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12 Episodes 1997 - 1997
Episode 1
Mon, Oct 20, 1997
The history of trains and the railroads during wartime.
Episode 2
Mon, Oct 27, 1997
You get to know how a steam loco works, how steam technology grew, evolved, battled with diesel and electrics, and eventually (almost) died out. You also learn more about the great train photographer Mr. O. Winston Link.
Episode 3
Mon, Nov 3, 1997
Relive the history of one of America's most famous railroads - the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe - from the late 1860's until the mid-1990's.
Episode 4
Mon, Nov 10, 1997
Various means of locomotion, including animal inventions that helped steam trains run faster famous fast steam trains streamlining turned to to bring back passengers during the Depression. High speed electric trains. MagLev trains AMTRAK high speed trains for (what was then considered to be) the future.
Episode 6
Mon, Dec 1, 1997
The History of the Steam Locamotive.
Episode 7
Mon, Dec 8, 1997
The country's railroad industry also developed northwards, with the creation of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Episode 8
Mon, Dec 15, 1997
It is one of the most famous names in railroading, but the story of the Wabash line is much more than the tale of one fast train. The Wabash was built and broken by John Jay Gould, one of the most notorious Wall Street traders of the 19th century. Gould dreamed of creating a transcontinental rail empire, but poor decisions and bad luck denied him his vision. THE WABASH CANNONBALL tells the complete tale behind one of the most storied and famous railroads in America. Discover how, when the depression of 1884 forced Gould to put the Wabash into receivership, he actually convinced the government to give it back to him! See extensive footage from the glory days of steam, when the Wabash's habit of running their luxurious passenger trains and fast freights at breakneck speeds led to the "Cannonball" nickname. But it would be decades before the Wabash officially adopted the moniker, and by then, the seeds of its demise had already been sown. Climb aboard for a high-speed run through the history of a railroading legend, and revisit the glorious days when steam was king!
Episode 9
Mon, Dec 22, 1997
The hobby of model railroading has a history as rich and colorful as its real-life counterparts. Discover the story behind such famous toy train makers as Ives Toy Company, Germany's Märklin, and the Lionel Corporation and the products that made them famous.
Episode 10
Thu, Dec 25, 1997
I videotaped this from TV and only kept certain portions. The episode covered, at least: . Stone arch bridges, some are still in service and outlasted iron bridges. The one arch Carrolton Viaduct (1829) is the oldest in the U.S., and the 8 arch Thomas Viaduct (1835) just west of Baltimore is the next oldest. The Rockville Bridge over the Susquehanna 1902 replaced earlier wooden (1849) and iron (1879) bridges. Tunkhannock Viaduct/Nicholson Bridge 2,300 feet length, 240 feet above the community of Nicholson, PA., built in 1915 was given as the ultimate example. . Snow sheds . Alleghany Portage R.R. which pulled canal boats over the mountain ranges. John Augustus Roebling developed a steel wire for them to use and replace the Russian hemp ropes which broke. The steel wire was later used at the Niagara Falls and Brooklyn Bridges. . Horseshoe Bend . Centralized traffic control, operations center . The Chunnel and earlier attempts at digging tunnels across the English Channel.
Episode 11
Thu, Dec 25, 1997
In the 1920s, locomotives using diesel engines replaced steam as the primary power source on the railroads, and the decoration of the engines became more elaborate.
Episode 12
Thu, Dec 25, 1997
Episode 13
Thu, Dec 25, 1997
Early causes of train accidents. Accidents covered: Andover, MA., Jan. 06, 1853, Boston and Maine, broke a wheel. Franklin Pierce en route to inauguration reported as one of three fatalities. It was his 12 year old son. The Pennsylvania immigrant train Norwalk, CT. N.Y.N.H. & H. went through open drawbridge. Oliver Wendell Holmes erroneously reported dead, but 30 other doctors from an A.M.A. convention in N.Y.C. were among the 43 who perished. 1857 Camp Hill, Pa. church children on way to picnic, rear ended by another train. Conductor of the second train committed suicide but was exonerated. Casey Jones died Memphis trying to make up time The Angola Horror. Coal stoves started fires. N.Y. Express at Angola, N.Y. Inspired Westinghouse for braking system. Took years for railroads to adopt. Aug. 26, 1871, Revere Depot, Massachusetts Eastern Railroad express slammed into from rear 32 killed. Led to public indignation meetings. Charles Frances Adams of the Massachusetts State Railroad Commission said that any railroad running single track without a telegraph is criminally liable. 1976, Pacific Express Ashtabula, Ohio, train with 2 locomotives and 11 cars crossing trestle, engineer heard sounds of it breaking, opened the throttle. Second engine and 11 cars plunged 75 feet into an abyss. 52 passengers lived. Hotel Antler set up to take in wounded. 83 died at least 70 missing. Charles Collins questioned its safety, Amasa Stone told him to go ahead. Both committed suicide Aug. 10th, 1887, Peoria excursion to Niagara falls, burned out culvert at Chatsworth, 82 passengers died. 1893, may 29th, Walter L. Main circus train, brake failure at McCann's Crossing near Tyrone, PA on an "s" curve, 40 foot embankment, 5 humans and 60 horses dead. Hanna Friday confronted by escaped Bengal tiger when trying to milk her cow. July 9th, 1918, Nashville train wreck, investigation felt that if the passenger cars were made of steel there would have been fewer casualties. March 18th, 1912, boiler explosion in work shop excessive pressure due to low water level. 1934, Dec. 27th, Powelton WV Elkhorn Piney coal company train boiler explosion.. 1939 City of San Francisco streamliner Chicago to Oakland in 40 hours, crossing Humbolt River near Carlin, NV., sabotage spikes removed, 28 dead, 115 injured 1947 Pennsylvania RR's Red Arrow from Detroit to New York, 23 people died at Bennington curve due to derailment caused by excessive speed 1951 Woodbridge, NJ, Pennsylvania RR's Broker's Special, 84 killed and 350 injured when train took a temporary trestle too fast Jan 15 1953, Pennsylvania RR's Federal Express had brake failure approaching Union station, 87 injured Safety inventions: leading trucks, headlight, cowcatcher, standard time, iron track replaced by steel, torpedo signal, coal stoves replaced by steam heating, steel passenger cars, two-way radios and automatic braking system when signal missed.