0:00:02 > 0:00:04I have crossed the Atlantic
0:00:04 > 0:00:07to ride the railroads of North America
0:00:07 > 0:00:09with my reliable Appleton's Guide.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14Published in the late 19th century,
0:00:14 > 0:00:17my Appleton's General Guide To North America
0:00:17 > 0:00:20will direct me to all that's novel...
0:00:20 > 0:00:21beautiful...
0:00:21 > 0:00:23memorable...
0:00:23 > 0:00:24and striking...
0:00:24 > 0:00:27in the United States.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30As I journey across this vast continent,
0:00:30 > 0:00:34I'll discover how pioneers and cowboys conquered the West...
0:00:35 > 0:00:39..and how the railroads tied this nation together,
0:00:39 > 0:00:43helping to create the global super state of today.
0:01:16 > 0:01:19As I continue my rail journey across the Midwest,
0:01:19 > 0:01:24I am still feeling the restless energy pumped out by Chicago.
0:01:24 > 0:01:27There's much more to explore in this towering city,
0:01:27 > 0:01:30reaching back to its origins.
0:01:30 > 0:01:34How the waterways were adapted, and the railways attracted.
0:01:39 > 0:01:43My railway journey tracks the birth of the industrial Midwest.
0:01:43 > 0:01:46I began in Minneapolis - a 19th-century powerhouse.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50Then headed south along the trade route of the Mississippi
0:01:50 > 0:01:52to La Crosse, in rural Wisconsin.
0:01:52 > 0:01:56Striking out east, I beached at Lake Michigan's Milwaukee,
0:01:56 > 0:02:01then set a course for America's railroad capital, Chicago.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04Next, I'll travel through fertile prairies in Illinois,
0:02:04 > 0:02:07whose agriculture fuelled the cities,
0:02:07 > 0:02:09en route to my final destination
0:02:09 > 0:02:12in Memphis, home of the blues.
0:02:12 > 0:02:17Today, I continue my tour of Chicago, the nation's rail hub.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21I'll head downtown to the lavish Palmer House Hotel,
0:02:21 > 0:02:25then track down a railroad pioneer in Pullman.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28Next, I journey south through Illinois
0:02:28 > 0:02:32to one of America's first suburban country clubs at Homewood.
0:02:32 > 0:02:36Then on to the wonderfully-named Kankakee,
0:02:36 > 0:02:39before finishing in Champaign with a heritage ride
0:02:39 > 0:02:41at the Monticello Railway Museum.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47'This time, I recreate the original brownie...'
0:02:47 > 0:02:50That is wicked. Well done, Chef.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53'..I discover the solution to the city's pollution...'
0:02:54 > 0:02:57Imagine when you have 30,000 cubic feet per second
0:02:57 > 0:02:59of sewage coming out into here. It will be beautiful.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02MICHAEL LAUGHS A great image.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05'..and get my hands on the hooter.'
0:03:05 > 0:03:08People often talked about the smell of steam locomotives.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10What about the sound of them?
0:03:10 > 0:03:12TRAIN HORN TOOTS
0:03:22 > 0:03:27Appleton's tells me that Chicago has, within 40 years,
0:03:27 > 0:03:30grown from a small Indian trading station
0:03:30 > 0:03:32to the position of metropolis
0:03:32 > 0:03:36and the greatest railway centre on the continent.
0:03:36 > 0:03:41In classical times, it was almost true that all roads lead to Rome.
0:03:41 > 0:03:47And today it's almost true that all railroads lead to Chicago.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01Chicago's first railroad arrived in 1848,
0:04:01 > 0:04:04when the Galena And Chicago Union line was built
0:04:04 > 0:04:07to serve Illinois' lead mines.
0:04:15 > 0:04:17170 years later,
0:04:17 > 0:04:22Chicago is the nerve centre of the USA's vast freight network,
0:04:22 > 0:04:26handling roughly a third of the nation's total cargo.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32Trains from all corners of the country converge here.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36In huge rail yards, they are sorted and reconfigured,
0:04:36 > 0:04:39ready for their onward journeys.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42I'm marvelling at the Chicago Belt Railway's
0:04:42 > 0:04:45five-and-a-half mile long facility.
0:04:47 > 0:04:49Joe, what a pleasure and a privilege.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53'Joe Szabo is a fifth-generation railroad professional.'
0:04:53 > 0:04:56Joe, I'm so impressed by Chicago
0:04:56 > 0:05:00as the hub of America, the crossroads of America.
0:05:00 > 0:05:01How did it become so?
0:05:01 > 0:05:05The railroad boom in Chicago really didn't begin until
0:05:05 > 0:05:08the building of the River Bridge over the Mississippi River
0:05:08 > 0:05:09at Rock Island.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12Rock Island is a good, long distance west of Chicago,
0:05:12 > 0:05:14why so significant?
0:05:14 > 0:05:18This was the key point in crossing the Mississippi River,
0:05:18 > 0:05:22and whoever crossed the Mississippi River was going to be the key city
0:05:22 > 0:05:25in the development of the railroad network,
0:05:25 > 0:05:28because this is where you were finally going to be able
0:05:28 > 0:05:31to connect East Coast with West Coast.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33And so this put Chicago at the centre
0:05:33 > 0:05:35of the transcontinental railroad,
0:05:35 > 0:05:37and the economy grew from there.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42The Chicago and Rock Island Railroad opened in 1854,
0:05:42 > 0:05:45but not everyone was delighted.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49Mississippi steamboat owners saw the growth of long-distance rail
0:05:49 > 0:05:52as a threat to their river traffic.
0:05:52 > 0:05:5515 days after the Rock Island bridge opened,
0:05:55 > 0:05:58a steamer crashed into it and the owner sued,
0:05:58 > 0:06:01claiming that it posed an impediment to navigation.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05A little-known Illinois lawyer, Abraham Lincoln,
0:06:05 > 0:06:09successfully defended the railroad's legal right.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12A milestone in his career, and a victory for Chicago's railroads.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17Once the rail network began developing,
0:06:17 > 0:06:19Chicago began to explode.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23By 1890, they're the second largest city in the nation.
0:06:24 > 0:06:29Chicago finds itself at the centre of a transcontinental rail network.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32- What is the significance of that network?- It's absolutely critical,
0:06:32 > 0:06:36because before the construction of the transcontinental railroad,
0:06:36 > 0:06:38there was no national economy.
0:06:38 > 0:06:43All you had was a series of small, local economies that
0:06:43 > 0:06:46were no bigger than the distance a horse could walk in a day.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50And it was the transcontinental railroad that tied
0:06:50 > 0:06:52all those local economies together,
0:06:52 > 0:06:55and for the first time, we have a national economy,
0:06:55 > 0:06:58and Chicago was right at the centre of all this.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01How important are the railroads for freight in the United States today?
0:07:01 > 0:07:02It's critically important.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06And by most measurements, rail is the most efficient,
0:07:06 > 0:07:09safest way to move commodities.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13Rail's a critical part of a multimodal network.
0:07:13 > 0:07:16And so foreign goods are coming into the ports by ship.
0:07:16 > 0:07:18They get transferred to rail,
0:07:18 > 0:07:21get brought, you know, 1,000 miles inland,
0:07:21 > 0:07:24and then, ultimately, distributed by truck.
0:07:24 > 0:07:29How significant is this place, the Belt Railway Company of Chicago,
0:07:29 > 0:07:31this enormous facility, to the USA?
0:07:31 > 0:07:34So I call this the economy in motion.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42On this site of 786 acres,
0:07:42 > 0:07:478,400 cars a day are sorted and assembled into new configurations
0:07:47 > 0:07:50for transcontinental transit.
0:07:50 > 0:07:53Using a technique that's barely changed
0:07:53 > 0:07:56since the days of my Appleton's Guide.
0:07:56 > 0:08:01At the heart of the operation is a 30 foot high double track hump,
0:08:01 > 0:08:04or mound, controlled by a yard tower.
0:08:12 > 0:08:17I'm standing above the place where individual cars are separated off,
0:08:17 > 0:08:22and allowed to roll into their new formation by the force of gravity -
0:08:22 > 0:08:26one of the most compelling sights I've ever seen on a railway.
0:08:27 > 0:08:29- Hello, I'm Michael.- Nick.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32- Nice to meet you.- It's a great operation you have here, Nick.
