0:00:02 > 0:00:07I have crossed the Atlantic to ride the railroads of North America
0:00:07 > 0:00:10with my faithful Appleton's guide.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16Published in the late 19th century, it will lead me to all that is
0:00:16 > 0:00:19magnificent, charming...
0:00:20 > 0:00:23..confusing, invigorating,
0:00:23 > 0:00:26and wholesome in the United States and Canada.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32As I journey through this vast continent,
0:00:32 > 0:00:34I'll encounter revolutionaries
0:00:34 > 0:00:37and feminists, pilgrims and witches,
0:00:37 > 0:00:42and ride some of the oldest and most breathtaking railroads in the world.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS
0:01:23 > 0:01:26My rail journey continues in Connecticut.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30And then I'll move into Vermont, named after its green mountains.
0:01:30 > 0:01:34Its republic joined the 13 former British colonies
0:01:34 > 0:01:36in forming the United States.
0:01:36 > 0:01:38Then on to New Hampshire,
0:01:38 > 0:01:43with its uncompromising state slogan - "Live Free or Die".
0:01:43 > 0:01:47In fact, it suffered little during the Revolutionary War,
0:01:47 > 0:01:52and freely established the first state government independent of the
0:01:52 > 0:01:56British Crown in January 1776.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00TRAIN HORN BLARES
0:02:01 > 0:02:04My journey began in the coastal
0:02:04 > 0:02:07towns of the early European settlers.
0:02:07 > 0:02:09I'm now heading north through
0:02:09 > 0:02:11New England to visit the mountain
0:02:11 > 0:02:13region around Lake Placid.
0:02:13 > 0:02:15Crossing the border into Canada,
0:02:15 > 0:02:17I'll visit the French-Canadian city
0:02:17 > 0:02:19of Montreal before making my way
0:02:19 > 0:02:22down the Saint Lawrence River valley -
0:02:22 > 0:02:23with its Thousand Islands -
0:02:23 > 0:02:25to end in Toronto.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31Today, I explore collegiate life in New Haven,
0:02:31 > 0:02:34before travelling up through the New England states,
0:02:34 > 0:02:36stopping in the pastoral surrounds
0:02:36 > 0:02:38of Vermont and ending up in
0:02:38 > 0:02:41New Hampshire at the summit of Mount Washington.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47Along the way, I'll try to master one of America's oldest sports...
0:02:47 > 0:02:49Whoops! I got that went very wrong!
0:02:49 > 0:02:50LAUGHTER
0:02:50 > 0:02:53..discover the perils of New England's
0:02:53 > 0:02:54most-exposed mountaintop...
0:02:54 > 0:02:58We recorded a wind gust of 231mph.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00For almost 60 years, that was our claim to fame,
0:03:00 > 0:03:03is the highest wind ever known by mankind.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05..and hold on tight
0:03:05 > 0:03:08on one of the steepest railroads in the world.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11We have roared into action.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15And the track stretches ahead of me like a giant roller-coaster.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17This is going to be a fun ride.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29My next stop is New Haven, which the guidebook tells me
0:03:29 > 0:03:34"is the largest in Connecticut, and home to Yale College,
0:03:34 > 0:03:38"one of the oldest and most important educational institutions
0:03:38 > 0:03:39"in America.
0:03:39 > 0:03:45"Founded in 1700, established in New Haven 1717."
0:03:45 > 0:03:50Along with Harvard, that predates it, and other elite colleges,
0:03:50 > 0:03:53it forms the Ivy League of universities.
0:03:53 > 0:03:59A phrase that implies antiquity, excellence, and rivalry.
0:04:02 > 0:04:06Established by Puritan settlers in 1638,
0:04:06 > 0:04:10New Haven sits on the northern shore of Long Island Sound.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16It's a prosperous city in one of America's wealthiest states, Connecticut.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39There we go.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41- Thank you very much.- It's a pleasure. Bye-bye. Have a good day.
0:04:41 > 0:04:42- Thank you. You too.- Thank you.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45I'm alighting at the main train station,
0:04:45 > 0:04:50mercifully rescued from the threat of demolition in the 1970s,
0:04:50 > 0:04:55and now a beautifully-restored piece of 1920s beaux-arts architecture.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57Union Station, New Haven
0:04:57 > 0:05:00is by no means the largest the United States,
0:05:00 > 0:05:02but just look at it, how grand it is.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05This tells you about the wealth of the railroads
0:05:05 > 0:05:07and the glamour of train travel.
