Every season of Tracks Ahead ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best seasons of Tracks Ahead!

Cleveland RTA (OH), Schulz HO Gauge layout (WI), Warther Carver (OH), Kughn Collection

Cleveland RTA

Why We Like Trains, Devine Garden layout (CA), Indianapolis Children's Museum (IN), Green Collection (WI)

Why We Like Trains

Norther Railcar Wheelshop (WI), Kelly N Gauge layout (WI), Railroader's Mem. Museum (PA), Artist Gil Reid

Northern Railcar

Amtrak Chicago (IL), Nelson S Gauge layout (WI), Circus Trains, Wendell Murphy (WI)

Amtrak Chicago

Schwab O Gauge layout (WI), Roadside America (PA), California State RR Museum (CA), Artist Russ Porter

Traction Layout

Chicago El (IL), Horwath HO Gauge layout (WI), Roaring Camp & Big Trees RR (CA), Jim Scribbins

Chicago Elevated

Moffat Tunnel (CO), Ozaukee Live Steam RR (WI), Train Collector's Museum (PA), Bob Baker

Moffat Tunnel

Ward Kimball, Lorbecki HO Gauge layout (WI), Trolleyville (OH), Milwaukee Road Profile

Ward Kimbal

Wm. K. Walthers Mfg. (WI), Train Barn O Gauge layout (MI), Scenic Rail Dinner Train (WI), Don Heimberger

Walthers

Santa Fe Piggyback (IL), Milwaukee Model RR Club (WI), North Freedom Museum (WI), Chicago Northwestern Profile

Santa Fe Piggyback

Lionel Corporation (MI), Cuyahoga Valley RR Club (OH), Milwaukee Zoo Train (WI), Railroad Artillery

Lionel Corporation

TMER&L Profile (WI), Stan Roy O Gauge layout (IL), Pennsylvania RR Museum, Fallen Flags

TMER&L

Minnesota Commercial RR (MN), MR&T HO Gauge layout (WI), MSI Chicago Oringinal layout (IL), T&M Publications

Minnesota Commercial

LS&I Railroad (MI), Schlicht Flyer layout (WI), A. Mitchell, Swiss Transport Mus. (Swiss), Boxcar Willie

LS&I Railroad

Krupp Mak (Ger), Diorama Studios, E. Harriman, Underground RR (CA), Amtrak (Sue Martin)

Krupp Machinery

Marklin (Ger), Tews HO Gauge layout (WI), Casey Jones, East Broadtop RR (PA), Metra (Chris Knapton)

Marklin Trains

Tehachapi Loop (CA), Cassler HO Gauge layout (PA), G.Varney, LGB (Ger), Richard Misunas (WI)

Tehachapi Loop

High speed ICE Trains (Ger), Brasher Collection, J.Hill, Lima Locomotive (OH), Author Bruce Moffat

ICE Trains

Mt. Washington Cog Rwy (NH), Winski G Gauge layout (WI), J. Barringer, Orange Empire RR Mus (CA), Rbh (Swiss)

Mt. Washington Cog Railway

San Diego Trolleys (CA), Rose G Gauge layout (CA), C. Vanderbilt, Lake Superior Transport Mus. (MI), Bob Beck

San Diego Trolleys

McCormick RR Park (AZ), Dougherty Lionel Collection, P. McGinnis, Cass Scenic Rwy (WV), Greg Mross Photos

McCormick Railroad Park

BART (CA), Pasadena Model RR Club (CA), Mantua, Seashore Trolley Museum (ME), UP Steam Heritage (WY)

Bay Area Rapid Transit

UP Harriman Dispatch (NE), Lindsey O Gauge layout (SC), D. Moffat, Midland RR Centre (UK), Artist Howard Fogg

Harriman Dispatch

Jungfrau RR (Swiss), San Diego Model RR Club (CA), Op. Lifesaver, Sandley Railroad (WI), Artist Grif Teller

Jungfrau Railway

Amtrak Beech Grove Fac. (IN), John Allen Retro, C. Crocker, Orient Expr. (Swiss), Copper Basin RR (AZ)

Amtrak Beech Grove

Grand Canyon Rwy (AZ), Joiner O Gauge layout (TX), S. Insull, Trainland USA (IA), O.Winston Link Photo

Grand Canyon Railway

Intermodal Railroading, Thompson HO Gauge layout (WI), Napa Valley Wine Train (CA), Artist Herschel Scott

