Golden Age of Travel Special

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0:00:33 > 0:00:36WHISTLE BLOWS

0:00:40 > 0:00:44Tonight on the Antiques Roadshow we are doing something rather special.

0:00:45 > 0:00:48We're about to board a great icon of the age of steam.

0:00:48 > 0:00:54It evokes strong passions, reducing sensible people to quivering jelly.

0:00:54 > 0:00:58There's been huge excitement up and down the country,

0:00:58 > 0:01:02grown men have been seen weeping openly in fields,

0:01:02 > 0:01:05whole families have camped out in the hope of a quick glimpse,

0:01:05 > 0:01:07and I can't wait.

0:01:07 > 0:01:10Because any minute, she's going to be coming round that corner.

0:01:10 > 0:01:14She's back on the rails. It's Britain's - perhaps even the world's -

0:01:14 > 0:01:16most famous steam locomotive.

0:01:16 > 0:01:20Yes, it's been a year of Flying Scotsman frenzy,

0:01:20 > 0:01:23and we're about to get our own very special ride.

0:01:25 > 0:01:28Here she comes. Look at that!

0:01:28 > 0:01:32The sound, the smell - there's nothing like it.

0:01:36 > 0:01:41Welcome to the golden age of travel on the Flying Scotsman.

0:01:46 > 0:01:49It's an ambitious first for the Antiques Roadshow -

0:01:49 > 0:01:52never before have we held a show on anything like a moving train.

0:01:54 > 0:01:58The Flying Scotsman's been undergoing restoration since 2006,

0:01:58 > 0:02:00costing £4 million.

0:02:01 > 0:02:05And its first outings in 2016 caused world headlines.

0:02:05 > 0:02:08No-one could've imagined the public passion

0:02:08 > 0:02:11for this romantic relic of the steam age.

0:02:13 > 0:02:18Its launch attracted the kind of attention normally reserved for A-list celebrities.

0:02:19 > 0:02:24People flocked to see the Flying Scotsman as it sped through towns and the countryside.

0:02:26 > 0:02:30Now we've our own opportunity to take some lucky Roadshow viewers on board

0:02:30 > 0:02:32with their vintage travel treasures.

0:02:34 > 0:02:36Earlier this year we put the word out

0:02:36 > 0:02:39that we'd be celebrating the golden age of travel in a special programme.

0:02:39 > 0:02:43Well, a few lucky Antiques Roadshow viewers, complete with their precious mementos,

0:02:43 > 0:02:48are now boarding the Flying Scotsman in our own exclusive carriage.

0:02:48 > 0:02:53Later, we'll be meeting an obsessive vintage airline uniform collector.

0:02:53 > 0:02:55How many of these have you got at home?

0:02:55 > 0:02:57At the last count, 133.

0:02:57 > 0:03:00The pilot who barrel-rolled Concorde.

0:03:00 > 0:03:02They were aghast.

0:03:03 > 0:03:05And the Flying Scotsman memorabilia

0:03:05 > 0:03:08that gets expert Paul Atterbury all of a quiver.

0:03:08 > 0:03:12It's like holding the relic of a true saint.

0:03:13 > 0:03:16We've chosen experts Hilary Kay, John Foster and Paul Atterbury

0:03:16 > 0:03:21to join us, each passionate about bygone eras of travel.

0:03:21 > 0:03:24This is your idea of a dream come true, isn't it, Paul Atterbury,

0:03:24 > 0:03:27you mad train enthusiast, you?

0:03:27 > 0:03:31I'm a very lucky boy. I mean, to be...a day with the Flying Scotsman,

0:03:31 > 0:03:34Britain's most famous locomotive, a day on the train,

0:03:34 > 0:03:36- what more could one want? - I don't know.

0:03:36 > 0:03:38John, what about you, are you enjoying it?

0:03:38 > 0:03:41I've never been on it before and it is just every boyhood dream.

0:03:41 > 0:03:44- It's amazing. - What about you, Hilary?

0:03:44 > 0:03:46Well, anything to do with steam.

0:03:46 > 0:03:48You know, the smell of it, the excitement.

0:03:48 > 0:03:52The sound. All those smuts blowing in your face.

0:03:52 > 0:03:57And, I suppose, anything that can turn the key on the golden age of travel.

0:03:57 > 0:04:00Our journey will take us 140 miles,

0:04:00 > 0:04:04speeding through some of Britain's most breathtaking scenery, to York.

0:04:12 > 0:04:17And what better way to start than with a story about the Flying Scotsman itself?

0:04:18 > 0:04:21Wonderful looking out the window and seeing all this steam.

0:04:22 > 0:04:26In 1923, in Doncaster, the Flying Scotsman was built.

0:04:27 > 0:04:29It was the first nonstop locomotive

0:04:29 > 0:04:32to travel between London and Edinburgh.

0:04:32 > 0:04:33Its journey made history,

0:04:33 > 0:04:37travelling nearly 400 miles in seven and a half hours.

0:04:38 > 0:04:42And at the time, that was the longest uninterrupted rail service

0:04:42 > 0:04:43anywhere in the world.

0:04:45 > 0:04:49Among the Roadshow viewers who contacted us were Graham and Simon,

0:04:49 > 0:04:52the great-grandsons of one of the drivers on that record-breaking run.

0:04:54 > 0:04:58This was their chance to be reunited with their great-grandfather's loco,

0:04:58 > 0:04:59and to tell us their story.

0:05:01 > 0:05:03Now, one of the things that has always excited me

0:05:03 > 0:05:07was the idea of running nonstop between London and Scotland.

0:05:07 > 0:05:12Now, Thomas Blades was one of the drivers on that historic run.

0:05:12 > 0:05:14And he was your great-grandfather.

0:05:14 > 0:05:20Yes, yeah. And it's such an honour today to be on that very same train.

0:05:20 > 0:05:22This is a lifelong dream for me, really,

0:05:22 > 0:05:24so for the last two or three years

0:05:24 > 0:05:28I've been doing research into my great-grandfather and found lots of information about him.

0:05:28 > 0:05:32Found this picture at a local railway museum.

0:05:32 > 0:05:37My mother told me about the record-breaking run that he was involved in in 1928,

0:05:37 > 0:05:39the run from King's Cross to Edinburgh.

0:05:40 > 0:05:44And Thomas Blades was the relief driver who took over at Tollerton,

0:05:44 > 0:05:46- just near York.- Yes.

0:05:46 > 0:05:48And took the train all the way to Edinburgh.

0:05:48 > 0:05:49And by the relief driver, of course,

0:05:49 > 0:05:52he travelled the first part of the journey in the carriage.

0:05:52 > 0:05:53In the carriage, absolutely.

0:05:53 > 0:05:55He then went through the tender in the special corridor,

0:05:55 > 0:05:59- swapped over with driver Pibworth, who then went back.- Absolutely.

0:05:59 > 0:06:01And the train never slowed.

0:06:01 > 0:06:04- Yeah, yeah.- They swapped their hands off the regulator.

0:06:04 > 0:06:06- You can see it happening, can't you?- Absolutely that, yeah.

0:06:06 > 0:06:08Now, I've got this book here,

0:06:08 > 0:06:13which is a standard LNER locomotiveman's pocket book.

0:06:13 > 0:06:16But of course this is his, isn't it?

0:06:16 > 0:06:20Yes, it is, yes, we found it clearing out my mother's house after she died,

0:06:20 > 0:06:22and noticed that it had his name in,

0:06:22 > 0:06:26and the various notes in the back about the record-breaking run.

0:06:26 > 0:06:28There it is, that he did that run.

0:06:28 > 0:06:29Yes.

0:06:29 > 0:06:32And do you think he had this with him at the time?

0:06:32 > 0:06:35I think so, yeah, because it tells you how to set fires in the boiler

0:06:35 > 0:06:38and all the maintenance of the engine, et cetera.

0:06:38 > 0:06:40I'm sure by then he didn't need to be told those things.

0:06:40 > 0:06:44But nonetheless, you would always carry your pocket book in case something went wrong.

0:06:44 > 0:06:46Yeah. To tell you if you need to fix something.

0:06:46 > 0:06:49Not only have you got the locomotive, you've got the book.

0:06:49 > 0:06:50That he carried with him.

0:06:50 > 0:06:53He's almost with us, isn't he?

0:06:53 > 0:06:54I think it's a wonderful story.

0:06:54 > 0:06:59And it's a real insight to me into how skilful those men were.

0:06:59 > 0:07:02They were a great race of drivers.

0:07:02 > 0:07:04Celebrities of the day as well.

0:07:04 > 0:07:05- They were the stars.- Absolutely.

0:07:05 > 0:07:09Yeah, they were superstars of the day and there was lots written about them.

0:07:09 > 0:07:12I found a number of articles in newspapers and various magazines,

0:07:12 > 0:07:16and the real passion that the whole of the country had

0:07:16 > 0:07:19in terms of that speed and beating records.

0:07:19 > 0:07:25Now, actually, I've got a piece of film that relates very much to this.

0:07:25 > 0:07:27This is the Scotsman

0:07:27 > 0:07:29on another high-speed run.

0:07:29 > 0:07:33Sadly, it's not Thomas Blades, but it could have been.

0:07:33 > 0:07:36It shows how popular the locomotive was.

0:07:36 > 0:07:38It's been popular all its life.

0:07:38 > 0:07:40There are always crowds watching the departure.

0:07:40 > 0:07:42Fantastic, isn't it?

0:07:42 > 0:07:45- Absolutely.- Have you seen it before? - Haven't seen this one before, no. - No.

0:07:48 > 0:07:51Now, we're supposed to do values.

0:07:51 > 0:07:53A tatty old book - what's it worth?

