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 ride a spectacular three stage rail line in the Minami Alps outside of Tokyo.

We'll visit one of the largest Z gauge layouts we've ever seen, and we'll visit a museum that operates one of the last great steam locomotives in the United States.

If you're going to be taking a Caribbean cruise, and you like trains as much as you like cruise ships, you might want to make sure your travel agent gets you on a ship that stops at the island of St. Kitts.

Why?

Because this island has one of the most beautiful scenic railway tours you could ever imagine.

Annc: In the beautiful breezes of the Eastern Caribbean Sea lies, for what is now, one of the last undiscovered jewels of the West Indies.

But, that is starting to change.

And the change is wonderful too.

The island federation of St. Kitts and Nevis is becoming an increasingly popular stop for the cruise ships that bring visitors from around the world to the Caribbean in search of both adventure and relaxation.

First governed by Englishman Thomas Warner back in the 1600's, ownership of this lovely island changed hands between the British and the French many times.

It gained its independence from Britain in the 1980's.

For hundreds of years the lifeblood of this island was the sugar cane industry, and that's the reason the railroad was built.

The tropical weather and the rich volcanic soil, were ideal for cultivation of sugar cane.

But the world economy changed things, and it became increasingly difficult for this tiny island to compete with the giant sugar cane growing countries.

So a few years ago the decision was made to get out of the sugar business, and expand the economy in other ways.

Tourism would be an important part of the mix.

And helping to pull the country through this transition is the last functioning railroad of the Eastern Caribbean.

The St. Kitts Scenic Railway operates on the same narrow gauge tracks that used to carry the cars full of sugar cane to the processing plant.

It now carries tourists in search of a unique experience.

Steve: A friend of mine at one of the major cruise lines when I asked him, Was there a place in the world he'd ever been where he thought maybe a tourist railway might be able to be started up where his ships might go.

He said, I don't know.

Maybe St Kitts.

And I said, Where's that?

A little island in the West Indies, he said.

And we came down and took a look at it and with the help of the sugar compan and the Ministry of Tourism and the local government here, we were able to hammer out an agreement.

Because we found that it was beautiful.

It was an absolutely untouched, undiscovered Caribbean island.

Sugar was the number one industry on St Kitts for over 350 years.

When sugar was phased out in 2005, tourism had been growing.

But it essentially now is the major thrust of the economy here on this island.

The railroad, by being a unique anchor attraction, unlike any in the entire surrounding region, the last railway left in the West Indies.

This single railway line gives a living link back to the earliest days of the Indies, to the days when European powers struggled over these islands We actually tell that story on this train.

Annc: If you build it, they will come.

And they certainly are.

The number of cruise ships with St. Kitts on the itinerary is climbing dramatically.

Accommodations are absolutely gorgeous, and cater to whatever level of care you are looking for.

First class hotels include the grand elegance of the Ottleys Plantation Inn, and the new Marriott Resort, as well as quieter local establishments such as the Ocean Terrace Inn, which is nestled on three acres of tranquil tropical gardens.

And tens of thousands of the visitors ride the St. Kitts Scenic Railway.

Rickey: About two hundred ships call at St Kitts each year.

About 70% of our visitors on cruise ships come from North America.

Twenty percent from Europe, and the balance from Latin America and the rest of the world.

People come to the Caribbean because it's a warm weather destination and people look forward to seeing the island environment.

And St. Kitts and Nevis are two wonderfully pristine and genuinely unspoiled Caribbean islands.

So for the same reasons that everybody wants to go to the Caribbean they come to St Kitts and Nevis.

But here they know that they're going to get the genuine product.

Well the railroad is critical to the heritage side of the product that we promote and its also great entertainment.

But the railroad is an actual, former sugar industry transportation system, which moved sugar cane from the fields to the central sugar factory.

And for us it's a very important part of our heritage and we believe strongly in promoting heritage as part of our overall product.

And the railroad and the scenic railway help to keep that heritage alive.

Annc: Many of the ships dock in Port Zante, in the capital city of Basseterre, where a large portion of the islands more than forty-thousand residents live.

A short bus ride brings you to the beginning of your trip aboard the train.

The tour is a thirty-mile circular route around the island, which is only nineteen miles long.

It is an unsurpassed opportunity to experience the scenery and the culture of what really is an unspoiled country.

You can sit with your camera and take pictures from the top observation deck, or enjoy a beverage in the air conditioned lower level parlor.

You will still see fields of sugar cane.

Brimstone Hill Fortress, a world heritage site that took nearly a century to build.