0:05:16 > 0:05:22I'm on my way to New Haven's most famous institution, Yale University.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26Annually, it educates over 5,000 undergraduates,
0:05:26 > 0:05:31and it's world-famous for its high standards of academic teaching.
0:05:31 > 0:05:35But Yale and other American universities have a separate stream
0:05:35 > 0:05:36of activity -
0:05:36 > 0:05:41the hugely lucrative enterprise of intercollegiate sport,
0:05:41 > 0:05:46for which some colleges have budgets of between 30-60 million.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53All that began here with Yale's first collegiate sport, rowing.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57And I'm meeting former Yale oarsman, Tom Vile,
0:05:57 > 0:05:59who's researched the history.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01Welcome, Michael, to Yale's Gilder Boathouse.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03It's wonderful to have you here.
0:06:03 > 0:06:04And what a spectacular view.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06Thank you very much.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08That's the Housatonic River and this is our trophy room.
0:06:08 > 0:06:09Thank you, sir.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19Tom, your trophy room is absolutely stuffed with trophies.
0:06:19 > 0:06:20You've had a good year, I think?
0:06:20 > 0:06:22We have had a good year.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24The varsity was undefeated and won the national championship.
0:06:24 > 0:06:26It doesn't get much better than that.
0:06:26 > 0:06:27Before we talk about rowing,
0:06:27 > 0:06:30give me an idea of college sports in the United States.
0:06:30 > 0:06:32I mean, for example, Yale's football stadium.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35The Yale Bowl was an architectural marvel
0:06:35 > 0:06:37when it was built around 1915.
0:06:37 > 0:06:41It seated about 75,000 people, which was the largest collegiate football
0:06:41 > 0:06:43stadium, for sure, in the country.
0:06:43 > 0:06:46Today, there are college stadiums that seat over 100,000,
0:06:46 > 0:06:50reflecting how big a sport it's become at many schools.
0:06:50 > 0:06:53How did rowing start at Yale?
0:06:53 > 0:06:58In 1843, seven Yale students purchased a Whitehall gig
0:06:58 > 0:07:01for 26.50 and brought it to
0:07:01 > 0:07:04New Haven because they thought it would be fun to have a boat club.
0:07:04 > 0:07:09How does the famous Yale-Harvard boat race get started?
0:07:09 > 0:07:10In 1852, James Whiton,
0:07:10 > 0:07:14who was a member of one of the Yale boat clubs,
0:07:14 > 0:07:17was going home to his family's home in New Hampshire.
0:07:17 > 0:07:21And he was ridding on a railroad, the Boston, Concord and Montreal,
0:07:21 > 0:07:23of which his father was a director.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26So he was in a good position to talk to one of the railroad's agents who
0:07:26 > 0:07:29was riding with him. And as they passed by Lake Winnipesaukee,
0:07:29 > 0:07:32Whiton looked out and said to the agent, Elkins,
0:07:32 > 0:07:36"Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a race on that lake?"
0:07:36 > 0:07:39Well, Elkins was very interested because the railroad was interested
0:07:39 > 0:07:43in developing tourist traffic and selling tickets to events and such.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47So he said, "If you will get the boys together, I will pay their costs."
0:07:47 > 0:07:52So in August of 1852, they got together on Lake Winnipesaukee.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55Harvard brought one boat, Yale brought three.
0:07:55 > 0:07:57Undaunted by numbers, Harvard won the race.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01And that was the beginning of intercollegiate sport in the United States.
0:08:03 > 0:08:07As these races grew in popularity, spectators flocked to them by train.
0:08:09 > 0:08:14Special observation carriages with grandstand seating allowed fans to
0:08:14 > 0:08:16cheer their teams,
0:08:16 > 0:08:20keeping pace with the speeding boats along the four-mile course.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25So you and Harvard have been battling it out on the water
0:08:25 > 0:08:28for more than a century now. What's the score?
0:08:28 > 0:08:31Well, we were pretty neck-and-neck for about a century,
0:08:31 > 0:08:34but in the 1950s, Harvard started on a run
0:08:34 > 0:08:38that gave them about 40 victories to our ten or so.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41But we've evened that up a lot in the last three years.
