WEBVTT 00:00:20.687 --> 00:00:24.890 RIGHT NOW I'M WALKING DOWN SOME VERY HISTORIC TRACK, 00:00:24.958 --> 00:00:27.993 AND THAT IS A VERY HISTORIC TUNNEL. 00:00:28.061 --> 00:00:31.163 IN FACT, THIS TRACK AND THAT TUNNEL, 00:00:31.231 --> 00:00:33.465 WHEN IT OPENED BACK IN 1894, 00:00:33.533 --> 00:00:37.903 SIGNIFICANTLY CHANGED THE LIVES OF ALL OF THE CITIZENS 00:00:37.971 --> 00:00:42.107 OF A LITTLE TOWN LOCATED HERE ON OUR CENTRAL COAST. 00:00:42.175 --> 00:00:44.643 NOW, ON THIS PARTICULAR ADVENTURE, 00:00:44.711 --> 00:00:47.279 WE'RE GONNA TRAVEL DOWN THIS TRACK 00:00:47.347 --> 00:00:50.249 AND GO THROUGH A NUMBER OF THOSE TUNNELS 00:00:50.316 --> 00:00:51.884 AND FIND OUT FIRSTHAND 00:00:51.951 --> 00:00:54.820 WHY THIS PARTICULAR SECTION OF RAILROAD 00:00:54.888 --> 00:00:58.090 IS STILL CONSIDERED A MAJOR ENGINEERING FEAT. 00:00:58.158 --> 00:00:59.858 IT'S GONNA BE A LOT OF FUN, 00:00:59.926 --> 00:01:02.628 ESPECIALLY IF YOU LIKE OLD STEAM ENGINES. 00:01:02.696 --> 00:01:06.131 SO, AS ALWAYS, YOU'RE INVITED TO COME ON ALONG WITH US 00:01:06.199 --> 00:01:08.701 AS WE CONTINUE OUR SEARCH TOGETHER -- 00:01:08.768 --> 00:01:12.404 THIS TIME RIDING THE RAILS -- IN SEARCH OF CALIFORNIA'S GOLD. 00:01:12.472 --> 00:01:16.375 [ "CALIFORNIA HERE I COME" PLAYS ] 00:01:27.721 --> 00:01:31.590 Howser: IT'S A BEAUTIFUL PART OF THE CALIFORNIA LANDSCAPE -- 00:01:31.658 --> 00:01:33.292 PART OF OUR HISTORY, TOO. 00:01:33.360 --> 00:01:37.129 AND ANYONE WHO'S EVER DRIVEN UP OR DOWN THE CENTRAL COAST 00:01:37.197 --> 00:01:39.164 ON THE 101 HAS EXPERIENCED IT. 00:01:39.232 --> 00:01:42.067 THE HIGHWAY HAS A REAL STEEP GRADE TO IT, 00:01:42.135 --> 00:01:45.571 GOING UP AND THEN BACK DOWN THROUGH THE CUESTA PASS 00:01:45.638 --> 00:01:48.073 ON THE SANTA LUCIA MOUNTAIN RANGE. 00:01:48.141 --> 00:01:52.044 NOW, CROSSING THIS MOUNTAIN RANGE THROUGHOUT HISTORY 00:01:52.112 --> 00:01:54.079 HAS ALWAYS BEEN DIFFICULT, 00:01:54.147 --> 00:01:56.882 WHETHER BY HORSEBACK OR STAGECOACH 00:01:56.950 --> 00:01:58.717 OR AUTOMOBILE OR TRAIN. 00:01:58.785 --> 00:02:01.954 AND TO SET THE SCENE FOR THIS TRAIN ADVENTURE, 00:02:02.022 --> 00:02:04.790 WE REALLY HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THIS PASS. 00:02:04.858 --> 00:02:06.925 SO FIRST WE DROVE UP THE GRADE, 00:02:06.993 --> 00:02:09.395 TURNED OFF ONTO AN OLD DIRT ROAD, 00:02:09.462 --> 00:02:13.065 AND THEN WENT UP TO THE VERY TOP TO FIND OUT FIRSTHAND. 00:02:13.133 --> 00:02:15.434 WE'RE LOOKING AT THE ROAD COMING UP 00:02:15.502 --> 00:02:18.604 THAT'S COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS "THE CUESTA GRADE," 00:02:18.672 --> 00:02:20.639 "THE CUESTA," OR "THE GRADE." 00:02:20.707 --> 00:02:24.209 SO THE PEOPLE HAVE A LOT OF DIFFERENT TERMINOLOGY FOR IT. 00:02:24.277 --> 00:02:27.646 THEY USE THOSE THREE PRETTY MUCH INTERCHANGEABLY. 00:02:27.714 --> 00:02:29.448 NOW, THE DEAL IS 00:02:29.516 --> 00:02:33.786 THAT THE ROAD ITSELF THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT NOW -- 00:02:33.853 --> 00:02:38.390 AND THAT'S THE WAY MOST PEOPLE TRAVEL ON THE GRADE. 00:02:38.458 --> 00:02:42.194 THAT'S AT WHAT GRADE? WHAT IS THE LEVEL? 00:02:42.262 --> 00:02:44.263 THAT'S A 7% -- MOSTLY. 00:02:44.330 --> 00:02:46.131 IT VARIES SOMEWHAT, 00:02:46.199 --> 00:02:49.868 BUT IT'S BASICALLY A 7% GRADE, ABOUT 3 1/2 MILES LONG. 00:02:49.936 --> 00:02:52.571 OKAY. NOW, THAT'S NOT HARD FOR A CAR. 00:02:52.639 --> 00:02:53.939 NO, NOT FOR A CAR. 00:02:54.007 --> 00:02:56.308 NOW, THE TRUCK'S A DIFFERENT STORY. 00:02:56.376 --> 00:02:58.577 THEY GRIND UP THERE PRETTY SLOWLY 00:02:58.645 --> 00:03:00.379 WHEN THEY'RE HEAVILY LOADED. 00:03:00.447 --> 00:03:02.848 SO THE TRUCKS DON'T LIKE THAT AT ALL. 00:03:02.916 --> 00:03:04.650 WELL, IT'S A NECESSARY EVIL. 00:03:04.718 --> 00:03:07.453 THE ALTERNATIVE IS TO GO CLEAR OVER TO I-5 00:03:07.520 --> 00:03:09.655 AND COME UP THE CENTRAL VALLEY. 00:03:09.723 --> 00:03:12.191 SO IF THEY WANT TO COME UP THE COAST, 00:03:12.258 --> 00:03:14.660 THIS IS THE WAY THEY'VE GOT TO COME. 00:03:14.728 --> 00:03:18.464 SO THE TRUCKS AND THE CARS HAVE A 7% GRADE OVER 3 1/2 MILES. 00:03:18.531 --> 00:03:21.200 NOW, THE RAILROAD, THAT'S ANOTHER MATTER. 00:03:21.267 --> 00:03:22.601 THE RAILROAD -- 00:03:22.669 --> 00:03:24.036 MY UNDERSTANDING, 00:03:24.104 --> 00:03:27.306 THEY HAD TO WORK WITH A MAXIMUM OF 2% GRADE. 