Michael embarks on a new railroad journey from the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia, south to the first permanent English colonial settlement in North America, Jamestown. He feasts on a gargantuan Philly cheesesteak, then looks to work off the calories with a run past the city's famous landmarks, in homage to one of Philadelphia's most famous sons, Rocky Balboa. All pumped up, he heads to Pennsylvania University to tackle the football team under the instruction of its fearsome coach. In the cradle of American independence, Michael discovers how, in 1776, liberty was proclaimed throughout the land yet millions remained enslaved. Alone in a cell, Michael reflects on the 19th-century Pennsylvania system of incarceration at the Eastern State Penitentiary before heading to the gambling resort of Atlantic City and its famous boardwalk.

Michael hitches a ride with the Amish in a horse-drawn buggy through rich countryside settled in the 18th century by religiously oppressed Europeans. Charmed by their modest way of life, he watches as they sell their beautiful quilts at auction. In Strasburg, known as Traintown USA, Michael joins the crew of the oldest continuously operated railroad in the United States. After oiling the magnificent engine, he rides on the footplate of the vintage steam locomotive. His last stop on this leg is Gettysburg, the most famous battlefield of the American Civil War, where, in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln made a momentous speech.

Michael reaches a milestone on his American journey: the boundary between the northern and southern states, known as the Mason-Dixon line. He discovers the origins of what became for black Americans the border between slavery and freedom, in an 18th-century English dispute over land. On the Wilmington and Western Railroad, Michael meets the passenger train Phoebe Snow, created by the railroads at the turn of the 20th century to reassure passengers that clean burning coal wouldn't make their clothes dirty. Michael uncovers the explosive history of gunpowder production in Delaware, begun by a Frenchman, whose chateau still stands. He then takes a boat trip up the Susquehanna River following the route taken by one of the first English settlers, John Smith.

In Baltimore, home of the first railroad in the United States, the Baltimore and Ohio, he discovers how the first American steam engine, the Tom Thumb, owed much to pioneering British technology. He investigates race relations in the troubled city, taking a drive downtown with a former drug dealer, now a teacher. On the city's beautiful east coast, Michael discovers the impressive star-shaped Fort McHenry and learns how the Star-Spangled Banner national anthem was born. Medics at the city's Johns Hopkins Hospital show Michael how their institution has grown from its 19th-century foundation by the railroad magnate into a world-leading centre for healthcare. And at the city's Lexington Market, Michael learns what gives a Maryland crab cake the edge.

Michael arrives in the nation's capital, Washington DC. He admires its fine public buildings, including the largest library in the world, and discovers how the capital was built from scratch after a political compromise between north and south. At the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Michael meets the man responsible for engraving the portrait of President Abraham Lincoln on the current five-dollar bill and gets his hands on more money than he has ever held in his life. In the offices of The Washington Post, Michael learns about corruption in the corridors of power and how the newspaper toppled a president. He finishes this leg of his journey in the auditorium of the theatre where, in 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.

On this leg, Michael soaks up some old-school jazz in Washington's U Street neighbourhood, where the big band jazz king, Duke Ellington, was born and began his career. He also grabs a bite at Ben's Chili Bowl, the legendary diner chosen by President Obama for a snack before his inauguration. He follows his guidebook to the United States Naval Observatory, the nation's timekeeper, where he discovers how and why the railroads established four time zones across the continent in 1883. Heading south to Alexandria, Virginia, Michael explores a former slave market and hears how African Americans were bought and sold. He ends this leg in Mount Vernon, the Palladian home of the nation's first president, George Washington, where he gets into a spot of bother at an archaeological dig.

Michael Portillo arrives in Manassas, scene of two crucial battles during the American Civil War - the first railroad battles in US history. In Fredericksburg, Virginia, he tries his hand at bottling bourbon corn whisky and learns how it became the nation's spirit. In Richmond, a plate of ham and eggs with southern grits sets Michael up for a tour of the Virginia state capitol building, where he learns about the terrible dilemma faced by one of its most famous sons, General Robert E Lee. Charmed by the English heritage of this former colony, Michael puts on his dancing shoes and heads for a cotillion ball, where it seems manners are the name of the game.

