Around The Railroad

Extreme Trains Series Begins Tuesday

November 10, 2008 | 05:07 p.m. CST

An 8-part History Channel series, Extreme Trains, will air Tuesday nights at 9 p.m. CST beginning Nov. 11. Hosted by Matt Bown, train enthusiast and Pan Am Railways conductor, the program reveals the incredible inner workings and past lives of the amazing locomotives that haul huge loads across the country and deliver passengers to their destinations.

Three episodes feature Union Pacific. Shot at various locations across the UP system with the help of about 450 employees, the episodes focus on refrigeration trains, steam trains and the transcontinental route.

Here's the schedule:

• Nov. 11. Coal Train. Host Matt Bown joins a coal train crossing Pennsylvania, from mine to power plant. Union Pacific's Bailey Yard also is featured.
• Nov. 18. Freight Train. A freight train runs from the port of Los Angeles to Dallas/Fort Worth, passing through the searing heat of the Mojave Desert, New Mexico rainstorms, and an earthquake-proof trench that runs the length of downtown Los Angeles.
• Nov. 25. High-Speed Train. A look at the high-speed Amtrak Acela running from Washington, D.C., to Boston, reaching speeds of 150 mph.
• Dec. 2. Ice Cold Express. The crew follows Union Pacific's refrigeration train on its cross-country trip from Wallula, Wash., to Schenectady, N.Y.
• Dec. 9. Steam Train.  Matt rides Union Pacific's famous No. 844 on its annual outing from Denver to the world's biggest rodeo in Cheyenne, Wyo. 
• Dec. 16. Overnight Traveler. A look at the busiest passenger train in America, running from Seattle to Chicago.
• Dec. 23. Circus Train. The longest privately-owned train in the world – the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey circus train.
• Dec. 30. Transcontinental. Matt rides the busiest freight line anywhere – Union Pacific's line from Omaha to Sacramento – a route that crosses the world's longest rail causeway, through the world's largest rail yard, and over the Donner Pass. The episode also covers the building of the transcontinental railroad in the 1860s.