The Best Episodes of Great American Railroad Journeys

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8.2/10(12 votes)
#1 - Canon City, Colorado, to Colorado Springs
S2:E82/1/2017
Michael Portillo reaches the Rocky Mountains of Colorado at Canon City, from where he heads out into the spectacular gorge of the Arkansas River aboard the historic narrow-gauge Royal Gorge Railroad. Along the way, he learns how controversy over the construction of the railroad caused bullets to fly. In Colorado Springs, Michael discovers an unexpected British outpost where he is enlisted to join the cricket team. At the foot of Pike's Peak, a choir sings an iconic American hymn, composed at the turn of the 20th century and inspired by the magnificent views to be seen from the summit. Michael heads 14,115 feet above sea level to see it for himself, aboard the Pike's Peak Cog Railway.
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8.1/10(16 votes)
#2 - St Louis, Missouri
S2:E11/23/2017
Michael Portillo crosses the Atlantic once more to ride the railroads of North America with his faithful Appleton's Guide to the United States and Canada. Amid breathtaking scenery, he encounters magnificent beasts, joins intrepid explorers and witnesses unique customs on an awesome 1,500-mile journey to recapture the excitement and promise of the 19th-century American Frontier. In St Louis, Michael ascends America's monument to the Wild West, the astonishing Gateway Arch, the tallest free-standing monument in the United States, and makes a delightful discovery inside it. And on the banks of the Missouri River, he is invited aboard a magnificent replica of the original keel boat used for a historic expedition.
Director:Cassie Farrell
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Cassie Farrell
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8.1/10(13 votes)
#3 - Albuquerque, New Mexico, to the Grand Canyon, Arizona
S2:E102/3/2017
Michael Portillo is in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a city situated on the Rio Grande River. Once the headquarters of the Acheson, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, Albuquerque has treasures in store for rail fans, including an enormous locomotive weighing over 450 tonnes. It is being restored by volunteers, and Michael lends a hand. Michael then feels the heat of New Mexico's chilli pepper in a restaurant and learns how to make enchiladas. Michael joins the Grand Canyon Railway at Williams, Arizona, to reach one of the most spectacular sights on Earth. He learns how the 7-million-year-old gorge of the Colorado River was preserved for the nation.
Director:Unknown
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8.1/10(10 votes)
#4 - Chicago, The Windy City
S2:E162/13/2017
Michael Portillo is blown away by the skyscrapers in Illinois's Windy City, where he discovers how modern Chicago's skyline replaced a largely wooden city, destroyed in a great fire shortly before his Appleton's Guide was published. Training with the city's firefighters, Michael learns today's fire department respond to half a million emergency calls a year. Michael steps up to the plate with the Joliet Slammers, stars of the US national game of baseball, then sings for his supper at a quintessentially American restaurant bearing his name! Downtown at the Moody Church, Michael tracks down a pair of evangelists who toured Britain and the United States by rail at the time of his Guide.
Director:Dave Minchin
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Dave Minchin
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7.9/10(11 votes)
#5 - Sedalia to Kansas City, Missouri
S2:E31/25/2017
Following in the footsteps of European settlers, Michael Portillo rolls westwards across the United States. With true frontier spirit, he discovers the hidden pleasures of 19th-century railroad workers in Sedalia, known as the Sodom and Gomorrah of the West, and discovers the birthplace of ragtime and its most famous composer, Scott Joplin. Aboard a horse-drawn wagon in Independence, Michael confronts the brutal hardships faced by early pioneers on the wagon trail and discovers a living history museum town where the clock stopped in 1855. He ends this leg in the rail hub of Kansas City, Missouri, where freight trains can be a mile long.
