Two round trips in summer between Bozeman and Livingston: on the ground and on board. Climbing the west slope in winter. Big steam (4-6-6-4's and 2-8-8-4's) on the East slope. These huge monsters and the A-6 4-8-4 Northerns crawl between round house, coal tipple and water plug. Then hammer at the1.8% grade to Bozeman Summit. Has a side trip to Yellowstone Park and around the Gardiner Loop in steam.

Follows the Yellowstone River for 340 miles through the heart of Montana cattle country and then into the Badlands. Eastbound the North Coast Limited covered the next 660 miles to St Paul in darkness for most of the year. Scenes of the Mainstreeter are used to illustrate parts of this segment.

From St Paul the North Coast sped 330 miles beneath the palisades that hold the Mississippi between it banks. We see the train on a bright spring day with immense dams and colorful barges churning between. Scenes of the train in steam in the 1930's are sprinkled throughout, including Chicago, Minneapolis, wheat farming, cow punching, the Dakota Badlands etc.