Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Steam trains are an icon of another era. Hollywood and pop culture often remember them as the iron giants that tamed the west. The steam engines of the 1800s built America, tamed the west, bettered the stagecoach and canal, and inspired generations. These small (in relation to their 20th century counter-parts) "tea-kettles" roamed the rails coast to coast, in every town, big and small, across the Great Plaines, through the dense woods of the Appalachians, the staggering heights of the Rockies, along the rocky coast of Maine, all the way to the golden coast of California - these were a vital part of the industrial revolution and the everyday life in the Victorian age. Watch in this 40 minute program as 5 of these 19th century giants still roam the rails in the 21st century. Out of place, but somehow, still timeless.

00:00 Introduction
00:33 Rio Grande 41
03:53 Sierra Railway 3
12:58 Wiscasset Waterville & Farmington 9
22:04 Southern 154
28:41 Rio Grande 20