In Petersburg, Virginia, the choir of the First Baptist Church is in fine voice as Michael discovers how, during the 19th century, coded messages were delivered to slaves who hoped to escape via the so-called Underground Railroad. Michael ploughs his own furrow in a field in colonial Williamsburg, a living history park, where he learns from costumed re-enactors what life was like for both master and slave. It's battle stations in Norfolk, home to the United States Atlantic Fleet, where Michael is invited on board the USS Wisconsin to hear about the first duel fought between iron-clad vessels in 1862 and Britain's role in it. Michael reaches the end of this American journey in Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America, where he finds out about the settlers' grim struggle for survival led by Captain John Smith and Pocahontas.

Michael Portillo begins a new journey from Minnesota's Twin Cities in the north of the US to Memphis, Tennessee, in the Deep South.

In this leg, Michael discovers how Minneapolis, part of one metropolitan area with its immediate neighbour, St Paul, harnessed the power of the mighty Mississippi to become a great industrial centre. It is also the artificial limb capital of the world.

In St Paul, meanwhile, Michael visits the birthplace of F Scott Fitzgerald and meets a jazz age trumpeter and Fitzgerald fan who introduces him to the Jay Gatsby lifestyle.

Michael Portillo continues his journey from the northern state of Minnesota to the Deep South.

Michael discovers the story of Hiawatha and his lover Minnehaha, an epic poem featuring American Indian characters. He then meets a Dakota Sioux expert on Native American culture to learn about a dark chapter in United States history and how it is marked today.

Michael has to put his diplomatic skills to the test at a Swedish-American lunch, where the centrepiece of the menu is reconstituted dried cod.

And there is a taste of the golden age of luxury rail travel as Michael bounces on a bed in a beautifully restored Pullman carriage.

Michael Portillo continues his journey from the northern state of Minnesota to the Deep South.

Steered by his Appleton's Guidebook, Michael travels along the Upper Mississippi to Red Wing, Minnesota, and the home of Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of Little House on the Prairie.

Joining the Empire Builder rail service, he travels to Winona, where he finds out how in the 19th century the US Army Corps of Engineers made the Mississippi navigable. The river is maintained today not just for freight, but to host bald eagles and pelicans too.

Michael joins in the dancing at a tribal gathering of the Dakota Sioux, and in La Crosse learns about the Native American origins of a fast-moving, combative sport.

Michael Portillo continues his journey from the northern state of Minnesota to the Deep South.

Michael reaches Tomah, Wisconsin, where he helps harvest cranberries, an important crop for the US.

Boarding the Empire Builder rail service once again, he travels to Wisconsin Dells, where an innovative photographer first captured motion.

Michael takes a plunge in the waterpark capital of the world and finds a pleasant surprise in Baraboo - the circus is in town and it travels by train. Guided by a former clown and ringmaster, Michael explores the train's spectacular wagons.

Michael Portillo continues his journey from the northern state of Minnesota to the Deep South.

Michael is in Milwaukee, located on the shore of Lake Michigan and home of the Harley-Davidson. Michael learns about the history of motorcycles there, the first of which was made in 1903, and hitches a ride on the back of a modern version.

German gymnastics is Michael's next challenge as he joins the Ladies' Auxiliary Exercise Class, a legacy of Milwaukee's 19th-century German settler community which is still going strong today.

In Racine, Michael discovers a man who knew how to sort the wheat from the chaff and made a business out of it.

Michael Portillo is blown away by the skyscrapers in Illinois's Windy City, where he discovers how modern Chicago's skyline replaced a largely wooden city, destroyed in a great fire shortly before his Appleton's Guide was published. Training with the city's firefighters, Michael learns today's fire department respond to half a million emergency calls a year.

Michael steps up to the plate with the Joliet Slammers, stars of the US national game of baseball, then sings for his supper at a quintessentially American restaurant bearing his name! Downtown at the Moody Church, Michael tracks down a pair of evangelists who toured Britain and the United States by rail at the time of his Guide.