00:03:27.374 --> 00:03:31.977 AND IN ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH THAT, THEY HAD TO USE A LOT MORE MILES 00:03:32.045 --> 00:03:35.047 AND A BUNCH OF TUNNELS TO ACCOMPLISH IT. 00:03:35.115 --> 00:03:39.885 THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS AREA THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT RIGHT NOW 00:03:39.953 --> 00:03:44.323 WAS THAT THIS WAS THE ONLY WAY THROUGH HERE, WASN'T IT? 00:03:44.391 --> 00:03:46.191 TRADITIONALLY, I MEAN. 00:03:46.259 --> 00:03:47.726 ESSENTIALLY, YES. 00:03:47.794 --> 00:03:50.029 COME UP THIS CANYON -- BOX CANYON -- 00:03:50.096 --> 00:03:53.298 GET TO THE HEAD OF IT, CLIMB OUT, AND THEN GO ON NORTH. 00:03:53.366 --> 00:03:55.434 HORSEBACK IT WOULDN'T BE TOO BAD. 00:03:55.502 --> 00:03:57.736 ONCE YOU WANTED TO PUT WHEELS ON IT, 00:03:57.804 --> 00:04:00.005 IT BECAME QUITE A BIT OF A PROBLEM. 00:04:00.073 --> 00:04:02.908 SO THIS WAS DIFFICULT EVEN FOR THE STAGECOACHES. 00:04:02.976 --> 00:04:04.510 OH, YES. YES. 00:04:04.577 --> 00:04:07.913 NOW IS THIS, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT RIGHT NOW, 00:04:07.981 --> 00:04:11.684 IS THIS WHAT KEPT SAN LUIS OBISPO SO ISOLATED 00:04:11.751 --> 00:04:13.252 FOR SO MANY YEARS? 00:04:13.319 --> 00:04:16.755 THERE'S SAN LUIS OBISPO RIGHT OVER THERE, 00:04:16.823 --> 00:04:20.492 KIND OF NESTLED RIGHT IN AMONGST ALL OF THIS. 00:04:20.560 --> 00:04:23.696 UH, YEAH. YEAH, JUST A PHYSICAL BARRIER. 00:04:23.763 --> 00:04:27.833 SO SAN LUIS OBISPO WAS ABSOLUTELY ISOLATED, 00:04:27.901 --> 00:04:29.635 STUCK IN HERE. 00:04:29.703 --> 00:04:32.338 AND THE ONLY WAY TO GET THERE WAS THROUGH -- 00:04:32.405 --> 00:04:33.906 AND YOU POINTED OUT 00:04:33.973 --> 00:04:36.675 THESE ARE SOME OF THE ORIGINAL ROADS DOWN HERE. 00:04:36.743 --> 00:04:39.411 RIGHT DOWN THE BOTTOM IS THE VERY FIRST ROAD 00:04:39.479 --> 00:04:40.913 AND THE SECOND ONE. 00:04:40.980 --> 00:04:43.282 THEY BOTH SHOW DOWN BELOW US HERE, YES. 00:04:43.350 --> 00:04:45.818 Howser: WELL, AFTER OUR GEOGRAPHY LESSON, 00:04:45.885 --> 00:04:48.520 WE DROVE DOWN INTO SAN LUIS OBISPO ITSELF -- 00:04:48.588 --> 00:04:51.990 A JEWEL OF A TOWN WITH TREE-LINED STREETS, 00:04:52.058 --> 00:04:54.993 WONDERFULLY RESTORED OLD BUILDINGS, 00:04:55.061 --> 00:04:59.331 GOOD SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITIES, AND A BEAUTIFUL MISSION. 00:04:59.399 --> 00:05:02.034 THIS IS JUST A NICE PLACE TO LIVE. 00:05:02.102 --> 00:05:05.537 BUT BACK IN THE 1800s, BECAUSE OF ITS ISOLATION 00:05:05.605 --> 00:05:10.042 AND THE ENGINEERING DIFFICULTY OF GETTING OVER THOSE MOUNTAINS, 00:05:10.110 --> 00:05:13.912 IT WAS LITERALLY ONE OF THE LAST PLACES IN CALIFORNIA 00:05:13.980 --> 00:05:15.547 TO GET TRAIN SERVICE. 00:05:15.615 --> 00:05:19.151 IN FACT, IT WASN'T UNTIL MAY 5, 1894, 00:05:19.219 --> 00:05:21.887 THAT THE FIRST TRAIN ARRIVED, 00:05:21.955 --> 00:05:26.091 WHICH WAS CAUSE, OF COURSE, FOR A HUGE CELEBRATION. 00:05:26.159 --> 00:05:29.928 SAN LUIS OBISPO WAS FINALLY PART OF THE WORLD. 00:05:29.996 --> 00:05:33.365 AND TO FIND OUT JUST HOW DIFFICULT IT MUST'VE BEEN 00:05:33.433 --> 00:05:35.801 TO BUILD THAT ORIGINAL RAIL LINE, 00:05:35.869 --> 00:05:38.470 WE HOOKED UP WITH SOME LOCAL CITIZENS 00:05:38.538 --> 00:05:41.607 WHO HAD OFFERED TO TAKE US OUT ON THE TRACKS, 00:05:41.675 --> 00:05:44.877 UP AND OVER THE MOUNTAINS, FOR A PERSONAL TOUR. 00:05:44.944 --> 00:05:48.313 WE'RE TAKING A TOUR IN SOMETHING THAT I'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE. 00:05:48.381 --> 00:05:49.615 WHAT IS THIS? 00:05:49.683 --> 00:05:51.817 THIS IS A HIGH-RAIL INSPECTION VEHICLE, 00:05:51.885 --> 00:05:54.386 AND WE USE THIS TO INSPECT THE MAINLINE 00:05:54.454 --> 00:05:56.722 AND SIGHTINGS ALONG THE S.P. LINES. 00:05:56.790 --> 00:05:58.323 BECAUSE WHEN THEY TOLD US 00:05:58.391 --> 00:06:01.326 THAT WE WERE GONNA BE GOING DOWN THE LINE TODAY, 00:06:01.394 --> 00:06:03.128 I ENVISIONED WE WERE GONNA BE 00:06:03.196 --> 00:06:06.231 ON ONE OF THOSE...HANDCARTS LIKE THEY USED TO USE. 00:06:06.299 --> 00:06:08.634 WELL, WE'RE IN THE 20th CENTURY NOW, 00:06:08.702 --> 00:06:09.902 SO WE'LL MAKE DO. 00:06:09.969 --> 00:06:12.271 HOW DOES THIS WORK? WHAT HAPPENS HERE? 00:06:12.339 --> 00:06:15.674 WHAT I'M GONNA DO IS DRIVE IT ONTO THE CROSSING, 00:06:15.742 --> 00:06:19.111 AND I'LL LET THE GUIDE WHEELS DOWN AND LOCK THEM UP 00:06:19.179 --> 00:06:21.013 AND WE'LL BE READY TO ROLL. 00:06:21.081 --> 00:06:22.614 SO IN OTHER WORDS, 00:06:22.682 --> 00:06:27.386 THIS VEHICLE CAN EITHER TRAVEL ON THE HIGHWAY OR ON THE TRACKS. 00:06:27.454 --> 00:06:29.054 YES, THAT'S CORRECT. 