0:08:41 > 0:08:42What's happened in the last three years?
0:08:42 > 0:08:45Well, we would say we'd won three races.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49They would say that we've won two because their boat sank in one of
0:08:49 > 0:08:52them and they refused to concede the victory.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55We would say we won three out of three.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59It's probably not a good omen to be talking about sinking crews,
0:08:59 > 0:09:03but I've been offered the chance to learn some tips from the top.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05Ease my way in there.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08David Fogel is a former Yale rowing coach.
0:09:08 > 0:09:10Just run that out all the way into the oarlock,
0:09:10 > 0:09:13to where the button is, all the way in.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16- There we go.- To there. - All right, so...
0:09:16 > 0:09:19..we'll start out with the arms, in the water and then pull.
0:09:20 > 0:09:22Good enough.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24Rather than spend all the energy with your arms,
0:09:24 > 0:09:26try to use your back more.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29Like you're using a pry bar to pry something heavy.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32You want to get some weight into it, right?
0:09:32 > 0:09:36There we go. Now we can start to use a little bit of the legs.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38So we push with the legs and then draw.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45I find it quite hard to co-ordinate between the legs, the back,
0:09:45 > 0:09:48- and the arms.- Well, there's too much going on for that, really.
0:09:48 > 0:09:49There's a lot going on.
0:09:52 > 0:09:54Whoops, I got that one very wrong!
0:09:54 > 0:09:55DAVE LAUGHS
0:09:55 > 0:09:58Dave, you are an excellent teacher.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00I am a poor pupil, I'm afraid.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04But in these few moments, I've understood the joy of rowing.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07Mucking about in boats.
0:10:46 > 0:10:51As I leave Connecticut, I'm continuing north through New England
0:10:51 > 0:10:54to one of the most beautiful of its six states...
0:10:55 > 0:10:57..Vermont.
0:10:57 > 0:10:59TRAIN HORN BLARES
0:11:07 > 0:11:12I'm travelling to a town which played a key role in creating and
0:11:12 > 0:11:15maintaining this idyllic pastoral scenery.
0:11:21 > 0:11:22Appleton's tells me that
0:11:22 > 0:11:27"Windsor, Vermont used to be served by the Central Vermont Railroad,
0:11:27 > 0:11:32"a pretty highland village surrounded by attractive scenery."
0:11:32 > 0:11:35I hope to discover in this beautiful landscape that not all the
0:11:35 > 0:11:40immigrants that hoofed it from the British Isles were two-legged.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48With only around 600,000 inhabitants,
0:11:48 > 0:11:52Vermont is one of the least populated of the United States.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56And its picturesque mountain villages and gently sloping pastures
0:11:56 > 0:11:59are symbols of rural America.
0:12:01 > 0:12:06Vermont is synonymous with dairy farming, which accounts for 70% of
0:12:06 > 0:12:08the state's agricultural sales.
0:12:10 > 0:12:14I'm led to believe that this important industry began at around
0:12:14 > 0:12:19the time of my Appleton's at this farm, which was set up by Frederick Billings.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23Christine Scales is an expert on his work.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27Christine, as I would expect of Vermont, it looks very green.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29The agriculture seems to be thriving.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31But it wasn't always so, I believe?
0:12:31 > 0:12:35No, so before Frederick Billings moved here and bought this farm,
0:12:35 > 0:12:37you wouldn't believe how differently it looked.
0:12:37 > 0:12:42There was a lot of deforestation going on and also there was a rise
0:12:42 > 0:12:46in commercial farming. Sheep were a huge industry in Vermont at this time.
0:12:46 > 0:12:50They were very hard on the land, so they caused a lot of erosion.
0:12:50 > 0:12:55So, not only were there no trees but there weren't any roots from the
0:12:55 > 0:12:56grass, so it was very barren.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59What was Billings' innovation then?
0:12:59 > 0:13:01Billings believed in conservation.
0:13:01 > 0:13:03He began reforesting the land.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07He purchased this farm as a way to show sustainable and modern
0:13:07 > 0:13:10practices in the hopes that other farmers would do the same.
0:13:15 > 0:13:18Billings grew up in Vermont and qualified as a lawyer.
