Great American Railroad Journeys — Season 1, Episode 13: Georgetown to Mount Vernon

Episode synopsis

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.

About Great American Railroad Journeys

Michael Portillo crosses the Atlantic to ride the railroads of America, armed with Appleton's General Guide to the United States, published in 1879.

More episodes from Season 1

• E1Manhattan: Grand Central to Broadway
• E2Manhattan: Lower East Side to World Trade Center
• E3Brooklyn to Montauk
• E4New York City to Garrison
• E5Poughkeepsie to Albany
• E6Schenectady to Rochester
• E7Buffalo to Niagara Falls
• E8Philadelphia to Atlantic City
• E9Lancaster to Gettysburg
• E10Wilmington to Havre de Grace
• E11Baltimore to Fort McHenry
• E12Washington DC