Sacramento to Napa Valley Great American Railroad Journeys

I have crossed the Atlantic to ride the railroads of North America

with my faithful Appleton's Guide.

Published in the late 19th century,

it will direct me to everything that's novel, beautiful,

memorable and curious

-in the United States. ALL:

-Yee ha!

As I travel through this vast continent, I'll discover gold

and silver, movies and microchips,

oil and oranges and learn how America's most famous railroad

conquered the wild landscapes of the West.

I'm continuing my American journey along the route of the first

Transcontinental railroad into California.

Some years before the line was completed,

gold was discovered in these parts,

starting an unprecedented global migration of people magnetised

by the lure of getting rich.

It seems to me extraordinary that this state,

which has had such a profound effect on the USA and upon the world,

less than two centuries ago

was a sparsely populated and isolated wilderness.

My route, which began at Reno in the Silver State, has brought me

over the Sierra Nevada mountains into the Golden State.

I'll visit the birthplace of American counterculture,

San Francisco, and then head inland to explore the natural delights

of Yosemite National Park. I'll continue down the Pacific coast,

stopping at Monterey and San Luis Obispo, bound for the

City of Dreams, Los Angeles. I'll end my journey in San Diego,

just a few miles from the Mexican border.

Today I'll start in Sacramento, in California's huge Central Valley.

Travelling west, I'll visit the town of Fairfield before finishing in the

famous vineyards of the Napa Valley.

Along the way, I try my luck prospecting...

There's stuff shining here as well.

-Is that gold?

-That's fool's gold.

-Fool's gold.

..discover what entertained the miners...

Bravo!

..and marvel at America's sweet tooth.

We make 15 billion jellybeans every year,

with over 100 different flavours.

Appleton's tells me that 1848

was the year that gold was first discovered

in California by white settlers.

The influx from the East then commenced,

but that is to understate what actually happened.

The gold fever, the hysteria, gripped the world because, by then,

news was already globalised and it was easier to travel by ship

from Mexico or Peru or China to California than to trek overland

from New York or Chicago.

My first stop is Sacramento.

Home to half a million people, it became the state capital in 1854.

In Sacramento elevated highways thread their way between

enormous glass-panelled skyscrapers, but in the old town

these covered streets are beautifully preserved because,

after all, the city and the state

achieved prosperity during the gold rush.

That hysteria was to transform not just Sacramento, but the whole of

California, and it all began here,

north-east of the city at Sutter's Mill.

Pioneer founder of Sacramento John Sutter

had employed carpenter James Marshall to build him a sawmill,

powered by water supplied from this ditch.

It is now part of the city's State Historic Park

and Ed Allen is one of the guides.

-What happened here?

-On the morning of January 24th, 1848,

Marshall had a problem with the ditch.

They hadn't dug it deep enough originally,

so Marshall is down here inspecting it.

He's standing here in about three inches of water and he looks down

and here is a shiny piece of metal. It is gold in colour.

Now, James Marshall had a fifth grade education and his favourite

subjects are astronomy and geology.

He knows that gold found in nature is going to be very soft

and malleable and sure enough, it flattens out.

Does he tell anyone about the discovery?

He went to the workmen and said, "By God, boys,

"I believe I've found me a gold mine."

How would you assess the importance of this ditch?

Well, literally, this is the most historic spot in all of California.

We estimate the population

of the entire state at 8,000 to 12,000 people in 1848.

Two years later, we've got a population of 220,000,

all because of what Marshall found in this ditch.

Fed by the South Fork of the American River,

it proved to be rich in gold deposits.

This, I imagine, is the sort of beach where they would have panned

for gold. Tell me about the gold rush.

When you consider that in 1848 the average man made 1 to 1.50 a day,

these miners are finding 20 worth of gold per person per day,

on an average. You get an idea as to what was going to happen.

The people in California had this place pretty much to themselves

and they found 10 million worth of gold.

But in 1849, if we estimate that 90,000 people showed up here,

they found 50 million worth of gold.

