Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 12 hours ago
The classic covered wagon, the EMD E and F units of the transition era. Film from the 1970s. Plus a cab ride and a caboose on every train!
*No AI was used to bring this show to you.* Read about our AI Policy and how we get videos ready for YouTube at: Pentrex.com/AI
*About Pentrex:* For 40+ Years we've been the leader in railroad video entertainment. See us at Pentrex.com and right here on YouTube, with the Official Pentrex Channel!
Pentrex also owns the railroad video entertainment brands Highball Productions, Green Frog, Valhalla Video, Donner Rails, WB Video, Main Line Motion Pictures, Broken Knuckle Video, Midwest Video and distribute Revelation Video. We have nearly 1,000 railroad videos and all will be uploaded to YouTube. Subscribe so you don't miss any rail action!
*About this show:* F Units and E Units, commonly known as Covered Wagons, were very much standard power in the 1950's & 60's. By the 1970s, age was catching up to these classic units and their sheer numbers began to dwindle as railroads either rebuilt them into switchers or retired them from service altogether. By the 1980s if you could catch any Covered Wagons in operation, you would probably seize the opportunity to capture them on film as their days were definitely numbered.
Pentrex has assembled a collection of movie films shot in the 1970's & early 80's. An added treat is that these films were recorded using the actual sound as the trains passed. In this all-color show, we will get an all-too-brief look at activity from Portland Union Station and Chicago when Amtrak was young. A more extensive collection of films were made in Washington along the Burlington Northern between the Seattle area and the Canadian border.
Trains 143 and 144 ran daily between those 2 points and even in the early 80's often had F7s for power. Much of Washington's beautiful countryside is evident as we see F Units passing forests, meadows, and impressive bridges as long strings of mixed freight is hauled in the northwestern part of the state. We even caught a cab ride for part of the way, so sit back, relax and enjoy a trip back in time as we bring to you "Covered Wagons of the Cascade"
Get this show on DVD, without the YouTube compression, at Pentrex.com: pentrex.com/DVD-Covered-Wagons-of-the-Cascade_CWC-DVD
0:00 Covered Wagons of the Cascade
1:07 Portland, Oregon | SP, CB&Q, NP
5:16 Chicago | CB&Q, BN, Amtrak
8:00 The Cascade Region
8:48 BN Train 143 at Burlington
9:50 Over the Skagit River
12:05 Covered Wagon Cab Ride
17:51 Burlington, Washington
19:23 A matched ABBA F-unit Set
22:32 Sedro-Woolley
26:26 2 Fs and 2 GP7s across a trestle
28:49 F-unit leads 3 GPs slowly upgrade
29:39 The sun returns with a parade of trains
30:05 BN Green in the snow
32:30 Giving it all your throttle
36:40 3 Fs and a GP9 upgrade
40:19 Open autoracks and caboose
42:39 Crossing the Nooksack River
44:31 Interchange with Canadian Pacific
The classic covered wagon, the EMD E and F units of the transition era. Film from the 1970s. Plus a cab ride and a caboose on every train!
*No AI was used to bring this show to you.* Read about our AI Policy and how we get videos ready for YouTube at: Pentrex.com/AI
*About Pentrex:* For 40+ Years we've been the leader in railroad video entertainment. See us at Pentrex.com and right here on YouTube, with the Official Pentrex Channel!
Pentrex also owns the railroad video entertainment brands Highball Productions, Green Frog, Valhalla Video, Donner Rails, WB Video, Main Line Motion Pictures, Broken Knuckle Video, Midwest Video and distribute Revelation Video. We have nearly 1,000 railroad videos and all will be uploaded to YouTube. Subscribe so you don't miss any rail action!
*About this show:* F Units and E Units, commonly known as Covered Wagons, were very much standard power in the 1950's & 60's. By the 1970s, age was catching up to these classic units and their sheer numbers began to dwindle as railroads either rebuilt them into switchers or retired them from service altogether. By the 1980s if you could catch any Covered Wagons in operation, you would probably seize the opportunity to capture them on film as their days were definitely numbered.
Pentrex has assembled a collection of movie films shot in the 1970's & early 80's. An added treat is that these films were recorded using the actual sound as the trains passed. In this all-color show, we will get an all-too-brief look at activity from Portland Union Station and Chicago when Amtrak was young. A more extensive collection of films were made in Washington along the Burlington Northern between the Seattle area and the Canadian border.
Trains 143 and 144 ran daily between those 2 points and even in the early 80's often had F7s for power. Much of Washington's beautiful countryside is evident as we see F Units passing forests, meadows, and impressive bridges as long strings of mixed freight is hauled in the northwestern part of the state. We even caught a cab ride for part of the way, so sit back, relax and enjoy a trip back in time as we bring to you "Covered Wagons of the Cascade"
Get this show on DVD, without the YouTube compression, at Pentrex.com: pentrex.com/DVD-Covered-Wagons-of-the-Cascade_CWC-DVD
0:00 Covered Wagons of the Cascade
1:07 Portland, Oregon | SP, CB&Q, NP
5:16 Chicago | CB&Q, BN, Amtrak
8:00 The Cascade Region
8:48 BN Train 143 at Burlington
9:50 Over the Skagit River
12:05 Covered Wagon Cab Ride
17:51 Burlington, Washington
19:23 A matched ABBA F-unit Set
22:32 Sedro-Woolley
26:26 2 Fs and 2 GP7s across a trestle
28:49 F-unit leads 3 GPs slowly upgrade
29:39 The sun returns with a parade of trains
30:05 BN Green in the snow
32:30 Giving it all your throttle
36:40 3 Fs and a GP9 upgrade
40:19 Open autoracks and caboose
42:39 Crossing the Nooksack River
44:31 Interchange with Canadian Pacific