0:08:32 > 0:08:34I've never seen anything like it.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36These cars are descending by gravity.
0:08:36 > 0:08:38How is their destination determined?
0:08:38 > 0:08:41Well, each car has a code when it comes in,
0:08:41 > 0:08:43and it determines where we're going to route it.
0:08:43 > 0:08:47For example, all these cars in 37, we coded them as 740s,
0:08:47 > 0:08:49so as this train comes out,
0:08:49 > 0:08:51every car that is coded as a 740 will be humped into 37.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54You call this process humping, right, because, I mean,
0:08:54 > 0:08:57- literally, we're on a hump. - That's correct.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59And I'm amazed how far they travel by gravity.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03Is that just cos the gradient of the track is perfectly calculated?
0:09:03 > 0:09:06That's correct. The track grade make the cars roll.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10They usually leave here about four, four-and-a-half miles per hour.
0:09:13 > 0:09:18This Chicago yard has been marshalling rail freight since 1902,
0:09:18 > 0:09:22and helping to keep the US economy rolling.
0:09:25 > 0:09:30We're talking here about materials and produce from all over America.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32Yeah. We move our wheat, grain,
0:09:32 > 0:09:35we move frozen vegetables, lumber,
0:09:35 > 0:09:37flour, corn, petroleum oils.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40We have trains coming in from both the east and the west.
0:09:40 > 0:09:42We bring them all the way from Canada,
0:09:42 > 0:09:44and we re-route them back all over the US.
0:09:44 > 0:09:47Is there any facility in the United States that compares to this one?
0:09:47 > 0:09:50No, no. We're the only facility with a two-way hump.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53- Meaning you can bring them up to this little summit?- That's correct.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55And then they can roll that way, or they can roll that way?
0:09:55 > 0:09:57- That is correct.- It's brilliant.
0:09:57 > 0:10:01- I mean, gravity is man's oldest friend, isn't it?- Yes, it is.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20I'm swapping suburban Chicago railyards
0:10:20 > 0:10:22for the urban "L".
0:10:31 > 0:10:36The city has a superb skyline, an unmistakable silhouette.
0:10:36 > 0:10:40And on the L, you feel like you're advancing towards Chicago.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46The nucleus of Chicago's L
0:10:46 > 0:10:49is a two-mile circuit of elevated track called The Loop.
0:10:51 > 0:10:53Built between 1895 and 1897,
0:10:53 > 0:10:57this short stretch is at the heart of the L web.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02For the first time, workers and shoppers could travel seamlessly
0:11:02 > 0:11:06by rail to the heart of downtown Chicago.
0:11:14 > 0:11:17Following in their tracks,
0:11:17 > 0:11:20I'm bound for a building described in my Appleton's Guide
0:11:20 > 0:11:23as one of the most imposing in the city.
0:11:34 > 0:11:40The lobby of the Palmer House Hotel is fantastic.
0:11:40 > 0:11:45The painted ceiling with allegories of love and fantastic animals.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47Everywhere, candelabra -
0:11:47 > 0:11:49some borne aloft by semi-naked angels,
0:11:49 > 0:11:51others by mythical lions.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55The whole thing is just so over the top.
0:11:56 > 0:12:01This is the longest continuously operating hotel in North America,
0:12:01 > 0:12:04and Ken Price its official historian.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07We are in a glorious room in a glorious hotel.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10- Welcome, Michael.- Cheers. Thank you very much, indeed.
0:12:10 > 0:12:14- What is the origin of the hotel? - Well, it goes back 145 years.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16It started with a man by the name of Potter Palmer,
0:12:16 > 0:12:18who was neither educated or privileged,
0:12:18 > 0:12:21who came from a very small farm town in upstate New York.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25Most of the young men his age were essentially going west to Colorado
0:12:25 > 0:12:27and California, where the gold was.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31He saw the middleness of this area, and he was right on the money.
0:12:31 > 0:12:34And it made him incredibly successful.
0:12:34 > 0:12:40Potter Palmer made his fortune in retail and property development.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43The Palmer Hotel was his most lavish project,
0:12:43 > 0:12:47built as an extravagant wedding gift for his wife, Bertha.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51The two of them were two completely opposites
0:12:51 > 0:12:54in terms of where they came from, and their backgrounds.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57He was not educated, she had a college degree,
0:12:57 > 0:12:59during the Civil War,
0:12:59 > 0:13:02when a good education for a man was simply seventh-grade.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08But days after opening,
0:13:08 > 0:13:13the hotel was destroyed by Chicago's Great Fire of 1871.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17Palmer rebuilt it in iron, brick and sandstone,
0:13:17 > 0:13:21and relaunched it as the world's first fireproof hotel,
0:13:21 > 0:13:25while Bertha stamped her taste on the interior.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30The hotel looks the way it does because of
0:13:30 > 0:13:32Bertha's great love of beauty.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34She introduced a form of painting
0:13:34 > 0:13:37that had never been seen before in this country.
0:13:37 > 0:13:41She loved the entire impressionistic movement so much,
0:13:41 > 0:13:44she travelled back and forth the Atlantic throughout her lifetime
0:13:44 > 0:13:47and acquired the 220 Monets, Manets,
0:13:47 > 0:13:50Degas, Pissarros, Renoirs, Cassatts, Cezannes.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52When she died,
0:13:52 > 0:13:55she bequeathed the vast majority of those to the city of Chicago,
0:13:55 > 0:13:57which is why the city of Chicago has
0:13:57 > 0:14:01the largest collection of French Impressionism outside of France.
0:14:01 > 0:14:02Extraordinary.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07In 1893, millions descended on Chicago
0:14:07 > 0:14:10for the world's Columbian Exposition,
0:14:10 > 0:14:14celebrating 400 years since Columbus landed on American soil.
0:14:14 > 0:14:18Bertha Palmer wanted to provide lady visitors to the fair
0:14:18 > 0:14:21with a delicious portable snack,
0:14:21 > 0:14:24and the result made culinary history.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27- Stephen, how lovely to see you. I'm Michael.- Good to see you, Michael.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29- How are you? - Great to see you, indeed.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32So I think Bertha Palmer caused the creation of the brownie here.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35- Have you refined it?- This is the actual recipe that the pastry chef
0:14:35 > 0:14:38back in 1893 produced for Bertha at the time.
0:14:38 > 0:14:42What I have in this bowl here is I've actually melted the chocolate
0:14:42 > 0:14:44and the butter, and I've placed it in here.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46What we have to do now is we have to whip this up.
0:14:46 > 0:14:48- If you could take care of that. - Under your supervision, sir.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51Absolutely. It actually smells wonderful.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54- It smells like a brownie already.- It smells brilliant. It's pretty good.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56- Throw in our sugar.- That is an unbelievable amount of sugar.
0:14:56 > 0:14:58- Keep going, keep going. - Yeah, all right.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00Yeah, keep mixing. Right, right, right.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03- Have you got them?- You're making me work quite hard here.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05I don't think you eat many of these, do you, looking at you?
0:15:05 > 0:15:07You know, I do actually eat quite a few.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10- In fact, we make about 10,000 of these a week.- Oh, my goodness!
0:15:10 > 0:15:12Brownies here at the Palmer House are pretty incredible.
0:15:12 > 0:15:14I really like it. You're getting a work out.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17You need to get the walnuts and put them on liberally, like this.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19- Oh, right.- Pat them down lightly with your hand.
0:15:19 > 0:15:23- Ready?- Little bit, yeah.- I'm a very happy bunny at the moment.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27'30 minutes later and I can hardly contain myself.'
0:15:27 > 0:15:30- Whoa, they look great. - Check that out.- Are they finished?
0:15:30 > 0:15:33No, there's one more step we have to take, Michael.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36We're going to brush them with some apricot glaze.
0:15:36 > 0:15:38Was that happening in Bertha's day, too?
0:15:38 > 0:15:40Yes, it was. Yes, it was part of the original recipe.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43- Very inventive, weren't they? - They were. In fact, they were.
0:15:43 > 0:15:44Absolute heaven.
0:15:48 > 0:15:49That is wicked!
0:15:49 > 0:15:54- Well done, Chef. Well done, Chef. - Nice job. Nice job, Michael.
0:15:54 > 0:15:55I love it!
