Great American Railroad Journeys

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Factual: Travel

Michael Portillo crosses the Atlantic to ride the railroads of America.

Michael Portillo crosses the Atlantic to ride the railroads of America, armed with Appleton's General Guide to the United States, published in 1879.

Series 3

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Michael Portillo

Chris Bairstow

Alison Kreps

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Great American Railroad Journeys: Series 3: Episode 4: Providence, Rhode Island, to New London, Connecticut

Episode 4

Episode 4: Providence, Rhode Island, to New London, Connecticut

Providence, Rhode Island, to New London, Connecticut

BBC Two - Great American Railroad Journeys, Series 3, Providence, Rhode Island, to New London, Connecticut

Michael Portillo joins in with a legendary open-air 'clambake'.

Michael Portillo visits a club that traces its roots back to the 1840s. Michael joins in with a legendary open-air 'clambake'.

Led by his 19th-century Appleton's guidebook, Michael Portillo's railway journey continues through New England. On the banks of the Providence River, he discovers a club that traces its roots and culinary traditions back to the 1840s. Michael joins in with one of its legendary open-air 'clambakes'.

In the Rhode Island capital, Providence, Michael is on the trail of an historic company that counts US presidents among its customers. Portillo practises the art of penmanship at AT Cross, America's oldest manufacturer of writing instruments. Travelling west to New London, Connecticut, Michael visits the elite US Coast Guard Academy. Established around the time of his guidebook in 1876, 300 cadets enrol every year and train to defend more than one hundred thousand miles of American coastline.

On the literary trail, Michael visits the childhood summer home of an American dramatist who won the Nobel Prize for Literature. Eugene O'Neill's deeply personal and ground-breaking work dealt with human frailty and the struggles of modern life and transformed American theatre.

Great American Railroad Journeys: Series 3

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Michael Portillo embarks on a rail journey from Boston, Massachusetts, to Toronto, Ontario

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, to Toronto, Ontario.

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Great American Railroad Journeys

Series 3

Episode 4: Providence, Rhode Island, to New London, Connecticut

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