0:00:02 > 0:00:06I have crossed the Atlantic to ride the railroads of America...
0:00:08 > 0:00:10..with a new travelling companion.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14Published in 1879,
0:00:14 > 0:00:18my Appletons' General Guide will steer me to everything
0:00:18 > 0:00:20that's novel,
0:00:20 > 0:00:23beautiful, memorable
0:00:23 > 0:00:26or curious in the United States.
0:00:26 > 0:00:29- ALL:- Amen!
0:00:29 > 0:00:32As I cross the continent, I'll discover America's gilded age,
0:00:32 > 0:00:38when powerful tycoons launched a railway boom that tied
0:00:38 > 0:00:43the nation together and carved out its future as a superpower.
0:01:08 > 0:01:12I'm travelling through the Empire State of New York.
0:01:12 > 0:01:14I began in Manhattan
0:01:14 > 0:01:16and continued north through Poughkeepsie
0:01:16 > 0:01:18to the state capital of Albany,
0:01:18 > 0:01:23from where I'll head west and finish on the Canadian border.
0:01:27 > 0:01:33On this leg, I'll travel some 225 miles through Schenectady
0:01:33 > 0:01:38and Utica to the booming 19th-century city of Rochester.
0:01:44 > 0:01:48This route takes me towards the Great Lakes and it was
0:01:48 > 0:01:53the courses of the waterways that determined the spread of population
0:01:53 > 0:01:57and manufacture before the railroad tracks had been laid.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01Far away from the Big Apple, the smaller cities of this state
0:02:01 > 0:02:06were key to creating the American industrial powerhouse.
0:02:07 > 0:02:11Along the way, I man the Erie Canal,
0:02:11 > 0:02:13a waterway that shaped America.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17It changed New York state and, really, the country.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21Almost an immediate impact after the canal opened.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24I try to keep pace with the latest rail technology...
0:02:24 > 0:02:27You see, there's a little dip in there, in the terrain here...
0:02:27 > 0:02:30You've got to be ready for that. You've put all the hazards in here, haven't you?
0:02:30 > 0:02:34..and land somewhere over the rainbow.
0:02:34 > 0:02:39- And you have a yellow brick road running all the way through your town?- Yes, yes, we do.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51I'm following a recommended Appletons' route, which traverses
0:02:51 > 0:02:53the state heading north-west,
0:02:53 > 0:02:56and passes through the rich midland counties.
0:03:01 > 0:03:05"Schenectady is one of those pleasing Native American
0:03:05 > 0:03:08"place names still in use today."
0:03:08 > 0:03:12Appletons' says that it's situated on the banks of the Mohawk River
0:03:12 > 0:03:18on the spot which once formed the council grounds of the Mohawks.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21An inventive American made a breakthrough which put
0:03:21 > 0:03:24Schenectady on the map for a different reason,
0:03:24 > 0:03:26and brightened up the world.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31- TANNOY:- Schenectady next. Exit towards the rear of the train,
0:03:31 > 0:03:32where your see a conductor.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34Please watch your step getting off the train
0:03:34 > 0:03:38and please check for all your personal possessions.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41This old trading port was thrust into a new age of innovation
0:03:41 > 0:03:46and industry in 1892 when Thomas Edison,
0:03:46 > 0:03:48the man who lit up the world,
0:03:48 > 0:03:53made Schenectady the headquarters of his General Electric Company -
0:03:53 > 0:03:57a business that would go on to hold interests
0:03:57 > 0:03:59in major industries across 170 countries.
0:04:01 > 0:04:04I'm meeting vice president Christine Furstoss.
0:04:08 > 0:04:12Christine, my guidebook is 1879, and I get the impression
0:04:12 > 0:04:15there were a lot of hopes around electricity at that time.
0:04:15 > 0:04:17What was actually happening?
0:04:17 > 0:04:21Thomas Edison, really the father of today's electricity,
0:04:21 > 0:04:25he was working on one invention - a light bulb.
0:04:25 > 0:04:29What Thomas Edison did was he took a relatively small invention
0:04:29 > 0:04:32and made it something that the world could rely on.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35And the light bulb itself, what was the breakthrough that he made there?
0:04:35 > 0:04:37It wasn't very durable.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40And it had very, very thick wires going to and from it,
0:04:40 > 0:04:43because it had very low resistance.
