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.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40I'll then continue west to Buffalo,
0:01:40 > 0:01:44before turning north to the spectacular Niagara Falls.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55This route takes me towards the Great Lakes, and it was
0:01:55 > 0:02:00the courses of the waterways that determined the spread of population
0:02:00 > 0:02:04and manufacture before the railroad tracks had been laid.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08Far away from the Big Apple, the smaller cities of this state
0:02:08 > 0:02:13were key to creating the American industrial powerhouse.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18On my way, I'll man the Erie Canal,
0:02:18 > 0:02:20a waterway that shaped America.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24It changed New York state and, really, the country.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28Almost an immediate impact after the canal opened.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31I try to keep pace with the latest rail technology...
0:02:31 > 0:02:34You see, there's a little dip in there, in the terrain here...
0:02:34 > 0:02:37You've got to be ready for that. You've put all the hazards in here, haven't you?
0:02:37 > 0:02:41..and land somewhere over the rainbow.
0:02:41 > 0:02:46- And you have a yellow brick road running all the way through your town?- Yes, yes, we do.
0:02:46 > 0:02:48I'm offered a monster munch in Buffalo.
0:02:48 > 0:02:52They come in increments of ten - ten, 20, 50.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54- 50?!- 50 wings.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59And end with an awe-insipring experience.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03The very first thing you see is a great plume of mist.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18I'm following a recommended Appletons' route which traverses
0:03:18 > 0:03:20the state heading north-west,
0:03:20 > 0:03:23and passes through the rich midland counties.
0:03:28 > 0:03:32"Schenectady is one of those pleasing Native American
0:03:32 > 0:03:35"place names still in use today."
0:03:35 > 0:03:39Appletons' says that it's situated on the banks of the Mohawk River
0:03:39 > 0:03:45on the spot which once formed the council grounds of the Mohawks.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48An inventive American made a breakthrough which put
0:03:48 > 0:03:51Schenectady on the map for a different reason,
0:03:51 > 0:03:53and brightened up the world.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58- TANNOY:- Schenectady next. Exit towards the rear of the train,
0:03:58 > 0:03:59where you see a conductor.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01Please watch your step getting off the train
0:04:01 > 0:04:03and please check for all your personal possessions.
0:04:05 > 0:04:08This old trading port was thrust into a new age of innovation
0:04:08 > 0:04:13and industry in 1892, when Thomas Edison,
0:04:13 > 0:04:15the man who lit up the world,
0:04:15 > 0:04:20made Schenectady the headquarters of his General Electric Company -
0:04:20 > 0:04:24a business that would go on to hold interests
0:04:24 > 0:04:26in major industries across 170 countries.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31I'm meeting vice president Christine Furstoss.
0:04:35 > 0:04:39Christine, my guidebook is 1879, and I get the impression
0:04:39 > 0:04:42there were a lot of hopes around electricity at that time.
0:04:42 > 0:04:44What was actually happening?
0:04:44 > 0:04:48Thomas Edison, really the father of today's electricity,
0:04:48 > 0:04:52he was working on one invention - a light bulb.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56What Thomas Edison did was he took a relatively small invention
0:04:56 > 0:04:59and made it something that the world could rely on.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02And the light bulb itself, what was the breakthrough that he made there?
0:05:02 > 0:05:04It wasn't very durable.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07And it had very, very thick wires going to and from it,
0:05:07 > 0:05:10because it had very low resistance.
0:05:10 > 0:05:14So what he did was he changed the filament and then he also worked
0:05:14 > 0:05:19on getting the voltage down and the resistance up, in order to make it
0:05:19 > 0:05:23be able to be used in people's homes and not just a novelty for a museum.
0:05:24 > 0:05:30In 1880, Edison patented the first commercially viable light bulb
0:05:30 > 0:05:34and turned his attentions to the electrical systems
0:05:34 > 0:05:37needed to power it.
0:05:37 > 0:05:43The first electric power station was in 1882 in Manhattan, New York City.
0:05:43 > 0:05:44Edison drove that.
0:05:44 > 0:05:47In fact, the Edison Illuminating Company, as it was called
0:05:47 > 0:05:51at the time, created the equipment to build that power station.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55That power station, at Pearl Street,
0:05:55 > 0:05:58took Edison nearly two years to establish
0:05:58 > 0:06:03and was the model for the electrification of American cities.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07Edison carried his technological revolution into many fields.
0:06:09 > 0:06:13And did Thomas Edison also concern himself with electric locomotion
0:06:13 > 0:06:15- for railroads? - Almost certainly he did.
0:06:15 > 0:06:21In 1895, he actually oversaw the building of the world's
0:06:21 > 0:06:25largest electrical locomotive, right here in the Schenectady area.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29And so Schenectady really plays an important part in the history of electricity?
0:06:29 > 0:06:31Oh, it most certainly does, in many, many ways.
0:06:33 > 0:06:37Edison's General Electric Company was listed on the original
0:06:37 > 0:06:40Dow Jones stock-market index of 1896.
0:06:40 > 0:06:45It is the only company from that date still listed today.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49It continues to innovate in many industries, including water,
0:06:49 > 0:06:52aviation, energy, health care and transport.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58Before I move on, I want to see some of its latest rail technology,
0:06:58 > 0:07:03designed to reduce fuel consumption on freight trains.
0:07:03 > 0:07:05- Is this the hot seat? - This is the system.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08And what we can have you do here today is drive a trip an operator
0:07:08 > 0:07:11would see normally and see how you compare to the system.
0:07:11 > 0:07:13- OK, so...- Are you up for the challenge?
0:07:13 > 0:07:14MICHAEL LAUGHS
0:07:14 > 0:07:19- I'll give it a go. I've got to follow this speed limit, is that right?- Yes.
0:07:19 > 0:07:21On the screen you can also see the terrain,
0:07:21 > 0:07:24the profile there of the hills and the valleys.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28Oh, this is a challenge, isn't it? A lot to look at, isn't there?
0:07:28 > 0:07:30All right, here's your first speed reduction.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32- You see the 60 mile an hour coming up?- Uh-huh.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35- Four miles in advance. - I've got to be ready for that.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37So the challenge - there's a little dip in the terrain here.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40So the train will actually accelerate as you approach
0:07:40 > 0:07:41that speed reduction.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44You've put all the hazards in here, haven't you?
0:07:44 > 0:07:47So the computer wouldn't be doing all this up and down that I'm doing?
0:07:47 > 0:07:50Whoa! I'm just over the speed limit, I think.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53So I assume you don't just play with this, here in your laboratory?
0:07:53 > 0:07:57- This is really a practical application?- Yeah, that's right.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01And this system is in use at all the major railroads in North America.
0:08:01 > 0:08:04Have you any idea what it's saving the rail companies?
0:08:04 > 0:08:06On average, we're seeing about a 10% reduction in fuel.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09If you look at the railroads in North America,
0:08:09 > 0:08:11they consume about four billion gallons
0:08:11 > 0:08:14- of diesel fuel a year, so that's a huge saving.- Oh! What...?
0:08:14 > 0:08:17- Right, so here we have the comparison of you and the system. - Oh, wow.
0:08:18 > 0:08:22- You were significantly slower. - Yes, yes.
0:08:22 > 0:08:24And you see you burned 12.5% more fuel.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27The key feature of Trip Optimizer
0:08:27 > 0:08:30is that it's able to predict when to begin slowing down,
0:08:30 > 0:08:33to hit this speed restriction that you exceeded.
0:08:33 > 0:08:35James, I resign. I hand over to computers.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38That's the story of the world, isn't it?
0:08:57 > 0:09:00- Utica?- Yup, right up on your left. - Thank you.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10Appletons' tells me that "the great Erie Canal traverses
0:09:10 > 0:09:13"New York state from Albany to Buffalo on
0:09:13 > 0:09:18"the same line with the railroad and often in sight from the train cars."
