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Documentary
A 4-part documentary series capturing the compelling story of James J. Hill and the Great Northern Railway.
Seventeen-year-old Canadian immigrant James J. Hill arrives in St. Paul, Minnesota. Working song the waterfront, he immerses himself in the Mississippi River trade and, within ten years, starts his first business. An opportunity strikes when the St. Paul and Pacific Railway goes bankrupt for the third time. Hill convinces a group of associates to make a play for the railroad.
Hill takes the biggest gamble of his career. He decides to build west, despite existing transcontinental lines to the north and south. To get there, he must cross two mountain ranges, lay hundreds of miles of track, and convince Congress to gain access to Indian territory.
Hill faces striking workers and American Railway Union President Eugene Debs. Hill recruits JP Morgan to add the Northern Pacific to his empire. A fight for control of the Northern Pacific pits Hill against railroad tycoon E. H. Harriman in an epic stock battle that sends Wall Street into a tailspin. A young President, Theodore Roosevelt, seeks to curtail Hill's power.
Hill turn Seattle into an international port by opening up trade with Asia. Encouraged by Great Northern agents, immigrants from Europe, settle in Montana and North Dakota. Hill expands into Oregon, facing Harriman once again in "The Last of the Great Railroad Wars." Hill's son, Louis, takes the reins of the Great Northern and develops Glacier National Park. Hill backs environmental conservation and secures a loan to the Allies during World War I.
Narrator
James J. Hill (voice)
This series looks at the iconic trains that have done the most to change history. Each train is an engineering marvel, each one a leap forward in the history of trains and railways. But more than this, these are the trains that made the modern world. These are the trains that unify nations and open up continents, that miraculously shrink distance and create a global economy, changing how we trade, what we buy and make and sell. They change how we live and even how we think, speeding up our lives and expanding our horizons. These are the machines that made us modern. Each episode features one iconic train and describes its impact on railway history and on history in general, combining archive and expert testimony with actuality and hands-on engineering demonstrations.
Following an elite crew of workers-- brakemen, engineers, construction crews, mechanics and train drivers – Railroad Alaska illustrates the battle against ferocious weather and treacherous terrain to keep the State of Alaska’s critical 500-mile long railroad rolling to deliver life sustaining supplies. From controlled avalanches to prevent catastrophe, to fascinating characters, like Jim James, the one-handed handy man, learn what it takes to keep this train on track.
