0:00:02 > 0:00:07I have crossed the Atlantic to ride the railroads of North America
0:00:07 > 0:00:10with my reliable Appleton's Guide.
0:00:10 > 0:00:12CAR HORN HONKS
0:00:12 > 0:00:14Published in the late 19th century,
0:00:14 > 0:00:19Appleton's General Guide to North America will direct me to all that's
0:00:19 > 0:00:20novel...
0:00:20 > 0:00:22beautiful...
0:00:22 > 0:00:23memorable...
0:00:23 > 0:00:24and striking...
0:00:24 > 0:00:28in the United States... THEY SHOUT
0:00:28 > 0:00:30As I journey across this vast continent,
0:00:30 > 0:00:36I'll discover how pioneers and cowboys conquered the West
0:00:36 > 0:00:39and how the railroads tied this nation together,
0:00:39 > 0:00:43helping to create the global super-state of today.
0:01:08 > 0:01:10STEAM WHISTLE BLOWS
0:01:16 > 0:01:21I'm continuing my journey west on the South-West Chief train
0:01:21 > 0:01:23and now approaching the Rockies -
0:01:23 > 0:01:25the so-called continental divide
0:01:25 > 0:01:29that represented a formidable barrier to the railroads
0:01:29 > 0:01:33and so to the unification of the United States.
0:01:33 > 0:01:35President Jefferson had needed only cash
0:01:35 > 0:01:38to acquire a vast amount of territory
0:01:38 > 0:01:42that doubled the size of his fledgling country.
0:01:42 > 0:01:47Out west, an even greater expansion would be achieved by war.
0:01:54 > 0:01:58My railroad journey began in St Louis, the gateway to the West,
0:01:58 > 0:02:03and took me across the Kansas Plains to Dodge City.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06Next, I continued to Colorado Springs in the Rockies,
0:02:06 > 0:02:09onto New Mexico's Albuquerque,
0:02:09 > 0:02:10before ending on one of
0:02:10 > 0:02:14the great natural wonders of the world.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18On this leg, I visit Colorado's La Junta and ranching territory,
0:02:18 > 0:02:22before crossing the Raton Pass into New Mexico.
0:02:22 > 0:02:24From there, I'll push north to the Rockies,
0:02:24 > 0:02:26stopping at Canon City,
0:02:26 > 0:02:28and onto Colorado Springs,
0:02:28 > 0:02:33before finishing at the stunning Pikes Peak.
0:02:33 > 0:02:34Present...
0:02:34 > 0:02:39This time, I'm transported back in time to the Mexican-American War.
0:02:39 > 0:02:41Soldier, your buttons are a mess,
0:02:41 > 0:02:44but you don't need good buttons to fight a war.
0:02:44 > 0:02:45- Are you ready?- Yes, sir.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48Explore gun culture in the Old West.
0:02:48 > 0:02:52You have to remember there was not a lot of law and order.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56I discover the perils of an historic railroad...
0:02:56 > 0:02:59They actually built forts along the canyon walls
0:02:59 > 0:03:01and they aimed the guns at each other.
0:03:01 > 0:03:03Shots were fired back and forth.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06..and ascend to over 14,000 feet.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09Oh-h-h...my word,
0:03:09 > 0:03:12we are going to the very
0:03:12 > 0:03:14edge - that's unbelievable.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34My next stop is La Junta.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37Appleton's tells me it's the point of junction with the main line
0:03:37 > 0:03:42extending to all points in New Mexico and Arizona.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46The first glimpse is caught of the Rocky Mountains
0:03:46 > 0:03:48still 60 miles distant.
0:03:48 > 0:03:49In 1845,
0:03:49 > 0:03:54a New York editor had written that, "The United States had a manifest
0:03:54 > 0:04:00"destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free
0:04:00 > 0:04:03"development of our yearly multiplying millions."
0:04:03 > 0:04:09This ideal, this God-given right, was to sweep all before it.
0:04:11 > 0:04:15In 1845, United States President James Polk
0:04:15 > 0:04:17was in dispute with Mexico -
0:04:17 > 0:04:21a vast, sparsely populated nation with a strong cattle industry,
0:04:21 > 0:04:24whose territory stretched to upper California.
0:04:26 > 0:04:30My next stop, La Junta, lay close to the western border
0:04:30 > 0:04:33between the United States and Mexico on the old Santa Fe Trail -
0:04:33 > 0:04:36an important trade route between the two.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46I'm heading eight miles east to Bent's Old Fort,
0:04:46 > 0:04:50in its heyday the south-west's only white settlement and trading
0:04:50 > 0:04:53centre on the Santa Fe Trail.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55Set up by fur traders in 1833,
0:04:55 > 0:04:59it welcomed trappers and Plains Indians dealing in fur
0:04:59 > 0:05:01and buffalo hides.
0:05:01 > 0:05:05But in 1846, this neutral outpost became the base
0:05:05 > 0:05:07for one of three United States armies
0:05:07 > 0:05:09on the disputed border with Mexico.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13Hasta luego.
0:05:15 > 0:05:18Present arms.
0:05:18 > 0:05:20- Sergeant.- Yes, sir.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23- What unit is this?- First Dragoons.
0:05:23 > 0:05:24Kearny's Army of the West.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26Fine looking body of men.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29- Excellent men, sir.- What use are you making of the fort?
0:05:29 > 0:05:32Well, we are on our way into Mexico, to Santa Fe,
0:05:32 > 0:05:35and the fort is currently being used as a warehouse
0:05:35 > 0:05:36and a hospital for the sick and injured.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40- Mm. Men are well prepared for it? - They are, they are well armed.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42Soldier, your buttons are a mess,
0:05:42 > 0:05:45but you don't need good buttons to fight a war.
0:05:45 > 0:05:46- Are you ready?- Yes, sir.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49- Good.- Go get me a Mexican.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51That's the spirit. Now, here's a picture of a soldier.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53- Are you ready to fight?- Yes, sir.
0:05:53 > 0:05:56Well, you look smart, the Mexicans will be terrified of you.
0:05:56 > 0:05:58Thank you.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01- Sergeant.- Yes, sir. - I'm proud of you.- Thank you, sir.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03- Permission to carry on.- Yes, sir.
0:06:03 > 0:06:07Bent's Old Fort hosted Colonel Kearny's Army of the West,
0:06:07 > 0:06:11made up of his first United States Dragoons Regiment
0:06:11 > 0:06:15of 1,000 cavalrymen and an army of volunteers from Missouri.
0:06:16 > 0:06:20'John Carson is park ranger at today's living history museum.'
0:06:22 > 0:06:27John, in 1846, the United States forces are flowing into this remote
0:06:27 > 0:06:29place, Bent's Fort, why?
0:06:29 > 0:06:33Well, President Polk has declared war on Mexico and Colonel Kearny's
0:06:33 > 0:06:38mission is to be the northern prong of the US invasion.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42In 1846, the Arkansas River, a quarter of a mile away,
0:06:42 > 0:06:44is the border between the United States and Mexico
0:06:44 > 0:06:48and this is the only place on the Santa Fe Trail to stop
0:06:48 > 0:06:51and use as a jumping off point.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57War had broken out over the annexation by the United States
0:06:57 > 0:07:00in 1845 of the then independent Texas,
0:07:00 > 0:07:02which had been Mexican territory.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07The two nations disputed the new border
0:07:07 > 0:07:11and whether Texas ended at the Nueces River or the Rio Grande.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16As tension mounted, the Mexicans crossed the Rio Grande,
0:07:16 > 0:07:20leaving up to 16 Americans dead.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22President Polk saw an opportunity
0:07:22 > 0:07:25and rushed a war request through Congress.
0:07:25 > 0:07:28The idea then was the bigger you are,
0:07:28 > 0:07:33the stronger you are and he didn't use the phrase Manifest Destiny,
0:07:33 > 0:07:37but that became a huge movement where the United States had,
0:07:37 > 0:07:40if you will, God-given duty to gain control of all the land
0:07:40 > 0:07:43from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46Manifest Destiny captured the public's imagination and was the
0:07:46 > 0:07:51subject of a painting by John Gast in 1872.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54America pictured herself leading civilisation,
0:07:54 > 0:07:56liberty and progress westward,
0:07:56 > 0:08:00sweeping aside the natives and their animals.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03How did Colonel Kearny's mission work out?
0:08:03 > 0:08:06It went pretty easy compared to the other two prongs.
0:08:06 > 0:08:08Again, Kearny left here,
0:08:08 > 0:08:13got to Las Vegas and New Mexico and read his proclamation that that area
0:08:13 > 0:08:16was now going to be under the United States.
0:08:16 > 0:08:22Got to Apache Canyon on this side of the Santa Fe and Governor Armijo
0:08:22 > 0:08:26had a force of somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000 men,
0:08:26 > 0:08:30but as the US Army neared that area, they left.
0:08:30 > 0:08:35So, basically, Kearny walked into Santa Fe without firing a shot.
0:08:35 > 0:08:39'The two-year war would fulfil America's Manifest Destiny,'
0:08:39 > 0:08:41but it came at a cost.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45Over 14,000 Americans and up to 25,000 Mexicans
0:08:45 > 0:08:48paid with their lives.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51So, how much land did the United States gain in the end?
0:08:51 > 0:08:55We would gain what's now the southern part of Colorado,
0:08:55 > 0:09:00Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, parts even of Wyoming,
0:09:00 > 0:09:03Utah, Nevada and California.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06- Immense.- Huge, huge.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10With the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo,
0:09:10 > 0:09:12which ended the war in 1848,
0:09:12 > 0:09:15the United States gained the northern half of Mexico,
0:09:15 > 0:09:20representing roughly a third of the United States' landmass today.
0:09:22 > 0:09:25It also inherited a cattle ranching tradition
0:09:25 > 0:09:28developed under Spanish colonial rule.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33The legacy that would help to create the most iconic figure
0:09:33 > 0:09:36of the Wild West.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39Is the cowboy simply a figure from history?
0:09:39 > 0:09:43Well, there are still cattle, there are still ranches.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45The old skills must still be alive.
0:09:45 > 0:09:48I think I should give them a try.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52After all, in my life, I've worn more than one hat.
0:09:55 > 0:09:59Off the beaten track, south of La Junta, lies Las Animas County.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03I'm hitching a ride through this ranching territory
0:10:03 > 0:10:05with Steve Wooten.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07Hello, Steve.
0:10:08 > 0:10:11Thank you very much.
0:10:11 > 0:10:12Welcome.
0:10:12 > 0:10:14Good to see you, thank you.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20Steve, has your family been in these parts for long?
0:10:20 > 0:10:25Michael, we've been in this part of the country for four generations.
0:10:25 > 0:10:30My great-grandfather emigrated from Ireland in 1860s and he developed a
0:10:30 > 0:10:32cattle business, a sheep wool business
0:10:32 > 0:10:35and a goat business, where he traded on the railhead
0:10:35 > 0:10:38that they developed there, so that they could transport
0:10:38 > 0:10:40livestock and the produce back east.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45The arrival of the railroad at La Junta in 1875
0:10:45 > 0:10:47transformed its cattle industry.
0:10:47 > 0:10:52Large ranches could load cattle here and transport them east.
0:10:52 > 0:10:56Unlike the cowboys of the cattle drives, ranch families settled.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59Did he acquire much land?
0:10:59 > 0:11:01Through the years, he did, Michael.
0:11:01 > 0:11:05By the time Papa Joe passed away, he'd made seven ranches,
0:11:05 > 0:11:07one for each of his children,
0:11:07 > 0:11:09and the total amount of those ranches was of
0:11:09 > 0:11:12greater acreage than all of Ireland that he left.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14That is amazing.
0:11:14 > 0:11:18President Abraham Lincoln's Homestead Act of 1862
0:11:18 > 0:11:20encouraged western migration.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24Any adult citizen who headed a family could, for a small fee,
0:11:24 > 0:11:30received 168 acres of public land to cultivate for five years.
0:11:30 > 0:11:34The Act distributed 80 million acres by 1900.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36And do you still have to do the cowboy things,
0:11:36 > 0:11:39like branding and lassoing and riding horses?
0:11:39 > 0:11:43Yes, Colorado is a brand state, so we brand our cattle.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45We prefer to move our cattle horseback.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48It's our tradition, it's our heritage,
0:11:48 > 0:11:52it's been done that way since 1800 and we like to carry that part on.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59Gosh, Steve, you have a stunning property.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01Look at this terrain.
0:12:01 > 0:12:03Michael, we're blessed to be here.
0:12:11 > 0:12:13'Steve's going to show me the ropes.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15'It's a loopy business, but I'm game.'
0:12:21 > 0:12:23I think you'd better stand back.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34All right, let's get a bit of speed up now.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36Point it straight, there you go.
0:12:36 > 0:12:38Walk towards it.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41'In the 18th century, native cowboys, called vaqueros,
0:12:41 > 0:12:43'from the Spanish word for cow,
0:12:43 > 0:12:47'developed their roping skills using braided rawhide.'
0:12:47 > 0:12:51Later, when Western settlers poured onto former Mexican land,
0:12:51 > 0:12:55they learned the traditional ways of the vaqueros.
0:12:55 > 0:13:00By the 1870s, the classic Wild West cowboy as we know him had arrived.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05This loop, double or nothing, point it right, palm down,
0:13:05 > 0:13:07right at the front of the bail.
0:13:07 > 0:13:09There you go. OK.
0:13:11 > 0:13:12Step towards it.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18I'd say, yes.
0:13:18 > 0:13:19That's as close as I'm going to get.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22I'm going to steer away from this activity.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24You're game, all right!
0:13:24 > 0:13:27- Good job.- Thank you.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38- Hello, Joy.- Nice to see you. - Good to see you.
0:13:38 > 0:13:40- Welcome to Beatty Canyon. - Thank you very much.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43- What have you got in the pot, Joy? - We're cooking brisket.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46Whoa! Look at that, that's huge.
0:13:46 > 0:13:48- One of your own beasts, of course? - Of course.
0:13:48 > 0:13:49It's great to cook outdoors.
0:13:49 > 0:13:52I'm not sure whether today we're going to be able to eat outdoors,
0:13:52 > 0:13:54- what do you think? - I think it's going to rain,
0:13:54 > 0:13:57- which would be awesome. - "Awesome"?- Awesome.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59We always need rain on the dry prairie.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02THUNDER CLAPS
0:14:10 > 0:14:13That is so good. Cooked to perfection.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16And wonderful to have a beast straight off the ranch.
0:14:16 > 0:14:17I wanted to ask you,
0:14:17 > 0:14:20I'm using a late 19th century guidebook to go around
0:14:20 > 0:14:23and I believe that even then tourists were coming to visit
0:14:23 > 0:14:25ranches, is that right?
0:14:25 > 0:14:28I think then they were dudes from the east that weren't
0:14:28 > 0:14:32accustomed to the open space, the cowboy lifestyle, the horseback,
0:14:32 > 0:14:36cattle riding, wrangling, and so they were craving that experience
0:14:36 > 0:14:41because Western lifestyle had been iconicised in dime store novels.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43Do you have dudes today?
0:14:43 > 0:14:48We do, but we're more of a traditional ranching experience,
0:14:48 > 0:14:50where you can get involved in all aspects of it,
0:14:50 > 0:14:53including the horses and the cattle, but the fencing,
0:14:53 > 0:14:55the windmilling and everything else
0:14:55 > 0:14:58that comes with raising cattle on a ranch.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01Why do you think people are so attracted by the West?
0:15:01 > 0:15:04I believe it's the open space and the quietness.
0:15:24 > 0:15:29It's difficult for a European to get a hold on how big this country is.
0:15:29 > 0:15:33Look, I've already come 550 miles from Kansas City.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37I'll be passing through Flagstaff, still 700 miles to go.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41I'm 2,000 miles from New York, more than 1,000 miles from Los Angeles.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44With a country like this, let the train take the strain.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50From La Junta station, I'm taking an Appleton's recommended itinerary on
0:15:50 > 0:15:54the old Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad.
0:15:54 > 0:15:55Thank you.
0:15:55 > 0:15:59Built along the great trading route of the Santa Fe Trail after the
0:15:59 > 0:16:01Mexican-American war,
0:16:01 > 0:16:04this important railroad connected Missouri with New Mexico.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09It greatly influenced settlement in the south-west.
0:16:10 > 0:16:15This is the topographical highlight of the journey. As Appleton says,
0:16:15 > 0:16:20"The railroad climbs the mountains through the Raton Pass on a grade of
0:16:20 > 0:16:23"185 feet to the mile.
0:16:23 > 0:16:28"At an elevation of 7,688 feet,
0:16:28 > 0:16:33"the train plunges into a tunnel under the crest of the Raton Range.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36"The light of Colorado quickly vanishes
0:16:36 > 0:16:40"and that which flashes upon us again in a few minutes
0:16:40 > 0:16:44"is the warm brightness of sunny New Mexico."
0:16:47 > 0:16:49So long, Colorado.
0:16:53 > 0:16:56Howdy, New Mexico.
0:17:04 > 0:17:06Raton was a ranching town
0:17:06 > 0:17:09and trade centre that flourished thanks to the railroad.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15Today, alongside its many tourist attractions,
0:17:15 > 0:17:20Raton lists a vast 33,000-acre shooting and recreation centre.
0:17:20 > 0:17:23It belongs to the National Rifle Association.
0:17:26 > 0:17:32The NRA was founded in 1871 by Union veterans dismayed at the poor
0:17:32 > 0:17:35marksmanship shown by Northern Yankee troops
0:17:35 > 0:17:37during the American Civil War.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40Today, it's a powerful gun lobby.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45'I'm meeting firearms museum curator Robbie Roberts
0:17:45 > 0:17:49'to find out about guns in the Wild West and their legacy today.'
0:17:49 > 0:17:52Robbie, in the exploration and the settling
0:17:52 > 0:17:54- and the conquest of the West...- Yes.
0:17:54 > 0:17:58..do the explorers and the settlers and cowboys, do they need the gun?
0:17:58 > 0:18:03Absolutely. It was an invaluable tool for the folks coming out west.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06Hunting to put food on the table,
0:18:06 > 0:18:10they were used for self-defence against the Indians and the outlaws.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12You have to remember, back in the Old West,
0:18:12 > 0:18:15there was not a lot of law and order and, in a lot of cases,
0:18:15 > 0:18:20you couldn't tell the lawmen from the outlaws, OK?
0:18:20 > 0:18:23But their primary use was to put food on the table.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27Fur traders, pioneer settlers,
0:18:27 > 0:18:31soldiers and Native Americans relied on their guns.
0:18:31 > 0:18:36By the 1860s, a time of Civil War and great western expansion,
0:18:36 > 0:18:39a significant firearms industry has emerged,
0:18:39 > 0:18:41dominated by gun makers such as Colt,
0:18:41 > 0:18:43Smith & Wesson and Winchester.
0:18:44 > 0:18:49Probably the most recognisable is the Colt single action,
0:18:49 > 0:18:50the model of 1873.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52It's called the Peacemaker
0:18:52 > 0:18:55and it was actually developed for the United States Army,
0:18:55 > 0:18:59but it was so good that it went and wound up in the civilian market.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02And, literally, millions of them were sold over the years and
0:19:02 > 0:19:04they're still in production today.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06This weapon, then, represents a breakthrough, does it?
0:19:06 > 0:19:09Yes, sir, it does. Absolutely, because it is a revolver
0:19:09 > 0:19:11and the biggest advancement was
0:19:11 > 0:19:13it used a self-contained metallic cartridge,
0:19:13 > 0:19:17whereas the firearms that predated it were all cap and ball
0:19:17 > 0:19:19muzzle-loaders, basically.
0:19:19 > 0:19:23The American Civil War was followed by a series of Indian wars,
0:19:23 > 0:19:26as the United States Army pushed west
0:19:26 > 0:19:30and Native Americans resisted encroachment on their land.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35The Army shipped 37,000 Colt pistols to its cavalry
0:19:35 > 0:19:38as the standard issue sidearm.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41Now, what about the long-barrel weapons?
0:19:41 > 0:19:45Probably, again, the most recognisable is the Winchester 1873.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47- Oh, yes.- OK.
0:19:47 > 0:19:53And this was used by the Army, by cowboys, by Native Americans?
0:19:53 > 0:19:56All except the Army. They didn't really welcome them
0:19:56 > 0:19:58because they thought it was a waste of ammunition.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02To give you an example - when Custer went to Little Bighorn,
0:20:02 > 0:20:04they were all shooting, their standard issue
0:20:04 > 0:20:06was single-shot rifles.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09The Indians, on the other hand, had repeating rifles.
0:20:11 > 0:20:15In the early 20th century, an advertising campaign marketed
0:20:15 > 0:20:18the Winchester as the gun that won the West.
0:20:20 > 0:20:23Hollywood reinforced this in the 1950s,
0:20:23 > 0:20:27glorifying the cowboy era and placing the iconic rifle
0:20:27 > 0:20:29in the hands of gun-toting legends.
0:20:31 > 0:20:33Is there an opportunity to fire a weapon today?
0:20:33 > 0:20:36You betcha. We'll go out and shoot a Colt and, you know,
0:20:36 > 0:20:38if we want to do that, we need to head to the range as we speak.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40Good.
0:20:46 > 0:20:48- You're going to hit those ducks, are you?- I'm going to try.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53There's no guarantee in the shooting world.
0:20:53 > 0:20:59'Robbie exercises his constitutional right to keep and bear firearms.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01'Around a third of Americans either own a gun
0:21:01 > 0:21:04'or live with someone who does.'
0:21:05 > 0:21:08Even when you're ready for it, it's pretty loud, isn't it?
0:21:08 > 0:21:09Yes, it is.
0:21:18 > 0:21:20- How did you do, Robbie? - Not very good,
0:21:20 > 0:21:23- but you'll notice I was pretty close.- You were pretty close.
0:21:23 > 0:21:25I could see the sand being kicked up just beyond the target.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27Yes, I was a little high.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30Now, if that was an animal or if it was a bad guy out there,
0:21:30 > 0:21:33it wouldn't have mattered because it would have been deadly.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36- You routinely carry a gun? - Yes, sir, every day.
0:21:36 > 0:21:42- Why?- Well, because I'm going to protect myself and my family.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46Now, I've never had to use it and I'm thankful of that.
0:21:46 > 0:21:50I don't want to have to use it, but if somebody's there to do me ill,
0:21:50 > 0:21:53I would rather be prepared than not be prepared.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55So, you've never had to use it in your life?
0:21:55 > 0:21:59- No.- But every day of your life, there's been a risk that it might go
0:21:59 > 0:22:03off accidentally, that one of your kids might get hold of it.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06- I don't know, you're running a risk every day.- No. One, you know,
0:22:06 > 0:22:10gun safety is paramount and all the gun accidents that happen,
0:22:10 > 0:22:12I guarantee you,
0:22:12 > 0:22:15one of the three golden rules of gun safety was violated.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17Is that the fault of the gun?
0:22:17 > 0:22:20No, it's the fault of the individual behind the gun.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23Does it not worry you that a high school student may come in
0:22:23 > 0:22:26and buy a gun and massacre his classmates?
0:22:26 > 0:22:29Well, is it something that we think about every day?
0:22:29 > 0:22:30No. Is it a concern?
0:22:30 > 0:22:32Sure, it's a concern.
0:22:32 > 0:22:34Is there a gun law that's going to stop that?
0:22:34 > 0:22:36Unfortunately, no.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41To Europeans, these views are surprising.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45Indeed, the United States astonishes us again and again.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47But travel is meant to broaden the mind.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51It seems that Americans are much influenced by a history that's bound
0:22:51 > 0:22:54up with the Colt and the Winchester.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59From the New Mexico border heading north,
0:22:59 > 0:23:01there are now no passenger services
0:23:01 > 0:23:03and the line has been given over to freight.
