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.

Trains Unlimited Tours, providing tourist and railfan travel since 1984.

Hi, I'm Spencer Christian.

On this episode of Tracks Ahead, we'll visit with a man who has taken his vocation and used it to literally take railroading to new heights.

We'll look in on the last car float operatioin the country, and head just south of Tokyo to attend Raildays, ride some unusual railcars, and experience some quiet Japanese hospitality.

Next up, the Tracks Ahead crew travels to Argentina for a rail adventure through the vast expanses of Patagonia.

This fantastic trip takes them all the way down to Tierra del Fuego, which literally means "The Land's End.

Annc: Off in the distance, a lone narrow gauge steam engine is the only sign of life.

It's certainly not what most people envision when they think of Argentina.

But this is the Argentina of diesel and steam engines that chug through the vast expanses of Patagonia; The La Trochita , a truly rare narrow gauge train, and finally El Tren del Fin del Mundo or "train at the end of the world. "

We start in the town of Bariloche, in the foothills of the Andes, and a gateway to the Patagonian Region.

Nestled between two lakes and surrounded by a national park, the scenic town is known for its skiing during the summer months of July and August.

Here we board the broad gauge Tren Patagonico , pulled by a diesel engine, for the 122-mile trip to Jacobacci.

We wind through rugged countryside and high desert.

The arid territory has few trees and even fewer people.

What you do see here are huge ranches that raise sheep, cattle and horses.

Pam: As you look out the window, there's absolutely nothing; it's just pure landscape.

And once in a while you'll see wild animals and once in a while you'll see sheep and cattle.

Annc: Throughout the trip, the tour we're on offers frequent stops for photo ops.

Of particular interest are bridge crossings and the junction where the broad gauge joins the narrow gauge for the a few miles before our next stop - Jacobacci.

The small town of Jacobacci, named for an Italian engineer who helped build the line, is the northern terminal of the famous Esquel line.

Here we board La Trochita , our narrow gauge steam engine.

John: In the 1920s the government of Argentina embarked on very extensive program of building railways in the Patagonian region.

The idea was to literally build thousands of kilometers or miles of track throughout this desert region in the South and to link it together to the already existing private railways in the Pampa Region to the North.

In the early 20s, they delivered a very sizable number of locomotives and cars and huge amounts of rail.

And despite this rather elaborate plan they only built a very small part of it.

Annc: This train, which was built to haul sheep and wool, now caters to the tourist trade.

And the people who find their way onto these coaches are often die-hard rail fans and photographers from all over the world.

Trevor: I'm from New Zealand and we're semi-retired.doing our last flings of steam engine trains around the world.

Marie: It reminds me of the trains in France when we traveled when I was a child, this is what we had to put up with!

So I'm afraid a little bit that maybe Argentina will not be able to keep this program.

We have got rid of all the steam locomotives in France.

We have only a few steam engines left, and they have become private.

Dave: It's something that kind of harkens back to kind of Nevada, at the turn of the 19th/20th century.

It's just like narrow gauge; It's the closest thing you can get to that.

It's wide open.

There's nothing there; it's just absolutely barren with this one little teeny train running through it.

It's wonderful.

It's the closest thing you'll ever get to being in the 19th century.

Annc: Throughout the trip, the snow-peaked Andes are always glistening in the background.

Small towns are few and far between, but even the hearts of the most jaded rail travelers melt at the sight of local children smiling and waving as the train passes.

The staff and crew are among the most dedicated in the world.

Alfredo: I will never get tired of running steam!

For me, it's an honor; I'm very proud of being out there.

And as far as I can go, I will go in this life.

Annc: Back at Bariloche, we take a short excursion aboard El Historico Tren for a 38-mile jaunt to Perito Moreno.

The engine and restored wooden cars, all built in 1912 in Scotland, are well maintained by a preservation society.

Unlike La Trochita , this train is appointed with luxurious details rivaling the Orient Express.

Railroad sounds Annc: A major highlight of our trip is a side trip to the Perito Moreno Glacier, one of the fastest moving glaciers in the world.

Our next side trip includes Torres del Paines, a famous national park of valleys, glaciers and mountains.

With all this unspoiled beauty, one could almost envy the life of the guanacos and rheas that call this place home.

We have just one more memorable destination before we head home.

Just outside Ushuaia, the most southern city in the world, El Tren del Fin del Mundo - or train at the end of theorld.

In this country of extremes, here's one more: this is the most southern railroad on the planet.

John: The RR was originally built as a prison Railway to haul prisoners to and from a detention area, to take them out probably to a logging operations where the prisoners were put to work.