0:15:57 > 0:16:00I'm sold, but what will today's guests
0:16:00 > 0:16:02make of my authentic brownies?
0:16:03 > 0:16:04Surprise!
0:16:04 > 0:16:06Would you like a brownie?
0:16:06 > 0:16:08I've been down in the dungeons of the hotel
0:16:08 > 0:16:10making some brownies with the chef.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13- They were invented in this hotel. - I heard that.- Yeah, you heard that?
0:16:15 > 0:16:18- I'm not...- You don't look like a chef, so.- No, no. That's very true.
0:16:18 > 0:16:20Those are some good brownies.
0:16:20 > 0:16:22- It's pretty good. - It is pretty good.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24Delicious. I'm glad I don't have a nut allergy.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26Yeah, that's right. They're heavy on walnut.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28Excellent.
0:16:28 > 0:16:29- Very good.- Yeah?
0:16:29 > 0:16:32- Do you make brownies yourselves? - Yeah, from a box!
0:16:32 > 0:16:33THEY ALL LAUGH
0:16:33 > 0:16:37- They won't be better than your mother's, I guess?- No.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39Apparently, they're slimming.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42- Amazing.- Yes, the best of all - zero calories.
0:16:42 > 0:16:43- Enjoy Chicago.- Thank you very much.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46And I hope you'll remember it not least for its brownies.
0:17:08 > 0:17:13A new day, and the Windy City is rather more wet than blowy.
0:17:18 > 0:17:21Many argue that Chicago's famous nickname
0:17:21 > 0:17:23has nothing to do with the weather.
0:17:23 > 0:17:28It teased the metropolis's boastful citizens, full of hot air.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33But Chicagoans had reason to be proud.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41Appleton's remarks that the site of the business portion of Chicago
0:17:41 > 0:17:44is 14 foot above the lake.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46It was originally much lower,
0:17:46 > 0:17:51but has been built up by three to nine foot since 1856.
0:17:51 > 0:17:55It's an inclined plane, rising towards the west,
0:17:55 > 0:17:57to the height of 28 foot,
0:17:57 > 0:18:00giving slow, but sufficient drainage.
0:18:00 > 0:18:04Just imagine the challenge of draining the waste of a population
0:18:04 > 0:18:07that was multiplying decade-by-decade.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10Not to mention the volumes of rainwater!
0:18:14 > 0:18:18In the shelter of the Loop's Clark Street Bridge,
0:18:18 > 0:18:21author Libby Hill will tell me how Chicago
0:18:21 > 0:18:23dragged itself out of the mud.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26- Libby, hello.- Hello, Michael. It's so nice to meet you.
0:18:26 > 0:18:27Welcome to Chicago.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30Libby, it strikes me that Chicago did not begin with many natural
0:18:30 > 0:18:34advantages. My guidebook tells me about the drainage problem
0:18:34 > 0:18:37- that the city had. - Well, Chicago was built on a marsh,
0:18:37 > 0:18:42and so when they finally hired a sewage director,
0:18:42 > 0:18:45he decided that the best thing to do was to get the city up
0:18:45 > 0:18:48out of the marsh, And so he raised the city.
0:18:48 > 0:18:52It took 20 years. He put sewers underneath the sloping streets,
0:18:52 > 0:18:56so that all these sewage would flow down to the Chicago River.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02Work began on that ambitious project in 1856,
0:19:02 > 0:19:04and soon the city was in turmoil
0:19:04 > 0:19:08as the streets were raised to accommodate the new sewers.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12It's hard to believe, if you were a citizen living here
0:19:12 > 0:19:16you would have seen sidewalks that were different levels.
0:19:16 > 0:19:19So the level might be like this,
0:19:19 > 0:19:21and then, because they were working right here,
0:19:21 > 0:19:24and then you'd be down here, and then you'd be up there.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27First floors had been turned into basements
0:19:27 > 0:19:30and the streets were running along what had been their second floor.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33It must have been a very dramatic time,
0:19:33 > 0:19:35but the city went on about its business.
0:19:37 > 0:19:41Addressing this muddle and restoring Chicago's ground floors
0:19:41 > 0:19:44to street level fell to engineer George Pullman,
0:19:44 > 0:19:48later famous for his railroad sleeping cars.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52He recruited hundreds of men manually to jack up buildings.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55Even as people went about their business inside.
0:19:55 > 0:19:57But despite this ingenuity,
0:19:57 > 0:20:00Chicago's sewage troubles weren't finished.
0:20:01 > 0:20:05Unfortunately, the Chicago River drains out into Lake Michigan,
0:20:05 > 0:20:08and that's where they were getting their water supply from.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11That must have given them an enormous public health problem.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14Sometimes fish would come out of the faucets.
0:20:14 > 0:20:16You could tell that the water wasn't really very clean.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19People got sick from the drinking water.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23And so everybody was complaining that the city fathers drank water
0:20:23 > 0:20:26that they imported,
0:20:26 > 0:20:29but that they, the ordinary people,
0:20:29 > 0:20:32had to drink water from Lake Michigan.
0:20:32 > 0:20:37The city fathers finally listened to all the pleas of the people, and
0:20:37 > 0:20:40that's when they decided that they were going to reverse the river.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45Reversing a river, I never heard of such a thing.
0:20:45 > 0:20:47A huge bit of engineering. How was this done?
0:20:47 > 0:20:51So what they did was to build this enormous canal,
0:20:51 > 0:20:53but built on the idea of gravity,
0:20:53 > 0:20:58would just pull the water westward if they just sloped the canal.
0:20:58 > 0:21:02However, it's one thing to understand that principle,
0:21:02 > 0:21:04it's another thing to accomplish it.
0:21:04 > 0:21:09Chicago's 28 mile long sanitary and ship canal remains
0:21:09 > 0:21:14one of the towering achievements of North American engineering.
0:21:14 > 0:21:1838 million cubic yards of soil and rock were moved
0:21:18 > 0:21:20in order to build it.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23As well as diverting Chicago's sewage away from Lake Michigan,
0:21:23 > 0:21:26the canal created a direct shipping channel
0:21:26 > 0:21:29from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi.
0:21:30 > 0:21:35- Was it a success for Chicago? - Yes, it was a huge economic success,
0:21:35 > 0:21:38and a huge benefit to Chicago's health.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41What happened downstream, people didn't like it.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44St Louis was going to sue the state of Illinois
0:21:44 > 0:21:47and the city of Chicago for reversing the river
0:21:47 > 0:21:49and sending their sewage down to them.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52However, word got out that they were going to do that
0:21:52 > 0:21:54and so the canal was pretty much completed.
0:21:54 > 0:21:58So they opened the dams that were holding back the lake water
0:21:58 > 0:22:02and the river. They opened it surreptitiously one night,
0:22:02 > 0:22:06and the water flowed towards St Louis, and that was it.
0:22:14 > 0:22:19Following on from the impressive successes of 19th century engineers,
0:22:19 > 0:22:23Chicago has continued to adapt to survive.
0:22:29 > 0:22:31There's a modern civil engineering project
0:22:31 > 0:22:34that rivals those of the 19th century.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37If you take a village on a swamp,
0:22:37 > 0:22:39and over decades you convert it into
0:22:39 > 0:22:42a megalopolis of nine million people,
0:22:42 > 0:22:45you're going to come across a big problem.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48And that will need a big solution.
0:22:48 > 0:22:49As big as this hole.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57To understand what has been built here at the McCook Reservoir,
0:22:57 > 0:22:59I'm heading deep underground.
0:23:00 > 0:23:02- Thank you.- You're welcome.
0:23:04 > 0:23:06This is one of the weirdest experiences I've ever had.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09I've just being picked up by a crane.
0:23:10 > 0:23:13And... Whoa! ..flown over an enormous hole.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20And I'm going to be dropped down here like, like a sack of grain.
0:23:22 > 0:23:24And it's a long way down.
0:23:25 > 0:23:30'It's an exhilarating 300 foot descent into the tunnels
0:23:30 > 0:23:32'that will eventually feed the new reservoir.'
0:23:34 > 0:23:36Going down pretty fast.
0:23:36 > 0:23:38So the shaft is closing in above me.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41I can still see the sky, but it's getting smaller and smaller.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45This is not like your average lift or elevator.
0:23:46 > 0:23:48The Eagle has landed.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50- Hello.- Welcome to the McCook Reservoir Main Tunnel.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52- You're Kevin, aren't you?- I am.