0:23:08 > 0:23:10Appleton's draws me to Pueblo,
0:23:10 > 0:23:13one of the chief cities of southern Colorado.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16Once situated on the historic Denver and Rio Grande railroad,
0:23:16 > 0:23:20my guidebook tells me that it has a large steel works.
0:23:22 > 0:23:25I'd always thought of steel as coming from Pittsburgh
0:23:25 > 0:23:28and the East, but the guidebook opens my eyes
0:23:28 > 0:23:30to something that should have been obvious.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34If you're going to build a railroad from ocean to ocean,
0:23:34 > 0:23:36you needed a steel plant in the West.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43I'm meeting general manager Ben Lutz at the site of the original plant
0:23:43 > 0:23:46that made this steel city.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49Ben, this is a tremendous piece of industrial archaeology.
0:23:49 > 0:23:51I have a real sense of history here.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55And, indeed, this plant is mentioned in my 1891 Appleton's,
0:23:55 > 0:23:57so you've been here a good long time.
0:23:57 > 0:24:01Yes, we started manufacturing rails back in 1882.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04Why was it that the plant was located here?
0:24:04 > 0:24:07The Rocky Mountains are rich with iron ore and coal deposits,
0:24:07 > 0:24:10which are our two primary materials that are needed,
0:24:10 > 0:24:14and the railroads needed a supply of rail here in the West
0:24:14 > 0:24:17to continue their westward expansion.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20William Jackson Palmer was the railroad tycoon
0:24:20 > 0:24:24behind the Denver and Rio Grande western railroad.
0:24:24 > 0:24:27Instead of importing steel from the East,
0:24:27 > 0:24:30he decided that it was cheaper to make steel rails in the West.
0:24:30 > 0:24:32His affiliate business,
0:24:32 > 0:24:34the Colorado Coal and Iron Company,
0:24:34 > 0:24:36created the first integrated steel mill
0:24:36 > 0:24:38west of the Mississippi.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42And it was the railroads then that drove the existence of this plant,
0:24:42 > 0:24:45the demand for the steel from the railroads?
0:24:45 > 0:24:47Absolutely. This plant is here for rail
0:24:47 > 0:24:49and that's still what we make today.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59So, these great tubes of hot metal...
0:24:59 > 0:25:02- Yes.- What are they? - So, these are blooms.
0:25:02 > 0:25:05They come from our steel-making process.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08Here, we are a 100% recycling operation.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11Our primary source is shredded automobiles.
0:25:11 > 0:25:16And you can make a reliable rail for the railroad out of shredded
0:25:16 > 0:25:18- automobiles?- Yes, we can.
0:25:18 > 0:25:22The old steel mill used the British Bessemer method.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25Four blast furnaces belted out plumes of smoke,
0:25:25 > 0:25:30as steel was made from the chemical reaction between coal and iron ore.
0:25:31 > 0:25:35So, this is the initial rolling process, called our breakdown mill.
0:25:35 > 0:25:39This is where we'll start to change the shape from the round we saw
0:25:39 > 0:25:42earlier into something that looks a lot more like a rail.
0:25:44 > 0:25:48Much more of it appearing now and...whoa!
0:25:48 > 0:25:50A lot of heat coming off that metal.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54Yes! The rolling temperature here is about 1,900 degrees -
0:25:54 > 0:25:57that's the optimal temperature for rolling steel.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59How many rails do you make here?
0:25:59 > 0:26:03So, every day, we'll produce about a thousand rails.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06- A day?- A thousand rails per day.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09Out it comes one more time.
0:26:09 > 0:26:14Much longer and slimmer and giving off an extraordinary amount of heat,
0:26:14 > 0:26:16as it disappears past us.
0:26:18 > 0:26:22Pueblo's steel plant was acquired by the Rockefeller family in 1903 and
0:26:22 > 0:26:28became central to a steel business that in 1906 employed as much as 10%
0:26:28 > 0:26:31of Colorado's population.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35One of the things that I noticed was just how long the rails were,
0:26:35 > 0:26:37much longer than in the old days.
0:26:37 > 0:26:41Correct. Lengths have progressed throughout the years.
0:26:41 > 0:26:46Originally, starting very short just to what the men could carry by hand.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49Today, the standard is approximately 80 feet.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52So, you take these 80-foot lengths and then what do you do to them?
0:26:52 > 0:26:55They travel in special trains that can take 48 pieces
0:26:55 > 0:26:59of quarter-mile-long rail out to the field.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01- That I have to see. - We certainly will.
0:27:07 > 0:27:09Ben, a remarkable sight.
0:27:09 > 0:27:11Very long rails coming out of what?
0:27:11 > 0:27:13So, this is a welding plant,
0:27:13 > 0:27:17where the 80-foot pieces that we produce are flash-butt welded
0:27:17 > 0:27:20together into quarter-mile-long pieces.
0:27:20 > 0:27:22And then loaded onto these enormous trains?
0:27:22 > 0:27:26Yes, specialised trains made to handle the quarter-mile pieces,
0:27:26 > 0:27:29taking them to the field where they'll be installed.
0:27:29 > 0:27:31And are your markets in North America?
0:27:31 > 0:27:35Yes, we supply all the major railroads in North America,
0:27:35 > 0:27:38even the Amtrak Route from Kansas to Trinidad,
0:27:38 > 0:27:41Colorado was made with rail from this facility.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44I've been travelling on that very route
0:27:44 > 0:27:46and I knew that it felt smooth.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48I'm glad you're enjoying it.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11My rail adventure continues to the West
0:28:11 > 0:28:15and will bring me to some of the most beautiful scenery in the world.
0:28:24 > 0:28:28I'll stop first at Canon City to explore the Rockies,
0:28:28 > 0:28:33before heading north to the former spa town of Colorado Springs
0:28:33 > 0:28:36and ascending the great Pikes Peak.
0:28:40 > 0:28:42Colorado's southern Rocky Mountain region
0:28:42 > 0:28:46was a winter refuge for Indian tribes such as the Ute, Arapaho
0:28:46 > 0:28:48and Cheyenne.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51The United States gained the territory in 1845
0:28:51 > 0:28:53when it annexed Texas.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56By 1848, America's western territories
0:28:56 > 0:29:00stretched beyond this natural frontier to the Pacific
0:29:00 > 0:29:03and lay open for conquest by the railroad.
0:29:03 > 0:29:06Expansion west would fuel this region's commerce
0:29:06 > 0:29:09and draw visitors in the tens of thousands.
0:29:11 > 0:29:13This pretty place is Canon City,
0:29:13 > 0:29:15which Appleton says is
0:29:15 > 0:29:18"a flourishing mining town with coal deposits,
0:29:18 > 0:29:20"oil wells and mineral springs.
0:29:20 > 0:29:22"The attraction for the tourists
0:29:22 > 0:29:25"lies in its proximity to superb scenery
0:29:25 > 0:29:27"and Main Street points straight at it."
0:29:32 > 0:29:36My late 19th-century guidebook is drawing me about two miles west to
0:29:36 > 0:29:40a railway that enters the gorge of the Arkansas River
0:29:40 > 0:29:43and cuts through steep granite walls for eight miles.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48This scenic highlight through the Rockies was made possible by
0:29:48 > 0:29:53the construction of an historic narrow-gauge railroad in 1880.
0:29:56 > 0:29:57- Hello.- How are you doing?
0:29:57 > 0:29:59Very well, thank you. Looking forward to this.
0:29:59 > 0:30:02I bet you are. OK, you're going to be in this car right here.
0:30:02 > 0:30:03- Thank you.- Not a problem.
0:30:03 > 0:30:05- Enjoy your trip, sir. - Thank you very much.
0:30:08 > 0:30:10- RADIO:- 'Got a tour on board. Let's take 'em west, over.
0:30:10 > 0:30:12INDISTINCT REPLY
0:30:16 > 0:30:18HOOTER BLOWS
0:30:36 > 0:30:39Every year, 100,000 visitors take this,
0:30:39 > 0:30:42one of Colorado's most scenic two-hour trips.