0:07:53 > 0:07:56I mean, you'd be lucky to get £5 for it.

0:07:56 > 0:07:59That's not the point. Just think of what it tells us about your

0:07:59 > 0:08:01- great-grandfather.- Absolutely, but it would never be sold.

0:08:01 > 0:08:04It'll always stay in the family.

0:08:04 > 0:08:06And carry on the research, heaven knows what you might find next.

0:08:06 > 0:08:08- Thank you.- Thank you.- Thank you.

0:08:13 > 0:08:17'Overhearing Paul's conversation has prompted me to change into regulation railway gear.

0:08:19 > 0:08:21'I'm going to find out what it was like to crawl through the narrow

0:08:21 > 0:08:25'corridor that allowed Thomas Blades to take over as relief driver

0:08:25 > 0:08:28'on the record-breaking nonstop run to Scotland.'

0:08:34 > 0:08:36NOISE OF ENGINE ALMOST DROWNS OUT HER WORDS

0:08:51 > 0:08:53WHISTLE BLOWS

0:09:23 > 0:09:25'While we stoke the furnace,'

0:09:25 > 0:09:27let's recall some classic moments

0:09:27 > 0:09:32that visitors to the Roadshow have shared with us from the age of steam travel.

0:09:40 > 0:09:44Let's begin by remembering a great find that excited Hilary Kay.

0:09:44 > 0:09:48One of the earliest toy trains in the programme's history.

0:09:49 > 0:09:51There are lots of treats involved

0:09:51 > 0:09:53with working on the Antiques Roadshow,

0:09:53 > 0:09:58and I have to say, one of them is very occasionally to come across

0:09:58 > 0:10:02something that is THE best of its kind.

0:10:02 > 0:10:05And this is one of those moments.

0:10:05 > 0:10:09It is exquisite metalworking at its very best.

0:10:09 > 0:10:12This is all handmade out of tin

0:10:12 > 0:10:17with occasional little pieces of brass, around 1845, 1850.

0:10:17 > 0:10:22And the more you look at it, the more fabulous it is.

0:10:22 > 0:10:24The boiler here is faceted,

0:10:24 > 0:10:29then coming back you've got the three classes of coach.

0:10:29 > 0:10:32First class, closed in.

0:10:32 > 0:10:35Second class, just with a roof.

0:10:35 > 0:10:36And third class, well...

0:10:36 > 0:10:38you take your risks.

0:10:38 > 0:10:40You hope it's a day like this.

0:10:40 > 0:10:42As it always is in Scotland!

0:10:42 > 0:10:45But look, I'm sure you've done this, Jane, but I'm going to do it, too...

0:10:46 > 0:10:51In there, all those fabulous little people.

0:10:51 > 0:10:54It looks like a sort of outing from Jane Austen.

0:10:54 > 0:10:58There they all are off on their picnic or whatever.

0:10:58 > 0:11:02I would be confident in saying this would fetch something

0:11:02 > 0:11:05between £25,000 and £35,000 at auction.

0:11:05 > 0:11:08And for insurance, certainly £50,000.

0:11:10 > 0:11:12When we visited Swindon Steam Railway Museum,

0:11:12 > 0:11:14Paul Atterbury was in his element.

0:11:14 > 0:11:18Not only was he surrounded by the smell and smuts of locos galore,

0:11:18 > 0:11:24but he also discovered a rare and early railway sign found in a garden.

0:11:24 > 0:11:27You know, it's really exciting for me to see this map sign.

0:11:27 > 0:11:30Because for a start, it's about the Great Western Railway, which I -

0:11:30 > 0:11:31and everybody - loves.

0:11:31 > 0:11:36It's also a wonderful vision of how that company saw itself,

0:11:36 > 0:11:38and how it developed early in its history.

0:11:38 > 0:11:40Now, let's look at the story briefly it tells.

0:11:40 > 0:11:44This is the map of the Great Western network, and its connections.

0:11:44 > 0:11:46- That's right.- But it's really about going to Ireland, isn't it?

0:11:46 > 0:11:48By the new Fishguard route.

0:11:48 > 0:11:51- That's right.- Which is from there to Rosslare.

0:11:51 > 0:11:55And this was about the Great Western competing with its main rivals.

0:11:55 > 0:11:59The main route, of course, was Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire,

0:11:59 > 0:12:01but that was the London and North Western.

0:12:01 > 0:12:03Can we date it, do you think, from that?

0:12:03 > 0:12:06Yeah. Almost exactly.

0:12:06 > 0:12:10The route opened in August 1906.

0:12:10 > 0:12:12So it has to be after that date?

0:12:12 > 0:12:15It has to be 1906, because they would probably advertise it prior to...

0:12:15 > 0:12:19But they're still calling it new, so this is 1906-1908.

0:12:19 > 0:12:21It's also in quite good condition.

0:12:21 > 0:12:23It's an extraordinary survival.

0:12:23 > 0:12:25Enamel signs rust.

0:12:25 > 0:12:28If I saw that for sale, I'd expect quite a lot for it.

0:12:28 > 0:12:31But you got it in your garden. 30 years sat in the garden.

0:12:31 > 0:12:34- In the garden, yeah. - It's amazing it survived.

0:12:34 > 0:12:37I would say £1,500-£2,000.

0:12:37 > 0:12:38- Honest?- Honest.

0:12:41 > 0:12:43Our final favourite classic moment for now

0:12:43 > 0:12:45is from Walthamstow Town Hall.

0:12:45 > 0:12:49The value of a rare railway ticket turned out to be a huge surprise

0:12:49 > 0:12:51for one of our visitors.

0:12:51 > 0:12:54What we've got here is a ticket for the Midland Counties Railway,

0:12:54 > 0:12:56and this is a ticket for the opening of the railway.

0:12:56 > 0:12:59Dated on the bottom 30th of May 1839.

0:12:59 > 0:13:02The Midland Counties Railway, which opened then,

0:13:02 > 0:13:03came about effectively

0:13:03 > 0:13:07for the sort of drive and the keenness to supply coal to Leicester.

0:13:07 > 0:13:09So you effectively paid nothing for this, did you?

0:13:09 > 0:13:12- You inherited it. - Yeah, yeah, I did, yeah.

0:13:12 > 0:13:16So if I were to say to you £1,000, what would you say?

0:13:16 > 0:13:18What, for that? LAUGHTER

0:13:18 > 0:13:21Rare, rare, rare.

0:13:21 > 0:13:24Railway memorabilia is really hotly collected.

0:13:24 > 0:13:26- MAN:- Incredible.

0:13:26 > 0:13:29You are... You're having a mumble, in't ya?

0:13:29 > 0:13:31You're winding me up, in't ya?

0:13:31 > 0:13:33I don't think he is, mate!

0:13:33 > 0:13:35Not a shadow of a doubt, my friend.

0:13:35 > 0:13:37Oh, what?

0:13:39 > 0:13:43Later, we'll return to more stories from the steam era.

0:13:43 > 0:13:45As we return to our guests on board the Flying Scotsman,

0:13:45 > 0:13:50we move from one golden age of travel to another, to flight.

0:13:50 > 0:13:55In the 1940s, the era of luxury passenger flight really took off,

0:13:55 > 0:13:57with magnificent flying boats

0:13:57 > 0:13:59travelling between London and Australia.

0:13:59 > 0:14:01Hilary Kay is meeting a visitor

0:14:01 > 0:14:03whose father once flew these exotic trips.

0:14:05 > 0:14:10I'm looking at a tableful of items that relate

0:14:10 > 0:14:12to the very early, the golden days,

0:14:12 > 0:14:15if you like, of commercial air travel.

0:14:15 > 0:14:19Now, what's your relationship with this group of objects?

0:14:19 > 0:14:24Well, it all stems from my father's involvement in aeroplanes

0:14:24 > 0:14:26at that time.

0:14:26 > 0:14:30My father actually developed a passion for flying in his teens,

0:14:30 > 0:14:34and that stayed with him all his life, until he died in his 80s.

0:14:34 > 0:14:38And looking at this, it looks as though he went

0:14:38 > 0:14:42almost immediately into working for Imperial Airways,

0:14:42 > 0:14:46best known for its use of the Empire flying boats.

0:14:46 > 0:14:53- Yes.- He started with the BOAC in 1946, and he start flying via France

0:14:53 > 0:14:56into Cairo, Bahrain, Calcutta,

0:14:56 > 0:14:58and then over to Singapore,

0:14:58 > 0:15:02and then a little later, Australia and into New Zealand as well.

0:15:02 > 0:15:05Exactly. And it was a glamorous time.

0:15:05 > 0:15:07Yes, because in the evenings,

0:15:07 > 0:15:13everybody dressed for dinner, and he was part of the social side of the life.

0:15:13 > 0:15:18Unless there was something he detected that had gone wrong with the aeroplane during the day,

0:15:18 > 0:15:20in which case, usually in full evening dress,

0:15:20 > 0:15:23he might be found on the wing of the plane,

0:15:23 > 0:15:25mending a propeller or something.

0:15:25 > 0:15:28- A bit like this, in fact. - Exactly.- Exactly.

0:15:28 > 0:15:33So he had to do that and then he would put on his white silk gloves

0:15:33 > 0:15:35- to go to dinner.- To cover...

0:15:35 > 0:15:38Because his hands were still covered in oil from doing the mending, so...

0:15:38 > 0:15:41How amazing. That's the point, actually,

0:15:41 > 0:15:42that it was a stopping service.

0:15:42 > 0:15:46You would land, you would probably go to a very smart hotel,

0:15:46 > 0:15:48you would have your dinner, you would sleep,

0:15:48 > 0:15:52then you would board the flying boat the next day and off you'd go.

0:15:52 > 0:15:56Well, this is the flying boat in action.

