Down The Line
Presenter(s): Scott McGregor
Scott McGregor, enthusiast and raconteur, explores remote, unique and exotic destinations along some of the world's most fascinating rail routes. Each adventure reveals an array of characters, culture and history. Scott has a passion for catching, chasing and messing about with trains. He is a guide who likes nothing better than interacting with characters even more eccentric than himself.
Episode 1: New South Wales
Ride the rails with enthusiast and raconteur Scott McGregor, exploring remote, unique and exotic destinations on and off the track. Scott starts his journey on a mountain top railway near Mudgee in New South Wales.
Episode 2: Vietnam
One of the world's great train journeys is on the little known 'Reunification Express'. It travels the length of Vietnam, a 2,000-km lifeline from Ho Chi Minh City in the south to Hanoi in the North. That's where we catch up with avid rail tracker Scott McGregor.
Episode 3: New Zealand - South Island
Scott McGregor, enthusiast and raconteur, explores New Zealand - the first country in the world to see the sunrise everyday. And on the south island, it shines on a rugged and spectacular landscape. Mountains that have become the destination of the thrill seeker - and the railway adventurer like Scott.
Episode 4: Far North Queensland - Australia
Scott McGregor, explores the far north of Queensland, a destination that provides the backdrop for a series of train journeys some consider the most unique in the world. People travel from all over the globe to Australia to catch these trains from 'nowhere to nowhere' and Scott finds out why when he travels the Savannahlander and the Gulflander.
Episode 5: New Zealand - North Island
Scott McGregor travels right through the heart of New Zealand's emerald-green North Island. The tour, down the main trunk line, also allows for some fascinating side trips: we meet a potter who built his own mountain railway, and see the majesty of the smouldering volcano Mount Ruapehu.
Episode 6: Victoria & South Australia
Scott McGregor begins an epic journey in Melbourne as he heads west with the intention of participating in the Cummins Kalamazoo World Championship (a kalamazoo is a hand pumped rail car). The championship is held once a year down the main street of Cummins, a dusty, small junction town in the middle of the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia.