0:00:02 > 0:00:06I have crossed the Atlantic to ride the railroads of North America
0:00:06 > 0:00:10with my faithful Appleton's guide.
0:00:11 > 0:00:13Published in the late 19th century,
0:00:13 > 0:00:18it will direct me to everything that's novel, beautiful,
0:00:18 > 0:00:21memorable and curious
0:00:21 > 0:00:24- in the United States. ALL:- Yee-ha!
0:00:26 > 0:00:30As I travel through this vast continent, I'll discover gold
0:00:30 > 0:00:36and silver, movies and microchips, oil and oranges,
0:00:36 > 0:00:39and learn how America's most famous railroad
0:00:39 > 0:00:42conquered the wild landscapes of the West.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29I have begun another American railway adventure,
0:01:29 > 0:01:33that begins at the daunting Sierra Nevada mountains,
0:01:33 > 0:01:37then along the coast of California down towards the Mexican border.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41My Appleton's records that on May the 12th 1869,
0:01:41 > 0:01:45the railroad communication from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean
0:01:45 > 0:01:51was opened. A truly epic event that brought together for the first time
0:01:51 > 0:01:52all of the United States,
0:01:52 > 0:01:56unleashing the country's awesome economic power.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59My journey will be the story of California,
0:01:59 > 0:02:02a state that has transformed the world,
0:02:02 > 0:02:06from gold and silver to Hollywood and Silicon Valley.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13My route will take me from Reno
0:02:13 > 0:02:16in the state of Nevada over the mountains into California,
0:02:16 > 0:02:19through the vineyards of the Napa Valley
0:02:19 > 0:02:23to the home of the hippie, San Francisco.
0:02:23 > 0:02:25From there, I'll detour inland
0:02:25 > 0:02:27to enjoy the natural wonders of Yosemite National Park.
0:02:27 > 0:02:32Heading south along the Pacific coast,
0:02:32 > 0:02:35I'll visit Monterey and San Luis Obispo
0:02:35 > 0:02:38on my way to he City of Dreams, Los Angeles.
0:02:38 > 0:02:43My last stop, close to the Mexican border, will be San Diego.
0:02:43 > 0:02:44On this leg,
0:02:44 > 0:02:47I will start in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains.
0:02:47 > 0:02:52I'll explore Lake Tahoe and the old mining town of Virginia City.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55From there, I'll cross into California to Truckee,
0:02:55 > 0:02:58to explore an astonishing feat of railroad engineering,
0:02:58 > 0:03:03before finishing my journey just outside Colfax.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05On my travels, I'll discover
0:03:05 > 0:03:08the dangers of America's toughest railroad tunnel...
0:03:08 > 0:03:11They would light the fuse and they would run like crazy.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13..uncover the story of the Silver State...
0:03:13 > 0:03:17It was at one time known as the richest place on Earth.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21..and get in touch with my inner cowboy.
0:03:21 > 0:03:23Come on!
0:03:23 > 0:03:25Use your legs, not your butt!
0:03:39 > 0:03:42I'm alighting in the city of Reno,
0:03:42 > 0:03:45Nevada's second biggest tourist destination.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48Since the state legalised gambling in the 1930s,
0:03:48 > 0:03:51it's been famous for its casinos.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54And at over 4,000 feet above sea level,
0:03:54 > 0:03:58it sits at the base of the stunning Sierra Nevada mountains.
0:04:00 > 0:04:05Stretching more than 250 miles from Northern to Southern California and
0:04:05 > 0:04:09east into Nevada, they are home to four National Parks,
0:04:09 > 0:04:12and rise to over 14,000 feet.
0:04:14 > 0:04:18The Sierra Nevada - the Spanish means the snowy mountain range -
0:04:18 > 0:04:21is known to be one of the wonders of the United States.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24And a sight that I've always wanted to see.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27And I have a feeling that the best view
0:04:27 > 0:04:29is going to be up close to the peaks.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33And off we go!
0:04:33 > 0:04:37The mountains are opening up before us, what a sight, what a sight.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40It must be gorgeous in the snow.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43It is. Just imagine all this just white.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46There's something about helicopters, you get all the freedom you want,
0:04:46 > 0:04:49- you can land wherever you want. - Amazing manoeuvrability.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52Yes. So, it's right in front of us there.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56You see that big peak that looks like a pyramid all the way at the
0:04:56 > 0:04:59- back that?- Yes.- That is Pyramid Peak, it's 10,000 feet.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01I guess you fly this every day
0:05:01 > 0:05:03and you're still impressed by the beauty.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06Yes. This is definitely the best place I've ever flown,
0:05:06 > 0:05:07that's for sure.
