Golden Age of Travel Special Antiques Roadshow


Golden Age of Travel Special

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WHISTLE BLOWS

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Tonight on the Antiques Roadshow we are doing something rather special.

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We're about to board a great icon of the age of steam.

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It evokes strong passions, reducing sensible people to quivering jelly.

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There's been huge excitement up and down the country,

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grown men have been seen weeping openly in fields,

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whole families have camped out in the hope of a quick glimpse,

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and I can't wait.

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Because any minute, she's going to be coming round that corner.

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She's back on the rails. It's Britain's - perhaps even the world's -

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most famous steam locomotive.

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Yes, it's been a year of Flying Scotsman frenzy,

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and we're about to get our own very special ride.

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Here she comes. Look at that!

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The sound, the smell - there's nothing like it.

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Welcome to the golden age of travel on the Flying Scotsman.

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It's an ambitious first for the Antiques Roadshow -

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never before have we held a show on anything like a moving train.

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The Flying Scotsman's been undergoing restoration since 2006,

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costing £4 million.

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And its first outings in 2016 caused world headlines.

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No-one could've imagined the public passion

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for this romantic relic of the steam age.

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Its launch attracted the kind of attention normally reserved for A-list celebrities.

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People flocked to see the Flying Scotsman as it sped through towns and the countryside.

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Now we've our own opportunity to take some lucky Roadshow viewers on board

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with their vintage travel treasures.

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Earlier this year we put the word out

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that we'd be celebrating the golden age of travel in a special programme.

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Well, a few lucky Antiques Roadshow viewers, complete with their precious mementos,

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are now boarding the Flying Scotsman in our own exclusive carriage.

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Later, we'll be meeting an obsessive vintage airline uniform collector.

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How many of these have you got at home?

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At the last count, 133.

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The pilot who barrel-rolled Concorde.

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They were aghast.

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And the Flying Scotsman memorabilia

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that gets expert Paul Atterbury all of a quiver.

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It's like holding the relic of a true saint.

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We've chosen experts Hilary Kay, John Foster and Paul Atterbury

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to join us, each passionate about bygone eras of travel.

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This is your idea of a dream come true, isn't it, Paul Atterbury,

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you mad train enthusiast, you?

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I'm a very lucky boy. I mean, to be...a day with the Flying Scotsman,

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Britain's most famous locomotive, a day on the train,

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-what more could one want?

-I don't know.

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John, what about you, are you enjoying it?

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I've never been on it before and it is just every boyhood dream.

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-It's amazing.

-What about you, Hilary?

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Well, anything to do with steam.

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You know, the smell of it, the excitement.

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The sound. All those smuts blowing in your face.

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And, I suppose, anything that can turn the key on the golden age of travel.

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Our journey will take us 140 miles,

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speeding through some of Britain's most breathtaking scenery, to York.

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And what better way to start than with a story about the Flying Scotsman itself?

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Wonderful looking out the window and seeing all this steam.

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In 1923, in Doncaster, the Flying Scotsman was built.

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It was the first nonstop locomotive

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to travel between London and Edinburgh.

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Its journey made history,

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travelling nearly 400 miles in seven and a half hours.

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And at the time, that was the longest uninterrupted rail service

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anywhere in the world.

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Among the Roadshow viewers who contacted us were Graham and Simon,

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the great-grandsons of one of the drivers on that record-breaking run.

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This was their chance to be reunited with their great-grandfather's loco,

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and to tell us their story.

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Now, one of the things that has always excited me

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was the idea of running nonstop between London and Scotland.

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Now, Thomas Blades was one of the drivers on that historic run.

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And he was your great-grandfather.

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Yes, yeah. And it's such an honour today to be on that very same train.

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This is a lifelong dream for me, really,

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so for the last two or three years

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I've been doing research into my great-grandfather and found lots of information about him.

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Found this picture at a local railway museum.

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My mother told me about the record-breaking run that he was involved in in 1928,

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the run from King's Cross to Edinburgh.

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And Thomas Blades was the relief driver who took over at Tollerton,

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-just near York.

-Yes.

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And took the train all the way to Edinburgh.

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And by the relief driver, of course,

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he travelled the first part of the journey in the carriage.

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In the carriage, absolutely.

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He then went through the tender in the special corridor,

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-swapped over with driver Pibworth, who then went back.

-Absolutely.

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And the train never slowed.

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-Yeah, yeah.

-They swapped their hands off the regulator.

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-You can see it happening, can't you?

-Absolutely that, yeah.

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Now, I've got this book here,

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which is a standard LNER locomotiveman's pocket book.

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But of course this is his, isn't it?

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Yes, it is, yes, we found it clearing out my mother's house after she died,

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and noticed that it had his name in,

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and the various notes in the back about the record-breaking run.

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There it is, that he did that run.

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Yes.

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And do you think he had this with him at the time?

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I think so, yeah, because it tells you how to set fires in the boiler

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and all the maintenance of the engine, et cetera.

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I'm sure by then he didn't need to be told those things.

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But nonetheless, you would always carry your pocket book in case something went wrong.

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Yeah. To tell you if you need to fix something.

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Not only have you got the locomotive, you've got the book.

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That he carried with him.

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He's almost with us, isn't he?

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I think it's a wonderful story.

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And it's a real insight to me into how skilful those men were.

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They were a great race of drivers.

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Celebrities of the day as well.

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-They were the stars.

-Absolutely.

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Yeah, they were superstars of the day and there was lots written about them.

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I found a number of articles in newspapers and various magazines,

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and the real passion that the whole of the country had

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in terms of that speed and beating records.

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Now, actually, I've got a piece of film that relates very much to this.

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This is the Scotsman

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on another high-speed run.

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Sadly, it's not Thomas Blades, but it could have been.

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It shows how popular the locomotive was.

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It's been popular all its life.

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There are always crowds watching the departure.

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Fantastic, isn't it?

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-Absolutely.

-Have you seen it before?

-Haven't seen this one before, no.

-No.

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Now, we're supposed to do values.

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A tatty old book - what's it worth?

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I mean, you'd be lucky to get £5 for it.

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That's not the point. Just think of what it tells us about your

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-great-grandfather.

-Absolutely, but it would never be sold.

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It'll always stay in the family.

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And carry on the research, heaven knows what you might find next.

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-Thank you.

-Thank you.

-Thank you.

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'Overhearing Paul's conversation has prompted me to change into regulation railway gear.

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'I'm going to find out what it was like to crawl through the narrow

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'corridor that allowed Thomas Blades to take over as relief driver

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'on the record-breaking nonstop run to Scotland.'

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NOISE OF ENGINE ALMOST DROWNS OUT HER WORDS

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WHISTLE BLOWS

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'While we stoke the furnace,'

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let's recall some classic moments

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that visitors to the Roadshow have shared with us from the age of steam travel.

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Let's begin by remembering a great find that excited Hilary Kay.

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One of the earliest toy trains in the programme's history.

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There are lots of treats involved

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with working on the Antiques Roadshow,

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and I have to say, one of them is very occasionally to come across

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something that is THE best of its kind.

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And this is one of those moments.

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It is exquisite metalworking at its very best.

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This is all handmade out of tin

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with occasional little pieces of brass, around 1845, 1850.

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And the more you look at it, the more fabulous it is.

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The boiler here is faceted,

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then coming back you've got the three classes of coach.

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First class, closed in.

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Second class, just with a roof.

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And third class, well...

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you take your risks.

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You hope it's a day like this.

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As it always is in Scotland!

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But look, I'm sure you've done this, Jane, but I'm going to do it, too...

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In there, all those fabulous little people.

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It looks like a sort of outing from Jane Austen.

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There they all are off on their picnic or whatever.

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I would be confident in saying this would fetch something

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between £25,000 and £35,000 at auction.

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And for insurance, certainly £50,000.

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When we visited Swindon Steam Railway Museum,

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Paul Atterbury was in his element.

