I'll let the host off the hook a bit. Considering that the producer and/or director have the biggest say so as to the shows content, I lay most criticism there.
What jolted me the most in the circus train episode which showed what was purported to be a "typical" quarters. Hmmmm....How many passenger cars have you been in which had a four burner electric stove?
All in all I would give this series a D grade. It certainly hasn't done much to further a positive image of railroading. I would like to see the series continue, but with the following (suggested) changes.
1. Replace the on air host with someone who doesn't act like he is in search of the nearest potty. Because of hit frequent mention of his experience as a working professional railroader, in the minds of the unknowing viewers he would logically represent the typical railroader. Of course that's pretty far from the truth.
2. Get a producer/director in there who either knows something about railroads, or has a knowledgeable person sitting at their elbow. A lot of the out and out goofs on that show could easily be avoided.
When I saw the graphic that standard gauge was "4 feet 8 inches", I knew we were in trouble.
3. Tighten up on the continuity. This last show is a good example when they ventured off into shoveling coal in a tender. And the host spent all of 30 seconds patting the sides of the steamer before they cut back to the circus train. Now what a steam locomotive has to do with a modern circus train escapes me.
4. Quit that crap of the camera man chasing the host from the rear to get the shot. How many of you would try to hold an intelligent conversation over your shoulder while moving at a near trot? (What would have been deserved is for the host to quickly turn around and run headlong into a lampost.)
5. There have been several times - more than one show - when the on air host acted like part of the train crew and started giving orders, instead of being the observer he really was - or should have been. I was ready to virtually reach out and strangle him, and I'll bet the real professional railroaders on the train were ready to also.
All in all a pretty crappy job. The only thing that keeps me from giving the series an overall F is the fact that it at least features trains and railroads.
Unfortunately, it is much, much too late to undo the damage this series has potentially done.
So now let me put my ego on the line and suggest what might have been done, at least for one episode. Start by showing a customer at a local big box store purchasing one or more items with a "made in" - whatever label.
Then cut to a west coast port with its acres of containers which have arrived by ship. Now enter the railroads, and focus on the travels of a single container from the port to the big box store, starting with the railroad's traffic department.
Describe briefly how our container gets loaded onto a flat car which is then gathered with like cars into a train and sent on its way.
Then move to railroad operations, starting with the now heavily computerized dispatch centers, which shepherd the train our container is on down the line with minimum delay, finally arriving at a yard near our big box store where our container is offloaded to a truck and delivered into the big box store's distribution system.
Then end up back in the big box store with the customer checking out. A full circle.
If done right I think the interest of the uninformed viewer could be maintained, and the viewer would come away with a much greater appreciation of the vital role our railroads continue to play in our stream of commerce.
Your comments and criticisms are welcome.
CJ