0:05:10 > 0:05:16Appleton's describes the Sierra Nevada as indescribably beautiful
0:05:16 > 0:05:21and impressive. And indeed they are spectacular and majestic mountains.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25Imagine how they looked to those people
0:05:25 > 0:05:28who had to blast through the rock
0:05:28 > 0:05:32to create the Transcontinental railroad in the 1860s.
0:05:32 > 0:05:39The Sierra Nevada was a barrier of rock and ice dividing the continent,
0:05:39 > 0:05:44defying the United States' manifest destiny to be complete
0:05:44 > 0:05:49from Atlantic to Pacific. An obstacle that had to be overcome.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59One last pirouette, and we're down.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09In the Sierra's Northern range,
0:06:09 > 0:06:12straddling the border of Nevada and California,
0:06:12 > 0:06:15lies America's largest alpine lake.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19What a marvellous sight. Lake Tahoe.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22Appleton's says it's about 30 miles long and 15 miles wide,
0:06:22 > 0:06:246,000 feet above the sea.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27Surrounded by snow-capped mountains.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31Marvellously clear water to a depth of over 1,600 feet.
0:06:31 > 0:06:36Small steamers circumnavigating the lake enable its exquisite scenery to
0:06:36 > 0:06:42be viewed. By Appleton's time, this had become a resort destination.
0:06:42 > 0:06:46But it was once a harsh, inhospitable wilderness.
0:06:46 > 0:06:50Author Mark McLaughlin has written about the history of the lake.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54- Mark, hello, I'm Michael.- Pleasure. - What a beautiful spot.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58Who was the first white American to see Lake Tahoe?
0:06:58 > 0:07:01A topographical engineer named John C Fremont.
0:07:01 > 0:07:06He was a trained geologist, meteorologist, botanist,
0:07:06 > 0:07:08cartographer, had all the skillsets.
0:07:08 > 0:07:11He has a couple of principal things he's trying to do.
0:07:11 > 0:07:12One was to get an idea
0:07:12 > 0:07:16of the feasibility of building a transcontinental railroad,
0:07:16 > 0:07:18and there was also this mythical river,
0:07:18 > 0:07:21called the River San Buenaventura.
0:07:21 > 0:07:23And this river meandered its way west,
0:07:23 > 0:07:27and there were no Sierra Nevada mountains to block it
0:07:27 > 0:07:30on these early maps because the information was so sparse.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33And this river would ultimately reach to the West Coast.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36- But that turned out to be a myth? - That turned out to be a myth,
0:07:36 > 0:07:40and that was one of the things that John was able to prove.
0:07:40 > 0:07:44John Charles Fremont set out from St Louis, Missouri,
0:07:44 > 0:07:48in the spring of 1843 to explore the Pacific Northwest.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52He hand-picked his team of around 40 men,
0:07:52 > 0:07:55including the renowned mountain guide Kit Carson.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58Was it a difficult journey for Fremont?
0:07:58 > 0:08:02Absolutely. It was the end of his trip that became the hardest,
0:08:02 > 0:08:06when he had to cross the Sierra Nevada in the dead of winter
0:08:06 > 0:08:11of 1844. They had problems with lack of food, snow blindness, and, of
0:08:11 > 0:08:16course, snowstorms, but they keep plodding through and the lead man
0:08:16 > 0:08:20had to take turns taking these wooden mallets and busting
0:08:20 > 0:08:23down the snow, and finally it's in the middle of February,
0:08:23 > 0:08:26John Fremont and a German cartographer
0:08:26 > 0:08:30climb up to the top of a peak. They look to the north,
0:08:30 > 0:08:35and we credit these two with being the first European-descent people
0:08:35 > 0:08:37to set eyes on Lake Tahoe.
0:08:37 > 0:08:42And miraculously, all of these men survived to get into California.
0:08:46 > 0:08:51The Fremont expedition's findings produced the first scientific maps
0:08:51 > 0:08:54of the West. Having led five expeditions,
0:08:54 > 0:08:57he was hailed as a pre-eminent explorer,
0:08:57 > 0:08:59and became known as the Pathfinder.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03From a position where the Sierra Nevada doesn't appear on the map,
0:09:03 > 0:09:05they soon discover that it's very, very real.