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Not only was he surrounded by the smell and smuts of locos galore,

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but he also discovered a rare and early railway sign found in a garden.

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You know, it's really exciting for me to see this map sign.

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Because for a start, it's about the Great Western Railway, which I -

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and everybody - loves.

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It's also a wonderful vision of how that company saw itself,

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and how it developed early in its history.

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Now, let's look at the story briefly it tells.

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This is the map of the Great Western network, and its connections.

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-That's right.

-But it's really about going to Ireland, isn't it?

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By the new Fishguard route.

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-That's right.

-Which is from there to Rosslare.

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And this was about the Great Western competing with its main rivals.

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The main route, of course, was Holyhead to Dun Laoghaire,

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but that was the London and North Western.

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Can we date it, do you think, from that?

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Yeah. Almost exactly.

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The route opened in August 1906.

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So it has to be after that date?

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It has to be 1906, because they would probably advertise it prior to...

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But they're still calling it new, so this is 1906-1908.

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It's also in quite good condition.

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It's an extraordinary survival.

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Enamel signs rust.

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If I saw that for sale, I'd expect quite a lot for it.

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But you got it in your garden. 30 years sat in the garden.

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-In the garden, yeah.

-It's amazing it survived.

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I would say £1,500-£2,000.

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-Honest?

-Honest.

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Our final favourite classic moment for now

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is from Walthamstow Town Hall.

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The value of a rare railway ticket turned out to be a huge surprise

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for one of our visitors.

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What we've got here is a ticket for the Midland Counties Railway,

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and this is a ticket for the opening of the railway.

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Dated on the bottom 30th of May 1839.

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The Midland Counties Railway, which opened then,

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came about effectively

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for the sort of drive and the keenness to supply coal to Leicester.

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So you effectively paid nothing for this, did you?

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-You inherited it.

-Yeah, yeah, I did, yeah.

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So if I were to say to you £1,000, what would you say?

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What, for that? LAUGHTER

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Rare, rare, rare.

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Railway memorabilia is really hotly collected.

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-MAN:

-Incredible.

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You are... You're having a mumble, in't ya?

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You're winding me up, in't ya?

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I don't think he is, mate!

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Not a shadow of a doubt, my friend.

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Oh, what?

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Later, we'll return to more stories from the steam era.

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As we return to our guests on board the Flying Scotsman,

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we move from one golden age of travel to another, to flight.

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In the 1940s, the era of luxury passenger flight really took off,

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with magnificent flying boats

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travelling between London and Australia.

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Hilary Kay is meeting a visitor

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whose father once flew these exotic trips.

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I'm looking at a tableful of items that relate

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to the very early, the golden days,

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if you like, of commercial air travel.

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Now, what's your relationship with this group of objects?

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Well, it all stems from my father's involvement in aeroplanes

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at that time.

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My father actually developed a passion for flying in his teens,

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and that stayed with him all his life, until he died in his 80s.

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And looking at this, it looks as though he went

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almost immediately into working for Imperial Airways,

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best known for its use of the Empire flying boats.

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-Yes.

-He started with the BOAC in 1946, and he start flying via France

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into Cairo, Bahrain, Calcutta,

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and then over to Singapore,

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and then a little later, Australia and into New Zealand as well.

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Exactly. And it was a glamorous time.

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Yes, because in the evenings,

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everybody dressed for dinner, and he was part of the social side of the life.

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Unless there was something he detected that had gone wrong with the aeroplane during the day,

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in which case, usually in full evening dress,

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he might be found on the wing of the plane,

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mending a propeller or something.

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-A bit like this, in fact.

-Exactly.

-Exactly.

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So he had to do that and then he would put on his white silk gloves

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-to go to dinner.

-To cover...

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Because his hands were still covered in oil from doing the mending, so...

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How amazing. That's the point, actually,

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that it was a stopping service.

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You would land, you would probably go to a very smart hotel,

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you would have your dinner, you would sleep,

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then you would board the flying boat the next day and off you'd go.

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Well, this is the flying boat in action.

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And let's just watch what your father would have had to have done as the captain.

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It's a vast craft. It comes down very smoothly.

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I suppose there must have been some choppy landings.

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But on an estuary like this, out comes the co-pilot, grabs the buoy...

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One forgets, of course, you had to tie up to something.

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Here comes the tender to take all the glamorous folks to the shore.

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And, gosh, where are we?

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This looks very grand.

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Looked like it could have been the Taj, it could have been...

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It looked like the gateway to India, didn't it?

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-Yes.

-And this is the sort of hotel, of course,

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they would have gone into overnight.

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-Absolutely.

-There couldn't be anything that more exemplifies

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the golden age of travel.

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So when one's looking at a collection like this,

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the material that you have here,

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the flying boots, the gloves, the helmet,

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the oxygen mask, I mean, those have a tangible value.

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I'd put those cumulatively at about £1,500.

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The rest has a priceless value

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-to you and your family.

-It does, it does.

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Well, thank you very much indeed.

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Don't we all wish we could still do that journey?

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-Absolutely, we do.

-We do indeed!

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Thank you very much indeed.

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Our next story takes us to a different form of early flight -

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the airship.

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The British R101 hoped to herald a new age of luxury travel.

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But it crashed on its maiden flight in 1930,

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tragically killing most passengers on board.

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As the Flying Scotsman pauses to take on water,

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Paul Atterbury is meeting the first officer's granddaughter,

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to hear her poignant tale.

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Here we are, stationary, unusually on this voyage.

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This is one means of transport.

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Something that has always intrigued me, though,

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is a completely different means of transport.

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The British R101, which were a vision of travel for the future.

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Comfortable, quiet, elegant.

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But, of course, we know that this great dream of the future

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came to nothing, because of a series of disasters.

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And the R101, of course, had, famously,

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that great disaster on its maiden voyage.

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But I know you have a very particular connection to it.

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Yes, my grandfather was the first officer on the R101,

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Lieutenant Commander Noel Grabowsky-Atherstone, known as Grabby.

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What was his particular role?

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Well, as first officer, he kept a detailed diary,

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he was meticulous in observing the performance of the airship.

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And noted everything down.

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So, he was a key figure.

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-Yes.

-And therefore this journal is dynamite.

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-TRAIN WHISTLE BLOWS

-It's the story of the development of the R101.

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-Yes.

-Oh. We're off again.

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And this sense of luxury, do you know what it was like?

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Well, it's been described as an ocean liner in the sky,

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a sort of flying Titanic.

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She was 777 feet long, twice the length of a football pitch.

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And she was vast.

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And she had two decks.

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-Yes.

-50 cabins.

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It was an extraordinary luxury of a scale that we can't imagine, really.

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-Exactly. Yeah.

-So in October 1930,

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the R101 sets off for India.

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-So what happens?

-Well, she ran into stormy and very windy weather.

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In fact, my grandfather had been on watch until 2am.

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Nine minutes later, she crashed.

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The reason for the fire was calcium flares.

0:19:250:19:28

And they ignite against water.

0:19:280:19:31

Otherwise, she could perhaps have been salvaged.

0:19:310:19:36

So we've got some footage here, which I gather you found.

0:19:360:19:39

Yes, I found it in a rusty old biscuit tin hidden in a trunk.

0:19:390:19:44

Well, let's see what it tells us.

0:19:440:19:46

Look, there it is.

0:19:460:19:47

I think what we see first of all is how big she was.

0:19:470:19:50

People look like ants on the ground.

0:19:500:19:53

I mean, she was vast, enormous.

0:19:530:19:55

So this is a sort of brief story of the ship, isn't it?

0:19:550:19:57

-Yes, it is.

-Because there is the crash.

0:19:570:20:00

And what might have been the most wonderful vision of the future

0:20:000:20:04

died away in the fields of northern France.

0:20:040:20:07

It certainly did - very sad, very sudden.

0:20:070:20:10

-Particularly for you.

-Yes.

