American Experience - Streamliners: America's Lost Trains

For nearly three decades, America's gleaming locomotives raced across the country, helping passengers reach their destinations in record times. This program tells the story of how these trains gained popularity, what it was like to ride one, and why their numbers began to diminish in later years. One of the first most impressive runs occurred in May 1934 when a locomotive known as the Zephyr left Denver's Union Station on a nonstop run to Chicago. It had a long, sleek body and was powered by a compact diesel engine that made it possible to cover over 1,000 miles in record time. Soon, dozens of these trains crisscrossed the nation, making other countries envy America's transportation system. However, the video shows when the '60s arrived many of these streamliners were sold to either Japan or Canada as air travel and other factors began changing people's transportation preferences.