0:09:05 > 0:09:07How big a barrier did it represent?
0:09:07 > 0:09:14The Sierra Nevada are a very impressive barrier to both East
0:09:14 > 0:09:17and West travel. But in this era of the 19th century,
0:09:17 > 0:09:21the Americans were destined to take over all the way to the Pacific.
0:09:21 > 0:09:27So we're going to try to inspire families to get in wagons and come
0:09:27 > 0:09:28to settle this far distant land.
0:09:28 > 0:09:32The first covered wagons came through the area just seven months
0:09:32 > 0:09:36after John Fremont came through, putting the final piece together,
0:09:36 > 0:09:40where we can cross up and get over the mountains.
0:09:48 > 0:09:52A decade after California celebrated the gold rush,
0:09:52 > 0:09:54Nevada was dubbed the Silver State,
0:09:54 > 0:09:57when huge deposits were discovered here.
0:09:57 > 0:10:02Appleton's tells me that the Virginia and Truckee railroad runs
0:10:02 > 0:10:07from Carson City to Virginia City in the great Nevada mining region.
0:10:07 > 0:10:12At one time, such was the demand from the silver and gold mines
0:10:12 > 0:10:16at Virginia City for timber and other materials, and such was
0:10:16 > 0:10:20the production, that there were 30-45 trains per day.
0:10:20 > 0:10:28No longer. But at least some still run.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35Work on the line began in 1869.
0:10:35 > 0:10:40And it connected the area's booming mines to the Transcontinental
0:10:40 > 0:10:42railroad, and a new depot in Reno.
0:10:44 > 0:10:50The line was closed in 1950, but has been revived by enthusiasts.
0:10:50 > 0:10:55Moving through this extraordinary parched landscape of yellows and
0:10:55 > 0:10:59ochres and browns, my destination is Virginia City,
0:10:59 > 0:11:04which Appleton's tells me is built over the famous Comstock Lode,
0:11:04 > 0:11:08which, since the date of its discovery in 1859,
0:11:08 > 0:11:15has produced in gold and silver about 500 million worth in money of
0:11:15 > 0:11:21the day, and is now yielding about 4 million per annum.
0:11:21 > 0:11:25Virginia City has a population of 12,000 inhabitants,
0:11:25 > 0:11:29about one-fifth of whom are usually underground.
0:11:29 > 0:11:35And I'm going there to find out what is left of that mining heritage.
0:11:43 > 0:11:46On the southern edge of town is Chollar Mine.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50Joe Curtice is a director of the Comstock foundation,
0:11:50 > 0:11:53which aims to preserve the historic legacy.
0:11:53 > 0:11:55Hello, Joe!
0:11:55 > 0:11:56- How are you?- I'm Michael.
0:11:56 > 0:11:59- Nice to see you, Michael. - Great pleasure to be here.
0:11:59 > 0:12:01- All right.- I've been reading my guidebook,
0:12:01 > 0:12:03which tells me about the Comstock Lode.
0:12:03 > 0:12:08- What was that?- The Comstock Lode is a body of gold and silver ore,
0:12:08 > 0:12:13a body of ore that was about 600 feet wide and about 3.5 miles long.
0:12:13 > 0:12:16So you've got gold and silver mixed together in this ore?
0:12:16 > 0:12:21Correct. Silver was what was primarily taken out of the area.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24What was the scale of this thing? How many mines like this would there
0:12:24 > 0:12:28- have been?- Oh, wow... There is considered to be underground,
0:12:28 > 0:12:31below us, about 700 miles of tunnels.
0:12:31 > 0:12:36There were probably 150 mines, as well as another 100 or so mills
0:12:36 > 0:12:38that were processing those gold
0:12:38 > 0:12:42and silver ores between the period of 1859-1885.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44This was obviously a major industrial operation.
0:12:44 > 0:12:47Absolutely. It became a corporate environment,
0:12:47 > 0:12:51owned primarily by the Bank of California,
0:12:51 > 0:12:53which today is the Bank of America.
0:12:53 > 0:12:58It was at one time known as the richest place on Earth.
0:12:58 > 0:13:02The Comstock Lode was the first major silver strike
0:13:02 > 0:13:07on American soil. Virginia City became an important political
0:13:07 > 0:13:08and financial centre,
0:13:08 > 0:13:11with some mining bosses hailed as "silver kings".