Sand beaches looking out over the sea.

You'll rumble over the many steel girder bridges that span the valley's carved by mother nature out of the volcanic rock.

Tunnels of green forest vegetation will engulf your senses.

And the friendly waves from the residents of this island will bring a smile to your face.

Thomas: I think they like it because it's a unique experience, it's a one of a kind thing.

They get a chance to see our country from a perfect vantage point.

And most of all, one of the things that really keeps coming back at us in terms of the experience is the interaction they've got with our people.

And particularly with our young people, the children of primary and preprimary school ages.

Stev The locomotives came from a Polish sugar beet railroad, they were built in Romania.

But they were used on a sugar beet railroad in Poland and we brought them here.

Now they're working on a sugar cane railroad in the Caribbean.

The passenger cars were designed by Colorado Railcar and built by Hamilton Manufacturing.

Burlington, Washington.

Thomas: Starting from scratch, the cars were built to suit the vista.

In other words, we measured our first critical point, which was the tallest cane, which we saw was 13 feet.

And we decided to place our observation deck at that level.

Annc: It is the scenic beauty of St. Kitts that makes it a destination.

And it is an attraction like the St. Kitts Scenic Railway that helps bring the destination, and its history, to life.

Remember that this little restored sugar cane line is one of the best ways to see the breathtaking beauty of St. Kitts.

Here's a riddle for you.

When is the smallest really the largest?

When it's the largest Z-scale layout in the country.

Have a look at Robert Allbritton's recreation of Switzerland's St. Gotthard line.

Annc: The St. Gotthard pass, a 12-mile run that connects Lucerne, Switzerland and Milan, Italy is one of the most spectacular train rides in the world.

Like many Americans who backpack across Europe with friends, Robert Allbritton was deeply impressed when he rode the train back in 1989.

Little did he know then that this experience would have a major impact not only on his own future as a railroad hobbyist, but on the world of Z-scale modeling as a whole.

Today, almost 20 years later, Robert is the President & CEO of Allbritton Communications and his fascination with the St. Gotthard Pass continues to thrive.

This is the proof.

Allbritt's 25 x 50 foot scale model of the famous St. Gotthard Pass in Z-scale.

It stands almost 15 feet high.

Robert: We took two trips to Switzerland to do some research, to take some photographs, things of that nature, to really make this layout as accurate as possible.

And so there were about 2000 pictures that were taken and carefully documented where those were.

So that the folks who were building the layout could really get a good idea of what the actual scenery looks like, how if differs from North American scenery, which they would be more acustomed to building.

The CAD design was really taken off original maps which were shrunk down.

So what we would do, we would hike around the various locations.

This is all in an Alpine valley, and take various photographs that were pointed in different directions.

And then we'd show them the exact angle that the photo was taken up against the scenery, so they could match that up to the maps.

And then match that up to the actual design itself.

It's really only about a one third compression to this whole thing.

Which for model railroading is very light.

The challenge is that this is a rail line that goes up a valley.

Frequently the rail line would shift from the right side of the valley to the left side of the valley.

So as you're going back and forth, when you think about it and you're trying to make it only on one side, you have to make some compromises at some point in time.

But fortunately based on the design the way we had it constructed, we only had to bend the track twice and shoot in a slightly different angle on one thing to actually make it work.

So that really took a lot of thought going into it.

And we had to overlay the two sections so that the southern section of the Alps would match up with the northern portion on the opposite side of the layout.

Annc: Robert contracted Dick Taylor of Raildreams to do the main layout construction based on Robert's designs.

It began in 2001 and finished in 2005, in time for the National Train Show in Cincinnati the following year.

Dick: It was a riot.

We had a ball.

With Robert it was a meeting of the minds because Robert and I really like doing adventurous things.

In terms of model railroad construction, spirals are always interesting, spiral helixes.

Because you not only have to get the proper curvature, but you also have to create a super elevation in the curve so that the trains can execute the spiral without tipping outward on the track.

So what you get, you have to be very careful and precise about angles.

Robert: I've had several people who have visited this portion of the world and have come back andsaid that this is axactly the way this looks.

It's not just a representation.

In some cases, you can take photographs and match them up side by side and they are incredible close.

Dick: Robert's contribution to Z scale has been wonderful.

Because he took what started out for him as a hobby, and he began to get into, "How can I make this a better hobby for everybody involved."

And so he and a partner formed a company and really started to bring excellent model railroad products to this scale.

And I know myself that there are challenges to that, because I worked with a scale called TT for a while and it was very difficult.