00:06:29.122 --> 00:06:31.023 WELL, LET'S TAKE A LOOK. 00:06:31.091 --> 00:06:34.693 THIS IS WHAT WE'RE GONNA BE TRAVELING IN TODAY 00:06:34.761 --> 00:06:36.195 DOWN THE TRACKS. 00:06:36.262 --> 00:06:38.130 I'D NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE. 00:06:38.198 --> 00:06:40.866 Man: THIS IS SOMETHING THAT'S VERY, VERY UNIQUE. 00:06:40.934 --> 00:06:43.135 IT WILL ALLOW US TO GO THROUGH THE TUNNELS 00:06:43.203 --> 00:06:44.536 AND OVER TRESTLES 00:06:44.604 --> 00:06:47.206 AND PLACES WHERE YOU COULD NOT TAKE AN AUTOMOBILE. 00:06:47.273 --> 00:06:50.876 NOW, WE'RE GOING DOWN WHAT IS THE BEGINNING 00:06:50.944 --> 00:06:55.381 OF ONE OF THE TOUGHEST AREAS OF THIS WHOLE LINE, RIGHT? 00:06:55.448 --> 00:06:58.150 Man #2: THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST DIFFICULT 00:06:58.218 --> 00:07:01.186 RAILROAD ENGINEERING JOBS IN THE AMERICAN WEST. 00:07:01.254 --> 00:07:03.655 IT'S CALLED THE CUESTA OR CUESTA GRADE. 00:07:03.723 --> 00:07:06.892 AND WHEN YOU SAY "CUESTA GRADE" YOU'RE BEING REDUNDANT 00:07:06.960 --> 00:07:09.862 BECAUSE "CUESTA" MEANS "A STEEP HILL" IN SPANISH. 00:07:09.929 --> 00:07:13.599 AND THE RAILROAD GOT AS FAR AS SANTA MARGARITA IN 1887. 00:07:13.667 --> 00:07:15.367 AND IT JUST STALLED THERE 00:07:15.435 --> 00:07:17.936 BECAUSE THE ECONOMY TOOK A DOWNTURN 00:07:18.004 --> 00:07:20.939 AND SOUTHERN PACIFIC DIDN'T WANT TO INVEST 00:07:21.007 --> 00:07:24.576 ANY MORE MONEY THAN NECESSARY TO KEEP THE RAIL GOING. 00:07:24.644 --> 00:07:29.348 NOW, WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS AN AREA 00:07:29.416 --> 00:07:33.252 THAT IS REAL HILLY, REAL STEEP. 00:07:33.319 --> 00:07:36.088 WELL, THE CUESTA RISES FROM THE VALLEY 00:07:36.156 --> 00:07:38.524 WHERE SAN LUIS OBISPO IS LOCATED 00:07:38.591 --> 00:07:42.361 AND GOES UP TO A GRADIENT OF ABOUT 1,500 TO 1,700 FEET. 00:07:42.429 --> 00:07:45.264 AND THAT'S A REAL CLIMB FOR A RAILROAD. 00:07:45.331 --> 00:07:48.901 RAILROAD'S DON'T LIKE ANYTHING MORE THAN A 3% GRADE, 00:07:48.968 --> 00:07:52.571 AND EVEN 3% IS A VERY SLUGGISH CLIMB FOR A RAILROAD. 00:07:52.639 --> 00:07:56.475 SO WHAT THEY'VE DONE HERE IS TO CONSTRUCT A SERIES OF TUNNELS 00:07:56.543 --> 00:08:00.145 GOING TO THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE SANTA LUCIA MOUNTAINS. 00:08:00.213 --> 00:08:02.881 WE'RE CROSSING A MOUNTAIN RANGE HERE. 00:08:02.949 --> 00:08:05.517 IT'S THE TAIL END OF A MOUNTAIN RANGE. 00:08:05.585 --> 00:08:07.286 AND ONCE WE'RE THROUGH IT, 00:08:07.354 --> 00:08:11.056 WE GO DOWN INTO SAN LUIS OBISPO ON A SERIES OF SWITCHBACKS 00:08:11.124 --> 00:08:14.026 AND EVENTUALLY OVER A CLASSIC 1894 TRESTLE, 00:08:14.094 --> 00:08:16.795 WHICH WAS THE LAST THING TO BE COMPLETED 00:08:16.863 --> 00:08:18.931 ON THIS PART OF THE RAILROAD. 00:08:18.998 --> 00:08:22.701 OKAY, HERE WE GO INTO OUR FIRST TUNNEL. 00:08:22.769 --> 00:08:25.938 AND IT'S DARK IN HERE. [ LAUGHS ] 00:08:26.006 --> 00:08:30.976 HOW BIG A DEAL WAS IT TO CUT THIS RAILROAD THROUGH HERE? 00:08:31.044 --> 00:08:33.812 WELL, IN TODAY'S ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY, 00:08:33.880 --> 00:08:35.447 IT WOULD BE A CINCH. 00:08:35.515 --> 00:08:39.251 BUT IN 1894 TECHNOLOGY, WHICH WAS STILL USING BLACK POWDER -- 00:08:39.319 --> 00:08:43.188 THEY WERE USING DYNAMITE BUT ALSO STILL USING BLACK POWDER -- 00:08:43.256 --> 00:08:44.823 IT WAS QUITE A JOB. 00:08:44.891 --> 00:08:47.226 Howser: WELL, GOING THROUGH THAT FIRST TUNNEL 00:08:47.293 --> 00:08:49.695 WAS VERY INTERESTING AND A LOT OF FUN, TOO. 00:08:49.763 --> 00:08:52.631 BUT BEFORE OUR JOURNEY WAS COMPLETED, 00:08:52.699 --> 00:08:56.235 WE HAD GONE IN AND OUT OF SIX DIFFERENT TUNNELS 00:08:56.302 --> 00:08:59.571 AND PASSED BY ONE THAT HAD BEEN BOARDED UP. 00:08:59.639 --> 00:09:01.907 THE TRIP ALSO TOOK US THROUGH 00:09:01.975 --> 00:09:06.011 SOME OF THE MOST SPECTACULAR VISTAS I'VE EVER SEEN. 00:09:06.079 --> 00:09:08.814 Howser: BOY, THIS IS A SCENIC... 00:09:08.882 --> 00:09:12.251 Man #1: YEAH, THIS IS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE. 00:09:12.318 --> 00:09:16.121 OF COURSE, THE RAILROAD COULD'VE CARED LESS ABOUT THE SCENERY. 00:09:16.189 --> 00:09:17.589 THEY WERE JUST LOOKING 00:09:17.657 --> 00:09:20.392 FOR THE SHORTEST ROUTE OVER THE MOUNTAINS. 00:09:20.460 --> 00:09:24.196 BUT WHEN THE STREAMLINE TRAINS CAME IN IN THE LATE 1930s, 00:09:24.264 --> 00:09:26.699 THE RAILWAY MADE MUCH IN THEIR P.R. 00:09:26.766 --> 00:09:29.568 ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR SECTION OF THE LINE 00:09:29.636 --> 00:09:31.236 AND ENCOURAGED RIDERSHIP 00:09:31.304 --> 00:09:34.807 BY ADVERTISING VERY HEAVILY THE COAST DAYLIGHT ROUTE. 