0:23:52 > 0:23:53Very good to see you indeed.
0:23:53 > 0:23:58'My guide is managing civil engineer, Kevin Fitzpatrick.'
0:23:58 > 0:24:01Kevin, we're entering here a huge diameter tunnel.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03What is the total project about?
0:24:03 > 0:24:06It's called the Deep Tunnel Project, or the Tunnel And Reservoir Plan.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10We started it in 1972 to try to solve the pollution and flood
0:24:10 > 0:24:13problems that have plagued Chicago for the last more than 50 years.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15And what is the nature of that problem?
0:24:15 > 0:24:18Well, the problem is Chicago, and several of the suburbs,
0:24:18 > 0:24:21their sewers were built over 100 years ago,
0:24:21 > 0:24:23and they're called combined sewers,
0:24:23 > 0:24:26in which rainwater that hits the streets is combined
0:24:26 > 0:24:30in the same sewer system as what's draining people's homes -
0:24:30 > 0:24:32their sinks, their toilets.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35So all that rainwater gets combined with the sewage,
0:24:35 > 0:24:39and during a storm event, it can overwhelm the treatment plant,
0:24:39 > 0:24:42and so it overflows into the waterways,
0:24:42 > 0:24:45or it backs up into people's basements, in their own homes.
0:24:45 > 0:24:47And so how is this the solution?
0:24:47 > 0:24:52So, once this is complete, all that water will have a new place to go.
0:24:52 > 0:24:54It will go out into the reservoir here,
0:24:54 > 0:24:57and we'll be able to store it until after the storm has gone,
0:24:57 > 0:25:01and our waste water treatment plant has a capacity to clean the water
0:25:01 > 0:25:03before we put it back into the river.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05So that's a charming image for me.
0:25:05 > 0:25:09One day, this tunnel may be full of mildly diluted sewage.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13Yes, it's been called the largest toilet in the world, sometimes!
0:25:14 > 0:25:16Costing some 3.5 billion,
0:25:16 > 0:25:21the system's capacity will be over 20 billion gallons
0:25:21 > 0:25:23when complete in 2029.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30109 miles of tunnels and two reservoirs
0:25:30 > 0:25:32are already up and running,
0:25:32 > 0:25:34and have reduced city flooding by half.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38It's the largest project we've had in Chicago since
0:25:38 > 0:25:40the reversal of the Chicago River over a century ago.
0:25:40 > 0:25:45And is there a connection between this and the reversal a century ago?
0:25:45 > 0:25:46They're completely connected.
0:25:46 > 0:25:49When they solved the problem of the polluted water supply
0:25:49 > 0:25:51in Lake Michigan by reversing the Chicago River,
0:25:51 > 0:25:54they created another problem of a polluted waterway
0:25:54 > 0:25:57heading downstream. Over the years
0:25:57 > 0:26:00all the sewage and rainwater was diverted to that waterway,
0:26:00 > 0:26:04causing pollution and decreasing the amount of biodiversity in the river.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07So we're trying to clean up those waterways and capture
0:26:07 > 0:26:09all that pollution here in the Deep Tunnel, and in the reservoir,
0:26:09 > 0:26:12preventing it from polluting communities downstream.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15So this project is really about restoring the waterways.
0:26:15 > 0:26:17Are you going to live to see it finished?
0:26:17 > 0:26:20- I sure hope so. They won't let me retire until it's done.- Ha!
0:26:20 > 0:26:23Ah, it's just vast.
0:26:23 > 0:26:25It's just enormous.
0:26:25 > 0:26:28Imagine when you have 30,000 cubic feet per second
0:26:28 > 0:26:30of sewage coming out into here. It'll be beautiful.
0:26:30 > 0:26:32MICHAEL LAUGHS A great image.
0:26:33 > 0:26:38The McCook Reservoir will give the Chicago system the capacity
0:26:38 > 0:26:44to cope with an extra ten billion gallons of storm water and sewage.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47I was stunned when I heard about what was done in the 19th century.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50I mean, reversing the river. That is an extraordinary thing to do.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52And now I see what you're doing today.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55Which of the two do you think is the more remarkable achievement?
0:26:55 > 0:26:57Wow, it's difficult to say.
0:26:57 > 0:27:01They're both historic engineering feats.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04Er, they're both generations apart.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07Very difficult to compare. But I'm a little biased,
0:27:07 > 0:27:09so I'm going to say this one's much more impressive.
0:27:09 > 0:27:13And I'm going to say it takes a city like Chicago to think on this scale.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49This morning, I'm heading to a residential suburb on Chicago's
0:27:49 > 0:27:54south side on the trail of one of the railroad's most famous names.
0:27:57 > 0:28:02George Pullman built this factory in 1880 to manufacture carriages
0:28:02 > 0:28:04for his Pullman Palace Car Company.
0:28:04 > 0:28:09In Appleton's day, they became a byword for luxury travel.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12A piece of railway history.
0:28:12 > 0:28:15And alas, there are derelict buildings like this that once
0:28:15 > 0:28:19were a hive of activity over the world.
0:28:20 > 0:28:24Because, for now at least, it seems that the golden age of the
0:28:24 > 0:28:27American passenger railroad is behind us.
0:28:34 > 0:28:38Alongside his factory, Pullman built for his workers the first
0:28:38 > 0:28:43model industrial town in America and named it after himself.
0:28:43 > 0:28:47By 1885, it was home to almost 9,000 people,
0:28:47 > 0:28:50and this district is still known as Pullman.
0:28:52 > 0:28:56I'm meeting architect Mike Shemansky to find out how it all began.
0:28:58 > 0:29:01Mike, before I ask you about this very interesting town that
0:29:01 > 0:29:03we're in, tell me about George Pullman.
0:29:03 > 0:29:07George Pullman came to Chicago in the 1850s from upstate New York.
0:29:07 > 0:29:10He was a very industrious young man.
0:29:10 > 0:29:13He recognised at the time that the country was committed to
0:29:13 > 0:29:15building a transcontinental railroad,
0:29:15 > 0:29:17and was smart enough to say,
0:29:17 > 0:29:21"Hey, people are going to be spending a week on a train,"
0:29:21 > 0:29:22and so he started to experiment with
0:29:22 > 0:29:25converting coaches into sleeping cars, but recognised
0:29:25 > 0:29:29that to really do it properly you had to build it from scratch.
0:29:29 > 0:29:34And so he developed the Pioneer. It was like a little palace on wheels.
0:29:34 > 0:29:37There were quarters for staff, there were dining rooms, kitchens.
0:29:37 > 0:29:40When they came off the line here, they were fully equipped.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45The new Pioneer was the height of sophistication,
0:29:45 > 0:29:48aimed at those for whom only the best will do.
0:29:48 > 0:29:52When Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865,
0:29:52 > 0:29:56his body was taken by train from Washington DC on
0:29:56 > 0:29:59a tour of mid Western and Northern states
0:29:59 > 0:30:03en route to his home in Springfield, Illinois.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06George Pullman pulled off a stroke of genius.
0:30:06 > 0:30:10He had the fortune, or misfortune, depending on the perspective,
0:30:10 > 0:30:13to introduce the car in the funeral train of Abraham Lincoln,
0:30:13 > 0:30:15which introduced it to the public,
0:30:15 > 0:30:20so he got all this free publicity, and the railroads started to
0:30:20 > 0:30:25recognise that there was public demand for this quality and luxury.
0:30:26 > 0:30:30Pullman's company owned nearly 50 such cars on three
0:30:30 > 0:30:33different railroads by 1867.
0:30:33 > 0:30:35Former slaves were employed as
0:30:35 > 0:30:38porters to serve the white clientele.
0:30:38 > 0:30:41They were nicknamed George after Pullman himself,
0:30:41 > 0:30:45and they worked long hours for low pay.
0:30:45 > 0:30:48Pullman's porters would go on to form the first successful
0:30:48 > 0:30:51all-black trade union, and by the early 1890s,
0:30:51 > 0:30:55his workforce in Pullman had reached almost 6,000.
0:30:55 > 0:30:59It was quite diverse and it included mechanics,
0:30:59 > 0:31:02but it also included artisans and craftsmen,
0:31:02 > 0:31:04so he recruited people from all over the world.
