Season 5

(High Definition & Stereo Sound)

DVD Disk 1

Program #501             Circus Train

          Come join the circus, as Tracks Ahead joins the Ringling circus train.  We’ll visit the spectacular Taieri Gorge in  southern New Zealand, visit a Lionel train layout and explore the past and present of New York’s Hellgate Bridge.  Spencer Christian again hosts this 13-part series on railroading.

Program #502             Copper Canyon

          Ride through Mexico’s Copper Canyon, which is deeper, wider, and longer than the Grand Canyon.  Visit an old logging railroad in the shadow of Mt. Rainier, meet a man whose collecting of brass models turned into a showcase layout modeled after central Wyoming, and finally take a look at the exquisite pictures of, and talk with, photographer/artist Ted Benson.

Program #503             The Indian Pacific RR

         The Indian Pacific Railroad is one of the longest rail journeys in the world.  Join the Tracks Ahead crew as they explore Southern Australia.  Then visit with an artist John Bromley, examine a large O gauge layout in Washington, DC, and look in on a middle American amusement park, that features a fabulous collection of steam powered trains.

Program #504             Road Railers

          Trains aren’t just about traditional rolling stock anymore.  Tracks Ahead will look in on an updated version of some freight hauling technology that has been around for quite a while.  Visit with the man who is one of the nationally know guru’s of steam, Doyle McCormack, and his famous locomotive, the 4449.  Visit the Tennessee Valley railroad, and look at an amazing layout and collection of vintage toy trains.

Program #505             Northlandz

          It’s billed as the largest model railroad in the world.  Tracks Ahead takes a look at the gigantic layout called Northlandz.  Ride with author and Chicago Sun Times literary critic Henry Kisor as he travels to the Rocky Mountains, check out an HO layout with a European flair, and drop down to the piney woods of east Texas where steam is still king.

Program #506             The Ghan

          Experience the Outback, from Alice Springs to Adelaide, as Tracks Ahead rides The Ghan through the rugged land of central Australia.  Visit with the man whose company built many of the American streetcars, visit the Kentucky Railroad Museum to see a combination of steam and one of the last operating BL-2 diesel locomotives.  And we’ll visit with a couple whose passion is garden railroading.

DVD Disk 2

Program #507             The King of Toy Trains

          Examine the life of the man whose name has become a household term synonymous with toy trains.  Visit a theme park in the Pacific Northwest which features an unusual steam railroad, look in on the Cypress Gardens model railroad in Central Florida, and visit one of the oldest model railroad clubs in existence.

Program #508             Trains of Cuba

          Steam railroading is still an everyday occurrence in the sugar fields of Cuba.   Ride with the Tracks Ahead team as they explore the beauty of western and central Cuba.  Then it’s off to New Hampshire, to ride a portion of the remaining Maine Central Railroad, now the Conway Scenic Railway.  Then meet a man whose passion is for model industries, and go to a town that has massive amounts of rail traffic – and helps the rail fans see it all.

Program #509             Cable Cars

          One of America’s historic treasures is found in San Francisco.  The colorful cable cars attract not just tourists, but city residents as well.  Meet Homer Henry, a man whose layouts are just a small part of his passion for railroading.  Visit the steam trains of the hundred year old Heber City Railroad in Utah, and the Twin Cities Model railroad club.

Program #510             New Zealand by Rail

         Tracks Ahead visits one of the most beautiful countries in the world, as we ride by rail through the north and south Islands of New Zealand.  Visit with a man who puts good use to cast-off items in his garden railroad, meet an artist who puts beauty to paper, and look in on the Omaha Zoo, where you will find an unusual stream powered attraction.

Program #511             Union Station

          Visit Union Station, the most visited place in Washington, DC.  Meet master modeler and brass collector Howard Zane, check out the commuter rail situation in Northern Indiana, and explore the north east coast of Australia on the luxurious Great South Pacific Orient Express.

Program #512             Pacific Fruit Express

          How does orange juice get from the plant to your table?  Tracks Ahead looks at the origins and operation of the highest revenue generating unit train in the country.  Then it’s off to sample Australian Wines – by train of course.  You don’t have to have a large space to create a beautiful model railroad, and go to a Wisconsin city where the good old days of trolley cars just rolled back into town.

Program #513             Puffing Billy

          No trip to Australia would be complete without a ride on Puffing Billy, one of the oldest operating steam locomotives on the Australian continent.  Visit with an Atlanta man whose dream layout has come to life, visit the North Carolina Transportation Museum, and stand in Union Station in St. Louis – the center of a combined rail operation that is still going strong in the Gateway to the West.