But Robert has embraced it and has just done a fabulous job.

I think that Z scale tends to appeal to a younger model railroader.

And many of those folks don't have their first home yet, they're still in apartments, you know, a limited amount of space for it.

I think that's part oit.

But I think also it's just that it has such a wonderful relationship to the scenery.

If you look at this layout.

If this was in HO, it really wouldn't be that spectacular.

But because of the fact that Z scale is in proportion to its scenery, in real proportion to its scenery, you really get the effect of the trains in their environment.

Which is something you can't get in any other scale.

Robert: Doing something like this in Z scale, where everyone says just can't be done, it's just impossible, it's a lot of fun being able to do the impossible and make these things become reality.

Robert takes great delight in helping to expand the growing world of Z gauge.

Over the years we've been on some pretty spectacular train rides.

In a moment, we'll take you on one that is certain to rank up there as one of the best.

We'll go off to the mountains outside Tokyo, for a three part ride.

It's one that will make it easy to believe you are in the middle of the wilderness.

But first, imagine a museum where the volunteers do more than give tours.

They're bringing items on display back to life.

Annc: The year was 1957.

A retired locomotive, the Pere Marquette Number 1225, was being honored at a ceremony at Michigan State University in Lansing.

On that day, the once powerful engine was formally laid to rest and put on display as a permanent monument to the age of steam.

Fifty years have passed and today, the majestic 1225 is not only out of retirement, it's the largest operating steam locomotive of its kind, and the centerpiece of the Steam Railroading Institute in Owosso, Michigan.

Gaffney: We're a seven acre complex here in Owosso Michigan.

It's dedicated to the preservation of steam railroading technology, especially here in Michigan and the great lakes region.

Annc: Owosso is located thirty miles northeast of Lansing.

And Lansing is where that Pere Marquette locomotive sat idle, on display, until 1970, when a railfan club at Michigan State University went to work on the engine.

After thirteen years, they completed sixty percent of the restoration.

In 1983, the Michigan State Trust for Railway Preservation moved the engine to this former Ann Arbor railroad shop in Owosso, where a group of volunteers continued the project.

Rodney Crawford was one of those volunteers.

He had just retired and joined a local railroad club.

Rodney: One night at one of the meetings in early 1984, a representative of the Steam RR Institute came to the meeting and lectured on the restoration of the 1225.

I came to Owosso the next weekend and I've been driving to Owosso ever since.

I was in charge of the restoration when the locomotive was brought into service and watching the people work on it was truly a great experience/ Annc: In 1985, the Pere Marquette 1225 ran on its own power for the first time in 34 years.

The popularity of the locomotive reached celebrity status when it was cast as the prototype for the animated film, "The Polar Express."

The movie opened in 2004, the same year the Steam Railroading Institute opened its visitor center in a renovated building once owned by the Ann Arbor Railway.

Artifacts and documents from the Great Lakes region are on display here, plus a large model railroad built by local modelers.

The Institute has a growing collection of passenger cars including this 1950 Pullman Sleeper, which set the standard in overnight train travel.

This Pere Marquette caboose had been sitting idle in downtown Owosso until 2004, when it was brought to the Institute for restoration.

Whistle During the holiday season the 1225 makes a dozen trips as the "North Pole Express," a popular excursion that draws seven thousand passengers each year.

Annc: In the warmer months, visitors can take a shorter excursion that runs twice a day from the Institute.

These hour-long trips travel through the Michigan countryside along the former Ann Arbor Railway which is now Great Lakes Central Railway.

On this trip, the train is led by the Flagg Coal Number 75.

Built in 1930 by Vulcan Iron Works, this engine, like the 1225, spent decades resting and rusting as a museum piece.

Barney Gramling, a former Amtrak engineer, has a special affinity for the Flagg Coal.

In 1991, he and his father acquired the engine at a scrap-iron price and spent the next ten years restoring it at their Indiana farm.

Owning a steam engine was a goal Barney set for himself at very young age.

Barney: At a tourist railroad that I was working on, an individual who owned the railroad, he got his steam engine running when he was 21 years old.

At the time I was 19 and I figured if he could get one running so could I. Annc: Barney is now the Chief Mechanical Officer at the Institute, and while his heart belongs to the forty-ton Flagg Coal, most of his time is spent on the four-hundred ton Pere Marquette 1225.

Barney: The difference between working on my locomotive versus the 1225 would be the difference between working on a bicycle versus a Ferrari.

Obviously the engine is ten times bigger than this one, but what goes on is essentially the same so in some respects it's the same but the pieces are just bigger that's all.

