Whistle Music Tracks Ahead.

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Music Hi, I'm Spencer Christian.

On this episode of Tracks Ahead will visit a model railroad focused on industry and go to a town that welcomes railroad fans and we'll ride some of the old Boston and Maine Railroad but first, of all the places we've traveled for Tracks Ahead, none as captured our imagination as much as Cuba, it's well worth the trip to see classic steam in operation.

Ancr: You're seeing something most Americans can only dream of, the trains of Cuba.

Ambient Sound Seeing these living, breathing pieces of rail history is even more impressive in person, until recently, that was the stuff of fantasy.

Chris Skow runs Trains Unlimited Tours he's got a steady stream of regular clients that count on him for access to some of the most fabulous trains that the world has to offer.

They wanted to come to Cuba for years; he even had clients say, they'd go if it was illegal.

Chris: We decided years ago that either it's going to be legal or not at all.

There has been so much demand to run this railroad toward Cuba that it's been eating at us for years.

Ancr: Recent rules by the US Government allowed for limited travel to Cuba for Americans making educational visits with licensed groups.

Trains Unlimited Tours is the first group to take advantage of new laws and bring rail fans; and now they're here and as wonderful as the train portion has been there was unexpected bonus.

Chris: We have run railroad tours all through Latin America and Mexico.

The warmness of the people here towards Americans, maybe it's a curiosity; we're the folks from the north that they know nothing about.

Whatever it is, they are very cordial and interested in our activities, life style, and what we're all about.

Ancr: Some expected this place to feel like Mexico, some expected to feel a bit dangerous and edgy.

To a person they admit, they were wrong.

Sharon: I felt extremely safe, I've not been at all uncomfortable, people are very friendly, they smile, they speak, we don't always understand.

Tom knows some Spanish and he's able to communicate with them, they can understand him when he has questions and we felt very secure.

Ancr: With the only passenger rail line alive in the Caribbean, trains are every part of every day life for many Cubans.

They offer one of the best, if more crowded ways, to get around.

J.C.: The reason we came to Cuba to see the steam engines that was our basic reason.

In order to get here we had to get some authorized trip and this is the one that was offered and that's why we're here, to see the engines, not only the engines but all the Cuban railway.

Thierry: It's very interesting for Americans to come to visit Cuba, for the relationship, for the rolling stock, for the atmosphere, for the colonial cities, for everything in fact.

Ancr: There's a whole world of railroading here, Thierry Nicholas is the main force behind bringing rail fans to Cuba, his company Transnico has been bringing in European rail fans for years.

He says when you see Cuban rail, it's as if you're seeing through the windows of a time machine.

Thierry: Takes you back in time for about 50 years, not only for trains, for everything, except that you are seeing something not coming to Cuba this way, it's like it's like the eyes of your grandfather.

Ancr: Chocolate was once a major industry in Cuba these cars were brought in by Hershey long ago in the 1920's, like a lot of classics, they're still in service.

Look around almost anywhere in Cuba and you'll find a collection of old American cars that would make an enthusiast drool.

What's also amazing is that the fact that no new parts have come in, legally, for these cars since the late 1950's.

When they breakdown, and if a new part is needed, the Cubans have to come up with some way to get it running again, much the same is true for the trains.

(Whistle) Chris: Here in Cuba it's all real.

It's still happening everyday, it's not staged.

Sure our photo runbys were staged, but it's all real.

It's the real working railroads, mills with real American steam locomotives doing a job that it was meant to do.

Ancr: Most of the operations are in good shape, if very old, because they're still a vital part of the economy.

These hard working engines are a testament to Cuban ingenuity keeping old locals running long even after most have been retired or even junked in the US.

Chris Skow and his team worked it out so travelers on his trips get to see special things normally off-limit to visitors.

It is a very rare treat to see these shops outfitted to handle whatever comes up, after all these are really old trains and it's not like they can call warehouse and order parts, they have to build them.

Tom: I grew up in the late 1940's and 1950's and there was steam there.

