0:00:04 > 0:00:09It was really coal and iron that started the Industrial Revolution -
0:00:09 > 0:00:13iron to make the boilers, similar to this one
0:00:13 > 0:00:18and coal to burn, to make the steam to drive all the machinery.
0:00:18 > 0:00:20This boiler is a fairly modern one,
0:00:20 > 0:00:27which I've altered to burn sticks to make the steam to drive the machinery.
0:00:27 > 0:00:29I must say it works very well.
0:00:29 > 0:00:34Without the iron, the boilers couldn't have been made,
0:00:34 > 0:00:38and no steam raised to drive all the steam engines
0:00:38 > 0:00:41at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16My early recollections around Bolton
0:01:16 > 0:01:19were going in foundries.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22There were a lot in Bolton in t'olden days.
0:01:22 > 0:01:27They looked unbelievably unhealthy places - always full of smoke.
0:01:27 > 0:01:32Watching the molten metal run along troughs on the floor and all that
0:01:32 > 0:01:34always fascinated me.
0:01:34 > 0:01:39And the end product, when you saw it - magnificent,
0:01:39 > 0:01:41really beautiful stuff.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47To find out about the early days of iron-making,
0:01:47 > 0:01:51this valley on the River Severn is the place to come.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54The Ironbridge Gorge in Shropshire
0:01:54 > 0:01:59could be Britain's most important industrial archaeological site -
0:01:59 > 0:02:04so important that it's now a World Heritage site.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08All together, there are seven different museums here
0:02:08 > 0:02:12which give a good picture of the industrial activity
0:02:12 > 0:02:15that once took place in this valley.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18This is the world's first iron bridge.
0:02:18 > 0:02:24Until it was built in 1779, the valley was known as Coalbrookdale.
0:02:24 > 0:02:27Iron was so important round here,
0:02:27 > 0:02:33that this place was regarded as the cradle of the Industrial Revolution.
0:02:35 > 0:02:41The story of iron-making really starts here in Coalbrookdale,
0:02:41 > 0:02:46where in 1709, Abraham Darby first smelted iron.
0:02:46 > 0:02:49And this is the original furnace.
0:02:52 > 0:02:57In a furnace like this, the great pieces of iron were cast
0:02:57 > 0:03:00that they used to build the bridge.
0:03:00 > 0:03:04The builder was local iron master John Wilkinson,
0:03:04 > 0:03:06who was nicknamed Iron Man
0:03:06 > 0:03:11because he believed iron could be used to make anything.
0:03:15 > 0:03:20As you can see, there are blowholes in the casting.
0:03:20 > 0:03:22They weren't too particular!
0:03:22 > 0:03:26But, on the whole, the thing is beautifully done,
0:03:26 > 0:03:32with dovetails, cotters and iron wedges - very few nuts and bolts.
0:03:32 > 0:03:38The only way they could have cast these is on the foundry floor
0:03:38 > 0:03:41and directly tap the furnace into the mould.
0:03:41 > 0:03:46Perhaps that accounts for all the slag and rough stuff
0:03:46 > 0:03:50which normally they would scrape off the top of the molten metal.
0:03:51 > 0:03:57Ironbridge was the first place they used coal for smelting iron.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00Before, they had only used charcoal.
0:04:09 > 0:04:15Abraham Darby started a dynasty of iron founders in the gorge
0:04:15 > 0:04:19who were to change the entire face of industry.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22It wasn't just bridges they made.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25The first iron wheels and rails were made here,
0:04:25 > 0:04:30and even the first steam locomotive by Cornishman Richard Trevithick.
0:04:31 > 0:04:36This is a replica of the first locomotive that was ever built.
0:04:36 > 0:04:41I thought Mr Trevithick lived in Cornwall. Why's it here, John?
0:04:41 > 0:04:46He did live in Cornwall, but to get this engine built,
0:04:46 > 0:04:51he went to the place with the best cast iron - which was Coalbrookdale.