00:09:34.874 --> 00:09:37.776 AND EVEN TODAY ON AMTRAK, THEY WILL MAKE ANNOUNCEMENTS 00:09:37.844 --> 00:09:39.845 THAT YOU'RE GOING OVER CUESTA GRADE 00:09:39.913 --> 00:09:42.715 AND LATER ON WILL BE GOING AROUND THE HORSESHOE CURVE, 00:09:42.782 --> 00:09:44.149 WHERE YOU CAN SEE 00:09:44.217 --> 00:09:46.919 BOTH THE FRONT AND THE BACK OF THE TRAIN SIMULTANEOUSLY. 00:09:46.986 --> 00:09:48.420 LOOK AT THIS. 00:09:48.488 --> 00:09:51.223 SO A LOT OF PEOPLE WOULD RIDE THIS TRAIN 00:09:51.291 --> 00:09:52.891 JUST FOR THE SCENERY. 00:09:52.959 --> 00:09:55.761 A LOT OF PEOPLE STILL RIDE THE TRAIN 00:09:55.829 --> 00:09:59.031 JUST FOR THE SCENERY ALONG THE COAST HERE. 00:09:59.099 --> 00:10:00.766 IT'S JUST MAGNIFICENT. 00:10:00.834 --> 00:10:03.235 SO WE ARE MAKING A TOTAL LOOP NOW. 00:10:03.303 --> 00:10:06.071 Krieger: THIS IS THE BIG HORSESHOE LOOP, 00:10:06.139 --> 00:10:09.508 AND IT WAS MADE NECESSARY BECAUSE OF THE GRADIENT. 00:10:09.576 --> 00:10:12.144 REMEMBER WE SAID RAILROADS DON'T LIKE 00:10:12.212 --> 00:10:14.580 ANYTHING MORE THAN A 3% GRADIENT. 00:10:14.647 --> 00:10:16.148 SO TO STAY BELOW THAT, 00:10:16.216 --> 00:10:19.785 THEY HAD TO DOUBLE BACK IN THIS VERY DRAMATIC FASHION. 00:10:19.853 --> 00:10:23.322 ESSENTIALLY IT'S THE SOLUTION TO A GEOMETRIC PROBLEM. 00:10:23.390 --> 00:10:24.823 THEY TRIED TO GET 00:10:24.891 --> 00:10:28.027 THE GREATEST AMOUNT OF CURVE THAT THEY COULD GET 00:10:28.094 --> 00:10:29.928 WITHOUT DERAILING THE TRAIN. 00:10:29.996 --> 00:10:33.732 IT IS A VERY SHARP LOOP, BUT IT'S NOT EXACTLY A HAIRPIN. 00:10:33.800 --> 00:10:36.802 WOW. I'VE NEVER BEEN ON A LOOP LIKE THIS BEFORE. 00:10:36.870 --> 00:10:38.504 THIS IS AMAZING. 00:10:38.571 --> 00:10:41.407 Rice: AND YOU GET AN INCREDIBLE VIEW OF SAN LUIS OBISPO. 00:10:41.474 --> 00:10:44.443 AND YOU CAN SEE WHERE WE'VE COME DOWN THE GRADE 00:10:44.511 --> 00:10:45.978 AND ARE MAKING THE LOOP. 00:10:46.046 --> 00:10:48.514 AND WHEN YOU RIDE THE PASSENGER TRAIN, 00:10:48.581 --> 00:10:50.983 IF YOU'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE TRAIN, 00:10:51.051 --> 00:10:54.319 YOU CAN SEE BOTH THE FRONT AND THE REAR OF THE TRAIN. 00:10:54.387 --> 00:10:56.955 YEAH, WE'VE JUST CAME FROM UP THERE, 00:10:57.023 --> 00:10:59.124 AND NOW WE'RE COMING DOWN AROUND HERE. 00:10:59.192 --> 00:11:00.192 RIGHT. 00:11:00.260 --> 00:11:01.760 WOW. 00:11:01.828 --> 00:11:05.197 THIS WAS ONE OF THE BASIC ENGINEERING FEATS 00:11:05.265 --> 00:11:09.702 THAT THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC LINES PROMOED IN 1938 AND BEYOND 00:11:09.769 --> 00:11:11.270 WHEN THEY PUT ON 00:11:11.338 --> 00:11:13.939 THEIR WORLD-FAMOUS DAYLIGHT STREAMLINE TRAINS. 00:11:14.007 --> 00:11:17.209 THE HORSESHOE CURVE WAS ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ROUTE. 00:11:17.277 --> 00:11:20.245 IT STILL IS THE HIGHLIGHT OF AMTRAK'S COAST STARLIGHT. 00:11:20.313 --> 00:11:23.282 Howser: TO CALL THIS ROUTE AN ENGINEERING FEAT 00:11:23.350 --> 00:11:24.783 IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT. 00:11:24.851 --> 00:11:26.785 IN TODAY'S HIGH-TECH WORLD, 00:11:26.853 --> 00:11:31.090 I THINK WE FORGET THAT BACK IN THE 1800s ALL THESE TUNNELS, 00:11:31.157 --> 00:11:34.159 ALL THESE CUTS THROUGH THE MOUNTAINSIDES, 00:11:34.227 --> 00:11:35.627 ALL THIS TRACK -- 00:11:35.695 --> 00:11:39.231 THIS WHOLE THING WAS DONE COMPLETELY BY HAND, 00:11:39.299 --> 00:11:41.667 MOST OF IT BY CHINESE LABORERS. 00:11:41.735 --> 00:11:45.938 IN FACT, THERE WERE SO MANY CHINESE LIVING IN THE AREA, 00:11:46.006 --> 00:11:49.074 SAN LUIS OBISPO HAD ITS OWN CHINATOWN. 00:11:49.142 --> 00:11:52.111 THE HEAD MAN IN THE LOCAL CHINESE COMMUNITY 00:11:52.178 --> 00:11:54.947 WAS A GENTLEMAN BY THE NAME OF AH LUIS. 00:11:55.015 --> 00:11:56.715 HE RAN THE GENERAL STORE 00:11:56.783 --> 00:12:00.319 AND LOOKED OUT FOR THE WELFARE OF THE CHINESE LABORERS. 00:12:00.387 --> 00:12:03.422 TODAY THE ORIGINAL AH LUIS STORE STILL STANDS 00:12:03.490 --> 00:12:04.923 IN SAN LUIS OBISPO 00:12:04.991 --> 00:12:07.493 AND AS A STATE HISTORICAL LANDMARK. 00:12:07.560 --> 00:12:10.529 THE STORE IS RUN BY AH LUIS' SON, 00:12:10.597 --> 00:12:14.667 WHO FILLED ME IN ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CHINESE 00:12:14.734 --> 00:12:17.770 IN GETTING THAT RAILROAD COMPLETED. 00:12:17.837 --> 00:12:21.707 HOW MUCH WOULD THESE CHINESE WORKERS MAKE EVERY DAY? 00:12:21.775 --> 00:12:25.144 THEY WOULD RECEIVE $1.50 A DAY, 00:12:25.211 --> 00:12:29.815 OUT OF WHICH MY FATHER WAS PAID 25 CENTS A DAY 00:12:29.883 --> 00:12:31.884 FOR ROOM AND BOARD. 