And it was abandoned many years ago but with the sudden growth in the tourist traffic, and that tourist traffic depends heavily on the steamships, cruise ships, investors came to the area and rebuilt the railway.

And the railway is very very interesting because first of all the gauge is only 500 millimeters, which is about 20 inches.

So it's a true narrow gauge line.

But the thing that attracts a lot of people who don't go there simply for tourism is the fact that the railway has two very unusual locomotives.

Actually it hathree steam locomotives, and two of those are Garrett type locomotives which are articulated locomotives of British design.

And the boiler is suspended between the forward, driving section and the rear driving section.

These are little tiny things.

They're 0-4-0 plus 0-4-0 Garretts.

And I must say that's a rarity.

I can only think of a couple of other examples in the world that I've seen in my years of traveling and looking at railways.

Whistle John: This is one of the most spectacular physical regions in the world.

You've got the Andes to the west, you've got the high desert to the east.

You got amazing wildlife.

You can see of course snow-capped peaks and then of course you have these railroads which bring us here in the first place.

Put them all together and you have one of the most wonderful places in the world to see and to photograph and to ride trains.

Ushuaia is only about 400 miles from Antarctica, and is the jumping off point for cruises.

Garden railroads often start small and expand to fill the yard.

But one man expanded his railroad beyond the yard, taking it to a higher level.

Annc: Model railroads are often inspired by a certain time and place.

Many pay tribute to a special railroad from days gone by.

But the Wild Eagle Garden Railroad in Phoenix, Arizona is no trip down memory lane.

It's a free-style showcase of one's man's creative energy.

Dan Hoag started his railroad in 1997 and since then he's kept this single purpose in mind: keep it interesting.

Dan: I started out I liked steam engines and stuff and I just wanted to make something interesting and fun and I always switch things around so, something new is happening all the time and then I sorta liked the 30s and 40s and sorta grew into that and now I use diesels and whatever I like I just do.

Annc: The Wild Eagle is a G-scale railroad that runs on 500 feet of track around three connected loops.

With help, Dan can run four trains at one time.

Dan: My control system is battery powered remote control and since I wasn't very good at wiring, I thought that way I don't have to worry about anything down the track.

The only thing that's electrical would be the reversing units on the course and they just run back and forth by themselves.

Annc: The centerpiece of the railroad is a large waterfall spanned by a Hell Gate bridge.

The waterfall has a cooling effect in this harsh desert climate.

When Dan first started his railroad, the Arizona sun destroyed his wooden structures as well as the flowers planted by his wife Patience.

Patience: One of the things that has really benefited this railroad is the fact that we've got these enormous shade cloths, these awnings built over the top of the railroad.

Annc: Dan also searched for a different material than wood for his structures.

As a welder by trade, he found his answer one day at work.

Dan: I have a welding shop and one day I said to myself let's see, steel bridges are made out of steel so why aren't I making bridges.

So I started there and then.

I started creating other things after that, like buildings and structures and all sorts of things and they really hold up and you don't have to worry about the sun.

If you don't like something you just paint over it.

Annc: Dan's latest design is this overhead train system installed on his back porch.

Before tackling this outdoor project, Dan decided to experiment by building one inside his home, his newly remodeled home.

Patience: It was a bit of a struggle to sell me on that because he had to cut holes in the walls that we had just put up.

I mean I just got done cleaning up all the drywall dust and then he goes and puts holes in the wall.

But I have to say that I thought it looked really good.

Annc: The overhead train runs through the bedroom, the closet, and around the bathroom.

From there, Dan went on to build a second, larger system for his living room, family room and kitchen.

As a final touch, he had the trains cross a central bridge.

Patience: He proposed this crossover bridge and he told me what he had in mind and then he drew me a picture and I said, "You can't do that and make it look good.

There's just no way that you can do it well. "

Dan: And so I went down to the shop and worked on a bridge and that's what I came back with and she goes.

"I didn't think you could do that, I can't believe this. "

Patience: It was just a beautiful piece of art actually, so it's really become a center point in the housand I hate it when he's right but he was right again so, I like to decorate it now.

I put Christmas lights on it and it really looks good.

Annc: Dan took what he learned back outside, creating an overhead train and a new layout on his back porch.

This time, he's sticking to a theme.

Dan: All the stuff on the porch is European style and we're working towards making that a really neat area for people to go into and it has two trains running up above and then a rack train and then a street car a European street car with dioramas.

Annc: In the backyard of his Phoenix home, Dan Hoag has created a very personal railroad, one that reflects his own inventive mind and vision.

Dan: What I enjoy most about garden railroading, is I like to create things and it's maybe not even so much running the trains it's just sort of putting yourself in a different world.

