TRACKS AHEAD
The hit PBS series Tracks Ahead has a unique appeal for train lovers of all ages. Now broadcast on more than 200 PBS stations across America, Japan, host Spencer Christian (formerly of ABC's Good Morning America fame) presents the best of steam locomotives, railroad stories, model trains and art.
In the season of Tracks Ahead you will see railroad prototypes, models, personalities and lore covering not only the railways and modelers of the past, but of the present and future. Explore everything involved with railroading, from model trains and museums to collectors and authors. The stories intrigue a variety of viewers, while walking a middle line between technical and general information.
Episodes Airing:
Arkansas & Missouri Railroad (June 23)
Tracks Ahead goes to Arkansas, Home Of Wal-Mart, Tyson Chicken, and a combination freight passenger railroad. Meet a train collector whose displays only enhance his operating layouts, go to Kansas and ride behind a restored steam engine, and visit a piece of resurrected history in Nevada.
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Visit one of the largest model railroad clubs in the country where you’ll find a gauge for everyone. Visit a mountain top in the Peach State where a husband and wife have built a dream layout, ride an Idaho rail line up the scenic gorge of the Payette River, and look in at a huge 7 and a half inch gauge railroad operation.
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Western Pacific Railroad Museum (July 7)
Go into the Sierra Nevada mountains to visit a museum dedicated to
the Western Pacific Railroad, see a G gauge layout that is especially
adapted to the harsh Arizona climate, visit a great European collection
and layout, and visit a New England tourist destination which started
life as a sled dog ranch.
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California Zephyr (July 14)
Ride the route of the California Zephyr; look at a layout that uses
some very special equipment in its operations; go to Dearborn, Michigan
to visit The Henry Ford museum and railroad; and ride through the
scenic lakes region of New Hampshire.
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Trans Siberian Railroad, Part 1 (July 21)
Take a ride on the longest rail line on the planet; visit an Arizona man who has built a tribute to his native New York; go to Cincinnati and visit a museum that is a testament to a childhood dream; and meet a man who never met a model train gauge he didn't like.
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Trans Siberian Railroad, Part 2 (July 28)
Tracks Ahead journeys through Russia over the more than 6,000 miles of the Trans-Siberian Railroad on the luxurious Golden Eagle train. Highlights include a 1,000 year-old city on the Volga River, Ulan Bator--the capital of Mongolia, villages near the world's largest freshwater lake, and Moscow. The Trans-Siberian tracks connect the far eastern port city of Vladivostok with Moscow, stretching from the Baltic to the Pacific and forming a vital link between Russia's vast regions. The journey also introduces the Golden Eagle, a Russian luxury train launched in 2007. Spencer Christian hosts.
