DVD Disk 1

Program #201        LS&I Railroad

The Lake Superior & Ishpemming Railroad, a short line railroad running in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan between the ore mines and docking facilities at Marquette, is featured. This program also profiles country music singer Boxcar Willie; an American Flyer model railroad featuring Plasticville structures; and the Verkershaus der Swiss, a transportation museum in Lucerne, Switzerland. Spencer Christian hosts.

Program #202        Krupp Mak Locomotive Works

Tracks Ahead visits the Krupp Mak locomotive building facility in Kiel, Germany, for a look at the construction of diesel-hydraulic DE-1024 engines and a visit with chief designer/director Herr Tretow. The efficiencies of rail travel and the expansion of Amtrak are discussed with Amtrak's director of public relations. Bill Volheim and Art Zirul, who worked at Diorama Studios in New York in the late '40s and '50s, discuss their work on the 1949 Lionel showroom layout.

Program #203        East Broadtop Railroad

In the 1950s, the East Broadtop Railroad in Orbisonia, Pennsylvania, was abandoned. Workers simply locked up the facility and went home, leaving tools and half-finished projects. Tracks Ahead visits the railroad, which is back in operation as a tourist line, offering a historical glimpse into the world of narrow gauge steam operations. This program also profiles Chris Knapton, director of public relations, at the Metropolitan Transit Authority in Chicago and visits the Marklin Train factory and museum in Goppingen, Germany.

Program #204

The Tehachapi Loop in the mountains north of Los Angeles is visited. This engineering feat was accomplished to allow trains of the Southern Pacific and Santa Fe Railroads to gain maximum altitude to get over the mountains, while minimizing the grade to traverse the mountains on the route east out of California. The history, as well as the effects of floods and earthquakes are examined. This program also profiles Richard Misunas, a conductor on the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Chicago, Illinois, Amtrak run, who offers a running commentary on the benefits of rail travel. A tour of the Lehmann Company in Nuremberg, Germany, provides a behind-the-scenes look at the manufacturing process for large gauge trains. We will examine the entire process, from design and pattern construction through injection molding, pad printing, car assembly, testing, and shipping.

Program #205        Germany's ICE Trains

The Deutsche Bundesbahn's Inter City Express, is a high speed electric train which connects major cities in Germany, and sustains speeds of 250 Kilometers per hour (about 160 mph). Tracks Ahead takes a ride on the train and visits the locomotive construction area at Krupp in Essen, Germany. This episode also profiles Bruce Moffat, the author of 40 Feet Below ; visits Chuck Brasher of Grass Valley, California, who displays his American Flyer cardboard station, along with other pieces in his collection, in the attic of his home; and takes a historical look at the Lima Locomotive Works in Lima, Ohio.

Program #206        Mt. Washington Cog Railway

The history and present operation of the Mt. Washington Cog Railway in New Hampshire is featured. Gion Caprez, a physicist who joined the Swiss Railroads after discovering he preffered working outside, now drives a locomotive on the Alba line in the eastern Swiss province of Graubundigen. This episode also looks at a father and son garden railroad operation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the Red Car trolleys at the Orange Empire Railway Museum in Los Angeles.

DVD Disk 2

Program #207        San Diego Light Rail

Tracks Ahead looks at the red cars of the San Diego light railway system; as well as a Milwaukee, Wisconsin, man who constructed the front end of a Milwaukee North Shore interurban car in his basement, along with the station platform and façade. We'll visit a garden railway in the San Diego area; and a collection in Duluth, Minnesota, which includes a tank locomotive, a 4-8-8-4 engine, and an extensive collection of railroad china from railroads around the country.

Program #208        Cass Scenic Railway

A visit to the Cass Railroad Park in Cass, West Virginia, features rides on Shay Locomotives; the company town, which is being refurbished as tourist accommodations; and the locomotive shops. Tracks Ahead profiles Greg Mross, a photographer who photographs trains in the Midwest and McCormick Railroad Park in Scottsdale, Arizona, which displays the rolling stock, the park concept, the old ranch buildings which are part of the original property, and the model railroads found therein. Ed Dougherty, a professional golfer on the PGA tour circuit, displays his extensive Lionel train collection.

Program #209        BART

The shops and routes of the San Francisco area's light rail system are visited. Engineer Steve Lee explains the Union Pacific Heritage Steam program in Cheyenne, Wyoming, which includes steam engine 884, a 4-8-4; engine 3985, a 4-6-6-4 challenger; and diesel engine #6936, one of the most powerful diesel electric locomotives ever built. A former bowling alley houses the Pasadena Model Railroad Club's large HO scale model railroad. The Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine, features trolley and interurban railway vehicles--and an old North Boston tower, which was literally sawn below the roof-line and brought to the museum by barge.

Program #210        Union Pacific Harriman Dispatch

The Union Pacific Harriman Dispatch Center in Omaha, Nebraska, is visited; as is artist Howard Fogg who demonstrates some of his train paintings and offers insight into how he picks a subject. Tracks Ahead also examines a wonderful O Gauge Hi-rail layout in Moore, South Carolina. This program also tours the Midland Railway Center in Ripley, England, where steam engines, including the Princess Margaret Rose are displayed.

Program #211        Jungfrau Railroad

Tracks Ahead visits with the youngest station master (or mistress) for the highest railway station in the world--the station at the top of the Jungfraujoch, outside of Interlochen, Switzerland. Also profiled is Grif Teller, the artist who created the artwork for the Pennsylvania Railroad calendars of the 1930s and '40s. We look at four layouts at the San Diego Model Railroad Museum; and a 15-inch gauge operation at the Sandley Locomotive Works at Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, which features scaled down buildings, as well as shops with machinery driven by belts from a central line shaft.

Program #212        Amtrak Beech Grove

The first segment takes a behind-the-scenes look at Amtrak's major repair and maintenance facility in Beech Grove, Indiana. The it's off for a trip on the Nostalgie Istanbul Orient Express Train Deluxe, a train comprised of 1930s vintage restored cars from various European railways and pulled by a German steam locomotive. Also profiles is John Allen, who built an HO gauge model railroad layout in the 1950s that became the de facto standard for scenery and mountain modeling for many years. Tracks Ahead also takes a ride through Arizona terrain which varies from desert floor to Gila River Canyon aboard The Copper Basin Railroad, a short line railroad in north Central Arizona. The railroad uses heavy rail and EMD diesel locomotives to haul copper from the open pit mines to interchange points with the Southern Pacific and Santa Fe Railroads.

Program #213        Grand Canyon Railroad

Tracks Ahead highlights the Santa Fe Railroad, which ran a feeder line from Williams, Arizona, to the south rim of the Grand Canyon in the early part of the 20th Century. Abandoned in the 1950s, the line now operates as a tourist line. This program also profiles artist and photographer O. Winston Link, who captured striking vignettes of humanity framed by the harshness of the West Virginia hills and the lifeline of the railroad. Also examined is a railroad hot spot in Iowa, Trainland, USA, as well as the magnificent Texas layout of Lorell Joiner.