Director:Cassie Farrell
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Cassie Farrell
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7.9/10(10 votes)
#6 - Kansas City to St Joseph, Missouri
S2:E41/26/2017
On the next leg of his American adventure, Michael Portillo hits cowboy central in the former meat-packing capital of America - Kansas City, Missouri. In Paola, Kansas, Michael auctions livestock to the latter-day John Waynes of the state and then dines out on smoky spare ribs. In the West Bottoms district, he explores the city's Irish heritage and discovers the first Irish business opened in America, still family- owned and run by the great granddaughter of the founder. In St Joseph, Missouri, Michael discovers the legendary Pony Express, not a train but a mail service, and investigates the treacherous death of the outlaw Jesse James.
Director:Cassie Farrell
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Cassie Farrell
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7.9/10(8 votes)
#7 - Mattoon, Illinois to Columbus, Kentucky
S2:E192/16/2017
Armed with his 19th-century Appleton's Guide, Michael Portillo continues his 1,000-mile journey, beginning and ending on the Mississippi River from Minnesota to Tennessee. Riding the mainline of mid-America, Michael stops at rural Mattoon, where he gets a taste of the tough early life which shaped President Abraham Lincoln. Wiping the sweat from his brow, Michael struggles to split one rail compared with Lincoln's estimated 700 a day. Basket in hand, Michael joins the Schwartz family apple harvest in Centralia and learns how to make apple butter. He uncovers industrial unrest in the coal mines of Carbondale then heads to Kentucky and the banks of the Mississippi, where a bloody conflict unfolded which proved decisive in victory for Lincoln's Union.
Director:Dave Minchin
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Dave Minchin
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7.8/10(19 votes)
#8 - Buffalo to Niagara Falls
S1:E72/9/2016
Michael braves the awesome power and drenching spray of Niagara Falls on the Maid of the Mist to share what artists, daredevils and millions of tourists have billed as one of the most spectacular experiences on the planet. Reaching Buffalo, he lunches on the city's famous Buffalo wings and discovers it was once the centre of the world's grain trade. Touring Silo City, Michael learns about the invention which propelled the port of Buffalo into its dominant position - the grain elevator - and how the railroads sealed the deal. Awe-inspiring engineering is revealed at the 12-acre Colonel Ward water-pumping station, the largest construction ever built on the Great Lakes, and capable of delivering 30 million gallons of water per day to the city of Buffalo.
Director:Tom Richardson
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Tom Richardson
Writer:Unknown
7.8/10(14 votes)
#9 - Lawrence to Topeka, Kansas
S2:E51/27/2017
Michael Portillo continues his 1,500-mile journey through the American Wild West, armed with his 19th-century Appleton's Guide. In Lawrence, Kansas, Michael enjoys a prairie chicken dance with a student of the Haskell Indian Nations University and learns how Native American Indians were treated in the 19th century. Michael joins the Jayhawks basketball team in the famous Allen Field house stadium with energetic encouragement from their cheerleaders, before travelling through Tornado Alley to Topeka to meet one of the first storm chasers in America. Driving out on the Great Plains, Michael learns about the Tallgrass Prairie and comes face to face with a herd of wild buffalo.
Director:Cassie Farrell
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Cassie Farrell
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7.8/10(13 votes)
#10 - La Junta, Colorado, to Pueblo, New Mexico
S2:E71/31/2017
Michael Portillo hits ranching territory in Las Animas County, Colorado, where he follows in the footsteps of 19th-century dudes from the east coast who came to experience life as cowboys. First up - how to use a lasso. At Bent's Old Fort, Michael learns about the Mexican-American War of 1848 and finds himself inspecting the troops. He also looks at America's relationship with firearms at a NRA shooting centre in Raton, New Mexico, and discovers how guns won the West. Back across the state line in Pueblo, Colorado, Michael is drawn to a giant steel mill mentioned in his Appleton's that produces rails a quarter of a mile long, transported on special trains.
