0:00:07 > 0:00:11This steam roller of mine were made in 1910.
0:00:11 > 0:00:16But way before then, at the beginning of Queen Victoria's reign,
0:00:16 > 0:00:21they were already building some substantial steam engines.
0:00:21 > 0:00:26It were about then they built the first iron ships propelled by steam.
0:00:57 > 0:01:03The first steam-powered iron ship was the SS Great Britain,
0:01:03 > 0:01:08built by the best of the Victorian engineers, Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
0:01:08 > 0:01:11When appointed engineer for the new railway,
0:01:11 > 0:01:16to be built between London and Bristol in 1833,
0:01:16 > 0:01:20he decided that a seven foot wide track
0:01:20 > 0:01:23would give a faster, more fuel-efficient ride
0:01:23 > 0:01:28than the standard four foot eight-and-a-half inch gauge.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31On his Great Western Railway, he designed it all -
0:01:31 > 0:01:36the track, the locomotives, the rolling stock,
0:01:36 > 0:01:39the tunnels, bridges and stations.
0:01:39 > 0:01:43He built road bridges like the Clifton suspension bridge.
0:01:43 > 0:01:48But his greatest achievement was building this.
0:01:48 > 0:01:53The SS Great Britain was an outstanding achievement
0:01:53 > 0:01:55of the Victorian age -
0:01:55 > 0:01:59the first ocean-going ship to be made of iron,
0:01:59 > 0:02:02and driven by a steam-powered propeller.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06Isambard Kingdom Brunel - my hero!
0:02:07 > 0:02:09In his honour today,
0:02:09 > 0:02:12I'll wear my tall hat while I look round.
0:02:12 > 0:02:17Really, anything to do with engineering on a grand scale,
0:02:17 > 0:02:21he were the guy to get to have a look at it.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25Whilst constructing the Great Western,
0:02:25 > 0:02:32he had this vision - to link New York with Bristol and the railway.
0:02:32 > 0:02:38This is the second of three ships that he made - the SS Great Britain,
0:02:38 > 0:02:43which lies here now in the very dock that it were constructed in,
0:02:43 > 0:02:46in 1843.
0:02:46 > 0:02:51She was in service, doing regular sailings to New York and Australia
0:02:51 > 0:02:54until 1886,
0:02:54 > 0:02:58before ending her working life as a store ship in the Falklands.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00In 1970,
0:03:00 > 0:03:06she was salvaged - brought back to sail under Brunel's famous bridge
0:03:06 > 0:03:10to the Great Western dock, for restoration.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13The restoration is still going on
0:03:13 > 0:03:15and below deck,
0:03:15 > 0:03:18you can see how the ship's engine
0:03:18 > 0:03:21is being made to look as it did
0:03:21 > 0:03:24when Brunel built it.
0:03:28 > 0:03:33As you walk round, you can see what a huge project it was for its day.
0:03:33 > 0:03:38As well as being the first to use steam power,
0:03:38 > 0:03:41it was, at nearly 2,000 tonnes,
0:03:41 > 0:03:45the biggest ship to have been built.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48But steam power was also being used
0:03:48 > 0:03:52for much smaller and lighter craft.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55To see some very fine small boats,
0:03:55 > 0:03:59I went to the Lake District.
0:03:59 > 0:04:05In 1845, the year that the Great Britain first sailed to New York,
0:04:05 > 0:04:10the first steamboat was launched on Windermere.
0:04:10 > 0:04:14Around this time, wealthy northern industrialists
0:04:14 > 0:04:17started to build homes in the Lake District.
0:04:17 > 0:04:21Henry William Schneider was a London-born merchant
0:04:21 > 0:04:26who created the steel industry at Barrow-in-Furness.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28In 1869,
0:04:28 > 0:04:32he moved to Windermere and had a steam yacht built.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36Here, you can see boats from the age of steam
0:04:36 > 0:04:41including Schneider's boat, Esperance.
0:04:41 > 0:04:47- This is a twin screwing steam yacht, built in 1869...- Yeah, mmm.
0:04:47 > 0:04:52- It was built in Rutherglen, in Scotland.- How did it get down here?