0:09:18 > 0:09:22I hope that in my enthusiasm for those who constructed the railways,
0:09:22 > 0:09:26I never forget the wonderful achievements of those who
0:09:26 > 0:09:31built the canals - pioneers in huge-scale civil engineering.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40The Erie Canal created the first all-water link from the Great Lakes
0:09:40 > 0:09:45in the Midwest via the Hudson River to the Atlantic Ocean.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49It was the catalyst for mass migration westwards,
0:09:49 > 0:09:51and a trade explosion.
0:09:51 > 0:09:53Thank you very much.
0:09:53 > 0:09:54I'm stepping off in Utica,
0:09:54 > 0:09:58whose 100-year-old station was built in the classical style by
0:09:58 > 0:10:03Stem & Fellheimer - the architects behind New York City's
0:10:03 > 0:10:05Grand Central terminal.
0:10:05 > 0:10:09This station served the old water-level route, which runs
0:10:09 > 0:10:11alongside rivers and canals.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16I'm off to the Erie Canal's Lock 20 to meet Bill Schweizer.
0:10:17 > 0:10:21Constructing the Erie Canal - what does it achieve, as it were,
0:10:21 > 0:10:23strategically?
0:10:23 > 0:10:25So it achieved...
0:10:25 > 0:10:29I mean, at the time, we were a young nation and, you know,
0:10:29 > 0:10:32the plan was the western expansion, you know, move west.
0:10:32 > 0:10:33But it was hard.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37The terrain of New York was very mountainous - no roads, obviously.
0:10:38 > 0:10:43And so, surveyors and many... The thought was build a canal.
0:10:43 > 0:10:44Thomas Jefferson,
0:10:44 > 0:10:48the President at the time, said the idea was something
0:10:48 > 0:10:52short of madness, to connect Albany, the northern navigational
0:10:52 > 0:10:55point on the Hudson River, to the Great Lakes.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57They started in 1817
0:10:57 > 0:11:02and started about ten miles from here in Rome, New York,
0:11:02 > 0:11:05because that was the plateau, that was the flat, high part.
0:11:09 > 0:11:13Considered the folly of its sponsor in the Senate, DeWitt Clinton,
0:11:13 > 0:11:18the Erie Canal was to be double the length of anything in Europe.
0:11:18 > 0:11:22It was a huge state gamble at 7 million.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25Built by many Welsh and Irish labourers,
0:11:25 > 0:11:30the 363-mile waterway opened in 1825.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34What was the impact of opening the canal up and down its length?
0:11:34 > 0:11:38At that time, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Boston were the ports.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41Within a year of the canal being opened, New York City became
0:11:41 > 0:11:46the port of choice and soon became the choice for immigrants as well.
0:11:46 > 0:11:47But it changed New York state and, really,
0:11:47 > 0:11:52the country - almost an immediate impact after the canal opened.
0:11:54 > 0:11:59This new link halved journey times, slashed costs by 90%
0:11:59 > 0:12:04and boosted trade as unexploited raw materials from the Midwest
0:12:04 > 0:12:07could now reach the port of New York City.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09The canal created new cities
0:12:09 > 0:12:14and helped the North to industrialise in the pre-rail age.
0:12:17 > 0:12:20Nowadays, can you still get from Lake Erie to
0:12:20 > 0:12:22- the Hudson River by canal?- Sure.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26The canal still, today, is a viable means of commercial transportation.
0:12:26 > 0:12:32What we see a lot today is cargo that's not time-sensitive,
0:12:32 > 0:12:33that doesn't have to be there right away,
0:12:33 > 0:12:38or cargo that is too big - some of the turbines for
0:12:38 > 0:12:40the General Electric power plant -
0:12:40 > 0:12:42because it is cheaper and it uses less gas.
0:12:42 > 0:12:43So it'll be...
0:12:43 > 0:12:47We think it'll become even more popular as time goes on.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50Now, mountainous terrain, so you have to have locks.
0:12:50 > 0:12:51How many actually are there?
0:12:51 > 0:12:54So today, the modern-day canal, there's 57 locks
0:12:54 > 0:12:58in the whole system - about 34, 35 between Albany and Buffalo.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05As heavy traffic increased, 20th-century engineers were
0:13:05 > 0:13:09forced to abandon much of the original man-made channel.
0:13:09 > 0:13:11A new system of dams,
0:13:11 > 0:13:15pools and locks was introduced to accommodate larger barges.
0:13:18 > 0:13:22Michael, let me introduce you to our chief operator, John.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25- I'm John.- I'm Michael. How do you do?- Nice to meet you.
0:13:25 > 0:13:26I'm just looking at the machinery.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29It seems to be a certain age. How old is it?
0:13:29 > 0:13:32- It's roughly 100 years old.- That's fantastic. Still operating well?
0:13:32 > 0:13:34Yes, excellent. Most of it's original equipment.
0:13:34 > 0:13:35- You've got a barge in now.- Yup.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37So we've got to drop the level of the water,
0:13:37 > 0:13:40and when we've done that, we've got to open up the gates, is that right?
0:13:40 > 0:13:43- Correct.- So we're going to open up, moving that one...
0:13:45 > 0:13:46..and then moving that one.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51John, the water is absolutely pouring out now.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54How long does it take you to bring the lock down to the proper level?
0:13:54 > 0:13:58- About seven minutes.- And how much water are you moving in that time?
0:13:58 > 0:14:00- It's right about three million gallons.- And the drop is how much?
0:14:00 > 0:14:03- 16 feet.- Very efficient.
0:14:04 > 0:14:06How did you get the job, John?
0:14:06 > 0:14:10- I have a long history of family that worked here.- Really? How long?
0:14:10 > 0:14:11My grandfather started in 1950.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15- Is it going to pass down to the next generation?- Probably not.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17He's more interested in culinary arts.
0:14:19 > 0:14:21The water's down. Time to open the gates.
0:14:27 > 0:14:28HORN BLARES
0:14:28 > 0:14:31So the Governor Roosevelt takes a route that boats have been
0:14:31 > 0:14:34- plying for 190 years?- Correct.
0:14:41 > 0:14:45Returning to the railroad that superseded these waterways,
0:14:45 > 0:14:47I press on west,
0:14:47 > 0:14:50leaving the tracks to continue onto a curious place called
0:14:50 > 0:14:54Chittenango which, according to my Appletons', is where iron
0:14:54 > 0:14:57and sulphur springs are frequented by invalids.
0:14:58 > 0:14:59I'm intrigued.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12And it seems that the clientele has changed considerably
0:15:12 > 0:15:14since Appletons' day.
0:15:25 > 0:15:28So, Dorothy, I presume?
0:15:29 > 0:15:34So, I've seen the Lion, I've seen the Tin Man, now I find Dorothy.
0:15:34 > 0:15:35What's going on? What's it all about?
0:15:35 > 0:15:39Well, the author of the book The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz,
0:15:39 > 0:15:45L Frank Baum, was born here in 1856, so every year, we have
0:15:45 > 0:15:49a lot of different characters just roaming around this wonderful
0:15:49 > 0:15:52- little town.- And you have a yellow brick road running all the way
0:15:52 > 0:15:54- through your town?- Yes. Yes, we do.
0:15:55 > 0:16:00Published in 1900, L Frank Baum's magical story was picked up
0:16:00 > 0:16:03by Hollywood in its golden era.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07MGM Studios thought that the Kansas farm girl looking for
0:16:07 > 0:16:10a better place over the rainbow would offer
0:16:10 > 0:16:14escapism for their Depression-hit audiences.
0:16:14 > 0:16:16Now, just one tiny thing, Dorothy.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18You're wearing sliver shoes,
0:16:18 > 0:16:21whereas I distinctly remember, in the Hollywood movie,
0:16:21 > 0:16:23that the shoes are red - what's going on?
0:16:23 > 0:16:26Well, when L Frank Baum wrote the book, in 1900,
0:16:26 > 0:16:29he originally had Dorothy wearing silver slippers.