Director:Unknown
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7.8/10(13 votes)
#11 - The Twin Cities, Minneapolis
S2:E122/7/2017
Michael Portillo continues his journey from the northern state of Minnesota to the Deep South. Michael discovers the story of Hiawatha and his lover Minnehaha, an epic poem featuring American Indian characters. He then meets a Dakota Sioux expert on Native American culture to learn about a dark chapter in United States history and how it is marked today. Michael has to put his diplomatic skills to the test at a Swedish-American lunch, where the centrepiece of the menu is reconstituted dried cod. And there is a taste of the golden age of luxury rail travel as Michael bounces on a bed in a beautifully restored Pullman carriage.
Director:Dave Minchin
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Dave Minchin
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7.8/10(10 votes)
#12 - Tomah to Portage, Wisconsin
S2:E142/9/2017
Michael Portillo continues his journey from the northern state of Minnesota to the Deep South. Michael reaches Tomah, Wisconsin, where he helps harvest cranberries, an important crop for the US. Boarding the Empire Builder rail service once again, he travels to Wisconsin Dells, where an innovative photographer first captured motion. Michael takes a plunge in the waterpark capital of the world and finds a pleasant surprise in Baraboo - the circus is in town and it travels by train. Guided by a former clown and ringmaster, Michael explores the train's spectacular wagons.
Director:Dave Minchin
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Dave Minchin
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7.8/10(12 votes)
#13 - Boston
S3:E11/22/2018
Armed with his 19th-century Appleton's guidebook to the United States and Canada, Michael Portillo embarks on a 1,100-mile railroad journey from Boston, Massachusetts, across the border to Toronto in theCanadian province of Ontario. Along the way, he encounters revolutionaries and feminists, pilgrims and witches and rides some of the oldest and most breathtaking railroads in the world.
Director:Unknown
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7.8/10(9 votes)
#14 - Reno, Nevada, to Colfax, California
S3:E112/5/2018
Led by his late 19th-century Appleton's guidebook, Michael Portillo sets off on a 1,000-mile American adventure to discover how the railroad conquered the wild landscapes of the West and transformed California into America's wealthiest region, one which has revolutionised the world. Beginning in the Silver State of Nevada, Michael takes to the skies over the dramatic Sierra Nevada mountain range. At Lake Tahoe, he hears of the first white explorer, dubbed 'The Pathfinder', who learnt the lay of the foreboding land and paved the way for the first settlers to arrive. Travelling on the historic Virginia and Truckee heritage line, Michael heads for the vast deposits of silver and gold ore that built Virginia City, once dubbed the richest place on earth. At Chollar Mine he explores the short-lived mining boom and meets a pistol packin' preacher when he swings by the Silver Queen saloon. Crossing the border into the Golden State of California, he ascends the 7,000ft granite cliffs to the Donner Pass where ambitious plans to plough a rail route through the rugged terrain were made a reality by Chinese labourers, at huge human cost. In the spirit of Western horsemanship, Michael ends this leg in Colfax and gets in the saddle for a spot of cowboy dressage.
Director:Dave Minchin
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Dave Minchin
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7.8/10(13 votes)
#15 - Ninilchik to Wasilla
S4:E11/25/2020
Michael Portillo heads for the last frontier of the United States, armed with his 1899 Appleton’s Guidebook to Alaska. Beginning his journey amid the snow-capped mountains and ice-cold inlets of the Kenai Peninsula, Michael finds the golden onion domes of a Russian Orthodox church, along with traditional Russian food and costume and discovers that, 150 years ago, Alaska was a Russian colony. In Seward, Michael feeds a rescued sea otter pup with a fearsome bite and learns how the luxurious pelts of these endearing creatures were once the most valuable in the world. On a boat trip around Seward Harbour, Michael hears from an indigenous former Alaskan state senator how, shortly before his guidebook was published, the Russian Empire sold Alaska to the United States. Heading north on the Alaska Railroad past lakes and glaciers and through mountain tunnels, Michael learns what it took to build this epic 470-mile line.