Patience: As it turns out, Walt Disney was a huge train fan which I did not know and I'm a big Disney fan so I can appreciate this mind that Dan has.

He's like a genius.

Annc: The Wild Eagle Railroad looks complete, but for Dan, it's a work in progress.

Dan: I've lots more ideas and people say well how are you gonna put any more in here, well, it's not so much putting it in it's creating a little bit more of an atmosphere, maybe changing the scenes around, maybe doing a little more animation that I never thought I could do before and as you learn it just evolves and it just becomes a lot of fun.

Dan's iron shop still makes full size gates and fences but as you've seen, they're expanding the business, making steel structures for garden railroads.

Before long bridge systems were available, railroads would use barges to move cars across large bodies of water.

In a minute, we'll visit the last such operation in the eastern United States.

Japan's Odakyu Railway is the gateway to the beautiful Hakone Lakes region, which is just south of Tokyo.

In addition to the ride, let's visit raildays, explore some unusual rail cars on the line, and visit the quiet Yamatoya Inn.. Annc: The hustle and bustle of Tokyo.

one of the world's great cities.

And, thanks to the gracious hospitality of the Japanese National Tourist Organization, Japan Airlines, and the magic of television, you may now travel there with us.

no passport required.

Japan is a magical and complex land.

a land of bright lights.

and mystical mountains.

a land of the very old.

and of the very new.

Of course, we've come to Japan to ride the trains, which are the principle form of transportation here for most locals and tourists alike.

Today we're guests of the Odakyu Railway, an extremely sophisticated operation that provides both local commuter and express service to suburban Tokyo.

and beyond; to some of Japan's most popular sightseeing and vacation areas.

And, fortunately for us, our visit is perfectly timed to take advantage of the railway's annual open house.

The Odakyu Railway holds the "Family Railday" event every year to thank their customers by providing them the opportunity to bring the whole family to get a close up view of ordinary trains.

unusual trains.

and to purchase train related goods.

The event draws from ten to fourteen thousand visitors a day.

a turnout that dramatically illustrates the Japanese love of trains.

Taguchi: This is the event we are holding to thank for our customers and children.

It was started in 1999 and this year is the 8th time we've held it.

The Odakyu Railway was established in 1927 with service between Shinjuku and Odawara and Ohno to Katase Enoshima as the Enoshima line in 1929.

The line expanded from Shinyurigaoka to Nagayama as the Tama line in 1974, and then extended to Karakida.

There is a total of just over 120 km with the three lines.

Annc: The standard commuter service delivers thousands of passengers daily to work, home, and shopping.

using electric trains that scurry about the countryside without polluting the atmosphere.

The Japanese are so dependent on commuter trains to get to work, the railroad issues excuse notes for workers to show at their office when there are delays in the schedules.

The railway places a high value on keeping to the schedules.

But with so many trains running, job one is keeping them running safely.

By far the most interesting and exciting aspect of the Odakyu Railway is its fleet of high speed express trains.

affectionately referred to as "Romance Cars. "

The original Romance Car was retired in 1999, but incorporated the "birds nest" cockpit for the operator, which is still featured in some of the more modern Romance Car trains in use today.

Legend has it that the double seating in the Romance Car resembles special movie theater seating for couples that was once popular in Japan, thus accounting for the name.

But no one can say for certain where the name originated, and so we're left to speculate.

But we don't want to have to speculate about the actual experience of the ride itself.

So we grab a quick lunch in the Shin Juku station.

purchase our tickets to Hakone.

and find our way to the boarding platform.

The Romance Car is extremely popular.

We're beginning to get used to the crowding of bodies that is so typical in Tokyo.

Our express to Hakone leaves the station right on schedule.

We're fortunate that we were able to book seats in the observation car.

This is truly the only way to travel.

Tokyo is a huge city, and the first leg of our journey carries us through a veritable urban jungle.

Our entire trip to Hakone-Yumoto station will take less than two hours.

That's due to the luxury of being on an express that makes much better time than local trains.

We soon realize we didn't have to wolf down our lunch on the run at Shinjuku station.

It appears the onboard meal service on the Romancecar is nothing short of exquisite.

At last we're out of Tokyo.

passing through suburban areas.

on our way to Odawara, our one stop along the way to Hakone.

We're getting off here in Odawara for a short sightseeing trip to the Odawara Castle.

The building, on the castle's original site, is an external re-creation of an important samurai dwelling from the 15th century.

It now serves as a museum.

A brief tour of the grounds affords us some surprising scenes.

One would not have expected a zoo on the castle grounds.

(Natural Sound) Soon we're back to Odawara station.

and board another Romance Car express for the final leg of our journey to Hakone.

