Great American Railroad Journeys

Original version

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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 2 (Extended Versions)

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Michael Portillo

John Comerford

Alison Kreps

Great American Railroad Journeys: Series 2 (Extended Versions): Episode 6: Minneapolis - St Paul

The Twin Cities, Minneapolis

Episode 6

Episode 6: Minneapolis - St Paul

Minneapolis - St Paul

BBC Two - Great American Railroad Journeys, Series 2 (Extended Versions), Minneapolis - St Paul

Michael embarks on a new rail journey that begins and finishes on the Mississippi River.

Michael Portillo embarks on a rail journey that starts and ends on the Mississippi River, going from the home of F Scott Fitzgerald to Graceland in Memphis.

Michael Portillo embarks on a new American rail journey that begins and finishes on the Mississippi River. It takes him 1,000 miles from the home of F Scott Fitzgerald and The Great Gatsby to Elvis Presley's Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. He discovers how Minneapolis harnessed the awesome power of the mighty Mississippi to become a great industrial centre, the Mill City of the nation. And he finds how the city became the artificial limb capital of the world.

In St Paul, Michael explores the birthplace of F Scott Fitzgerald and meets a jazz-age trumpeter and Fitzgerald fan who introduces him to the lifestyle of Fitzgerald's hero, Jay Gatsby. Michael discovers the tom tom beat of Hiawatha and his lover Minniehaha. He meets a Dakota Sioux expert on Native American culture to learn about a dark chapter in United States history and hears how it is marked today. Michael's diplomatic skills are tested at a Swedish American lunch, where the centrepiece of the menu is reconstituted dried cod. Chasing the Golden Age of luxury rail travel, he bounces on the bed in a beautifully restored Pullman carriage of the Lambert's Point.

Great American Railroad Journeys: Series 2 (Extended Versions)

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Great American Railroad Journeys

Series 2 (Extended Versions)

Episode 6: Minneapolis - St Paul

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