0:04:51 > 0:04:56- Yeah.- We did the first cast-iron engine cylinders back in the 1720s.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59- Does it actually run?- It does, yeah.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02We can run it out of gear. We've got a clutch in there.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05- I'll tick it over for you.- Yeah.
0:05:15 > 0:05:19It's got an interesting valve gear, hasn't it?
0:05:19 > 0:05:24It's very simple. A plug valve knocks it one way and then the other.
0:05:24 > 0:05:29Everybody says, "I thought Mr Stevenson invented railways".
0:05:29 > 0:05:32- No. That's not true.- It's not true.
0:05:32 > 0:05:35Mr Trevithick did it before him.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37This is 26 years before Rocket.
0:05:37 > 0:05:42- 1803 this thing was made.- Yeah. - The original.- The original was.
0:05:50 > 0:05:54Once the driver had turned up, we were away.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58I wonder what top speed were like?
0:05:58 > 0:06:03We'll go about four miles an hour - and you don't want to go any faster!
0:06:03 > 0:06:07- Yeah, yeah! It's... - Put the brake on.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09It's rather a ponderous vehicle.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14- D'you ever get wheel spin?- Yes.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18'It's not only locomotives they have here.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21'They've also got beam engines -
0:06:21 > 0:06:24'the first stationary steam engines.'
0:06:24 > 0:06:28This beam engine went off to America, didn't it?
0:06:28 > 0:06:31Yes. It's well travelled!
0:06:31 > 0:06:35It went to Henry Ford's museum at Dearbourne in the '20s.
0:06:35 > 0:06:41Coalbrookdale did well because Ford had to electrify their brickworks.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44- Coalbrookdale... - They were actually made here.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48And they produced the first cast-iron cylinders.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52I've got a good connection with steam engines.
0:06:52 > 0:06:57- Coalbrookdale fell back on what it was good at - foundry work.- Yeah.
0:06:57 > 0:07:03In the 19th century, it's more famous for its cast-iron furniture.
0:07:03 > 0:07:09There are some beautiful catalogues, with railings and lampposts and all that
0:07:09 > 0:07:13in the most beautiful iron in all the world.
0:07:13 > 0:07:19This is where it was manufactured, and there's still an ironworks here.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22To see what working life used to be like,
0:07:22 > 0:07:27Blist's Hill Victorian town re-creates life and industry
0:07:27 > 0:07:31as it was here at the end of the 19th century.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35In the ironworks, is an ancient rolling mill
0:07:35 > 0:07:39that was still used until recently in Bolton.
0:07:39 > 0:07:43I actually saw it working there when I was a young man.
0:07:47 > 0:07:54This thing here, made out of railway lines and bits and pieces, is the furnace
0:07:54 > 0:08:02where they got the iron hot, ready to put through the rollers or underneath the hammer.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06It were quite exciting watching how it all went!
0:08:06 > 0:08:12When the signal were given, the guy crashed these tongs into the fire,
0:08:12 > 0:08:15got a five-hundredweight lump of iron,
0:08:15 > 0:08:17shoved it on this trolley.
0:08:17 > 0:08:23He'd have to race off, with sparks coming off his clogs this way.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27Bang!
0:08:27 > 0:08:29The tail end of iron came out here.
0:08:29 > 0:08:32He collared it with these things
0:08:32 > 0:08:36and slammed it back into the next opening.
0:08:36 > 0:08:40If it wouldn't go in, their clogs had sparks again.
0:08:40 > 0:08:45This here is actually the rolling mill that used to be in Bolton.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49And I well remember seeing the thing work,
0:08:49 > 0:08:54cos I was a reasonably young man and it were quite fantastic.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58Six of them sat in easy chairs
0:08:58 > 0:09:01and six shoved the iron in.
0:09:01 > 0:09:04When they were like exhausted,
0:09:04 > 0:09:07the six sat down would take over,
0:09:07 > 0:09:12and the other six would flop into the easy chairs or go to the pub.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16Some of them didn't get paid - they paid their wives
0:09:16 > 0:09:20because the men nipped into the pub.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23In that strange-looking cage at the far end
0:09:23 > 0:09:28there's a loose coupling in between the engine shaft and the rolls.
0:09:28 > 0:09:34So if a piece were not quite hot enough - bang! - it flew to pieces.
0:09:34 > 0:09:39All the operatives disappeared to wash their hands and went home
0:09:39 > 0:09:45because there'd be no more rolling that day till they'd mended it.
0:09:48 > 0:09:53The reason for all this industrial activity round here is -
0:09:53 > 0:09:58at the bottom of this mine shaft there are four seams of coal,
0:09:58 > 0:10:02one seam of iron ore and two seams of fire clay.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05And that's why it all happened round here.
0:10:08 > 0:10:12And they've still got a steam-driven winding engine
0:10:12 > 0:10:16which got men and materials up and down the mine shaft.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27- Hello, Dave.- Hello, Fred.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31- A hot-steam winding engine that actually works.- Oh, yes.
0:10:31 > 0:10:34- Are you going to give me a demo? - Yes.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37What we'll do is take the cage down.
0:10:37 > 0:10:39Loosen the holding brake.
0:10:39 > 0:10:43- Then...- Turn the steam on. - That's it.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46We'll take the cage now down.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04At the moment, it's free-reeling.
0:11:04 > 0:11:08- We're very near the bottom now. - Near the bottom.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11Then we'll just ease it down to the line.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21Here at Ironbridge,
0:11:21 > 0:11:26they've got a wonderful collection of small stationary steam engines.
0:11:26 > 0:11:31You know, these things more or less went out of favour
0:11:31 > 0:11:34because of gas engines and electric motors.
0:11:34 > 0:11:39But in some places, they carried on quite late on.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43This thing here is a steam boiler feed pump,
0:11:43 > 0:11:46made in Manchester by a man called Frank Purn.
0:11:46 > 0:11:51I've actually got one of these in my back garden at home.
0:11:56 > 0:11:58What a wonderful place this is!
0:11:58 > 0:12:03All this lovely smoke and the strong smell of sulphur!
0:12:03 > 0:12:06At home, the council would arrest me.
0:12:06 > 0:12:13I'm quite environmentally friendly when you think of the smoke industry used to generate.
0:12:13 > 0:12:18There's interesting bits of machinery everywhere you go -
0:12:18 > 0:12:22like this thing here. This is a rock crusher.
0:12:22 > 0:12:27I've heard they're going to charge up the blast furnace in the foundry.
0:12:27 > 0:12:30I'm going to go and watch them.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36What's happening now is -
0:12:36 > 0:12:38in the bottom of the blast furnace
0:12:38 > 0:12:42there were already quite a good fire with coke.
0:12:42 > 0:12:49Nigel's putting layers of cast iron, limestone and silicon and then another layer of coke.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52After half an hour, it'll begin to melt.
0:12:52 > 0:12:58It'll go through a hole at the bottom and be ladled into moulds.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05A foundry like this is an exciting place.
0:13:05 > 0:13:10At Ironbridge, you can see some of the ancient methods
0:13:10 > 0:13:15of casting the iron all those early engines and boilers were made of.
0:13:15 > 0:13:20All they actually make here now are iron ornaments sold as souvenirs.
0:13:23 > 0:13:28There's 120 pounds of molten cast iron going into the ladle.
0:13:28 > 0:13:33That's just about all two men can lift up and pour into the moulds.
0:13:33 > 0:13:38Every town had two or three of these places in th'olden days -
0:13:38 > 0:13:42till the profile burner put them all out of business.
0:13:42 > 0:13:47In bigger foundries, the ladle hung on a crane
0:13:47 > 0:13:50and had gearing to take the thing up -
0:13:50 > 0:13:56much, you know...too much weight for two men to lift up.
