Perhaps one of the Best Overall TV Overviews of Railroads
I’d have to say, back before reality TV eroded TLC (The Learning Channel) into little more than a freakshow, shows like Extreme Machines ruled the airwaves. I have to admit, having seen dozens of Television shows take their stab at portraying railroads in an overall view, Extreme Machines is the one show that got it right. The Cinematography is excellent, the music superb, and the narrator’s commanding voice providing a truthful tone to the facts being presented makes it stand out above the rest.
The Episode itself is nicely balanced between the old and the new. The show steam locomotives in a reverent light without being hyperbolically nostalgic or tossing them in the dustbin of history as obsolete beasts. They approach the modern subjects with an honest optimism that rails are still the most efficient of the land-based forms of transportation.
The Quality of the YT video isn’t HD, but I think you’ll get the picture.