0:13:11 > 0:13:15Immigrants headed to Nevada for a piece of the action.
0:13:15 > 0:13:20It built Virginia City from a community of 300-400 people
0:13:20 > 0:13:24to upwards of 20,000 people. And many of these people were Cornish,
0:13:24 > 0:13:28because these were the people that knew how to mine things underground.
0:13:28 > 0:13:32Did it progress from being a sort of rough and tumble place to being quite a sophisticated town?
0:13:32 > 0:13:35Absolutely. Once the railroad came through, you could buy
0:13:35 > 0:13:39the best of anything here, the finest of foods, champagne, oysters.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43The women's millinery stores had the finest of clothing from Paris.
0:13:43 > 0:13:45There were opera houses.
0:13:45 > 0:13:50The most famous entertainers of the day would appear here on their way
0:13:50 > 0:13:53from the East to San Francisco or vice versa.
0:13:53 > 0:13:58By the late 1870s, mines on the Comstock were less productive.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01And in Virginia City, unemployment rose.
0:14:01 > 0:14:03A lot of the workforce left.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06As it did wane to some degree,
0:14:06 > 0:14:10then there were other gold finds in other parts of the state that people
0:14:10 > 0:14:15headed up and took off to go and explore, and they didn't return.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18So the mining never really came back after that.
0:14:21 > 0:14:25Chollar Mine was one of Virginia City's most successful.
0:14:25 > 0:14:31Miners blasted out some 17 million worth of silver and gold from these
0:14:31 > 0:14:37tunnels. I'm keen to see what it was like to work deep in these hills.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39I've picked my way along the tunnel,
0:14:39 > 0:14:41bent double because of the low ceiling.
0:14:41 > 0:14:46And despite the dry climate, my boots have been in mud all the way.
0:14:46 > 0:14:47Not pleasant conditions.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51Extraordinary to think that little tunnels like this,
0:14:51 > 0:14:55many hundreds of them, transformed not only Virginia City,
0:14:55 > 0:14:58the State of Nevada, the United States, but the world,
0:14:58 > 0:15:03because of this enormous influx of gold and silver.
0:15:03 > 0:15:07And it was all down to this grey rock here.
0:15:07 > 0:15:12This enormous deposit of ore. The Comstock Lode.
0:15:18 > 0:15:22Today, Virginia City is home to fewer than 1,000 people.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25But there are still reminders of its prosperous past.
0:15:25 > 0:15:31These boardwalks will have seen many a loaded miner making whoopee
0:15:31 > 0:15:33on his day of rest.
0:15:33 > 0:15:34I like Virginia City.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36It feels real.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39I mean, I know it attracts lots of tourists,
0:15:39 > 0:15:41but they've left the shabbiness in place,
0:15:41 > 0:15:47and so it has a certain authenticity that most visitor-magnets don't.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57- Good evening.- Would it be possible to have a beer, please?
0:15:57 > 0:15:59- Oh, of course.- Thank you very much.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02Wow! What is that thing on the wall there?
0:16:02 > 0:16:05That's a portrait of the Silver Queen.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08She was one of the owners, and it was done as a tribute to the miners.
0:16:08 > 0:16:10One silver dollar for every foot of the deepest mine.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13It was 3,261 feet deep.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15Her dress is actually made out of silver coins?
0:16:15 > 0:16:17- Silver dollars, yeah.- Wow!
0:16:17 > 0:16:21I can't help noticing that you are wearing a pistol in a holster.
0:16:21 > 0:16:25That's for rattlesnakes, coyotes, and sometimes two-legged critters!
0:16:26 > 0:16:29I hope I'm not one of those two-legged critters!
0:16:29 > 0:16:32- And what name do you go by, Sir? - Reverend James.- Reverend James.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34They call me the Pistol-Packing Preacher.
0:16:34 > 0:16:38- The Pistol-Packing Preacher.- I am a licensed, ordained minister, yes.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40And you perform your weddings dressed like that?
