60 Minutes has been on the American airwaves since 1968 and our favorite segment has nothing to do with political scandals, interviews with legends or exposing con-men. It is the 1974 report titled Last Train to Istanbul in which correspondent Morley Safer traveled on the last ride of the fabled Orient Express from Paris to Istanbul. By this point, the train had been in terrible disrepair and had degenerated from a symbol of class and status to that of a cargo train carrying migrant workers. The Cold War enters prominently when they cross the Iron Curtain and all papers must be in order. There are no services on the train that once boasted all night champagne and gourmet dining and it's depressing to see how the Express had been allowed to deteriorate. However, the happy ending, as we all know, is that years later it re-emerged under new owners and today has been restored to its original glory. The segment, broadcast in 1974 and re-aired in 1977, is brilliantly edited and incorporates plenty of coverage of how the Express figured into spy movies. There are clips with Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes, the (then) newly-released Murder on the Orient Express and the classic train fight between Sean Connery and Robert Shaw in the James Bond film From Russia With Love. (By sheer coincidence, one of the steam engines is coded with the number "007"!) Most amazing if the fact that Morley Safer is still a top correspondent for 60 Minutes. We once vied for a taxi cab during a rainstorm in London...I beat him out and told him that, while I admired his work, I was taking the cab. After viewing his fine work in this segment, I feel kinda guilty. Morley, if you're reading this, next time you'll get the cab- I promise. - Lee Pfeiffer