The transcontinental railroad changed just about everything in America: transportation, communications, commerce, cities, politics, even our perception of time. Correspondent David Pogue visits Steamtown National Historic Site, in Scranton, Pa., home to Big Boy, the biggest functioning steam train in the world, to learn how trains helped define an expansive America.
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How trains drove American history
The transcontinental railroad changed just about everything in America: transportation, communications, commerce, cities, politics, even our perception of time. Correspondent David Pogue visits Steamtown National Historic Site, in Scranton, Pa., home to Big Boy, the biggest functioning steam train i
Published June 28, 2026, 1:43 PM
Updated June 28, 2026, 2:32 PM2.6K
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