0:15:56 > 0:16:03And let's just watch what your father would have had to have done as the captain.

0:16:03 > 0:16:06It's a vast craft. It comes down very smoothly.

0:16:06 > 0:16:09I suppose there must have been some choppy landings.

0:16:09 > 0:16:14But on an estuary like this, out comes the co-pilot, grabs the buoy...

0:16:14 > 0:16:18One forgets, of course, you had to tie up to something.

0:16:18 > 0:16:22Here comes the tender to take all the glamorous folks to the shore.

0:16:22 > 0:16:24And, gosh, where are we?

0:16:24 > 0:16:26This looks very grand.

0:16:26 > 0:16:28Looked like it could have been the Taj, it could have been...

0:16:28 > 0:16:30It looked like the gateway to India, didn't it?

0:16:30 > 0:16:33- Yes.- And this is the sort of hotel, of course,

0:16:33 > 0:16:35they would have gone into overnight.

0:16:35 > 0:16:38- Absolutely.- There couldn't be anything that more exemplifies

0:16:38 > 0:16:41the golden age of travel.

0:16:41 > 0:16:44So when one's looking at a collection like this,

0:16:44 > 0:16:46the material that you have here,

0:16:46 > 0:16:51the flying boots, the gloves, the helmet,

0:16:51 > 0:16:55the oxygen mask, I mean, those have a tangible value.

0:16:55 > 0:16:59I'd put those cumulatively at about £1,500.

0:16:59 > 0:17:01The rest has a priceless value

0:17:01 > 0:17:04- to you and your family. - It does, it does.

0:17:04 > 0:17:06Well, thank you very much indeed.

0:17:06 > 0:17:08Don't we all wish we could still do that journey?

0:17:08 > 0:17:10- Absolutely, we do.- We do indeed!

0:17:10 > 0:17:13Thank you very much indeed.

0:17:13 > 0:17:16Our next story takes us to a different form of early flight -

0:17:16 > 0:17:18the airship.

0:17:18 > 0:17:22The British R101 hoped to herald a new age of luxury travel.

0:17:22 > 0:17:25But it crashed on its maiden flight in 1930,

0:17:25 > 0:17:27tragically killing most passengers on board.

0:17:30 > 0:17:32As the Flying Scotsman pauses to take on water,

0:17:32 > 0:17:35Paul Atterbury is meeting the first officer's granddaughter,

0:17:35 > 0:17:37to hear her poignant tale.

0:17:37 > 0:17:41Here we are, stationary, unusually on this voyage.

0:17:41 > 0:17:43This is one means of transport.

0:17:43 > 0:17:45Something that has always intrigued me, though,

0:17:45 > 0:17:47is a completely different means of transport.

0:17:47 > 0:17:51The British R101, which were a vision of travel for the future.

0:17:51 > 0:17:55Comfortable, quiet, elegant.

0:17:55 > 0:17:58But, of course, we know that this great dream of the future

0:17:58 > 0:18:01came to nothing, because of a series of disasters.

0:18:01 > 0:18:04And the R101, of course, had, famously,

0:18:04 > 0:18:08that great disaster on its maiden voyage.

0:18:08 > 0:18:11But I know you have a very particular connection to it.

0:18:11 > 0:18:16Yes, my grandfather was the first officer on the R101,

0:18:16 > 0:18:21Lieutenant Commander Noel Grabowsky-Atherstone, known as Grabby.

0:18:21 > 0:18:23What was his particular role?

0:18:23 > 0:18:26Well, as first officer, he kept a detailed diary,

0:18:26 > 0:18:30he was meticulous in observing the performance of the airship.

0:18:30 > 0:18:32And noted everything down.

0:18:32 > 0:18:34So, he was a key figure.

0:18:34 > 0:18:37- Yes.- And therefore this journal is dynamite.

0:18:37 > 0:18:40- TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS - It's the story of the development of the R101.

0:18:40 > 0:18:42- Yes.- Oh. We're off again.

0:18:43 > 0:18:47And this sense of luxury, do you know what it was like?

0:18:47 > 0:18:51Well, it's been described as an ocean liner in the sky,

0:18:51 > 0:18:53a sort of flying Titanic.

0:18:53 > 0:18:58She was 777 feet long, twice the length of a football pitch.

0:18:58 > 0:19:00And she was vast.

0:19:00 > 0:19:01And she had two decks.

0:19:01 > 0:19:03- Yes.- 50 cabins.

0:19:03 > 0:19:06It was an extraordinary luxury of a scale that we can't imagine, really.

0:19:06 > 0:19:10- Exactly. Yeah.- So in October 1930,

0:19:10 > 0:19:13the R101 sets off for India.

0:19:13 > 0:19:19- So what happens?- Well, she ran into stormy and very windy weather.

0:19:19 > 0:19:22In fact, my grandfather had been on watch until 2am.

0:19:22 > 0:19:25Nine minutes later, she crashed.

0:19:25 > 0:19:28The reason for the fire was calcium flares.

0:19:28 > 0:19:31And they ignite against water.

0:19:31 > 0:19:36Otherwise, she could perhaps have been salvaged.

0:19:36 > 0:19:39So we've got some footage here, which I gather you found.

0:19:39 > 0:19:44Yes, I found it in a rusty old biscuit tin hidden in a trunk.

0:19:44 > 0:19:46Well, let's see what it tells us.

0:19:46 > 0:19:47Look, there it is.

0:19:47 > 0:19:50I think what we see first of all is how big she was.

0:19:50 > 0:19:53People look like ants on the ground.

0:19:53 > 0:19:55I mean, she was vast, enormous.

0:19:55 > 0:19:57So this is a sort of brief story of the ship, isn't it?

0:19:57 > 0:20:00- Yes, it is.- Because there is the crash.

0:20:00 > 0:20:04And what might have been the most wonderful vision of the future

0:20:04 > 0:20:07died away in the fields of northern France.

0:20:07 > 0:20:10It certainly did - very sad, very sudden.

0:20:10 > 0:20:11- Particularly for you.- Yes.

0:20:11 > 0:20:13What was the impact on your family?

0:20:13 > 0:20:18My gran, I don't really know how she coped, and there was a state funeral.

0:20:18 > 0:20:22She always said to me that she knew the minute the airship had crashed

0:20:22 > 0:20:25because my father had a devoted dog called Timmy

0:20:25 > 0:20:31and at 2.09am he let out an unearthly howl.

0:20:31 > 0:20:33How, why, we don't know,

0:20:33 > 0:20:36but she knew then something terrible had happened.

0:20:37 > 0:20:41So, of course, the diary stops at a crucial point.

0:20:41 > 0:20:44And it's very interesting, I'll read the last entry.

0:20:44 > 0:20:47"Everybody is rather keyed up now,

0:20:47 > 0:20:49"as we all feel that the future of airships

0:20:49 > 0:20:54"very largely depends on what sort of show we put up.

0:20:54 > 0:20:56"There are very many unknown factors

0:20:56 > 0:20:59"and I feel that that thing called luck

0:20:59 > 0:21:03"will figure rather conspicuously in our flight.

0:21:03 > 0:21:06"Let's hope for good luck and do our best!"

0:21:07 > 0:21:09Curious that he left it behind.

0:21:09 > 0:21:12And did he leave this behind, then, for his evidence?

0:21:12 > 0:21:16It's quite possible, because every single thing is documented.

0:21:16 > 0:21:19It never made it to the public inquiry,

0:21:19 > 0:21:22but it really changes the whole story of the R101.

0:21:24 > 0:21:25This is a very valuable document.

0:21:25 > 0:21:28That family story and the information contained in this

0:21:28 > 0:21:30gives it huge value.

0:21:30 > 0:21:34Essentially, we are looking at something that to an airship collector,

0:21:34 > 0:21:38they would pay thousands of pounds to own this.

0:21:38 > 0:21:42But I think the preservation of this information for the future

0:21:42 > 0:21:45is crucial, and actually goes beyond a family.

0:21:45 > 0:21:49You know, this is information of national significance.

0:21:49 > 0:21:52Well, we'll perhaps have to look at getting it published, then.

0:21:54 > 0:21:55- Good idea.- Thank you.

0:21:58 > 0:22:00You can't look at the golden age of flight

0:22:00 > 0:22:03without including that iconic jet Concorde.

0:22:03 > 0:22:06When Antiques Roadshow viewer Richard

0:22:06 > 0:22:09wrote to us about his vast collection of memorabilia at home

0:22:09 > 0:22:12in Gloucestershire, we had to see for ourselves.

0:22:12 > 0:22:17From toys to ties, from scale models to seats,

0:22:17 > 0:22:21from trolleys to teacups, it takes up the whole of his conservatory.

0:22:24 > 0:22:27We invited him on board to tell his story to John Foster.

0:22:28 > 0:22:31I can see you're a bit of a sort of collecting Concorde nut.

0:22:31 > 0:22:32What's going on?

0:22:32 > 0:22:36Well, it's been part of our lives for nearly 50 years.

0:22:36 > 0:22:40- 1969, my wife and I were nearly killed in a car crash.- Really?

0:22:40 > 0:22:43We were in Gloucester Hospital for a long time.

0:22:43 > 0:22:45And we were married in hospital.

0:22:45 > 0:22:47And the night before we were married,

0:22:47 > 0:22:49we were sitting outside Ward Eight,

0:22:49 > 0:22:51Concorde 001 and 002 circled the hospital,

0:22:51 > 0:22:54and things after an accident like that, you're pretty rough,

0:22:54 > 0:22:56and Lesley had been very badly hurt,

0:22:56 > 0:22:59and it was a bit of a sign.

0:22:59 > 0:23:01It was something that was very special.