0:04:43 > 0:04:47So what he did was he changed the filament and then he also worked
0:04:47 > 0:04:52on getting the voltage down and the resistance up, in order to make it
0:04:52 > 0:04:56be able to be used in people's homes and not just a novelty for a museum.
0:04:57 > 0:05:03In 1880, Edison patented the first commercially viable light bulb
0:05:03 > 0:05:07and turned his attentions to the electrical systems
0:05:07 > 0:05:10needed to power it.
0:05:10 > 0:05:16The first electric power station was in 1882 in Manhattan, New York City.
0:05:16 > 0:05:17Edison drove that.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20In fact, the Edison Illuminating Company, as it was called
0:05:20 > 0:05:24at the time, created the equipment to build that power station.
0:05:25 > 0:05:28That power station, at Pearl Street,
0:05:28 > 0:05:31took Edison nearly two years to establish
0:05:31 > 0:05:36and was the model for the electrification of American cities.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40Edison carried his technological revolution into many fields.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46And did Thomas Edison also concern himself with electric locomotion
0:05:46 > 0:05:48- for railroads? - Almost certainly he did.
0:05:48 > 0:05:54In 1895, he actually oversaw the building of the world's
0:05:54 > 0:05:58largest electrical locomotive, right here in the Schenectady area.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02And so Schenectady really plays an important part in the creation of electricity?
0:06:02 > 0:06:04Oh, it most certainly does, in many, many ways.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10Edison's General Electric company was listed on the original
0:06:10 > 0:06:13Dow Jones stock market index of 1896.
0:06:13 > 0:06:18It is the only company from that date still listed today.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22It continues to innovate in many industries, including water,
0:06:22 > 0:06:25aviation, energy, health care and transport.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31Before I move on, I want to see some of its latest rail technology,
0:06:31 > 0:06:36designed to reduce fuel consumption on freight trains.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38- Is this the hot seat? - This is the system.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41And what we can have you do here today is drive a trip an operator
0:06:41 > 0:06:44would see normally and see how you compare to the system.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46- OK, so...- Are you up for the challenge?
0:06:46 > 0:06:47HE LAUGHS
0:06:47 > 0:06:52- I'll give it a go. I've got to follow this speed limit, is that right?- Yeah.
0:06:52 > 0:06:54On the screen you can also see the terrain,
0:06:54 > 0:06:57the profile there of the hills and the valleys.
0:06:57 > 0:07:01Oh, this is a challenge, isn't it? A lot to look at, isn't there?
0:07:01 > 0:07:03All right, here's your first speed reduction.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05- You see the 60 mile an hour coming up?- Uh-huh.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08- Four miles in advance. - I've got to be ready for that.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10So the challenge - there's a little dip in the terrain here.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14So the train will actually accelerate as you approach that speed reduction.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17LAUGHING: You've put all the hazards in here, haven't you?
0:07:17 > 0:07:20So the computer wouldn't be doing all this up and down that I'm doing?
0:07:20 > 0:07:23Whoa! I'm just over the speed limit, I think.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26So I assume you don't just play with this, here in your laboratory?
0:07:26 > 0:07:30- This is really a practical application?- Yeah, that's right.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34And this system is in use at all the major railroads in North America.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37Have you any idea what it's saving the rail companies?
0:07:37 > 0:07:39On average, we're seeing about a 10% reduction in fuel.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42If you look the class of railroads in North America,
0:07:42 > 0:07:44they consume about four billion gallons
0:07:44 > 0:07:47- of diesel fuel a year, so that's a huge saving.- Oh! What...?
0:07:47 > 0:07:49Right, so here we have the comparison
0:07:49 > 0:07:52- of you and the system.- Oh, wow.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56- You were significantly slower. - Yes, yes.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58And you see you burned 12.5% more fuel.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01The key feature of Trip Optimizer
0:08:01 > 0:08:03is that it's able to predict when to begin slowing down,
0:08:03 > 0:08:06to hit this speed restriction that you exceeded.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09James, I resign. I hand over to computers.
0:08:09 > 0:08:11That's the story of the world, isn't it?
0:08:31 > 0:08:34- Utica?- Yup, right up on your left. - Thank you.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43Appleton's tells me that the great Erie Canal traverses
0:08:43 > 0:08:46New York state from Albany to Buffalo on
0:08:46 > 0:08:51the same line with the railroad and often in sight from the train cars.