Some of the locomotives didn't look an awful lot unlike of what we're seeing here.

They've been forced to use these locomotives continuously well beyond they're normal life expectancy.

It's very interesting to see how well they have done in maintaining and keeping those locomotives operating.

Ancr: Unlike most of the rest of the tourist world, Cuba has not been bowled over by growth and homogenized.

Mary: What I enjoy, I think the most, is the colonial architecture.

We stopped at a few towns for maybe 30 or 40 minutes and it's been extremely interesting to me.

Ancr: The trains here are rare.

Chris Skow said he and his partners have been talking with the Cuban Government about the possibility of a museum.

Chris: Indeed, they are thinking seriously about it.

They see the tourism and the value of these steam locomotives, which are unique now in the entire world.

They say, hey, this is a good thing we have.

Ancr: When you come here you see it pretty much the way it's been for a long time.

It's true with the gorgeous old architecture as well as the trains.

Tom: They're not just models, they're not tourist attractions, they're actual working steam at the sugar mills and cane fields and give you the feeling of true working steam operation.

Chris: That makes all the difference in the world.

Rail fans, my clients, my hardcore rail fan clients they are after real operations.

Even to a very wide extent the rail operations in South American have now ceased except for just a few remote lines and here in Cuba it's all real.

Ancr: No one knows how long this kind of railroading will last in Cuba there's been serious talk about replacing the old steam with newer diesel stock.

Chris: On this tour we have seen several sugar mills that were even listed by the Cuban Government this year 2001 as being in full steam with nothing but steam locomotives.

We have found that they've already been diesel-ized we have found that some of the steam engines are already in disrepair and have been replaced by diesel, either partially or fully.

It is happening very fast, when I say very fast, the scope of the Cuban sugar mills are so vast there's nothing like it in the world as far as the number of mills, this is going to take several years for the steam to be replaced by diesel, but indeed it's happening.

Ancr: While this place has that locked in time feel, things are changing, politically and socially, many think it's only a matter of time until Cuba, is again, truly open to Americans.

These trips offer a rare chance to see Cuba as it is now before whatever comes next.

Thierry: I hope that the politics will change regarding this country, to do more friendship between countries because they have a long history together.

It's not the same with many other countries.

Ancr: In Cuba the reminder of how non-American this place is are everywhere, busts Jose Marti are a common site.

Marti was a poet and revolutionary from the time when Cuba was struggling to gain it's independence from Spain, he has been said, to represent the heart of Cuba.

One statue of Marti shows him holding a child look closer, you'll see the child is young Elian Gonzales.

Marti points to defiantly toward the United States and of course Fidel Castro is everywhere.

Posters and billboards showing strength in spite of the US embargo are hard to miss.

In fact in Cuba the embargo is known as the blockade, the view of the Cuba American situation is quite different when seen from Cuba.

Its time to head home back to the US for Chris Skow his first foray into forbidden Cuba is a success.

The Cuban sunsets were something many Americans took for granted for many years, this was the playground for the rich and famous, now this is a scene that's forbidden to most American eyes.

If the politics change, it might be a sight that again thrills Americans anxious to return to this forbidden island.

For now, it is hard to get here and for the travelers that came on this trip, all worth the trouble.

If you're thinking of making the trip to Cuba check with a licensed tour operator for further details.

Most of the folks who've put layouts together do it to watch the trains run, Jeff Borne likes the trains but mostly he likes to build the hard working industrial areas freight trains called home.

Ancr: This is the Columbia River Steel Corporation it's along the stretch of the Milwaukee Road mainline.

The creation of Jeff Borne it's a big HO layout that features heavy industry.

Jeff: The purpose of this railroad is to move tonnage because both of these plants consume a lot of carloads per day.

Ancr: At 24 by 29 feet it's a lot of layout, the Mill line is over one scale mile long, the centerpiece of the layout, just as it is in a true Steel Mill, is the blast furnace.

Jeff: That blast furnace we bring in iron ore, limestone and coke, converting it to iron, which is essentially steel with too much carbon in it.