0:30:42 > 0:30:45Today I'm fortunate to be riding up front
0:30:45 > 0:30:49with the locomotive engineer and some fellow enthusiasts.
0:30:49 > 0:30:50Hello.
0:30:50 > 0:30:54- I'm Michael.- Ken Craig, nice to meet you.- Hello, Ken. - Steve, nice to meet you.
0:30:54 > 0:30:55Hello, Steve. Very good to see you.
0:30:55 > 0:30:57It's a great privilege to ride in the cab.
0:30:57 > 0:31:00- It is.- I know how I got here. How did you get here?
0:31:00 > 0:31:05Well, we're on a nine-day tour of historic railroads around Colorado
0:31:05 > 0:31:08and paid the extra admission to come up here and get a first-class ride.
0:31:08 > 0:31:10It's a wonderful view, isn't it?
0:31:10 > 0:31:12This is one of the most spectacular routes in the western part
0:31:12 > 0:31:15of the country and just a beautiful thing to see.
0:31:15 > 0:31:17You sound like a bit of an aficionado of railroads.
0:31:17 > 0:31:21So...I volunteer on the weekends at a railroad museum and actually
0:31:21 > 0:31:23rebuild steam locomotives for fun.
0:31:23 > 0:31:25Wow, you really are, may I say, a fanatic?
0:31:25 > 0:31:27- That's fantastic. - Well, to a degree, yes.
0:31:27 > 0:31:30- I'm not going to distract you any longer.- Thank you, Michael.
0:31:30 > 0:31:31- Good to see you. Steve. - Nice to meet you.
0:31:36 > 0:31:39The Royal Gorge Railroad tracks the Arkansas River,
0:31:39 > 0:31:43which for three million years has eroded the granite of Fremont Peak,
0:31:43 > 0:31:46making the gorge over 1,000 feet deep.
0:31:48 > 0:31:52I'm hoping to learn more from museum curator Lea Davis Withero.
0:31:52 > 0:31:54Lea, hello.
0:31:54 > 0:31:55- Hello.- I'm Michael.
0:31:55 > 0:31:58- Nice to meet you.- This is one of the most beautiful railways
0:31:58 > 0:32:01I've ridden on, it's absolutely superb.
0:32:01 > 0:32:03What's the history of this, how did it start?
0:32:03 > 0:32:07Well, this railroad began as part of William Jackson Palmer's vision
0:32:07 > 0:32:11to connect the front range of Colorado to the rich mines of the Rocky Mountains.
0:32:11 > 0:32:12After the Civil War,
0:32:12 > 0:32:15the Americans turned their eyes to the West
0:32:15 > 0:32:19and there is a mania to connect the Pacific and the Atlantic coasts.
0:32:19 > 0:32:22Palmer comes up with a unique vision to connect them
0:32:22 > 0:32:25with a north-south line running south from Denver
0:32:25 > 0:32:28all the way through Santa Fe to El Paso, Texas,
0:32:28 > 0:32:31and eventually to connect to the rich trade of Mexico.
0:32:31 > 0:32:33Clearly a very innovative man.
0:32:33 > 0:32:35Who was this Palmer?
0:32:35 > 0:32:38Palmer grew up in Philadelphia during the Industrial Revolution and
0:32:38 > 0:32:40he fell in love with railroads.
0:32:40 > 0:32:42He travelled to Britain,
0:32:42 > 0:32:44he enjoyed travelling on your railway system
0:32:44 > 0:32:46and learning all about coal technology
0:32:46 > 0:32:50and how it could increase efficiency in American railroads
0:32:50 > 0:32:52and he brought those ideas back to America.
0:32:53 > 0:32:57In 1859, Palmer suggested the Pennsylvania railway
0:32:57 > 0:33:01should burn coal instead of wood in its locomotives
0:33:01 > 0:33:04and thereby halve the company's fuel costs.
0:33:04 > 0:33:07He also introduced three-foot narrow-gauge railways
0:33:07 > 0:33:11to North America on his Denver and Rio Grande line.
0:33:12 > 0:33:16But in 1877, Palmer had a fight on his hands.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19Rich silver camps had been discovered in Leadville,
0:33:19 > 0:33:21around 80 miles north-west,
0:33:21 > 0:33:24and there was a race to reach it by rail.
0:33:24 > 0:33:28He faced the most competition from the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe,
0:33:28 > 0:33:31a more powerful, more well-financed,
0:33:31 > 0:33:33a bigger railroad, who actually got here first.
0:33:33 > 0:33:35So they both headed into the canyon,
0:33:35 > 0:33:39laying stakes and surveying right alongside each other but,
0:33:39 > 0:33:41as you can see, there's only room for one railroad.
0:33:41 > 0:33:46Over time, they armed themselves and they actually built forts along
0:33:46 > 0:33:48the canyon walls and they aimed guns at each other,
0:33:48 > 0:33:50shots were fired back and forth.
0:33:50 > 0:33:53They were known to go up to the top of the canyon walls
0:33:53 > 0:33:55and throw rocks down at their competitors.
0:33:55 > 0:34:00It might injure someone and definitely would disrupt the building of the railroad.
0:34:00 > 0:34:03The courts eventually had to step in and the Supreme Court
0:34:03 > 0:34:05actually gave the Rio Grande the right of way.
0:34:07 > 0:34:11Despite that ruling in Palmer's favour, battle continued.
0:34:11 > 0:34:14The Santa Fe sabotaged commerce for the Rio Grande,
0:34:14 > 0:34:16leading to more Wild West thuggery.
0:34:17 > 0:34:20Trains were commandeered, depots were put under siege
0:34:20 > 0:34:22and bullets flew.
0:34:23 > 0:34:27Finally, the railroad war was settled by treaty in 1880
0:34:27 > 0:34:29and the line extended to Leadville.
0:34:31 > 0:34:35Lea, I have to say, for anybody that's not here at the moment,
0:34:35 > 0:34:37it's difficult to describe the grandeur of this.
0:34:37 > 0:34:42The rock is just towering over us, it rises completely sheer.
0:34:42 > 0:34:44It is beautifully lit today.
0:34:44 > 0:34:46It just is awe-inspiring.
0:34:46 > 0:34:49The word awesome is appropriate today, isn't it?
0:34:49 > 0:34:52- Spectacular.- And the only thing better than a beautiful gorge is one
0:34:52 > 0:34:54- with a railroad through it. - Absolutely.
0:35:04 > 0:35:08My Appleton's was enthusiastic about this railroad and tells me that,
0:35:08 > 0:35:12"Through the Royal Gorge the track runs for 200ft
0:35:12 > 0:35:15"along an iron bridge suspended over the river
0:35:15 > 0:35:19"by steel girders mortised into the rock on either side."
0:35:19 > 0:35:21An amazing piece of construction.
0:35:21 > 0:35:24Absolutely. It's more remarkable that we're still using
0:35:24 > 0:35:27the same bridge 146 years later.
0:35:27 > 0:35:29This is beautiful. So this is actually
0:35:29 > 0:35:32fixed, bolted onto the rock.
0:35:33 > 0:35:37- It's remarkable.- It's one of the great thrills of travelling on a railroad.
0:35:37 > 0:35:41But, you know, it takes ingenuity to build rail roads in the West
0:35:41 > 0:35:42and these men had vision.
0:35:54 > 0:35:58Palmer's Denver And Rio Grande Railroad continued its conquest of
0:35:58 > 0:36:01the Rockies and in 1883 connected
0:36:01 > 0:36:04with other lines to span the continent.
0:36:06 > 0:36:08As the rail network grew,
0:36:08 > 0:36:12the trains brought a new breed of traveller to these mountains -
0:36:12 > 0:36:17scientists, bent on uncovering their pre-historic secrets.
0:36:17 > 0:36:22One of the most bitter battles in scientific history broke out
0:36:22 > 0:36:24as two pioneers of palaeontology,
0:36:24 > 0:36:27Edward Cope, of Philadelphia's Academy Of Natural Sciences,
0:36:27 > 0:36:31and Othniel Marsh, of Yale University,
0:36:31 > 0:36:33began rival digs.