0:04:52 > 0:04:57Well, they sailed it down the Irish Sea, to Barrow,
0:04:57 > 0:05:02and then...er...loaded it onto a railway wagon
0:05:02 > 0:05:04with a steam crane.
0:05:04 > 0:05:09- And they brought it up on a railway line from Barrow to Lakeside...- Yeah.
0:05:09 > 0:05:14- ..which is down at the foot of Windermere.- I've been there.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16I read in a book
0:05:16 > 0:05:21that they were sinking a mine shaft in Barrow, for the iron ore
0:05:21 > 0:05:24and the money were run out, like.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28They were desperate and he sacked them all.
0:05:28 > 0:05:31And they said, "We'll do a week for nowt for you."
0:05:31 > 0:05:38- And the next week they hit it.- Yes. - Best seam of iron ore in Barrow.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42- He'd made 'em all rich. - It was a massive deposit.
0:05:42 > 0:05:48- And of course, that was the beginning of his...- Empire.- Right.
0:05:48 > 0:05:53He became a wealthy man. He came down from the house to the pier,
0:05:53 > 0:05:58Esperance with the steam up, waiting for him.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02His butler walked down with his breakfast...
0:06:02 > 0:06:08That's it! He would come down and get on board with the steam ready.
0:06:08 > 0:06:12The steam would be up and away she would go round the lake.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15That was how he travelled to work -
0:06:15 > 0:06:19to the Lakeside railway, onto his carriage
0:06:19 > 0:06:22with his secretary waiting, and he started work
0:06:22 > 0:06:26- when the train moved out. - Like a commuter.
0:06:26 > 0:06:31- He was, but he did it in style!- Oh, aye, without a shadow of a doubt.
0:06:31 > 0:06:36Swallow was a much later boat, built in 1911,
0:06:36 > 0:06:39but it's still going strong.
0:06:39 > 0:06:44I took a steam cruise on it round the lake. My guide was David Scott,
0:06:44 > 0:06:48who pointed out to me Mr Schneider's house.
0:06:48 > 0:06:50And then the shipbuilding
0:06:50 > 0:06:55made a remarkable change to the north-west coast.
0:06:55 > 0:07:00Does anybody make owt like this nowadays on Lake Windermere?
0:07:00 > 0:07:05No, I'm afraid everything comes up on a lorry made of fantastic plastic.
0:07:05 > 0:07:10That's a good description - "fantastic plastic"!
0:07:10 > 0:07:15If God had intended fibreglass boats, he would have grown fibreglass trees.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17Yeah, yeah.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27CYGNETS CHEEP
0:07:27 > 0:07:30- Oh! Thank you, David.- There we are.
0:07:30 > 0:07:35- Biscuits and all!- Ship's biscuits. I've knocked the weevils out of them.
0:07:35 > 0:07:40SHIP'S WHISTLE TOOTS
0:07:42 > 0:07:47- That's all that's happened. - The joys of steam engines!- Yes.
0:07:50 > 0:07:56You'll never believe this. It's like acid rain coming down,
0:07:56 > 0:07:58out of the funnel.
0:07:58 > 0:08:03One thing wrong with it. If it goes on your shirt you can't get it off!
0:08:03 > 0:08:07- It's on me biscuits. - Getting them damp.
0:08:07 > 0:08:12Everybody's got to swallow a certain amount of muck
0:08:12 > 0:08:14during their lifetime.
0:08:14 > 0:08:20If you play with steam engines, you get a lot! Is it raining?
0:08:29 > 0:08:32It's magnificent, this.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35You can hardly hear the engine.
0:08:35 > 0:08:40This is certainly the best way to travel, without a doubt. Beautiful.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44If I were rich, I'd buy one.