0:13:18 > 0:13:22But after gold was discovered in California, he joined the rush west
0:13:22 > 0:13:25in 1849 to make his fortune.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29He became one of the richest men in that state, before selling up and
0:13:29 > 0:13:32returning to Vermont in 1865.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35In business, he made his mark leading the completion of the
0:13:35 > 0:13:38Northern Pacific Railroad across the continent,
0:13:38 > 0:13:42while at home, he pioneered progressive ideas and techniques
0:13:42 > 0:13:44on his 270-acre farm.
0:13:44 > 0:13:47So this is Brianna, one of our Jersey cows.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50Hello, Brianna.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53- Very attractive breeds.- She is. - What makes them good milking cows?
0:13:53 > 0:13:58So Jersey cows have a higher butterfat content than other dairy cows.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01Did Frederick Billings import Jersey cows from the island of Jersey?
0:14:01 > 0:14:06He did, yeah. In 1871, he brought over the first Jersey cows for this
0:14:06 > 0:14:09farm because he wanted to make butter as his cash crop.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12And how well did the Jerseys do here?
0:14:12 > 0:14:15They do great here. The climate is very similar to the isle of Jersey.
0:14:15 > 0:14:17They don't really like to be too hot,
0:14:17 > 0:14:19so Vermont is perfect for them.
0:14:19 > 0:14:21Our Jersey cows are known all over the country
0:14:21 > 0:14:24and all over the world. We have really good genetic stock.
0:14:27 > 0:14:32Billings was passionate about responsible and sustainable techniques,
0:14:32 > 0:14:36and wanted to spread his ideas among fellow Vermont farmers.
0:14:37 > 0:14:39He built this model dairy farm,
0:14:39 > 0:14:43incorporating the very latest technologies into its creamery.
0:14:48 > 0:14:50How does the process begin?
0:14:50 > 0:14:52So, you would bring in the big milk pails
0:14:52 > 0:14:56and you put them first into the Cooley Creamer.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59And it could be lowered and raised by these gears over here.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03And they would sit in the creamer for about a day, overnight or so.
0:15:03 > 0:15:08And that would allow the milk to separate into skim milk and cream.
0:15:08 > 0:15:11You could see that happening here because there are little windows
0:15:11 > 0:15:13that show you where the milk would be, the skim milk,
0:15:13 > 0:15:15and where the cream would be at the top.
0:15:15 > 0:15:17Once that had all separated,
0:15:17 > 0:15:19they would take the gutters and move them around.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21So the cream went into here, which is the tempering vat.
0:15:21 > 0:15:26The water would run down through the water jacket and get heated up
0:15:26 > 0:15:30by the fire in here, and then back up through these tubes
0:15:30 > 0:15:33here and then down into the tempering vat.
0:15:33 > 0:15:36So you could adjust how much hot water or how much cold water.
0:15:36 > 0:15:38- That's the height of modernity at the time?- Yeah, absolutely.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41A lot of places didn't even have running water.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43And what is this cradle?
0:15:43 > 0:15:46So, once the cream had reached the proper acidity,
0:15:46 > 0:15:48they'd put it into the swing churn.
0:15:48 > 0:15:50In order to make butter,
0:15:50 > 0:15:52you have to take cream and you have agitate it.
0:15:52 > 0:15:54So that's what this does.
0:15:54 > 0:15:57It actually rocks back and forth as it's suspended from the ceiling.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05That's absolutely marvellous. How inventive!
0:16:05 > 0:16:07Billings really was quite a character, wasn't he?
0:16:07 > 0:16:10He was, yeah. He wanted all the latest technology.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13And they wanted people to be able to come here and see it in action,
0:16:13 > 0:16:16and hopefully put it into practice on their own farms.
0:16:17 > 0:16:22At its peak, Billings Farm produced 5,000 pounds of butter annually,
0:16:22 > 0:16:27and sent it by rail to customers in Boston and New York.
0:16:27 > 0:16:29With his pioneering techniques,
0:16:29 > 0:16:34Frederick Billings laid the foundations for Vermont's modern dairy industry.
0:16:41 > 0:16:45I'm leaving Vermont for an excursion into the White Mountains of
0:16:45 > 0:16:46New Hampshire.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49I'm in search of a very special railway...
0:16:51 > 0:16:54..the first of its kind in the world...
