Tonight on the History Channel, is an episode called "Extreme Trains". Make sure you catch it! Tonight is the "coal train" episode at 10 pm est, In case you miss it at 10 pm EST, it also repeats at 2 am EST. So if you have a dvdrw/vcr/tivo, you can set it up and catch it on the replay. http://www.history.com/minisites/extreme-trains.:tb-biggrin:
WELL? What did you guys think of the show? 1. Here's my 2 cents... I personally think a bad train program is better than a great program of any other type. I liked this particular episode since I'm a big NS fan and Horseshoe Curve fan too! 2. Overall I enjoyed it and look forward to future episodes. With all the junk that is on tv we need to do all we can to keep this on the air. Not sure exactly what we can do other than spread the word. 3. If I have a complaint at all it would be the host. I wasn't really into his style. He was a little over the top at times. I guess Mike Rowe can't do all the shows I like. LOL Just my unprofessional opinion Would be interested to hear others thoughts. Matt
OKKkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk. I watched it. It was very interesting from an 'armchair engineers' standpoint. BUT...You are correct...the host leaves alot to be desired. I mean...come on...the guy is a conductor on a train (his real job)...how could he possibly be "So Excited!" about everything a train does? I dont get it...its like a race car driver riding in someone elses car and getting all gaa-gaa over it. The guy never heard or felt the power of a locomotive engine...hmmmm. The guy just seems "fake" to me. I realize there are a lot of armchair engineers like me out there...but GEeeeeeezzzzzzzzzz...dont attack our intelligence or 'talk down' to us like we havent the slightest clue. I hope the guy 'chills' alot on futue episode...JMO...ty. .
My 2 cents... It felt like I was watching an infomercial. The editing was terrible. I don't know how many trains they spliced together. 2 pushers to 4 pushers. EMD's on the point to GE's on the point. I do have the DVR set to record the series,however. Let's see how it plays out on future episodes. Outa here,
It's pretty much what I expected. Made by and for the MTV crowd. Let me push the button! Let me push the button! Oh, cool! Yay!!! Ooo, I stuck my hand in it and it was icky! It's like riding a roller coaster! Yay!! The only things missing were the tattoos on the host and a large-breasted clueless blonde wearing an impossibly small shirt. Oh, and they forgot the deadline. Every show has a deadline these days.
I have to agree on the host. He was completely annoying. I saved it to TIVO, and I'm glad I did before I watched it. I ended up fast forwarding through about half of it. I just could not stand to listen to him. I hope the future episodes will be better. Other than his annoying actions, it was quite a good show.
The Deadline They actually did have a deadline, it just wasn't as hyped as in other shows (I really agree 100% on your comment). The deadline was if they don't get the coal to the power plant, all the lights go off in, whatever it was, 27,000 households (?). Geared for the MTV generation, no doubt.
some parts were quite interesting ... like seeing how they jack up the cars to replace a bad wheelset ... and the rotary couplers in action at the rotary dumper ... as for splicing together trains ... it's no different than in movies where people board a 727, then inflight go to the upper deck of a 747 and then when the plane lands ... its a DC-10. The railroad where the guy works must realllllllllly be boring though. I will keep watching though. did look quite nice on History Channel HD
BTW ... here is the Episode schedule Freight Train Tuesday, November 18th at 10PM ET/9C Going from the port of Los Angeles to Dallas/Fort Worth, this high-priority freight train, one of Matt's longtime favorites, brings goods from the Far East to stores across the US. In this episode Matt endures the searing heat of the Mojave desert, gets drenched in New Mexico rainstorms and rides through an earthquake-proof trench that runs the length of downtown LA. The episode also covers the first train robbers in the US. High Speed Train Tuesday, November 25th at 10PM ET/9C The Amtrak Acela is the fastest train in America, with speeds reaching 150 mph. Running from Washington, DC to Boston, this passenger train is a high-tech wonder that runs on lines dating to the Great Depression. The train is powered by high-voltage overhead electrical wires. Matt meets the workers who are just inches from possible electrocution on a daily basis. The production team for EXTREME TRAINS had to pass a special training course before they were allowed to film there. This episode also looks at historic Penn Station and why it had to be demolished in order to save the railroads. Ice Cold Express Tuesday, December 2nd at 10PM ET/9C Union Pacific's refrigeration train is simply the coolest… On its cross-country trip from Wallula, Washington, to Schenectady, New York, it employs hi-tech mobile refrigeration technology to keep its produce intact and fresh. Even the railcars themselves are loaded inside a cooled facility so as not to break the cold chain for this delicate cargo. Also in this episode: how trains and trucks battled for business in the 1950s. Steam Train Tuesday, December 9th at 10PM ET/9C The Union Pacific's famous 844 steam locomotive, built in 1944, is the longest-running steam train in America. It still runs on UP's mainlines today. Matt rides the 844 on its annual outing, taking 750 rail fans from Denver to the biggest rodeo in the world in Cheyenne, Wyoming. This train is so popular that traffic jams form along the tracks when it runs, as people "chase the train." This episode also looks at the gold rush of the 1850s. Overnight Traveler Tuesday, December 16 at 10PM ET/9C This train running from Chicago to Seattle is the busiest passenger train in America. The route passes through America's longest tunnel where Matt finds out how the railroad keeps passengers from choking to death and how to keep the tracks from flooding. In the Cascade Mountains he learns what it takes to the keep the rails clear of snow drifts over a dozen feet high! This episode covers how James J. Hill built the Great Northern Railroad; and the Wellington avalanche disaster. It features some of America's most beautiful scenery in Montana's Glacier National Park. Circus Train Tuesday, December 23 at 10PM ET/9C All board the longest privately owned train in the world, the circus train from Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey! PT Barnum's circus train started in the 1870s; and the US military used circus loading techniques in World War I. Matt and the circus race against the clock to dismantle tons of equipment and get it on the rails. As they travel from Baltimore to the Washington, DC corridor in the dead of night, Matt discovers the less glamorous side to the greatest show on earth. Transcontinental Tuesday, December 30 at 10PM ET/9C Matt rides the busiest freight line anywhere, Union Pacific's Omaha to Sacramento — on a route that crosses the world's longest rail causeway, though the world's largest rail yard and over the fearsome Donner Pass, where Matt and the train crews must free the tracks from huge blocks of ice. The episode covers the building of the transcontinental railroad in the 1860s.
I like the fact that although it is sponsored in part by CSX ... the premiere episode featured Norfolk Southern here's the show's website: Extreme Trains - History.com
I enjoyed it because it was a train show. Again, when there isn't a lot of great programming these days, a bad train show is better than anything else. I only caught about 10 minutes of it, but my daughter(7)climbed right up on my lap to watch with me, she being my model rr engineer. We were having a great time. My wife told me to stop the DVR at one point. She pointed out that the logos on the NS trains from overhead were backword, like they turned the tape around to have the train going the "right" way. Really bad editting. If the History Channel wants these to be good, they really need to catch these obvious mistakes. I'll be purchasing the DVD's anyway, tho.
Kind of. A bad train show is better than no train shows! I have a few other favorites that rate higher than where I would rank Extreme Trains right now. I thought the host was okay. Like others have said. A Mike Rowe type guy would be perfect. This guy was a little to over excited for my tastes. I "tuned him out" and just watched the show. And I agree that the editing leaves something to be desired. Overall, I'll give it a C+/B- overall grade. The content pushes it to a B+, but the editing and the host knock it down a little. Hopefully next weeks episode will improve over this one.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought the guy was goofy. Truthfully though, in real life he's probably not a half bad guy and I'm sure he doesn't act like that freak Billy Mays 24-7. Truth is he probably knows a little about trains so he was a candidate for the job. When he went for the interview they probably said "look, if you can act over the top stupid and dumb the show down to the point it will catch the attention of people who don't know or care anything about trains you have the job". Then he replied "Yes.. I think I can do that" and the rest was HISTORY!
What a buffoon. I can live with the bad editing, but the host has gotta go. How about the look on the helper crews faces when he asked them if they were scared. Shame Jerry DeBene couldn't have gotten the job.
I thought the show was interesting-- not being a PRR/NS fan and all. :tb-nerd: The host needs to switch to Sanka though.
Here's how it went down on the set... Voice of the producer: I don't know... we are trying to reach that 18-34 yr old demographic... Voice of the director: Matt, do you think you could do 60% more skater dude? Okay, now dial down the surfer dude to 35%. Great, now 10% less frat boy, okay, now just edgier. Yeah that's it, that's it...PERFECT!!! Thoughts in Matt's head: Man the things I gotta do to make some bread. Does anyone remember an old Simpson's episode where the pretend cartoon itchy and scratchy had to add a new character to boost ratings? The character's name was Poochie. Anyone watch Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives? All right I'll stop now.:tb-wacky:
I agree with all that's been said about the show. Editing and all. And the host was way over the top. I don't see how he was a conductor for another RR. I hope the shows producers check out the train forums. Also I'm not a professional Railfan, strictly an amateur. I just love trains, looking at trains, wondering where they are going and coming from. And the Horns (and steam whistles on DVDs) can't hear enough of them. I tried to buy a house by the CSX tracks through Alabaster Al. so I could sit out back and see them pass. But the wife nixed that idea But with all that's been said, the 10 year old in me enjoyed the show and had a good time watching, the different locomotives, loading and unloading the coal, and changing wheel sets. For years, I've heard of Horseshoe Curve but could not picture it in my minds eye. Finally I got to see great shots of it and with a train going down and around, it was terrific. Next time and for all the other shows I'll turn down the sound and just watch the content. See ya Ron
Well, I got to watch this show last night. Overall, it was pretty good. As stated before, the host was a little over the top but bearable. I probably noticed it more because I had read comments yesterday before I watched the show. Now the bad news is that I have cable but not digital cable. As of yesterday, Comcast has seen fit to move the History Channel off the regular cable to only on the digital package. So, I guess if I want to see the rest of the series, I'll have to find a friend to record it for me.