0:36:38 > 0:36:44Zach Reynolds is president of the Royal Gorge Dinosaur Experience.
0:36:44 > 0:36:46So, what is the story, Zach?
0:36:46 > 0:36:48Well, they started out as friends.
0:36:48 > 0:36:51A rift in their friendship quickly emerged.
0:36:51 > 0:36:56Othniel Marsh was a classically trained palaeontologist,
0:36:56 > 0:36:58but he was not the gentleman palaeontologist
0:36:58 > 0:37:00that Edward Drinker Cope was.
0:37:00 > 0:37:04And when Cope invited Marsh to his New Jersey quarry,
0:37:04 > 0:37:07to show him what had been found, Marsh made a deal behind his back
0:37:07 > 0:37:11- to then acquire those specimens. - That is scandalous.- It is.
0:37:11 > 0:37:15What were the consequences of the breakdown in this relationship?
0:37:15 > 0:37:19Well, it became the most heated scientific rivalry in history...
0:37:20 > 0:37:22..and it led to the Bone Wars.
0:37:24 > 0:37:26And what were the weapons in the Bone Wars?
0:37:26 > 0:37:30Well, believe it or not, the camps here in Canon City
0:37:30 > 0:37:34saw such ugly atrocities as stealing each other's bones,
0:37:34 > 0:37:38spying on each other, and even, at times, destroying fossils.
0:37:38 > 0:37:40That is...that is appalling.
0:37:40 > 0:37:43But I suppose, then, this extraordinary competition
0:37:43 > 0:37:47must have meant that the development of knowledge here was very rapid.
0:37:47 > 0:37:50Their great rivalry fuelled their passion to be
0:37:50 > 0:37:53the first to discover so many fossils
0:37:53 > 0:37:57and, in the process, they discovered a treasure trove
0:37:57 > 0:38:00that stands even in the scientific community today.
0:38:04 > 0:38:11Some of the first dinosaurs ever discovered were found in the region around Canon City,
0:38:11 > 0:38:14including Allosaurus,
0:38:14 > 0:38:16Diplodocus, Apatosaurus
0:38:16 > 0:38:18and Stegosaurus.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24Edward Cope amassed a vast collection
0:38:24 > 0:38:26of 13,000 fossils
0:38:26 > 0:38:30and Othniel Marsh's work was praised by Charles Darwin,
0:38:30 > 0:38:33as crucial to his theory of evolution.
0:38:36 > 0:38:41In the dinosaur park, these amazing creatures have been given life.
0:38:41 > 0:38:43Thank you.
0:38:43 > 0:38:45To meet the Tyrannosaurus Rex,
0:38:45 > 0:38:50I'll need to negotiate a 24-foot-high rope course.
0:38:50 > 0:38:55Hold on to this and just step and you'll be fine.
0:38:55 > 0:38:58I think it's swaying quite badly now.
0:38:58 > 0:39:00Made it to that point.
0:39:00 > 0:39:01Whoa, that's a relief!
0:39:04 > 0:39:06Moving gingerly across.
0:39:09 > 0:39:11IT GROWLS
0:39:11 > 0:39:15Well, this IS a good view!
0:39:18 > 0:39:22I'm known as a political dinosaur and now I've met my match.
0:39:22 > 0:39:24HE ROARS
0:39:24 > 0:39:25HE ROARS AGAIN
0:39:32 > 0:39:35I must continue my rail journey.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38But sadly, Palmer's historic line
0:39:38 > 0:39:42was discontinued for passengers in 1967, leaving me high and dry.
0:39:42 > 0:39:46I need to get from Canon City to Colorado Springs
0:39:46 > 0:39:48and unfortunately there is no train.
0:39:48 > 0:39:49But, luckily for me,
0:39:49 > 0:39:54there is a 1957 Ford two-door coupe going in my direction.
0:40:12 > 0:40:17On the eastern flank of the Rockies lies Colorado Springs,
0:40:17 > 0:40:21another creation of railroad tycoon William Jackson Palmer.
0:40:27 > 0:40:31A good review in Appleton's for Colorado Springs.
0:40:31 > 0:40:34"A flourishing little city 6,000 feet above the sea
0:40:34 > 0:40:36"with a fine view of the mountains.
0:40:36 > 0:40:42"It contains many fine residences and a pretty opera house.
0:40:42 > 0:40:45"In summer the days are warm without being uncomfortable
0:40:45 > 0:40:47"and the night is always cool."
0:40:48 > 0:40:50The West doesn't sound very wild here.
0:40:50 > 0:40:53Indeed, it's almost British in its gentility.
0:40:57 > 0:40:59I've heard that the British influences
0:40:59 > 0:41:01stem from Palmer's co-founder,
0:41:01 > 0:41:04a London physician, Doctor William Bell,
0:41:04 > 0:41:07whose friends invested in this New World enterprise.
0:41:09 > 0:41:11On the banks of Fountain Creek,
0:41:11 > 0:41:14I'm visiting Bell's Victorian stately home,
0:41:14 > 0:41:18Breyer Hurst Manor, which became the social centre of its day.
0:41:20 > 0:41:23Matt Maybury is museum director.
0:41:29 > 0:41:32So I believe this solid and rather opulent house
0:41:32 > 0:41:35- was built by William Bell. - That's correct.
0:41:35 > 0:41:37Bell was a physician from Britain,
0:41:37 > 0:41:39came to the United States and formed a partnership
0:41:39 > 0:41:41with General William Jackson Palmer.
0:41:41 > 0:41:44Together they created the Denver And Rio Grande Railroad
0:41:44 > 0:41:47and they created the cities of Colorado Springs
0:41:47 > 0:41:49and neighbouring Manitou Springs.
0:41:51 > 0:41:56In 1868, Bell and Palmer were surveying the area for a railroad
0:41:56 > 0:41:59and fell for the scenery and the refreshing Manitou Springs.
0:42:00 > 0:42:04Palmer predicted a great resort at the base of Pikes Peak
0:42:04 > 0:42:07and a year later purchased 9,000 acres on which to build.
0:42:09 > 0:42:13The Victorian spa was founded in 1871 and three months later
0:42:13 > 0:42:17the Denver And Rio Grande Railroad reached town.
0:42:17 > 0:42:20There was an interest in what the railroads could do to open up
0:42:20 > 0:42:24business opportunities in the West, to make community building possible,
0:42:24 > 0:42:26and to enrich yourself.
0:42:26 > 0:42:31Palmer expressed the vision as he wanted Colorado Springs to be
0:42:31 > 0:42:33the best place in the West to build a home.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36Yes, because I've come through places like Dodge City and I've been
0:42:36 > 0:42:38thinking about gunslingers,
0:42:38 > 0:42:41and here I find in my guidebook that there was an opera house here.
0:42:41 > 0:42:43So this is a very different sort of West.
0:42:43 > 0:42:45It is. And that was part of the vision,
0:42:45 > 0:42:50that this would not be your typical western town with gunfighters and saloons.
0:42:50 > 0:42:54In fact, alcohol was forbidden in Colorado Springs -
0:42:54 > 0:42:57you could not sell it and you could not open a saloon.
0:42:59 > 0:43:01Palmer built opulent hotels,
0:43:01 > 0:43:05developed the springs and marketed the resort's health benefits
0:43:05 > 0:43:07and rail link.
0:43:07 > 0:43:08Within a decade of its founding,
0:43:08 > 0:43:11Colorado Springs had become a famed retreat,
0:43:11 > 0:43:14welcoming 25,000 visitors each summer.
0:43:15 > 0:43:17The streets were broad,
0:43:17 > 0:43:20which was attractive to people who might come from the east,
0:43:20 > 0:43:23and it was a grid pattern, so it was very orderly.
0:43:23 > 0:43:27- Did it attract Europeans as well as people from the east of the United States?- It did.
0:43:27 > 0:43:29Many Europeans came to Colorado Springs.
0:43:29 > 0:43:33In fact, Colorado Springs had the nickname Little London because there
0:43:33 > 0:43:36were so many Brits who came here.