0:16:29 > 0:16:33But in 1939, when MGM had filmed the movie,
0:16:33 > 0:16:36they used Technicolor so then the silver shoes looked grey
0:16:36 > 0:16:40and they wanted more of a poppy look for Dorothy's shoes.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42So they made them red instead of silver.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45What else does the town do to celebrate L Frank Baum?
0:16:45 > 0:16:47Well, actually, every year,
0:16:47 > 0:16:50we hold a large festival called Oz-Stravaganza!
0:16:50 > 0:16:53We've been holding it since 1978, I believe.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56Before I head back to the rails,
0:16:56 > 0:17:00I can't resist a trip along that most famous of roads.
0:17:00 > 0:17:02# Follow the yellow brick road
0:17:02 > 0:17:04# We're off to see the Wizard
0:17:04 > 0:17:06# The wonderful Wizard of Oz... #
0:17:06 > 0:17:09'I guess that makes me the Scarecrow.'
0:17:09 > 0:17:10# If ever a Wiz there was
0:17:10 > 0:17:15# The wonderful Wizard of Oz! #
0:17:27 > 0:17:31As my journey continues across New York state, I consider how
0:17:31 > 0:17:35the mass migration of people westwards changed
0:17:35 > 0:17:38the social order of this young nation and its religions.
0:17:39 > 0:17:43Greater democracy in America shook up the old order.
0:17:43 > 0:17:46The new society looked for new faiths.
0:17:46 > 0:17:50There was an evangelical revival and new sects emerged.
0:17:51 > 0:17:55I'm hoping that my next stop, Palmyra, will shed some light
0:17:55 > 0:17:59on one of the most controversial religious groups of its time.
0:18:00 > 0:18:05Palmyra, along with Troy and Ithaca and Rome and Syracuse,
0:18:05 > 0:18:10is one of a number of New York towns to bear a classical name.
0:18:10 > 0:18:13My Appletons' tells me that on a nearby hillside,
0:18:13 > 0:18:19"Joe Smith claimed to have found the golden plates of the Mormon Bible."
0:18:19 > 0:18:23Well, casting aside the apparently sceptical tone of my guidebook,
0:18:23 > 0:18:27let me investigate this remarkable religious phenomenon.
0:18:31 > 0:18:35Joseph Smith would go on to found the Mormon religion,
0:18:35 > 0:18:39known as the Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints,
0:18:39 > 0:18:42which today claims 15 million members worldwide.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47I'm visiting his old homestead with Charlene Campbell,
0:18:47 > 0:18:49who is a member of the church.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53Charlene, what sort of childhood did Joseph Smith have?
0:18:53 > 0:18:57He was raised in a family who were religious themselves,
0:18:57 > 0:18:58they didn't belong to a church.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01They were a hard-working family, they had a farm,
0:19:01 > 0:19:05three years of failed crops brought them to New York.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07- To this very spot?- Yes.
0:19:07 > 0:19:11What were Joseph Smith's juvenile religious beliefs?
0:19:11 > 0:19:14When he was young, he was serious in thinking
0:19:14 > 0:19:16and contemplating about God,
0:19:16 > 0:19:19wondering why all of the churches around him
0:19:19 > 0:19:22were conflicting and bickering and not getting along.
0:19:22 > 0:19:24He wanted an answer.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28He decided he would go into a grove near his home and pray
0:19:28 > 0:19:31and ask God himself for the answer -
0:19:31 > 0:19:34which of all of these churches could be true?
0:19:36 > 0:19:40At the time, 40% of Americans were churchgoing Protestants.
0:19:41 > 0:19:45But a raft of new evangelical religions
0:19:45 > 0:19:46each claimed to show the way.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50What was the result?
0:19:50 > 0:19:54As he prayed, two heavenly beings appeared to him.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57Brighter than all description, brighter than the noonday sun.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00He thought the leaves would catch on fire, they were so bright.
0:20:00 > 0:20:02They explained to him that none of them were true,
0:20:02 > 0:20:06that they have the precepts of men, but their hearts are far from Me.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10This is the sacred grove.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13How very beautiful, very beautiful.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17- So after that first vision, was there a follow-up?- Yes.
0:20:17 > 0:20:21He waited for something to happen. Three years went by.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25He was worried, something's got to be happening.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29So he prayed, wondering that he could have direction of where to go.
0:20:29 > 0:20:33And appeared to him was the angel Moroni.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36He was the last person to hold the ancient records that had been
0:20:36 > 0:20:40carried on for hundreds of years, here on this continent.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44He buried the plates in the Hill Cumorah, not far from his home.
0:20:44 > 0:20:48And he appeared to Joseph to show him where the plates were buried.
0:20:53 > 0:20:55According to Mormon teachings,
0:20:55 > 0:20:59Joseph found the golden plates buried in the mountain.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01He dug them up and kept them hidden
0:21:01 > 0:21:05whilst he translated the ancient text written on them.
0:21:07 > 0:21:09So this is the miracle.
0:21:09 > 0:21:14Joseph being an unlearned boy of very limited schooling, many people
0:21:14 > 0:21:19wondered how could he translate something of ancient records.
0:21:19 > 0:21:23The plates told a story of a visit by Jesus Christ in ancient times
0:21:23 > 0:21:28to the Americas, where he founded a society of peace and love.
0:21:28 > 0:21:32Smith's writings became The Book Of Mormon, and he set out to
0:21:32 > 0:21:37rekindle the values of that ancient society in 19th-century America.
0:21:40 > 0:21:45Now, after that, a church is established by Joseph Smith.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49- Yes, in April of 1830. - Here in New York?- Here in Palmyra.
0:21:49 > 0:21:51Many people came to the church.
0:21:51 > 0:21:55Once reading The Book Of Mormon, they felt the power of the gospel,
0:21:55 > 0:21:59and seeing that it was a church of Jesus Christ, established the same
0:21:59 > 0:22:03as it was in Jerusalem in the times of Christ, people rallied to that.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06And they joined the Church Of Jesus Christ.
0:22:06 > 0:22:10Soon after the church was organised, persecution started.
0:22:10 > 0:22:14Why do you think the Mormons were being persecuted?
0:22:14 > 0:22:16I think people didn't understand them.
0:22:16 > 0:22:19And so the Saints had to move from place to place.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23They first left New York and went to Ohio and then to Missouri.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26And each place they went, they were burned out of their homes,
0:22:26 > 0:22:29they lost property, never to be reimbursed.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32They eventually ended up in Nauvoo, Illinois.
0:22:32 > 0:22:36As Mormon numbers grew, so did animosity towards them.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39Some were opposed to the welcome that they offered to freed slaves,
0:22:39 > 0:22:42but for most, it was the practice of polygamy
0:22:42 > 0:22:44which they couldn't tolerate.
0:22:44 > 0:22:48Wherever they settled, the Mormons inspired hostility.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52Smith himself was persecuted and jailed over 30 times.
0:22:52 > 0:22:58Finally, in 1844, he fell victim to an armed mob.
0:22:58 > 0:23:02This time, Joseph Smith and his brother and a few others
0:23:02 > 0:23:05were led to Carthage Jail, near Nauvoo, Illinois,
0:23:05 > 0:23:07and they were martyred and killed.
0:23:10 > 0:23:15After Joseph Smith's death, his followers fled west to Utah,
0:23:15 > 0:23:18to a place now called Salt Lake City.
0:23:18 > 0:23:23Smith is remembered by Mormons as both a prophet and a martyr.
0:23:40 > 0:23:44- What's your destination, if I may ask, sir?- Rochester, New York.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46- Do you like to use the train?- I do.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48- Quite a regular?- I am.
0:23:48 > 0:23:52It's unusual, because most people prefer to fly back and forth.
0:23:52 > 0:23:55I like it because I know I can read,
0:23:55 > 0:23:58I can catch up on my computer,
0:23:58 > 0:24:03because there is Wi-Fi and there is telephone service.
