Though steam-powered trains were a significant invention, they couldn't move without railroads. Historians, civil engineers, and train buffs accompany us as we track the ways of the rail--from America's transcontinental railroads to the Chunnel buried 131 feet beneath the English Channel.

Model railroads first appeared in the mid-1800s--steam-powered miniature trains fueled by alcohol and water. But Joshua Lionel Cowen changed childhood forever when he made his first electric train at the turn of the 20th century. Track the evolution of model railroads, from cast iron push-toys to today's digital masterpieces.

As railroads evolved into the chief means of transporting mail and payroll, gold and silver, a flashy and deadly criminal emerged, etching his way into the annals of transportation mythology. From America's James' Gang to a London heist that netted over $5,000,000, we examine great train robberies around the world.

Throughout railroad history, disasters lay at the heart of progress since expansion and profit proved the main goals of management. In 1875 alone, an average of 22 train accidents happened daily; in 1890, over 6,000 people were killed. We'll examine how safety, once a secondary consideration, became a primary goal.

Examines how the great 19th-century peacetime invention developed into a powerful war machine, forever altering how, when, where, and why battles were fought. Also looks at the brave men and women who kept the military Iron Horses running.

For over 150 years, a caboose followed at the end of almost every freight train. Along the way, the red cupola-topped caboose became office, warehouse, and home for the conductor and brakemen. Most held the stove and cookware for a crew far from home.

For the early engineer, the locomotive boasted an open seat, a few control arms, and an insatiable appetite for coal. Today, it's the cockpit of a computerized high-speed missile. From the Industrial Revolution's Rocket to the SD-90 to pull trains into the 21st century, we'll track the evolution of the locomotive.

Until the diesel age, trains were powered by steam. We'll trace the steam train's 160-year history. We travel to Steamtown National Park to see these 19th-century technological wonders in action and visit Union Pacific's Steam Operations Division to profile #3985, the largest operating steam locomotive in the world.