Director:Unknown
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7.7/10(14 votes)
#16 - Dodge City to Lamar, Colorado
S2:E61/30/2017
Michael Portillo's first stop aboard the Southwest Chief is Dodge City, Kansas, a famous frontier town of the Old West, where he visits the notorious Long Branch Saloon, scene of many shoot-outs. He finds the Dodge City Cowboy Band performing at the city depot and breaks bread with a descendant of a railroad land agent who sold thousands of acres of land to 19th-century European settlers. Near Lamar, Colorado, Michael visits the scene of a terrible massacre of American Indians, who found themselves in the way of white settlement of the Great Plains.
Director:Unknown
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7.7/10(11 votes)
#17 - Kamloops to Calgary
S4:E52/22/2020
Clutching his 1899 Appleton’s Guide, Michael Portillo boards one of the world’s most famous trains, the Rocky Mountaineer, to cross the backbone of the North American continent from Kamloops to the spa resort of Banff. This magnificent journey takes him to the highest point of the 19th-century transcontinental Canadian Pacific Railway line at Kicking Horse Pass, past Lake Louise and inside spiral tunnels blasted through the mountains. Along the way, Michael hears of the harsh and dangerous conditions endured by the Chinese and European labourers who built the railway. He looks back at the historic driving of the Last Spike, which completed the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1885. Reaching Banff, Michael follows his Appleton’s guide to the luxurious Banff Spring Hotel, built by the railway company. By Sulphur Mountain, he explores an underground hot spring discovered by railway workers in 1883 and learns how it prompted the creation of Canada’s first national park.
Director:Unknown
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7.6/10(13 votes)
#18 - Petersburg to Jamestown
S1:E152/19/2016
In Petersburg, Virginia, the choir of the First Baptist Church is in fine voice as Michael discovers how, during the 19th century, coded messages were delivered to slaves who hoped to escape via the so-called Underground Railroad. Michael ploughs his own furrow in a field in colonial Williamsburg, a living history park, where he learns from costumed re-enactors what life was like for both master and slave. It's battle stations in Norfolk, home to the United States Atlantic Fleet, where Michael is invited on board the USS Wisconsin to hear about the first duel fought between iron-clad vessels in 1862 and Britain's role in it. Michael reaches the end of this American journey in Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America, where he finds out about the settlers' grim struggle for survival led by Captain John Smith and Pocahontas.
Director:Dave Minchin
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Dave Minchin
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7.6/10(14 votes)
#19 - Red Wing, Minnesota, to La Crosse, Wisconsin
S2:E132/8/2017
Michael Portillo continues his journey from the northern state of Minnesota to the Deep South. Steered by his Appleton's Guidebook, Michael travels along the Upper Mississippi to Red Wing, Minnesota, and the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of Little House on the Prairie. Joining the Empire Builder rail service, he travels to Winona, where he finds out how in the 19th century the US Army Corps of Engineers made the Mississippi navigable. The river is maintained today not just for freight, but to host bald eagles and pelicans too. Michael joins in the dancing at a tribal gathering of the Dakota Sioux, and in La Crosse learns about the Native American origins of a fast-moving, combative sport.
Director:Dave Minchin
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Dave Minchin
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7.6/10(9 votes)
#20 - Homewood to Champaign, Illinois
S2:E182/15/2017
Steered by his Appleton's Guide, Michael Portillo continues his 1,000-mile rail journey south from Chicago through Kankakee to Champaign, Illinois. In full swing on the fairway at the Flossmoor Country Club, Michael discovers how wealthy businessmen from the city flocked to play and how the railroads fostered the growth of suburban life. Beside the Kankakee River, Michael is invited to visit the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house that changed the face of American architecture. On the platform at Kankakee station, Michael parties with the locals as they celebrate the City of New Orleans rail service, immortalised in song by Arlo Guthrie. He gets his hands on a vintage hooter riding on the Monticello Heritage rail line and in Champaign learns a thing or two at a railroad university.