0:24:03 > 0:24:05So how long's it going to take you from New York to Rochester?
0:24:05 > 0:24:08Well, it's scheduled to take around seven hours.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11But it can often take longer.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13And you're happy to be on the train for seven hours?
0:24:13 > 0:24:15- You could cross the Atlantic in that time.- I could.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18I once took the Concorde, so I know what you're talking about.
0:24:18 > 0:24:22- You could cross the Atlantic twice in that time!- Yes, that's right.
0:24:29 > 0:24:33The original 1830s boom town, Rochester became
0:24:33 > 0:24:37the world's breadbasket, with 20 flour mills
0:24:37 > 0:24:39powered by the Genesee Falls.
0:24:39 > 0:24:41But in the late 19th century,
0:24:41 > 0:24:44it was the George Eastman Kodak Company that launched
0:24:44 > 0:24:47a new era of mass-market photography,
0:24:47 > 0:24:50bringing prosperity to the city.
0:24:50 > 0:24:55I'm visiting Cathy Connor at the inventor's Colonial revival mansion,
0:24:55 > 0:24:59which houses the world's oldest photography museum.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04Well, Cathy, this is the George Eastman house,
0:25:04 > 0:25:08- and a wonderful mansion. Did he begin life like this?- No, he didn't.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11First he was an errand boy at a local insurance company,
0:25:11 > 0:25:13and then eventually became a teller at a local bank.
0:25:13 > 0:25:15And it was through his job there that he saw
0:25:15 > 0:25:17that many people who were wealthy at the time
0:25:17 > 0:25:20were investors in land and land development.
0:25:20 > 0:25:23So he thought he'd take a trip to Santo Domingo, where he knew that land was for sale,
0:25:23 > 0:25:27and eventually purchase some that he could then sell and make money.
0:25:28 > 0:25:32To record the trip, Eastman brought the latest kit -
0:25:32 > 0:25:35a huge camera, chemicals and a tent
0:25:35 > 0:25:40in which to spread emulsion on glass plates before exposing them.
0:25:40 > 0:25:45Fascinated, he decided to pursue photography instead of land.
0:25:45 > 0:25:47And what is it that George Eastman
0:25:47 > 0:25:50does for photography in the early days?
0:25:50 > 0:25:52Does for photography? Simplifies it.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55Basically makes it easier, so that you no longer had to have
0:25:55 > 0:25:58that darkroom experience. You could actually just press a button,
0:25:58 > 0:26:00and then afterwards, somebody else would do that
0:26:00 > 0:26:02photo finishing and that processing for you.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06And that's really his claim to fame, putting cameras in the hands
0:26:06 > 0:26:09of everyone, because you didn't have to be a chemist any more.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12Eastman's first leap was the roll of film.
0:26:12 > 0:26:18Patented in 1884, it was economical and fitted every plate camera.
0:26:18 > 0:26:23Next, he set about making cameras as easy to use as pencils.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28And this is an example of the original Kodak.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30Came out in 1888,
0:26:30 > 0:26:33and it was considered totally automatic at that time.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36Now, the one funny thing is that you had no viewfinder.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39So many people held the camera up here
0:26:39 > 0:26:41and tried to aim at whatever the subject might be -
0:26:41 > 0:26:45their friend or their home or the chicken in front of the house.
0:26:45 > 0:26:46So many times you're not sure
0:26:46 > 0:26:49what they were actually trying to get in their picture.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52In fact, many times, people backed up quite a bit
0:26:52 > 0:26:54so that they make sure they'd get it all in the frame.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57Eventually, Eastman found a way to put a viewfinder
0:26:57 > 0:26:58and actually hook it on.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00It was considered an accessory back then.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02What about this little fellow here, what's this?
0:27:02 > 0:27:06This is the little Brownie character that was very popular with kids.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08So Mr Eastman borrowed that same design
0:27:08 > 0:27:11and used it to market these cameras to children.
0:27:11 > 0:27:14Initially, the Brownie camera was only a dollar.
0:27:14 > 0:27:18This one has a viewfinder in the top, so you would have to look down,
0:27:18 > 0:27:21make sure that you were getting what you wanted in your frame.
0:27:21 > 0:27:23And then you would actually click
0:27:23 > 0:27:25this little thing to take the picture.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27Isn't that amazing?
0:27:27 > 0:27:31My mother had quite an old Brownie, and I remember how difficult
0:27:31 > 0:27:34it was just to get the image in the viewfinder.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37But isn't that an exquisite item? And here, presumably, is the...
0:27:37 > 0:27:40You would roll the film once you took each picture.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45George Eastman's introduction of photography to the masses
0:27:45 > 0:27:48was underpinned by a clever advertising campaign...
0:27:52 > 0:27:56The idea was that if you were on a camel in Egypt
0:27:56 > 0:27:58and you ran out of film and you wanted to get your picture
0:27:58 > 0:28:01on that camera, there would be a store -
0:28:01 > 0:28:03or actually the man running the camel rides
0:28:03 > 0:28:07would actually be able to sell you a Kodak roll of film.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10The Eastman Kodak Company made George Eastman
0:28:10 > 0:28:14one of the leading industrialists and philanthropists of his day.
0:28:15 > 0:28:20He gave away a lot of money, probably over 100 million in his lifetime.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23And it went to very specific charities and causes.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26Mr Eastman didn't give to everything, he had specific things,
0:28:26 > 0:28:27but education was key,
0:28:27 > 0:28:29not only education for the people that lived
0:28:29 > 0:28:33in the Rochester community, but people internationally as well.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36He gave a lot of money to schools like MIT, OK?
0:28:36 > 0:28:40And also to the University of Rochester cos they were cranking out
0:28:40 > 0:28:43the chemists and the engineers he needed in his company.
0:28:44 > 0:28:48Unlike many conspicuous philanthropists who sought to immortalise their names,
0:28:48 > 0:28:51George Eastman protected his privacy.
0:28:51 > 0:28:55He donated 20 million to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
0:28:55 > 0:28:58under the pseudonym of Mr Smith.
0:29:00 > 0:29:03The third most generous philanthropist of his era,
0:29:03 > 0:29:05behind John D Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie,
0:29:05 > 0:29:10Eastman gave away over 100 million in his lifetime.
0:29:12 > 0:29:14His mom had bad teeth,
0:29:14 > 0:29:17and she had her teeth pulled at the kitchen table without
0:29:17 > 0:29:19anaesthetic. He remembered that for years to come,
0:29:19 > 0:29:22and because she didn't have good teeth she couldn't eat,
0:29:22 > 0:29:26she always had health ailments because she wasn't eating good, nutritious food,
0:29:26 > 0:29:27everything had to be blended,
0:29:27 > 0:29:30so he wanted people to have good dental care,
0:29:30 > 0:29:32to not have those problems later on in their life.
0:29:32 > 0:29:35He also did a lot of other things in our community,
0:29:35 > 0:29:38giving land that he owned to parks, so there was recreational things
0:29:38 > 0:29:39for a lot of the workers at Kodak.
0:29:39 > 0:29:44Since he didn't marry and have kids I think that he considered the Rochester community
0:29:44 > 0:29:45his family, an extended family.
0:29:45 > 0:29:49And so he wanted to make sure Rochester was a good place to live, work and raise a family.
0:29:52 > 0:29:54Kodak, like the General Electric Company,
0:29:54 > 0:29:57emerged in America's heyday.
0:29:57 > 0:30:01These giants of industry grew within a confident new superpower
0:30:01 > 0:30:03that would soon overtake Europe.
0:30:05 > 0:30:08But it was thanks to the Genesee River and the building
0:30:08 > 0:30:13of the Erie Canal that upstate New York was able to industrialise.
0:30:31 > 0:30:34Leaving Rochester behind, I'm making for Buffalo
0:30:34 > 0:30:36on the shores of Lake Erie,
0:30:36 > 0:30:40before heading north to finish my journey through the Empire State
0:30:40 > 0:30:44on the Canadian border at the magnificent Niagara Falls.