Intermodal Story

Wisconsin Central RR (WI), Orlando modular layouts (FL), Hawaiian Tourist Railroads (HI), Artist Larry Fisher

Wisconsin Central

Dunham Studio RR Designs, Miller G Gauge layout (CA), Boone & Scenic Valley RR (IA), Artist Ted Rose

Dunham Studios

Railroading in Chile, Frost Flyer S Gauge layout (CA), Great smokey Mt. Rwy (NC), Photographer John Corns

Chile

Amtrak Chef (CA/MI), Bogs Gn3 Gauge layout (TX), Cumbres & Toltec RR (CO), Dallas Medical Cntr. layout (TX)

Railroad Dining

Alaskan RR (AK), Marx Trains reborn (IL), Baltimore RR Museum (MD), Photographer Don Wood

Alaskan Railroad

ARA Technical Center (CO), Webb G Gauge layout (CA), Manitou & Pikes Peak RR (CO), Photographer Doug Jones

Transportation Test Center

Railroading in Paraguay, MicroTrains (OR), The Milwaukee Road 261 (WV), Rail hostesses on the Southern RR

Paraguay

Renssalaer Model RR Club (NY), The Lincoln Train (IL), New Hope & Ivyland RR (PA), The Electroliner (WI)

Renssalaer Model RR Club

Apalachicola Northern RR (FL), Bob Board Flyer S Guage layout (PA), McKinney Trolleys (TX), Railroad Advertising

Apalachicola Northern RR

Iowa Traction RR (IA), Hanna 15" Gauge layout (TX), Flagler Museum (FL), Nicholson Bridge (PA)

Iowa Traction

RDCs in Brazil, Columbia Gorge Model RR Club (OR), New Orleans Trolleys (LA), Photographer John Gruber

Brazil

Morrison & Knudson (ID), Nicholas Muff, Georgetown Loop RR (CO), Artist Angela Trotta Thomas

Morrison & Knudsen

Rail Safari deluxe (South Africa), Nicastro HO Gauge Layout (TX), Yosemite Mt. RR (CA), John Coker (NM)

Rail Safari

Pittsburgh Light Rail (PA), Sellios HO Gauge Layout (MA), White Pass & Yukon Railroad (AK), William Middleton (VA)

White Pass & Yukon RR

Jerry Brechsnyder (WI/CA/MO), McClelland HO Gauge Layout (OH), Conn. Trolley Museum (CT), Railway Mail (IL/VA)

Connecticut Trolley Museum

Union Tank Car Co. (IN), Stewart N Gauge Layout (MD), Black Hills Central RR (SD), Mike Kotowski

Union Tank Car

Pioneer Zephyr (WI/IL), Titman S Gauge Layout (PA), Little Trains of Wales (Wales, UK), The Caboose (WI)

Little Trains of Wales

Rhine Region Tour (Germany), Parker HO Gauge Layout (CA), Steamtown Nat. Hist. Site (PA), Ralston Cast Iron Trains (HI)

The Middle Rhine

RDC Rail Tour (BC, Canada), Spangler HO Gauge Layout (UT), Nevada RR Museum (NV), Birtcher Bn3 Gauge Layout (CA)

Vintage Diesel

Huff & Puff Ind. (IL), Placher HO Gauge Layout (WI), LA Toy Train Museum (LA), John Gummo & Astor Trains (PA)

Custom Building

Cascade Tunnel (WA/WI), Cold Water Canyon G Gauge Layout (CA), Choo Choo Barn (PA), Rail Speeders (CA)

Rail Motor Cars

UP Bailey Yard (NE), Piccirillo O Gauge Trolleys (NJ), Railtown 1897 Hist. Site (CA), Dick Hafer Cartoons (MD)

Bailey Yard

Tracks Laying & Maintenance (IL/WI), Wilson HO Gauge Layout (FL), Durango & Silverton RR (CO), Charlie Amos Art

Track Maintenance

Canadian Forest Products (BC, Canada), Clarke On3 Gauge Layout (TX), Old Kentucky Dinner Train (KY), Maine Coast RR (ME)

Logging

John I Beggs (WI), Brown On3 Gauge Layout (CA), Wuppertal Schwebebahn (Germany), Dornfeld Models (WI)

The Floating Railroad

Circus Train

Copper Canyon

The Indian Pacific Railroad

Road Railers

Northlandz

The Ghan

The King of Toy Trains

Trains of Cuba

Cable Cars

New Zealand by Rail

Union Station

Pacific Fruit Express

Puffing Billy

Look at the history of one of the most beautiful diesel locomotives ever built, go into the hills of West Virginia on a three line railroad, ride a historic steam train that has been lovingly restored, and meet a man who recreates Hollywood magic every day.  Spencer Christian again hosts this 13-part series on railroading.