0:14:17 > 0:14:21When they finished tapping the blast burners
0:14:21 > 0:14:24and all the metal's run out,
0:14:24 > 0:14:27there's a residue in the bottom of the furnace,
0:14:27 > 0:14:32from the by-products, like the limestone and sand.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36If they didn't get it out, it would set like diamonds.
0:14:36 > 0:14:42So, as soon as it's over, they've got to let it all out of the bottom,
0:14:42 > 0:14:45rake it, and put it out with an hose pipe.
0:14:45 > 0:14:50When I were repairing t'chimney that are on foundries, you know,
0:14:50 > 0:14:54I used to stop work and watch this performance
0:14:54 > 0:14:58of dropping the bottom out of the blast furnace.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01It were always very exciting to me.
0:15:01 > 0:15:05As you've just witnessed, it is quite exciting.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08There's lots more to know
0:15:08 > 0:15:11and places to visit, like this one
0:15:11 > 0:15:15if you're interested in our industrial past.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19At Ironbridge today, the machinery is powered by steam.
0:15:19 > 0:15:24But back in Abraham Darby's day, they only had water power.
0:15:24 > 0:15:30I wanted to see how water power was used in the iron industry.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34Industrial history can be found in some surprising places.
0:15:34 > 0:15:38My travels took me to the heart of Devon.
0:15:38 > 0:15:43Here, I found a place where they've still got really ancient methods
0:15:43 > 0:15:46of making agricultural tools.
0:15:46 > 0:15:50Finch Foundry is in the village of Sticklepath,
0:15:50 > 0:15:53on the edge of Dartmoor.
0:15:53 > 0:15:57It's not really a foundry. It's actually a forge,
0:15:57 > 0:16:02where you can see how they used to make sickles, scythes and shovels.
0:16:04 > 0:16:09Water power was still used long after steam power in the country,
0:16:09 > 0:16:12where there was abundant water.
0:16:12 > 0:16:18This machinery was used from about 1814 right up until the 1960s.
0:16:26 > 0:16:32My word! This is something else! I've never seen anything as ancient.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34- Hello, Fred.- How old is it?
0:16:34 > 0:16:37I'm sorry, but this is second-hand.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40- This was put here in 1840.- Yeah.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44- But it dates back to about 1750. - And it still works.- Yes.
0:16:50 > 0:16:55One of the water wheels is connected to another wheel inside,
0:16:55 > 0:16:58providing power for the tilt hammer.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01This hammer's seen better days.
0:17:01 > 0:17:06It would need to lift a lot higher to affect a big piece of metal.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14Everything in here is powered by water -
0:17:14 > 0:17:17even the fan here that were made in 1853
0:17:17 > 0:17:21to provide the wind for... how many furnaces, Morris?
0:17:21 > 0:17:23- Four.- Yeah.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27- At least you don't have electric bills like me!- No.
0:17:31 > 0:17:35This is a very early example of a drop hammer.
0:17:35 > 0:17:40And we're going to have a do at making it go... Now then.
0:17:56 > 0:18:01You can appreciate why you need the machinery - you can't move that.
0:18:01 > 0:18:03Yeah, it's quite heavy.
0:18:03 > 0:18:08- Does the vicar know? - We take them back on Sundays.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11- Oh, hang on.- Belt's off.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13Bell's come off!
0:18:13 > 0:18:17This is where they say, "Cut", isn't it?
0:18:18 > 0:18:23A forge like this one that ran on water power for so long
0:18:23 > 0:18:25was a bit of a rarity.
0:18:25 > 0:18:30An important factor in the growth of the Industrial Revolution
0:18:30 > 0:18:34was the presence in Britain of large coal deposits.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37When the steam engine was invented,
0:18:37 > 0:18:40it provided the power to drain the coal mines.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43They, in turn, supplied the fuel
0:18:43 > 0:18:46for the new methods of smelting iron,
0:18:46 > 0:18:50which provided the metal for engines.
