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Tracks Ahead

Season 6 2006

  • 2006-01-15T05:00:00Z on PBS
  • 30m
  • 7h (14 episodes)
  • United States
  • English
  • Documentary
Tracks Ahead is a television series about railroading, produced by Milwaukee Public Television for public television stations starting in 1990. The series examines all aspects of railroading, both in the United States and in the rest of the world. Content covers a wide range of railroad-related materials. This includes scenic rail journeys, short-line railroads, layouts, artists, photographers, and other railroad related material. The first season was hosted by Charles E. "Chuck" Zehner and the second season by Ward Kimball. Both were repackaged and re-released with Spencer Christian as the host. All subsequent series have featured Christian.

14 episodes

Season Premiere

2006-01-15T05:00:00Z

6x01 Alco PA1

Season Premiere

6x01 Alco PA1

  • 2006-01-15T05:00:00Z30m

Look at the history of one of the most beautiful diesel locomotives ever built, go into the hills of West Virginia on a three line railroad, ride a historic steam train that has been lovingly restored, and meet a man who recreates Hollywood magic every day. Spencer Christian again hosts this 13-part series on railroading.

6x02 Wisconsin & Southern Railroad

  • 2006-01-22T05:00:00Z30m

Experience the birth of the Wisconsin & Southern, a new railroad built on a part of the old Milwaukee Road. Combine theater with a fine meal on the rails, visit a man who has combined his interest in model railroading with computer control, and visit an award winning railroad artist David Tutwiler.

2006-01-29T05:00:00Z

6x03 Digital Command Control

6x03 Digital Command Control

  • 2006-01-29T05:00:00Z30m

See how a revolution in model railroad control is allowing multiple train operation on the same track, experience the “up north” feeling visiting an outdoor railroad in the woods of Northern Michigan, meet an award winning California photographer, and visit the Utah Belt Railroad in a basement in Missouri.

2006-02-05T05:00:00Z

6x04 Ireland Steam Tour

6x04 Ireland Steam Tour

  • 2006-02-05T05:00:00Z30m

Experience the beauty of the Irish countryside on a steam trip through the Suir Valley, go to Iowa to see how a couple has turned their front yard into a wonderful garden railroad display, visit the Hesston Steam Museum in Indiana, and talk with Shirley Burman, the expert on the role that women have played in railroading.

2006-03-12T05:00:00Z

6x05 Amusement Park Trains

6x05 Amusement Park Trains

  • 2006-03-12T05:00:00Z30m

Tracks Ahead takes a look at the history of amusement park trains, which are still in use today. Travel to California, and find an operating steam railroad that brings back the look and feel of a hundred years ago, take a nostalgic trip back to the days when Lionel catalogues were Christmas wish lists, and go the Montana state fair.

2006-02-19T05:00:00Z

6x06 The White Creek Railroad

6x06 The White Creek Railroad

  • 2006-02-19T05:00:00Z30m

Tracks Ahead rides the White Creek Railroad, located on one hundred acres in western Michigan. Visit a railroad themed Arizona B&B, see what a retired NASA engineer does for relaxation, and visit an exhibit that is billed as the most comprehensive display of toy trains in America.

2006-02-26T05:00:00Z

6x07 Grand Canyon Hotels

6x07 Grand Canyon Hotels

  • 2006-02-26T05:00:00Z30m

Take a look at a number of historic and opulent old railroad hotels near the Grand Canyon, discover the sights of Pennsylvania come to life in miniature, take a five minute railroad trip between Tacoma and the Stampede Pass, and head to eastern Oregon where a dedicated group of volunteers is preserving the steam heritage of the gold fields.

2006-03-05T05:00:00Z

6x08 Holiday in Cincinnati

6x08 Holiday in Cincinnati

  • 2006-03-05T05:00:00Z30m

Tracks Ahead visits several fantastic holiday-themed layouts in Cincinnati. See how to own a museum quality model railroad, ride along on a holiday excursion as the Grand Canyon Railroad brings the Polar Express to life, and visit a garden railroad whose owner has moved tons of rock.

6x09 Carpathian Logging Railroad

  • 2006-03-12T05:00:00Z30m

Experience one of the last steam logging railroads in the world, located in a deep mountain valley in Romania. Tracks Ahead visits one of the oldest zoos west of the Mississippi, meets a Lionel collector who is as interested in the stories of the people behind the items, and visit a trolley museum in southeastern Wisconsin.

2006-03-18T05:00:00Z

6x10 Miniature Wonderland

6x10 Miniature Wonderland

  • 2006-03-18T05:00:00Z30m

Tracks Ahead visits Hamburg, Germany to see the largest HO layout in the world. Visit an O gauge layout which models the three areas of the Grand Canyon state, visit with a man who is a living repository for the history of the Northern Pacific Railroad, and head into the hills of Colorado for a most unusual tourist attraction.

2006-03-26T05:00:00Z

6x11 The Great Train Story

6x11 The Great Train Story

  • 2006-03-26T05:00:00Z30m

Take a trip to Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry to see the all new, Great Train Story. Go back in time for a visit to one day in 1938 West Virginia, ride both a historic steam train and a riverboat in Connecticut, and experience a delightful meal as you view Seattle’s Lake Washington.

2006-04-02T05:00:00Z

6x12 Rügen Island Railway

6x12 Rügen Island Railway

  • 2006-04-02T05:00:00Z30m

Join the Tracks Ahead crew as they explore the Rügenish Kleinbahn on an island in the Baltic Sea. Ride a restored portion of the old Sacramento Northern Railroad in central California, visit with a Colorado artist whose passions for photography and painting are carried over into his layout, and visit one of the largest home model railroad layouts around.

2006-04-09T04:00:00Z

6x13 Empire Builder

6x13 Empire Builder

  • 2006-04-09T04:00:00Z30m

Tracks Ahead talks with a man whose passion for model trains and the outdoors, has allowed him to combine both into a successful business. Look in on a garden railroad which has continued to discover gold, experience some of the last, scheduled steam railroad operations in the world, and visit Malcolm Furlow, a man who is artist, cowboy, and designer and who carries his artwork into his passion for trains.

2006-04-16T04:00:00Z

6x14 G Gauge in Mesa

6x14 G Gauge in Mesa

  • 2006-04-16T04:00:00Z30m

Visit an award winning chef whose passion for garden railroading has resulted in a football field of trains. Go into the Carpathian Mountains in western Romania to rediscover a narrow gauge line that is undergoing a rebirth, visit with an artist and modeler whose books have become a model railroader mainstay, visit a Florida company that can build the display of your dreams.

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