0:31:04 > 0:31:09That led to the eventual idea of building the town, to have an
0:31:09 > 0:31:11advantage over his competition.
0:31:12 > 0:31:16Living accommodation in Pullman ranged from elegant detached
0:31:16 > 0:31:21houses for executives, to modest two-bedroom apartments for workers.
0:31:22 > 0:31:25It was a pedestrian scaled community.
0:31:25 > 0:31:29Everything was within convenient walking distance from the shops,
0:31:29 > 0:31:34your homes, the school for your children, parks for recreation.
0:31:34 > 0:31:37Despite the care that Pullman took of his workers, nonetheless,
0:31:37 > 0:31:40this place was the centre of a very major industrial dispute.
0:31:40 > 0:31:42How did that come about?
0:31:42 > 0:31:46It came about as a result of the worst recession the country
0:31:46 > 0:31:48had experienced to date.
0:31:48 > 0:31:51The demand for Pullman cars plummeted and it was
0:31:51 > 0:31:52a very difficult time.
0:31:52 > 0:31:56When you were building very expensive commodities such as
0:31:56 > 0:31:59Palace cars or even freight cars, and there's no market,
0:31:59 > 0:32:02you have to start laying people off.
0:32:02 > 0:32:08And what they tried to do was keep the key workforce together,
0:32:08 > 0:32:10the highly skilled craftsmen,
0:32:10 > 0:32:13so that they could respond once the recession was over.
0:32:13 > 0:32:17And in order to do that, they lowered the wages.
0:32:17 > 0:32:19And unfortunately, they did not lower the rents.
0:32:20 > 0:32:24Trouble broke out in Pullman in May, 1894,
0:32:24 > 0:32:28when 3,000 employers began a strike over wage cuts.
0:32:29 > 0:32:32The dispute escalated to involve a quarter of one million
0:32:32 > 0:32:35workers in 27 states.
0:32:37 > 0:32:39After three months,
0:32:39 > 0:32:42President Grover Cleveland used troops to end the strike.
0:32:43 > 0:32:46And so Pullman Cars has an important place in history,
0:32:46 > 0:32:50obviously on the railways, for the construction of this town,
0:32:50 > 0:32:55for being the centre of a major strike, and for the porters,
0:32:55 > 0:32:58who were a prelude to the civil rights movement.
0:32:58 > 0:32:59That's correct.
0:33:09 > 0:33:13I'm sad to be saying goodbye to Chicago,
0:33:13 > 0:33:14but I have a train to catch.
0:33:21 > 0:33:26I've yet to visit homeward and Kankakee and Champaign, where
0:33:26 > 0:33:31I'll finish with a heritage right at the Monticello Railway Museum.
0:33:40 > 0:33:42- PA:- Cafe car is open and serving, and as always,
0:33:42 > 0:33:44thank you for riding Amtrak.
0:33:46 > 0:33:49TRAIN HOOTS
0:33:49 > 0:33:51My next stop is Homeward, Illinois.
0:33:51 > 0:33:55Appleton's tells me that the streets of the villages are regularly
0:33:55 > 0:33:59laid out and planted with shade lined trees.
0:33:59 > 0:34:05Chicago was grimy and polluted, but the well-off could buy fresh air,
0:34:05 > 0:34:08and after a short train ride, swing by their country club,
0:34:08 > 0:34:10even if it was a fair way off.
0:34:26 > 0:34:28Homeward is a suburb of Chicago,
0:34:28 > 0:34:32about 25 miles south-west of the loop.
0:34:32 > 0:34:36The railroad transformed this rolling farmland into
0:34:36 > 0:34:39a country getaway for wealthy Chicagoans,
0:34:39 > 0:34:43and attracted its first country club for members only in 1899.
0:34:44 > 0:34:48I'm curious to know more about its founding from club historian,
0:34:48 > 0:34:49Greg Ohlendorf.
0:34:49 > 0:34:52- Hello, Greg.- Michael, welcome to Flossmoor Country Club.
0:34:52 > 0:34:55Thank you. Very, very beautiful. I'm so pleased to be here.
0:34:55 > 0:34:58- Well, let's go out and have a look around.- Thank you very much.
0:34:59 > 0:35:03Flossmoor retains its exclusivity today.
0:35:03 > 0:35:06Joining would set me back about 13,000 dollars.
0:35:08 > 0:35:12So when do we first get country clubs being formed in the Chicago area?
0:35:12 > 0:35:14Basically the 1890s.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17They spurred off of the rail that went north to Chicago Golf Club,
0:35:17 > 0:35:20and then down south to clubs like Flossmoor.
0:35:20 > 0:35:22If the railway had not come down to Homewood at the time,
0:35:22 > 0:35:24this country club wouldn't be here.
0:35:24 > 0:35:27Did the railroads ever invest directly in country clubs?
0:35:27 > 0:35:29Matter of fact, they did.
0:35:29 > 0:35:31In 1893, the Illinois Central Railroad
0:35:31 > 0:35:34bought 160 acres of farmland out here,
0:35:34 > 0:35:36so they had this piece of property and didn't know what to do
0:35:36 > 0:35:39with it until a couple of our founding members came along, and asked them
0:35:39 > 0:35:44to extend the rail line so that they could build a country club out here.
0:35:44 > 0:35:49The Illinois Central Railroad built its first suburban commuter line
0:35:49 > 0:35:53south of Chicago in 1856, to serve the new middle class of Hyde Park.
0:35:55 > 0:35:57By the 1880s,
0:35:57 > 0:36:01commuter lines struck out from the city in 15 different directions as
0:36:01 > 0:36:05far as 40 miles, enabling well-paid professionals to commute,
0:36:05 > 0:36:08or spend weekends away from the city.
0:36:09 > 0:36:13Why were people, I imagine particularly men, so keen to escape Chicago?
0:36:13 > 0:36:16The hustle and bustle of the city was probably in its time not much
0:36:16 > 0:36:17different than it is today.
0:36:17 > 0:36:20So I think just getting out to the country and the beginnings of
0:36:20 > 0:36:25suburbanisation probably encouraged folks to leave the city at a time on
0:36:25 > 0:36:26the weekend to play a little golf.
0:36:26 > 0:36:28During the early 1880s,
0:36:28 > 0:36:32well-heeled businessmen who enjoyed sporting clubs in the city began to
0:36:32 > 0:36:35establish similar amenities in the country.
0:36:35 > 0:36:37Golf, tennis,
0:36:37 > 0:36:41shooting and horse riding, and formal clubhouses with lavish ballrooms
0:36:41 > 0:36:43offered members an exclusive social life.
0:36:45 > 0:36:47Greg, you're a businessman.
0:36:47 > 0:36:49Do you think that from the earliest days businesspeople from Chicago
0:36:49 > 0:36:52saw the advantage of getting together on the golf course?
0:36:52 > 0:36:55I think business and golf probably were tied together from very early times.
0:36:55 > 0:36:58One of our founders was a golfer and two were not,
0:36:58 > 0:36:59but they still saw the advantage of
0:36:59 > 0:37:02coming out and spending time together on the weekend.
0:37:02 > 0:37:04And so the great wealth of the United States,
0:37:04 > 0:37:07do you think it's partly due to the existence of its golf courses?
0:37:07 > 0:37:08I'd like to believe that.
0:37:08 > 0:37:11It probably has more to do with the existence of transportation and the
0:37:11 > 0:37:13railways moving people about easily.
0:37:18 > 0:37:22By 1900, there were over 1,000 country clubs across America.
0:37:23 > 0:37:25We start with this big fella, do we?
0:37:25 > 0:37:29- We're going to go with the long club first.- Aha. So...
0:37:31 > 0:37:33Looking towards the target.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36Can't even see the flag from here cos it's such a long hole.
0:37:36 > 0:37:38Taking the club back...
0:37:38 > 0:37:39Oops.
0:37:42 > 0:37:45- What do you think, Greg? - It's a fair way.
0:37:45 > 0:37:47It's not THE fairway.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57I think I may have let you down on that one, Jerome. Sorry about that.
0:37:57 > 0:37:58It's all right, we'll get through.
0:37:58 > 0:38:00- We will, will we?- It's all about the next shot.
0:38:00 > 0:38:02The next shot, think of that. The next shot.
0:38:06 > 0:38:10In a bunker, but a politician has often been in tighter situations.
