SFX Whistle Music Tracks Ahead Brought to you by Rancho de Tia Rosa, a Mexican restaurant serving the Phoenix area since 1990.

Raildreams, a designer and builder of custom model railroads since 1994.

Hi, I'm Spencer Christian.

On this episode of Tracks Ahead, we'll travel to Idaho, to visit the famous "railroad on stilts. "

We'll meet a group of modelers who have built an impressive layout beneath a shopping center, and go to the U-P - that's Michigan's upper peninsula, to see a restored steam line.

Nagoya is the fourth largest city in Japan.

It's there that we'll find some very unusual train cars, and a wonderful museum.

Annc: One kind of train that visitors to Japan can't miss is the Panorama Car.

They are to be found in Nagoya, the 4th largest city in Japan.

Courtesy of the Japanese National Tourist Organization and Japan Airlines, Tracks Ahead visited Nagoya.

First stop was the Meitetsu Line, run by the Nagoya Railway, one of the oldest private Japanese Railways.

The line was started about 1897, and continually expanded over the last century, with the airport addition added in 2005.

The line runs four basic models of cars - the 3300 series, the new, express MuSky cars with their tilting features, and the most notable and best loved, the 1000 and 7000 series Panorama cars.

These cars are very popular, because they provide a wide open side-by-side seating arrangement for the passengers.

The car's operator sits either above or below the passengers, depending on the model.

The design was actually inspired by a concept put into use half a world away on the Montreal open chariot streetcars.

The original designer was Akira Shirai.

Akira: Before the war, trains were very open.

Because of the war, trains were packed, no goods, getting darker and darker.

It was like a tank without any dreams.

On the other hand, automobile use increased which had a front view and an open feeling.

We thought that there wouldn't be any demand if the trains were like prisons, and that the trains should be more liberated.

There was an observatory car on pre-war steam trains, but it was on the rear.

It would be out of date to look backward, and rather we wanted to look ahead.

Therefore in 1955, we started to discuss various design ideas.

There were various pleasant trains abroad like the Red Arrow in Switzerland, the Panorama Port Train in France, and the dome observatory car in the States.

So my design referred those trains.

It was difficult to design to facilitate the air conditioning system which was necessary because Japan is in a tropical climate.

I started preparation in 1955 and completed in 1961.

Annc: The newest train on the line is the MuSky train.

This high speed train is easily spotted by it's Centrair markings, and connects Nagoya Station with the new Chubu Centrair International Airport in nearby Tokoname.

Our second stop was the corporate museum of the Nagoya Railroad, the Meiji Mura.

Meiji Mura, or Meiji Village, is one of Japan's several outstanding open air museums.

It's located in Inuyama about an hourutside of Nagoya Situated in rolling hills next to Lake Iruka, it displays over sixty buildings from the Meiji Period.

This era followed the end of Japan's feudal age in 1868 and lasted until Emperor Meiji's death in 1912.

The period and its architecture are characterized by a strong influx of Western concepts and techniques.

Even though the Meiji Period ended less than a century ago, only a few contemporary buildings survive in Japan today.

In order to preserve the period's heritage, representative buildings from across Japan have been located here.

Tadayuki Watanabe is the public relations director of the museum.

Tadayuki: This was opened on May 18th of 1965.

It is 42 years old this year.

In the era of Meiji and Taisho, a lot of things were introduced into Japan from western countries.

In the 1930's of the Showa era, Japan experienced remarkable growth.

While life was convenient, the old buildings were started to be destroyed.

Mr Yoshiro Taniguchi , an architect and Mr Motoo Tsuchikawa, vice president of the Nagoya Railway, built this Meiji Mura to preserve them.

Annc: The museum covers a space of roughly twenty baseball stadiums - over a million square meters of space to house the 64 buildings and structures that make up the village.

And it is heavily attended, with over 400,000 people visiting each year.

And of course, there is a railroad display.

Tadayuki: There are SL trains which ran first in Japan from Shinbashi to Yokohama station and are now running here.

The engine of 1875 was manufactured in England.

Annc: Visitors can ride number 9, a Baldwin saddle tanker, which has been in operation in some capacity since 1912.

The ride around the park winds though the hilly terrain, letting passengers see glimpses of the displays and buildings.

An occasional glimpse of Lake Iruka is seen, before the train plunges back into a forest which seems miles away from any urban area.

You can also ride one of the original Kyoto streetcars, which clang along through the park.

The Kyoto system opened in 1895, making it the oldest in Japan.

Buildings in the village include the entrance hall of Tokyo's old Imperial Hotel.

Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, it was struck by a disastrous earthquake on its opening day in 1923.

But due to the floating foundation design, it was one of the only Tokyo buildings left standing.

Visitors can see Kagyu-an, the house of author Rohan Koda, one of the most noted writers of the Meiji period, the Kawasaki Bank Building, St. Francis Xavier's Cathedral, and the Shinagawa Lighthouse.

On display is also the first steam locomotive manufactured in Japan, displayed with the world's first double tracked iron railway bridge.

The Shimbashi Factory of the Japan National Railways houses a portion of the museums machinery collection.

One of the rarest railway artifacts at the museum is this Kudo steam coach.

Named for the inventor, it was built in 1912 for the Kansai Line, and features a steam boiler and drive system.

This was all integrated with an eighty passenger coach.

The Tokyo Central Police box was built in 1908 and was popular with all visitors to Tokyo, who stopped to ask the police for directions.

On display in the Shimbashi Carriage Factory, are the imperial coaches which were used by Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken.

The coaches are designed just like a small palace building and feature the first examples of three axle trucks.

Tadayuki: Lots of interesting buildings were introduced from foreign countries in the Meiji era.

This seems very far back in Japan, but we would like children to see and feel the good essence of the Meiji period.

Annc: The Meiji-mura offers a place of social education, where people can discover and come in contact with the form and spirit of the Meiji period.

It is also evidence of a cultural exchange, which can enhance mutual understanding between the peoples of Japan and other countries of the world.

The museum continues to expand and preserve the cultural heritage of the western influence in Japan.

Now let's explore the home of a club whose dedication to prototype modeling has created one of the finest layouts we've seen.

To do so, we have to go underground.

Annc: Look around.

This looks just like a light industrial or a small business area.

But looks can be deceiving.

We have to look deeper - literally!

Mike: North American Prototype Modelers was formed in 1977 by a group of 12 modelers, who wanted to avoid some of the things that had been a challenge to other model railroad clubs in the past.

We wanted to have financial security, and we wanted to minimize the risk of being relocated.

In 1985, we approached the manager of a local shopping center.

It was a commercial area that had underground basement space that was unsuitable for retail purposes.

We toured the facility, and in 1985, we entered into a lease that has lasted us very well.

Annc: The club used floor to ceiling dividers and special overhead lighting to separate the many peninsula aisles of the road into visually distinct regions.

So there is a smooth progression of scenery as the trains wind their way.

This didn't happen by accident.

Mike: The layout was built by first having one of our members, an architect, John Mess, design the layout based on criteria that we had given him.

John designed the layout, and while he was designing the layout, the rest of the members went about getting the layout room ready for construction to prepare for the layout that we now know.

North American Prototype Modelers facility right now is an area of generally about 6,000 square feet.

Four thousand square feet of which is primarily the main layout area.

We have the control tower from which operations are directed, a meeting area, storage rooms, restroom facilities, virtually everything to keep us independent from the outside world.

Annc: And there are some impressive features to be seen.

Mike: The passenger terminal was constructed, believe it or not, primarily by Lego blocks.

It's modeled somewhat loosely after Omaha's Union Depot area.

It covers 15 platform tracks and it has a large train shed over a scale 8th mile length.

The River Line is one of the more scenic areas of the layout.

The major river network is paralleled by both the single track main line, and a double track mainline, several bridges, trestles, a wooded areas and bluffs.

One of the more detailed areas is also the interchange point of Altoona and Independence.

It''s a Midwest farm town.

It also has scenery depicting an autumn environment.

East LaSalle is an amazingly well detailed urban area.

It has many switching opportunities for the operations group and it was also featured as a cover story on the March 2003 issue of Model Railroader Magazine.

Annc: One special feature is the multiple track, off layout staging yard.

Here trains can be made up, and then run into the main layout via a retractable bridge.

This allows realistic, point to point operating sessions.

Operator: "OK, the bridge is set" Annc: Operating sessions require precise control, not just for trains, but for accessories.

Mike: NAPM uses DCC - digital command control - not only for operation of the trains, but also for some of the accessory features on the layout.

For example, the main passenger depot, with 18 tracks in the area, is a complex of switches and turnouts - 8 double slip switches alone.

We needed to have a simple way to activate the route for an operator.

So now with the accessory decoders driving the turnout machines, what we have the ability for the operator to need only 2 things.

One, what track am I on, and two, what lead am I going to.

Annc: Because this is an operating railroad, the member sessions start at Fleming Yard, the heart of the railroad.

Bob: During the operating sessions our members assume the roles of the real railroad operators.