0:23:01 > 0:23:04It's always been a little bit of our emblem for the rest of our...

0:23:04 > 0:23:07Well, we've been married 47 years in a fortnight's time.

0:23:07 > 0:23:11And still going strong. And Concorde is just something very special.

0:23:11 > 0:23:15It touches the heart, I think, of everybody that flies in it and knows it.

0:23:15 > 0:23:17And when you say... So, 1969,

0:23:17 > 0:23:20it hadn't actually had a commercial flight then.

0:23:20 > 0:23:24Not at all. They were purely in trials at that time.

0:23:24 > 0:23:27That really WAS a sign, because it wasn't until '76,

0:23:27 > 0:23:30I think, was the first commercial flight.

0:23:30 > 0:23:34- Absolutely.- And you've obviously been on it a few times.

0:23:34 > 0:23:39I flew around the bay in 1987 and Lesley and I flew to America

0:23:39 > 0:23:41on the 29th of September 2003,

0:23:41 > 0:23:45just three weeks before she finally finished commercial flying.

0:23:45 > 0:23:48People would say, what was it like to fly?

0:23:48 > 0:23:50It was like nothing else in this world.

0:23:50 > 0:23:53It was narrower than this train, you were cramped,

0:23:53 > 0:23:55but you had wonderful service.

0:23:55 > 0:23:59Amazing drinks, food and everything else.

0:23:59 > 0:24:03You were on the edge of space, 60,000 feet up,

0:24:03 > 0:24:06travelling as fast as a bullet from a gun.

0:24:06 > 0:24:08You can't do it now.

0:24:08 > 0:24:11All that life experience that you had, it started this...

0:24:11 > 0:24:13you could say an obsession, is that fair to say?

0:24:13 > 0:24:16Yes, it is an obsession, to be perfectly honest, yes.

0:24:16 > 0:24:17Is your wife as obsessed as you?

0:24:17 > 0:24:20No, she puts up with it.

0:24:20 > 0:24:22I see where you're coming from.

0:24:22 > 0:24:26When I went on it, you got... my souvenir was a silver photograph frame.

0:24:26 > 0:24:28And you've got some amazing things.

0:24:28 > 0:24:31Basically, everything you would see in front of you

0:24:31 > 0:24:32when you sat on the plane.

0:24:32 > 0:24:35You've got all the chocolates, the knives and forks,

0:24:35 > 0:24:37Royal Doulton, Conran.

0:24:37 > 0:24:40They went to town on what they provided.

0:24:40 > 0:24:43- Definitely.- There are some things which are most sought after.

0:24:43 > 0:24:46- The Machmeter.- Yeah. - The nose cone.

0:24:46 > 0:24:48The pilot's seat.

0:24:48 > 0:24:53And it goes down. Where a food container like you've got here comes in at £200, £300, £400.

0:24:53 > 0:24:57Whether these, £30, £40, £50, sort of per bit.

0:24:57 > 0:24:59- Because people still love Concorde. - Oh, yes.- Thank you.

0:24:59 > 0:25:01Thank you very much indeed. Cheers.

0:25:01 > 0:25:07'I'm delighted to say, joining us on board the Flying Scotsman is a former Concorde pilot.'

0:25:09 > 0:25:13Well, we're on an icon of the golden age of steam, but you were,

0:25:13 > 0:25:15Captain Walpole, one of the first pilots of Concorde.

0:25:15 > 0:25:17- Indeed.- With British Airways.

0:25:17 > 0:25:18Indeed, I was. Yes.

0:25:18 > 0:25:20It must have been an extraordinary time

0:25:20 > 0:25:23to be at the forefront of supersonic travel.

0:25:23 > 0:25:25It was fantastic, it really was.

0:25:25 > 0:25:30It took civil aviation from a pedestrian 600 miles an hour

0:25:30 > 0:25:34to 1,350 miles an hour, twice the speed of sound,

0:25:34 > 0:25:36in one single giant stride.

0:25:36 > 0:25:3921st of Jan 1976.

0:25:39 > 0:25:43There are some extraordinary statistics associated with Concorde.

0:25:43 > 0:25:47I mean, not least that you yourself have flown four million miles.

0:25:47 > 0:25:50Yeah, four million miles, 200 times round the Earth effectively, yes.

0:25:50 > 0:25:54Yes. 804 crossings of the North Atlantic.

0:25:54 > 0:25:56What was it like to fly at that speed?

0:25:56 > 0:25:59Flying Concorde was exciting,

0:25:59 > 0:26:03because you were flying up at 60,000 feet.

0:26:03 > 0:26:07You could control the aircraft with the fingertips of one hand.

0:26:07 > 0:26:10You could see the curvature of the Earth,

0:26:10 > 0:26:12the darker blue of outer space,

0:26:12 > 0:26:16you had a horizon of 250,000 square miles.

0:26:16 > 0:26:17It was demanding, however.

0:26:17 > 0:26:22Beautiful, beautiful Concorde, as she looks so beautiful in the sky,

0:26:22 > 0:26:24was a highly complex aeroplane.

0:26:24 > 0:26:29There's something rather surreal talking about it with all the steam going past, you know, the contrast.

0:26:29 > 0:26:32Between what we're talking and what we're on.

0:26:32 > 0:26:35- You barrel-rolled Concorde? - Yes, I did indeed.

0:26:35 > 0:26:36Tell me about that.

0:26:36 > 0:26:39Well, we had to carry out some tests

0:26:39 > 0:26:42on a modification to the Concorde undercarriage,

0:26:42 > 0:26:45so I flew with a man called Jean Franchi,

0:26:45 > 0:26:48one of the first test pilots on Concorde French 1.

0:26:48 > 0:26:51He said, Brian, how about doing a barrel roll in the Concorde?

0:26:51 > 0:26:54And I said, "Good grief, Jean,

0:26:54 > 0:26:58"are you serious?" We climbed 15,000 feet, 300 knots,

0:26:58 > 0:27:01and he just barrel-rolled it beautifully over and round

0:27:01 > 0:27:03and straight and level again.

0:27:03 > 0:27:06He said, "Brian, I've wound it up, you can unwind it for me."

0:27:06 > 0:27:09So I did exactly the same thing the other way round,

0:27:09 > 0:27:11barrel-rolled Concorde.

0:27:11 > 0:27:15When I got back to London and told people, they were aghast.

0:27:15 > 0:27:18Because, firstly, they didn't know it could be done.

0:27:18 > 0:27:20Secondly, there were no passengers on board,

0:27:20 > 0:27:23so it was perfectly safe and adequate.

0:27:24 > 0:27:28Would you say that was the golden era of travel for you?

0:27:28 > 0:27:30- Concorde?- Very much so.

0:27:30 > 0:27:33Not for me but for aviation, the world.

0:27:33 > 0:27:35And...

0:27:35 > 0:27:38It was so different, it became an icon in its own right.

0:27:38 > 0:27:41It's been a pleasure to talk to you about it.

0:27:41 > 0:27:44- Thank you very much, Captain Walpole.- My pleasure. Thank you.

0:27:44 > 0:27:49The Antiques Roadshow archive contains many tales from bygone eras of air travel.

0:27:56 > 0:28:00At our show in Farnborough, a former aeronautical research centre,

0:28:00 > 0:28:03expert Graham Lay discovered how the story of flight in Britain

0:28:03 > 0:28:06began in the early 20th century.

0:28:06 > 0:28:08Well, looking down at us today

0:28:08 > 0:28:12is one of the pioneers of British aviation,

0:28:12 > 0:28:13Samuel Cody.

0:28:13 > 0:28:16So, you're direct descendants of this great man?

0:28:16 > 0:28:19- That's right.- Tell us about him, because he was a bit of a showman,

0:28:19 > 0:28:23- wasn't he?- He was a cowboy showman that came over from America

0:28:23 > 0:28:28and he was an American citizen when he actually flew British Army Aeroplane No 1.

0:28:28 > 0:28:30He designed, built it, with his own money,

0:28:30 > 0:28:33£50 was given from the War Office.

0:28:33 > 0:28:36And he achieved the first flight in this country.

0:28:36 > 0:28:41He did hops and leaps in April and May of 1908, and then

0:28:41 > 0:28:44officially recorded on the 16th of October 1908

0:28:44 > 0:28:47for the first powered flight in Great Britain.

0:28:47 > 0:28:50And you've brought along today this wonderful

0:28:50 > 0:28:52silver model of an aircraft.

0:28:52 > 0:28:54This was commissioned by the Shell Oil Company

0:28:54 > 0:28:58and it was presented to Cody at the Royal Aero Club in 1912.

0:28:58 > 0:28:59It's one of his late aeroplanes,

0:28:59 > 0:29:01and probably the plane that killed him in the end.

0:29:01 > 0:29:05They gave him a full military funeral from his house in Ash Vale,

0:29:05 > 0:29:07and 50,000 people lined the funeral procession.

0:29:07 > 0:29:1050,000? That's how important he was.

0:29:10 > 0:29:11He was a very important person.

0:29:11 > 0:29:14Well, now, let's think about value.

0:29:14 > 0:29:16That, I think, would be worth today...

0:29:17 > 0:29:19..20,000-£30,000.

0:29:19 > 0:29:21How do you feel about the fact

0:29:21 > 0:29:24that your great-grandfather was a pioneer of aviation?

0:29:24 > 0:29:26- It gives us a lot of pride. - Gives us a big buzz.

0:29:28 > 0:29:30Here at Farnborough, they used wind tunnels

0:29:30 > 0:29:33to test the aerodynamics of planes, including Concorde.

0:29:33 > 0:29:35And as a former long-haul pilot,

0:29:35 > 0:29:38our expert Richard Price was intrigued to meet a collector

0:29:38 > 0:29:41with rare design prototypes of the supersonic jet.

