Western Railroad Discussion > Winter on Donner 2010-11 National Geographic TV series

I don't know if there will be any mention of the Donner railroad experience or any of our railfan friends great footage----this is just a heads up/ FYI.
C.

National Geographic TV series tracks Donner Pass in winter
The Monterey County Heraldmontereyherald.com
Posted: 11/17/2012 09:20:02 PM PST
November 18, 2012 5:21 AM GMTUpdated: 11/17/2012 09:20:02 PM PST


TRUCKEE (AP) — National Geographic Channel is airing a 10-part series that captures the trials and triumphs of keeping Interstate 80 open through the winter over the Sierra Nevada's Donner Summit.

"Hell on the Highway," running Wednesdays, stars the treacherous winter of 2010-11 when more than 700 inches of snow fell — nearly 60 feet.

"We are telling the story of the men and women in tow trucks, Caltrans, the California Highway Patrol who fight the snow every winter to keep Donner Pass and I-80 open," said Conal O'Herlihy, line producer with America's Star Media, which has created award-winning shows such as "Deadliest Warrior."

"An element to the story is how vital I-80 is not just to California, but to the nation. Wal-Mart sends 250 trucks over the pass each day," O'Herlihy told Truckee's Sierra Sun.

The heavy winter of 2010-11 and the history of treacherous, often tragic events on Donner Summit inspired the "Hell on the Highway" concept, which burgeoned from Gary Tarpinian and his business partner Paninee Theeranuntawat at Morningstar Entertainment in Los Angeles.

Production crews stood at the ready for killer storms after promising snow accumulations in late fall 2011. They waited, and waited.

The lid finally blew off in February, after some of the longest dry spells in recent history, with back-to-back storms depositing up to 6 feet at the local resorts. Film crews braved the elements side by side with tow truck drivers, Caltrans and


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the CHP.
CHP Sgt. Randy Fisher said crews spent two weeks with them in late spring, capturing truck and car crashes and wet, sloppy, spring snow.

Nine full-time film crews hit the Sierra roads, totaling more than 20,000 man hours.

"We were following this one woman, going up and down the mountainside in waist-deep snow, trying not to get hit by trucks," said Jonathon Berman, senior field producer with America's Star Media, a special company of Morningstar Entertainment.

Fisher said: "I think it will be both educational, and the same blueprint as 'Deadliest Catch.' Viewers will identify with characters and follow the people in it."


O'Herlihy said National Geographic and Morningstar Entertainment do a good job of telling "American stories."

"This area (Truckee) and its people embody the spirit of America," he said.

Carol Voss
Bakersfield, CA

Saw the first episode last week. Great show, no trains yet though.

CarolVoss Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I don't know if there will be any mention of the
> Donner railroad experience or any of our railfan
> friends great footage----this is just a heads up/
> FYI.
> C.
>
> National Geographic TV series tracks Donner Pass
> in winter
> The Monterey County Heraldmontereyherald.com
> Posted: 11/17/2012 09:20:02 PM PST
> November 18, 2012 5:21 AM GMTUpdated: 11/17/2012
> 09:20:02 PM PST
>
>
> TRUCKEE (AP) — National Geographic Channel is
> airing a 10-part series that captures the trials
> and triumphs of keeping Interstate 80 open through
> the winter over the Sierra Nevada's Donner Summit.
>
>
> "Hell on the Highway," running Wednesdays, stars
> the treacherous winter of 2010-11 when more than
> 700 inches of snow fell — nearly 60 feet.
>
> "We are telling the story of the men and women in
> tow trucks, Caltrans, the California Highway
> Patrol who fight the snow every winter to keep
> Donner Pass and I-80 open," said Conal O'Herlihy,
> line producer with America's Star Media, which has
> created award-winning shows such as "Deadliest
> Warrior."
>
> "An element to the story is how vital I-80 is not
> just to California, but to the nation. Wal-Mart
> sends 250 trucks over the pass each day,"
> O'Herlihy told Truckee's Sierra Sun.
>
> The heavy winter of 2010-11 and the history of
> treacherous, often tragic events on Donner Summit
> inspired the "Hell on the Highway" concept, which
> burgeoned from Gary Tarpinian and his business
> partner Paninee Theeranuntawat at Morningstar
> Entertainment in Los Angeles.
>
> Production crews stood at the ready for killer
> storms after promising snow accumulations in late
> fall 2011. They waited, and waited.
>
> The lid finally blew off in February, after some
> of the longest dry spells in recent history, with
> back-to-back storms depositing up to 6 feet at the
> local resorts. Film crews braved the elements side
> by side with tow truck drivers, Caltrans and
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------
> ------------------------------
>
> Advertisement
>
> --------------------------------------------------
> ------------------------------
> the CHP.
> CHP Sgt. Randy Fisher said crews spent two weeks
> with them in late spring, capturing truck and car
> crashes and wet, sloppy, spring snow.
>
> Nine full-time film crews hit the Sierra roads,
> totaling more than 20,000 man hours.
>
> "We were following this one woman, going up and
> down the mountainside in waist-deep snow, trying
> not to get hit by trucks," said Jonathon Berman,
> senior field producer with America's Star Media, a
> special company of Morningstar Entertainment.
>
> Fisher said: "I think it will be both educational,
> and the same blueprint as 'Deadliest Catch.'
> Viewers will identify with characters and follow
> the people in it."
>
>
> O'Herlihy said National Geographic and Morningstar
> Entertainment do a good job of telling "American
> stories."
>
> "This area (Truckee) and its people embody the
> spirit of America," he said.


To bad WAL-MART won't put those 250 daily trucks on a train.

Thanks for the heads-up. Will get a Tivo recording of the show set over the next couple months. Will let the TO folks now which (if any?) episodes include train footage.

Frontrunner Wrote:
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> To bad WAL-MART won't put those 250 daily trucks
> on a train.


It doesn't make any logistical sense for them to do so in this case if you'd stop to look up where their distribution facilities are that utilize the I-80 corridor... Truck beats rail in this case, it's that simple.

A few months ago met one of the guys who works tow trucks out of Truckee and he was telling me about getting filmed for this series. Could be interesting.

Z

Wal Mart has a large warehouse near Reno (Reno Tahoe Industrial Park), which would account for the truck traffic.

chakk Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks for the heads-up. Will get a Tivo
> recording of the show set over the next couple
> months. Will let the TO folks now which (if
> any?) episodes include train footage.


OK, I have now recorded all episodes of this series on a Tivo and watched every one of them.
There is no footage of trains in any of the episodes. The closest thing to a train interest was one short scene where the driver of one of these monster tow trucks was parked near the roundabout on the west side of downtown Truckee. The UP mainline and a signal tower was visible in the background, but there are no trains visible.

The footage of accidents on I-80 around Donner Pass in snowstorms is quite graphic -- scared the bejebbes out of me, convincing me that I will NOT drive through the Sierra in a snowstorm. Nor the Tehachapis, which are likely to get quite a bit of snow this weekend also, although not the 2 to 5 FEET expected in the Sierra.

None of these accidents would happen if people would just slow the F*** down in slush, ice and snow.