The dream-to-reality stories behind the construction of America's first transcontinental railroad system, completed after a decade of work on May 10, 1869, when the last spike was driven at Promontory, Utah.

For more than 50 years, American presidents have traveled the world in very special aircraft. Here is the history of those planes.

Discusses the causes of engineering disasters, which have been ocurring since ancient times. Takes a look at specific disasters, including the collapse of the roof of Beauvais Cathedral in Medieval times, the breaking up of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Washington state, the collapse of the Kansas City Hyatt, the sinking of the Titanic, the collapse of the Teton Dam in Idaho, the exploding of the Hindenburg, the crashing of several commercial airplanes,...

Details the history and development of power tools.

Millions of American spectators flock to air shows for the thrill of seeing precision flying formations of military aviation squadrons, stunt pilots with the traditional style of barnstorming, and for the chance to get an up-close look at antique aircrafts and latest in aviation technology. The Indy 500, Top Gun and the Fourth of July rolled into one venue.

Modern marvels tells its story with the help of the people who built and maintain it. The MacKinac Bridge is one of the most extraordinary edifices ever built.

A & E looks at the history of accidents in aviation, such as the TWA Flight 800 crash. This video traces the development of such technologies as "black boxes" and the designs of aircraft resulting from the lessons learned from each crash.

Traces the history of maps, from cave-wall carvings in Europe to vehicle dashboard maps linked to satellites, from Marco Polo to Lewis and Clark, and from Ptolemy to Mercator. Relates how Andrew McNally and William Rand turned a small Chicago print shop into the world's largest mapmaker, and covers the role of maps in World War II, the impact of computer technology on mapmaking, and the Global Positioning System.

Gives the history of the technical development of the small, privately owned jet plane and discusses how to go about buying such an aircraft. Looks at the possibility of private corporate and personal jet planes replacing large commercial aircraft in future air travel.

The journey of a single tree from forest, to sawmill, to consumer; the evolution of logging from frontier days, when the technology was crude and the wood seemed inexhaustible, to today, when the reverse is true; options we may have for preserving the industry, and the ecology, for future generations.