0:29:42 > 0:29:45The good thing about Concorde was when it started,

0:29:45 > 0:29:47only 46 years after Cody's first flight,

0:29:47 > 0:29:50there was a completely new idea of supersonic transport

0:29:50 > 0:29:53and they had to have a wing that was very efficient at high speed

0:29:53 > 0:29:57but was also very handleable at low speed for landing,

0:29:57 > 0:29:59so the scientists and aerodynamicists looked

0:29:59 > 0:30:01at a large number of wings,

0:30:01 > 0:30:06from a triangle to a Gothic shape to an ogee.

0:30:06 > 0:30:08I know research and development

0:30:08 > 0:30:11is astronomical and we know that the Concorde took a lot of time

0:30:11 > 0:30:13to actually achieve its maiden flight,

0:30:13 > 0:30:18but to see all of this right through from the first thoughts...

0:30:18 > 0:30:20- That's right.- Magnificent.

0:30:20 > 0:30:22We think there were about 100 made over the years,

0:30:22 > 0:30:25and all different wing shapes.

0:30:25 > 0:30:28What sort of age are we talking about, early '60s for something like that?

0:30:28 > 0:30:30Yes. These were just in the early '60s.

0:30:30 > 0:30:34It's a wonderful English and French engineering effort, fantastic.

0:30:34 > 0:30:36Nothing has been bettered yet.

0:30:36 > 0:30:39- No, what a shame it's no longer with us.- Absolutely. Yes.

0:30:39 > 0:30:42How on earth can you put a value on these things?

0:30:42 > 0:30:45Terribly rare, wonderful things.

0:30:45 > 0:30:47I can't begin to value them.

0:30:47 > 0:30:48You just can't put a value on.

0:30:51 > 0:30:55Finally, in our look at air-travel stories from the archives,

0:30:55 > 0:30:57we found this madcap invention

0:30:57 > 0:30:59that looks straight out of a Boy's Own story.

0:31:01 > 0:31:04In fact, it was a real design from the 1920s

0:31:04 > 0:31:07for a fast rail service powered by a propeller.

0:31:08 > 0:31:11As a dedicated railway enthusiast, of course,

0:31:11 > 0:31:14I've come across references to the George Bennie railplane.

0:31:14 > 0:31:19What he was proposing was a system of railway transport

0:31:19 > 0:31:24whereby passengers travel in a sort of dynamic streamlined car

0:31:24 > 0:31:28- suspended from an overhead track.- Correct.

0:31:28 > 0:31:30It was a cross between an aeroplane and a train.

0:31:30 > 0:31:33Yes, it could be powered either by an internal combustion engine

0:31:33 > 0:31:35or by electric motors.

0:31:35 > 0:31:37Yes. We're talking 1929, I think.

0:31:37 > 0:31:39That's when the test track was built.

0:31:39 > 0:31:41There's the interior,

0:31:41 > 0:31:46which looks like a deluxe passenger car of any transport system.

0:31:46 > 0:31:48There were obviously different interior designs -

0:31:48 > 0:31:51there would be a more utilitarian design, but that, being a test car,

0:31:51 > 0:31:55was kitted out in Pullman style to create a maximum effect.

0:31:55 > 0:32:00This was really the peak of exploring new ideas.

0:32:00 > 0:32:04So he's offering us, or offering the world,

0:32:04 > 0:32:06- high-speed travel in 1929.- He was.

0:32:06 > 0:32:09- What happened?- Unfortunately it hit the Depression.

0:32:10 > 0:32:12Money wasn't available,

0:32:12 > 0:32:15he failed to get backers and could not get it built.

0:32:15 > 0:32:18Had he succeeded, it could have been the answer to the future.

0:32:18 > 0:32:22We could have now had wonderful high-speed elevated railways

0:32:22 > 0:32:26over all the mainline tracks. How the world would have been different.

0:32:26 > 0:32:29The country would have looked very different.

0:32:29 > 0:32:31We'd have been travelling at 200 or 300 miles an hour

0:32:31 > 0:32:34as a matter of course. These are obviously very collectable.

0:32:34 > 0:32:37- We're looking at £5,000 per document.- I'm not interested in...

0:32:37 > 0:32:39- But that's neither here nor there. - It's family history.

0:32:39 > 0:32:43- The most important thing is how it would have changed our lives. - Exactly.

0:32:46 > 0:32:48Back on our journey with the Flying Scotsman,

0:32:48 > 0:32:50we've pulled into Carlisle station,

0:32:50 > 0:32:52just in time to meet Roadshow guests

0:32:52 > 0:32:56whose large collections make perfect platform displays.

0:32:58 > 0:33:02Mark is perhaps one of the most enthusiastic collectors

0:33:02 > 0:33:03Hilary Kay has ever met.

0:33:03 > 0:33:06He's amassed so many early airline uniforms,

0:33:06 > 0:33:08he's left 125 of them at home.

0:33:09 > 0:33:13I'm surrounded by what I can only describe as style in the aisle.

0:33:13 > 0:33:15It's a fabulous collection

0:33:15 > 0:33:19of air-stewardess costumes, accessories,

0:33:19 > 0:33:25and here is a great advertisement from the time,

0:33:25 > 0:33:30showing a TWA stewardess wearing exactly what Georgia's wearing.

0:33:30 > 0:33:36So, tell me, why have you got four or five uniforms?

0:33:36 > 0:33:41I've always had an interest in aviation and that sort of developed

0:33:41 > 0:33:45into an interest in early commercial aviation and in particular TWA,

0:33:45 > 0:33:51which was really a very pioneering airline in the very early days,

0:33:51 > 0:33:56with a slogan which was "run by flyers, not by businessmen".

0:33:56 > 0:33:59So how many of these have you got at home?

0:33:59 > 0:34:04The last count, 133 uniforms from various airlines.

0:34:04 > 0:34:05Obviously you're passionate about this.

0:34:05 > 0:34:09- Really passionate.- I'm passionate about the early commercial aviation,

0:34:09 > 0:34:11so I collect anything I can find.

0:34:11 > 0:34:14Even the images. The advertisements, the photographs.

0:34:14 > 0:34:18And this, I think, sort of epitomises that early artwork.

0:34:18 > 0:34:21This is, what, from 1949?

0:34:21 > 0:34:26And you can see it was absolutely the golden age of commercial travel.

0:34:26 > 0:34:30It was an adventure and a journey and a holiday almost on its own,

0:34:30 > 0:34:33- wasn't it?- That's right - the flying bit was the adventure.

0:34:33 > 0:34:35Yeah. This I love.

0:34:35 > 0:34:41This is Basic Travel Wardrobes, a TWA travel advisor,

0:34:41 > 0:34:45and in it, it says, "Make the most of every thrilling travel moment,"

0:34:45 > 0:34:50which, of course, involves, "How to pack a man's suitcase."

0:34:50 > 0:34:53- Exactly.- What every woman should know.

0:34:53 > 0:34:54When I was growing up,

0:34:54 > 0:34:58it was about the most glamorous thing you could imagine doing.

0:34:58 > 0:35:00Hence these uniforms.

0:35:00 > 0:35:02It was the ultimate aim in life.

0:35:02 > 0:35:05But what we're looking at is not just style in the aisle,

0:35:05 > 0:35:10it's about the commercialisation of air travel, and it's popular,

0:35:10 > 0:35:12- isn't it?- It is, yes.

0:35:12 > 0:35:16- Getting more popular. - Which brings me onto the next point.

0:35:16 > 0:35:20I'm going to ask you what's the most expensive one that you have here.

0:35:20 > 0:35:26The most expensive here has got to be the 1944 cutout uniform.

0:35:26 > 0:35:32To find one complete is pretty rare and probably about £1,000.

0:35:32 > 0:35:34This is your daughter, Georgia, I should say.

0:35:34 > 0:35:36And, Georgia, you do look fantastic in it.

0:35:36 > 0:35:38Does Georgia share your passion?

0:35:38 > 0:35:41She shares a passion for fashion.

0:35:41 > 0:35:43- Well...- She puts up with modelling for me.

0:35:43 > 0:35:45Very good. Yes, I mean,

0:35:45 > 0:35:49£1,000 is absolutely what I've been seeing them go for.

0:35:49 > 0:35:52And, of course if you're speaking about designer ones,

0:35:52 > 0:35:56Mary Quant or the Pucci designs for Braniff or whatever,

0:35:56 > 0:36:00then you're up in that price range.

0:36:00 > 0:36:03Because it's a passion shared by so many.

0:36:03 > 0:36:07And which absolutely epitomises the golden age of travel in the '50s

0:36:07 > 0:36:09and '60s. Thanks very much.

0:36:09 > 0:36:10Thank you.

0:36:12 > 0:36:16You might ask, why is viewer Graham showing Paul Ashbury an iron bar

0:36:16 > 0:36:18with a number on it? It doesn't look much,

0:36:18 > 0:36:20but could it be the rarest find of the day?

0:36:22 > 0:36:25This is the original smokebox numberplate.

0:36:25 > 0:36:28- The one you can see up there is a copy.- It is indeed.

0:36:28 > 0:36:29This is the real thing.

0:36:29 > 0:36:34- It is the real thing.- It's like holding the relic of a true saint.

0:36:34 > 0:36:36Yes, I would agree with you.

0:36:36 > 0:36:39So, how have you got it?

0:36:39 > 0:36:41I got it in an auction

0:36:41 > 0:36:43about 20 years ago now.

0:36:43 > 0:36:47And the auction that I got it from,

0:36:47 > 0:36:51the previous owner put it into that auction

0:36:51 > 0:36:53and he got it from the original owner.

0:36:53 > 0:36:58Right, there's no doubt it's come off that locomotive?