0:43:36 > 0:43:38Two of our most famous were Oscar Wilde,
0:43:38 > 0:43:40who performed in our opera house,
0:43:40 > 0:43:42and Charles Kingsley, the famous author.
0:43:48 > 0:43:52Bell's British investors visited to see the fruits of their speculation,
0:43:52 > 0:43:55as did British backers of Palmer's railroad.
0:43:56 > 0:44:02By the late 1880s, Little London had 2,000 English residents.
0:44:02 > 0:44:05Anglophilia helped this elite enclave to flourish
0:44:05 > 0:44:08with schools and gentlemen's clubs.
0:44:09 > 0:44:13I hear that, incongruous as it seems, they had a cricket club,
0:44:13 > 0:44:15and that's exactly where I'm heading.
0:44:17 > 0:44:19'It may not be Lord's, but I'm up for a game.'
0:44:52 > 0:44:57East of downtown, at Memorial Park, the Colorado Springs Cricket Club,
0:44:57 > 0:45:00or Titans, practise twice weekly in the season
0:45:00 > 0:45:04and maintain a respectable rank in the Colorado league.
0:45:12 > 0:45:13- Howzat!- Howzat!
0:45:18 > 0:45:20- Well played.- Thank you, guys.
0:45:20 > 0:45:23I'm afraid I may have let the side down.
0:45:23 > 0:45:25You may have noticed, I'm not much of a cricketer,
0:45:25 > 0:45:29but I am impressed that you have had a cricket club here in Colorado Springs
0:45:29 > 0:45:30since the late 19th century.
0:45:30 > 0:45:33That's fantastic. And obviously you keep it going today.
0:45:33 > 0:45:36- Yes, we do.- There's about 12 clubs here in Colorado
0:45:36 > 0:45:39and there's a couple that come down from Albuquerque, New Mexico.
0:45:39 > 0:45:42So, yeah, we've got a lot of cricket going on here.
0:45:42 > 0:45:45So that's a very different impression than people would have
0:45:45 > 0:45:48back in Europe. They would think cricket was extinct, at least in the far west.
0:45:49 > 0:45:52So you are very dedicated to it, aren't you?
0:45:52 > 0:45:58We are. This is the one sport that I love and this is the one physical
0:45:58 > 0:46:00activity that I think I'm really good at.
0:46:00 > 0:46:02Is he quite a useful player?
0:46:02 > 0:46:04Oh, yeah, he's one of the best players we have in the league right now.
0:46:04 > 0:46:07- Really?- A few hundreds to his name.
0:46:07 > 0:46:09And what about you?
0:46:09 > 0:46:11Me, well, I'm a bits and pieces player.
0:46:12 > 0:46:15From what nationalities is your team drawn?
0:46:15 > 0:46:19I'd say about 90% of our players are from India.
0:46:19 > 0:46:22We do have anywhere the British have touched,
0:46:22 > 0:46:27you know, we have the West Indians, Australians, South Africans,
0:46:27 > 0:46:30Sri Lankans, Pakistanis.
0:46:30 > 0:46:32Have you ever converted an American to cricket?
0:46:32 > 0:46:35We've converted one at least.
0:46:35 > 0:46:40He's not playing right now because he's a flight instructor,
0:46:40 > 0:46:43so when he's free he comes down and he gets to play.
0:46:43 > 0:46:47So I'm going to give you what is known as the cricket test.
0:46:47 > 0:46:48During your intervals,
0:46:48 > 0:46:52do you eat cucumber sandwiches with the crusts cut off?
0:46:52 > 0:46:54We don't, but we'd love to.
0:46:54 > 0:46:56What we do here is pizza.
0:46:56 > 0:46:57- Pizza?- Yeah.
0:46:57 > 0:46:59Yeah, this is America, isn't it?
0:47:19 > 0:47:23What a pleasure to wake up to Colorado Springs' warm climate
0:47:23 > 0:47:27and clean air, and to glimpse from town the most eastern peak in the Rockies.
0:47:29 > 0:47:34Named after the explorer Zebulon Pike, who discovered it in 1806,
0:47:34 > 0:47:39it inspired an American patriotic hymn still popular today.
0:47:39 > 0:47:43# ..for spacious skies
0:47:43 > 0:47:47# For amber waves of grain
0:47:47 > 0:47:53# For purple mountain majesties
0:47:53 > 0:47:58# Above the fruited plain
0:47:58 > 0:48:04# America, America
0:48:04 > 0:48:09# God shed his grace on thee
0:48:09 > 0:48:15# And crown thy good with brotherhood
0:48:15 > 0:48:20# From sea to shining sea. #
0:48:20 > 0:48:23Thank you very much, choir and Gary, for that.
0:48:23 > 0:48:25- Thank you, sir. - Beautiful, beautiful words.
0:48:25 > 0:48:28- Who wrote them? - Katherine Lee Bates -
0:48:28 > 0:48:30and her statue is right behind us.
0:48:30 > 0:48:32And what is her connection with Colorado Springs?
0:48:32 > 0:48:36Well, she was visiting Colorado College and took an excursion to
0:48:36 > 0:48:41the top of Pikes Peak and was inspired by the vistas and penned America The Beautiful.
0:48:41 > 0:48:45Katherine Lee Bates was professor of English literature at
0:48:45 > 0:48:47Wellesley College in Massachusetts.
0:48:47 > 0:48:52In 1893, she travelled 2,000 miles across America for a summer job.
0:48:52 > 0:48:57Her journey up and view of Pikes Peak stirred her to write about
0:48:57 > 0:49:00the nation's greatness from sea to shining sea
0:49:00 > 0:49:04and to appeal to its people's brotherhood.
0:49:04 > 0:49:07I mean, obviously it's a terrific celebration of the American landscape.
0:49:07 > 0:49:09Does it mean more than that to you?
0:49:09 > 0:49:13It does to me, personally, and I think to a lot of Americans.
0:49:13 > 0:49:17It speaks of the bounty of America,
0:49:17 > 0:49:19how fortunate we are to live on this continent.
0:49:19 > 0:49:22But I know she was thinking about the goodness of America and what
0:49:22 > 0:49:24the people and the nation stand for,
0:49:24 > 0:49:26because the nation exists only because of the people.
0:49:26 > 0:49:30Yeah, it appears mainly to be about geography, amber fields of wheat,
0:49:30 > 0:49:31purple mountains majesty.
0:49:31 > 0:49:34- Yes.- But "crown thy good with brotherhood."
0:49:34 > 0:49:36What do you think she had in mind?
0:49:36 > 0:49:42Well, I think she was just reminding us that "crown thy good" -
0:49:42 > 0:49:44we presume we have good,
0:49:44 > 0:49:47but we have good because we CHOOSE to be good.
0:49:47 > 0:49:50And we are brothers in that goodness,
0:49:50 > 0:49:53and that is the essence of America.
0:49:53 > 0:49:57Do you think America has crowned its good with brotherhood?
0:49:57 > 0:50:00That is a very difficult question at these times.
0:50:00 > 0:50:04I will say that I believe in my heart that there is still a spirit
0:50:04 > 0:50:07of goodness and brotherhood in this country.
0:50:07 > 0:50:10I think we get very confused with rhetoric,
0:50:10 > 0:50:14we get very confused with doctrinal differences, but, in the end,
0:50:14 > 0:50:16we want to be good
0:50:16 > 0:50:19and we do believe that we are all brothers and sisters.
0:50:19 > 0:50:24# Oh beautiful for patriots' dreams
0:50:24 > 0:50:30# That sees beyond the years... #
0:50:30 > 0:50:33With Bates's words in my heart,
0:50:33 > 0:50:36I make my way to the foot of the famous peak.
0:50:36 > 0:50:41# Undimmed by human tears... #
0:50:48 > 0:50:51This is Manitou Springs, according to Appleton's,
0:50:51 > 0:50:54"situated at the base of Pikes Peak
0:50:54 > 0:50:57"and the centre of excursions in the district.
0:50:57 > 0:51:02"The summit of Pikes Peak is reached by a cog wheel railway.