0:08:51 > 0:08:56I hope that in my enthusiasm for those who constructed the railways,
0:08:56 > 0:09:00I never forget the wonderful achievements of those who
0:09:00 > 0:09:05built the canals - pioneers in huge-scale civil engineering.
0:09:09 > 0:09:13The Erie Canal created the first all-water link from the Great Lakes
0:09:13 > 0:09:18in the Midwest via the Hudson River to the Atlantic Ocean.
0:09:18 > 0:09:22It was the catalyst for mass migration westwards,
0:09:22 > 0:09:25and a trade explosion.
0:09:25 > 0:09:26Thank you very much.
0:09:26 > 0:09:28I'm stepping off in Utica,
0:09:28 > 0:09:32whose 100-year-old station was built in the classical style by
0:09:32 > 0:09:36Stem & Fellheimer - the architects behind New York City's
0:09:36 > 0:09:39Grand Central terminal.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42This station served the old water level route, which runs
0:09:42 > 0:09:44alongside rivers and canals.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50I'm off to the Erie Canal's Lock 20 to meet Bill Schweizer.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55Constructing the Erie Canal - what does it achieve, as it were,
0:09:55 > 0:09:57strategically?
0:09:57 > 0:09:58So it achieved...
0:09:58 > 0:10:02I mean, at the time, we were a young nation and, you know,
0:10:02 > 0:10:05the plan was the Western expansion, you know, move west.
0:10:05 > 0:10:06But it was hard.
0:10:06 > 0:10:11The terrain of New York was very mountainous - no roads, obviously.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16And so, surveyors and many... The thought was build a canal.
0:10:16 > 0:10:18Thomas Jefferson,
0:10:18 > 0:10:21the president at the time, said the idea was something
0:10:21 > 0:10:25short of madness, to connect Albany, the northern navigational
0:10:25 > 0:10:28point on the Hudson River, to the Great Lakes.
0:10:28 > 0:10:30They started in 1817
0:10:30 > 0:10:35and started about ten miles from here in Rome, New York,
0:10:35 > 0:10:39because that was the plateau, that was the flat, high part.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46Considered the folly of its sponsor in the Senate, DeWitt Clinton,
0:10:46 > 0:10:51the Erie Canal was to be double the length of anything in Europe.
0:10:51 > 0:10:56It was a huge state gamble at 7 million.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58Built by many Welsh and Irish labourers,
0:10:58 > 0:11:03the 363-mile waterway opened in 1825.
0:11:03 > 0:11:07What was the impact of opening the canal up and down its length?
0:11:07 > 0:11:11At that time, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Boston were the ports.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15Within a year of the canal being opened, New York City became
0:11:15 > 0:11:19the port of choice and soon became the choice for immigrants as well.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21But it changed New York state and, really,
0:11:21 > 0:11:25the country - almost an immediate impact after the canal opened.
0:11:27 > 0:11:33This new link halved journey times, slashed costs by 90%
0:11:33 > 0:11:37and boosted trade as unexploited raw materials from the Midwest
0:11:37 > 0:11:40could now reach the port of New York City.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43The canal created new cities
0:11:43 > 0:11:47and helped the North to industrialise in the pre-rail age.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53Nowadays, can you still get from Lake Erie to
0:11:53 > 0:11:55- the Hudson River by canal?- Sure.
0:11:55 > 0:12:00The canal still, today, is a viable means of commercial transportation.
0:12:00 > 0:12:05What we see a lot today is cargo that's not time-sensitive,
0:12:05 > 0:12:07that doesn't have to be there right away,
0:12:07 > 0:12:11or cargo that is too big - some of the turbines for the
0:12:11 > 0:12:13General Electric power plant,
0:12:13 > 0:12:15because it is cheaper and it uses less gas.
0:12:15 > 0:12:16So it'll be...
0:12:16 > 0:12:20We think it'll become even more popular as time goes on.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23Now, mountainous terrain, so you have to have locks.
0:12:23 > 0:12:25How many actually are there?
0:12:25 > 0:12:27So today, the modern-day canal, there's 57 locks
0:12:27 > 0:12:31in the whole system - about 34-35 between Albany and Buffalo.
0:12:34 > 0:12:38As heavy traffic increased, 20th-century engineers were
0:12:38 > 0:12:43forced to abandon much of the original man-made channel.