0:20:100:20:11

What was the impact on your family?

0:20:110:20:13

My gran, I don't really know how she coped, and there was a state funeral.

0:20:130:20:18

She always said to me that she knew the minute the airship had crashed

0:20:180:20:22

because my father had a devoted dog called Timmy

0:20:220:20:25

and at 2.09am he let out an unearthly howl.

0:20:250:20:31

How, why, we don't know,

0:20:310:20:33

but she knew then something terrible had happened.

0:20:330:20:36

So, of course, the diary stops at a crucial point.

0:20:370:20:41

And it's very interesting, I'll read the last entry.

0:20:410:20:44

"Everybody is rather keyed up now,

0:20:440:20:47

"as we all feel that the future of airships

0:20:470:20:49

"very largely depends on what sort of show we put up.

0:20:490:20:54

"There are very many unknown factors

0:20:540:20:56

"and I feel that that thing called luck

0:20:560:20:59

"will figure rather conspicuously in our flight.

0:20:590:21:03

"Let's hope for good luck and do our best!"

0:21:030:21:06

Curious that he left it behind.

0:21:070:21:09

And did he leave this behind, then, for his evidence?

0:21:090:21:12

It's quite possible, because every single thing is documented.

0:21:120:21:16

It never made it to the public inquiry,

0:21:160:21:19

but it really changes the whole story of the R101.

0:21:190:21:22

This is a very valuable document.

0:21:240:21:25

That family story and the information contained in this

0:21:250:21:28

gives it huge value.

0:21:280:21:30

Essentially, we are looking at something that to an airship collector,

0:21:300:21:34

they would pay thousands of pounds to own this.

0:21:340:21:38

But I think the preservation of this information for the future

0:21:380:21:42

is crucial, and actually goes beyond a family.

0:21:420:21:45

You know, this is information of national significance.

0:21:450:21:49

Well, we'll perhaps have to look at getting it published, then.

0:21:490:21:52

-Good idea.

-Thank you.

0:21:540:21:55

You can't look at the golden age of flight

0:21:580:22:00

without including that iconic jet Concorde.

0:22:000:22:03

When Antiques Roadshow viewer Richard

0:22:030:22:06

wrote to us about his vast collection of memorabilia at home

0:22:060:22:09

in Gloucestershire, we had to see for ourselves.

0:22:090:22:12

From toys to ties, from scale models to seats,

0:22:120:22:17

from trolleys to teacups, it takes up the whole of his conservatory.

0:22:170:22:21

We invited him on board to tell his story to John Foster.

0:22:240:22:27

I can see you're a bit of a sort of collecting Concorde nut.

0:22:280:22:31

What's going on?

0:22:310:22:32

Well, it's been part of our lives for nearly 50 years.

0:22:320:22:36

-1969, my wife and I were nearly killed in a car crash.

-Really?

0:22:360:22:40

We were in Gloucester Hospital for a long time.

0:22:400:22:43

And we were married in hospital.

0:22:430:22:45

And the night before we were married,

0:22:450:22:47

we were sitting outside Ward Eight,

0:22:470:22:49

Concorde 001 and 002 circled the hospital,

0:22:490:22:51

and things after an accident like that, you're pretty rough,

0:22:510:22:54

and Lesley had been very badly hurt,

0:22:540:22:56

and it was a bit of a sign.

0:22:560:22:59

It was something that was very special.

0:22:590:23:01

It's always been a little bit of our emblem for the rest of our...

0:23:010:23:04

Well, we've been married 47 years in a fortnight's time.

0:23:040:23:07

And still going strong. And Concorde is just something very special.

0:23:070:23:11

It touches the heart, I think, of everybody that flies in it and knows it.

0:23:110:23:15

And when you say... So, 1969,

0:23:150:23:17

it hadn't actually had a commercial flight then.

0:23:170:23:20

Not at all. They were purely in trials at that time.

0:23:200:23:24

That really WAS a sign, because it wasn't until '76,

0:23:240:23:27

I think, was the first commercial flight.

0:23:270:23:30

-Absolutely.

-And you've obviously been on it a few times.

0:23:300:23:34

I flew around the bay in 1987 and Lesley and I flew to America

0:23:340:23:39

on the 29th of September 2003,

0:23:390:23:41

just three weeks before she finally finished commercial flying.

0:23:410:23:45

People would say, what was it like to fly?

0:23:450:23:48

It was like nothing else in this world.

0:23:480:23:50

It was narrower than this train, you were cramped,

0:23:500:23:53

but you had wonderful service.

0:23:530:23:55

Amazing drinks, food and everything else.

0:23:550:23:59

You were on the edge of space, 60,000 feet up,

0:23:590:24:03

travelling as fast as a bullet from a gun.

0:24:030:24:06

You can't do it now.

0:24:060:24:08

All that life experience that you had, it started this...

0:24:080:24:11

you could say an obsession, is that fair to say?

0:24:110:24:13

Yes, it is an obsession, to be perfectly honest, yes.

0:24:130:24:16

Is your wife as obsessed as you?

0:24:160:24:17

No, she puts up with it.

0:24:170:24:20

I see where you're coming from.

0:24:200:24:22

When I went on it, you got... my souvenir was a silver photograph frame.

0:24:220:24:26

And you've got some amazing things.

0:24:260:24:28

Basically, everything you would see in front of you

0:24:280:24:31

when you sat on the plane.

0:24:310:24:32

You've got all the chocolates, the knives and forks,

0:24:320:24:35

Royal Doulton, Conran.

0:24:350:24:37

They went to town on what they provided.

0:24:370:24:40

-Definitely.

-There are some things which are most sought after.

0:24:400:24:43

-The Machmeter.

-Yeah.

-The nose cone.

0:24:430:24:46

The pilot's seat.

0:24:460:24:48

And it goes down. Where a food container like you've got here comes in at £200, £300, £400.

0:24:480:24:53

Whether these, £30, £40, £50, sort of per bit.

0:24:530:24:57

-Because people still love Concorde.

-Oh, yes.

-Thank you.

0:24:570:24:59

Thank you very much indeed. Cheers.

0:24:590:25:01

'I'm delighted to say, joining us on board the Flying Scotsman is a former Concorde pilot.'

0:25:010:25:07

Well, we're on an icon of the golden age of steam, but you were,

0:25:090:25:13

Captain Walpole, one of the first pilots of Concorde.

0:25:130:25:15

-Indeed.

-With British Airways.

0:25:150:25:17

Indeed, I was. Yes.

0:25:170:25:18

It must have been an extraordinary time

0:25:180:25:20

to be at the forefront of supersonic travel.

0:25:200:25:23

It was fantastic, it really was.

0:25:230:25:25

It took civil aviation from a pedestrian 600 miles an hour

0:25:250:25:30

to 1,350 miles an hour, twice the speed of sound,

0:25:300:25:34

in one single giant stride.

0:25:340:25:36

21st of Jan 1976.

0:25:360:25:39

There are some extraordinary statistics associated with Concorde.

0:25:390:25:43

I mean, not least that you yourself have flown four million miles.

0:25:430:25:47

Yeah, four million miles, 200 times round the Earth effectively, yes.

0:25:470:25:50

Yes. 804 crossings of the North Atlantic.

0:25:500:25:54

What was it like to fly at that speed?

0:25:540:25:56

Flying Concorde was exciting,

0:25:560:25:59

because you were flying up at 60,000 feet.

0:25:590:26:03

You could control the aircraft with the fingertips of one hand.

0:26:030:26:07

You could see the curvature of the Earth,

0:26:070:26:10

the darker blue of outer space,

0:26:100:26:12

you had a horizon of 250,000 square miles.

0:26:120:26:16

It was demanding, however.

0:26:160:26:17

Beautiful, beautiful Concorde, as she looks so beautiful in the sky,

0:26:170:26:22

was a highly complex aeroplane.

