THE cotton cloud dotted electric blue Canada sky looks like heaven.
But beneath, in the depths of the Alberta wilderness, is Hell on Wheels.
Hell on Wheels is the new supercharged show created by Endemol for AMC, the folks that gave the world Mad Men, Breaking Bad and The Walking Dead.
With the tagline: ‘Blood will be spilled, lives will be lost, men will be ruined,’ this gritty cinematic Western focuses on mid 19th century post-Civil War America and the building of the first transcontinental railway.
But it’s not all about steam trains, it’s mainly about riveting characters who go off the rails.
It stars steely hunk Anson Mount as Cullen Bohannon, a former Confederate soldier dead set on avenging his wife’s death.
Two British talents also take lead roles – Irish stars Colm Meaney, who plays ruthless railroad head honcho Thomas Durant, and Dominique McElligott as sensitive but strong English widow Lily Bell.
Already a hit in the States, Hell on Wheels premieres in the UK on TCM this Sunday.
And I was one of the first reporters in the world to be allowed onto the set where they’re now filming the second series.
Spending a day taking part in gunslinging and horseback riding along with exploring the specially built set transported me 150 years back in time.
A steam train sits waiting on part of the railroad close to the Bow River.
Nearby is a town straight out of the 1860s complete with a saloon, gun makers, hardware store and *****house.
The tough terrain at the heart of the Native American Tsuu T'ina Nation reservation rises all around as the weather swings from a snowstorm to the baking heat of the sun.
At the time the railroad was built, it was a daily slog for survival.
People died every day working on the feat and the town itself was a dangerous habitat to live in thanks to gunfights and battles on all sides via racial strife and conflicts with Native Americans.
I’m sworn to secrecy about what happens but I did get to mingle with Bohannon and dozens of moustachioed confederate soldiers, wander around the town, get handy with guns like Bohannon’s weapon of choice the Griswold, learn on-screen fighting techniques with one of the best stuntmen in the business and hone my riding skills just like the stars of the show.
Leading man Anson sums up Hell on Wheels for me.
“It’s about the construction of the transcontinental railroad but it’s not a show about engineering,” he tells me.
“There’s guns. It’s about killing. And whisky drinking.”
Gunfire echoes all around as a particularly heart-stopping scene is being filmed.
Off-screen, I’m given a lesson in sharpshooting by Hell on Wheels armourer Brian Kent.
With countless years of experience in the business and the proud owner of one of the biggest and best antique gun collections in North America, I’m in good hands with Brian.
I’ve shot guns before for The Sun, but they’ve always been modern day weapons.
This time I got to pack authentic pistols from the real Wild West.
As shots ring out during a take, Brian sportingly allows me to take aim at him.
Even so, safety, he says, is his prime concern and he always casts a keen eye over each scene, ready to pull the plug if it gets too dangerous for the actors.
Then it’s time to fight like a man with hand-to-hand combat.
Stunt co-ordinator Brent Woolsey has been behind big screen action sequences in everything from Inception to Rise of the Planet of the Apes to Romeo + Juliet.
He teaches me a few nifty and realistic stunt punches.
Brent says he loves working on the show because there are no special effects short cuts.
He tells me: “It looks more genuine if you can do it for real.”
I stepped straight into the scenes of Hell on Wheels thanks to an hour’s horseriding at the Rafter Six Ranch.
This is where Angelina stayed with Brad while he shot The Assassination of Jesse James and isn’t far from where Brokeback Mountain was filmed.
And it has been in existence since the 1880s – not long after the era depicted in Hell on Wheels.
You’re matched with a horse who has a similar demeanour to you and I’m paired with Chilli – who is chilled with a touch of fire in her spirit.
We go on an adventure through alpine forests, on mountains high above the Kananaskis River, across expansive plains and along muddy trails.
Afterwards I meet ranch owner and real life cowboy Stan Cowley.
Stan was raised on the outdoors and grew up alongside Native Americans. He even became a blood brother with medicine man Walking Buffalo.
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His nature and equine skills have seen him appear in Westerns just like Hell on Wheels.
The show’s set is just 30 minutes southeast of Calgary in the spectacular province of Alberta – where many films have been shot including the original Superman movies, Unforgiven, Legends of The Fall, Open Range and even Inception, which was partially made there.
Calgary is also where William and Kate visited last summer.
The Sun can now join their ranks, along with the likes of Pope John Paul II, the Dalai Lama, US presidents and British PMs, to be “white-hatted” – the equivalent to being given the keys to the city.
I’m presented with a white hat after placing a hand on my heart and promising to “extend exceptional amounts of heartwarming Western spirit... to all the people and critters I meet.”
After spending time following in the tracks of the characters from Hell on Wheels, I’ll definitely have that heartwarming Western spirit in me for quite some time to come.
Brand new cinematic American Western series Hell on Wheels premieres on TCM from Sunday May 20 at 9pm and is repeated on Thursdays at 9pm.
Read more: The Alberta wilderness is Hell on Wheels | The Sun |Showbiz|TV
more: Alberta-filmed Hell on Wheels rolls in the ratings | TV | Entertainment | Calgary Sun
This is filmed on the Tsuu T'Ina Indian Reservation south of Calgary..
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