0:51:02 > 0:51:07"Incredibly, the highest rack railway in the world.
0:51:07 > 0:51:09"The view, from 14,000 feet,
0:51:09 > 0:51:13"embraces many thousand square miles."
0:51:13 > 0:51:19I hope that nothing will cloud my vista of America the beautiful.
0:51:23 > 0:51:25The Pikes Peak Cog Railway
0:51:25 > 0:51:28is one of the busiest trains I've travelled on so far.
0:51:28 > 0:51:36In operation since 1891, it climbs 14,115 feet above sea level
0:51:36 > 0:51:38to the most visited mountain in North America.
0:51:40 > 0:51:42This is a rather special moment for me.
0:51:42 > 0:51:44I've been up the Gornergrat
0:51:44 > 0:51:47and the Jungfraujoch railways in Switzerland,
0:51:47 > 0:51:50which are extraordinarily impressive,
0:51:50 > 0:51:52but I come here to the United States
0:51:52 > 0:51:54and this one is going take me even higher.
0:51:55 > 0:51:57HORN BLOWS
0:52:00 > 0:52:02'Good afternoon, everybody,
0:52:02 > 0:52:05'and welcome aboard the Manitou And Pikes Peak Cog Railway.
0:52:05 > 0:52:08'I'd like to start today with introductions of the crew aboard.
0:52:08 > 0:52:10'At the front of our train is engineer Dick.
0:52:10 > 0:52:12'Everybody say, "Hi, Dick."
0:52:12 > 0:52:13- PASSENGERS:- Hi, Dick.
0:52:13 > 0:52:16'He's got a big job today, driving this train 8.9 miles,
0:52:16 > 0:52:19'all the way to the summit of this mountain, as he's done so many times before.'
0:52:25 > 0:52:30Pikes Peak was a landmark for pioneers and explorers heading west
0:52:30 > 0:52:33to seek their fortune in the Colorado gold rush.
0:52:36 > 0:52:39Before the railway, it was an arduous two-day ascent
0:52:39 > 0:52:42and tourists would have travelled by horse-drawn carriage
0:52:42 > 0:52:44and mule to the summit.
0:52:48 > 0:52:50You see why you have to use a cog railway
0:52:50 > 0:52:54because we're now moving up at incredible gradients,
0:52:54 > 0:52:56up to one in four,
0:52:56 > 0:52:59which means that for every four feet we go forward we're rising one foot
0:52:59 > 0:53:03in elevation. A cog underneath the train
0:53:03 > 0:53:06is engaging with the teeth in the track
0:53:06 > 0:53:11and so we're making steady but grinding progress up the mountain.
0:53:23 > 0:53:27The magnificent views which struck Katherine Bates from her carriage
0:53:27 > 0:53:31first open up at Glen Cove, at around 11,500 feet.
0:53:33 > 0:53:34Oh!
0:53:42 > 0:53:44Even though I was prepared for this by the poem,
0:53:44 > 0:53:50by the song America The Beautiful, it comes as a surprise to see such
0:53:50 > 0:53:55an extraordinary extent of plain stretching to the far horizon.
0:53:55 > 0:53:57I'm looking back here towards the state of Kansas,
0:53:57 > 0:54:01looking back over much of the journey that I've been making.
0:54:04 > 0:54:06- Hello, Steve.- Hello.
0:54:07 > 0:54:10It's a most impressive train ride, I must say.
0:54:10 > 0:54:12One of the greats, I think.
0:54:12 > 0:54:14Built in 1891, that's very early.
0:54:14 > 0:54:17- Whose idea was it? - Well, it was Zalman Simmons.
0:54:17 > 0:54:20He was an inventor and entrepreneur from Wisconsin.
0:54:20 > 0:54:23He'd come up here to check on one of his other inventions,
0:54:23 > 0:54:25part of a telegraph system,
0:54:25 > 0:54:28and when he got to the summit he realised the view was so spectacular
0:54:28 > 0:54:30that a lot of people would like to see that.
0:54:30 > 0:54:32That's what gave him the good idea to do it.
0:54:32 > 0:54:35It took him three years, he did it over the course of 18 months, actually,
0:54:35 > 0:54:39throughout that three years. They didn't work during the wintertime.
0:54:39 > 0:54:42We still use the same trackbed, everything is still the same as it was.
0:54:42 > 0:54:43Yeah. No, it really is a huge achievement.
0:54:43 > 0:54:47Now, it's diesel today, which implies that it would have been
0:54:47 > 0:54:49steam in the early days, is that right?
0:54:49 > 0:54:53That's true, yep. It sure was. For the first 50 or 60 years, in fact.
0:54:53 > 0:54:56Steam locomotives are what pushed the passenger cars up to the top.
0:54:56 > 0:54:59Well, to have a cog railway
0:54:59 > 0:55:02that goes even higher than the Swiss cog railway -
0:55:02 > 0:55:06- that really is quite is quite an achievement.- Yeah, it really is!
0:55:06 > 0:55:09You know, don't forget that they actually invented the cog railway in America.
0:55:09 > 0:55:12The first cog rail ever built was on Mount Washington in New Hampshire.
0:55:12 > 0:55:15- I did not know that. - And, uh, so, after that,
0:55:15 > 0:55:18the Swiss took it over, but we did think of it here first, so...
0:55:18 > 0:55:21- And we're in a Swiss-built vehicle today.- We are, yeah.
0:55:21 > 0:55:23And when it came round to building these trains, that was
0:55:23 > 0:55:26the place to go. There's only three cog railways in the United States,
0:55:26 > 0:55:28so there was no-one building cog trains here.
0:55:28 > 0:55:30The cog railway, then, really,
0:55:30 > 0:55:33is a fantastic American-Swiss partnership.
0:55:33 > 0:55:35It is, yeah. Yeah, it is. That's true.
0:55:47 > 0:55:50And the railway saves its most extraordinary moment for last.
0:55:50 > 0:55:55As we come towards the summit, we have this 3,000-foot drop over to
0:55:55 > 0:55:58my right and the train just looks as if it's going to
0:55:58 > 0:56:00peek off the top of the mountain.
0:56:03 > 0:56:05Oh, my word.
0:56:05 > 0:56:10We are going to the very edge.
0:56:10 > 0:56:11That's unbelievable.
0:56:23 > 0:56:26Appleton's visitors would have been awestruck,
0:56:26 > 0:56:30as are the hundreds of thousands who visit annually today.
0:56:30 > 0:56:34The view across five states - Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma,
0:56:34 > 0:56:37Wyoming and New Mexico - is breathtaking.
0:56:57 > 0:57:01By the time that Katherine Lee Bates, inspired by these views,
0:57:01 > 0:57:05wrote about the grandeur and bounty of these lands
0:57:05 > 0:57:08in her poem America The Beautiful,
0:57:08 > 0:57:11the West had been civilised.
0:57:11 > 0:57:15But the United States had fought a Civil War over slavery,
0:57:15 > 0:57:17and remained bitterly divided.
0:57:17 > 0:57:20It was, perhaps, as a socialist and a feminist,
0:57:20 > 0:57:26that she wrote yearningly of her country, "God mend thine every flaw
0:57:26 > 0:57:30"and crown thy good with brotherhood."
0:57:30 > 0:57:33Many Americans today would echo her wishes.
0:57:36 > 0:57:41Next time, I discover how the elements add to opera's drama...
0:57:41 > 0:57:44It would be a shame to enclose the theatre
0:57:44 > 0:57:49when we are surrounded by such incredible natural beauty.
0:57:49 > 0:57:54I'm honoured to be invited to an ancient Native American pueblo.
0:57:54 > 0:57:56How long has there been a settlement up here?
0:57:56 > 0:58:00We've been here since the beginning of time.
0:58:00 > 0:58:03I'll marvel at American steam technology.
0:58:05 > 0:58:09My goodness, John, that is enormous.
0:58:09 > 0:58:11And watch the earth open below me.
0:58:11 > 0:58:14Here we go, over the edge,
0:58:14 > 0:58:17and the ground falls away beneath us.