0:26:220:26:24

There's something rather surreal talking about it with all the steam going past, you know, the contrast.

0:26:240:26:29

Between what we're talking and what we're on.

0:26:290:26:32

-You barrel-rolled Concorde?

-Yes, I did indeed.

0:26:320:26:35

Tell me about that.

0:26:350:26:36

Well, we had to carry out some tests

0:26:360:26:39

on a modification to the Concorde undercarriage,

0:26:390:26:42

so I flew with a man called Jean Franchi,

0:26:420:26:45

one of the first test pilots on Concorde French 1.

0:26:450:26:48

He said, Brian, how about doing a barrel roll in the Concorde?

0:26:480:26:51

And I said, "Good grief, Jean,

0:26:510:26:54

"are you serious?" We climbed 15,000 feet, 300 knots,

0:26:540:26:58

and he just barrel-rolled it beautifully over and round

0:26:580:27:01

and straight and level again.

0:27:010:27:03

He said, "Brian, I've wound it up, you can unwind it for me."

0:27:030:27:06

So I did exactly the same thing the other way round,

0:27:060:27:09

barrel-rolled Concorde.

0:27:090:27:11

When I got back to London and told people, they were aghast.

0:27:110:27:15

Because, firstly, they didn't know it could be done.

0:27:150:27:18

Secondly, there were no passengers on board,

0:27:180:27:20

so it was perfectly safe and adequate.

0:27:200:27:23

Would you say that was the golden era of travel for you?

0:27:240:27:28

-Concorde?

-Very much so.

0:27:280:27:30

Not for me but for aviation, the world.

0:27:300:27:33

And...

0:27:330:27:35

It was so different, it became an icon in its own right.

0:27:350:27:38

It's been a pleasure to talk to you about it.

0:27:380:27:41

-Thank you very much, Captain Walpole.

-My pleasure. Thank you.

0:27:410:27:44

The Antiques Roadshow archive contains many tales from bygone eras of air travel.

0:27:440:27:49

At our show in Farnborough, a former aeronautical research centre,

0:27:560:28:00

expert Graham Lay discovered how the story of flight in Britain

0:28:000:28:03

began in the early 20th century.

0:28:030:28:06

Well, looking down at us today

0:28:060:28:08

is one of the pioneers of British aviation,

0:28:080:28:12

Samuel Cody.

0:28:120:28:13

So, you're direct descendants of this great man?

0:28:130:28:16

-That's right.

-Tell us about him, because he was a bit of a showman,

0:28:160:28:19

-wasn't he?

-He was a cowboy showman that came over from America

0:28:190:28:23

and he was an American citizen when he actually flew British Army Aeroplane No 1.

0:28:230:28:28

He designed, built it, with his own money,

0:28:280:28:30

£50 was given from the War Office.

0:28:300:28:33

And he achieved the first flight in this country.

0:28:330:28:36

He did hops and leaps in April and May of 1908, and then

0:28:360:28:41

officially recorded on the 16th of October 1908

0:28:410:28:44

for the first powered flight in Great Britain.

0:28:440:28:47

And you've brought along today this wonderful

0:28:470:28:50

silver model of an aircraft.

0:28:500:28:52

This was commissioned by the Shell Oil Company

0:28:520:28:54

and it was presented to Cody at the Royal Aero Club in 1912.

0:28:540:28:58

It's one of his late aeroplanes,

0:28:580:28:59

and probably the plane that killed him in the end.

0:28:590:29:01

They gave him a full military funeral from his house in Ash Vale,

0:29:010:29:05

and 50,000 people lined the funeral procession.

0:29:050:29:07

50,000? That's how important he was.

0:29:070:29:10

He was a very important person.

0:29:100:29:11

Well, now, let's think about value.

0:29:110:29:14

That, I think, would be worth today...

0:29:140:29:16

..20,000-£30,000.

0:29:170:29:19

How do you feel about the fact

0:29:190:29:21

that your great-grandfather was a pioneer of aviation?

0:29:210:29:24

-It gives us a lot of pride.

-Gives us a big buzz.

0:29:240:29:26

Here at Farnborough, they used wind tunnels

0:29:280:29:30

to test the aerodynamics of planes, including Concorde.

0:29:300:29:33

And as a former long-haul pilot,

0:29:330:29:35

our expert Richard Price was intrigued to meet a collector

0:29:350:29:38

with rare design prototypes of the supersonic jet.

0:29:380:29:41

The good thing about Concorde was when it started,

0:29:420:29:45

only 46 years after Cody's first flight,

0:29:450:29:47

there was a completely new idea of supersonic transport

0:29:470:29:50

and they had to have a wing that was very efficient at high speed

0:29:500:29:53

but was also very handleable at low speed for landing,

0:29:530:29:57

so the scientists and aerodynamicists looked

0:29:570:29:59

at a large number of wings,

0:29:590:30:01

from a triangle to a Gothic shape to an ogee.

0:30:010:30:06

I know research and development

0:30:060:30:08

is astronomical and we know that the Concorde took a lot of time

0:30:080:30:11

to actually achieve its maiden flight,

0:30:110:30:13

but to see all of this right through from the first thoughts...

0:30:130:30:18

-That's right.

-Magnificent.

0:30:180:30:20

We think there were about 100 made over the years,

0:30:200:30:22

and all different wing shapes.

0:30:220:30:25

What sort of age are we talking about, early '60s for something like that?

0:30:250:30:28

Yes. These were just in the early '60s.

0:30:280:30:30

It's a wonderful English and French engineering effort, fantastic.

0:30:300:30:34

Nothing has been bettered yet.

0:30:340:30:36

-No, what a shame it's no longer with us.

-Absolutely. Yes.

0:30:360:30:39

How on earth can you put a value on these things?

0:30:390:30:42

Terribly rare, wonderful things.

0:30:420:30:45

I can't begin to value them.

0:30:450:30:47

You just can't put a value on.

0:30:470:30:48

Finally, in our look at air-travel stories from the archives,

0:30:510:30:55

we found this madcap invention

0:30:550:30:57

that looks straight out of a Boy's Own story.

0:30:570:30:59

In fact, it was a real design from the 1920s

0:31:010:31:04

for a fast rail service powered by a propeller.

0:31:040:31:07

As a dedicated railway enthusiast, of course,

0:31:080:31:11

I've come across references to the George Bennie railplane.

0:31:110:31:14

What he was proposing was a system of railway transport

0:31:140:31:19

whereby passengers travel in a sort of dynamic streamlined car

0:31:190:31:24

-suspended from an overhead track.

-Correct.

0:31:240:31:28

It was a cross between an aeroplane and a train.

0:31:280:31:30

Yes, it could be powered either by an internal combustion engine

0:31:300:31:33

or by electric motors.

0:31:330:31:35

Yes. We're talking 1929, I think.

0:31:350:31:37

That's when the test track was built.

0:31:370:31:39

There's the interior,

0:31:390:31:41

which looks like a deluxe passenger car of any transport system.

0:31:410:31:46

There were obviously different interior designs -

0:31:460:31:48

there would be a more utilitarian design, but that, being a test car,

0:31:480:31:51

was kitted out in Pullman style to create a maximum effect.

0:31:510:31:55

This was really the peak of exploring new ideas.

0:31:550:32:00

So he's offering us, or offering the world,

0:32:000:32:04

-high-speed travel in 1929.

-He was.

0:32:040:32:06

-What happened?

-Unfortunately it hit the Depression.

0:32:060:32:09

Money wasn't available,

0:32:100:32:12

he failed to get backers and could not get it built.

0:32:120:32:15

Had he succeeded, it could have been the answer to the future.

0:32:150:32:18

We could have now had wonderful high-speed elevated railways

0:32:180:32:22

over all the mainline tracks. How the world would have been different.

0:32:220:32:26

The country would have looked very different.

0:32:260:32:29

We'd have been travelling at 200 or 300 miles an hour

0:32:290:32:31

as a matter of course. These are obviously very collectable.

