TVO has greenlit a fourth instalment of the experimental Tripping documentary series titled Tripping Train 185.

Produced by Toronto-based Good Earth Productions, which was launched by executive producer Mitch Azaria and producer Andrea Minty in 1991, Tripping Train 185 will begin filming in Ontario on July 10.

The three-hour immersive documentary is about the VIA Train 185 between Sudbury and White River, Ont., an essential rail line created in 1881. It was the only link for many communities.

Throughout the film, viewers will witness the train being loaded with essentials such as food, canoes and building equipment for communities the rail line supported; overhear conversations between train operators and passengers; see northern landscapes; and experience the train stopping in the middle of wilderness to pick up campers and cottage owners.

Good Earth Productions, which specializes in producing TV documentary series, has also produced the three previous Tripping series for TVO, including Tripping the Rideau, Tripping the Niagara, and Tripping the Bruce. The long-form documentaries have no narration in an effort to make the viewer part of the journey.

The first doc, Tripping the Rideau, was intended as a one-off film and took the audience along Ottawa’s Rideau canal. Its success led to Tripping the Niagara, which featured a birds-eye-view trip over Niagara Falls, and then Tripping the Bruce (pictured), which traversed the Bruce Peninsula on a sailboat and underwater to explore shipwrecks.

In a statement, Azaria said Tripping “has been a wonderful challenge” for the team. “We get to find interesting nooks in our province and then, with TVO’s support, dream up interesting ways to allow Ontarians to experience these landscapes.”

John Ferri, VP of programming and content at TVO, said the Tripping series “has become a signature event for TVO.”

“It’s a series that pushes all our buttons: it’s a look at an Ontario not everyone gets to see, it’s highly educational and it’s beautiful, superb filmmaking,” said Ferri. “The response to each of the episodes has been extraordinary and we’re very pleased and excited to support the next installment.”

Good Earth Productions’ first series was Great Canadian Parks, which was nominated for seven Canadian Screen Awards. They have also produced documentaries for CBC, National Geographic and History Television.

Photo: Flowerpot Island from TVO original Tripping the Bruce