0:38:20 > 0:38:23I'll show you how much I know about golf. This is called the 19th hole.
0:38:23 > 0:38:24It is, and this is the best part, Michael.
0:38:24 > 0:38:27And this one, I think I will be able to sink.
0:38:27 > 0:38:29- Yes.- Cheers.- Cheers to you as well.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40I'm leaving behind country pursuits
0:38:40 > 0:38:45to return to the railroad that by 1882 stretched over 900 miles,
0:38:45 > 0:38:47from Chicago to New Orleans.
0:38:57 > 0:38:59TRAIN HORN BLARES
0:39:01 > 0:39:02I'm headed for Kankakee.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05Appleton's tells me it's upon the river of the same name,
0:39:05 > 0:39:08a tributary of the Illinois.
0:39:08 > 0:39:10When the railroad was begun,
0:39:10 > 0:39:14a forest stood upon the site of this now important town.
0:39:14 > 0:39:19In the words of the song, "Architects may come and architects may go."
0:39:19 > 0:39:22I wonder if any had designs on Kankakee?
0:39:31 > 0:39:32Bye-bye.
0:39:38 > 0:39:42The Illinois Central Railroad reached the single cabin
0:39:42 > 0:39:44which was Kankakee in 1853,
0:39:44 > 0:39:48and ordered that a town be developed on this bend of the river.
0:39:50 > 0:39:54Using the train, farmers could send crops to Chicago, 56 miles away, in
0:39:54 > 0:39:59three hours instead of six days, and the new settlement prospered.
0:39:59 > 0:40:01- Hello, Larry.- Good afternoon.
0:40:01 > 0:40:02- Welcome.- I'm Michael.
0:40:02 > 0:40:05- Nice to meet you, Michael, you're welcome to step in.- Thank you.
0:40:08 > 0:40:10It's a lovely stretch of river, isn't it?
0:40:10 > 0:40:15It is. Very peaceful out here, especially today, very nice and calm.
0:40:15 > 0:40:17Lots of lovely properties along here.
0:40:17 > 0:40:22There is. Riverview Historic District, so a lot of neat homes from prior years.
0:40:22 > 0:40:2560 miles from Chicago, and it couldn't be more peaceful.
0:40:28 > 0:40:29As a lover of architecture,
0:40:29 > 0:40:34I'm excited to be visiting Frank Lloyd Wright's ground-breaking
0:40:34 > 0:40:36B Harley Bradley House,
0:40:36 > 0:40:40a building that revolutionised American design in the 20th century.
0:40:40 > 0:40:43Another architect, Gaines Hall, and his wife Sharon,
0:40:43 > 0:40:45own the property today.
0:40:45 > 0:40:47- Hello, Gaines.- Hi Michael, nice to see you.
0:40:47 > 0:40:49A great pleasure indeed.
0:40:49 > 0:40:51Gaines, a Frank Lloyd Wright house.
0:40:51 > 0:40:54I'm seeing a fairly low-sitting property, subdued colours,
0:40:54 > 0:40:57very strong horizontal lines, an emphasis on the roof.
0:40:57 > 0:40:59That's what came to be known as the Prairie Style.
0:40:59 > 0:41:03He was trying to emphasise the horizontality of the prairie.
0:41:03 > 0:41:07This particular house became the one that has been associated with the
0:41:07 > 0:41:09beginning of the Prairie Design.
0:41:09 > 0:41:11One architect told me, he said,
0:41:11 > 0:41:14"This is the house that changed the face of American architecture."
0:41:14 > 0:41:17It left behind old European influences,
0:41:17 > 0:41:22you see nothing of Corinthian or Greek revival, or Roman.
0:41:22 > 0:41:23It left all that behind.
0:41:23 > 0:41:24It's truly American.
0:41:24 > 0:41:27And you think he was deliberately seeking a
0:41:27 > 0:41:29non-European, American style?
0:41:29 > 0:41:33I think he was looking for his expression of what he began to call
0:41:33 > 0:41:36the Organic Style, associating with nature,
0:41:36 > 0:41:38and nature on the prairie was relatively flat.
0:41:38 > 0:41:41The gable ends actually kick up, if you will.
0:41:41 > 0:41:45And that's because Wright had a real fascination with Japanese architecture.
0:41:45 > 0:41:48And that's about the only influence we can see from
0:41:48 > 0:41:50somewhere outside the United States.
0:41:51 > 0:41:54Frank Lloyd Wright was born in Wisconsin's broad,
0:41:54 > 0:41:57flat prairie land in 1867.
0:41:57 > 0:42:00He rejected the ornate European tradition,
0:42:00 > 0:42:04and designed over 1,000 buildings in an Organic Style,
0:42:04 > 0:42:08including Pennsylvania's Fallingwater in 1935,
0:42:08 > 0:42:13and New York City's Guggenheim Museum, completed in 1959.
0:42:14 > 0:42:17Now, you and your wife have played an important role in the house's
0:42:17 > 0:42:19history. Tell me about that.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22Well, we moved to Kankakee in 1998,
0:42:22 > 0:42:25and we were asked if we'd ever seen the house, and we said no.
0:42:25 > 0:42:27So we came and looked at the house.
0:42:27 > 0:42:30And then, when the owners wanted to tear down the stable,
0:42:30 > 0:42:32which had had no attention for 16 years,
0:42:32 > 0:42:34and it was in dilapidated condition,
0:42:34 > 0:42:39we determined that it was something that was worth saving for Kankakee.
0:42:39 > 0:42:42So we went through some negotiations, we sold our house,
0:42:42 > 0:42:45bought this house, moved in with not a working bathroom,
0:42:45 > 0:42:49and began to start the restoration.
0:42:49 > 0:42:52- And may we take a look inside now? - You certainly may, let's go.- Good.
0:42:52 > 0:42:54During the late 19th century,
0:42:54 > 0:42:56many American architects looked to the past,
0:42:56 > 0:42:59and European styles, for their inspiration.
0:42:59 > 0:43:04They built elaborate, many-storeyed houses with turrets and porches,
0:43:04 > 0:43:07or grand neoclassical mansions.
0:43:07 > 0:43:09The contrast with the modern Prairie Style
0:43:09 > 0:43:11of Frank Lloyd Wright was stark.
0:43:12 > 0:43:15Hmm.
0:43:15 > 0:43:18The interior is not what I would have guessed from the exterior.
0:43:18 > 0:43:22Here we've got all these dark woods, quite simply carved.
0:43:22 > 0:43:26It's almost more a celebration of the forest than it is of the prairie.
0:43:26 > 0:43:28- Ah, you must be Sharon.- Hello.
0:43:29 > 0:43:30- Hello.- Nice to meet you.
0:43:30 > 0:43:33Congratulations to you on this amazing house.
0:43:33 > 0:43:35Thank you. It's a nice home to live in.
0:43:35 > 0:43:38It's laid out very nicely to entertain.
0:43:38 > 0:43:42Does it have any quirks or details that captured your imagination?
0:43:42 > 0:43:44I think one of the fascinating things to me,
0:43:44 > 0:43:48is all of the wood in here is quarter-sawn oak.
0:43:48 > 0:43:52It's the way the log is actually cut, and it gives a unique grain.
0:43:52 > 0:43:54Very refined kind of a grain.
0:43:54 > 0:43:58And so Frank Lloyd Wright was into designing the light fixtures,
0:43:58 > 0:44:00the furniture, every detail of the house.
0:44:00 > 0:44:03He was. He designed most of the furniture that was in the house.
0:44:03 > 0:44:05Unfortunately, it was all sold off over the years.
0:44:05 > 0:44:07Well, I first saw the house from the river,
0:44:07 > 0:44:09can we now see the river from the house?
0:44:09 > 0:44:10Absolutely.
0:44:15 > 0:44:18Well, one is certainly very aware of the river.
0:44:18 > 0:44:20It's absolutely a wonderful view, isn't it?
0:44:20 > 0:44:22The house is very well-oriented.
0:44:22 > 0:44:26The river is something that I think makes the house setting unique.
0:44:26 > 0:44:30He just wanted to make sure that wherever his architecture was,
0:44:30 > 0:44:33it blended with the surrounding, and it recognised nature.
0:44:33 > 0:44:36You can see, standing here, that we're in the trees,
0:44:36 > 0:44:38we're overseeing the river,
0:44:38 > 0:44:40and you're practically outside at this point.