0:16:40 > 0:16:42Oh, yes. I can marry you or bury you.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46- You serve a very good beer. Thank you.- You're welcome.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03This morning at Reno, I'm continuing my journey,
0:17:03 > 0:17:07crossing the border into California, through the northern range
0:17:07 > 0:17:09of the Sierra Nevada.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18Appleton's records this ecstatic reaction
0:17:18 > 0:17:20to this part of the journey.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24"A grander or more exhilarating ride than this you cannot find
0:17:24 > 0:17:28"in the world. You sit in an open car at the end of the train,
0:17:28 > 0:17:30"and the roar of the wind,
0:17:30 > 0:17:35"the rush and vehement impetus of the train and the whirl
0:17:35 > 0:17:39"around curves past the edge of deep chasms, among forests
0:17:39 > 0:17:42"of magnificent trees fill you with excitement, wonder and delight."
0:17:42 > 0:17:46I rather lament the comfort of the modern-day observation car.
0:17:54 > 0:17:59These mountains were the biggest obstacle facing railroad engineers
0:17:59 > 0:18:01and navvies, as they battled
0:18:01 > 0:18:04to unite this country from coast to coast.
0:18:08 > 0:18:13You may think that I obsess about the role of railways in history.
0:18:13 > 0:18:18But really the importance of the Transcontinental railroad
0:18:18 > 0:18:22cannot be overstated. Suddenly the gold of California,
0:18:22 > 0:18:26the industry of the Midwest, the cattle of the south and south west
0:18:26 > 0:18:28and the bankers of New York
0:18:28 > 0:18:31were brought together in one vast economy,
0:18:31 > 0:18:35whose energy and enterprise eclipsed the rest the world.
0:18:42 > 0:18:45- Thank you.- Bye-bye now. - Have a safe journey.- Thank you.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51I'm stopping at the mountain town of Truckee. In the 1860s,
0:18:51 > 0:18:55it was an important centre for the Central Pacific Railroad,
0:18:55 > 0:18:59which built the western stretch of the Transcontinental line.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16About nine miles out of town is the Donner Pass,
0:19:16 > 0:19:21where railroad builders faced their highest and most formidable test.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25I'm meeting Phil Sexton from California's State Parks.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27Phil, an extraordinary view, absolutely beautiful.
0:19:27 > 0:19:30What was the challenge for the railroad builder here?
0:19:30 > 0:19:33Most sane people didn't believe that a railroad could be built
0:19:33 > 0:19:35over a 7,000-foot-high mountain range.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38And the people who built the Central Pacific Railroad had never built
0:19:38 > 0:19:41a railroad before. So they really didn't know it couldn't be done.
0:19:41 > 0:19:46- Who was the genius behind this idea? - It was a man named Theodore Judah,
0:19:46 > 0:19:49who came to California from the eastern United States in the 1850s
0:19:49 > 0:19:52to build the first railroad in California.
0:19:52 > 0:19:53People referred to him as Crazy Judah,
0:19:53 > 0:19:56because all he would talk about is the railroad. He, like many others,
0:19:56 > 0:19:59had dreamt of a Pacific Railroad to connect kind of the island of
0:19:59 > 0:20:03California, way across the vast interior of the continent,
0:20:03 > 0:20:05to the United States, which was east of the Missouri River.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09He surveyed numerous routes and finally came up with the route that
0:20:09 > 0:20:12we now call the Donner Pass route, where the railroad is today.
0:20:12 > 0:20:14When Judah settles upon this route,
0:20:14 > 0:20:16do other people think that it's possible?
0:20:16 > 0:20:18This was not an unknown area.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21Many immigrants had come to California over this very pass.
0:20:21 > 0:20:24But it's very treacherous, it's very high elevation, it's extremely cold,
0:20:24 > 0:20:28with some of the deepest snow in North America in the winter,
0:20:28 > 0:20:31and very dry, hot conditions in the summer.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34But you also have an engineering challenge of getting a railroad
0:20:34 > 0:20:38that can only run at a 2% grade. That's two feet per 100 feet,
0:20:38 > 0:20:39from basically sea level
0:20:39 > 0:20:42over a 7000-foot mountain range at about 70 miles.
0:20:42 > 0:20:46- What about the money?- He attracted the attention of four Sacramento
0:20:46 > 0:20:49merchants. Mark Hopkins, Collis P Huntington,
0:20:49 > 0:20:51Leland Stanford and Charles Crocker.
0:20:51 > 0:20:55They were all mid-size upper-middle-class merchants,
0:20:55 > 0:20:59who had never done anything of this scale, but they had dreams.