0:16:54 > 0:16:56..and one that I've long wanted to ride.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03"The Mount Washington Railroad,
0:17:03 > 0:17:07"begun in 1866, opened 1869.
0:17:07 > 0:17:13"The grade is enormous, being 3,596 feet in three miles.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17"In places, one foot in three."
0:17:17 > 0:17:23This was actually the world's first-ever mountain climbing cog railway.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27And Appleton's feels obliged to describe the technology.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29"The track is of three rails.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33"The centre rail is like a wrought iron ladder
0:17:33 > 0:17:36"into which fits a cogwheel
0:17:36 > 0:17:40"which fairly pulls the train up the mountain."
0:17:40 > 0:17:42Oh, and did I mention...
0:17:44 > 0:17:45..that they're running steam?
0:17:45 > 0:17:49TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS
0:17:50 > 0:17:53For railway enthusiasts like me,
0:17:53 > 0:17:55this is one to tick off the bucket list.
0:17:57 > 0:17:59- Good morning, what a lovely day. - Indeed it is.
0:17:59 > 0:18:01What do you think it will be like at the top?
0:18:01 > 0:18:03It's going to be warmer than it normally is.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06Should be in for some good views today.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10- I'm in luck. Thank you so much. - Indeed. Welcome aboard.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS
0:18:12 > 0:18:16The steam locomotive is designed specifically to work on the steep
0:18:16 > 0:18:20gradient and to power from the rear,
0:18:20 > 0:18:23pushing the passenger carriage up the mountain.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25We've roared into action.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29We must be doing, oh, I don't know, 3mph at the moment.
0:18:29 > 0:18:33And the track stretches ahead of me like a giant roller-coaster.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35This is going to be a fun ride.
0:18:38 > 0:18:39TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS
0:18:46 > 0:18:49Hello. So you seem to be on the sun deck.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52Well, how come you're out here, what are you doing?
0:18:52 > 0:18:55Well, we're watching the tracks on the way up.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59Got to make sure nothing's in our way and everything is all set to continue moving forward.
0:18:59 > 0:19:00OK, you've got me nervous now.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02- What could be the problem with the track?- Debris.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05There are a couple of points where hikers hike right over the tracks.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07You never know.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09I have never been on a railroad like this before.
0:19:09 > 0:19:11It looks like something out of a cowboy movie.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14It's kind of rough-and-ready with all these timbers, isn't it?
0:19:14 > 0:19:16- Yeah, it's old-school. - It's old-school.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20Also, I noticed we're not actually touching the ground.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22You know, in normal railroads, the tyres are right in the ground,
0:19:22 > 0:19:25but, in our case, it's up on these trestles. You know,
0:19:25 > 0:19:28that was the way they built it back then.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30It's a lot easier to maintain that way.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33Are you telling me that our whole journey, right up to the summit,
0:19:33 > 0:19:36- we're going to be on trestles? - The whole way.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38- Over three miles. - Do me a favour, will you?
0:19:38 > 0:19:39Keep your eye on the track.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52The railroad was designed and built by wealthy New Hampshire engineer
0:19:52 > 0:19:57Sylvester Marsh, who, following a bout of illness, sought fresh air.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02He hiked up Mount Washington but got lost near the summit.
0:20:02 > 0:20:07He decided to make the mountain more accessible and created this
0:20:07 > 0:20:11masterpiece, known at the time as Marsh's Railroad to the Moon.
0:20:13 > 0:20:15This is a breathtaking journey.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18We've reached gradients of one in three,
0:20:18 > 0:20:22meaning that the rear of the train is left far below us.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS
0:20:24 > 0:20:28In fact, at the steepest part of the journey, a section called Jacob's Ladder,
0:20:28 > 0:20:33passengers at the front of the train are 14 feet higher than those at the
0:20:33 > 0:20:37back. The whole line is built on trestles and if you look at down at
0:20:37 > 0:20:40them, I mean, they look like matchsticks to me.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42It all looks so flimsy.
0:20:42 > 0:20:47And every now and again, the trestle rises up to 30 feet in the air and
0:20:47 > 0:20:49you just think, "What is holding us in place?"
0:20:54 > 0:20:57As a national historic engineering landmark,
0:20:57 > 0:21:02this railway is one of the great tourist attractions of New England.