That is, there is an engineer, conductor, brakeman, dispatcher, and yard master.

We operate on timetable and train order operation which is dark territory which essentially means without radios and without centralized traffic control.

Operator MOC: "This is dispatch" "Copy Ipswitch Tower at 1:46 PM" "Roger that, 83 leaving Ottawa Yard at this time" Annc: And what new projects are the club members planning?

Mike: Future plans for NAPM include doing a lot more scenery.

There are several aisles that need to be super detailed, others that need to be started.

We plan on introducing night lighting, we also plan on doing a lot more with HO U, which is our HO University to educate some of our members into the other fine points of the hobby.

Annc: So the next time you look around an area, think about the North American Prototype Model Railroad Club.

And consider not what's above ground, but what lies beneath the surface.

In a moment, we'll head out to the western part of the United States, to the beautiful lands of western Idaho near the Washington state border.

This is the home of an historic railway that has captured the hearts of rail fans for the past century.

While the names may have changed, the beauty remains the same.

Before we go, let's go "up north" to Michigan's Keewenaw peninsula.

There we'll find a restored steam operation in the heart of copper country.

Annc: One of the best-kept secrets of the Midwestern United States is Michigan's Upper Peninsula, or the "U P," as locals call it.

Surrounded by Lake Superior and covered with virgin forest, the UP is a destination for those who want to leave the hectic pace of big city life behind.

For railroad fans, there's yet another reason to visit the UP: the Lake Linden and Torch Lake train ride.

This railroad was originally operated by the Calumet and Heckla Mining Company, which was once the largest copper mining operation in North America.

Now, the Houghton County Historical Museum runs the railroad for visitors to its 15-acre campus.

David: The Soo Line caboose was donated to the group along with a C&H snowplow and a flanger.

And they were brought down to the property.

And then the depot from Lake Linden was brought down here and placed on the site.

The steam locomotive was donated by the copper company and we loaned it out to another group to use for a number of years, and then it was brought back here and sat on the property for about 15 years.

The engine was restored by a Michigan Tech student who was up here.

He asked the board for permission to restore the engine cosmetically at first, and once they got it apart, they realized that it could be restored to fully operational.

The engine was taken apart up at Universal Metal Works, they donated some space for us to use.

The boiler itself was actually sent out and professionally rebuilt, retubed, and then the engine was put back together and hauled back down here on a low-boy, and we made it operational on a short section of track.

Then we added the loop of track later.

Annc: With the help of a loan from the US Department of Agriculture's Rural Development program, the one-mile circle of track was completed in 2005.

Whistle Now conductors can give passengers a tour of the old mining company's operation, which is a history lesson in and of itself.

The train passes a 1-room schoolhouse, a log cabin, horse-drawn wagons, parts of the old mill and bases from the settling tables where copper was separated from rock.

Some of these attractions were donated by local companies, but the bulk of the items were left intact on the site when the mining company went out of business in the 1970s.

The restored steam engine actually ran on the original mill site.

Built in 1915, it's an 0-4-0 15-ton Porter 3-foot tank engine.

There's also a 1962 Plymouth gas hydraulic miniature diesel engine, which was donated by the Deppe Transportation Company in Baraboo, Wisconsin.

It came along with two box cars and three flat cars.

The Historical Society converted the box cars into passenger cars, which hold 20 people.

There are plans to convert one of the flat cars into a caboose in the future.

But right now, this train ride and the entire Houghton County Museum is all about reflecting on the past and enjoying the present.

The main museum building was once the old mill and it's filled with reminders of what life during the turn of the last century was really like.

Adjacent to the museum campus, visitors can enjoy overnight camping or spend a day swimming and boating on Torch Lake.

Annc: But for hardcore rail fans, nothing can beat Lake Linden's Engineering Program.

Dave: Hello Brian, I'm your engineer for a day.

My name's Dave.

Brian, Hello Dave David: We have a program where people can come and learn how to operate a steam emgine.

We have a three day training class set up or just an engineer for a day, where they can come and ride in the cab and possibly by the end of the afternoon know at least minimally how to operate.

But the three day class is pretty comprehensive, gives you all the information, all the safety things you need to know.

It's a good operation, and it's very reasonable, I believe.

Annc: Cost for the Engineer for a Day Program?

For Dave Baule, Executive Producer of Tracks Ahead: Priceless!

Dave: Thank you, thank you, Brian: Congratulations, Dave: Thank you, Brian: A job well done Dave: Thank you very much.

So I didn't even have to shovel any coal.. Music Annc: Even the name of the railroad sounds beautiful.