0:08:44 > 0:08:49As the age of steam developed on Windermere,
0:08:49 > 0:08:53steam engines were being used for everything
0:08:53 > 0:08:55from the smallest,
0:08:55 > 0:09:00most delicate jobs, like this steam-powered locksmith
0:09:00 > 0:09:04that I saw when I was at Ironbridge,
0:09:04 > 0:09:08to engines like this at Crofton pumping station
0:09:08 > 0:09:10in the Kennet and Avon canal
0:09:10 > 0:09:13near Marlborough in Wiltshire.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17It pumped water up to high-level locks.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20Because it pumped so efficiently,
0:09:20 > 0:09:24it became the basic working machine
0:09:24 > 0:09:26of the water industry.
0:09:29 > 0:09:33Kew Bridge Steam Museum is in London,
0:09:33 > 0:09:37in the old Kew Bridge pumping station by the Thames.
0:09:37 > 0:09:42It claims to have the largest collection of static steam engines.
0:09:42 > 0:09:45It's certainly the best place to go
0:09:45 > 0:09:48to see the best of steam technology.
0:09:49 > 0:09:54Clean water is one of our most basic human needs.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56In the Victorian times,
0:09:56 > 0:10:02they used steam power to pump it through pipes to everyone's houses.
0:10:02 > 0:10:08Kew Bridge Steam Museum is housed in this Victorian pumping station.
0:10:08 > 0:10:13They have a wonderful collection of steam-pumping machinery.
0:10:13 > 0:10:20- This is a Boulton and Watt engine. Geoff will tell us about it. - Hallo, Fred.- Hallo, Geoff.
0:10:20 > 0:10:25- Tell me how old it is. - Well, it was built in 1820.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28It's the oldest engine we have.
0:10:28 > 0:10:34But it was built in a different location, at Chelsea, where it pumped water.
0:10:34 > 0:10:40- But the water at Chelsea got so badly polluted...- Yeah.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43- With sewage.- Sewage, that's right.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46So it worked on this site
0:10:46 > 0:10:50between 1838 and 1944.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54- All credit to Mr Watt. - It is a credit to Mr Watt.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00There's a wonderful collection of engines here.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02This is a cross compound one
0:11:02 > 0:11:06with bell cranks on the end of the piston rods
0:11:06 > 0:11:10and it works the pump rods down into the well.
0:11:10 > 0:11:16This one here looks like it's come off a ship. I don't think it has.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19It's actually a triple expansion engine,
0:11:19 > 0:11:22brought here from a pumping station in Newmarket.
0:11:22 > 0:11:26But the most impressive one of all at Kew
0:11:26 > 0:11:31is the one that's spent all its working life here.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52Right, Clive, lets get the water flowing.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58Steam please, Fred. See if she starts moving.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01That's fine, thank you.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05STEAM HISSES
0:12:05 > 0:12:08I believe it's called the Grand Junction 90.
0:12:08 > 0:12:13Yes. It's 90 inches in diameter - the steam cylinder -
0:12:13 > 0:12:16by 11 foot stroke.
0:12:16 > 0:12:20Very precise, all this...er...business.
0:12:20 > 0:12:23Right. I think we're almost there.
0:12:23 > 0:12:28They say in the old days, the waste hot water flowed out to the river
0:12:28 > 0:12:33and the local women did their washing in this stream.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37I think it's true to say
0:12:37 > 0:12:42this is the biggest Cornish beam pumping engine I've ever seen.
0:12:42 > 0:12:47It pumped water to west London for over 100 years.
0:12:47 > 0:12:52And they say it's the biggest beam engine still working in the world.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55And I would think it is.
0:12:55 > 0:13:00That's the ultimate in beam engines, engineering of the highest order.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04The age of steam was reaching its peak.
0:13:06 > 0:13:10For much of the 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries,
0:13:10 > 0:13:16steam engines provided a livelihood for thousands throughout Britain.
0:13:16 > 0:13:24Steam engines drove the machinery in the factories, the rolling mills in the steel works
0:13:24 > 0:13:27and the pumps in the mines.
0:13:27 > 0:13:31They transported people and goods.
0:13:31 > 0:13:33Agriculture became mechanised,
0:13:33 > 0:13:38with steam-powered threshing machines.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41It was around the mid-19th century
0:13:41 > 0:13:44that industries devoted to making machines
0:13:44 > 0:13:47first started to get off the ground.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51To see one of our oldest engineering firms,
0:13:51 > 0:13:53I went to East Anglia.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56Richard Garrett & Sons,
0:13:56 > 0:14:01of Leiston in Suffolk, were one of the pioneers in heavy engineering.
