Great American Railroad Journeys

Michael Portillo continues his great American trek, following his copy of Appleton's General Guide east from Manhattan to Long Island, and visits Brooklyn to hear the story of the construction of the world's first suspension bridge. Below ground, he investigates New York City's inaugural subway, and the dangers faced by the 'sandhogs' who built it. Progressing along the Long Island Railroad to Queens, Michael takes in an ambitious engineering project and a model town built by an Irish immigrant who became one of America's richest men. Later, he heads to the island's Gold Coast, where he relives the fun of 'the roaring twenties' at Oheka Castle, and concludes this leg of his trip at the Montauk lighthouse on Long Island's eastern-most tip