0:36:58 > 0:37:00Its provenance is complete.

0:37:00 > 0:37:02100% guaranteed?

0:37:02 > 0:37:05100% guaranteed.

0:37:05 > 0:37:08This dates from the beginning of the British Railways era

0:37:08 > 0:37:12in the late 1940s when all the locomotives they took over

0:37:12 > 0:37:14had a new numbering system.

0:37:14 > 0:37:19- Correct.- And 4472, as she was, became 60103.

0:37:19 > 0:37:21- Correct.- And the plate went on the front.

0:37:21 > 0:37:24- It was.- And at some point it came off again.

0:37:24 > 0:37:30It did. When it was withdrawn from British Railways in 1963.

0:37:30 > 0:37:32- You're a very lucky man. - I'm very proud to have it.

0:37:32 > 0:37:35To me, it's off the most special locomotive

0:37:35 > 0:37:37and the most famous locomotive in the world.

0:37:37 > 0:37:40And there can't be many people who can say, "I've got a bit of that."

0:37:40 > 0:37:42I've got a bit of Flying Scotsman.

0:37:42 > 0:37:44And a very important bit.

0:37:44 > 0:37:46- And a very important bit. - What do you think it's worth?

0:37:47 > 0:37:50I mean, I can put a value on it.

0:37:50 > 0:37:54A smokebox numberplate from a famous locomotive

0:37:54 > 0:37:58- is going to be £2,000, £3,000, £4,000.- Correct.

0:37:58 > 0:38:01- But this is the Flying Scotsman. - This is the Flying Scotsman.

0:38:01 > 0:38:04Probably between £10,000 and £25,000.

0:38:04 > 0:38:06I think that would be a safe bet.

0:38:06 > 0:38:11So we're holding a piece of scrap iron which could be worth £20,000.

0:38:11 > 0:38:13- I think so.- You're a very lucky man.

0:38:13 > 0:38:17Perhaps I should just get up and put it back?

0:38:17 > 0:38:19- No.- I'll give it to you.

0:38:19 > 0:38:21- Thank you.- Don't drop it.

0:38:21 > 0:38:22No, I won't. Thank you.

0:38:25 > 0:38:27What better place to display travel posters

0:38:27 > 0:38:30than the busy platform at Carlisle station?

0:38:31 > 0:38:33John Foster is looking at just a fraction

0:38:33 > 0:38:37of Colin's collection of popular masterpieces.

0:38:38 > 0:38:42Do you know, nothing sums up a period in our travel history

0:38:42 > 0:38:45like a railway poster from the '20s and '30s.

0:38:45 > 0:38:50- What do they mean to you?- It's just the colour, the image, the style.

0:38:50 > 0:38:52The value is not so important

0:38:52 > 0:38:55as the pleasure one gets from looking at them.

0:38:55 > 0:38:58The people that painted these in commission,

0:38:58 > 0:39:02they were trying to draw you into a lifestyle of wealth and excitement,

0:39:02 > 0:39:04of exotic travel.

0:39:04 > 0:39:07- What started you going?- Rail bridge.

0:39:07 > 0:39:10Iconic structure, known all around the world.

0:39:10 > 0:39:13And just the colours just caught my attention.

0:39:13 > 0:39:16It's interesting you say that, because the way we placed these,

0:39:16 > 0:39:18I've deliberately placed this one in the middle,

0:39:18 > 0:39:20because that is by far my favourite.

0:39:20 > 0:39:25One, I love the Forth Bridge, two, it's done by Frank Mason.

0:39:25 > 0:39:28As a Scottish colourist, the fact he's done it in blue

0:39:28 > 0:39:32with the blue water, so stylistically brilliant.

0:39:32 > 0:39:34It could have been designed in the last ten, 20 years,

0:39:34 > 0:39:36not from the '20s and '30s.

0:39:36 > 0:39:39Now, he was known mostly for doing buildings,

0:39:39 > 0:39:43which is why he's so successful at transferring that to rail.

0:39:44 > 0:39:46Ronald Gray, another great artist.

0:39:46 > 0:39:48But sort of a more typical scene.

0:39:49 > 0:39:53This one behind me, again, a lovely scene of Edinburgh, but not quite...

0:39:53 > 0:39:56certainly not as architecturally brilliant as this one.

0:39:56 > 0:39:58But all the same, just unbelievably pleasing.

0:39:58 > 0:40:01So, where would you buy them?

0:40:01 > 0:40:06This one, the Ready For The 12th, and the Princes Street of Edinburgh,

0:40:06 > 0:40:09I bought these at auction in New York.

0:40:09 > 0:40:14The Forth Bridge came from a Dundee auction house and there was a series

0:40:14 > 0:40:17of posters which had been found in a gentleman's attic and his family

0:40:17 > 0:40:19didn't even know he had them.

0:40:19 > 0:40:21So, when it comes to valuing these things,

0:40:21 > 0:40:24I suppose, this one behind me of Edinburgh,

0:40:24 > 0:40:27I would say sort of £1,000 to £1,500, that sort of money.

0:40:28 > 0:40:31The Ready For The 12th, it's a great image.

0:40:31 > 0:40:36It's big, so I would put that one at sort of £4,000 to £6,000.

0:40:37 > 0:40:40And...do you mind me asking what you paid for this one?

0:40:40 > 0:40:42I paid £1,100 for that.

0:40:42 > 0:40:46That's the one I would love, and I think that's close to £2,000.

0:40:46 > 0:40:48And it's just great to see, so thank you.

0:40:48 > 0:40:50Thank you very much indeed. Thank you.

0:41:01 > 0:41:04It's full steam ahead with the Flying Scotsman

0:41:04 > 0:41:06in this Antiques Roadshow special.

0:41:07 > 0:41:10We're racing along in our own exclusive carriage

0:41:10 > 0:41:12with invited guests who've brought along mementos

0:41:12 > 0:41:16relating to different eras from the golden age of travel.

0:41:17 > 0:41:20Hilary Kay is about to talk luxury liners with Ken, who spent

0:41:20 > 0:41:24five decades working on board ships like the QE2 and Queen Mary.

0:41:27 > 0:41:30Sounds glamorous? He tells us it was anything but.

0:41:32 > 0:41:35I'm looking at a seaman's record book,

0:41:35 > 0:41:38and good-looking chap in here, can't think who he is.

0:41:38 > 0:41:40And postcards from New York,

0:41:40 > 0:41:43some badges from the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth,

0:41:43 > 0:41:48and this really relates in the golden age of travel to a time

0:41:48 > 0:41:53when ships were going backwards and forwards from the UK to America

0:41:53 > 0:41:56almost like a bus running on a timetable.

0:41:56 > 0:41:59And what's your relationship with all this?

0:41:59 > 0:42:02After leaving the Merchant Navy sea school,

0:42:02 > 0:42:06after 16 weeks training on deck, we joined the Queen Elizabeth.

0:42:07 > 0:42:10When we were lined up to be given our berths,

0:42:10 > 0:42:13we were asked then that they needed volunteers.

0:42:14 > 0:42:16We were always told never to volunteer.

0:42:16 > 0:42:18We asked what it was. Firemen.

0:42:18 > 0:42:21Well, we all thought a fireman was a fireman like with a hose.

0:42:21 > 0:42:24Did we get a shock when we ended up in the engine room!

0:42:24 > 0:42:27Going down in the engine room in them days was unbelievable,

0:42:27 > 0:42:30with 12 boilers. The terminology was different,

0:42:30 > 0:42:33it wasn't what we were trained for, but as they were short,

0:42:33 > 0:42:34everyone had to muck in.

0:42:34 > 0:42:36I can't imagine what it was like,

0:42:36 > 0:42:38but it must have been incredibly noisy,

0:42:38 > 0:42:40incredibly hot.

0:42:40 > 0:42:44- Was it all of that?- Yes, the heat, noise, was really unreal.

0:42:44 > 0:42:48You do four hours down there and the sweat...you sweat like mad,

0:42:48 > 0:42:49it runs out of you.

0:42:49 > 0:42:53Each time you went up for a break you had to take salt tablets.

0:42:53 > 0:42:55We were taking eight salt tablets

0:42:55 > 0:42:58- every four hours while we were down there.- Unbelievable.

0:42:58 > 0:43:03And when you came out, the sweat through your gear would turn white.

0:43:03 > 0:43:06- It was just caked on? - Caked on, like, yeah.

0:43:06 > 0:43:10At this point, I've got something you might find interesting.

0:43:10 > 0:43:11Does this take you back?

0:43:13 > 0:43:15Yes, that would be the... Queen Mary, is it?

0:43:15 > 0:43:16That's the Mary.

0:43:18 > 0:43:20Now, she's going at a heck of a lick.

0:43:20 > 0:43:22How fast would she be going?

0:43:22 > 0:43:24She'd be going at 27 knots.

0:43:24 > 0:43:28You and your fellow firemen were responsible for that.

0:43:30 > 0:43:32That's a great shot, I can remember that coming in, like.

0:43:32 > 0:43:36Amazing. Did you get to meet the passengers at all?

0:43:36 > 0:43:38We never got to meet passengers.

0:43:38 > 0:43:40We weren't allowed to meet the passengers unless they spoke to us.

0:43:40 > 0:43:42If they spoke to us, that was OK.

0:43:42 > 0:43:45But we weren't allowed to speak to them, they called it broaching cargo.

0:43:45 > 0:43:48Say that again. "Broaching cargo"?

0:43:48 > 0:43:52Yep. It's the same as going into a hatch and taking something out,

0:43:52 > 0:43:54was talking to a passenger, unless they spoke to you.

0:43:54 > 0:43:57- What was the penalty? - It could be a day's pay, like.

