The True-Life Adventures of Real Tank Engines 

This show is a little different from our others...for a couple reasons.

1st...the subject matter.

We chose the most common and yet most over-looked type of steam engine in the world...
the tank engine.

The diminutive little iron horse that was part of every railroad, no matter how big or how small. 

Although I really like steam locomotives, I kind of dismissed tank engines as not being all that interesting.

But, since producing this video, all that has changed.

I guess owe a debt of gratitude to my kids.  When they were little we spent a lot of time with Thomas the Tank Engine. 

And that got me to thinking.

The result is a video that is so much fun to watch, you may well be showing it to everyone... even the non-railfans you may know.

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The True-Life Adventures of Real Tank Engines uses 12 different steam locomotives to tell its story.  It gives you rare action scenes and the rich historic details I hope you've come to expect from Golden Rail.

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Tank Engines were adaptable....and so is this DVD.

The dvd features 2 Audio Tracks.

The main audio track is in our standard style... mixing information and action. 

It presents background technical details about tank engines. 

After considering basic designs and other stuff about tank engines, we follow along as an Alco 2-6-2T (Quincy Railroad #2) heads out of the switchyard to a mainline siding out to shuffle some freight cars around. 

Back in the day, this is exactly the kind of thing a tank engine would be called upon to do. It is really fun to see it recreated where you can really take in the action and sounds.

And like all Golden Rail dvd's, those sounds are presented in 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound.

The 2nd audio track is the one for the kids.
Especially kids who only know of tank engines from Thomas and Friends.

On this audio track, the narrator is "Dinky" ...a spunky little 40-ton tank engine from 1884! (Satsop Railroad #1, a Porter-built 2-4-0T and the first engine we see in the show).

"Dinky" is a survivor.  He still lives on, but he is stuck on a display track outside a shopping mall.

And the story unfolds from there.

If you have any little engineers dropping by the house, this is a video they will probably love!  (One person wrote in and said her 3 year old grandson carries the dvd around in his backpack in case they go on trips.)

(And kids actually learn a few things about physics and real trains...such as, the "magic of steam expansion!")

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So REAL TANK ENGINES is a show kids and adults can watch together and you'll both enjoy it!

Both versions share the same full-color action sequences, including rare scenes of a steam triple-header ...with all tank engines!

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Below are a few preview scenes from
The True-Life Adventures of Real Tank Engines:

( click here for our order page.)

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Production Notes About the DVD. 

Notes from producer Rob Simpson: 

This production turned out to be the most challenging show we have ever undertaken.  (I had no idea it would when the idea first appeared in my head!)

Kids and Trains
Right from the start of our little company (Golden Rail Video), parents have written to us to say their kids (or grandkids) love our videos. 

This was interesting because we have always produced our shows with adults in mind...adults who are pretty serious about trains. That's why we put so much effort to tell a real railroad story with lots of action ...mixed with lots of history ...plus a few fascinating techno-facts to boot.  

But, we never actually produced a show with kids in mind.

Lovin' The Kids
I am a parent. When my kids were little they loved Thomas the Tank Engine. We sure watched a lot of Thomas videos together... and we all read the books together, too. (Which is something I highly recommend.)

Even though we loved the G-scale garden railway-type trains they used in the Thomas videos, Thomas and Friends were storybook characters. Behind the story book characters, the videos only implied what real tank engines looked like ...or what they did ...or how they did it.

The story still needed to be told for children about the world of real tank engines.

Tracking Down our Tank Engines
I had been gathering footage of tank engines for years. But, when I heard that the Niles Canyon Railway (located in Sunol, CA...just southeast of San Francisco) would be hosting a steam triple-header-weekend with all tank engines, I knew this was the final piece of the puzzle I had been waiting for. 

I also knew that the footage was going to be just way too cool to be only for children.

So, here was the solution:  

The first ever steam train video with two separate soundtracks...

• one for kids
• one for grownups.

One soundtrack is for all the little engineers you may know and love. They'll see real tank engines in action. 

They'll discover the connection between storybook trains and real trains by having a real tank engine tell them things from "his point of view." (Now, this truly is the "Little Engine That Could").

A Big Cast of Characters
Kids get to see lots of different trains, too. It took over a dozen different steam engines to help make the story of Real Tank Engines come alive.

Whether your kids like "Thomas the Train", or "The Little Engine That Could," this new video should quickly become a new favorite they'll want to enjoy again and again.  

For adults, it's a real documentary
The second soundtrack is for all the grownups.  By reframing the same footage as the kids version, but with different narration, the video is transformed into the world's first tank engine documentary.

And there's a good reason no one has done this before. When people talk about steam locomotives, they usually think of the big ones.

Few seem to remember the little TANK ENGINES. 

Tank engines were vitally important. As common a sight as trucks are today.

So, REAL TANK ENGINES is about more than just the little iron horse. It's a picture-window into a real part of our steam railroading heritage.

If you're anything like me, one viewing of this show and you'll never over-look a tank engine again.

(To have a copy shipped to you now, click here.)

Steam Engines 101
A lot of people who like trains aren't always sure about how steam locomotives run.  Watching this show, you'll learn a bit about the inner workings. Steam engines were an amazing innovation in their day.  In fact, they still are.

Rare Footage
The video features some footage we shot even before there was an official Golden Rail Video company... footage of some action so rare, I don't think it could ever happen again.

We were sure lucky to be there when it happened.  And I'm really happy to be able to share the footage with you in this production.

So, there's a lot to enjoy in this DVD. To order a copy of REAL TANK ENGINES for your favorite engineer, click here.