0:30:45 > 0:30:49I'm nearing the end of my journey through New York state.
0:30:49 > 0:30:53I'm approaching the Canadian border and the Great Lakes -
0:30:53 > 0:30:57bodies of water which are incomprehensibly enormous,
0:30:57 > 0:31:00as far as Europeans are concerned.
0:31:00 > 0:31:04And not surprisingly, they've loomed large in American history.
0:31:11 > 0:31:14As I near the northern edge of New York State,
0:31:14 > 0:31:17I reflect on the huge expansion of industry in America
0:31:17 > 0:31:20during the decades after the Civil War.
0:31:20 > 0:31:24And I'm struck above all by its sheer concentration in this one state.
0:31:24 > 0:31:29The industrial production of New York State then amounted
0:31:29 > 0:31:31to double that of the whole of the South,
0:31:31 > 0:31:35an extraordinary achievement that I'll explore at my next stop.
0:31:37 > 0:31:42The commerce of Buffalo, New York, is, according to my Appletons',
0:31:42 > 0:31:46"Very large, as its position at the foot of the chain
0:31:46 > 0:31:49"of Great Lakes makes it the entrepot for traffic
0:31:49 > 0:31:52"between the East and the great Northwest.
0:31:52 > 0:31:56"Since the completion of the Erie Canal, in 1825,
0:31:56 > 0:31:59"its growth has been very rapid."
0:32:03 > 0:32:06- ANNOUNCER:- The station stop is Buffalo Exchange Street,
0:32:06 > 0:32:08Buffalo Exchange Street!
0:32:08 > 0:32:13Buffalo's golden age dawned in the pre-rail era of the Erie Canal.
0:32:13 > 0:32:17This first all-water link connected the huge
0:32:17 > 0:32:20resources of the Great Lakes region in the Midwest, via
0:32:20 > 0:32:23the Hudson River, to the port of New York City,
0:32:23 > 0:32:25on the Atlantic Coast.
0:32:29 > 0:32:34It was a catalyst for commerce, industry and westward migration.
0:32:34 > 0:32:37Buffalo became the centre of the world's grain trade,
0:32:37 > 0:32:41employing a growing workforce of new immigrants.
0:32:45 > 0:32:47Appletons' tells me
0:32:47 > 0:32:51that no visitor should leave without having seen the grain elevators.
0:32:51 > 0:32:55So, I'm meeting third-generation Buffalo businessman Rick Smith.
0:32:56 > 0:32:59Rick, you own some of these old grain silos. Why?
0:32:59 > 0:33:02Well, I think it's all about, you know,
0:33:02 > 0:33:04the preserving and celebrating of the past.
0:33:04 > 0:33:08These were innovative things when they came into being,
0:33:08 > 0:33:11and trying to regenerate that innovation today,
0:33:11 > 0:33:15having grown up next to these titans - it's a special thing.
0:33:18 > 0:33:21This is a Perot malt house, and a Perot malting elevator.
0:33:21 > 0:33:25This is where we're going to go meet Brad Hahn, who actually runs
0:33:25 > 0:33:28a lot of the tours of Silo City.
0:33:28 > 0:33:31I can't wait to see inside. Amazing structures!
0:33:37 > 0:33:40So, Brad, why is it that, in Buffalo,
0:33:40 > 0:33:44we have so many of these extremely tall structures?
0:33:44 > 0:33:48Well, Buffalo was the end of the line for the trade route
0:33:48 > 0:33:51coming from the Great Lakes and the farms of the Midwest.
0:33:51 > 0:33:54America's breadbasket headed east. The ships could get to Buffalo
0:33:54 > 0:33:57but could go no further because of Niagara Falls,
0:33:57 > 0:33:58along the Niagara River.
0:33:58 > 0:34:00Can you give me any idea of the scale -
0:34:00 > 0:34:02how much grain passed through here?
0:34:02 > 0:34:05At its peak, Buffalo moved 300 million bushels of grain,
0:34:05 > 0:34:07through this city, every year.
0:34:07 > 0:34:10That's enough grain to feed every person in the United States,
0:34:10 > 0:34:13today, a loaf of bread every single week.
0:34:13 > 0:34:15That is amazing!
0:34:15 > 0:34:20From its opening in 1825, the Erie Canal revolutionised the movement
0:34:20 > 0:34:25of grain, causing freight charges to drop from 100 to 10 a tonne.
0:34:25 > 0:34:30Irish scoopers transferred grain by hand from lake vessels to
0:34:30 > 0:34:34canal boats but the process was slow and clogged the harbour.
0:34:34 > 0:34:381842, a local merchant named Joseph Dart says there's a better
0:34:38 > 0:34:40way to do this.
0:34:40 > 0:34:43He comes up with a vertical conveyor belt, powered by steam,
0:34:43 > 0:34:46that had buckets on it, lowered into the hull of the ship, scooped
0:34:46 > 0:34:50up the grain and emptied those ships of 1,000 bushels per hour.
0:34:50 > 0:34:53So, they could unload one of these lake ships in a day,
0:34:53 > 0:34:55compared to a week, and this revolutionised the process.
0:34:55 > 0:34:59Why do the silos need to be so tall, what's the point of that?
0:34:59 > 0:35:02Well, they wanted to store as much grain as they possibly could
0:35:02 > 0:35:05and this enabled a gravity system.
0:35:05 > 0:35:08So, once they used that conveyor belt to get the grain to the top of
0:35:08 > 0:35:11the complex, then it was gravity to bring it back down,
0:35:11 > 0:35:14so they could take it out to either ship it to the east or to mill
0:35:14 > 0:35:17it, to malt it or turn it into some other finished product.
0:35:19 > 0:35:24Silo City grew into the world's largest grain port, with 27
0:35:24 > 0:35:27of Dart's elevators lining the harbour.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30The railroads increased the quantities of grain
0:35:30 > 0:35:34that could be transported out of the city and speeded the journey.
0:35:34 > 0:35:37By 1900, Buffalo had become the second-busiest rail
0:35:37 > 0:35:40centre in America, after Chicago.
0:35:40 > 0:35:43It had great significance not only for the United States
0:35:43 > 0:35:45but for the entire world
0:35:45 > 0:35:48because the grain passing through Buffalo wasn't just for people
0:35:48 > 0:35:51here in Buffalo, it was to feed the rest of the United States,
0:35:51 > 0:35:54along the East Coast and in Europe, as well.
0:35:54 > 0:35:57One of the reasons the Erie Canal was successful was because a lot of
0:35:57 > 0:35:58that grain was going to Europe
0:35:58 > 0:36:01and it was going through the Industrial Revolution,
0:36:01 > 0:36:03a lot more people to feed.
0:36:03 > 0:36:08In 1907, the wooden elevators were replaced with concrete ones,
0:36:08 > 0:36:12these structures, the first skyscrapers of New York state,
0:36:12 > 0:36:15which would inspire the generation of European
0:36:15 > 0:36:18architects behind the Bauhaus school of design.
0:36:19 > 0:36:22Le Corbusier and Walter Gropius
0:36:22 > 0:36:27found in Buffalo's grain elevators the seed of a new international style,
0:36:27 > 0:36:31where form would follow function, unadorned by ornament.
0:36:33 > 0:36:38If you think of some of their catch mark slogans, for example,
0:36:38 > 0:36:41"form follows function", you really can't find any purer example of that
0:36:41 > 0:36:44than here at the grain elevators, where you have a function
0:36:44 > 0:36:48of storing and moving grain and the buildings reflect that entirely.
0:36:50 > 0:36:51And, Rick, in your dream,
0:36:51 > 0:36:54what can be the function of this place in the future?
0:36:54 > 0:36:57We have two floors, in essence, we have the feed
0:36:57 > 0:37:02floor at the bottom and then we have this floor, up 100 feet.
0:37:02 > 0:37:06So, upstairs can be utilised as great living quarters
0:37:06 > 0:37:09because you've got miles around, you can see everywhere.