Annc: Barney oversees the volunteers who are drawn to the Institute for the chance to do this hands-on work.

Gaffney: One of the things that makes this place unique is the fact that while we have one of the largest steam locomotives, our volunteer base is such that we allow our volunteers to work in and around that locomotive a lot of places you don't get the opportunity to work on something quite that large.

Stevens: I enjoy wking with the people that are here.

It gives you an opportunity to get involved in something you can learn on and you can make a difference, you can take something that doesn't work and you can make it work.

Annc: Recently the Institute acquired its third steam locomotive, the Mississippian No.

76, a freight engine once used by the San Francisco Railway.

The volunteer crew is currently working to bring it back to operating condition.

Gaffney: Our motto is that we're more than just a static museum we're living history and in that sense everything we do here is for preservation of history for people to enjoy from a live standpoint it's not just a static exhibit.

Barney: And preserving the steam shows where we come from because if it wasn't for machines such as this the stuff we have nowadays wouldn't have been possible.

Annc: The Steam Railroading Institute is fulfilling a mission that began nearly forty years ago, to bring the steam experience back to life and maintain it for future generations.

Music Annc: We typically think of Japan as a high density, high tech, urban culture.

But thanks to the Japanese National Tourist Organization and Japan Airlines, we were able to bring our cameras to a Japan most Americans have not seen.

Today we're in Shimada, in the south central area of the island of Honshu.

We're here to experience the Oigawa railway, a unique combination of steam, diesel, electric, and cog technology.

The 70 kilometer line takes us from the lowlands of Shimada, through Senzu, to the mountain splendor of Ikawa, a run which includes a nine per cent grade and spectacular scenery.

This line was originally constructed to move the freight and workers needed to build 23 hydro-electric dams in the region.

Today however, it serves as a tourist attraction that carries over a million travelers a year to breathtaking views of forest and valley and to enjoy the recreation afforded by the lakes the dams have created.

Our journey begins at the shin Kanagowa station in Shimada.

During the first leg, approximately 40 kilometers, we'll ride in authentic restored cars and be pulled by a 2-6-2 steam locomotive.

Our engineer was up bright and early to fire up the boiler.

Engineer:: My first responsibility is to fe the steam locomotive, starting at 7:40 in the morning.

I fire the engine and put water in the boiler.

Moving up to Senzu, we need a half ton of coal and about three and a half tons of water.

Annc: And so the first leg of our journey begins.

As we depart from Shimada and begin the journey to Senzu we settle in with our fellow passengers and prepare to take on some nourishment.

(Natural sound) Annc: This part of the trip does not feature the breathtaking scenery we'll experience when we get up into the mountains.

so our conductors are more than happy to provide us with some musical diversion.

(Singing, harmonica music) (Singing, harmonica music) Annc: Now fed and entertained, we enjoy the gentle rocking of the coach and the pastoral scenery as we complete the 70 minute journey to Senzu.

Natural Sound The time passes quickly and we soon find ourselves approaching our transfer point.

It's here in Senzu that we must move to a diesel traction train that uses a slightly smaller gauge of rail in order to accommodate the tight fit we'll encounter in the more than 60 tunnels we must pass through on our way up to Ikawa, high in the Minami Alps.

Our climb begins and we pass fields of tea being cultivated to quench the huge demand for this, the most popular beverage in Japan.

And soon, the scenery we've been promised begins to show itself.

(Natural sound) (Natural sound) Annc: We cross a total of 55 bridges on our trek, some of which rise hundreds of feet above the Oigawa river.

(Natural sound) Annc: Between bridges and tunnels we are treated to views of the unblemished forests of this national preserve area.

We stop at the Igawa station to couple with a locomotive that uses the cog technology to negotiate the steeper grade on the final leg of our assent.

This is the only cog, or rack railway in Japan.

Our climb is slow but we don't mind because the views are magnificent.

(Natural sound) Annc: Soon we reach the pinnacle of our journey, the Nagashima Dam.

The cog engine leaves us in search of another load to pull up the steep grade.

Our journey from here will be all downhill.

And the return trip is no less spectacular than the assent.

Our trip back down through the tunnels.

over the bridges.

and past the dams.

leaves us breathless.

At Senzu, we're re-united with the steam train, and complete our journey back to Shimada, exhausted but blissful, still in awe of the spectacular visual banquet we've enjoyed.

and grateful for the opportunity to see Japan as few Aricans ever have.

(Natural sound) If you like the ski, the Oigawa Railway is the perfect way to get to the slopes.

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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