Director:Dave Minchin
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Dave Minchin
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7.6/10(9 votes)
#21 - Memphis, Tennessee
S2:E202/17/2017
Armed with his Appleton's Guide, Michael Portillo travels the lower Mississippi aboard a paddle steamer to hear about the life and work of former river boat captain, Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain. In the city of Memphis, Tennessee, Michael visits the historic Elmwood Cemetery, where he uncovers the story of a devastating epidemic, which claimed the lives of thousands. He discovers one of the largest rail freight hubs in the United States and in the home of the blues, meets contemporary artist Cedric Burnside in studio before joining millions of Elvis fans at Graceland. An invitation to a duck palace and the honorary position of Duck Master carry curious responsibilities at the 19th-century Peabody Hotel.
Director:Dave Minchin
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Dave Minchin
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7.6/10(11 votes)
#22 - Vancouver Island to Kamloops
S4:E42/15/2020
Michael Portillo explores British Columbia, steered by his Appleton’s Guide to Canada, published in 1899. He discovers how two superpowers nearly came to war over a pig and joins the Royal Canadian Navy to firefight on board the frigate HMCS Regina. Starting on Vancouver Island, Michael explores the rich British heritage and colonial past of the provincial capital of British Columbia, Victoria. He discovers the origins of the immensely powerful fur-trading enterprise, the Hudson’s Bay Company and, in the affluent James Bay area of Victoria, he finds the former home of an early 20th-century artist who documented the art and culture of the indigenous people of the western coast, Emily Carr. At Saanichton, Michael helps to carve a 36-foot totem pole in the studio of a present-day First Nations artist. In the wilderness of British Columbia,
Director:Unknown
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7.5/10(15 votes)
#23 - Washington DC
S1:E122/16/2016
Michael arrives in the nation's capital, Washington DC. He admires its fine public buildings, including the largest library in the world, and discovers how the capital was built from scratch after a political compromise between north and south. At the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Michael meets the man responsible for engraving the portrait of President Abraham Lincoln on the current five-dollar bill and gets his hands on more money than he has ever held in his life. In the offices of The Washington Post, Michael learns about corruption in the corridors of power and how the newspaper toppled a president. He finishes this leg of his journey in the auditorium of the theatre where, in 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.
Director:Dave Minchin
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Dave Minchin
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7.5/10(12 votes)
#24 - Santa Fe to Acoma, New Mexico
S2:E92/2/2017
Michael Portillo arrives in Santa Fe, the state capital of New Mexico, and once the capital of a Spanish kingdom. He explores the beautiful colonial architecture of the city and is invited to visit a Native American pueblo atop a 367-foot-high sandstone bluff. Michael eavesdrops on rehearsals for Puccini's Girl of the Golden West at the glorious Santa Fe Opera House, and at the Governor's Palace learns about the author of the biblical epic Ben Hur. Finally, Michael catches up with two of the famous Harvey Girls at the La Fonda Hotel to hear about Fred Harvey, the railroad caterer from Lancashire who made his fortune in America.
Director:Unknown
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7.5/10(12 votes)
#25 - Chicago, US Rail Hub
S2:E172/14/2017
Michael Portillo continues his 1,000-mile journey from the northern state of Minnesota to the home of the blues in Memphis, Tennessee. Today, in the nation's rail capital, where tracks pass underground and overground and are elevated into the air, Michael investigates the ultimate marshalling yard. At the ornate Palmer House Hotel, Michael teams up with the head chef to recreate the original chocolate brownie, invented by Bertha Palmer for Chicago's World Exposition in 1893. He discovers the origins of the Sanitary and Ship Canal and uncovers the history of an incredible civil engineering project which raised the city to new heights. Heading deep underground, Michael inspects a modern day scheme on a similarly awesome scale, described by the boss as the largest toilet in the world.
Director:Dave Minchin
Writer:Unknown
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Director:Dave Minchin
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