0:12:43 > 0:12:44A new system of dams,
0:12:44 > 0:12:49pools and locks was introduced to accommodate larger barges.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55Michael, let me introduce you to our chief operator, John.
0:12:55 > 0:12:58- I'm John.- I'm Michael. How do you do?- Nice to meet you.
0:12:58 > 0:13:00I'm just looking at the machinery.
0:13:00 > 0:13:02It seems to be a certain age. How old is it?
0:13:02 > 0:13:05- It's roughly 100 years old.- That's fantastic. Still operating well?
0:13:05 > 0:13:07Yes, excellent. Most of it's original equipment.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09- You've got a barge in now.- Yup.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11So we've got to drop the level of the water,
0:13:11 > 0:13:14and when we've done that, we've got to open up the gates, is that right?
0:13:14 > 0:13:17- Correct.- So we're going to open up, moving that one...
0:13:18 > 0:13:20..and then moving that one.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25John, the water is absolutely pouring out now.
0:13:25 > 0:13:28How long does it take you to bring the lock down to the proper level?
0:13:28 > 0:13:31- About seven minutes.- And how much water are you moving in that time?
0:13:31 > 0:13:34- It's right about three million gallons.- And the drop is how much?
0:13:34 > 0:13:36- 16 feet.- Very efficient.
0:13:38 > 0:13:39How did you get the job, John?
0:13:39 > 0:13:43- I have a long history of family that worked here.- Really? How long?
0:13:43 > 0:13:45My grandfather started in 1950.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48- Is it going to pass down to the next generation?- Probably not.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51He's more interested in culinary arts.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55The water's down. Time to open the gates.
0:14:00 > 0:14:01HORN BLARES
0:14:01 > 0:14:04So the Governor Roosevelt takes a route that boats have been
0:14:04 > 0:14:08- plying for 190 years?- Correct.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18Returning to the railroad that superseded these waterways,
0:14:18 > 0:14:20I press on west,
0:14:20 > 0:14:23leaving the tracks to continue onto a curious place called
0:14:23 > 0:14:27Chittenango which, according to my Appleton's, is where iron
0:14:27 > 0:14:30and sulphur springs are frequented by invalids.
0:14:32 > 0:14:33I'm intrigued.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46And it seems that the clientele has changed considerably
0:14:46 > 0:14:47since Appletons' day.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02So, Dorothy, I presume?
0:15:03 > 0:15:07So I've seen the Lion, I've seen the Tin Man, now I find Dorothy.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09What's going on? What's it all about?
0:15:09 > 0:15:12Well, the author of the book The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz,
0:15:12 > 0:15:18L Frank Baum, was born here in 1856, so every year, we have
0:15:18 > 0:15:23a lot of different characters just roaming around this wonderful
0:15:23 > 0:15:26- little town.- And you have a yellow brick road running all the way
0:15:26 > 0:15:28- through your town?- Yes. Yes, we do.
0:15:29 > 0:15:34Published in 1900, L Frank Baum's magical story was picked up
0:15:34 > 0:15:36by Hollywood in its golden era.
0:15:36 > 0:15:40MGM Studios thought that the Kansas farm girl looking for
0:15:40 > 0:15:43a better place over the rainbow would offer
0:15:43 > 0:15:47escapism for their Depression-hit audiences.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50What else does the town do to celebrate L Frank Baum?
0:15:50 > 0:15:51Well, actually, every year,
0:15:51 > 0:15:55we hold a large festival called Oz-Stravaganza!
0:15:55 > 0:15:58We've been holding it since 1978, I believe.
0:15:59 > 0:16:01Before I head back to the rails,
0:16:01 > 0:16:04I can't resist a trip along that most famous of roads.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06# Follow the yellow brick road
0:16:06 > 0:16:09# We're off to see the Wizard
0:16:09 > 0:16:11# The wonderful Wizard of Oz... #
0:16:11 > 0:16:13'I guess that makes me the Scarecrow.'
0:16:13 > 0:16:15# If ever a Wiz there was
0:16:15 > 0:16:19# The wonderful Wizard of Oz! #
0:16:31 > 0:16:36As my journey continues across New York State, I consider how
0:16:36 > 0:16:39the mass migration of people westwards changed
0:16:39 > 0:16:43the social order of this young nation and its religions.