Michael Portillo continues his 1,000-mile journey from the northern state of Minnesota to the home of the blues in Memphis, Tennessee. Today, in the nation's rail capital, where tracks pass underground and overground and are elevated into the air, Michael investigates the ultimate marshalling yard. At the ornate Palmer House Hotel, Michael teams up with the head chef to recreate the original chocolate brownie, invented by Bertha Palmer for Chicago's World Exposition in 1893. He discovers the origins of the Sanitary and Ship Canal and uncovers the history of an incredible civil engineering project which raised the city to new heights. Heading deep underground, Michael inspects a modern day scheme on a similarly awesome scale, described by the boss as the largest toilet in the world.

Steered by his Appleton's Guide, Michael Portillo continues his 1,000-mile rail journey south from Chicago through Kankakee to Champaign, Illinois. In full swing on the fairway at the Flossmoor Country Club, Michael discovers how wealthy businessmen from the city flocked to play and how the railroads fostered the growth of suburban life. Beside the Kankakee River, Michael is invited to visit the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house that changed the face of American architecture. On the platform at Kankakee station, Michael parties with the locals as they celebrate the City of New Orleans rail service, immortalised in song by Arlo Guthrie. He gets his hands on a vintage hooter riding on the Monticello Heritage rail line and in Champaign learns a thing or two at a railroad university.

Armed with his 19th-century Appleton's Guide, Michael Portillo continues his 1,000-mile journey, beginning and ending on the Mississippi River from Minnesota to Tennessee. Riding the mainline of mid-America, Michael stops at rural Mattoon, where he gets a taste of the tough early life which shaped President Abraham Lincoln. Wiping the sweat from his brow, Michael struggles to split one rail compared with Lincoln's estimated 700 a day. Basket in hand, Michael joins the Schwartz family apple harvest in Centralia and learns how to make apple butter. He uncovers industrial unrest in the coal mines of Carbondale then heads to Kentucky and the banks of the Mississippi, where a bloody conflict unfolded which proved decisive in victory for Lincoln's Union.

Armed with his Appleton's Guide, Michael Portillo travels the lower Mississippi aboard a paddle steamer to hear about the life and work of former river boat captain, Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain. In the city of Memphis, Tennessee, Michael visits the historic Elmwood Cemetery, where he uncovers the story of a devastating epidemic, which claimed the lives of thousands. He discovers one of the largest rail freight hubs in the United States and in the home of the blues, meets contemporary artist Cedric Burnside in studio before joining millions of Elvis fans at Graceland. An invitation to a duck palace and the honorary position of Duck Master carry curious responsibilities at the 19th-century Peabody Hotel.

Led by his late 19th-century Appleton's guidebook, Michael Portillo sets off on a 1,000-mile American adventure to discover how the railroad conquered the wild landscapes of the West and transformed California into America's wealthiest region, one which has

revolutionised the world.

Beginning in the Silver State of Nevada, Michael takes to the skies over the dramatic Sierra Nevada mountain range. At Lake Tahoe, he hears of the first white explorer, dubbed 'The Pathfinder', who learnt the lay of the foreboding land and paved the way for the first settlers to arrive. Travelling on the historic Virginia and Truckee heritage line, Michael heads for the vast deposits of silver and gold ore that built Virginia City, once dubbed the richest place on earth. At Chollar Mine he explores the short-lived mining boom and meets a pistol packin' preacher when he swings by the Silver Queen saloon.

Crossing the border into the Golden State of California, he ascends the 7,000ft granite cliffs to the Donner Pass where ambitious plans to plough a rail route through the rugged terrain were made a reality by Chinese labourers, at huge human cost. In the spirit of Western horsemanship, Michael ends this leg in Colfax and gets in the saddle for a spot of cowboy dressage.

Continuing his epic Californian rail journey, Michael Portillo begins this leg at the very spot that triggered the 1848 gold rush. He finds out how California's mineral treasures and population swell helped fast-track the region's statehood, with significant political consequences for the national slavery battle. Michael pans for gold in the clear waters of the American River, and delights in a titillating spectacle at California's first public theatre.

