Riding the Rails with Geoffrey Baer

For generations, virtually every route led through Chicago as trains carrying passengers, livestock, and freight crisscrossed the nation. In a new WTTW special and companion website titled Riding the Rails, lifelong rail aficionado Geoffrey Baer climbs aboard a wide array of trains to tell the story of this indispensable form of transportation and how it shaped Chicago. Along the journey, he uncovers clues about the railroads of yesteryear that surround us, recalls the colorful figures who built them, the unsung workers who labored on them, and explains why today’s rail network remains essential to Chicago's continued existence.