/

I keep trying to convince him to go digital, but thus far he has successfully resisted.

I had heard about Greg's passing through a friend of mine and the above referenced post from Trainorders... the news hit me hard, as I'm sure it did for all of you.

I don't post here often, but I had the honor of being the narrator for Greg's videos for the last five years. How I came to hold that position was a spur of the moment thing, in all honesty.

I saw via TO and the Narrow Gauge Discussion Forums in 2018 that Greg was looking for a new narrator after John Edward Hingsbergen (the trademark voice of his videos for years) had passed away. After giving it a thought, I decided to throw my hat in the ring and just see where it would go... Once I did a demo reading or two, Greg signed me on!

It was a nice pro-bono gig (My career with the Air Force pays me pretty well, so money wasn't an issue at all) and I was happy to help Greg continue his business.

I'm not sure where his company will go, but that's for his wife and family to decide. All the same, I'll miss Greg as much as everyone else here. It was an honor and a pleasure to voice his productions and his work will forever stand as tribute to his legacy.

Rest Easy, Greg, and thanks for everything.

V/R,
Christopher S. Kovacs
U.S. Air Force - Shaw AFB, SC
Car Host/Painter/Docent - South Carolina Railroad Museum

A true loss to all of us and those closest to him. I never had the privilege to meet Greg in person. I got to know him through the narrow gauge discussion forum mostly and as I purchased DVDs over the years he would email me on occasion for various reasons.

Also like so many my passion for the narrow gauge was fed by GSVP DVDs. I have pretty much every thing he made on the narrow gauge (Plus some stuff on the SP) my earliest being "riding the narrow gauge in the 1950s, "Rio Grande steam in the 1960s", and still my favorite "Rio Grande steam freights". These three programs really fueled the fire in me to learn more about CO narrow gauge. As the years went on I purchased more, and even helped Greg on the RGS 20 and friends program by getting him in contact with some friends who had video of 20.

I have been saying for years how amazed I am that Greg could keep finding new unseen vintage films/home movies of the narrow gauge and standard gauge to use in another new program. Happy that he did and buying the newest program as soon as they came out. Who will do this now? Not just at GSVP, but anyone in the business. I don't know if Greg ever thought of it this way but by finding these films and copying them for his programs is just as important in preserving the history of the narrow gauge and standard gauge as those of us who keep the equipment alive today. The films will live on in our hearts and on our shelves.

Greg, you will be missed. Clear tracks my friend.

Jeff Taylor
CRRM curator of equipment and rolling stock.

I never had the privilege of meeting Greg in person, but he called me after I ordered his East German narrow gauge video, and we compared notes at some length about our travels in the former DDR. His video of the Fichtelbergbahn and the Harzer Schmalspurbahn was the only one available in the USA at the time, and it has aged very, very well. As we say in Mexico, another friend is now riding the White Train, and saving a seat for me.

There are still two producers of railroad videodiscs that I know of --- the first being RyPNer Jim Lipnitz, whose Big Jim Video Productions only offers a small number of subjects on DVD, but they are first rate, as well as a youtube channel and insertions of his material in programs by Trains magazine. His Stewartstown RR video is especially excellent, and includes many photographs and movies from the old days.
http://www.bigjimvideo.com/home.html
http://www.youtube.com/user/bigjim4life

Then there is the extensive catalog of Reverend Ronald McElrath, featuring his original worldwide railroad programs in addition to American railroad subjects, and a quarterly offering of mostly viewer contributed footage. So far as I know, REVELATION VIDEO is the biggest company in the genre these days, with something to please almost any imaginable taste. https://trainvideodepot.com/Revelation-Video

Add:

https://cvptrains.com

http://www.herronrail.com

I cannot find a direct website, but Ron McElrath is still producing DVD videos through his Revelation Video. I think you will find his next Video Quarterly to be of particular interest, since he was a passenger on the recently derailed Patagonian Express, and started recording as soon as he could grab his camera while on his back. Side note, he wasn't the only person of note on the train, or tour guide. Chris Skow was also on the train with a group.

Also, someone I've known about since they were a pre-teen, Jonathan Au Clare(sp?) who has been making and posting videos on YouTube for years, recently bought Grant Geist's Berkshire Productions catalogue and may be adding to it.

Jonathan Eau Claire. As in the Wisconsin town (where he naturally HAD to video UP 4014 on its Midwest tour).

His videos are on YouTube under both Yard Goat Images and Dynamo Productions, and DVDs produced under Yard Goat Images.

Website:
https://yardgoatimages.com/

And he says Berkshire Productions is fully revived from its past days.

(Disclaimer: I've shot video on assignment for Dynano/Jon, and am earning a share of YouTube revenues from them.)

This thread has wandered a bit off the subject of the passing of Greg Scholl so I will add two more video producers that are still marketing DVD's.

Less Jarrett of Railway Productions has been shooting for years and was an active collaborator with Greg on a number of PBS type projects. Les doesn't appear to have a website under the name of Railway Productions but http://www.a-trains.com/ seems to have a relationship with him and markets his videos.

A relative new comer on the scene is James Parfrey who is doing really good work and can be reached at www.steamtrainvideos.com. I have witnessed James work on a number of charters and have seen the results. He's good. Several locations that James pioneered on the C&TS have become regular runby locations on charters there.

Now back to our subject. I've known Greg, mostly via email, for over 30 years and we shared a similar love for Colorado Narrow Gauge plus European and South African steam. We have lost a good friend and a great preserver of history. Rest in peace.

Michael Allen