0:14:01 > 0:14:06Here in the Long Shop Museum is a grand collection of their products
0:14:06 > 0:14:09in the building they were made in.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15Initially, they made threshers, seed drills, ploughs
0:14:15 > 0:14:18and other agricultural tools.
0:14:18 > 0:14:24Then the company saw a market for steam-powered farm machinery.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27So they built this place.
0:14:27 > 0:14:32It's the site of one of the world's first assembly lines,
0:14:32 > 0:14:35originally built by Richard Garrett.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39They manufactured portable steam engines in this building.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42The boilers came in at one end.
0:14:42 > 0:14:46The bigger bits were made on each side
0:14:46 > 0:14:51the smaller bits upstairs, and lowered down. As it progressed,
0:14:51 > 0:14:56the thing would come in as a boiler and go out as a completed engine.
0:14:58 > 0:15:04This is one of Mr Garrett's many products that he manufactured on this site.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08And it's what's known as a semi-portable.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12You can see why. It must weigh 20 tonnes!
0:15:12 > 0:15:15The reason for the semi-portable was
0:15:15 > 0:15:20it saved making boiler houses and foundations for engines.
0:15:20 > 0:15:25The whole thing could be delivered direct to the saw mill or wherever
0:15:25 > 0:15:30on a trailer, no doubt pulled by one of his traction engines.
0:15:30 > 0:15:35It would be there for the rest of its days,
0:15:35 > 0:15:40driving the rack saws, the frame saws and the machinery of the mill.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44This was the first production line for traction engines
0:15:44 > 0:15:50and for the rest of the century, heavy engineering grew at Garrett's,
0:15:50 > 0:15:53with steam winding engines,
0:15:53 > 0:15:55road rollers and tractors.
0:15:55 > 0:16:01Then, by the beginning of the 20th, they had to meet new competition.
0:16:01 > 0:16:06Well, this is a bit of an unusual beast, innit?
0:16:06 > 0:16:09A very unusual one now.
0:16:09 > 0:16:15It was built to compete with the first internal combustion tractors.
0:16:20 > 0:16:22Is it very hard to steer?
0:16:22 > 0:16:27No, it's very straightforward on the steering. Easier than a roller.
0:16:27 > 0:16:33- Oh, aye.- It's direct steering. The new bearing straightened the shaft.
0:16:33 > 0:16:37When Garrett's made engines like the Suffolk Punch,
0:16:37 > 0:16:41every industry in Britain used steam power.
0:16:41 > 0:16:47To see working steam engines, I went to Liphook in Hampshire.
0:16:47 > 0:16:52This is the Hollycombe Steam Collection.
0:16:52 > 0:16:56Until the 19th century, agriculture had been labour intensive.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59The steam engine changed all that.
0:16:59 > 0:17:05Here, you can see demonstrations of steam-powered threshing machines
0:17:05 > 0:17:08and ploughing engines.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14And it wasn't all work. By the end of the 19th century,
0:17:14 > 0:17:20Steam engines provided power for the fairgrounds touring the country.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26The engine transported the rides
0:17:26 > 0:17:29and drove the roundabouts and swing.
0:17:29 > 0:17:34INAUDIBLE
0:17:34 > 0:17:37From the 1890s, engines incorporated dynamos
0:17:37 > 0:17:40to light the fairground.
0:17:40 > 0:17:42How wonderful it must have been
0:17:42 > 0:17:46to experience the sight and sounds, the smell,
0:17:46 > 0:17:50the movement of the fairground, back then.
0:17:50 > 0:17:53An amazing thing, the steam engine, really,
0:17:53 > 0:17:58and locomotives and steam rollers and traction engines.
0:17:58 > 0:18:03It relies on one man with a shovel to keep it going, keep it alive.
0:18:03 > 0:18:09And on a big hill, every other lamp post, you put a shovel of coal on.