Venturing underground, he discovers how the streets of Sacramento were raised following the Great Flood of 1862 and visits the newly

constructed $900 million dam to improve the city's flood defences. It is a first for Michael in the kaleidoscopic sweet factory of an iconic American confectionary brand that can trace its roots back to the 19th century. And, taking a cue from his guidebook, he explores the fruits of the Napa Valley enjoying a gourmet lunch on board the Napa Valley wine train before joining the harvest of the state's distinctive Zinfandel grape.

Armed with his trusty Appleton's Guide, Michael Portillo's rail journey through California takes him to the commercial metropolis of San Francisco. Riding through the vibrant streets by cable car, Michael finds out how 19th-century engineering overcame the challenge of scaling the city's steep hills and gets behind the scenes with the 144-year-old engines driving the cables.

In the Presidio neighbourhood, Michael discovers San Francisco's long tradition for fine printing and learns the historic hand-crafted techniques before his treasured guidebook is evaluated by the experts. Hitching a ride on a hippy 'love bus' to the heart of the gay district, Michael traces the roots of the city's LGBTQ scene back to the era of the gold rush and is invited to a fund-raising 'drag brunch'. He stops off at the marina to tuck into a local seafood speciality brought to the city by Italian immigrants. And, heading across the bay to Sausalito, he boards a schooner to hear the story of Matthew Turner, the most prolific ship builder of his time.

Michael Portillo resumes his exhilarating tour of San Francisco to find that diversity has been at the heart of the city since the days of the gold rush, though not always harmoniously so. Following his Appleton's guide, Michael heads to Chinatown to hear of the huge contribution Chinese immigrants made to the economy, working as miners and building the transcontinental railroad. He discovers an entrepreneurial community who overcame discrimination laid down by the law, and finds that fortune favours the brave with iconic Chinese treats created in America!

Intrigued by a reference in his guidebook, Michael goes in search of lavish public baths to unpack a landmark incident in 1897 whereby an African-American sued one of the richest white men in the state. At one of the oldest private athletics clubs in America, Michael gets to grips with the sport of handball, first brought to San Francisco by Irish immigrants in the 1850s. And joining the police's Marine Unit, he heads out into the bay with a force who has been keeping the waters safe since the 1860s.

Michael Portillo's rail voyage continues through northern California, moving east in search of the state's greatest national treasures. To unearth the region's dangers deep underground, Michael visits the seismology department at UC Berkeley and hears the story of the catastrophic 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Experiencing the country's largest multidirectional shaking table in action, he learns how engineers today strive to prepare for the high risk of an earthquake.

Alighting at Stockton, Michael delves into California's pioneering agricultural technology and buckles up on a caterpillar tractor the likes of which revolutionised farming and construction equipment around the world. And following the advice of his Appleton's, Michael immerses himself in the sublime beauty of Yosemite National Park, learning about the committed 19th-century conservationists who campaigned for federal protection. He gets up close to the magnificent fauna and flora, attempts a rock climb and comes across a 'Buffalo Soldier' patrolling the wilderness.

Michael Portillo's thousand-mile rail journey through California continues south toward Santa Clara in the heart of Silicon Valley and ends in the surf of Santa Cruz. In a high-tech bar, where robots wait on the customers, Michael traces the origins of modern-day search engines and social media to an institution founded by a railroad baron. At tech giant Intel, Michael glimpses the future on a test drive in an autonomous car.

At San Jose, the biggest city in the valley, Michael visits Japantown to meet members of a far eastern community who settled here peacefully during the 19th century but faced hostility during the mid-20th. He is then beaten over the head and body by youngsters a third of his age as he attempts to learn the martial art of kendo. A ride aboard the Roaring Camp and Big Trees Railroad takes Michael through groves of mammoth trees - the magnificent California Redwoods. Emerging from the forest on a second vintage railroad, Michael hits the beach and like a true beach boy, he takes to the waves - on a surfboard.