00:12:31.951 --> 00:12:34.353 TO PROVIDE THEM ROOM AND BOARD. 00:12:34.421 --> 00:12:36.221 RIGHT, RIGHT. 00:12:36.289 --> 00:12:39.925 NOW, THE MONEY CAME FROM THE S.P. COMPANY... 00:12:39.993 --> 00:12:41.627 SOUTHERN PACIFIC. 00:12:41.695 --> 00:12:43.062 ...TO MY DAD. 00:12:43.129 --> 00:12:46.131 MY DAD ACTED AS A BANKER FOR ALL THESE CHINESE 00:12:46.199 --> 00:12:49.301 BECAUSE THEY HAD NO WAY OF KEEPING RECORDS 00:12:49.369 --> 00:12:50.903 OR KEEPING THE MONEY. 00:12:50.970 --> 00:12:55.207 AND THEY WERE VERY THOUGHTFUL ABOUT THEIR FAMILIES IN CHINA, 00:12:55.275 --> 00:12:57.910 SO FATHER WOULD GIVE THEM A RECEIPT 00:12:57.977 --> 00:13:00.779 FOR ALL THE MONEY THAT THEY HAD MADE. 00:13:00.847 --> 00:13:04.750 AND AFTER A PERIOD OF TIME, WHENEVER THEY NEEDED MONEY, 00:13:04.818 --> 00:13:07.553 THEY CAME TO MY FATHER FOR THE MONEY. 00:13:07.620 --> 00:13:09.555 SO HE WAS A BANKER 00:13:09.622 --> 00:13:13.025 AS WELL AS PROVIDING ALL THE FOOD 00:13:13.093 --> 00:13:15.861 AND THE TENTS FOR THEM TO STAY IN. 00:13:15.929 --> 00:13:20.766 HOW MANY CHINESE WERE HERE AT THE PEAK OF THE RAILROAD? 00:13:20.834 --> 00:13:22.501 OH, 2,000. 00:13:22.569 --> 00:13:24.837 1,500 TO 2,000. 00:13:24.904 --> 00:13:29.908 YOU KNOW -- 200 OR 300 HERE, 300 OR 400 OVER HERE, ET CETERA. 00:13:29.976 --> 00:13:31.410 THEY WORKED IN SECTIONS. 00:13:31.478 --> 00:13:33.912 THEY COULDN'T ALL WORK AT THE SAME TIME, 00:13:33.980 --> 00:13:37.216 SO THEY WORKED TOWARDS EACH OTHER, 00:13:37.283 --> 00:13:38.851 LAYING TRACK. 00:13:38.918 --> 00:13:40.986 AND THEY WERE LAYING TRACK 00:13:41.054 --> 00:13:43.389 AT A RATE OF A HALF A MILE A DAY. 00:13:43.456 --> 00:13:44.690 REALLY? 00:13:44.758 --> 00:13:47.393 I MEAN, THAT WAS A REAL RECORD NOW. 00:13:47.460 --> 00:13:50.496 THAT WAS A TREMENDOUS FEAT IN THOSE DAYS. 00:13:50.563 --> 00:13:53.999 NOW, ALL THEY HAD TO WORK WITH WERE PICKS AND SHOVELS. 00:13:54.067 --> 00:13:56.669 THEY HAD NO MACHINERY AT ALL, DID THEY? 00:13:56.736 --> 00:13:58.637 DYNAMITE. 00:13:58.705 --> 00:14:00.005 AND DYNAMITE. 00:14:00.073 --> 00:14:03.242 OKAY, DO YOU KNOW WHERE THAT PHRASE CAME IN, 00:14:03.309 --> 00:14:06.311 "YOU HAVEN'T GOT A CHINAMAN'S CHANCE"? 00:14:06.379 --> 00:14:08.414 THAT CAME FROM BUILDING... 00:14:08.481 --> 00:14:09.648 THE RAILROAD. 00:14:09.716 --> 00:14:10.949 YEAH. 00:14:11.017 --> 00:14:14.186 THEY HUNG THESE CHINESE OVER THE SIDE OF A CLIFF 00:14:14.254 --> 00:14:18.023 AND DRILLED HOLES SO THEY COULD PUT DYNAMITE IN. 00:14:18.091 --> 00:14:22.795 AND THE CHINESE HAD TO LIGHT IT, AND THEY HAD TO HAUL HIM UP. 00:14:22.862 --> 00:14:26.498 SOMETIMES THEY DIDN'T HAUL HIM UP FAST ENOUGH, 00:14:26.566 --> 00:14:29.902 SO THAT'S WHERE THE EXPRESSION CAME FROM. 00:14:29.969 --> 00:14:33.005 "YOU DON'T HAVE A CHINAMAN'S CHANCE." 00:14:33.073 --> 00:14:34.406 UH-HUH. OKAY. 00:14:34.474 --> 00:14:38.043 WE DON'T LIKE THE CONNOTATION "CHINAMAN" ANYMORE. 00:14:38.111 --> 00:14:40.179 WE USE THE WORD "CHINESE." 00:14:40.246 --> 00:14:43.148 THAT'S A MUCH SOFTER SOUNDING NAME. 00:14:43.216 --> 00:14:46.719 [ SOUSA'S "THE THUNDERER" PLAYS ] 00:14:54.194 --> 00:14:57.029 Howser: YOU COULD FEEL THE EXCITEMENT 00:14:57.097 --> 00:15:00.632 AS THE GOOD CITIZENS OF SAN LUIS OBISPO GATHERED 00:15:00.700 --> 00:15:02.401 AT THEIR TRAIN STATION. 00:15:02.469 --> 00:15:06.305 THEY WERE THERE TO CELEBRATE THE 100th ANNIVERSARY -- 00:15:06.373 --> 00:15:07.940 TO THE DAY -- 00:15:08.008 --> 00:15:11.043 THAT THE FIRST TRAIN CAME PUFFING INTO THEIR TOWN, 00:15:11.111 --> 00:15:12.878 BACK ON MAY 5, 1894 -- 00:15:12.946 --> 00:15:16.148 AN EVENT THAT HAD A PROFOUND EFFECT ON THE TOWN'S FUTURE. 00:15:16.216 --> 00:15:18.917 THIS IS AN EXCITING TIME FOR YOUR TOWN. 00:15:18.985 --> 00:15:22.187 CAN YOU IMAGINE WHAT IT WOULD'VE BEEN LIKE 100 YEARS AGO? 00:15:22.255 --> 00:15:24.923 I THINK IT WAS ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DAY. 00:15:24.991 --> 00:15:27.760 PEOPLE COULD SET THEIR CLOCK BY WHEN THE TRAINS CAME THROUGH. 00:15:27.827 --> 00:15:29.762 IT WAS ONE OF THOSE THINGS EVERYBODY KNEW, 00:15:29.829 --> 00:15:32.197 AND EVERYBODY WOULD CELEBRATE WHEN THEY CAME THROUGH. 00:15:32.265 --> 00:15:34.266 YEAH, BUT THIS WAS THE FIRST TRAIN. 00:15:34.334 --> 00:15:37.002 CAN YOU IMAGINE, TOO, HOW THEY'VE HEARD ABOUT IT 00:15:37.070 --> 00:15:39.471 FROM EVERYPLACE ELSE IN THE UNITED STATES, 00:15:39.539 --> 00:15:41.407 AND THEN HERE NOW IN CALIFORNIA 00:15:41.474 --> 00:15:43.642 IN THE LITTLE TOWN OF SAN LUIS OBISPO, 00:15:43.710 --> 00:15:45.310 FINALLY THE TRAIN COMES HERE. 00:15:45.378 --> 00:15:47.613 THIS WHOLE TOWN HAD TO HAVE BEEN AGLOW. 00:15:47.681 --> 00:15:50.349 WHAT DO YOU THINK IT WAS LIKE BACK THEN, 00:15:50.417 --> 00:15:53.419 100 YEARS AGO WHEN THAT FIRST TRAIN PULLED IN? 00:15:53.486 --> 00:15:55.854 WELL, THERE WERE OLD PEOPLE LIKE ME 00:15:55.922 --> 00:15:58.023 WHO HAD BEEN WAITING FOR 25 YEARS 00:15:58.091 --> 00:15:59.692 FOR THAT TRAIN TO ARRIVE -- 00:15:59.759 --> 00:16:03.095 AND SOME OF THEM WERE STANDING OUT THERE IN THE CROWD 00:16:03.163 --> 00:16:06.265 WAITING FOR THE MOMENT THAT IT WAS GOING TO OCCUR, 00:16:06.332 --> 00:16:08.600 LITERALLY HAD TEARS IN THEIR EYES. 00:16:08.668 --> 00:16:11.403 AND THERE WAS ONE OLD MAN WHO SAID, 00:16:11.471 --> 00:16:14.473 "I NEVER THOUGHT IT WOULD REALLY HAPPEN. 00:16:14.541 --> 00:16:17.609 "IT REALLY OCCURRED. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT. 00:16:17.677 --> 00:16:20.045 SAN LUIS OBISPO HAS A TRAIN." 00:16:20.113 --> 00:16:24.216 YOU ARE THE DESCENDANTS OF THAT ORIGINAL BAND? 00:16:24.284 --> 00:16:26.552 IT WAS AN ALL-COUNTY BAND? 00:16:26.619 --> 00:16:29.788 IT WAS FORMED IN 1874, ORIGINALLY HAD THE NAME 00:16:29.856 --> 00:16:32.491 OF THE SAN LUIS OBISPO MILITARY BAND. 00:16:32.559 --> 00:16:35.561 AND IT'S GONE THROUGH SEVERAL METAMORPHOSES 00:16:35.628 --> 00:16:39.465 UNTIL IT'S ARISED NOW AS THE SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY BAND. 00:16:39.532 --> 00:16:43.369 AND IT'S BEEN IN CONTINUOUS EXISTENCE SINCE 1874. 00:16:43.436 --> 00:16:46.138 SO HERE YOU ARE 100 YEARS LATER, 00:16:46.206 --> 00:16:49.742 AT THE TRAIN STATION, PLAYING THE SAME MUSIC 00:16:49.809 --> 00:16:53.112 THAT THEY PLAYED WHEN THAT TRAIN ARRIVED. 00:16:53.179 --> 00:16:54.947 THAT'S ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. 00:16:55.015 --> 00:16:58.917 WE EVEN HAVE SOME PRETTY LONGTIME MEMBERS OF THE BAND. 00:16:58.985 --> 00:17:02.187 ONE FELLOW WHO'S HERE TODAY PLAYING WITH US 00:17:02.255 --> 00:17:04.089 JOINED THIS BAND IN 1937. 00:17:04.157 --> 00:17:06.892 WELL, CAN WE HEAR ONE OF THE ORIGINAL...? 00:17:06.960 --> 00:17:09.828 A LITTLE SOUSA MARCH CALLED "THE THUNDERER." 00:17:09.896 --> 00:17:11.997 AND THEY WOULD'VE PLAYED THAT. 00:17:12.065 --> 00:17:14.400 "THE THUNDERER," OKAY. HERE WE GO. 00:17:14.467 --> 00:17:18.337 [ SOUSA'S "THE THUNDERER" PLAYS ] 00:17:26.713 --> 00:17:30.049 Howser: WHILE THE SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY BAND 00:17:30.116 --> 00:17:31.583 WAS PLAYING SOUSA 00:17:31.651 --> 00:17:35.554 TO AN APPRECIATIVE CROWD WAITING FOR THE TRAIN TO ARRIVE, 00:17:35.622 --> 00:17:38.757 WE DROVE 30 MILES NORTH OF SAN LUIS OBISPO 00:17:38.825 --> 00:17:40.759 TO THE TOWN OF PASO ROBLES. 00:17:40.827 --> 00:17:42.728 THERE WAS A CROWD THERE, TOO, 00:17:42.796 --> 00:17:46.031 WAITING AT THEIR STATION FOR THE TRAIN TO ARRIVE. 00:17:46.099 --> 00:17:49.435 YOU SEE, THE TRAIN WOULD HAVE TO COME THROUGH HERE 00:17:49.502 --> 00:17:52.638 BEFORE IT STARTED ITS TRIP DOWN THE CUESTA GRADE 00:17:52.706 --> 00:17:54.640 INTO SAN LUIS OBISPO. 00:17:54.708 --> 00:17:59.678 AND THEN, ALMOST RIGHT ON TIME, THE STAR OF THE SHOW ARRIVED. 00:17:59.746 --> 00:18:04.550 THE OLD STEAM LOCOMOTIVE APPEARED -- OLD 2472, 00:18:04.617 --> 00:18:10.022 WHICH HAD ACTUALLY RUN REGULARLY ON THESE VERY TRACKS 00:18:10.090 --> 00:18:12.057 FROM 1915 TO 1946. 00:18:12.125 --> 00:18:15.961 ITS PERMANENT HOME THESE DAYS IS UP IN REDWOOD CITY 00:18:16.029 --> 00:18:18.764 AT THE GOLDEN GATE RAILWAY MUSEUM. 00:18:18.832 --> 00:18:23.469 BUT FOR THIS SPECIAL OCCASION, FOR THIS CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION, 00:18:23.536 --> 00:18:27.373 IT WAS HEADING SOUTH MANNED ENTIRELY BY VOLUNTEERS, 00:18:27.440 --> 00:18:30.242 MOST OF THEM FORMER RAILROAD PEOPLE 00:18:30.310 --> 00:18:32.578 WHO LOVE THIS OLD STEAM ENGINE. 00:18:32.645 --> 00:18:35.748 WHAT DO YOU THINK IT IS THAT PEOPLE LOVE SO MUCH? 00:18:35.815 --> 00:18:37.216 I MEAN, LOOK -- 00:18:37.283 --> 00:18:40.719 WE'VE GOT 300 OR 400 PEOPLE STANDING RIGHT OUT HERE NOW. 00:18:40.787 --> 00:18:43.522 WHAT IS IT ABOUT THESE OLD STEAM TRAINS? 00:18:43.590 --> 00:18:46.291 WELL, WHEN'S THE LAST TIME YOU SEEN ONE? 00:18:46.359 --> 00:18:48.861 LOOK AT ALL THESE YOUNG PEOPLE HERE. 00:18:48.928 --> 00:18:51.430 THEY NEVER EVEN SAW A STEAM TRAIN -- 00:18:51.498 --> 00:18:53.165 IN THE MOVIES, MAYBE. 