Alco PA1

Experience the birth of the Wisconsin & Southern, a new railroad built on a part of the old Milwaukee Road.  Combine theater with a fine meal on the rails, visit a man who has combined his interest in model railroading with computer control, and visit an award winning railroad artist David Tutwiler.

Wisconsin & Southern Railroad

See how a revolution in model railroad control is allowing multiple train operation on the same track, experience the “up north” feeling visiting an outdoor railroad in the woods of Northern Michigan, meet an award winning California photographer, and visit the Utah Belt Railroad in a basement in Missouri.

Digital Command Control

Experience the beauty of the Irish countryside on a steam trip through the Suir Valley, go to Iowa to see how a couple has turned their front yard into a wonderful garden railroad display, visit the Hesston Steam Museum in Indiana, and talk with Shirley Burman, the expert on the role that women have played in railroading.

Ireland Steam Tour

Tracks Ahead takes a look at the history of amusement park trains, which are still in use today.  Travel to California, and find an operating steam railroad that brings back the look and feel of a hundred years ago, take a nostalgic trip back to the days when Lionel catalogues were Christmas wish lists, and go the Montana state fair.

Amusement Park Trains

Tracks Ahead rides the White Creek Railroad, located on one hundred acres in western Michigan.  Visit a railroad themed Arizona B&B, see what a retired NASA engineer does for relaxation, and visit an exhibit that is billed as the most comprehensive display of toy trains in America.

The White Creek Railroad

Take a look at a number of historic and opulent old railroad hotels near the Grand Canyon, discover the sights of Pennsylvania come to life in miniature, take a five minute railroad trip between Tacoma and the Stampede Pass, and head to eastern Oregon where a dedicated group of volunteers is preserving the steam heritage of the gold fields.

Grand Canyon Hotels

Tracks Ahead visits several fantastic holiday-themed layouts in Cincinnati.  See how to own a museum quality model railroad, ride along on a holiday excursion as the Grand Canyon Railroad brings the Polar Express to life, and visit a garden railroad whose owner has moved tons of rock.

Holiday in Cincinnati

Experience one of the last steam logging railroads in the world, located in a deep mountain valley in Romania.  Tracks Ahead visits one of the oldest zoos west of the Mississippi, meets a Lionel collector who is as interested in the stories of the people behind the items, and visit a trolley museum in southeastern Wisconsin.

Carpathian Logging Railroad

Tracks Ahead visits Hamburg, Germany to see the largest HO layout in the world.  Visit an O gauge layout which models the three areas of the Grand Canyon state, visit with a man who is a living repository for the history of the Northern Pacific Railroad, and head into the hills of Colorado for a most unusual tourist attraction.

Miniature Wonderland

Take a trip to Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry to see the all new, Great Train Story.  Go back in time for a visit to one day in 1938 West Virginia, ride both a historic steam train and a riverboat in Connecticut, and experience a delightful meal as you view Seattle’s Lake Washington.

The Great Train Story

Join the Tracks Ahead crew as they explore the Rügenish Kleinbahn on an island in the Baltic Sea.  Ride a restored portion of the old Sacramento Northern Railroad in central California, visit with a Colorado artist whose passions for photography and painting are carried over into his layout, and visit one of the largest home model railroad layouts around.

Rügen Island Railway

Tracks Ahead talks with a man whose passion for model trains and the outdoors, has allowed him to combine both into a successful business.  Look in on a garden railroad which has continued to discover gold, experience some of the last, scheduled steam railroad operations in the world, and visit Malcolm Furlow, a man who is artist, cowboy, and designer and who carries his artwork into his passion for trains.

Empire Builder

Visit an award winning chef whose passion for garden railroading has resulted in a football field of trains.  Go into the Carpathian Mountains in western Romania to rediscover a narrow gauge line that is undergoing a rebirth, visit with an artist and modeler whose books have become a model railroader mainstay, visit a Florida company that can build the display of your dreams.

G Gauge in Mesa

Tracks Ahead goes into the hills of eastern Ohio to visit a ten line railroad; ride a historic Japanese steam train that has been lovingly restored; visit a man who has realized his childhood dream, and meet a dentist who has taken his passion for trains into the back yard.