Known as the 49ers,

they left families behind, hoping to make their fortunes,

crossing the mountains by covered wagon or coming by ship from China

and South America. They settled in camps or mining towns.

Between 1846 and 1850,

the non-native population of California grew from 8,000

to nearly 100,000.

What sort of conditions then were the 49ers living in?

Not good conditions, that's for sure.

These were mostly foreign boys. Average age, about 22.

So these men are left up to their own devices here.

They're young, they're alone, they don't wash, they don't cook,

that's what the women did on the farm,

so it's not a good place to be.

The territory's population and economy was transformed by gold

and the riches discovered here

would have a momentous impact on the United States

when California joined them in 1850.

Well, we were the 31st state.

There were 15 slave states and 15 non-slave states.

California dictated our terms to Congress and we demanded that we be

a non-slave state.

They wanted us in there badly because they wanted that gold.

What were the political consequences of California's becoming a state?

The main significance was it broke the back of the status quo in the

United States government, because up until that time,

when the South added a state, the North added a state,

so this was one of those key factors that started the Civil War

just a few years later.

People still come to the river in search of gold.

Spencer Tregilgas pans regularly

and he's offered to show me how it's done.

-Hello there.

-Oh, hi.

-My name's Michael.

-Nice to meet you.

-I'm Spencer.

-Spencer. What luck are you having today?

Pretty good luck, actually. Look, there's a piece of gold right there.

-That tiny speck?

-That tiny speck right there is one.

-Wow, so there is gold here still?

-There is still gold in the river, yeah.

-So what are you going to do with that?

-We'll just poke it, sticks on my finger, upside down,

right side up and that's securely captured it in there.

-Very good.

-You can see what I've got today.

You've done well. But Spencer, look, there's stuff shining here as well.

-Ah, that's fool's gold.

-Fool's gold.

-That's mica right there.

-How do you know?

-By the way it moves.

So gold is 19.4 times heavier than water.

That's its specific gravity.

Fool's gold is only about four to six times heavier and so it's going

to move with the water before the gold does.

-Real gold is going to stick right down there on the bottom.

-Can you take me through what you do?

Sure. Let's get a nice handful of sand here.

Go ahead and scoop it out of the bucket.

Our first step is to shake it in the water.

This shake is going to allow those denser gold particles to settle to

the bottom and then we're going to tip over our riffles on a 45 degrees

angle and dunk it in the water, it's called tip and dip,

and now we shake again and we keep repeating this until we have only

a little bit of sand left. Then we'll rinse and then let's inspect for the gold.

Let's see if you've got any in there. Oh, fool's gold again.

-Oh, dear.

-Looks like you came up dry.

Nothing in that one. But that's the excitement of it, right?

The next pan could hold that quarter ounce nugget that I'm looking for.

-Well, I wish you luck.

-Thank you.

-Thanks for showing me the ropes.

After a hard day's panning or digging for gold,

miners would head to downtown Sacramento

to spend their money on fun.

The gold mining community was 97% male and had very little by way of

entertainment, unless you include gambling and drinking and there was

little to titillate the male imagination, but the Eagle Theatre

offered spectacles featuring real live women.

We have, all the way from Paris, Texas...

..Can can de la Mer.

Reconstructed on its original Front Street site,

this was the first public theatre in California.

It opened its doors in 1849, with tickets on sale at the saloon.

# La la la la la, la la la la! #

Bravo!

The state's capital city became a thriving trading centre

at the confluence of the American and Sacramento Rivers.

But its advantageous location had its downside.

In the 1850s, it was hit by a series of floods.

In the winter of 1862, the Great Flood swept across California,

leaving Sacramento under ten feet of water for six months.

Many died.

Property was destroyed.

The state government relocated temporarily to San Francisco.

Drastic measures were needed,

as I discover at the foundation level of the city.

Sacramento had a three-part strategy to divert the rivers,

to build flood defences or levies and in the city centre,

to raise the level of the streets by up to 14 feet.