Steered by his late-19th-century Appleton's guidebook, Michael Portillo continues his railroad travels through southern California aboard the Coast Starlight service. In the historic port of Monterey, Michael raises the Bear Flag of the one-time Republic of California and above it, the Stars and Stripes. He discovers the city's Spanish and Mexican heritage and traces how the former fishing port described as 'stinking and decrepit' in John Steinbeck's novel Cannery Row has become a beacon for tourists. And how, in place of fish-processing canneries, there now stands a gleaming, state-of-the art aquarium, where Michael is invited to feed the fish.

Michael's next stop is Paso de Robles, where he tours the magnificent Hearst Castle, dream home of the newspaper baron William Randolph Hearst, to hear the tale of its creation. Onward to San Luis Obispo and the hills of Morro Bay and Michael joins avocado farmer Jim Shanley, amid his 4,000 avocado trees to harvest the pears and then learn how to make guacamole. Michael's last stop on this leg is outside Santa Barbara at Rancho Camulos, a former cattle ranch owned by a prominent Hispanic family and the setting for a best-selling romantic novel of the 19th century.

Armed with his Appleton's guide to the United States, Michael Portillo arrives in Los Angeles to delight in the 'city of dreams', from its glorious Union Station to its golden beaches and palm-lined boulevards. Like many a Hollywood hopeful before him, Michael heads for the Warner Brothers studio, founded on Sunset Boulevard at the time of his Appleton's, with dreams of stardom ahead. His role as a fearless all-action hero is assured. For the view from the top he takes the Skyslide from the 70th floor of one of LA's tallest buildings before striding out on the Walk of Fame.

At the pioneering 19th-century Union Ice company, Michael discovers how Californians have kept their cool. He sees how ice blocks of titanic proportions are made and brings Christmas to LA with a giant snowmaker. Outside the city, Michael heads for San Marino to visit The Huntington, a cultural and research centre with fine libraries, art galleries and more than a dozen botanical gardens. In the cactus garden, Michael discovers more about the founder, nephew of a railroad baron and himself a pioneer of street cars and trolleys. Michael explores the city's latest initiative to break the legendary rush hour gridlock on Los Angeles freeways - a rail link with seven new stations on the LA metro.

Michael Portillo strikes oil in the suburbs of Los Angeles, contemplates his navel in the orange groves of Riverside, makes a California Roll and paints a pretty picture in Laguna Beach.

It is Mexican Independence Day and the locals are celebrating the country's hard-won independence from Spain in the early 19th century. There is dancing, singing and feasting in the streets and Michael is up for joining the party. He learns that one in two of the population of LA is Latino, mainly of Mexican descent, and hears after only a few decades, Mexico lost half its territory and California became part of the United States. Michael learns the secrets of backyard oil drilling in Los Angeles, home to the largest urban oil field in the United States. Nodding donkeys are everywhere - in residential neighbourhoods, parking lots and burger joints.

Michael sports a zesty orange jacket to visit the Citrus Variety Collection and learns the difference between a pummelo and a papeda. Alongside oil, the citrus fruit industry, he discovers, is one of the bedrocks of the state's economy. At Laguna Beach, Michael learns how artists from the east coast travelled west on the Transcontinental Railroad to found a colony of 'plein air' painters attracted by the beautiful coastline and glorious light to paint outside.

Michael Portillo is nearing the end of his thousand-mile rail journey from Reno, Nevada, to San Diego in southern California. In this final leg, clad in khaki boiler suit and sporting dark glasses, he joins the US Navy Pacific Fleet, birthplace of the elite flying academy Top Gun. Aboard the Pacific Surfliner, he arrives first in the coastal town of La Jolla, where he takes to the water in a kayak to explore the extraordinary 75-million-year-old caves.

In San Diego, he picks up the trail of the industrialist and property speculator John D Spreckels, who made the city boom in the 19th century and built a pavilion to house the largest outdoor pipe organ in the world. Michael is offered the chance to play it. Appleton's recommends a trip to a huge structure, completed in 1888, on which San Diegans have depended for water for 130 years - the

Sweetwater Dam.