0:20:59 > 0:21:04Judah's backers set up the Central Pacific Railroad in 1861 and became
0:21:04 > 0:21:07known as the Big Four.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10With the money in place and with the support of President Lincoln,
0:21:10 > 0:21:15who signed the Pacific Railway Act, the project began in 1863.
0:21:16 > 0:21:19Now, this wasn't built by financiers.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22- Who did build it? - Primarily Chinese labour.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26We hear anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 workers, and there are several reasons for that.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28Many white Americans had gone to fight in the Civil War.
0:21:28 > 0:21:32But also, just east of us in Nevada, there was a silver strike,
0:21:32 > 0:21:34and many people were back there to make their fortunes.
0:21:34 > 0:21:37They reached out to Chinese because they really had no rights,
0:21:37 > 0:21:40so they were easy to exploit, to be honest with you.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43And so this wall, would that have been the work of Chinese labourers?
0:21:43 > 0:21:45Oh, absolutely. In fact, it's called China Wall.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49And it's a remarkable thing, because it is a dry-laid,
0:21:49 > 0:21:5075-foot-tall stone wall.
0:21:50 > 0:21:54There was no mortar or chemical bonds that hold the rocks together,
0:21:54 > 0:21:57they are mechanically intertwined like a jigsaw puzzle.
0:21:57 > 0:22:00And for 130 years, that jigsaw puzzle supported
0:22:00 > 0:22:03the weight of every train that crossed Donner Pass.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07On the east of China Wall lies Tunnel Six.
0:22:07 > 0:22:12At 7,000 feet, it sits on the highest point of the railroad,
0:22:12 > 0:22:17and was the largest of its kind attempted in the United States.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20The last train ran here in 1993,
0:22:20 > 0:22:23when the old infrastructure was replaced.
0:22:24 > 0:22:29Phil, the tunnel is a colossal bit of work. Tell me about how they made it.
0:22:29 > 0:22:33The building of the railroad overall was America's great engineering achievement of the 19th century.
0:22:33 > 0:22:37This tunnel is probably THE engineering achievement of that
0:22:37 > 0:22:40entire project. This was the longest railroad tunnel in the world,
0:22:40 > 0:22:43it was the highest elevation railroad tunnel in the world.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46This is a 1,654-foot bore through solid granite.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50The tunnel, like the other tunnels on this part of the railroad, were built by hand.
0:22:50 > 0:22:55You take a rock drill, which is a piece of iron or steel with a sharpened bit on the end.
0:22:55 > 0:22:59You use a hammer and you turn it by hand and you drill a 4-5 foot hole in the rock.
0:22:59 > 0:23:01They would fill that hole with the black powder,
0:23:01 > 0:23:03they would light the fuse and they would run like crazy.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05And this was such tough work
0:23:05 > 0:23:09that the average forward progress was 8-12 inches per day.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11The Chinese labourers, how did they fare?
0:23:11 > 0:23:16There were lots of accidents, there were lots of deaths, even due to exposure in the weather.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18Work continued up here 12 months per year.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21We know of stories of an entire barracks for instance that was
0:23:21 > 0:23:23swept off the side of the mountain in an avalanche one winter.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26There were fatalities from explosions and misfires
0:23:26 > 0:23:29of the black powder and the nitroglycerin used in this.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32It astounds me to come in here and just think of how difficult
0:23:32 > 0:23:34this work process would have been,
0:23:34 > 0:23:37done by people who did not know the language, who were in
0:23:37 > 0:23:40a totally alien environment, and yet somehow they persevered.
0:23:40 > 0:23:42And what is the significance of this railroad, do you think,
0:23:42 > 0:23:44to the United States?
0:23:44 > 0:23:48It made transportation for people and for heavy goods inexpensive
0:23:48 > 0:23:51and reliable and fast. So it put the country in motion.
0:23:58 > 0:24:01From Truckee Station, the railway heads west,
0:24:01 > 0:24:05following the original Central Pacific route to Colfax.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19I've dwelled on the significance of the railroad,
0:24:19 > 0:24:23supposedly known by some Native Americans as the Iron Horse.
0:24:23 > 0:24:27But in truth, America had developed enormously before the first
0:24:27 > 0:24:32locomotive, by harnessing the power of the force of nature.
0:24:32 > 0:24:34It's time for me to pay tribute
0:24:34 > 0:24:37to the horse that's made of flesh and blood.