0:18:50 > 0:18:54This turned Britain into a great manufacturing nation
0:18:54 > 0:18:58and the places where firms built their factories
0:18:58 > 0:19:02were those where there was plenty of fuel -
0:19:02 > 0:19:04the coal fields.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08One of these areas was here in the West Midlands.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11You won't find the "Black Country" on any map.
0:19:11 > 0:19:16But the name was given to a region of industrial activity
0:19:16 > 0:19:19originally based on coal mining and iron working.
0:19:19 > 0:19:24This is centred around Wolverhampton, Walsall and Dudley,
0:19:24 > 0:19:26to the west of Birmingham.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32It got its name in the mid-19th century,
0:19:32 > 0:19:36when thousands of chimneys filled the air with smoke.
0:19:36 > 0:19:40The mining of coal, iron ore and limestone
0:19:40 > 0:19:44created large expanses of industrial dereliction.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54The Black Country Museum in Dudley is a living museum.
0:19:54 > 0:20:00Here, craftsmen demonstrate jobs like nail-making and chain-making,
0:20:00 > 0:20:05from a time when this was the heart of industrial Britain.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09Nails like this were used for building canal barges.
0:20:09 > 0:20:14Brian, how many of these d'you have to make in a day?
0:20:14 > 0:20:18- With boat spikes, about 1,500.- Yeah. - Half a ton.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21Blooming 'eck! What time did thee start?
0:20:21 > 0:20:27As soon as it were light. And I worked until it were dark.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30- The first operation's upsetting the end?- That's it.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32Now we'll upset the head.
0:20:32 > 0:20:37It means we're thickening the end out -
0:20:37 > 0:20:40making it roughly nail-shaped.
0:20:45 > 0:20:48That's now called a rose head.
0:20:48 > 0:20:52And we'll just neaten it up for the boat-builder.
0:20:57 > 0:21:02As the trade in hand-made nails declined due to mechanisation,
0:21:02 > 0:21:06the Black Country turned to chain-making,
0:21:06 > 0:21:09soon developing an international reputation.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11Big chains were made here,
0:21:11 > 0:21:15including the chain and anchor for the Titanic.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19It took a lot of horsepower to transport it.
0:21:19 > 0:21:21As well as big chains,
0:21:21 > 0:21:27smaller hearths made chains with iron about half an inch in diameter.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31Chains were still made by hand until the 1970s.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34The museum here has two hearths
0:21:34 > 0:21:39from one of the last firms in the area to make hand-made chains.
0:21:39 > 0:21:44They used to make some really big chains round here,
0:21:44 > 0:21:48using bars of wrought iron up to six inches in diameter.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52For a big one like for the Titanic,
0:21:52 > 0:21:55they'd have a chain maker, a chain smith
0:21:55 > 0:22:00and four or five other men working hammers with two handles.
0:22:00 > 0:22:05Did they make really big ones round here in t'olden days?
0:22:05 > 0:22:09Oh, yeah. They'd make links up to five hundred-weight a link.
0:22:09 > 0:22:13- They'd not do many an hour. - Might do one a day.
0:22:13 > 0:22:18In this area, by the 1920s, there were over 6,000 people making chains.
0:22:18 > 0:22:22- A third were women. - Making the smaller stuff?
0:22:22 > 0:22:27Making all the small stuff - agricultural chains, military chains.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32Yeah, I've seen modern chains -
0:22:32 > 0:22:37they've got a beautiful raised lump in the side, haven't they?
0:22:37 > 0:22:41- Yeah, from the heat-resistant butt welding.- Yeah.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43- Any chance of having a go?- Yeah.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47I'll not bugger your chain up. I'll just make a link.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56It don't take long with that fire.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13I'll never get paid.
0:23:13 > 0:23:18- You was paid by the weight.- I'd be a poor man at the end of the day.
0:23:18 > 0:23:22- You'd be expected to supply 40 links an hour.- Yeah.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26Another link for the chain for the Titanic.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29No wonder it sunk!
