Armed with his 19th-century Appleton's guidebook to the United States and Canada, Michael Portillo embarks on a 1,100-mile railroad journey from Boston, Massachusetts, across the border to Toronto in the Canadian province of Ontario. Along the way, he encounters revolutionaries and feminists, pilgrims and witches and rides some of the oldest and most breathtaking railroads in the world.\n\nAt risk of being uncovered as a Tory spy, Michael joins the Sons of Liberty aboard ship in Boston harbour. Will he help rebels jettison 112 crates of East India Company tea? Michael rides America's first subway and sups oysters in Boston's oldest restaurant. Heading out of the city along the route of one of the earliest railroads in the United States, Michael reaches Lowell, renowned as the birthplace of the American Industrial Revolution. An historic streetcar conveys him to the Boott Cotton Mills, where he discovers a flagrant act of industrial espionage and militancy among the thousands of women and girls who worked there.\n\nMichael's guide sets him on the trail of the second largest organ in the world, located now in Haverhill. He is rewarded with a rousing rendition of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, courtesy of the 19th-century Handel and Haydn Choir.
Source: BBC 2
Series 2 Reversions: 9. Chicago To Champaign, Illinois
16-09-2024
BBC 2
Series 2 Reversions: 5. Santa Fe, New Mexico, To The Grand Canyon
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BBC 2
Series 2 Reversions: 4. La Junta To Colorado Springs
05-09-2024
BBC 2
Series 2 Reversions: 2. Sedalia To St Joseph, Missouri
04-09-2024
BBC 2
Series 2 Reversions: 1. St Louis To Jefferson City, Missouri
02-09-2024
BBC 2
Series 3: 6. Burlington To Plattsburgh
Michael Portillo continues his American rail journey through New England as he heads for the Canadian border. First stop is Burlington, Vermont, a busy timber port at the time o ...
15-11-2022
BBC 2
Series 3: 3. Plymouth To Nantucket
Led by his Appleton's guidebook and tracing the footsteps of the Pilgrim Fathers, Michael Portillo heads for Plymouth, the home town of America. He learns how indigenous tribes ...
09-11-2022
BBC 2
Series 3: 1. Boston
Armed with his 19th-century Appleton's guidebook to the United States and Canada, Michael Portillo embarks on a 1,100-mile railroad journey from Boston, Massachusetts, across th ...
07-11-2022
BBC 2
Series 3 Reversions: 2. San Francisco
Armed with his trusty Appleton's Guide, Michael Portillo reaches San Francisco, where he boards one of the city's iconic cable cars. Behind the scenes in the engineering powerho ...
05-06-2018
BBC 2