And citizens had the choice either to jack up their houses,

using a device like this,

or to abandon the ground floor and to build another storey on top.

So the old street level would have been down there.

The new street level is up there.

And then, people had to pay for a new sidewalk to connect their houses

to the new street level.

But a lot of them had found gold or made money out of the miners

and the new security that they had

against flood raised the value of their homes.

Despite successive measures over the years,

floods continued to cause damage.

In the 1950s, the 350 foot Folsom Dam

and reservoir were opened above Sacramento

to regulate the flow of the rivers.

And this new 900 million dam spillway,

nearing completion, will offer even greater protection for the city.

Alicia Kirschner is in charge of planning.

-Alicia, I'm Michael.

-Hello, nice to meet you.

-Welcome.

-Thank you very much.

It looks like you have a project here on a tremendous scale.

And all in the interests of saving Sacramento from flooding.

Yes, Sacramento is just about 30 miles downstream of this location

and this is a key flood protection measure.

Built by the Army Corps of Engineers,

the spillway's six gates can release the equivalent of four Olympic size

swimming pools of water per second from Folsom Lake.

The dam looks a whole lot bigger down here than it did from the top.

It is extraordinary.

After the famous flood of 1862, what sort of things were done?

Well, the early community started with building levies,

which are urban embankments placed between them and the river.

In the 1950s,

reservoirs were constructed along major streams to help keep water up

in the foothills away from the valley floor where the people were.

Also, a series of flood bypass channels were constructed,

sort of parallel to the river system.

The original Folsom Dam, which is off to our right, has outlets,

but they are about 50 feet higher than those in this facility.

So this new facility has outlets that'll be able to release the flow

earlier in a storm event and then we're able to keep capacity behind

the dam where you want it for the next wave of run-off that's coming

-downstream from the foothills.

-So you are pre-empting the storm.

-You're getting one step ahead of the storm.

-That is the goal, absolutely.

There's always a bigger storm that is potentially out there.

Our job is to try to anticipate that and adjust for it as we go.

-I wish you good luck.

-Thank you very much.

My Californian journey will continue in the morning.

I'm up early to take a train heading west.

-Hello, Michael.

-An Englishman.

-An Englishman.

Very nice to see you. What's your name?

-I'm Tony.

-And what brings you to California?

I'm working on the California high-speed rail.

-Really?

-Doing a high-speed rail from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

-Wow!

-Taking the journey to 220mph in two hours and 40 minutes.

And that's a distance, what, of about 400 miles?

-About 400 miles, correct.

-So how come an Englishman is doing this?

Well, they looked at Network Rail, how we do the railway in the UK,

and they decided that they wanted to take some of our expertise.

When will there be any part of it open?

The target is 2025, to get 180 miles open.

We're already building bridges,

we're already building viaducts and we will be going out to buy

the trains and the signalling systems very soon.

-Tony, good luck to you.

-Michael, nice to meet you.

-How exciting. Bye-bye.

My journey will take me to California's renowned wine-growing

region, but I'll divert to investigate a sweet treat that today

is more American than apple pie.

Fairfield is home to Jelly Belly.

The business traces its roots to German immigrant Gustaf Goelitz,

who started his candy company making handmade sweets in Illinois in 1869.

It moved here 31 years ago and counts a former United States

president among its biggest fans.

This company will produce 42 million jellybeans today.

I'm here to see just a few hundred thousand of them.

Vice President of operations and distribution is Jeff Brown.

Well, Jeff, you've probably never met anyone like me.

I've never eaten a jellybean.

-What is a jellybean?

-A jellybean is a piece of candy that we make here

made with sugar, starch,

corn syrup and water, along with natural ingredients like coconut

flakes or orange juice puree. It's a piece of candy with a shell around the outside.

We make 15 billion jellybeans every year with over 100 different flavours.

How far back does the great jellybean go in United States history?

The jellybean goes back to 1861, when a Boston confectioner sent some

to the Union soldiers during the American Civil War.

And do you think it played an important part in the victory

-over the Confederacy?

