Railroads: Magic, Mystery & Mystique

Gr 5 Up—This program highlights several national historic landmarks and national parks associated with railroads. The National Park Service sites mentioned include the Grand Canyon, Denali, Cuyahoga, Steamtown, Golden Spike, and Allegheny Portage Railroad. The narrative describes scenes of the parks' visitor centers, museums, and train rides. A lengthy portion of the film focuses on the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, with scenes of the landscape and people experiencing the ride. An overriding theme here is the love of trains and the desire to preserve them and the belief that these vehicles are "timeless icons" of America's past. The film has the appearance of a home movie, though; colors are flat, and there are lots of tourists filling the screen. Classroom teachers should be advised that many minutes pass without narration, with only scenes of a train traveling down a track. Although the male narrator refers to the importance of railroads in the early history of parks such as Yellowstone and Glacier, he never explains what specific role the railroads had in the creation of parks. The voice-over refers to "almost 400 units" in the national park system, but there are 412 units.