00:18:53.233 --> 00:18:56.402 I THINK, UH... IT'S SOMETHING DIFFERENT. 00:18:56.469 --> 00:18:58.437 NOW, HOW'S THE OLD ENGINE HOLDING UP? 00:18:58.505 --> 00:19:01.373 IT'S DOING WONDERFULLY TODAY. WE'RE REAL PLEASED WITH IT. 00:19:01.441 --> 00:19:04.443 IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME SINCE WE'VE PULLED SUCH A HEAVY TRAIN, 00:19:04.511 --> 00:19:06.645 AND SO WE'RE REALLY INTERESTED IN SEEING 00:19:06.713 --> 00:19:08.947 HOW WELL IT BEHAVES WITH THIS MUCH LOADING. 00:19:09.015 --> 00:19:11.083 EVERYTHING'S RUNNING ACCORDING TO HOYLE 00:19:11.151 --> 00:19:13.919 AND TEMPERATURES ARE GOOD AND BEARINGS ARE LOOKING GOOD. 00:19:13.987 --> 00:19:15.187 SO SHE'S HOLDING UP. 00:19:15.255 --> 00:19:16.922 THIS IS WHAT IT USED TO DO. 00:19:16.990 --> 00:19:18.957 IT'S A SPECIAL THING FOR THESE PEOPLE 00:19:19.025 --> 00:19:21.326 BECAUSE IT HASN'T BEEN AROUND FOR 50 YEARS, 00:19:21.394 --> 00:19:23.729 BUT IT'S ONLY DOING WHAT IT'S SUPPOSED TO DO. 00:19:23.797 --> 00:19:27.666 [ ENGINE CHUGGING ] 00:19:27.734 --> 00:19:31.203 [ TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS ] 00:20:02.635 --> 00:20:05.671 WELL, WE'RE BACK HERE IN THE BACK. 00:20:05.739 --> 00:20:08.374 YOU KNOW, I JUST GOT THROUGH RIDING UP IN THE ENGINE. 00:20:08.441 --> 00:20:09.742 THAT IS SOMETHING. 00:20:09.809 --> 00:20:11.777 IT'S QUITE A TRIP, ISN'T IT? 00:20:11.845 --> 00:20:14.580 IT'S SO NICE AND SMOOTH [LAUGHS] AND QUIET. 00:20:14.647 --> 00:20:16.749 WELL, YOU KNOW, IT BUMPS ALONG, 00:20:16.816 --> 00:20:19.184 BUT THERE'S SO MUCH ENERGY UP THERE. 00:20:19.252 --> 00:20:21.587 IT'S FANTASTIC -- THE ROAR OF THE FIRE 00:20:21.654 --> 00:20:24.456 AND ALL OF IT THAT JUST KIND OF COMES TOGETHER. 00:20:24.524 --> 00:20:27.226 I MEAN, HOW CAN YOU NOT ENJOY THAT, YOU KNOW? 00:20:27.293 --> 00:20:30.029 ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S REALLY GREAT IS -- 00:20:30.096 --> 00:20:32.998 I'M OLD ENOUGH TO REMEMBER WHAT STEAM WAS LIKE 00:20:33.066 --> 00:20:35.601 BECAUSE I WAS A KID WHEN IT WAS AROUND. 00:20:35.669 --> 00:20:38.904 BUT HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THAT FASCINATION FOR KIDS TODAY? 00:20:38.972 --> 00:20:40.305 WHY DO THEY COME? 00:20:40.373 --> 00:20:43.008 BUT THEY DO, AND THEY CHEER AND THEY WAVE. 00:20:43.076 --> 00:20:46.345 TO ME, THAT'S FANTASTIC. IT'S REALLY A MAGIC MACHINE. 00:20:46.413 --> 00:20:48.013 I'M A MECHANICAL ENGINEER, 00:20:48.081 --> 00:20:51.216 AND TO ME THIS IS THE ULTIMATE PIECE OF MACHINERY. 00:20:51.284 --> 00:20:52.951 CAN YOU WONDER WHAT IT WAS LIKE 00:20:53.019 --> 00:20:54.887 FOR THOSE PEOPLE IN SAN LUIS OBISPO 00:20:54.954 --> 00:20:57.289 WATCHING THE TRAIN COME IN FOR THE FIRST TIME? 00:20:57.357 --> 00:21:00.826 WELL, THEY PROBABLY SAW IT AS A BRAND-NEW WINDOW ON THE WORLD 00:21:00.894 --> 00:21:03.762 BECAUSE TRANSPORTATION WASN'T AN EASY THING THEN. 00:21:03.830 --> 00:21:06.532 LOS ANGELES WASN'T MUCH OF A CITY AT THE TIME, 00:21:06.599 --> 00:21:09.068 BUT IF YOU WANTED TO GO TO SAN FRANCISCO, 00:21:09.135 --> 00:21:12.237 IT WASN'T LIKE, "WELL, GUYS, LET'S GET IN THE CAR AND GO." 00:21:12.305 --> 00:21:14.440 YOU'RE TALKING TWO, THREE, MAYBE MORE DAYS. 00:21:14.507 --> 00:21:16.375 AND THE TRAIN CHANGED ALL OF THAT. 00:21:16.443 --> 00:21:18.544 IT WASN'T PARTICULARLY AFFORDABLE, 00:21:18.611 --> 00:21:20.746 BUT AT LEAST IT MADE IT POSSIBLE. 00:21:20.814 --> 00:21:23.282 AND, OF COURSE, IT MADE A BIG DIFFERENCE 00:21:23.350 --> 00:21:25.617 TO THE FARMERS AND WHATNOT DOWN HERE 00:21:25.685 --> 00:21:28.220 BECAUSE THEY HAD A GIANT NEW MARKET 00:21:28.288 --> 00:21:29.955 THAT THEY COULD SELL TO. 00:21:30.023 --> 00:21:32.825 [ ENGINE CHUGGING ] 00:21:50.877 --> 00:21:52.878 IT'S QUITE A TRICK 00:21:52.946 --> 00:21:55.914 TO TAKE TRAINS UP A GRADE AND DOWN A GRADE. 00:21:55.982 --> 00:21:59.218 WHEN YOU SAY "QUITE A TRICK," WHAT DO YOU MEAN? 00:21:59.285 --> 00:22:03.088 WELL, IT TAKES A LOT OF KNOW-HOW AND A LOT OF HORSEPOWER. 00:22:03.156 --> 00:22:04.957 IT TAKES AS MUCH HORSEPOWER 00:22:05.025 --> 00:22:08.360 TO TAKE A TRAIN DOWN THE HILL AND HOLD IT BACK -- 00:22:08.428 --> 00:22:10.062 THE BRAKE HORSEPOWER -- 00:22:10.130 --> 00:22:12.631 AS IT DOES TO TAKE IT UP THE HILL 00:22:12.699 --> 00:22:14.400 WITH WORKING HORSEPOWER. 00:22:14.467 --> 00:22:17.903 SO YOU REALLY HAD TO KNOW WHAT YOU WERE DOING 00:22:17.971 --> 00:22:20.005 WHEN YOU WERE ON THIS LINE. 00:22:20.073 --> 00:22:22.808 YOU NOTICE THE SPEED WE'RE MOVING? 