0:37:09 > 0:37:12Then, the feed floor can be just about anything a normal
0:37:12 > 0:37:15building can be, but a very cool nightclub or a very cool...
0:37:15 > 0:37:19things to have art shows or galleries.
0:37:19 > 0:37:23Those are kind of the really great functions that we could
0:37:23 > 0:37:24repurpose them with.
0:37:31 > 0:37:34When in Buffalo, do as the Buffalonians do.
0:37:34 > 0:37:36So, with lunch beckoning,
0:37:36 > 0:37:39I'm ready for the city's most celebrated snack.
0:37:43 > 0:37:46Hi, welcome to the Anchor Bar, home of the original Buffalo wing.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49Buffalo wing? I didn't know buffalos had wings.
0:37:49 > 0:37:52They don't, actually, but chickens do and that's what we've got
0:37:52 > 0:37:53going tonight.
0:37:53 > 0:37:55How did this dish get started in Buffalo?
0:37:55 > 0:37:59It got started back in 1964 when one of the owners of the
0:37:59 > 0:38:02Anchor Bar, Teressa Bellissimo, created the Buffalo wing.
0:38:02 > 0:38:06Her son was tending the bar and some of his friends came in and they
0:38:06 > 0:38:09didn't want Italian food, they wanted something different.
0:38:09 > 0:38:10She said, "You know what?
0:38:10 > 0:38:13"I've got these beautiful wings that I was going to put in a stock -
0:38:13 > 0:38:15"let me see what I can do with it."
0:38:15 > 0:38:19So, she experimented and out came the first order of chicken wings,
0:38:19 > 0:38:21with the unique hot sauce on it.
0:38:21 > 0:38:23What choices do I have to make?
0:38:23 > 0:38:27- Well, they come in increments of ten - ten, 20, 50.- 50?!
0:38:27 > 0:38:3050 wings, yeah, and you can have them hot, medium, mild,
0:38:30 > 0:38:32barbecue, suicidal...
0:38:32 > 0:38:35OK, look, erm, I don't know, give me a kind of medium-size plate.
0:38:35 > 0:38:38OK, well, I'll hook you up, then, all right.
0:38:38 > 0:38:41- You hook me up, thank you very much.- Thank you.
0:38:41 > 0:38:46Buffalo's legendary wings are deep-fried, then coated in a vinegar
0:38:46 > 0:38:50and Cayenne pepper hot sauce, before yet another fry.
0:38:53 > 0:38:56Well, here you go, medium portion, medium spiciness,
0:38:56 > 0:39:00the original Buffalo wing, I hope you enjoy them.
0:39:00 > 0:39:03- Thank you very much indeed. - We'll get you some napkins.
0:39:03 > 0:39:07Only in America could that be regarded as a medium portion!
0:39:12 > 0:39:16So, cool it down with a little celery,
0:39:16 > 0:39:19dip it in a little blue cheese...
0:39:21 > 0:39:23..mmm, that's spicy!
0:39:24 > 0:39:26Ooh, that is hot!
0:39:26 > 0:39:28A little beer.
0:39:31 > 0:39:34Fire, fire brigade!
0:39:42 > 0:39:47During Buffalo's rapid 19th-century growth, it was transformed
0:39:47 > 0:39:51by a rail network of more than 700 miles of track within the city.
0:39:54 > 0:39:58Founded in 1853, the New York Central Railroad,
0:39:58 > 0:40:00connecting Buffalo with Albany,
0:40:00 > 0:40:05later came under the control of the rail tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt.
0:40:05 > 0:40:08It became a dominant force in the Northeast,
0:40:08 > 0:40:11stretching from Illinois to Massachusetts and from
0:40:11 > 0:40:14Michigan to West Virginia.
0:40:14 > 0:40:19In 1865, Buffalo was a stop on the route of President Lincoln's
0:40:19 > 0:40:22funeral train after his assassination.
0:40:22 > 0:40:27Citizens flocked to view the casket of the man who saved the union
0:40:27 > 0:40:29and freed the slaves.
0:40:31 > 0:40:35During the 20th century, Buffalo's 14-million central terminal
0:40:35 > 0:40:39opened to great fanfare, just months before the Wall Street crash,
0:40:39 > 0:40:41in 1929.
0:40:41 > 0:40:45Built to service 200 trains and 10,000 passengers daily,
0:40:45 > 0:40:49this Art Deco masterpiece never lived up to its promise.
0:40:49 > 0:40:53The grand halls became increasingly deserted,
0:40:53 > 0:40:57as air and automobile travel supplanted the trains.
0:40:57 > 0:41:00Today, it's being restored.
0:41:02 > 0:41:06Another of the city's architectural highlights is the 12-acre
0:41:06 > 0:41:08Colonel Ward Pumping Station,
0:41:08 > 0:41:11which was the largest ever built in the United States.
0:41:11 > 0:41:14I think you'll like this, Michael.
0:41:14 > 0:41:16- Am I in for a treat?- Yes, you are.
0:41:16 > 0:41:21'I'm getting a tour from plant superintendent Patrick J Martin.'
0:41:21 > 0:41:25That is a thing of beauty!
0:41:25 > 0:41:30What a magnificent hall and incredible antique machinery.
0:41:30 > 0:41:32When is that machinery from?
0:41:32 > 0:41:34The machinery was put in in 1907,
0:41:34 > 0:41:36that's when the original construction happened,
0:41:36 > 0:41:38and was finished in 1915.
0:41:38 > 0:41:40- Can we get a bit closer?- Sure!
0:41:43 > 0:41:47The population of Buffalo had grown to 350,000 by 1900.
0:41:47 > 0:41:51Irish and German immigrants found work in the new steel
0:41:51 > 0:41:55and automobile industries, attracted to the city by cheap
0:41:55 > 0:41:58hydroelectric power from Niagara Falls.
0:42:00 > 0:42:02The demand for clean drinking water grew steadily, until
0:42:02 > 0:42:05Buffalo's public works commissioner,
0:42:05 > 0:42:06Colonel Francis G Ward,
0:42:06 > 0:42:10found a reliable source at the mouth of the Niagara River.
0:42:14 > 0:42:18Huh-ho, this is a wonderful, somewhat vertiginous view.
0:42:18 > 0:42:19Erm, so tell me about the project,
0:42:19 > 0:42:22what had to be done to bring the water to Buffalo?
0:42:22 > 0:42:24They built this plant right on the shores of Lake Erie,
0:42:24 > 0:42:27and they had to actually tunnel out into the lake
0:42:27 > 0:42:28and went 6,600 feet onto the lake
0:42:28 > 0:42:30and they had to tunnel down below the bedrock
0:42:30 > 0:42:33and went down 70 feet to get to the area in the lake what we call
0:42:33 > 0:42:35the Emerald Channel, which sits on top of limestone.
0:42:35 > 0:42:38It's crystal-clear water out there in the middle of the lake.
0:42:38 > 0:42:41They were able to get good-quality water to all the residents.
0:42:41 > 0:42:43Tunnelling 70 foot down, I'm thinking,
0:42:43 > 0:42:45how did they keep the water out as they did that?
0:42:45 > 0:42:48What they were doing was actually put a pressurised chamber,
0:42:48 > 0:42:50steel bulkhead, and they actually
0:42:50 > 0:42:52pumped in compressed air into the chamber to
0:42:52 > 0:42:55keep the water out while they were tunnelling and they were blasting.
0:42:55 > 0:42:58Because it was a pressurised area, the men could only work
0:42:58 > 0:43:01in about three-, four-hour shifts, otherwise they would get the bends.
0:43:02 > 0:43:06Said to be the largest construction ever built on the Great Lakes,
0:43:06 > 0:43:12a 6,600-foot tunnel connected the channel to the pumping station.
0:43:13 > 0:43:16Each one of these pumps has the capability of doing
0:43:16 > 0:43:1930 million gallons of water per day.