-We believe it did, without a doubt.

This company launched its first jellybeans in the 1960s and later

introduced the Jelly Belly brand.

It boasts a presidential seal of approval for its gourmet jellybeans.

President Reagan liked the jellybean, didn't he?

Yes, he did. We're very fortunate that President Reagan brought

the jellybean to the White House when he was inaugurated in 1981.

In fact, when he was governor here in California,

he said an important decision couldn't be made without tossing

the jellybeans around the table.

Jeff, for someone who's lead a jellybean-free life,

this is quite a crash course.

-What have we got here then?

-We have our 49 flavour mix.

Here's watermelon.

-OK.

-We have toasted marshmallow.

-Toasted marshmallow.

-It's like sitting around the campfire.

Yes, just like sitting around the campfire.

-And we have blueberry.

-Now, blueberry I might like.

Mm, well, I'm certainly getting the blueberry.

But quite a bit of sugar, Jeff.

Oh, yes. We have a strawberry cheesecake.

Strawberry cheesecake is one of my weaknesses in life.

Well, I'll be darned,

it does taste of strawberry cheesecake!

The city of Napa is the departure point for a vintage journey

that I've been particularly looking forward to.

Appleton's tells me that it's surrounded by a highly productive

agricultural region, rich in fruits of all kinds.

But, of course, now the Napa Valley is famous for one in particular,

which is the grape and this train is going to chug gently along the vale,

and on board people are going to enjoy a leisurely lunch.

-Hi, there.

-Hello, how are you?

Thank you. Thank you very much.

This line was built in 1864 by California's first millionaire,

Samuel Branham, to serve his spa resort of Calistoga.

Now it hosts the Napa Valley Wine Trail,

offering a three-hour round trip through superb vineyard scenery,

as passengers wine and dine.

So we'd like to start you off with a complimentary glass of wine here.

It's going to be our Domaine Chandon, so this is a Brut classic for you.

-Perfect.

-And our soup today is going to be a chilled

tomato gazpacho and that's going to be served with a lemon basil pesto,

croutons and sea salt as well.

Gazpacho. I'm of Spanish origin myself, so that will be delightful.

Evoking a bygone era of luxury rail travel,

most of the train's rolling stock,

including the Cabernet Sauvignon lounge,

are restored Pullman cars dating back to 1915.

The gourmet cuisine is created in three cramped on-board galleys.

For your first course, we're going to be doing

-a lemon and ricotta ravioli.

-That looks delicious.

That is good! And when you think it's prepared on the train,

that is impressive.

-Hello, Michael.

-Chef. Bravo, sir, bravo!

-Enjoy.

-That looks really great.

-Thank you, thank you.

-I'd be happy to pay top dollar for this meal

in a restaurant. How on earth do you produce the quality of food

and that amount of choice from your tiny kitchen?

Basically, what we do here is we transfer what we would do in any

fine hotel, restaurant or establishment to the rails.

But you have to have items that are train-friendly and that will hold when you're going back and forth.

-What's your competition?

-I would say that we were kind of a unique niche.

But we try to stay right up there

with some of the finer establishments

-here in the valley.

-My Sauvignon blanc, I dedicate to you, Sir.

-Thank you so much. Enjoy.

-Cheers.

The Napa Valley is perhaps the best-known wine growing region of

the United States. At just 30 miles long and five miles wide,

it's also one of the world's smallest.

I'd expected the vineyards to be on slopes but it's a wide,

flat valley and they grow in the horizontal plain.

I can see right now, they are all absolutely heavy with grapes.

May I talk to you for a second?

-Absolutely.

-You look like you're enjoying your glass of wine.

-Am I right?

-It is incredible. Yes.

-What made you take the train today?

-I'm a huge lover of trains.

-Are you?

-So I was the one looking

at that, being like, could we maybe sneak this in there?

-I mean, it has not disappointed in any way.

-Oh, I'm so pleased.

-I rather like trains too.

-Oh, perfect.

-I've had a good day.