0:23:31 > 0:23:33Wrought iron was used for chains.
0:23:33 > 0:23:37Now I wanted to find out about steel.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40So it was time to come back up north again.
0:23:40 > 0:23:46The city of Sheffield is the place most closely associated with steel.
0:23:46 > 0:23:51"Made in Sheffield" is a mark of quality known all over the world.
0:23:51 > 0:23:57The great age of steel-making here began in the 19th century,
0:23:57 > 0:24:03when small-scale tool-makers became engineering steel-makers on a grand scale.
0:24:07 > 0:24:12Kelham Island Industrial Museum is near the centre of the city.
0:24:12 > 0:24:17Here, you can see the steel-making process which made the city famous.
0:24:19 > 0:24:21Up until the 1850s,
0:24:21 > 0:24:25they only had really cast iron, you know.
0:24:25 > 0:24:29They really needed something a bit tougher.
0:24:29 > 0:24:35And along came Henry Bessemer in 1855, and he invented this thing,
0:24:35 > 0:24:38like a giant egg cup.
0:24:38 > 0:24:43Basically, what it does is - molten cast iron is poured into the top.
0:24:43 > 0:24:50Then wind pressure at 25 pounds per square inch is blasted through the molten cast iron.
0:24:50 > 0:24:54This takes all the impurities out of it.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57And when they run it off from here into ingots,
0:24:57 > 0:25:03it can be put underneath the steam hammer and forged into big blocks
0:25:03 > 0:25:06which rolling mills make into things
0:25:06 > 0:25:11like railway lines and wheels for railway wagons.
0:25:11 > 0:25:14Steel could be produced cheaply and in bulk.
0:25:15 > 0:25:21Sheffield is very famous for all sorts of metal products -
0:25:21 > 0:25:23like this Sheffield plate here.
0:25:23 > 0:25:30But mainly cutting tools, you know, like things from lathe to holster -
0:25:30 > 0:25:34surgeon's equipment for sawing your leg off and things.
0:25:34 > 0:25:38If you've bought a pair of Taiwanese scissors
0:25:38 > 0:25:41and compared them with a pair made in Sheffield...
0:25:41 > 0:25:46I left my Sheffield scissors on a wall for two years.
0:25:46 > 0:25:50I found them again, oiled them, and they were just as good.
0:25:50 > 0:25:57At Kelham Island, you can see some of the last of the little mesters at work.
0:25:57 > 0:26:02These were self-employed craftsmen who specialised in various aspects
0:26:02 > 0:26:06of the manufacture of tools and cutlery.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10At one time, there were hundreds of them operating all over Sheffield.
0:26:10 > 0:26:14But today, there's only a handful of them left.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19Not bad for a start.
0:26:19 > 0:26:22Will you take me on as an apprentice?
0:26:26 > 0:26:28I see you're stamping the name on.
0:26:28 > 0:26:33- This one says, "Made in Sheffield, England".- The important one.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35That's the one.
0:26:35 > 0:26:39If you're making the best things in the world,
0:26:39 > 0:26:44you want to make sure everyone knows where they've come from.
0:26:44 > 0:26:49Right. We'll put the all-important name of Sheffield Steel
0:26:49 > 0:26:51on this hunting knife.
0:26:51 > 0:26:53- Made in Sheffield.- Right.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00- There you go.- Right.
0:27:01 > 0:27:03To roll this fine steel,
0:27:03 > 0:27:09is the biggest steam engine I've ever seen to drive the rolling mill.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12I'm really looking forward to this.
0:27:12 > 0:27:16This must be the world's biggest rolling-mill engine.
0:27:16 > 0:27:18It were made about 1905.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21And it kept running till the 1970s.
0:27:21 > 0:27:26I'm now going to demonstrate how fast you can put it in reverse
0:27:26 > 0:27:30from full speed forward into going backwards.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32Here we go.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58Did you like that?
0:28:21 > 0:28:25Subtitles by Annie Phelan BBC - 1999