0:32:310:32:34

-We're looking at £5,000 per document.

-I'm not interested in...

0:32:340:32:37

-But that's neither here nor there.

-It's family history.

0:32:370:32:39

-The most important thing is how it would have changed our lives.

-Exactly.

0:32:390:32:43

Back on our journey with the Flying Scotsman,

0:32:460:32:48

we've pulled into Carlisle station,

0:32:480:32:50

just in time to meet Roadshow guests

0:32:500:32:52

whose large collections make perfect platform displays.

0:32:520:32:56

Mark is perhaps one of the most enthusiastic collectors

0:32:580:33:02

Hilary Kay has ever met.

0:33:020:33:03

He's amassed so many early airline uniforms,

0:33:030:33:06

he's left 125 of them at home.

0:33:060:33:08

I'm surrounded by what I can only describe as style in the aisle.

0:33:090:33:13

It's a fabulous collection

0:33:130:33:15

of air-stewardess costumes, accessories,

0:33:150:33:19

and here is a great advertisement from the time,

0:33:190:33:25

showing a TWA stewardess wearing exactly what Georgia's wearing.

0:33:250:33:30

So, tell me, why have you got four or five uniforms?

0:33:300:33:36

I've always had an interest in aviation and that sort of developed

0:33:360:33:41

into an interest in early commercial aviation and in particular TWA,

0:33:410:33:45

which was really a very pioneering airline in the very early days,

0:33:450:33:51

with a slogan which was "run by flyers, not by businessmen".

0:33:510:33:56

So how many of these have you got at home?

0:33:560:33:59

The last count, 133 uniforms from various airlines.

0:33:590:34:04

Obviously you're passionate about this.

0:34:040:34:05

-Really passionate.

-I'm passionate about the early commercial aviation,

0:34:050:34:09

so I collect anything I can find.

0:34:090:34:11

Even the images. The advertisements, the photographs.

0:34:110:34:14

And this, I think, sort of epitomises that early artwork.

0:34:140:34:18

This is, what, from 1949?

0:34:180:34:21

And you can see it was absolutely the golden age of commercial travel.

0:34:210:34:26

It was an adventure and a journey and a holiday almost on its own,

0:34:260:34:30

-wasn't it?

-That's right - the flying bit was the adventure.

0:34:300:34:33

Yeah. This I love.

0:34:330:34:35

This is Basic Travel Wardrobes, a TWA travel advisor,

0:34:350:34:41

and in it, it says, "Make the most of every thrilling travel moment,"

0:34:410:34:45

which, of course, involves, "How to pack a man's suitcase."

0:34:450:34:50

-Exactly.

-What every woman should know.

0:34:500:34:53

When I was growing up,

0:34:530:34:54

it was about the most glamorous thing you could imagine doing.

0:34:540:34:58

Hence these uniforms.

0:34:580:35:00

It was the ultimate aim in life.

0:35:000:35:02

But what we're looking at is not just style in the aisle,

0:35:020:35:05

it's about the commercialisation of air travel, and it's popular,

0:35:050:35:10

-isn't it?

-It is, yes.

0:35:100:35:12

-Getting more popular.

-Which brings me onto the next point.

0:35:120:35:16

I'm going to ask you what's the most expensive one that you have here.

0:35:160:35:20

The most expensive here has got to be the 1944 cutout uniform.

0:35:200:35:26

To find one complete is pretty rare and probably about £1,000.

0:35:260:35:32

This is your daughter, Georgia, I should say.

0:35:320:35:34

And, Georgia, you do look fantastic in it.

0:35:340:35:36

Does Georgia share your passion?

0:35:360:35:38

She shares a passion for fashion.

0:35:380:35:41

-Well...

-She puts up with modelling for me.

0:35:410:35:43

Very good. Yes, I mean,

0:35:430:35:45

£1,000 is absolutely what I've been seeing them go for.

0:35:450:35:49

And, of course if you're speaking about designer ones,

0:35:490:35:52

Mary Quant or the Pucci designs for Braniff or whatever,

0:35:520:35:56

then you're up in that price range.

0:35:560:36:00

Because it's a passion shared by so many.

0:36:000:36:03

And which absolutely epitomises the golden age of travel in the '50s

0:36:030:36:07

and '60s. Thanks very much.

0:36:070:36:09

Thank you.

0:36:090:36:10

You might ask, why is viewer Graham showing Paul Ashbury an iron bar

0:36:120:36:16

with a number on it? It doesn't look much,

0:36:160:36:18

but could it be the rarest find of the day?

0:36:180:36:20

This is the original smokebox numberplate.

0:36:220:36:25

-The one you can see up there is a copy.

-It is indeed.

0:36:250:36:28

This is the real thing.

0:36:280:36:29

-It is the real thing.

-It's like holding the relic of a true saint.

0:36:290:36:34

Yes, I would agree with you.

0:36:340:36:36

So, how have you got it?

0:36:360:36:39

I got it in an auction

0:36:390:36:41

about 20 years ago now.

0:36:410:36:43

And the auction that I got it from,

0:36:430:36:47

the previous owner put it into that auction

0:36:470:36:51

and he got it from the original owner.

0:36:510:36:53

Right, there's no doubt it's come off that locomotive?

0:36:530:36:58

Its provenance is complete.

0:36:580:37:00

100% guaranteed?

0:37:000:37:02

100% guaranteed.

0:37:020:37:05

This dates from the beginning of the British Railways era

0:37:050:37:08

in the late 1940s when all the locomotives they took over

0:37:080:37:12

had a new numbering system.

0:37:120:37:14

-Correct.

-And 4472, as she was, became 60103.

0:37:140:37:19

-Correct.

-And the plate went on the front.

0:37:190:37:21

-It was.

-And at some point it came off again.

0:37:210:37:24

It did. When it was withdrawn from British Railways in 1963.

0:37:240:37:30

-You're a very lucky man.

-I'm very proud to have it.

0:37:300:37:32

To me, it's off the most special locomotive

0:37:320:37:35

and the most famous locomotive in the world.

0:37:350:37:37

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

0:37:370:37:40

I've got a bit of Flying Scotsman.

0:37:400:37:42

And a very important bit.

0:37:420:37:44

-And a very important bit.

-What do you think it's worth?

0:37:440:37:46

I mean, I can put a value on it.

0:37:470:37:50

A smokebox numberplate from a famous locomotive

0:37:500:37:54

-is going to be £2,000, £3,000, £4,000.

-Correct.

0:37:540:37:58

-But this is the Flying Scotsman.

-This is the Flying Scotsman.

0:37:580:38:01

Probably between £10,000 and £25,000.

0:38:010:38:04

I think that would be a safe bet.

0:38:040:38:06

So we're holding a piece of scrap iron which could be worth £20,000.

0:38:060:38:11

-I think so.

-You're a very lucky man.

0:38:110:38:13

Perhaps I should just get up and put it back?

0:38:130:38:17

-No.

-I'll give it to you.

0:38:170:38:19

-Thank you.

-Don't drop it.

0:38:190:38:21

No, I won't. Thank you.

0:38:210:38:22

What better place to display travel posters

0:38:250:38:27

than the busy platform at Carlisle station?

0:38:270:38:30

John Foster is looking at just a fraction

0:38:310:38:33

of Colin's collection of popular masterpieces.

0:38:330:38:37

Do you know, nothing sums up a period in our travel history

0:38:380:38:42

like a railway poster from the '20s and '30s.

0:38:420:38:45

-What do they mean to you?

-It's just the colour, the image, the style.

0:38:450:38:50

The value is not so important

0:38:500:38:52

as the pleasure one gets from looking at them.

0:38:520:38:55

The people that painted these in commission,

0:38:550:38:58

they were trying to draw you into a lifestyle of wealth and excitement,

0:38:580:39:02

of exotic travel.

0:39:020:39:04

-What started you going?

-Rail bridge.