0:16:44 > 0:16:48Greater democracy in America shook up the old order.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51The new society looked for new faiths.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55There was an evangelical revival and new sects emerged.
0:16:56 > 0:17:00I'm hoping that my next stop, Palmyra, will shed some light
0:17:00 > 0:17:03on one of the most controversial religious groups of its time.
0:17:05 > 0:17:10Palmyra, along with Troy and Ithaca and Rome and Syracuse,
0:17:10 > 0:17:15is one of a number of New York towns to bear a classical name.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18My Appletons' tells me that on a nearby hillside,
0:17:18 > 0:17:24Joe Smith claimed to have found the golden plates of the Mormon Bible.
0:17:24 > 0:17:28Well, casting aside the apparently sceptical tone of my guidebook,
0:17:28 > 0:17:32let me investigate this remarkable religious phenomenon.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39Joseph Smith would go on to found the Mormon religion,
0:17:39 > 0:17:43known as the Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints,
0:17:43 > 0:17:47which today claims 15 million members worldwide.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53I'm visiting his old homestead with Charlene Campbell,
0:17:53 > 0:17:55who is a member of the church.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58What were Joseph Smith's juvenile religious beliefs?
0:17:58 > 0:18:02When he was young, he was serious in thinking
0:18:02 > 0:18:04and contemplating about God,
0:18:04 > 0:18:06wondering why all of the churches around him
0:18:06 > 0:18:10were conflicting and bickering and not getting along.
0:18:10 > 0:18:11He wanted an answer.
0:18:11 > 0:18:16He decided he would go into a grove near his home and pray
0:18:16 > 0:18:19and ask God himself for the answer -
0:18:19 > 0:18:21which of all of these churches could be true?
0:18:24 > 0:18:28At the time, 40% of Americans were churchgoing Protestants.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32But a raft of new evangelical religions
0:18:32 > 0:18:34each claimed to show the way.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38What was the result?
0:18:38 > 0:18:41As he prayed, two heavenly beings appeared to him.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45Brighter than all description, brighter than the new-day sun.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48He thought the leaves would catch on fire, they were so bright.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50They explained to him that none of them were true,
0:18:50 > 0:18:54that they have the precepts of men, but their hearts are far from Me.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58This is the sacred grove.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01How very beautiful, very beautiful.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05- So after that first vision, was there a follow-up?- Yes.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08He waited for something to happen. Three years went by.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12He was worried, something's got to be happening.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16So he prayed, wondering that he could have direction of where to go.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20And appeared to him was the angel Moroni.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24He was the last person to hold the ancient records that had been
0:19:24 > 0:19:27carried on for hundreds of years, here on this continent.
0:19:27 > 0:19:32He buried the plates in the Hill Cumorah, not far from his home.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35And he appeared to Joseph to show him where the plates were buried.
0:19:41 > 0:19:42According to Mormon teachings,
0:19:42 > 0:19:46Joseph found the golden plates buried in the mountain.
0:19:46 > 0:19:49He dug them up and kept them hidden
0:19:49 > 0:19:53whilst he translated the ancient text written on them.
0:19:55 > 0:19:57So this is the miracle.
0:19:57 > 0:20:02Joseph being an unlearned boy of very limited schooling, many people
0:20:02 > 0:20:06wondered how could he translate something of ancient records.
0:20:06 > 0:20:11The plates told a story of a visit by Jesus Christ in ancient times
0:20:11 > 0:20:16to the Americas, where he founded a society of peace and love.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20Smith's writings became the Book Of Mormon, and he set out to
0:20:20 > 0:20:25rekindle the values of that ancient society in 19th-century America.
0:20:28 > 0:20:32Now, after that, a church is established by Joseph Smith.
0:20:32 > 0:20:37- Yes, in April of 1830. - Here in New York?- Here in Palmyra.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39Many people came to the church.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43Once reading the book of Mormon, they felt the power of the gospel
0:20:43 > 0:20:47and seeing that it was a church of Jesus Christ, established the same
0:20:47 > 0:20:51as it was in Jerusalem in the times of Christ, people rallied to that.
0:20:51 > 0:20:53And they joined the Church Of Jesus Christ.
0:20:53 > 0:20:58Soon after the church was organised, persecution started.