Ancr: Jeff built a lot of it from scratch after he spent a lot of time looking at the real places shown here in miniature.

Jeff: The first thing you have to do is see a prototype, that's indispensable, you've got to a mill to get a feel, I've been through at least 6 steel mills.

Ancr: It's the building that's magic for Jeff Borne, not running the trains, knowing that things like this blast furnace were brought to life with his hands.

Jeff: Research is part of it, understanding the process of what each piece of equipment does, actually building it, it's a lot of fun to build.

It's a creative process.

Ancr: 22 cars of limestone, 25 cars of coke, and a whopping 92 cars of iron ore pound through every 24 hours.

The raw materials you're looking at are the real thing, Jeff uses actual coke, iron ore and limestone, after all if you want it to look authentic, real is real.

Jeff: The iron ore I got up in Hibbing from the old Hall Russ mine, limestone I got from in Ohio, coke I picked up off the tracks and crushed, up in Duluth a little, that's pretty much the raw materials.

Ancr: This isn't a place to admire the trees or pretend you're in a picturesque small town; Jeff has designed to build a tough hard working piece of America.

Jeff: Most people, have their mountains, my heavy industry they're my mountains and valleys, that's what I tell people why this is, it's different.

Everybody has mountains, and rivers, logging and all that, I'm not interested in that.

Ancr: Like all layouts this one isn't finished, whatever the future holds for the Columbia River Steel Corporation you just know it's going to be mostly involving hard work and heavy equipment.

Most towns' frown on railroad fans who want to watch trains.

There's different attitude in Rochelle, Illinois, the crossing of the Union Pacific and BNSF has created a business opportunity.

There are lots of train rides that take you through beautiful parts of America, there are excursion trains and then there's the Conway Scenic Railroad in New Hampshire.

Ancr: Some of the prettiest scenery in the Eastern United States can be found in New Hampshire and one of the easiest ways to see it is on board one of the trains of the Conway Scenic Railroad.

The Conway Scenic Railroad is located in the heart of north Conway Village, New Hampshire.

It's a village surrounded by the 780,000 acre White Mountain National Forest.

It's just an hour and half from Portsmouth, two and half hours by car from Boston.

These great trains offer three wonderful trips.

The train's leave from the historic north Conway station, the station was built more than 125 years ago, when steam boats and stagecoach were the method of transportation to reach the North Country.

It's a Victorian style station build in 1874 in what was then a prestigious summer resort.

Russell: The station is a beautiful station that was a moscovite like inspired station and has twin towers and a big clock tower in the center and is really the showpiece of North Conway Village.

It's a landmark and also the property is beautiful in that it is the way it was in the early 1900's with an operating turntable, 85 feet in diameter, we use the engine house the way it was when steam engines were operating, in fact we have our steam engine number 7470 in stall one ready to come out for a day's use.

Gary: One of the unique features of the building is the two oak staircases is one in the gift shop to the tower upstairs on that end and one to the business office.

They were meticulously stripped with toothbrushes and stripper to get them back to their original finish; they're quite unique, irreplaceable.

Ancr: The trains roll through beautiful bluffs and steep ravines, the panoramic mountain vistas are breathtaking.

You can take a quick family trip or a daylong rail fan excursion.

You'll be pulled through history by either historic steam or electric diesel and let me tell you these are trips that can be taken in style.

The comfortable coach seating is not your only option, check out the spacious first class seating aboard the beautifully restored Gertrude Emma Pullman Parlor observation car.

Roger: The Pullman parlor car, the Gertrude Emma, was purchased in about 1985 and fully restored and built originally in 1898; it is over 102 years old.

We operate it on our Valley train and what we've done is we kept it restored the way it is, it has a lot of the original mahogany inlaid interior, we have a nice carpet interior and wicker chair.

The way that that car is used now is for a nice relaxing ride sort of the way the car was used originally when it operated between Chicago and New York on the Pennsylvania Limited.

People would sit in the parlor together, have a drink or two and they had their staterooms to spend the night.

