Great Alaskan Railroad Journeys (2019)
S01E04 Fairbanks to Juneau
Episode Overview
With his 1899 Appleton's Guidebook to Alaska in hand, Michael Portillo ventures into the remote heart of Alaska, arriving at the end of the Alaska Railroad. Just shy of 200 miles from the Arctic Circle in Fairbanks, he learns how gold prospectors extracted the precious metal from the earth. At Poker Flat, he joins scientists studying the Northern Lights. Volunteers on the Tanana Valley Railroad offer him the unique opportunity to stoke the boiler of their 1899 Porter locomotive, something a rail enthusiast like him has never done. In Juneau, Alaska's capital without railroads, Michael delves into the life of Eliza Scidmore, the visionary author of his guidebook, uncovering her influence in promoting Alaskan tourism and the pivotal role of salmon in the state's journey to statehood.