The Bountiful Grain and Craig Mountain Railroad is a photogenic masterpiece in a stunning natural setting in western Idaho.

For nearly one-hundred years, most of that time known as a part of the Camas Prairie Railroad, it has taken viewers breath away with its incredible beauty.

It still runs along much of the former route of the Camas Prairie, and it's still as gorgeous as it was the day it opened.

The fascinating history begins in 1909, when what are now the Burlington Northern Santa Fe, and the Union Pacific Railroads agreed to jointly operate a railroad here.

They had been fierce competitors in the Pacific Northwest, but it made both financial and logistical sense to share this one railroad rather than each build their own to run along the Clearwater River.

There were major traffic opportunities to haul timber, minerals, and agricultural products, and there was more than enough business to go around.

A few years later, more track was laid between Orofino and Headquarters Idaho.

It's all part of a scenic area, much of which is still inaccessible by road.

The trains can run on a steep grade along a rugged mountain side, or through the quiet beauty of a gentle valley.

Today, the portions of track that are still active are worked as hard now as they were a century ago.

It's a tough business, which over the years has had its share of challenges, but the freight business has been lured back and the timber is being hauled as it has been since the early days.

Karl: We lured back some of the customers by using, by getting some of these cars on a car hire free basis.

A lot of the customers have problems with timing, dating.

If a salesman sells a load, he has to sell it two weeks in advance in order to get his cars on time.

Where we went and took cars, we got them car hires free, for example, from Union Pacific, and took those cars, and told them, we'll put them on spot and when you're ready to load them, you load them.

So the salesmen don't need that two week lead time anymore.

They can sell a car, as soon as they sell their load they can put it on the car and it's shipped almost immediately.

Nobody pays any car hire, there's no demurrage bills, and that's been a really big instrumental thing that we've done.

Plus we put a schedule out, and we told them what we're going to do, when we're going to do it, how it's going to be done.

So we've tried to acclimate everything we do to them.

And that's been the biggest thing.

Trying to get the customers, plus we've tried to develop as much of a rapport with them.

We talk to them, we work with them.

And they know us personally.

They have our home phones, they talk to us if there are any needs, if anything comes up or arises.

They can call us at home, they can call us morning, noon, and night.

And we try to make ourselves available just about any and all times.

Annc: And yes, the daily scenery is an added bonus for the folks who work on this railroad, and it's a bonus that's appreciated by all.

Karl: Oh, I'll tell you what, that's the best part of the job.

We take some people for rides once in a while, but for me, it's almost therapeutic.

I just enjoy it.

It's peaceful, it's calming.

It's probably the most ideal job that I've ever had.

Annc: The BG&CM portion of Camas Prairie history doesn't have a lock on beauty or business here.

Going North from Lewiston is the Washington and Idaho Railway climbing up out of the valleys to run along the Palouse River.

Through the years, on and off, the hauling of grain, lumber, and fertilizer have helped pay the bills.

Just rolling down the tracks, you feel how history and mystique, go hand in hand with hard work.

It's often called the railroad on stilts because of the large number of wooden bridges and trestles, some hundreds of feet in length.

Maintenance is a huge job, and it always ongoing.

Stan: Well, it's referred to as the railroad on stilts because of it's many and large bridges.

Of the 52 miles that are just on the second subdivision, two and a half miles of that is bridges.

You compare that to even the 28 miles fourth subdivision and it has 48 bridges.

All of this railroad has lots of bridges.

Well, it's just taken hard work.

We haven't had the pleasure of having the large crews the Camas Prairie had enjoyed.

So it's just taken a lot of hard work from the employees that we have had.

We've had a very good relationship with the State of Idaho and through state assistance we're going to re-open the second subdivision.

The mystique is just everything that it once was.

To think of the booming railroad with the 300 plus employment that it had in the 70's, all the trains that ran.

And then you know, from a rail fanning standpoint, it was always famous because it had the NP and UP equipment, and later on the BN and UP.

It was the large trains that they ran and also the fact that even until the sale in '98 that they had the full 5 man train crews with cabooses.

It was just kind of always its own railroad.

Music Music Annc: Both of these railroads are proof that beauty, brains, and brawn can be a stunningly successful combination, long after the allure of youth has worn away.

Well, that's it for this episode.

Please join us next time for more, Tracks Ahead.

Music Tracks Ahead Brought to you by Rancho de Tia Rosa, a Mexican restaurant serving the Phoenix area since 1990.

Walthers, manufacturer and supplier of model railroading products; serving the hobby since 1932.

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