00:22:22.876 --> 00:22:25.611 WE'RE NOT RUNNING 70 MILES AN HOUR 00:22:25.679 --> 00:22:28.347 BECAUSE IF YOU GOT YOUR BRAKE SHOES 00:22:28.415 --> 00:22:31.550 UP AGAINST THIS TRAIN AT 50, 60 MILES AN HOUR, 00:22:31.618 --> 00:22:35.554 THE FRICTION WOULD BURN THEM UP IN THE MATTER OF A FEW YARDS 00:22:35.622 --> 00:22:38.357 AND THEY WOULD BECOME WORTHLESS TO YOU. 00:22:38.425 --> 00:22:39.692 UH-HUH. 00:22:39.759 --> 00:22:41.760 AND SO YOU HAVE TO KEEP THE SPEED DOWN 00:22:41.828 --> 00:22:44.196 IN ORDER TO KEEP THE WHEELS COOL. 00:22:44.264 --> 00:22:47.933 SO WE'RE SLOWING DOWN NOW BECAUSE WE'RE GOING DOWNHILL. 00:22:48.001 --> 00:22:50.769 WE'RE TRAVELING. WE'RE NOT SLOWING DOWN. 00:22:50.837 --> 00:22:54.206 WE'RE TRAVELING AT APPROXIMATELY 25 MILES AN HOUR, 00:22:54.274 --> 00:22:55.908 WHICH IS THE MAXIMUM SPEED 00:22:55.975 --> 00:22:58.744 ON WHAT THEY CALL "HEAVY-GRADE BRAKING." 00:22:58.812 --> 00:23:03.315 SO THERE'S NEVER A DULL MOMENT UP AND DOWN THIS LINE. 00:23:03.383 --> 00:23:07.720 NO, YOU HAVE TO USE EVERY BIT OF INGENUITY YOU HAVE 00:23:07.787 --> 00:23:10.656 TO TAKE A TRAIN OVER THIS HILL. 00:23:10.724 --> 00:23:13.025 WHAT DO YOU MEAN INGENUITY? 00:23:13.093 --> 00:23:14.259 INTELLECT. 00:23:14.327 --> 00:23:15.527 UH-HUH. 00:23:15.595 --> 00:23:18.997 SAVVY -- YOU DON'T GET IT IN ONE DAY. 00:23:19.065 --> 00:23:22.935 MY FATHER WAS A LOCOMOTIVE ENGINEER BEFORE ME, 00:23:23.003 --> 00:23:48.293 AND MY GRANDFATHER BEFORE THAT BUILT THE RAILROADS. 00:23:48.361 --> 00:23:51.296 LIKE A NICE, WARM LADY. 00:23:51.364 --> 00:23:52.765 MM-HMM. 00:23:52.832 --> 00:23:56.201 AND WHEN YOU WORKED ON THEM AND YOU COULD BLOW THE WHISTLE 00:23:56.269 --> 00:23:59.672 AND YOU COULD HEAR THE RODS CLATTERING -- 00:23:59.739 --> 00:24:03.409 YOU DIDN'T EVEN HAVE A SPEEDOMETER ON THEM. 00:24:03.476 --> 00:24:06.645 YOU KNEW BY THE SOUND OF THE RODS 00:24:06.713 --> 00:24:08.781 HOW FAST YOU WERE GOING. 00:24:08.848 --> 00:24:12.484 THEY'LL SOUND THE WHISTLE A LITTLE MORE NOW 00:24:12.552 --> 00:24:14.586 AS WE'RE COMING INTO TOWN. 00:24:14.654 --> 00:24:17.489 SO THIS IS WHAT WAS CALLED THE...? 00:24:17.557 --> 00:24:18.891 HORSESHOE CURVE. 00:24:18.958 --> 00:24:21.660 BOY, THIS IS SOMETHING. LOOK. LOOK, LOUIE. 00:24:21.728 --> 00:24:24.563 YOU CAN PAN FROM ONE SIDE AND SEE THE ENGINE, 00:24:24.631 --> 00:24:26.899 AND THERE'S THE BACK OF THE TRAIN. 00:24:26.966 --> 00:24:29.401 YEAH, THAT'S THE ONLY PLACE I KNEW OF 00:24:29.469 --> 00:24:32.204 WHERE YOU COULD WAVE HELLO TO THE CONDUCTOR 00:24:32.272 --> 00:24:33.939 ON A 100-CAR FREIGHT TRAIN. 00:24:34.007 --> 00:24:36.742 I THINK THERE WAS A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF PRIDE 00:24:36.810 --> 00:24:42.181 IN BEING ABLE TO TAKE A TRAIN OVER THIS GRADE IN ONE PIECE. 00:24:42.248 --> 00:24:45.517 IT TOOK A LITTLE BIT OF KNOW-HOW. 00:24:45.585 --> 00:24:49.488 WHAT DO YOU THINK THAT FIRST ENGINEER MUST'VE FELT LIKE 00:24:49.556 --> 00:24:52.658 BACK IN 1894 PULLING INTO SAN LUIS OBISPO? 00:24:52.726 --> 00:24:55.761 THAT GUY WAS REAL PROUD OF THE JOB HE DID 00:24:55.829 --> 00:24:58.230 AND THE THING THAT HAPPENED. 00:24:58.298 --> 00:25:01.834 BECAUSE TRANSPORTATION BEING WHAT IT IS, 00:25:01.901 --> 00:25:05.070 IT WAS SO IMPORTANT IN THOSE DAYS. 00:25:05.138 --> 00:25:09.541 SINCE THAT TIME, WE HAVE JET AIRPLANES AND FREEWAYS, 00:25:09.609 --> 00:25:11.243 BUT IN THAT DAY, 00:25:11.311 --> 00:25:15.381 ALL THE DIGNITARIES COME TO TOWN ON THE TRAIN. 00:25:15.448 --> 00:25:19.418 AND SO THEY HAULED THE PEOPLE AND THEY HAULED THE FREIGHT. 00:25:19.486 --> 00:25:21.420 WELL, IT WAS A HISTORIC DAY. 00:25:21.488 --> 00:25:23.756 IT WAS. IT WAS A HISTORIC DAY. 00:25:23.823 --> 00:25:26.025 AND THIS 100 YEARS, 00:25:26.092 --> 00:25:30.596 IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT IN TERMS OF ERAS, 00:25:30.663 --> 00:25:32.798 LOTS HAVE HAPPENED 00:25:32.866 --> 00:25:38.303 SINCE THAT FIRST MAN COME DOWN THIS HILL IN 1894. 00:25:38.371 --> 00:25:40.706 [ BELL CLANGING ] 00:25:40.774 --> 00:25:43.842 [ CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ] 00:25:46.579 --> 00:25:49.281 [ WHISTLE BLOWING ] 00:25:54.954 --> 00:25:58.791 � MEET ME IN SAN LUIS, LUIS � 00:25:58.858 --> 00:26:02.728 � MEET ME AT THE TRAIN � 00:26:02.796 --> 00:26:06.532 � CELEBRATE THE LINK THAT'S NEWEST � 00:26:06.599 --> 00:26:09.768 � ALL HAVE WE TO GAIN � 00:26:09.836 --> 00:26:13.706 � THEY HAVE LAID SOME BRAND-NEW TRACK NOW � 00:26:13.773 --> 00:26:17.176 � AND THEY FINALLY CLOSED THE GAP NOW � 00:26:17.243 --> 00:26:19.945 � SO WON'T YOU MEET ME IN SAN LUIS, LUIS? �