0:24:45 > 0:24:50Just outside this small rural town, at Wolf Creek Ranch,
0:24:50 > 0:24:55I'm told they've elevated classic horsemanship to the level of art,
0:24:55 > 0:24:58teaching something they call cowboy dressage.
0:24:58 > 0:24:59This, I have to see.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04- Hello, Eitan. Hi. I'm Michael. - Michael, hello.- Good to see you.
0:25:04 > 0:25:06- How are you?- Nice seeing you. - Beautiful horses.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09You look like a little gentleman from England.
0:25:09 > 0:25:12- Why don't you try that?- Ah!
0:25:12 > 0:25:15Wow, that is a hat! So, what is cowboy dressage?
0:25:15 > 0:25:21Cowboy dressage is a blend between the old tradition of dressage
0:25:21 > 0:25:24and the classical riding of the western cowboy.
0:25:24 > 0:25:29Award-winning horseman Eitan Beth-Halachmy began riding as a boy
0:25:29 > 0:25:31in his native Israel.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34He's been teaching for the last nine years.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40- Hi, I'm Michael. - Hi, I'm Jenny.- Good to see you.
0:25:40 > 0:25:42How long have you been riding cowboy dressage?
0:25:42 > 0:25:45- About two years.- How are you telling the horse what to do?
0:25:45 > 0:25:49It's a combination of the legs, hands, voice, there's a lot to it,
0:25:49 > 0:25:52- it's not just one or two things. - In the show ring,
0:25:52 > 0:25:56this afternoon's class is putting horse and rider through their paces.
0:25:56 > 0:25:58Continue working jog.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01See, turn left.
0:26:01 > 0:26:03What are we looking at in cowboy dressage?
0:26:03 > 0:26:05We're looking at the gait.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08The gait of the horse we use in cowboy dressage is a walk,
0:26:08 > 0:26:13a jog and a lope. If you go back to the dressage, they have the walk,
0:26:13 > 0:26:15the trot and the canter.
0:26:15 > 0:26:20The cowboy prefer a smooth gait that they can cross the desert, rather
0:26:20 > 0:26:22than one that has a lot of motion.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24A to S, free walk.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27The dressage goes back hundreds of years.
0:26:27 > 0:26:31But those days, people used to train horses to go to a war.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34This kind of precision was something that was demanded in the first place
0:26:34 > 0:26:36- by the military.- That's correct.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39What we're looking for is more for partnership.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42I don't ever think that there is such a thing as a perfect horse,
0:26:42 > 0:26:47because you're always going to have something else that you can improve.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50- Big step.- Swing my leg over.
0:26:50 > 0:26:52You look like you were born a cowboy!
0:26:53 > 0:26:57- One hand on the right, one hand on the left.- Like that? OK, let's go.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59Gentle squeeze with your legs.
0:26:59 > 0:27:01- Come on, let's go.- Come on.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07Use your legs, not your butt!
0:27:07 > 0:27:09That's got it!
0:27:09 > 0:27:10Around we go.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14- It's nice.- I'm enjoying it.- Why not?
0:27:15 > 0:27:18If you're going to be taught to ride, find an expert,
0:27:18 > 0:27:19not some cowboy!
0:27:30 > 0:27:35The original American colonies were founded on puritanical beliefs that
0:27:35 > 0:27:39the worship of God and hard work were the routes to salvation.
0:27:39 > 0:27:43But as the United States expanded over deserts and sierras,
0:27:43 > 0:27:46more buccaneering qualities were needed.
0:27:46 > 0:27:49Ambition, courage and greed.
0:27:49 > 0:27:54And with the silver and gold rushes, money became an alternative deity.
0:27:54 > 0:27:59When you remember how tough the Americans had to be to settle this
0:27:59 > 0:28:02forbidding land from ocean to ocean,
0:28:02 > 0:28:07you glimpse the origins of that freewheeling entrepreneurial spirit
0:28:07 > 0:28:09that made this country a global superpower.
0:28:19 > 0:28:22Next time, I try my luck prospecting...
0:28:22 > 0:28:26- There's stuff shining here as well. - Oh, that's fool's gold!- Fool's gold.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30..discover what entertained miners...
0:28:31 > 0:28:33Bravo!
0:28:33 > 0:28:36..and marvel at America's sweet tooth.
0:28:36 > 0:28:39We make 15 billion jelly beans every year,
0:28:39 > 0:28:41with over 100 different flavours.