0:20:58 > 0:21:02Why do you think the Mormons were being persecuted?
0:21:02 > 0:21:04I think people didn't understand them.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07And so the Saints had to move from place to place.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11They first left New York and went to Ohio and then to Missouri.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14And each place they went, they were burned out of their homes,
0:21:14 > 0:21:16they lost property, never to be reimbursed.
0:21:16 > 0:21:20They eventually ended up in Nauvoo, Illinois.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23As Mormon numbers grew, so did animosity towards them.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27Some were opposed to the welcome that they offered to freed slaves,
0:21:27 > 0:21:30but for most, it was the practice of polygamy
0:21:30 > 0:21:32which they couldn't tolerate.
0:21:32 > 0:21:35Wherever they settled, the Mormons inspired hostility.
0:21:35 > 0:21:40Smith himself was persecuted and jailed over 30 times.
0:21:40 > 0:21:45Finally, in 1844, he fell victim to an armed mob.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49This time, Joseph Smith and his brother and a few others
0:21:49 > 0:21:52were led to Carthage Jail, near Nauvoo, Illinois,
0:21:52 > 0:21:55and they were martyred and killed.
0:21:58 > 0:22:03After Joseph Smith's death, his followers fled west to Utah,
0:22:03 > 0:22:06to a place now called Salt Lake City.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10Smith is remembered by Mormons as both a prophet and a martyr.
0:22:28 > 0:22:31- What's your destination, if I may ask, sir?- Rochester, New York.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34- Do you like to use the train?- I do.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36- Quite a regular?- I am.
0:22:36 > 0:22:40It's unusual, because most people prefer to fly back and forth.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43So how long's it going to take you from New York to Rochester?
0:22:43 > 0:22:46Well, it's scheduled to take around seven hours.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48But it can often take longer.
0:22:48 > 0:22:50And you're happy to be on the train for seven hours?
0:22:50 > 0:22:53- You could cross the Atlantic in that time.- I could.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56I once took the Concorde, so I know what you're talking about.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00- You could cross the Atlantic twice in that time!- Yes, that's right.
0:23:06 > 0:23:10The original 1830s boom town, Rochester became
0:23:10 > 0:23:14the world's breadbasket, with 20 flour mills
0:23:14 > 0:23:16powered by the Genesee Falls.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18But in the late 19th century,
0:23:18 > 0:23:22it was the George Eastman Kodak Company that launched
0:23:22 > 0:23:25a new era of mass-market photography,
0:23:25 > 0:23:28bringing prosperity to the city.
0:23:28 > 0:23:33I'm visiting Cathy Connor at the inventor's Colonial revival mansion,
0:23:33 > 0:23:36which houses the world's oldest photography museum.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41Well, Cathy, this is the George Eastman house,
0:23:41 > 0:23:45- and a wonderful mansion. Did he begin life like this?- No, he didn't.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48First he was an errand boy at a local insurance company,
0:23:48 > 0:23:51and then eventually became a teller at a local bank.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53And it was through his job there that he saw
0:23:53 > 0:23:55that many people who were wealthy at the time
0:23:55 > 0:23:57were investors in land and land development.
0:23:57 > 0:24:01So he thought he'd take a trip to Santo Domingo, where he knew that land was for sale,
0:24:01 > 0:24:04and eventually purchase some that he could then sell and make money.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10To record the trip, Eastman brought the latest kit -
0:24:10 > 0:24:12a huge camera, chemicals and a tent
0:24:12 > 0:24:17in which to spread emulsion on glass plates before exposing them.
0:24:17 > 0:24:23Fascinated, he decided to pursue photography instead of land.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25And what is it that George Eastman
0:24:25 > 0:24:27does for photography in the early days?
0:24:27 > 0:24:29Does for photography? Simplifies it.
0:24:29 > 0:24:32Basically makes it easier, so that you no longer have to have
0:24:32 > 0:24:35that darkroom experience. You could actually just press a button,
0:24:35 > 0:24:38and then afterwards, somebody else would do that
0:24:38 > 0:24:40photo finishing and that processing for you.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43And that's really his claim to fame, putting cameras in the hands
0:24:43 > 0:24:46of everyone, because you didn't have to be a chemist any more.
0:24:46 > 0:24:50Eastman's first leap was the roll of film.
0:24:50 > 0:24:56Patented in 1884, it was economical and fitted every plate camera.