Ohio Central Railroad

Head to Maine for a memorable experience for the entire family with a visit to the “Two Footers;” head to Arizona and explore a remote river canyon; meet a man who has made a living from preserving railroading history, and discover that model railroading is alive and well in the center of Tokyo.

Maine Narrow Gauge

Visit a steam operation and museum in Nagoya, the fourth largest city in Japan; experience the “up north” feeling as Tracks Ahead visits Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, meet a group of modelers who have built an impressive layout beneath a shopping center, and visit Idaho to see the reincarnation of the “Railroad on Stilts.

Japan's Meitetsu Railroad

Meet some of the people who are preserving the steam technology that helped shape the nation; visit a garden layout in Scottsdale which has a whimsical theme; meet a young railroad artist with a talent for realism, and visit the Windy City – Chicago, for a little holiday magic.

Young Guns of Steam

Check the progress of an amazing garden railroad display in the sunny state of Arizona; visit an S gauge layout in the Bay Area that recreates some of the industry of New York state; explore the recreation of a major toy train display of the late 1950’s, and visit a steam tourist line in Delaware.

Palo Verde & Western Railroad

Take a ride on the world’s first high speed rail line, home to the famous Japanese bullet trains; visit an interpretive park in eastern Michigan that holds a steamy surprise; visit a man who has collected toy trains from the Louis Marx company, and see a re-creation of the 1949 Lionel showroom layout.

Japan's Bullet Trains

Talk with a man whose hard work has resurrected a short line railroad in South Dakota; visit an astounding 15 inch gauge railroad on a game preserve in the Midwest; visit Kyoto, Japan, and look in on a steam museum and train ride; and head to the Smoky Mountains for a visit to a new public layout.

The Dakota Southern Railroad

Travel to Argentina for a rail adventure through the vast expanses of Patagonia; visit with a man who has taken his vocation and used it to literally take railroading to new heights;  look in on the last car float operation in the country, and head just south of Tokyo to ride some unusual railcars.

Railroads in Patagonia

Tracks Ahead visits the Panama Canal Railway that serves as a bridge between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans; meet a man who was in the middle of each major crisis of the railroad industry; visit Zanesville, Ohio, for a look at a club layout; and head to the Garden State, where a tourist and freight railroad keeps history alive.

Panama Canal Railway

See how a modern rail transit system thrives in Los Angeles; visit a garden railroad on a quiet street in San Mateo, California; relive the exciting moment when the transcontinental railroad was completed; and ride a spectacular dinner train in the shadow of the Cascade Mountains.

Los Angeles Rail Transit

Look in on the old Sierra Railroad shops in the gold country of California; visit a high rail S gauge layout that is the culmination of a thirty year dream; drop in on the family farm in southwestern Wisconsin and explore the history of an almost forgotten narrow gauge line in Iowa.

Railtown 1897

Venture into America’s heartland for an impressive public garden railroad display; ride several unique rail lines to explore the lush Japanese countryside; look in on a re-creation of a 1960’s railroad in southern California and visit with the heir apparent to noted railroad artist, Howard Fogg.

EnterTrainment Junction

Visit Strasburg, Pennsylvania, where trains are a major attraction; visit an operational layout that has recreated the Cajon Pass area; see what roller coasters and trains have in common and look in on one of the largest railroad museums in the country.

Strasburg Railroading

Visit a Caribbean sugar cane line that has found a new, more glamorous life; ride a spectacular three stage rail line in the Minami Alps outside of Tokyo; visit one of the largest Z gauge layouts around and look in on a museum that operates one of the last great steam locomotives in the United States.

St. Kitts Scenic Railway

Harz Brocken Railway

Greeley Freight Station Museum

ChiTown Union Station

Saxony Narrow Gauge Railroads

Flying Yankee

Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad

MolliBahn

Tracks Ahead is a television series about railroading, produced by Milwaukee Public Television for public television stations starting in 1990. The series examines all aspects of railroading, both in the United States and in the rest of the world. Content covers a wide range of railroad-related materials. This includes scenic rail journeys, short-line railroads, layouts, artists, photographers, and other railroad related material. The first season was hosted by Charles E. "Chuck" Zehner and the second season by Ward Kimball. Both were repackaged and re-released with Spencer Christian as the host. All subsequent series have featured Christian.

The Best Seasons of Tracks Ahead

The Best Seasons of Tracks Ahead

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Season 4

Season 5

Season 6

Season 7

Season 8

Season 9