0:43:57 > 0:43:59- Logged.- My goodness.

0:43:59 > 0:44:04- Yeah.- Looking through here, I can see you started out as a DHU,

0:44:04 > 0:44:06- a sort of general deckhand. - That's right.

0:44:06 > 0:44:10But then you progressed on and you became an EDH,

0:44:10 > 0:44:13- what was that? - That's efficient deckhand,

0:44:13 > 0:44:16or known as... Senior rates used to call us electrical deckhands.

0:44:16 > 0:44:19You get a shock if you see them work.

0:44:19 > 0:44:22That's funny! So how long was your career?

0:44:22 > 0:44:24- 50 years.- And when did you retire?

0:44:24 > 0:44:25I finished last July.

0:44:25 > 0:44:29Look, it's been very interesting to have, if you like,

0:44:29 > 0:44:33a different view of the golden age of travel.

0:44:33 > 0:44:36I mean, obviously the seaman's record book is yours,

0:44:36 > 0:44:39that's not going to have any commercial value,

0:44:39 > 0:44:40but actually these badges,

0:44:40 > 0:44:43particularly those from the QM and the QE,

0:44:43 > 0:44:46they are sought-after by collectors.

0:44:46 > 0:44:48I'm not going to put a fortune on them.

0:44:48 > 0:44:52I would have said perhaps the three together, perhaps £150.

0:44:52 > 0:44:55But they do have a market, because everybody wants to feel

0:44:55 > 0:44:58that they've got something from those wonderful cruising days.

0:44:58 > 0:45:00Yes, that's exactly right.

0:45:00 > 0:45:03- They're a great piece of memorabilia for you.- Definitely.

0:45:03 > 0:45:06- Thanks very much indeed. - Smashing. Nice talking to you.

0:45:08 > 0:45:11Our next story is the poignant tale of the Lusitania -

0:45:11 > 0:45:14a remarkable British liner that held the Blue Riband

0:45:14 > 0:45:18for the fastest transatlantic crossing in 1907.

0:45:20 > 0:45:22She was the world's largest passenger liner,

0:45:22 > 0:45:24making 202 journeys to the US,

0:45:24 > 0:45:28before tragedy struck during World War I

0:45:28 > 0:45:30when she was sunk by a German submarine in 1915.

0:45:32 > 0:45:33John Foster meets Aidan,

0:45:33 > 0:45:36who's brought a rare relic from the Lusitania.

0:45:37 > 0:45:40Whenever I see something that's obviously been

0:45:40 > 0:45:43at the bottom of the sea for a while, I get really excited.

0:45:43 > 0:45:49I spent a lot of time in Florida as a kid diving on ships like this.

0:45:49 > 0:45:51Tell me about your connection with it.

0:45:51 > 0:45:53I've always had a lifelong fascination

0:45:53 > 0:45:56with ocean liners, really from a young child.

0:45:56 > 0:45:59I think one Sunday afternoon, watching a Titanic movie,

0:45:59 > 0:46:01and I got the bug ever since then.

0:46:01 > 0:46:02I was in Southampton

0:46:02 > 0:46:05and this happened to be in an antique-shop window.

0:46:05 > 0:46:08And I just looked and thought, "I've got to have that."

0:46:08 > 0:46:12Now, when you say in an antique-shop window, what was it being sold as?

0:46:12 > 0:46:15It was sold as a porthole from RMS Lusitania.

0:46:15 > 0:46:18And it came from the mailroom.

0:46:18 > 0:46:21So specifically located on the port side of the ship.

0:46:21 > 0:46:24And it was recovered back in 1982.

0:46:24 > 0:46:27OK, that's all interesting, because 1982 was when

0:46:27 > 0:46:30they started removing bits from the Lusitania.

0:46:30 > 0:46:32- Sure.- Just explain to me what it makes you feel

0:46:32 > 0:46:34when you have this in front of you?

0:46:34 > 0:46:37I'm just amazed. I'm amazed. It's a living part of history,

0:46:37 > 0:46:40something so reminiscent

0:46:40 > 0:46:43of the grand era of luxury and liner travel.

0:46:43 > 0:46:46When you think of the Lusitania, it has got a fascinating history.

0:46:46 > 0:46:48Started off as a Blue Riband, er...

0:46:48 > 0:46:53transatlantic speed machine, and the German press had warned America

0:46:53 > 0:46:58that if they sailed on the Lusitania, it would be a target.

0:46:58 > 0:47:01- Absolutely.- No-one believed it, cos they didn't want to drag the US into the war.

0:47:01 > 0:47:05- Sure.- They didn't think that would be a sensible thing to do.

0:47:05 > 0:47:08When it got to UK waters in 1915, it was torpedoed and sunk,

0:47:08 > 0:47:10and a huge loss of American life.

0:47:10 > 0:47:14Yeah, a lot of children, innocent children, were on board as well.

0:47:14 > 0:47:17Babes in arms, so, yeah, a tragedy that affected everybody.

0:47:17 > 0:47:20I look at the porthole and I just think, "I wonder who

0:47:20 > 0:47:22- "the last person was to actually look through that on the day."- Yes.

0:47:22 > 0:47:25And actually, you can still...

0:47:25 > 0:47:27I mean, that is great.

0:47:27 > 0:47:31And I found a bit of archive footage which actually, I think,

0:47:31 > 0:47:34makes the whole thing come to life.

0:47:35 > 0:47:39- Oh, wow.- It really brings home the sort of sadness, like you say,

0:47:39 > 0:47:43the people that were killed on board - women, children.

0:47:43 > 0:47:45Yeah, it really...it's living, isn't it?

0:47:45 > 0:47:48It's a beautiful ship.

0:47:48 > 0:47:50It was a floating palace.

0:47:50 > 0:47:53- What a way to travel.- Pure luxury.

0:47:53 > 0:47:58That's when you could argue that the journey was the destination.

0:47:58 > 0:48:00- Yes.- Whereas a lot of people now,

0:48:00 > 0:48:03we're just desperate to get from one place to another,

0:48:03 > 0:48:05then it was about the whole thing of enjoying that process.

0:48:05 > 0:48:07Yes, very much so.

0:48:07 > 0:48:11And so, presumably you don't have this bolted to the wall or anything?

0:48:11 > 0:48:14I think the wall would give way. It's pretty hefty.

0:48:14 > 0:48:17No, it just sits in my dining room.

0:48:17 > 0:48:18It's a conversation piece.

0:48:18 > 0:48:20It definitely could not be wall-mounted.

0:48:20 > 0:48:23OK, so, you bought it in an antique shop.

0:48:23 > 0:48:25- How many years ago?- Probably about eight, nine years ago now.

0:48:25 > 0:48:27OK. I think at auction, easily...

0:48:29 > 0:48:33..£400, £500, maybe £600, something along those lines.

0:48:33 > 0:48:35Yep, sure. No, I'm pleased with that.

0:48:35 > 0:48:37As for me, it's just the wow factor.

0:48:37 > 0:48:39- Me too.- Thank you.- I'm pleased.

0:48:42 > 0:48:45We've featured a few classic tales of maritime history

0:48:45 > 0:48:47on previous Roadshows. Here are some of our favourites.

0:48:53 > 0:48:55At Haltwhistle in Northumberland,

0:48:55 > 0:48:57Paul was treated to a very rare sight.

0:48:57 > 0:49:00The interior fittings of a White Star liner

0:49:00 > 0:49:04that had been stripped out to refurbish office interiors.

0:49:04 > 0:49:07Now, of course, everybody knows the story of the Titanic.

0:49:07 > 0:49:08They can't not know it.

0:49:08 > 0:49:11The Olympic, a much more successful ship commercially,

0:49:11 > 0:49:13is still perhaps not so well known.

0:49:13 > 0:49:15They were sisters, weren't they?

0:49:15 > 0:49:18Yes, there were three sisters.

0:49:18 > 0:49:19The Olympic, then the Titanic...

0:49:19 > 0:49:21- And then the Britannic. - Then the Britannic, yes.

0:49:21 > 0:49:23So, what have we got?

0:49:23 > 0:49:25Well, this, first off,

0:49:25 > 0:49:28is a smoke vent from the second-class smoke room.

0:49:28 > 0:49:31Now, this is exactly the same as the Titanic one, isn't it?

0:49:31 > 0:49:33All the fittings for the ships, the three ships,

0:49:33 > 0:49:37were bought at the same time so could have went into either ship.

0:49:37 > 0:49:39Light fittings. They're fantastic, aren't they?

0:49:39 > 0:49:42You've got to imagine it the other way up,

0:49:42 > 0:49:45hanging in some grand saloon, twinkling through the cut glass.

0:49:45 > 0:49:47How many of these have you got?

0:49:47 > 0:49:49- There's 28 of those.- 28 of those.

0:49:49 > 0:49:52Right, so, these show your offices, in effect, do they?

0:49:52 > 0:49:54This is the conference room, yes.

0:49:54 > 0:49:56So, you've got here a wonderful image

0:49:56 > 0:50:00of a sort of wooden surround, carved surround.

0:50:00 > 0:50:01Yes, that was first class.

0:50:01 > 0:50:03That was what was in your first-class suites.

0:50:03 > 0:50:06All these panels, the doors, the architrave,

0:50:06 > 0:50:08all of this is out of the ship.

0:50:08 > 0:50:10So they bought, in a sense, a complete room?

0:50:10 > 0:50:12- Yes.- Does that show the lights?

0:50:12 > 0:50:16Those are the lights and this is all wood panelling

0:50:16 > 0:50:19and that's out of the second-class smoking area.

0:50:19 > 0:50:21So, you bought up an old factory

0:50:21 > 0:50:25which happened to be fitted out with the Olympic. Can I ask how much?