0:24:56 > 0:25:01Next, he set about making cameras as easy to use as pencils.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06And this is an example of the original Kodak.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08Came out in 1888,
0:25:08 > 0:25:11and it was considered totally automatic at that time.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14Now, the one funny thing is that you had no viewfinder.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17So many people held the camera up here
0:25:17 > 0:25:19and tried to aim at whatever the subject might be -
0:25:19 > 0:25:22their friend or their home or the chicken in front of the house.
0:25:22 > 0:25:24So many times you're not sure
0:25:24 > 0:25:26what they were actually trying to get in their picture.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29In fact, many times, people backed up quite a bit
0:25:29 > 0:25:32so that they make sure they'd get it all in the frame.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34Eventually, Eastman found a way to put a viewfinder
0:25:34 > 0:25:35and actually hook it on.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37It was considered an accessory back then.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40What about this little fellow here, what's this?
0:25:40 > 0:25:44This is the little Brownie character that was very popular with kids.
0:25:44 > 0:25:46So Mr Eastman borrowed that same design
0:25:46 > 0:25:49and used it to market these cameras to children.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52Initially, the Brownie camera was only a dollar.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55This one has a viewfinder in the top, so you would have to look down,
0:25:55 > 0:25:59make sure that you were getting what you wanted in your frame.
0:25:59 > 0:26:00And then you would actually click
0:26:00 > 0:26:02this little thing to take the picture.
0:26:02 > 0:26:05Isn't that amazing?
0:26:05 > 0:26:08My mother had quite an old Brownie, and I remember how difficult
0:26:08 > 0:26:12it was just get the image in the viewfinder.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15But isn't that an exquisite item? And here, presumably, is the...
0:26:15 > 0:26:17You roll the film once you took each picture.
0:26:19 > 0:26:23George Eastman's introduction of photography to the masses
0:26:23 > 0:26:26was underpinned by a clever advertising campaign...
0:26:30 > 0:26:33The idea was that if you were on a camel in Egypt
0:26:33 > 0:26:36and you ran out of film and you wanted to get your picture
0:26:36 > 0:26:38on that camera, there would be a store -
0:26:38 > 0:26:41or actually the man running the camel rides
0:26:41 > 0:26:44would actually be able to sell you a Kodak roll of film.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47The Eastman Kodak Company made George Eastman
0:26:47 > 0:26:51one of the leading industrialists and philanthropists of his day.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56He gave away a lot of money, probably over 100 million.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58Education was key.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00Not only education for the people that lived
0:27:00 > 0:27:03in the Rochester community, but people internationally as well.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05And very big into dentistry.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07His mom had bad teeth,
0:27:07 > 0:27:09and she had her teeth pulled at the kitchen table without
0:27:09 > 0:27:12anaesthetic. He remembered that for years to come,
0:27:12 > 0:27:14so he wanted people to have good dental care,
0:27:14 > 0:27:18to not have those problems later on in their life.
0:27:18 > 0:27:20Kodak, like the General Electric Company,
0:27:20 > 0:27:23emerged in America's heyday.
0:27:23 > 0:27:27These giants of industry grew within a confident new superpower
0:27:27 > 0:27:29that would soon overtake Europe.
0:27:31 > 0:27:34But it was thanks to the Genesee River and the building
0:27:34 > 0:27:39of the Erie Canal that upstate New York was able to industrialise.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45I still can't account for why God chose this region to
0:27:45 > 0:27:47reveal his purpose to Joseph Smith,
0:27:47 > 0:27:53but that apparition now determines the lives of 15 million Mormons.
0:27:54 > 0:27:57On the other hand, the visions of Edison and Eastman
0:27:57 > 0:28:01have changed the lives of every single one of us.
0:28:05 > 0:28:10Next time, I visit what was the centre of the world's grain train.
0:28:11 > 0:28:15At its peak, Buffalo moved enough grain to feed every person
0:28:15 > 0:28:18in the United States. Today, a loaf of bread, every single week.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22I have a bite to eat in Buffalo.
0:28:22 > 0:28:25They come in increments of ten. 10, 20, 50.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27- 50?!- 50 wings.
0:28:27 > 0:28:31And finish with a splash at one of the natural wonders of the world.
0:28:31 > 0:28:34Keep your eyes open, people, it's worth seeing!