Vintage 8's by Charlie Felstead and Bruce Meyer

Both of these gentlemen were well known for their black and white steam photography.  Charlie and his friends were the "old timers", experts on rail photography, the ones I looked up to when I started.  They mainly shot great roster shots of steam. They dabbled with 8mm movies mainly of steam before it disappeared, when they could not concentrate on their roster shooting.  Bruce also loved steam and primarily shot b&w action shots.  A lot of his material was featured in "Trains" and "Model Railroader".  He joined EMD and worked in their Electrical Engineering Department.  He initially worked as a Service Rep and was responsible for the demise of steam on the DM&IR.   He rented a movie camera and took the Messabe shots as diesels were delivered.  This led to further shooting when ever he had the opportunity.  The results are the movies here.   I acquired their collections and have converted them to dvd. Here they are for your pleasure.   (Coming soon will be the 8mm movies by Jim Neubauer, so watch for future announcements.)

These are transfers from 8mm movies shot mainly in the mid 50's and into the early 60's. All are in color, but there is no sound. Some of the dvd’s have narration, but this is limited to introductory material before the movies. There is no music accompanying the movies, however I have included the sound of a movie projector as background noise. Steam in regular service normal day to day operations are featured. Also included are fantrip runs by now long gone steam locomotives. An occasional diesel does appear, and those that appear can now be considered as rare as the steam locomotives they replaced.  The reproduction is as good a possible from such a small medium, but the action and authenticity provided, makes up for any loss in sharpness.   Most of the dvd's are about an hour long, and some are longer .  Where the originals are much longer than an hour, two disc sets have been made. Prices are; Single disc programs are $25.00 each; Two-disc sets, marked (*), are $40.00 each. When buying more than one dvd, please contact me for a better price.  Prices include postage in the U.S.  Illinois residents should include 10% to cover state sales tax.



Charles Felstead's 8mm Movies


CF1 cover




CF1 - THE CHICAGO COLLECTION includes steam on the NYC (4-6-4's and 4-8-4's), B&O (4-6-2's, 2-8-2's and 4-8-2's), NKP (2-8-4's), and GTW (4-8-4's and 2-8-2's) in regular service on Chicago's south side. Also included is some C&NW and CB&Q steam plus a little bit of experimental b&w material, which is quite interesting on its’ own. All this complements the material I have on #B3, something you may want to check out.. Single disc $25.00

CF2 cover



CF2 - COAL ROADS OF IL AND MO is a collection of IC, NYC, and NKP, steam in Central IL around the Mattoon area. In addition there is steam on the C&IM from Pekin to Springfield and some CB&Q steam around Centralia. In MO, on the B&S, 2-6-0's work coal trains between the mine and the CB&Q interchange. Bonus material includes shots by John Szwajkart, of one of the two CB&Q 2-8-2's which replaced the 2-6-0's on coal trains, from my Vintage dvd C5. An added extra is C&IM footage shot around Springfield, IL just before the road dieselized, again from my Vintage dvd A1. Single disc $25.00

CF3 cover



*CF3 - IRON RANGE COLLECTION (2-disc set) This two disc set is an incredible collection of steam taken in northern Minnesota and northern Wisconsin. Beginning with a look at the DM&IR that shows just about every different type of DM&IR steam locomotive in operation, then it goes on to include lots of GN and NP steam in the area. There is also plenty of SOO, C&NW, CMO and Milw steam around the Twin Cities and in northern Wisconsin. Disc #1 covers the early 50's. Disc #2 covers the late 50's and concludes with several unusual steam trips to and on the Iron Roads. A bonus section contains movies shot around Virginia and the first fantrip to and on the DM&IR in 1958, compiled from my Vintage dvd C5. 2-disc set $40.00

CF5 cover



CF5 - EASTERN COLLECTION. Charlie and his friends made a bunch of trips east into Canada and the U.S. east coast in the mid-50's. Their first trips took them into southern Ontario where they caught CP and CN steam in mainline and branch service, along with chasing a NYC 4-6-0. In the following years they managed to catch steam on the NKP, NYC and B&O in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, along with PRR steam in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and other east coast locations. Each time they went east, they also managed to get into Canada for more CN and CP steam and eventually were able to snag one of the elusive CP 4-4-0's. Also included are shots of ATSF steam in Ohio, PRR steam on horseshoe curve,and a CNJ camelback locomotive on a last fantrip. More Ohio Steam can be found on my Vintage dvd’s D8 and F10.  Single disc $25.00

CF7 cover


CF7 - MEXICAN COLLECTION With mainline steam gone in the U.S. attention turned in the early 60's to the remaining steam in Mexico. Charlie made three trips. The original plan was to shoot steam purchased from U.S. railroads, FEC, N&S, C&NW, NKP and others, long gone from the States, yet still operating in Mexico. Most of this was centered around Mexico City, operating on the Mexican Railway's mainline north out of the city. They managed to get what they wanted along with plenty of Mexican steam including 4-8-4's, 4-6-4's, 2-6-6-2's, and others. On the first trip they also got to cover parts of the steam powered Mexican narrow gauge. On later trips they managed cover more of the Mexican Railway system including the electrified line, and Yucatan, where they chased a 4-4-0 powered mixed. Although new diesels were being delivered, After steam was gone in the U.S., Charlie managed to capture a wide range of different steam locomotives in mainline passenger, freight and local service, before it too, was gone. Single disc $25.00


Bruce Meyer's 8mm Movies


BM1 cover



BM1 - MOVIES BY BRUCE MEYER Is divided into two parts, one all steam and the other a combination of diesel and electric, and covers the transition era in which diesel replaced steam. Bruce, as a service rep and an engineer for EMD, was involved with the change, as he placed new diesels in service.  Primarily a b&w photographer, he occasionally tried other forms of photography, including movies. We begin with steam, the DM&IR Yellowstones, in regular operation, followed by a look at the last steam on the K&T, M&A, and D&RGW narrow gauge. Later he shot SOU 4501 and N&W 611 both in fantrip service. The diesel part begins with local railroads, IC and GM&O, followed by shots of the D&RGW, WP and AT&SF all taken while on the road for EMD. This ends with a look at Milwaukee Road Electric operations, the C&NW, BN and Amtrak diesels in the Chicago area. Single disc $25.00