At last we're speeding through open countryside, and are grateful we booked passage in the observation car so our view of the scenery is optimized.

And just as we're beginning to wish our magical journey would never end.

we pull into the very modern Hakone-Yumoto station.

This marks the final leg of our visit today with the Odakyu Railway.

From here we find our way, first by local train.

and then by the most dramatic cable car ride imaginable.

down into the Hakone valley, and ultimately to our destination, the Yamatoya Inn where we'll spend the night.

The Japanese are noted for their magnificent hospitality, and our experiences today.

on the Odakyu railway, have done nothing to diminish that well earned reputation.

Music Annc: Question: What does this quaint, early twentieth century interurban railway car have in common with these freight cars boarding a Chesapeake Bay barge?

Answer: Both of these scenes are part of the diverse operation of The Bay Coast Railroad.

As both a commercial freight transporter and a rail fan tourist enterprise, The Bay Coast, headquartered in Cape Charles, Virginia, is a truly unique slice of American railroading.

Larry: In 1884, when Alexander Cassatt built this rail line called the New York, Philadelphia and Norfolk RR where I'm standing now was nothing but an open field and a shallow creek.

But just beyond was the Chesapeake Bay and that was the reason the RR was built, was to reach the Chesapeake Bay.

His plan was to build railroad barges with railroad tracks on them to ferry railcars back and forth across the bay to connect Norfolk with the northeastern markets of Philadelphia and New York.

It is believed that these rail barges were the 1st in the world & later copied by other railroads.

The Bay Coast Railroad continues to float rail cars today as Cassatt did in 1884 and the rail barge that we use can hold 20 to 25 rail cars and it's our 26 mile moveable bridge.

Alex: In the early days of the float there used to be a lot of agricultural produce that used to go, strawberries, whatever vegetables they were growing at the time.

And that continued on they used to have stone, and coal was the big big mover.

Currently we handle stone, we handle grain, off the shore going to mills in the north, LPG gas, some coal and cement, and fertilizer.

The barge gets across the bay by use of a tug and the tug once it departs from Cape Charles will actually unpin because we'rnned to a float bridge.

He then will swing around and use a hauser, or a tow line and he will tow the barge from Cape Charles, for example, to Little Creek.

Once he gets about a mile and ½ out from Little Creek he will then come along side the barge, reeling in his hauser as he goes.

And then he will hip it, attach it to the side and tie a line to it and take it in to be pinned that way.

Well, the process of pinning begins with raising and lowering the float bridge and we will do that just by adding power and pumping the water out.

That will raise it.

To lower the float bridge we're gonna put the power on and we're gonna raise the hydraulic arm and that allows water to come in to the float bridge, thereby sinking it.

And we can come close to adjusting that right on the money.

The tug will bring the barge in and he will come in, at an angle and he will then get one pin in place.

Once that one pin is in place we'll use the tug to swing the barge around and then we will be putting the other pins in place.

And the other pins are put in by an individual with a pry bar just basically taking in one or two notches at a time and getting it in place.

Annc: The unsung hero in this whole process is the tug captain, who really needs to be sharp to position the barge accurately enough for the pinning to take place.

Captain: You gotta line the tracks up.

So if you don't line 'em up, if you don't hit it right the first time, you gotta, sometimes you gotta wiggle the boat around to get her to line up right.

Everything's just so delicate.

The uh, you know, the railroad bridge, the float bridge is old and you just gotta be real careful, I mean if you, with this boat here, it's so heavy, if you go in there, you know, with any kind of speed at all you could completely destroy the whole operation you know.

Annc: Okay, so the Bay Coast Railroad knows how to get freight across Chesapeake Bay.

But what about that antique interurban dining car we saw earlier?

Jeff: The interurban was originally built in 1913 by the St. Louis Car Co. and we had it restored to try to bring it to the way it was in 1913.

When it was in use until 1948 it underwent changes over the decades, and so we had it restored back to its original condition when it came off the line.

The dining car is set up with 5 four seat tables and five, two seat tables for a total of 30 people.

And the front of the car we have put in a catering galley with steam tables so the food will be brought over from one of our restaurants and plated on board.

Fifty years ago was the last time you could ride the rails as a passenger.

Since then it's been all freight.

And so we want people who have never experienced rail before to be able to enjoy it.

Children, who have probably never ridden a rail before to be able to enjoy it and just enjoy the scenery.

Annc: The Bay Coast Railroad.

a bit of our past, operating in the present, and full of promise for the future.

still employing these creative applications of the ageless technology we call railroading.

Be sure to check for operating times, as they vary throughout the year.

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.

Trains Unlimited Tours, providing tourist and railfan travel since 1984.

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