Train Shows on History Channel
cottonchipper
shows on the History Channel. Times shown are mountain time. Check
your local listings.
02:00 PM MST Wild West Tech: Train Tech.
Nothing affected settlement of the American West more than
construction of the transcontinental railway that connected the Wild
West to the civilized East. We spotlight tools as well as techniques
used to build tracks, bridges, and tunnels through mountains of solid
granite. We also explore technology developed to make trains less
vulnerable to bandits and train wrecks--better tracks and rails,
arming mechanics with guns, and use of the telegraph as a warning
system. Keith Carradine narrates.
03:00 PM MST Modern Marvels: Bullet Trains.
Traveling between 135 and 190 miles per hour with an astonishingly
high safety record, bullet trains can be found throughout Europe,
Japan, and on the US eastern seaboard. How high-speed trains are
propelled is rooted in fundamentals that haven't changed since the
first electric trolleys appeared in the 19th century. We see how
scientists are looking at new alternatives to electricity, including
magnetic levitation that can move passenger trains 345 miles per hour
and beyond!
04:00 PM MST Modern Marvels: Freight Trains.
They are the life blood of the American Economy, transporting 1.8
billion tons of freight each year, carrying everything from crops, to
consumer electronics, cars to chemicals, not to mention coal and just
about any other item that you can think of. This program will take you
to what is considered the greatest freight transportation system in
the world, the Union Pacific's Bailey yard--a pit stop for much of the
nation's freight on its journey across the continent. We'll also
explore the history of freight transportation from its humble
beginnings as tramways in mines to complex system of rails that
stretches to every corner of the nation.