The staterooms are no longer a part of the car, they were taken out of the car many years ago but it gives you that feel of an old time train and what railroading was really like in the hey-day of the passenger railroad excursion trains.

Gary: The car originally had a bedroom where every window was and each was done in a different wood, rosewood, oak wood and each room had a name then there was a common area to the rear of the car with an observation platform.

The car, over several restorations and upgrades, has been brought to where it is today.

Ancr: You can also relive the golden days of railroad dining as you travel aboard an elegant dining car.

Russell: The dining car Chocorua was a relic in 1992, we decided to totally gut that car, refurbish it and turn it into a full service dining car.

Ancr: If you're going to travel you might as well travel in style and if you're going to travel in style, what better place to do it than in beautiful New Hampshire.

Music Horn Ancr: Welcome to the Diamonds.

The name diamonds comes from the way the tracks cross each other to form steel rail diamonds.

More than 100 of these monsters pound through this little piece of Rochelle, Illinois each day and the best part, if you're a rail fan, is that you have a special place to catch all the action.

Ken: The idea really comes from the rail fans because they were coming here already, they were creating a traffic problem, they were parking all around the railroad tracks and causing a problem getting in and out of people's driveways.

The concept was, wait a minute, Rochelle should be a host, these people were coming anyway, they've been coming for years.

We had an obligation to provide some type of facility with washroom, handicap accessible, place where the kids could play, safely, a safe facility.

Ancr: Obviously that's great news for folks who come from near and far to check out the trains.

On any given day, you're going to see all kinds you never know what to expect.

Fan: We've seen a single train go by that was primarily coal that sort of thing heading eastbound.

Fan: We're hoping to get some good pictures today to take, we brought our camera with.

Fan: You can see a lot of trains here go through during the day where any other place they wouldn't be going through as fast as many, that's interesting to see.

Fan: Something that young and old can enjoy and kids can enjoy also it should be a learning experience for everybody that comes in contact with the trains.

Fan: Sometimes we have a 120 trains a day through here, all varieties, coal, cargo, container, trailer, tank and just a little bit of everything you want to see.

Ancr: Gerald Brechschneider gives tours of Rochelle Railro Park; he says it's a unique spot the kind of place that anyone who loves trains should spend more time.

Gerald: It's one of the newest railroad parks other than the one on the east coast and it's very friendly and conducive to an excellent camera picture taking, refreshments and good amenities around.

Ancr: Spots like this one at Rochelle are rare.

Gerald: This is unique, there's only one other place at that's out on the Conrail system at Horseshoe curve.

Ancr: It's been a real boom for the town of Rochelle, but visitors aren't the only ones who come here because of the diamonds.

Lynn and Anthony Miranda came from Nevada but they didn't come to look at trains.

Anthony: We figured this would be a chance for us to turn our hobby into a business and we saw this unique area, we thought we'd give it a try right here.

Ancr: They opened a small shop for the visiting rail fans, which is now turning into a bigger shop.

Lynn: We are expanding now because business has been pretty good and our business is really small, we get about 10 rail fans in here and we can't fit anyone else in.

Now you'll have room to move around and look at things in the shop.

Ancr: Some towns frown on rail fans; some think that the avid videotaping and picture taking clogs things up.

Some towns actually discourage rail fans from settling in and enjoying the trains, everyone here agrees, Rochelle is kind of a safe harbor.

Fan: This place is really unique it has nice overhead hang here, nice pavilion, restrooms and a parking lot, they really make the day enjoyable here, a really unique place.

Fan: This place is wonderful, no other town has ever been this good to rail fans and it's friendly to the rail fans, they even put this facility together for us, it's just wonderful.

Ancr: It's the town that embraced rail fans and in turn, it's the town that has become the place to spend some time just enjoying these hard working machines in a spot that makes you feel welcome and at home.

Spencer: Now if you're heading out to New Hampshire, we suggest you give the folks at the Conway Scenic Railway a call to see if you can reserve your tickets in advance, it's a popular ride.

Thanks for being with us and please join us next time for more Tracks Ahead.

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