I just finished adding a new article to my SC Rail History site that features eight video clips of the R&R in the 1960s. The films have been known about for some time, but I just got around to digitizing them and editing them down to Internet-compatible clips.

If anybody knows the photographers, BTW, I'd like their contact info to request official permission to use the video to create a historical documentary on the R&R that we can sell at SCRM.

Here's the direct link below. You can also go to http://www.scrmcurator.com, click on "SC Rail History" and then scroll down below the bit about the boxcars to the first real article, "Rockton & Rion movies."

http://206.74.77.132/~scrailhistory/articlelive/articles/14/1/Rockton-%26-Rion-movies

Matt,

Those are some great video clips. Man, it must have been COLD (for SC) when some of that footage was shot.

That sure would be great if you could sell a DVD of the full clips.

I was thinking about the temperature while I was dubbing and editing. The thing is, the foliage (especially the kudzu) is pretty green in most of the shots. There's one shot of the 19 coming across the causeway through a sea of green kudzu, making huge clouds of white steam. If it was really that cold, the kudzu wouldn't be so verdant. Whatever else it may be, kudzu doesn't like the cold and browns up as soon as the temperature gets much below 50.

The steam eminating from No. 1 is definitely not related to the cold. That's where the nickname "Willie Mozie's Wonder Machine" came from -- it was a wonder he could keep up enough steam to overcome all the leaks.

As for being great video -- I guess they aren't bad for a VHS copy of an 8mm transfer to VHS, which was then copied to digital Hi8, then loaded into my Mac G4 and converted to QuickTime. What's that, about a fourth generation copy? :o) All told, there's about a half-hour of video on the tape. I also have a tape Howard Shepherd made of the Guignard Brick Co. in Cayce, SC back in the '60s, which includes video of the rare flatcar with Fox trucks that SCRM has.

I'm tempted to go ahead and make the DVD without permission and let the chips fall where they may. But I'd like to make a small cut for my effort, so I'll probably wait and try to get permission. It's awful being honest.