I'm leaving the train about halfway along the route at St Helena.

Inglenook Vineyard, one of over 400 wineries here in the valley,

is owned by the film director Francis Ford Coppola and his wife, Eleanor.

I've been invited to pick some grapes with Chris Phelps,

who's in charge of production.

-Hey, Chris.

-Hey, Michael.

-How goes it?

-Very good to see you.

-Here you go. Careful.

-Very good.

Very good. I was travelling up the Napa Valley today and just asking

myself why it was that this place was chosen to grow vines.

Well, it was Europeans who came.

French and Italian, some Swiss, who came in the mid-19th century.

You know, having been familiar with European wine regions,

they saw that the Mediterranean climate here in the Napa Valley

was very similar to what they have at home.

We have cooling breezes coming in off the San Francisco Bay,

bringing in fog and cool temperatures at night.

Very important to preserve acidity and colour.

This land here was planted in 1879 by Gustave Niebaum.

the first wine had been made in Napa in 1860,

he was right behind that first wave.

Sea captain and wine connoisseur Niebaum was born in Finland in 1842.

Settling in the United States,

he owned a successful fur trading company

before buying the estate in 1879.

Three years later, he produced his first wines and huge sales

and prizes followed. So Chris, what varietal are we chopping here?

This is Zinfandel.

20 years ago, it was the leading grape variety in California.

Today in Napa Valley Cabernet is king.

But historically Zinfandel was the most important?

Yes, in the 1860s, a lot of Zinfandel was planted in

Napa Valley. Inglenook continues to make a wine called Pennino,

which is Zinfandel, made in the style that Gustave Niebaum would

have made it in in the 19th century.

But take a whole berry and pop it into your mouth.

To me, that is surprisingly sweet.

About 25% sugar will make a wine about 14-plus percent alcohol.

I would say this would be picked within a week.

So, actually, what we've done today is take a really good sample.

Now, I don't know how long your working day is,

but I am sweating under this terrible sun.

-Let's go and have a barrel tasting in the cave.

-A barrel tasting!

-Yeah.

Excellent!

The vineyard remained in the Niebaum family until it was sold to

a drinks company in the 1960s.

The Coppolas bought part of the property in 1975 and now own

all of the original estate, along with the trademark.

They've restored its heritage and returned winemaking to the chateaux.

Chris, I must say, everything about the vineyards,

the estate and now the cave is absolutely stunning.

It takes a big team to do all this work.

I'm going to treat you to a taste out of a Zinfandel barrel here and

since we were just harvesting Zinfandel, now is an appropriate

-time to enjoy it.

-I'm ready for you. There we go.

-That's very kind of you.

-There's a whole barrel, if we need it.

So that blueish grape that we were picking has produced, what,

really quite a deep ruby red kind of wine.

Yep.

Indeed. Do you smell the spice?

-Very spicy.

-And the blackberry essence.

That's classic for a Zinfandel.

That is gorgeous. Well, I'm nuts about 19th-century history,

so Zinfandel is the one for me.

-Cheers.

-Cheers.

In 1850,

California was hurriedly admitted to the United States because America

needed its gold and silver and because the Gold Rush had brought

about a population explosion.

Adding California to the union put the states that banned slavery in

the majority, and the South grew deeply suspicious that they would

conspire to bring down its economy that depended on human bondage.

After the election in 1860 of Abraham Lincoln pledged to prevent

any expansion of slavery,

Southern states quit the Union and 600,000 Americans would die

in the Civil War. In history, one thing leads to another.

Next time, I'll enjoy the 19th-century transport

that's still in use today...

Top ten things for a tourist to do in San Francisco, number one,

ride the cable car.

..learn of a 19th-century shipbuilder

whose innovations made waves...

He built 228 ships in a 40 year period.

He built more ships in that period than anybody in the United States.

..and lift the veil on some unexpected early legislation.

You had anti-crossdressing law passed in San Francisco in 1863.

Anti-crossdressing legislation in 1863! I had no idea.