0:39:040:39:07

Iconic structure, known all around the world.

0:39:070:39:10

And just the colours just caught my attention.

0:39:100:39:13

It's interesting you say that, because the way we placed these,

0:39:130:39:16

I've deliberately placed this one in the middle,

0:39:160:39:18

because that is by far my favourite.

0:39:180:39:20

One, I love the Forth Bridge, two, it's done by Frank Mason.

0:39:200:39:25

As a Scottish colourist, the fact he's done it in blue

0:39:250:39:28

with the blue water, so stylistically brilliant.

0:39:280:39:32

It could have been designed in the last ten, 20 years,

0:39:320:39:34

not from the '20s and '30s.

0:39:340:39:36

Now, he was known mostly for doing buildings,

0:39:360:39:39

which is why he's so successful at transferring that to rail.

0:39:390:39:43

Ronald Gray, another great artist.

0:39:440:39:46

But sort of a more typical scene.

0:39:460:39:48

This one behind me, again, a lovely scene of Edinburgh, but not quite...

0:39:490:39:53

certainly not as architecturally brilliant as this one.

0:39:530:39:56

But all the same, just unbelievably pleasing.

0:39:560:39:58

So, where would you buy them?

0:39:580:40:01

This one, the Ready For The 12th, and the Princes Street of Edinburgh,

0:40:010:40:06

I bought these at auction in New York.

0:40:060:40:09

The Forth Bridge came from a Dundee auction house and there was a series

0:40:090:40:14

of posters which had been found in a gentleman's attic and his family

0:40:140:40:17

didn't even know he had them.

0:40:170:40:19

So, when it comes to valuing these things,

0:40:190:40:21

I suppose, this one behind me of Edinburgh,

0:40:210:40:24

I would say sort of £1,000 to £1,500, that sort of money.

0:40:240:40:27

The Ready For The 12th, it's a great image.

0:40:280:40:31

It's big, so I would put that one at sort of £4,000 to £6,000.

0:40:310:40:36

And...do you mind me asking what you paid for this one?

0:40:370:40:40

I paid £1,100 for that.

0:40:400:40:42

That's the one I would love, and I think that's close to £2,000.

0:40:420:40:46

And it's just great to see, so thank you.

0:40:460:40:48

Thank you very much indeed. Thank you.

0:40:480:40:50

It's full steam ahead with the Flying Scotsman

0:41:010:41:04

in this Antiques Roadshow special.

0:41:040:41:06

We're racing along in our own exclusive carriage

0:41:070:41:10

with invited guests who've brought along mementos

0:41:100:41:12

relating to different eras from the golden age of travel.

0:41:120:41:16

Hilary Kay is about to talk luxury liners with Ken, who spent

0:41:170:41:20

five decades working on board ships like the QE2 and Queen Mary.

0:41:200:41:24

Sounds glamorous? He tells us it was anything but.

0:41:270:41:30

I'm looking at a seaman's record book,

0:41:320:41:35

and good-looking chap in here, can't think who he is.

0:41:350:41:38

And postcards from New York,

0:41:380:41:40

some badges from the Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth,

0:41:400:41:43

and this really relates in the golden age of travel to a time

0:41:430:41:48

when ships were going backwards and forwards from the UK to America

0:41:480:41:53

almost like a bus running on a timetable.

0:41:530:41:56

And what's your relationship with all this?

0:41:560:41:59

After leaving the Merchant Navy sea school,

0:41:590:42:02

after 16 weeks training on deck, we joined the Queen Elizabeth.

0:42:020:42:06

When we were lined up to be given our berths,

0:42:070:42:10

we were asked then that they needed volunteers.

0:42:100:42:13

We were always told never to volunteer.

0:42:140:42:16

We asked what it was. Firemen.

0:42:160:42:18

Well, we all thought a fireman was a fireman like with a hose.

0:42:180:42:21

Did we get a shock when we ended up in the engine room!

0:42:210:42:24

Going down in the engine room in them days was unbelievable,

0:42:240:42:27

with 12 boilers. The terminology was different,

0:42:270:42:30

it wasn't what we were trained for, but as they were short,

0:42:300:42:33

everyone had to muck in.

0:42:330:42:34

I can't imagine what it was like,

0:42:340:42:36

but it must have been incredibly noisy,

0:42:360:42:38

incredibly hot.

0:42:380:42:40

-Was it all of that?

-Yes, the heat, noise, was really unreal.

0:42:400:42:44

You do four hours down there and the sweat...you sweat like mad,

0:42:440:42:48

it runs out of you.

0:42:480:42:49

Each time you went up for a break you had to take salt tablets.

0:42:490:42:53

We were taking eight salt tablets

0:42:530:42:55

-every four hours while we were down there.

-Unbelievable.

0:42:550:42:58

And when you came out, the sweat through your gear would turn white.

0:42:580:43:03

-It was just caked on?

-Caked on, like, yeah.

0:43:030:43:06

At this point, I've got something you might find interesting.

0:43:060:43:10

Does this take you back?

0:43:100:43:11

Yes, that would be the... Queen Mary, is it?

0:43:130:43:15

That's the Mary.

0:43:150:43:16

Now, she's going at a heck of a lick.

0:43:180:43:20

How fast would she be going?

0:43:200:43:22

She'd be going at 27 knots.

0:43:220:43:24

You and your fellow firemen were responsible for that.

0:43:240:43:28

That's a great shot, I can remember that coming in, like.

0:43:300:43:32

Amazing. Did you get to meet the passengers at all?

0:43:320:43:36

We never got to meet passengers.

0:43:360:43:38

We weren't allowed to meet the passengers unless they spoke to us.

0:43:380:43:40

If they spoke to us, that was OK.

0:43:400:43:42

But we weren't allowed to speak to them, they called it broaching cargo.

0:43:420:43:45

Say that again. "Broaching cargo"?

0:43:450:43:48

Yep. It's the same as going into a hatch and taking something out,

0:43:480:43:52

was talking to a passenger, unless they spoke to you.

0:43:520:43:54

-What was the penalty?

-It could be a day's pay, like.

0:43:540:43:57

-Logged.

-My goodness.

0:43:570:43:59

-Yeah.

-Looking through here, I can see you started out as a DHU,

0:43:590:44:04

-a sort of general deckhand.

-That's right.

0:44:040:44:06

But then you progressed on and you became an EDH,

0:44:060:44:10

-what was that?

-That's efficient deckhand,

0:44:100:44:13

or known as... Senior rates used to call us electrical deckhands.

0:44:130:44:16

You get a shock if you see them work.

0:44:160:44:19

That's funny! So how long was your career?

0:44:190:44:22

-50 years.

-And when did you retire?

0:44:220:44:24

I finished last July.

0:44:240:44:25

Look, it's been very interesting to have, if you like,

0:44:250:44:29

a different view of the golden age of travel.

0:44:290:44:33

I mean, obviously the seaman's record book is yours,

0:44:330:44:36

that's not going to have any commercial value,

0:44:360:44:39

but actually these badges,

0:44:390:44:40

particularly those from the QM and the QE,

0:44:400:44:43

they are sought-after by collectors.

0:44:430:44:46

I'm not going to put a fortune on them.

0:44:460:44:48

I would have said perhaps the three together, perhaps £150.

0:44:480:44:52

But they do have a market, because everybody wants to feel

0:44:520:44:55

that they've got something from those wonderful cruising days.

0:44:550:44:58

Yes, that's exactly right.

0:44:580:45:00

-They're a great piece of memorabilia for you.

-Definitely.

0:45:000:45:03

-Thanks very much indeed.

-Smashing. Nice talking to you.

0:45:030:45:06

Our next story is the poignant tale of the Lusitania -

0:45:080:45:11

a remarkable British liner that held the Blue Riband

0:45:110:45:14

for the fastest transatlantic crossing in 1907.