0:43:19 > 0:43:23Five pumps that gave us 150 million gallon capacity.
0:43:23 > 0:43:29Standing 60 feet tall, these five 1,200-horsepower, steam-driven
0:43:29 > 0:43:34pumps each had two 30-tonne flywheels to drive their pistons.
0:43:34 > 0:43:38The pumping station remains one of the largest in the world today.
0:43:42 > 0:43:45It's a great pity that it doesn't run any more under steam.
0:43:45 > 0:43:48Do you, personally, have any memory of these engines?
0:43:48 > 0:43:50It's kind of funny you ask.
0:43:50 > 0:43:52My father used to work with the water department
0:43:52 > 0:43:57and when I was a young child in the late '60s, early '70s, I actually
0:43:57 > 0:44:00came into this plant and one of these was in operation.
0:44:00 > 0:44:02It was amazing seeing one of these big, huge pumps just turning
0:44:02 > 0:44:04and it was very quiet.
0:44:04 > 0:44:06And it's marvellous that they have been preserved.
0:44:06 > 0:44:08How is it that they've been kept?
0:44:08 > 0:44:11In the '80s, there was discussion to remove them
0:44:11 > 0:44:14and sell them for scrap, and at that time my father was
0:44:14 > 0:44:18the director of the water and he said that we sell water, not scrap.
0:44:18 > 0:44:21And we still have a historic jewel because of that.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24I think, this evening, if I go down to the banks of Lake Erie, I'm going
0:44:24 > 0:44:27- to raise a glass to your father. - I'm sure he'll appreciate that.
0:44:33 > 0:44:36I've been struck by Buffalo, as Appletons' was.
0:44:36 > 0:44:41With the finest harbour on Lake Erie, formidable canal basins
0:44:41 > 0:44:46and soaring grain elevators, New York state's second-largest city
0:44:46 > 0:44:49retains the excitement of its 19th-century boom.
0:45:09 > 0:45:13It's the last day of my first American railroad journey
0:45:13 > 0:45:16and I'm about to fulfil one of my greatest ambitions.
0:45:17 > 0:45:19TRAIN HORN BLARES
0:45:23 > 0:45:27I'm heading 22 miles towards the Canadian border.
0:45:29 > 0:45:32- Niagara Falls?- Niagara Falls.
0:45:32 > 0:45:35Who else is going, Niagara Falls?
0:45:35 > 0:45:39Here almost a fifth of the world's fresh water drains from four of the
0:45:39 > 0:45:45Great Lakes into the Niagara River before emptying into Lake Ontario.
0:45:46 > 0:45:51Here are just some of the words used by Appletons' to describe Niagara.
0:45:51 > 0:45:56"A profound chasm, water tossed about tumultuously.
0:45:56 > 0:46:03"Great whirlpools and eddies, an inextricable turmoil of water."
0:46:03 > 0:46:07Yes, I'm headed for a falls.
0:46:13 > 0:46:15You've got two walkways, one there, one there.
0:46:15 > 0:46:17Do not walk across the rail.
0:46:22 > 0:46:26Before I witness the natural wonder for myself,
0:46:26 > 0:46:30I've an appointment with Niagara Falls's mayor, Paul Dyster.
0:46:30 > 0:46:33I'm thinking this is a very exceptional place that probably,
0:46:33 > 0:46:36what, for two centuries you've been a tourist magnet.
0:46:36 > 0:46:41Yes, sometime after the conclusion of the war of 1812, in 1815,
0:46:41 > 0:46:44we started drawing visitors from around the world here.
0:46:44 > 0:46:46Some of it, I think, coincided with the coming of the railways,
0:46:46 > 0:46:49which opened up a new way to travel.
0:46:49 > 0:46:51The method of travel was exciting
0:46:51 > 0:46:54and then you had an exciting destination at the end of the line.
0:46:54 > 0:46:57I think we were aided by the Romantic painters of the 19th century
0:46:57 > 0:47:00that made this a world icon.
0:47:00 > 0:47:04If you were a well-heeled traveller in the mid to late 19th century,
0:47:04 > 0:47:07of course Niagara Falls was on your bucket list.
0:47:10 > 0:47:14Romantic 19th-century landscape painters like Frederic Church
0:47:14 > 0:47:18inadvertently advertised this iconic spot.
0:47:18 > 0:47:24His picture of 1857, once described as the finest oil painting
0:47:24 > 0:47:28this side of the Atlantic, toured the East Coast, Britain and Paris.
0:47:28 > 0:47:30How many visitors do you have?
0:47:30 > 0:47:32Somewhere between eight and nine million visitors, which is
0:47:32 > 0:47:35more than visit any of our national parks.
0:47:35 > 0:47:37You're quite a big city, too,
0:47:37 > 0:47:39so do you manage to spread that wealth amongst the population?
0:47:39 > 0:47:42Well, it's one of our ambitions but I think it's difficult.
0:47:42 > 0:47:44We were, for much of our history, an industrial city
0:47:44 > 0:47:47and there's a transition that's under way here.
0:47:47 > 0:47:49We've lost industrial jobs
0:47:49 > 0:47:51but gained jobs in the tourism sector. That requires people
0:47:51 > 0:47:55to change their training, get new types of education, maybe
0:47:55 > 0:47:59change their outlook on careers, and that can be a wrenching experience.
0:47:59 > 0:48:02Now, there are two cities called Niagara Falls,
0:48:02 > 0:48:06one in Ontario, Canada, one in New York state - rivalry between them?
0:48:06 > 0:48:08Friendly rivalry, yes.
0:48:08 > 0:48:12Friendly rivalry. We have an annual tug-of-war on the Rainbow Bridge.
0:48:12 > 0:48:15We close down the border crossing so that our police departments
0:48:15 > 0:48:20can line up and duke it out over bragging rights for who's got
0:48:20 > 0:48:23the strongest policemen for the next year.
0:48:23 > 0:48:25I'm afraid the Canadians won this year.
0:48:29 > 0:48:33Formed at the end of the Ice Age, Niagara's three falls
0:48:33 > 0:48:37consist of the American and Bridalveil Falls,
0:48:37 > 0:48:42on the United States side, and the Horseshoe Falls in Canada.
0:48:42 > 0:48:43In the late 1890s,
0:48:43 > 0:48:49Niagara was famed for producing the world's first hydroelectric power.
0:48:49 > 0:48:53This is my first close encounter with Niagara Falls
0:48:53 > 0:48:56and I hadn't expected to get this near, it's just a few feet away.
0:48:56 > 0:48:59You know that if you strayed over there and just tumbled over the edge
0:48:59 > 0:49:02you would be dashed to pieces.
0:49:02 > 0:49:06The other thing that is unexpected to me is how far it stretches.
0:49:06 > 0:49:10The other part of the waterfall is far away and then this plume
0:49:10 > 0:49:15of mist rises infinitely until it merges with the clouds.
0:49:20 > 0:49:24I see all these crowds of people here of every conceivable
0:49:24 > 0:49:27nationality and many of them may have
0:49:27 > 0:49:29thought of visiting all of their lives,
0:49:29 > 0:49:33as indeed I have, and I'm just wondering whether Niagara Falls
0:49:33 > 0:49:35has lived up to their expectations.
0:49:37 > 0:49:41- Are you visiting Niagara Falls for the first time?- Yes.- Yeah.
0:49:41 > 0:49:45- What do you think of it?- Gorgeous! It's really, really beautiful!
0:49:45 > 0:49:48Is it as good as you hoped it would be?
0:49:48 > 0:49:52I did read about that before because I was very excited
0:49:52 > 0:49:54but I told my sister not to read about it.
0:49:54 > 0:49:57So, for you it's been a complete surprise?
0:49:57 > 0:50:00Yeah, it is very beautiful.
0:50:00 > 0:50:03It's actually better than I thought it would be, with the weather
0:50:03 > 0:50:08and everything, the way the mist comes off the water, love it!