0:50:25 > 0:50:28Yes, they valued the total fittings at £40,000.

0:50:28 > 0:50:30You've got 28 of those?

0:50:30 > 0:50:32A light guaranteed off the Olympic

0:50:32 > 0:50:35- I would think is going to be £300, £400.- Oh, really?

0:50:35 > 0:50:38So, multiply that by 28.

0:50:38 > 0:50:40You're getting on towards your money back.

0:50:44 > 0:50:47It took a trip halfway round the world to Melbourne, Australia,

0:50:47 > 0:50:51for Hilary Kay to come face-to-face with a Titanic teddy bear...

0:50:52 > 0:50:55..one of the most moving pieces we've seen at the Roadshow.

0:50:58 > 0:51:00Picture yourself in 1912.

0:51:00 > 0:51:05There's been this terrible disaster, the Titanic has sunk,

0:51:05 > 0:51:07hit by an iceberg,

0:51:07 > 0:51:14and the Steiff factory produced a whole series of bears in black,

0:51:14 > 0:51:18mourning bears, they said, to mourn the loss of life on the Titanic.

0:51:18 > 0:51:20And this is what you're holding.

0:51:20 > 0:51:24There's one particular aspect of this bear

0:51:24 > 0:51:27which I think is very sweet, very touching,

0:51:27 > 0:51:32and that's that around these lovely black eyes here

0:51:32 > 0:51:35we have red,

0:51:35 > 0:51:39a red background which shows the eye up very clearly,

0:51:39 > 0:51:42but also it's what your eyes do when they cry.

0:51:42 > 0:51:46- You know, this bear has got red eyes from crying.- I wondered about that.

0:51:46 > 0:51:52I have to say that a Titanic bear just like this, five years ago,

0:51:52 > 0:51:57at auction, fetched just over 200,000.

0:51:57 > 0:51:59200,000?

0:51:59 > 0:52:02Which is about £90,000.

0:52:02 > 0:52:06He is a bear that is so rare that we've never seen a Titanic bear

0:52:06 > 0:52:09on all the British Antiques Roadshows.

0:52:09 > 0:52:11- Really?- And to find him down here in Melbourne...

0:52:13 > 0:52:16..well, it's a real eye-opener, and thanks so much for bringing him.

0:52:16 > 0:52:17Thank you. Thank you.

0:52:19 > 0:52:21An eye-watering valuation from Australia

0:52:21 > 0:52:24brings our archive selection to a close.

0:52:27 > 0:52:29We're racing through the Yorkshire countryside,

0:52:29 > 0:52:30approaching the end of our journey.

0:52:30 > 0:52:32Just time for one last story.

0:52:34 > 0:52:35Paul Atterbury began the day

0:52:35 > 0:52:39with the Flying Scotsman's nonstop record run from London to Edinburgh.

0:52:42 > 0:52:44He's now with a family whose mementos record

0:52:44 > 0:52:47every detail of train driver Walt Parkinson's life...

0:52:49 > 0:52:51..including the end of the age of steam.

0:52:53 > 0:52:56I suppose I'm a very typical grown-up small boy.

0:52:56 > 0:52:59I like trains, I wanted to be an engine driver,

0:52:59 > 0:53:01and I can see here...somebody was.

0:53:01 > 0:53:05You know, this is the story in diaries and documents

0:53:05 > 0:53:08and pieces of equipment of a driver, a driver's life.

0:53:08 > 0:53:11Now, is that your family?

0:53:11 > 0:53:13Yes, it was my grandad.

0:53:13 > 0:53:17He started after he left the Army in the early '50s.

0:53:17 > 0:53:20He worked his way up to become a fireman then an engineman

0:53:20 > 0:53:22on steam and then through to diesel.

0:53:22 > 0:53:24And as a result, it's a very interesting record.

0:53:24 > 0:53:29It's a full catalogue of everything he did for about 40, 50 years.

0:53:29 > 0:53:32In the diaries, there's a couple of things that I quite like.

0:53:32 > 0:53:40And it says here, 11th of April 1967, he drove 90233,

0:53:40 > 0:53:42that's a steam locomotive.

0:53:42 > 0:53:45And looking through the diaries, that's the end, isn't it?

0:53:45 > 0:53:47- Yes, that's the last one. - Yeah, that's the last one.

0:53:47 > 0:53:49So, suddenly, that world is gone.

0:53:49 > 0:53:53And he's then sick for a while and when he comes back from being sick,

0:53:53 > 0:53:55- it says straightaway into...- Diesel training.

0:53:55 > 0:53:59.."Started work diesel training York."

0:53:59 > 0:54:02- So, the world has changed.- Yeah.

0:54:02 > 0:54:04I think it was a very interesting period, because...

0:54:05 > 0:54:09..you know, for us as enthusiasts, everybody likes steam trains,

0:54:09 > 0:54:13but the British Rail Modernisation Plan, which was launched in 1955,

0:54:13 > 0:54:18was dedicated to removing steam out of the British network.

0:54:18 > 0:54:21We had to be modern, we had to be diesel, we had to be electric,

0:54:21 > 0:54:23we had to build an up-to-date network.

0:54:23 > 0:54:26I've got some footage here which actually is about that moment

0:54:26 > 0:54:29when diesels were new and exciting and modern.

0:54:29 > 0:54:33Let's have a look. This is a new one being launched.

0:54:33 > 0:54:35It's pulling out of Paddington.

0:54:35 > 0:54:37And...the view from the cab.

0:54:37 > 0:54:41There's the past going past, very literally.

0:54:41 > 0:54:43And look how comfortable that is.

0:54:43 > 0:54:46He must have sat there and thought, "This is great."

0:54:46 > 0:54:49And, of course, his life was radically improved.

0:54:49 > 0:54:52I mean, there he was in a locomotive cab.

0:54:52 > 0:54:55We're very romantic about it but actually it was a filthy, hard,

0:54:55 > 0:54:59demanding job and, suddenly, you're sitting in comfort

0:54:59 > 0:55:03in a diesel locomotive, operating controls.

0:55:03 > 0:55:06It must have been wonderful for people making the transition.

0:55:06 > 0:55:08What was it like in the family?

0:55:08 > 0:55:10What changed?

0:55:10 > 0:55:11Mainly smell.

0:55:11 > 0:55:17- Smell?- Yeah, because he smelt different when he went on diesels

0:55:17 > 0:55:19to what he did when he were on steam trains.

0:55:21 > 0:55:24One of the mythologies of being a railway enthusiast

0:55:24 > 0:55:27- is this thing about cooking food in the cab.- Yeah.

0:55:27 > 0:55:29Did you have that experience?

0:55:29 > 0:55:31Yes, when I were little,

0:55:31 > 0:55:34my grandad took me to work quite a few times and...

0:55:35 > 0:55:37..in the diesel trains,

0:55:37 > 0:55:40they had an electric hob and he used to do toast on the electric hob

0:55:40 > 0:55:43and then put a tin of beans on top - you could have beans on toast.

0:55:43 > 0:55:44- In the cab?- In the cab.

0:55:44 > 0:55:48But if you go back to steam, you cooked on the shovel, didn't you?

0:55:48 > 0:55:49- Yeah.- And did you do that?

0:55:49 > 0:55:52Yeah, me dad took me to work, we did that.

0:55:52 > 0:55:54What do you think was the high point of his life?

0:55:54 > 0:55:58- The Royal train.- Probably when he drove the Royal train.

0:55:58 > 0:56:01- Tell me about that.- When he came to see me at home,

0:56:01 > 0:56:03he were so giddy when he came in.

0:56:03 > 0:56:06- And he gave...- He gave him the hat. - He gave me the hat he were given.

0:56:06 > 0:56:08That were his new hat for the Royal train.

0:56:08 > 0:56:10- So this is the Royal-train hat? - Yes.- Yeah.

0:56:10 > 0:56:15- Fantastic.- It were towards the end of his career, so about 1986, '87,

0:56:15 > 0:56:18and he always told us that he got picked

0:56:18 > 0:56:21because he were a goods-train driver

0:56:21 > 0:56:25and used to driving chemicals and nuclear fuel

0:56:25 > 0:56:26and things like that.

0:56:26 > 0:56:30They chose the goods-train drivers to drive the Royal train

0:56:30 > 0:56:32cos they'd got a special cargo.

0:56:32 > 0:56:34And because they were careful?

0:56:34 > 0:56:36And they were careful, yeah.

0:56:36 > 0:56:39So when he gave me that hat, that were the proudest moment.

0:56:40 > 0:56:43Right, what's it all worth?

0:56:43 > 0:56:45Well, we're looking at a collection

0:56:45 > 0:56:48probably worth a couple of hundred pounds.

0:56:48 > 0:56:52But the memories it releases, to me, are absolutely beyond price.

0:56:52 > 0:56:55- Yeah.- Yeah, wonderful.- Priceless.

0:56:59 > 0:57:02That story tells of the end of the age of steam,

0:57:02 > 0:57:05so we're very thankful that after ten years of restoration,

0:57:05 > 0:57:08the Flying Scotsman has given us a unique opportunity

0:57:08 > 0:57:10to relive that golden age.

0:57:12 > 0:57:15Our guests and experts have loved it.

0:57:15 > 0:57:17WHISTLE BLOWS

0:57:18 > 0:57:21And I'll never forget my moment on the footplate

0:57:21 > 0:57:23of this world-famous locomotive.

0:57:24 > 0:57:28Thanks to our visitors for bringing along their precious mementos.

0:57:28 > 0:57:30Soon, we'll be arriving in York

0:57:30 > 0:57:33and the Flying Scotsman will get a well-deserved rest.

0:57:33 > 0:57:35From the whole team here on board, goodbye.