0:44:40 > 0:44:43You've now confronted the man Frank Lloyd Wright.
0:44:43 > 0:44:45He has a reputation of being
0:44:45 > 0:44:47the greatest American architect of the 20th century.
0:44:47 > 0:44:49Why do you think that is?
0:44:49 > 0:44:54It's hard to say why, but I would agree that he probably is.
0:44:54 > 0:44:55Wright had his own style,
0:44:55 > 0:44:59he was wanting to create something new all of the time.
0:44:59 > 0:45:01When people come to visit this house,
0:45:01 > 0:45:04they're blown away by what it was in 1900,
0:45:04 > 0:45:07when Victorian and other styles were still there.
0:45:07 > 0:45:10This is the house that changed the face of American architecture.
0:45:14 > 0:45:16So, Kankakee's legacy is impressive,
0:45:16 > 0:45:19and I'm lucky to have had such a privileged tour.
0:45:24 > 0:45:28I'm heading back to the station, where, hospitably,
0:45:28 > 0:45:30the locals are throwing a party.
0:45:33 > 0:45:35If you've ever heard of the town of Kankakee,
0:45:35 > 0:45:37it could have been in a song.
0:45:37 > 0:45:39You might have heard it sung by Johnny Cash,
0:45:39 > 0:45:41or maybe by Arlo Guthrie,
0:45:41 > 0:45:44and it celebrates a great train.
0:45:44 > 0:45:46It's called The City of New Orleans.
0:45:46 > 0:45:49It passes through the station in a few moments' time,
0:45:49 > 0:45:54and there's a concert where they're going to sing the song!
0:45:54 > 0:45:55APPLAUSE
0:45:58 > 0:46:03# Riding on the City Of New Orleans
0:46:03 > 0:46:06# Illinois Central... #
0:46:06 > 0:46:09- How are you?- I'm good, how you? How was your trip?
0:46:09 > 0:46:13- A very good trip so far, thank you very much.- Yeah?
0:46:13 > 0:46:17# Fifteen cars and fifteen restless riders
0:46:19 > 0:46:23# Three conductors and twenty-five sacks of grain
0:46:26 > 0:46:29# All along the southbound odyssey
0:46:29 > 0:46:32# The train pulls out at Kankakee
0:46:34 > 0:46:38# And rolls along past houses, farms and fields
0:46:39 > 0:46:45# Good morning, America, how are you?
0:46:46 > 0:46:51# Say don't you know me I'm your native son
0:46:53 > 0:46:58# I'm the train they call The City Of New Orleans
0:46:59 > 0:47:05# And I'll be gone five hundred miles when the day is done
0:47:15 > 0:47:20# Good morning, America, how are you?
0:47:22 > 0:47:27# I said don't you know me I'm your native son
0:47:29 > 0:47:34# I'm the train they call The City Of New Orleans
0:47:36 > 0:47:42# And I'll be gone five hundred miles when they day is done. #
0:47:42 > 0:47:43APPLAUSE
0:47:43 > 0:47:46Thank you!
0:47:58 > 0:48:01This morning I'm heading south towards Memphis, Tennessee.
0:48:10 > 0:48:13This is an enormous privilege,
0:48:13 > 0:48:17to be able to spend a moment or two in the cab of the Amtrak.
0:48:17 > 0:48:19And to be able to see for my own eyes
0:48:19 > 0:48:23that the Illinois Central was built through the prairies,
0:48:23 > 0:48:24straight as a die.
0:48:27 > 0:48:30More than a quarter of Amtrak's national routes
0:48:30 > 0:48:32pass through Illinois.
0:48:32 > 0:48:37This diesel-electric locomotive has a maximum speed of 110mph.
0:48:41 > 0:48:44My next stop will be Champaign, Illinois.
0:48:44 > 0:48:49The guidebook says that it's a rapidly-growing city of 5,000 inhabitants,
0:48:49 > 0:48:52at the intersection of the Indianapolis, Bloomington
0:48:52 > 0:48:54and Western Railroad.
0:48:54 > 0:48:57Clearly an important crossing point for railroads.
0:48:57 > 0:49:01And Champaign might be the place to raise a glass to the history of the
0:49:01 > 0:49:02Illinois Central.
0:49:05 > 0:49:08Ladies and gentlemen, we are now arriving in Champaign-Urbana.
0:49:08 > 0:49:11Champaign-Urbana will be our next stop.
0:49:11 > 0:49:17126 miles south of Chicago, Champaign was founded in 1855,
0:49:17 > 0:49:19when the Illinois Central Railroad
0:49:19 > 0:49:23laid its tracks two miles west of Urbana.
0:49:23 > 0:49:26By 1871, Champaign was a thriving commercial centre,
0:49:26 > 0:49:29with three railroads converging on the city.
0:49:29 > 0:49:3420 miles west at the Monticello Railway Museum, a heritage line,
0:49:34 > 0:49:38once owned by the Illinois Central, has been preserved.
0:49:38 > 0:49:40I'm going to ride on the footplate.
0:49:41 > 0:49:44There's no better way to understand railroad history
0:49:44 > 0:49:48than to ride on old tracks, with vintage rolling stock.
0:49:48 > 0:49:53Starting with this locomotive, a 280 from 1907.
0:49:57 > 0:50:00TRAIN HORN TOOTS
0:50:10 > 0:50:13People often talk about the smell of steam locomotives,
0:50:13 > 0:50:15what about the sound of them?
0:50:15 > 0:50:17TRAIN HORN TOOTS
0:50:18 > 0:50:20Particularly in America!
0:50:23 > 0:50:25Chartered in 1861,
0:50:25 > 0:50:28the Monticello Railroad Company was incorporated
0:50:28 > 0:50:31into the Illinois Central Railroad in 1902,
0:50:31 > 0:50:34at the height of its expansion.
0:50:34 > 0:50:38The museum and its locomotive are run by rail enthusiasts,
0:50:38 > 0:50:39like director John Sciutto.
0:50:41 > 0:50:43John, it's great to be on the footplate with you.
0:50:43 > 0:50:47- Nice to meet you.- Wonderful locomotive, 1907, I believe. Tell me about it.
0:50:47 > 0:50:49It was built in 1907 for the Southern Railway,
0:50:49 > 0:50:52it was last assigned to the Memphis Division,
0:50:52 > 0:50:55which ran between Sheffield, Alabama and Memphis.
0:50:55 > 0:50:58Did the museum have to do much work on the locomotive?
0:50:58 > 0:51:00At the time it was purchased by the Museum,
0:51:00 > 0:51:02it literally looked like a pile of scrap.
0:51:02 > 0:51:04This locomotive was completely rebuilt,
0:51:04 > 0:51:06took a period of about 15 calendar years.
0:51:11 > 0:51:16The engine runs on 7.5 miles of vintage track, bought by the Museum.
0:51:19 > 0:51:22And how do you feel, now that you can drive it on your own track?
0:51:22 > 0:51:24Oh, it's wonderful that we have this,
0:51:24 > 0:51:27not only a piece of history, running here in central Illinois,
0:51:27 > 0:51:31but it's been recognised worldwide for our restoration efforts.
0:51:34 > 0:51:37TRAIN HORN TOOTS
0:51:41 > 0:51:46I'm curious to know more about the creation of the Illinois Central
0:51:46 > 0:51:47as we head back.
0:51:49 > 0:51:52How was the railroad organised, politically speaking?
0:51:52 > 0:51:55Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A Douglas were key supporters
0:51:55 > 0:51:59of the original concept of pushing for land grant railroad
0:51:59 > 0:52:00through Illinois.
0:52:00 > 0:52:03The United States government owned the majority of the land in the
0:52:03 > 0:52:06territory of the state, at the time.
0:52:06 > 0:52:09And they basically gave the land to the railroad,
0:52:09 > 0:52:13and the railroad in turn then sold off parcels to towns,
0:52:13 > 0:52:17farmers and people that were developing along the railroad,
0:52:17 > 0:52:19and then that money helped fund the railroad itself.
0:52:19 > 0:52:21What did the railroad get out of it?
0:52:21 > 0:52:23The railroad in turn received
0:52:23 > 0:52:27all the freight traffic and passenger traffic.
0:52:27 > 0:52:30Stephen Douglas was an Illinois Senator,
0:52:30 > 0:52:33who together with Senator William King from Alabama,
0:52:33 > 0:52:37steered the first Land Grant Act through Congress.
0:52:37 > 0:52:39The Act secured 2.5 million acres of federal land
0:52:39 > 0:52:42for the State of Illinois to sell,
0:52:42 > 0:52:46thereby raising finance to build a railroad.
0:52:46 > 0:52:49The Illinois Central was the first land grant railroad,
0:52:49 > 0:52:52and paved the way for many more to follow.
0:52:52 > 0:52:55The Illinois Central Railroad was very unique and key,
0:52:55 > 0:52:58that it was not only the longest railroad in the world at the time,
0:52:58 > 0:52:59but where other railroads were east and west,
0:52:59 > 0:53:02the Illinois Central was north and south, geographically.
0:53:02 > 0:53:06So naturally, it was a conduit for folks, especially in southern states,
0:53:06 > 0:53:09that wanted to move to the free states of the north,
0:53:09 > 0:53:12that they were transported from commerce areas such as New Orleans,
0:53:12 > 0:53:16to the commercial and growing areas of the north, particularly Chicago, Illinois.
0:53:16 > 0:53:19And did that intensify after the abolition of slavery?
0:53:19 > 0:53:21Absolutely. All the free slaves,
0:53:21 > 0:53:24and folks that wanted to better themselves,
0:53:24 > 0:53:27a lot of them migrated to the north via the Illinois Central Railroad.
0:53:27 > 0:53:32- And Chicago in particular? - And Chicago in particular.
0:53:32 > 0:53:36The Illinois Central was greatly indebted to a young lawyer,
0:53:36 > 0:53:38Abraham Lincoln,
0:53:38 > 0:53:42who defended the railroad in some 50 cases during the 1850s.
0:53:45 > 0:53:49I'm returning to central Champaign, to visit the University of Illinois,
0:53:49 > 0:53:54which for over a century has been at the cutting edge of rail research.
0:53:55 > 0:54:00Appleton says of Champaign, that it has a female academy,
0:54:00 > 0:54:04and that its schools are large and well-connected.
0:54:04 > 0:54:08In a town that largely owes its existence to the railways,
0:54:08 > 0:54:11I'd like to know what track education has taken since.
0:54:13 > 0:54:16We've had railways now for 200 years,
0:54:16 > 0:54:18but there are always more refinements to be made.
0:54:20 > 0:54:23I'm keen to find out the latest from Dr Chris Barkan,
0:54:23 > 0:54:25Director of Rail Tech.
0:54:25 > 0:54:27- Chris.- Hello.
0:54:27 > 0:54:29My 19th century guidebook tells me
0:54:29 > 0:54:32that this was an area of institutions,
0:54:32 > 0:54:35of education, and of course it's a railway station.
0:54:35 > 0:54:37Somehow the two have come together.
0:54:37 > 0:54:42Yes, well, the university was the result of President Lincoln signing the Moral Act in 1862,
0:54:42 > 0:54:47which led to the formation of land grant universities throughout the United States.
0:54:47 > 0:54:50How do you think it is that the university finds its way into rail?
0:54:50 > 0:54:54Well, of course, railroads were rapidly being built in the second half of the 19th century,
0:54:54 > 0:54:58and the first knowledge I have of a rail programme around here was when
0:54:58 > 0:55:02Professor Talbot started his work, I would say in the late 1880s,
0:55:02 > 0:55:03or early 1890s.
0:55:05 > 0:55:09Arthur Talbot was a brilliant civil engineering student here
0:55:09 > 0:55:11during the late 1870s.
0:55:11 > 0:55:12He became a professor
0:55:12 > 0:55:15and his work on the design and construction of track
0:55:15 > 0:55:18remains fundamental today.
0:55:18 > 0:55:19By the beginning of the 20th century,
0:55:19 > 0:55:24we were very clearly established as a substantial railway engineering department.
0:55:24 > 0:55:27Nowadays, what are the sorts of issues you're dealing with?
0:55:27 > 0:55:29We obviously want to continue to improve safety,
0:55:29 > 0:55:32to prevent derailments and collisions.
0:55:32 > 0:55:34And if we're going to mix high-efficiency freight trains,
0:55:34 > 0:55:37and high-speed, reliable passenger trains on the same infrastructure,
0:55:37 > 0:55:39we have to be particularly careful about this.
0:55:42 > 0:55:44Building on the work of Professor Talbot,
0:55:44 > 0:55:48Riley Edwards is researching how track structure
0:55:48 > 0:55:50is affected by today's trains.
0:55:52 > 0:55:54- Hello, Riley!- Hello, Michael.
0:55:54 > 0:55:57- Good to see you.- Welcome to the track loading system.
0:55:57 > 0:55:59What can we lend a hand with?
0:55:59 > 0:56:04So, the task today is adhering some special gauges to the track,
0:56:04 > 0:56:07that allow us to measure what the loads are, that go onto the track structure.
0:56:07 > 0:56:10So this process is going to be led by graduate research assistant Aaron Cook.
0:56:10 > 0:56:12He's involved in putting these gauges on.
0:56:12 > 0:56:14- Nice to meet you.- Hello, Aaron.
0:56:14 > 0:56:15So you actually do this out on the tracks?
0:56:15 > 0:56:17Yes. We install it under traffic,
0:56:17 > 0:56:21which means we have flagmen out on the line protecting us,
0:56:21 > 0:56:24warning us when there's a train coming, and we clear up,
0:56:24 > 0:56:25let the train pass, then get back to work.
0:56:29 > 0:56:32I'm getting down to a little layer under the top of the metal,
0:56:32 > 0:56:37giving us a nice clean surface on which to attach the gauge.
0:56:39 > 0:56:41So, the first step, we've got this track welder.
0:56:41 > 0:56:43All it does is it puts a large current through.
0:56:43 > 0:56:46That current will melt the tiny bit of the metal on this gauge, here.
0:56:46 > 0:56:48And this gauge has got a bunch of little wires
0:56:48 > 0:56:50that run inside it back and forth.
0:56:50 > 0:56:51What it does is it measures
0:56:51 > 0:56:54how much things move as loads go across them.
0:56:54 > 0:56:56It changes its resistance, and we measure that resistance.
0:56:56 > 0:56:59We know how much the rail is pushed on by the wheel.
0:56:59 > 0:57:02That is clever. So the gauge down here on the side,
0:57:02 > 0:57:04below the top part of the rail,
0:57:04 > 0:57:06is nonetheless going to record what is happening,
0:57:06 > 0:57:08what's pressing down on there, and to what extent.
0:57:14 > 0:57:17So, we could reasonably expect to do that in ten minutes,
0:57:17 > 0:57:18before the next train comes?
0:57:18 > 0:57:21Not all of that. We usually pull off and go back on several times by this
0:57:21 > 0:57:23- point in the process.- I'm relieved,
0:57:23 > 0:57:25because it was taking me quite a long time!
0:57:25 > 0:57:28Well, I'm very, very grateful to you, and good luck with the work.
0:57:28 > 0:57:29Thank you.
0:57:45 > 0:57:48Chicago owed much of its greatness to railroads,
0:57:48 > 0:57:51including the Illinois Central.
0:57:51 > 0:57:55Two Illinois politicians played a vital role in bringing in the railroads,
0:57:55 > 0:57:58Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln.
0:57:58 > 0:58:01The rapid development of the railroads was demonstrated
0:58:01 > 0:58:03when, in 1865,
0:58:03 > 0:58:08Abraham Lincoln was able to return home from Washington by train.
0:58:08 > 0:58:10In his coffin.
0:58:16 > 0:58:20Next time, I test my frontier resolve...
0:58:20 > 0:58:24Abraham Lincoln split rails, and then, the United States.
0:58:24 > 0:58:27..unearth Illinois' elixir of life...
0:58:27 > 0:58:29I'm making apple butter.
0:58:29 > 0:58:31It makes you young and good-looking, Michael!
0:58:31 > 0:58:34..get my ducks in a row...
0:58:36 > 0:58:37There they go.
0:58:37 > 0:58:38Don't let 'em get away!
0:58:38 > 0:58:41I think this is the bizarrest thing I've ever been involved in.
0:58:42 > 0:58:45..and get a dose of the blues.