0:45:140:45:18

She was the world's largest passenger liner,

0:45:200:45:22

making 202 journeys to the US,

0:45:220:45:24

before tragedy struck during World War I

0:45:240:45:28

when she was sunk by a German submarine in 1915.

0:45:280:45:30

John Foster meets Aidan,

0:45:320:45:33

who's brought a rare relic from the Lusitania.

0:45:330:45:36

Whenever I see something that's obviously been

0:45:370:45:40

at the bottom of the sea for a while, I get really excited.

0:45:400:45:43

I spent a lot of time in Florida as a kid diving on ships like this.

0:45:430:45:49

Tell me about your connection with it.

0:45:490:45:51

I've always had a lifelong fascination

0:45:510:45:53

with ocean liners, really from a young child.

0:45:530:45:56

I think one Sunday afternoon, watching a Titanic movie,

0:45:560:45:59

and I got the bug ever since then.

0:45:590:46:01

I was in Southampton

0:46:010:46:02

and this happened to be in an antique-shop window.

0:46:020:46:05

And I just looked and thought, "I've got to have that."

0:46:050:46:08

Now, when you say in an antique-shop window, what was it being sold as?

0:46:080:46:12

It was sold as a porthole from RMS Lusitania.

0:46:120:46:15

And it came from the mailroom.

0:46:150:46:18

So specifically located on the port side of the ship.

0:46:180:46:21

And it was recovered back in 1982.

0:46:210:46:24

OK, that's all interesting, because 1982 was when

0:46:240:46:27

they started removing bits from the Lusitania.

0:46:270:46:30

-Sure.

-Just explain to me what it makes you feel

0:46:300:46:32

when you have this in front of you?

0:46:320:46:34

I'm just amazed. I'm amazed. It's a living part of history,

0:46:340:46:37

something so reminiscent

0:46:370:46:40

of the grand era of luxury and liner travel.

0:46:400:46:43

When you think of the Lusitania, it has got a fascinating history.

0:46:430:46:46

Started off as a Blue Riband, er...

0:46:460:46:48

transatlantic speed machine, and the German press had warned America

0:46:480:46:53

that if they sailed on the Lusitania, it would be a target.

0:46:530:46:58

-Absolutely.

-No-one believed it, cos they didn't want to drag the US into the war.

0:46:580:47:01

-Sure.

-They didn't think that would be a sensible thing to do.

0:47:010:47:05

When it got to UK waters in 1915, it was torpedoed and sunk,

0:47:050:47:08

and a huge loss of American life.

0:47:080:47:10

Yeah, a lot of children, innocent children, were on board as well.

0:47:100:47:14

Babes in arms, so, yeah, a tragedy that affected everybody.

0:47:140:47:17

I look at the porthole and I just think, "I wonder who

0:47:170:47:20

-"the last person was to actually look through that on the day."

-Yes.

0:47:200:47:22

And actually, you can still...

0:47:220:47:25

I mean, that is great.

0:47:250:47:27

And I found a bit of archive footage which actually, I think,

0:47:270:47:31

makes the whole thing come to life.

0:47:310:47:34

-Oh, wow.

-It really brings home the sort of sadness, like you say,

0:47:350:47:39

the people that were killed on board - women, children.

0:47:390:47:43

Yeah, it really...it's living, isn't it?

0:47:430:47:45

It's a beautiful ship.

0:47:450:47:48

It was a floating palace.

0:47:480:47:50

-What a way to travel.

-Pure luxury.

0:47:500:47:53

That's when you could argue that the journey was the destination.

0:47:530:47:58

-Yes.

-Whereas a lot of people now,

0:47:580:48:00

we're just desperate to get from one place to another,

0:48:000:48:03

then it was about the whole thing of enjoying that process.

0:48:030:48:05

Yes, very much so.

0:48:050:48:07

And so, presumably you don't have this bolted to the wall or anything?

0:48:070:48:11

I think the wall would give way. It's pretty hefty.

0:48:110:48:14

No, it just sits in my dining room.

0:48:140:48:17

It's a conversation piece.

0:48:170:48:18

It definitely could not be wall-mounted.

0:48:180:48:20

OK, so, you bought it in an antique shop.

0:48:200:48:23

-How many years ago?

-Probably about eight, nine years ago now.

0:48:230:48:25

OK. I think at auction, easily...

0:48:250:48:27

..£400, £500, maybe £600, something along those lines.

0:48:290:48:33

Yep, sure. No, I'm pleased with that.

0:48:330:48:35

As for me, it's just the wow factor.

0:48:350:48:37

-Me too.

-Thank you.

-I'm pleased.

0:48:370:48:39

We've featured a few classic tales of maritime history

0:48:420:48:45

on previous Roadshows. Here are some of our favourites.

0:48:450:48:47

At Haltwhistle in Northumberland,

0:48:530:48:55

Paul was treated to a very rare sight.

0:48:550:48:57

The interior fittings of a White Star liner

0:48:570:49:00

that had been stripped out to refurbish office interiors.

0:49:000:49:04

Now, of course, everybody knows the story of the Titanic.

0:49:040:49:07

They can't not know it.

0:49:070:49:08

The Olympic, a much more successful ship commercially,

0:49:080:49:11

is still perhaps not so well known.

0:49:110:49:13

They were sisters, weren't they?

0:49:130:49:15

Yes, there were three sisters.

0:49:150:49:18

The Olympic, then the Titanic...

0:49:180:49:19

-And then the Britannic.

-Then the Britannic, yes.

0:49:190:49:21

So, what have we got?

0:49:210:49:23

Well, this, first off,

0:49:230:49:25

is a smoke vent from the second-class smoke room.

0:49:250:49:28

Now, this is exactly the same as the Titanic one, isn't it?

0:49:280:49:31

All the fittings for the ships, the three ships,

0:49:310:49:33

were bought at the same time so could have went into either ship.

0:49:330:49:37

Light fittings. They're fantastic, aren't they?

0:49:370:49:39

You've got to imagine it the other way up,

0:49:390:49:42

hanging in some grand saloon, twinkling through the cut glass.

0:49:420:49:45

How many of these have you got?

0:49:450:49:47

-There's 28 of those.

-28 of those.

0:49:470:49:49

Right, so, these show your offices, in effect, do they?

0:49:490:49:52

This is the conference room, yes.

0:49:520:49:54

So, you've got here a wonderful image

0:49:540:49:56

of a sort of wooden surround, carved surround.

0:49:560:50:00

Yes, that was first class.

0:50:000:50:01

That was what was in your first-class suites.

0:50:010:50:03

All these panels, the doors, the architrave,

0:50:030:50:06

all of this is out of the ship.

0:50:060:50:08

So they bought, in a sense, a complete room?

0:50:080:50:10

-Yes.

-Does that show the lights?

0:50:100:50:12

Those are the lights and this is all wood panelling

0:50:120:50:16

and that's out of the second-class smoking area.

0:50:160:50:19

So, you bought up an old factory

0:50:190:50:21

which happened to be fitted out with the Olympic. Can I ask how much?

0:50:210:50:25

Yes, they valued the total fittings at £40,000.

0:50:250:50:28

You've got 28 of those?

0:50:280:50:30

A light guaranteed off the Olympic

0:50:300:50:32

-I would think is going to be £300, £400.

-Oh, really?

0:50:320:50:35

So, multiply that by 28.

0:50:350:50:38

You're getting on towards your money back.

0:50:380:50:40

It took a trip halfway round the world to Melbourne, Australia,

0:50:440:50:47

for Hilary Kay to come face-to-face with a Titanic teddy bear...

0:50:470:50:51

..one of the most moving pieces we've seen at the Roadshow.

0:50:520:50:55

Picture yourself in 1912.

0:50:580:51:00

There's been this terrible disaster, the Titanic has sunk,

0:51:000:51:05

hit by an iceberg,

0:51:050:51:07

and the Steiff factory produced a whole series of bears in black,

0:51:070:51:14

mourning bears, they said, to mourn the loss of life on the Titanic.