0:50:08 > 0:50:11- Where are you from?- I'm originally from Nottingham, England.
0:50:11 > 0:50:15- You don't sound like it at all! - I've been in the US since 1978.
0:50:15 > 0:50:18Can you still do a Nottingham accent?
0:50:18 > 0:50:20Unfortunately not, unless I'm around my family.
0:50:20 > 0:50:24- It takes a while to come back.- Have your family seen Niagara Falls?
0:50:24 > 0:50:26No, they keep saying they're going to come
0:50:26 > 0:50:28and actually I texted them earlier today, they said,
0:50:28 > 0:50:31"Hey, when we were visiting, we never went there!"
0:50:31 > 0:50:33So, next time, I'm hoping to bring them out here.
0:50:33 > 0:50:36Yeah, they'll love it, won't they?
0:50:36 > 0:50:41For 19th-century tourists, Niagara epitomised the limitless new world.
0:50:41 > 0:50:45Wilderness in all its grandeur and terror!
0:50:45 > 0:50:49The railroads brought travellers from afar and presented
0:50:49 > 0:50:51money-making opportunities,
0:50:51 > 0:50:55which attracted many a publicity-seeking daredevil.
0:50:55 > 0:51:00In 1860, when Britain's Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII,
0:51:00 > 0:51:05visited the falls, he was spellbound by the French tightrope walker
0:51:05 > 0:51:10Charles Blondin carrying his assistant across the gorge.
0:51:10 > 0:51:13In 1883, British sea captain Matthew Webb,
0:51:13 > 0:51:17the first person to swim the English Channel,
0:51:17 > 0:51:21set out to swim the most treacherous stretch of the Niagara River below the falls.
0:51:21 > 0:51:25Webb acted against local advice
0:51:25 > 0:51:29and was ripped by the rapids and pulled under by the whirlpool.
0:51:29 > 0:51:31He was not seen alive again.
0:51:33 > 0:51:36Since Webb, the falls have been braved in barrels,
0:51:36 > 0:51:39rubber balls, even on a jet ski.
0:51:39 > 0:51:43But I'm not quite that level of daredevil.
0:51:43 > 0:51:47Appletons' recommends that you spend two days seeing Niagara Falls
0:51:47 > 0:51:50but tourists don't have that sort of time today.
0:51:50 > 0:51:53And, in any case, with new technology, you can take a quick,
0:51:53 > 0:51:55bird's-eye view.
0:51:56 > 0:51:58HELICOPTER BLARES
0:52:04 > 0:52:07As the helicopter rises, the very first thing you see is
0:52:07 > 0:52:13a great plume of mist, where the water has hit the lower area
0:52:13 > 0:52:15and risen in a great cloud.
0:52:15 > 0:52:20Then, as you come up, over the top, you have this extraordinary view
0:52:20 > 0:52:23of the falls ranged below you.
0:52:23 > 0:52:25That incredible torrent of water.
0:52:37 > 0:52:41From up here you can appreciate the six million cubic feet of water
0:52:41 > 0:52:44that pour over the crest every minute,
0:52:44 > 0:52:48reaching speeds of up to 68mph.
0:52:48 > 0:52:53The 19th-century tourists who came here, relatively unprepared,
0:52:53 > 0:52:56with no television, with only crude photography, would have
0:52:56 > 0:52:59been flabbergasted by this scene.
0:52:59 > 0:53:02But I have to say that I am, too.
0:53:02 > 0:53:06I've known these falls in images since I was a child
0:53:06 > 0:53:09but it's my first time here and nothing has prepared me for it.
0:53:09 > 0:53:13The power of nature, the force of the torrent
0:53:13 > 0:53:15and the extraordinary beauty of this scene.
0:53:20 > 0:53:22Since the time of my guide book,
0:53:22 > 0:53:26these falls have receded almost 150 metres,
0:53:26 > 0:53:29a rate of erosion that in recent years has been slowed by flow
0:53:29 > 0:53:33control and diversion to hydropower.
0:53:41 > 0:53:44And there in the midst of the torrent
0:53:44 > 0:53:47and enveloped in the mist is a little boat.
0:53:47 > 0:53:51It seems almost incredible that it can be safe to navigate
0:53:51 > 0:53:53through that fury of water.
0:53:55 > 0:54:00And there's really only one way to find out what it's like in that
0:54:00 > 0:54:01awesome deluge.
0:54:04 > 0:54:08- One adult ticket for the boat, please.- 17.
0:54:08 > 0:54:10Thank you very much indeed. Bye-bye.
0:54:12 > 0:54:15- We're going to get wet, are we? - Yeah, you're going to get real wet.
0:54:20 > 0:54:22Now, naturally, that's defeated me.
0:54:24 > 0:54:26Does it just go around you?
0:54:40 > 0:54:44Finally, with my blue poncho tamed, I'm ready to follow illustrious
0:54:44 > 0:54:47visitors from President Roosevelt to Marilyn Monroe.
0:54:50 > 0:54:55I'm putting my faith in the Maid Of The Mist, a fleet of tour boats that
0:54:55 > 0:54:58has navigated tens of millions of people to
0:54:58 > 0:55:01the centre of the swirling mist since 1846.
0:55:04 > 0:55:08From here the waterfall is half obscured by the spray,
0:55:08 > 0:55:11which actually just makes it all the more impressive.
0:55:11 > 0:55:14Now, you begin to get a sense of the height of the waterfall.
0:55:14 > 0:55:17I mean, it's as though we've all been miniaturised.
0:55:17 > 0:55:21You get this feeling of human frailty in the power of nature.
0:55:39 > 0:55:42I think of all those words in my Appletons' Guide
0:55:42 > 0:55:44which attempt to describe the fury,
0:55:44 > 0:55:47the ferocity of the water, and none of them is adequate.
0:55:47 > 0:55:51When you get close to the torrent it just is overpowering!
0:56:15 > 0:56:19We're being buffeted and soaked and everybody's hunkering down,
0:56:19 > 0:56:22trying to escape from the spray.
0:56:22 > 0:56:25But actually it's completely uplifting
0:56:25 > 0:56:29and a wonderful rainbow has appeared through the mist.
0:56:32 > 0:56:35Keep your eyes open, people, it's worth seeing!
0:56:44 > 0:56:45We've pulled away from the falls now
0:56:45 > 0:56:49and this is the calm after the storm and everybody's absolutely
0:56:49 > 0:56:53thrilled by what they've seen and what they've experienced
0:56:53 > 0:56:56and I think pretty relieved, too, to be out the other side.
0:57:07 > 0:57:11From Manhattan's natural harbour to Niagara Falls,
0:57:11 > 0:57:15my journey seems to have been about water.
0:57:15 > 0:57:19The Hudson River and the Erie Canal brought enormous riches
0:57:19 > 0:57:21to New York City.
0:57:21 > 0:57:25Immigrants flooded across the Atlantic to Ellis Island, and in
0:57:25 > 0:57:31a gilded age, tycoons flaunted their wealth on the shores of Long Island.
0:57:32 > 0:57:35But it was thanks to New York City's tangle of commuter
0:57:35 > 0:57:40railways that it became the world's greatest metropolis.
0:57:41 > 0:57:46Next time, I begin my second American railroad journey in the city
0:57:46 > 0:57:50that sealed America's independence, Philadelphia.
0:57:50 > 0:57:52HE GRUNTS
0:57:52 > 0:57:56I'll travel south through the capital, Washington DC...
0:57:57 > 0:58:01Don't you love American locomotives with their great, big, long horns?
0:58:03 > 0:58:06..taking in local tastes and traditions...
0:58:07 > 0:58:09Mmm, that's pretty good, isn't it?
0:58:10 > 0:58:16..and discover the epic events that made this nation what it is today.
0:58:16 > 0:58:19This war, if it's going to come to a close, if the North's going to
0:58:19 > 0:58:20succeed, it's going to come with
0:58:20 > 0:58:24union preserved and slavery eliminated.