Extreme Trains
More information: IMDB
Episodes
Episode 8
Extreme Trains: Transcontinental
aired: Mon, Apr 2, 2012
Matt Bown rides the busiest freight line in the world, Union Pacific's Omaha to Sacramento. The route crosses the world's longest rail causeway, through the world's largest rail yard and over the fearsome Donner Pass where Matt and the train crews must free the tracks from huge blocks of ice.
Episode 7
Extreme Trains: Circus Train
aired: Mon, Apr 2, 2012
Hop aboard the longest privately-owned train in the world, Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey's circus train. Matt and the circus must race against the clock to dismantle tons of equipment and get it on the rails. As they travel from Baltimore to Washington, DC corridor in the dead of night, Matt discovers the less glamorous side to the greatest show on earth.
Episode 6
Extreme Trains: Overnight Traveler
aired: Mon, Apr 2, 2012
The Amtrak Empire Builder, runs from Chicago to Seattle and is the busiest passenger train in America. The route passes through America's longest tunnel where Matt finds out how the railroad keeps passengers from choking to death and how to keep the tracks from flooding. In the Cascade Mountains Matt finds out what it takes to the keep the rails clear of snow drifts over a dozen feet high!
Episode 5
Extreme Trains: Steam Train
aired: Mon, Apr 2, 2012
Union Pacific's 844 steam locomotive is the longest running steam train in America. Built in 1944 it has never been retired and still runs on UP's mainlines today. Matt rides the 844 on its annual outing taking 750 rail fans from Denver to the biggest rodeo in the world in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Episode 4
Extreme Trains: Ice Cold Express
aired: Mon, Apr 2, 2012
Union Pacific's refrigeration train the coolest train in the world. On its trip from Seattle to Schenectady, New York it employs the most hi tech mobile refrigeration technology in the world to keep its produce intact and fresh. Even the railcars themselves are stored inside a cooled facility so as not to break the cold chain for this delicate cargo.
Episode 3
Extreme Trains: High Speed Train
aired: Mon, Apr 2, 2012
Amtrak's Acela is the fastest train in America, with speeds reaching 150mph. Stretching from Washington, DC to Boston, this passenger train is a high-tech wonder that runs lines form the Great Depression. The train is powered by high voltage overhead electrical wires so Matt meets the workers who very day are just inches from being electrocuted.
Episode 2
Extreme Trains: Freight Train
aired: Mon, Apr 2, 2012
Going from the port of Los Angeles to Dallas/Ft. Worth, this high priority BNSF freight train is one of the important trains in America bringing goods from the Far East to stores across the US. All those IPods, flat screen TVs and hi tech gadgets? They come on this train. Matt endures the searing heat of the Mojave desert, gets drenched rainstorms in New Mexico and rides through an amazing earthquake proof trench that runs the length of downtown LA.
Episode 1
Extreme Trains: Coal Train
aired: Mon, Apr 2, 2012
Matt joins Norfolk/Southern's coal train as it hauls its priceless cargo of coal through Pennsylvania from mine to power plant. This is the train that brings power to America. When full the train weighs 14000 tons and getting that weight over the Allegheny mountains is a massive challenge. Matt pitches in with the crew as they load up the train and learns how the Nazis tried to blow the tracks during World War II.
