Great American Railroad Journeys

Staring his journey in St Louis, Michael Portillo ascends the astonishing Gateway Arch and makes a delightful discovery inside the tallest free-standing monument in the US. In Washington, Missouri, he attempts to craft a corn cob pipe and then travels to the Missouri state capital, Jefferson City, where he finds an enormous building that served as the jail for the entire Wild West.

Following in the footsteps of European settlers, Michael Portillo rolls westwards across the US. With true frontier spirit, he discovers the hidden pleasures of 19th-century railroad workers in Sedalia and travels to the birthplace of ragtime. In St Joseph, Missouri, he discovers the Pony Express and gets kitted out with a Stetson before investigating the treacherous death of outlaw Jesse James.

In Lawrence, Kansas, Michael Portillo joins the Jayhawks basketball team before travelling through 'tornado alley' to meet one of America’s first storm chasers. On the Great Plains, Michael comes face to face with a herd of wild buffalo. Following the Santa Fe trail, his first stop is Dodge City, queen of the cow towns, where he is caught up in a gunfight at the notorious Long Branch saloon.

Michael Portillo reaches Colorado, where he travels in the footsteps of 19th-century East Coast dudes, who came to experience cowboy life. At Bent's Old Fort, he’s transported back to the Mexican American War of 1848 and finds himself inspecting the troops. In Raton, Michael discovers the guns that won the West and comes face to face with a terrifying T-rex that sparked a bitter scientific war.

Michael Portillo arrives in Santa Fe exploring the city’s beautiful colonial architecture visiting a Native American pueblo. He eavesdrops on rehearsals at the glorious Santa Fe Opera House and discovers the author of the biblical epic Ben Hur. He also feels the heat of New Mexico's most famous produce, the chili pepper, before exploring the magnificent Grand Canyon.

Michael Portillo embarks on a 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's Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee. He discovers how Minneapolis harnessed the awesome power of the mighty Mississippi to become a great industrial center and finds how it became the artificial limb capital of the world.

Michael Portillo continues his rail travels along the Upper Mississippi to Red Wing, Minnesota, the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of Little House on the Prairie. He then travels to Winona, where he takes to the water to find out how, in the 19th century, the US Army Corps of Engineers made the Mississippi navigable. He then squirms when faced with some unusual, invertebrate pizza toppings.

Michael Portillo is in Milwaukee, home to an American icon: the Harley Davidson motorcycle. He learns how the first machine was built in 1903 and then hitches a ride. German gymnastics is Michael's next challenge as he joins the Ladies' Auxiliary Exercise Class. In Chicago, he explores the city’s skyscrapers and then sings for his supper at a restaurant bearing his name!

Michael Portillo continues his 1,000-mile journey from Minnesota to the home of the blues in Memphis, Tennessee. At the ornate Palmer House Hotel, he recreates the original chocolate brownie, invented by Bertha Palmer in 1893. And beside the Kankakee River, Michael is invited to visit the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house that changed the face of US architecture.

Riding the mainline of mid-America, Michael Portillo travels to rural Mattoon, where he gets a taste of the tough early life of US President Abraham Lincoln. Aboard a paddle steamer, he hears about the life and work of former riverboat captain Mark Twain. In Memphis, he joins Elvis fans at Graceland and takes the honorary position of Duck Master at the 19th-century Peabody Hotel.