Diverging Clear Productions
Diverging Clear Productions grew from a group of railfans that enjoyed filming, photographing and recording the sounds of American railroads. We amassed a large archive dating back to the mid-1980s before releasing our first audio CDs and VHS tapes in 2003. Since switching to digital formats in 2010, we have released over fifty programs covering both contemporary steam locomotive operations and fallen flags from the late eighties and nineties.
Our motto is BY railfans, FOR railfans!
Illinois Central GulfThe Heritage Series features railroads as they were in the 1980s and 1990s. This entry features the Illinois Central Gulf Railroad.
Steam Returns To Horseshoe CurveOne of the highlights of Norfolk Southern's 21st Century Steam program was Nickel Plate Road 2-8-4 #765's visit to the former Pennsylvania Railroad route over Horseshoe Curve.
Union Pacific 844: The Shiloh LimitedThis program looks at one of these trips, where the locomotive was brought in to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War battle at Shiloh, Tennessee.
Union Pacific's Little Rock ExpressUnion Pacific's new steam regime announced a P.R. campaign called "The Great Excursion Adventure" where the public was invited to vote on the route for the train to take.
Then And Now: Crawford HillIn this program, we visit the line from Alliance to Crawford in two eras: the late eighties under Burlington Northern and 2012 under BNSF.
Sixty Years Along The Illinois CentralCome along for a look at six decades of history on the railroad known as The Mainline Of Mid-America, from 1938 through the end of the Illinois Central's independence.
Early CSX: The Rainbow YearsSeen in this production are locomotives painted for Chessie System, Seaboard System, Family Lines, Louisville & Nashville, Seaboard Coast Line, the Clinchfield, and the Baltimore & Ohio.
The Monticello Railway MuseumIn this program, we see number 401 and three of those diesels: Wabash F-7A #1189, Milwaukee Road NW-2 #1649 and GP11 #8733.
Frisco 1522 On The WabashSt. Louis & San Francisco 4-8-2 makes two of her earliest excursions, as she traveled from St. Louis to Decatur, Illinois, on October 22, 1988, and to Moberly, Missouri, on May 27, 1989
The Little River's Little PacificToday's Little River Railroad is a tourist hauler based in Coldwater, Michigan, and we made visits in the spring and fall of 2013 to view this unique locomotive in action.
Sights And Sounds Of The Tennessee ValleyCome along for a look at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum. Ride the train, ride in the cab, visit the shops and go trackside over the space of a quarter-century.
The Rio Grande Scenic RailroadOne of the trains were steam powered for a time, and former Lake Superior & Ishpeming and Grand Canyon Railway 2-8-0 #18 was the power when we visited in 2012.
Southern 4501 To SummervilleDuring Norfolk Southern's five year long 21st Century Steam program, the railroad contributed to the restoration of two veterans of the original Southern Railway steam program: 2-8-0 #630 and 2-8-2 #4501.
5 Years Of 21st Century SteamCome along for a look at Norfolk Southern's five year 21st Century Steam program and see #630, #4501 , #611 and much more.
Southern Steam ReturnsBetween the summer of 2010 and the spring of 2011, three preserved Southern Railway 2-8-0 Consolidations were returned to operation. In the spring and summer of 2011, we filmed all three of these locomotives.
Norfolk & Western 611: Return To RoanokeNorfolk & Western Class J 4-8-4 #611 had one last hurrah on the mainline in 2017. Norfolk Southern's 21st Century Steam Program had ended its five year run in 2015, just as #611 had returned to service.
A Union Pacific 3985 RetrospectiveIn this program, we look back at operations of the famous Challenger on the eastern regions of the system from 1992 through her final train in 2010.
The Illinois Central: Back In BlackThis program covers the yeas 1988 and 1989, when the mix-and-match look of the Illinois Central Gulf era gave way to the black diesels and "Death Star" image of the "new" Illinois Central.
The Illinois Central: 1990Locations include Effingham, Centralia, Carbondale, and the hill country between Makanda and Anna. Among the rarities seen are GP30 #2250, the only GP30 to receive new-image paint.
The Illinois Central: 1990-91This program looks at the Illinois Central Railroad in 1990 and 1991. We begin with a look at the Edgewood Cutoff in 1990.
Frisco 1522 On FreightSt. Louis & San Francisco 4-8-2 #1522 was famous for her excursion career that lasted from 1988 to 2002. Occasionally however, she got out on the mainline with freight cars in tow instead of excursion riders.
Frisco 1522: Highball To CentraliaIn June, 1993, St. Louis & San Francisco 4-8-2 #1522 made a pair of runs from St. Louis to Centralia, Illinois, as part of the Norfolk Southern steam program.
N.R.H.S. 1994: Peaches & SteamOur coverage begins with The Peach Blossom Special, a multi-day excursion that brought #1522 to Atlanta from her home in St. Louis, Missouri.
Steamin' In 2016Come along for the results of our search for steam in 2016. We started in Roanoke, Virginia, as Norfolk & Western 4-8-4 #611 made a series of trips to Lynchburg and Walton on the former N&W mainline.
Steamin' In 2018Come along for our year's end look at steam in operation. Kicking things off, Southern Railway 2-8-0 #401 is seen performing for the cameras on a photo freight charter at the Monticello Railway Museum.
Steamin' In 2017We start with Southern Railway 2-8-0 #401 at the Monticello Railway Museum, which looked great and sounded great with a guest whistle in the form of an authentic Illinois Central three-chime.
Conrail: Memories Of Big BlueCome along for a look at Conrail’s west end in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. This program was filmed on the former Pennsylvania Railroad line from Terre Haute, Indiana, to St. Louis, Missouri.
Steamin' In 2019Come along for our yearly look at steam! Iowa Interstate's Chinese QJ 2-10-2 #6988 made a visit to Illinois, continuing the policy of using the locomotive to pull trips to raise funds for area first responders.
Early Norfolk Southern: 1987-1989While the locomotives and equipment were being painted into a unified image, there were still a significant part of the fleet still operating in the paint schemes of both the Norfolk & Western and Southern Railways.
BNSF BeginsCome along for a look at the beginnings of one of America’s two remaining western Class I railroads as the Burlington Northern and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe combined to form the BNSF Railway.
Early Norfolk Southern: 1985-1986This program was filmed on the former Southern Railway St. Louis line between Bluford and Albers, Illinois. This line includes Centralia, a well known Illinois hot spot.
Norfolk Southern Takes Over The Middle DivisionCome along for a look at the former Pennsylvania Railroad line over the Alleghenies and around Horseshoe Curve in the first half of the 21st Century’s first decade, as remnants of Conrail survived even as the Norfolk Southern image had firmly taken hold.
Conrail: St. Loo To HorseshoeCome along for a look at Conrail in it’s prime during the first half of the 1990’s on former Pennsylvania Railroad lines in Illinois and Pennsylvania.
Santa Fe 1990s MemoriesJoin us for a look at the Santa Fe in its final years. Filmed between 1992 and 1995, this program visits the Santa Fe’s eastern end at several locations in Illinois, Missouri and Iowa.
Steamin' In 2022Old favorites and new restorations in our search for steam in 2022
Union Pacific's Living LegendThree decades of Union Pacific 844. Come along for a look at the only steam locomotive never retired by a Class I railroad in the U.S., Union Pacific 4-8-4 #844.