0:51:140:51:18

And this is what you're holding.

0:51:180:51:20

There's one particular aspect of this bear

0:51:200:51:24

which I think is very sweet, very touching,

0:51:240:51:27

and that's that around these lovely black eyes here

0:51:270:51:32

we have red,

0:51:320:51:35

a red background which shows the eye up very clearly,

0:51:350:51:39

but also it's what your eyes do when they cry.

0:51:390:51:42

-You know, this bear has got red eyes from crying.

-I wondered about that.

0:51:420:51:46

I have to say that a Titanic bear just like this, five years ago,

0:51:460:51:52

at auction, fetched just over 200,000.

0:51:520:51:57

200,000?

0:51:570:51:59

Which is about £90,000.

0:51:590:52:02

He is a bear that is so rare that we've never seen a Titanic bear

0:52:020:52:06

on all the British Antiques Roadshows.

0:52:060:52:09

-Really?

-And to find him down here in Melbourne...

0:52:090:52:11

..well, it's a real eye-opener, and thanks so much for bringing him.

0:52:130:52:16

Thank you. Thank you.

0:52:160:52:17

An eye-watering valuation from Australia

0:52:190:52:21

brings our archive selection to a close.

0:52:210:52:24

We're racing through the Yorkshire countryside,

0:52:270:52:29

approaching the end of our journey.

0:52:290:52:30

Just time for one last story.

0:52:300:52:32

Paul Atterbury began the day

0:52:340:52:35

with the Flying Scotsman's nonstop record run from London to Edinburgh.

0:52:350:52:39

He's now with a family whose mementos record

0:52:420:52:44

every detail of train driver Walt Parkinson's life...

0:52:440:52:47

..including the end of the age of steam.

0:52:490:52:51

I suppose I'm a very typical grown-up small boy.

0:52:530:52:56

I like trains, I wanted to be an engine driver,

0:52:560:52:59

and I can see here...somebody was.

0:52:590:53:01

You know, this is the story in diaries and documents

0:53:010:53:05

and pieces of equipment of a driver, a driver's life.

0:53:050:53:08

Now, is that your family?

0:53:080:53:11

Yes, it was my grandad.

0:53:110:53:13

He started after he left the Army in the early '50s.

0:53:130:53:17

He worked his way up to become a fireman then an engineman

0:53:170:53:20

on steam and then through to diesel.

0:53:200:53:22

And as a result, it's a very interesting record.

0:53:220:53:24

It's a full catalogue of everything he did for about 40, 50 years.

0:53:240:53:29

In the diaries, there's a couple of things that I quite like.

0:53:290:53:32

And it says here, 11th of April 1967, he drove 90233,

0:53:320:53:40

that's a steam locomotive.

0:53:400:53:42

And looking through the diaries, that's the end, isn't it?

0:53:420:53:45

-Yes, that's the last one.

-Yeah, that's the last one.

0:53:450:53:47

So, suddenly, that world is gone.

0:53:470:53:49

And he's then sick for a while and when he comes back from being sick,

0:53:490:53:53

-it says straightaway into...

-Diesel training.

0:53:530:53:55

.."Started work diesel training York."

0:53:550:53:59

-So, the world has changed.

-Yeah.

0:53:590:54:02

I think it was a very interesting period, because...

0:54:020:54:04

..you know, for us as enthusiasts, everybody likes steam trains,

0:54:050:54:09

but the British Rail Modernisation Plan, which was launched in 1955,

0:54:090:54:13

was dedicated to removing steam out of the British network.

0:54:130:54:18

We had to be modern, we had to be diesel, we had to be electric,

0:54:180:54:21

we had to build an up-to-date network.

0:54:210:54:23

I've got some footage here which actually is about that moment

0:54:230:54:26

when diesels were new and exciting and modern.

0:54:260:54:29

Let's have a look. This is a new one being launched.

0:54:290:54:33

It's pulling out of Paddington.

0:54:330:54:35

And...the view from the cab.

0:54:350:54:37

There's the past going past, very literally.

0:54:370:54:41

And look how comfortable that is.

0:54:410:54:43

He must have sat there and thought, "This is great."

0:54:430:54:46

And, of course, his life was radically improved.

0:54:460:54:49

I mean, there he was in a locomotive cab.

0:54:490:54:52

We're very romantic about it but actually it was a filthy, hard,

0:54:520:54:55

demanding job and, suddenly, you're sitting in comfort

0:54:550:54:59

in a diesel locomotive, operating controls.

0:54:590:55:03

It must have been wonderful for people making the transition.

0:55:030:55:06

What was it like in the family?

0:55:060:55:08

What changed?

0:55:080:55:10

Mainly smell.

0:55:100:55:11

-Smell?

-Yeah, because he smelt different when he went on diesels

0:55:110:55:17

to what he did when he were on steam trains.

0:55:170:55:19

One of the mythologies of being a railway enthusiast

0:55:210:55:24

-is this thing about cooking food in the cab.

-Yeah.

0:55:240:55:27

Did you have that experience?

0:55:270:55:29

Yes, when I were little,

0:55:290:55:31

my grandad took me to work quite a few times and...

0:55:310:55:34

..in the diesel trains,

0:55:350:55:37

they had an electric hob and he used to do toast on the electric hob

0:55:370:55:40

and then put a tin of beans on top - you could have beans on toast.

0:55:400:55:43

-In the cab?

-In the cab.

0:55:430:55:44

But if you go back to steam, you cooked on the shovel, didn't you?

0:55:440:55:48

-Yeah.

-And did you do that?

0:55:480:55:49

Yeah, me dad took me to work, we did that.

0:55:490:55:52

What do you think was the high point of his life?

0:55:520:55:54

-The Royal train.

-Probably when he drove the Royal train.

0:55:540:55:58

-Tell me about that.

-When he came to see me at home,

0:55:580:56:01

he were so giddy when he came in.

0:56:010:56:03

-And he gave...

-He gave him the hat.

-He gave me the hat he were given.

0:56:030:56:06

That were his new hat for the Royal train.

0:56:060:56:08

-So this is the Royal-train hat?

-Yes.

-Yeah.

0:56:080:56:10

-Fantastic.

-It were towards the end of his career, so about 1986, '87,

0:56:100:56:15

and he always told us that he got picked

0:56:150:56:18

because he were a goods-train driver

0:56:180:56:21

and used to driving chemicals and nuclear fuel

0:56:210:56:25

and things like that.

0:56:250:56:26

They chose the goods-train drivers to drive the Royal train

0:56:260:56:30

cos they'd got a special cargo.

0:56:300:56:32

And because they were careful?

0:56:320:56:34

And they were careful, yeah.

0:56:340:56:36

So when he gave me that hat, that were the proudest moment.

0:56:360:56:39

Right, what's it all worth?

0:56:400:56:43

Well, we're looking at a collection

0:56:430:56:45

probably worth a couple of hundred pounds.

0:56:450:56:48

But the memories it releases, to me, are absolutely beyond price.

0:56:480:56:52

-Yeah.

-Yeah, wonderful.

-Priceless.

0:56:520:56:55

That story tells of the end of the age of steam,

0:56:590:57:02

so we're very thankful that after ten years of restoration,

0:57:020:57:05

the Flying Scotsman has given us a unique opportunity

0:57:050:57:08

to relive that golden age.

0:57:080:57:10

Our guests and experts have loved it.

0:57:120:57:15

WHISTLE BLOWS

0:57:150:57:17

And I'll never forget my moment on the footplate

0:57:180:57:21

of this world-famous locomotive.

0:57:210:57:23

Thanks to our visitors for bringing along their precious mementos.

0:57:240:57:28

Soon, we'll be arriving in York

0:57:280:57:30

and the Flying Scotsman will get a well-deserved rest.

0:57:300:57:33

From the whole team here on board, goodbye.

0:57:330:57:35

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