0:21:02 > 0:21:03Hello, sir.
0:21:05 > 0:21:07Tell me, have you ever been on Mount Washington before?
0:21:07 > 0:21:09Yes, I have, many times.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11Many times, what, on the train?
0:21:11 > 0:21:13No, this is my first time on the train.
0:21:13 > 0:21:15So, how are you coming here before?
0:21:15 > 0:21:16We walked up.
0:21:17 > 0:21:19It's quite a tough climb, I suppose?
0:21:19 > 0:21:22- Yes, it is.- And what are you making of the full train ride,
0:21:22 > 0:21:25- now you're experiencing? - Oh, it's wonderful.
0:21:25 > 0:21:27- A lot of fun. - I think it's fantastic.
0:21:27 > 0:21:33TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS
0:21:43 > 0:21:50And with one last shudder, we reach the top of the mountain.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57We made it. Well done, everybody. We made it.
0:21:57 > 0:21:58We made it.
0:21:58 > 0:22:01- I wasn't sure we would but we made it.- My hero.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07- What's the word for it?- Awesome.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11- Wow.- Awesome is right.- Awesome.
0:22:14 > 0:22:18This railroad is impressive not just because it overcomes the steep
0:22:18 > 0:22:22gradient, but also because it functions in the face of another
0:22:22 > 0:22:24major challenge...
0:22:24 > 0:22:27..Mount Washington's exceptional weather.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34Despite being just over 6,000 feet high,
0:22:34 > 0:22:37this mountain experiences extremes
0:22:37 > 0:22:42of wind and cold which can come on in an instant,
0:22:42 > 0:22:47and have contributed to the loss of well over 100 lives since records
0:22:47 > 0:22:49began in 1849.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53Appleton's says,
0:22:53 > 0:22:56"Visitors to Washington should always go well-clad.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59"The range of the thermometer even in midsummer
0:22:59 > 0:23:01"is from 30 to 45 degrees."
0:23:01 > 0:23:03And, of course, that is Fahrenheit.
0:23:03 > 0:23:09"Here is the US Signal Service Observatory, which is occupied in winter
0:23:09 > 0:23:14"and which has recorded a temperature of 58 degrees below zero,
0:23:14 > 0:23:19"while the wind blew with a velocity of 190mph."
0:23:19 > 0:23:22This must be one of the most extraordinary weather stations on the planet.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28This intriguing facility dates back to 1870,
0:23:28 > 0:23:32when a group of determined scientists embarked on an expedition
0:23:32 > 0:23:34to observe the mountain's winter weather.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40It was the first of its kind in the world,
0:23:40 > 0:23:43and today, I'm meeting meteorologist, Mike Carman.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50Mike, I've been up many mountains, many much higher than this one,
0:23:50 > 0:23:53which don't seem to have quite as extreme weather as Mount Washington.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55- Why is that?- Yeah,
0:23:55 > 0:23:58there's a few reasons why Mount Washington sees the extreme
0:23:58 > 0:24:01weather that it does, even though we're only a 6,300 foot mountain.
0:24:01 > 0:24:05And our topographic map here sort of nicely demonstrates why that is.
0:24:05 > 0:24:08And just to orient you, this is Boston down here,
0:24:08 > 0:24:10here is Portland, Maine.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12And these are the White Mountains right in here.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15And then here we are right on top of the summit of Mount Washington right
0:24:15 > 0:24:19now. We're the highest peak north of North Carolina
0:24:19 > 0:24:21and east of the Black Hills of South Dakota.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24So you have to go back thousands of miles to the west
0:24:24 > 0:24:27before you hit an elevation higher than Mount Washington.
0:24:27 > 0:24:28And then, in addition to that, we have
0:24:28 > 0:24:31a lot of storms constantly passing through New England.
0:24:31 > 0:24:36Our storm track map very nicely demonstrates the amount of low
0:24:36 > 0:24:39pressure systems that are constantly coming through
0:24:39 > 0:24:41the North-eastern United States here,
0:24:41 > 0:24:44and you could see almost any storm that originates out west
0:24:44 > 0:24:46eventually will make its way up into the North-east,
0:24:46 > 0:24:49passing very close to or sometimes directly over the summit
0:24:49 > 0:24:51of our mountain here.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54As these storm tracks arrive at Mount Washington
0:24:54 > 0:24:57and intersect with local weather systems,
0:24:57 > 0:25:00the conditions can be terrifying.
0:25:01 > 0:25:04It's the duty of the staff to record the data.
0:25:04 > 0:25:09They're used to chart climate trends and to provide forecasts and weather
0:25:09 > 0:25:13warnings, crucial to protecting property and lives.
0:25:16 > 0:25:17This is our weather wall.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20This is where all of our weather instrumentation is located that's
0:25:20 > 0:25:23representing everything that is going on outside
0:25:23 > 0:25:24as we speak right now.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26My 19th-century guidebook talks
0:25:26 > 0:25:31about a wind that was recorded here of 190mph. Is that plausible?
0:25:31 > 0:25:34Yeah, actually, we've exceeded even that mark is well.
0:25:34 > 0:25:36Back in April of 1934, which was less than two years
0:25:36 > 0:25:42after we started up here, we recorded a wind gust of 231mph.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45And at the time, that was a world-record wind speed.
0:25:45 > 0:25:47That record has since been broken.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50But for almost 60 years, that was our claim to fame,
0:25:50 > 0:25:53is the highest wind ever known by mankind.
0:25:53 > 0:25:57Mercifully, it's not blowing anything like that today,
0:25:57 > 0:25:59as I'm keen to see the instruments
0:25:59 > 0:26:01which record such extreme wind speeds.
0:26:01 > 0:26:05They're located atop the station's tower.
0:26:09 > 0:26:11Wow, we're on top of the world.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14- Seems that way.- And so these are your famous instruments, are they?
0:26:14 > 0:26:17Yeah, these are all of our wind instruments that we're maintaining
0:26:17 > 0:26:20year-round, and you can see they're all vane-ing into the wind and
0:26:20 > 0:26:22functioning very nicely right now.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24The weather is amazingly changeable, isn't it?
0:26:24 > 0:26:27One moment, you can see for miles, and then suddenly visibility is,
0:26:27 > 0:26:29what, 50 yards?
0:26:29 > 0:26:31In the winter, how bad can it be up here? What do you have to do?
0:26:31 > 0:26:34We're coming up the ladders like we just did here.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36Icy ladders at times.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39And we're coming up into heavy blowing snow, thick rime ice,
0:26:39 > 0:26:42those sorts of things. And we're taking a crowbar and manually
0:26:42 > 0:26:44knocking the ice off of all these instruments.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48Sometimes fighting the strength of 100mph winds to do it.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50And what makes someone want to do that?
0:26:50 > 0:26:53As a meteorologist, you kind of learn about Mount Washington from a
0:26:53 > 0:26:57young age as a place of extremes and I know, for me, this is the place to
0:26:57 > 0:26:59experience things I'll probably
0:26:59 > 0:27:01never experience anywhere else in my life.
0:27:16 > 0:27:21It was English Puritan Pilgrims that landed in Massachusetts,
0:27:21 > 0:27:23and yet that colony led the revolution.
0:27:23 > 0:27:29So is it paradoxical that so many things still have a British flavour?
0:27:29 > 0:27:33The familiar place names like Cambridge and Plymouth.
0:27:33 > 0:27:37In Boston, the brick-terraced houses, the gentleman's clubs.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40At Yale, the rivalry with Harvard,
0:27:40 > 0:27:44played out on the Thames River in New London.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47In Vermont, the Jersey cows.
0:27:47 > 0:27:52I think it is ironic, but, then again, this is New England.
0:27:55 > 0:27:57Next time, on my travels,
0:27:57 > 0:28:01I'll discover how the other half do rural retreats...
0:28:01 > 0:28:03My goodness, Lawrence, I think this
0:28:03 > 0:28:05is one of the biggest rooms I've ever seen.
0:28:05 > 0:28:10..learn of the territory lost in a humiliating military blunder...
0:28:10 > 0:28:14The border between the United States and Canada would be much further
0:28:14 > 0:28:15south than it is now?
0:28:15 > 0:28:18Much further south.
0:28:18 > 0:28:21..and seek thrills of Olympic proportions.
0:28:23 > 0:28:26Every part of me has been shaken to bits!
0:28:26 > 0:28:29And I've been turned almost upside down.
0:28:29 > 0:28:30HE LAUGHS