0:18:09 > 0:18:14With a locomotive going up Shap, I don't know how many tons of coal
0:18:14 > 0:18:17they used to burn to get up to Scotland -
0:18:17 > 0:18:21shovelling nonstop to keep it going,
0:18:21 > 0:18:24like a mobile power station.
0:18:26 > 0:18:34A bit strange. What's my hobby now once provided the livelihood for literally hundreds of people
0:18:34 > 0:18:36all over England.
0:18:39 > 0:18:42WHISTLE BLOWS
0:18:42 > 0:18:45INAUDIBLE
0:18:50 > 0:18:55I've always been fascinated by the variety of things we used to make
0:18:55 > 0:18:59and looking at things that show
0:18:59 > 0:19:02just how inventive we used to be.
0:19:02 > 0:19:06This is a collection of magazines called The Engineer.
0:19:06 > 0:19:10There's all sorts of stuff in it -
0:19:10 > 0:19:15you know, wonderful adverts and stories about squirrels and all
0:19:15 > 0:19:19and engineering feats of the last century.
0:19:19 > 0:19:24The things that interest me most in this magazine are the adverts -
0:19:24 > 0:19:28beautiful adverts for magnificent machinery.
0:19:28 > 0:19:33There's a windmill here and beautiful self-aligning bearings.
0:19:33 > 0:19:37"The Aqua-thruster." Sounds painful!
0:19:37 > 0:19:40Oh...! All sizes!
0:19:41 > 0:19:44Yes. Here's one for the Robey Trust.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47Robey portable, semi-portable...
0:19:50 > 0:19:55Robey's of Lincoln were one of the great makers of steam engines
0:19:55 > 0:19:58with a huge variety of types
0:19:58 > 0:20:03including road locomotives, steam rollers and stationary engines.
0:20:03 > 0:20:08I came across a group of enthusiasts at Tavistock in Devon
0:20:08 > 0:20:12who have a fine collection of Robey engines.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15And here, at the Robey Trust,
0:20:15 > 0:20:21they're teaching engineering skills that had all but disappeared a few years ago.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25..cooling the boiler down. So...we stop the engine...
0:20:25 > 0:20:28then we can open this door.
0:20:28 > 0:20:33That looks as though it needs something, doesn't it?
0:20:33 > 0:20:35That will help build the fire up.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40That's it.
0:20:40 > 0:20:46Now we should be able to make some more steam, now. And here's Fred.
0:20:46 > 0:20:51- Did you get all that, young Edward? - Yes.- I see you managed OK.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54Be sure you don't lose the shovel!
0:20:54 > 0:20:58John, how many lads have you got on your Trust?
0:20:58 > 0:21:04About four or five regulars. One or two extras appear now and again.
0:21:04 > 0:21:09- About four or five regular. - That's very good, really,
0:21:09 > 0:21:14because I got to one stage when I was thinking
0:21:14 > 0:21:19we were breeding a nation of little lads who got hold of red-hot pipes.
0:21:19 > 0:21:25- Well, it's where the future of preservation lies.- Without a doubt.
0:21:25 > 0:21:29One word of advice, Ian. They're dangerous, them.
0:21:29 > 0:21:33You can soon end up scalded by the steam.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36Some of these white packings...
0:21:36 > 0:21:40Mr Martino, a gentleman I knew,
0:21:39 > 0:21:43ended up scalded to death with one of them.
0:21:43 > 0:21:49These packings, when you screw it up tight as you can when it's cold
0:21:49 > 0:21:51you think everything's OK.
0:21:51 > 0:21:55You light the fire and it goes like tripe.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58You can get another four turns on it.
0:21:58 > 0:22:04So it's important to keep giving it a screw as the boiler warms up.
0:22:04 > 0:22:08I think we should. We don't want any accidents.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11There's the thing for you.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13- IAN:- OK.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20Now then, Phil, what's this lad doing?
0:22:20 > 0:22:24He's being trained to lubricate the engine.
0:22:24 > 0:22:31The Trinian bar goes through the firebox and gets very hot. Different metals expand differently.
0:22:31 > 0:22:38- You've got to have plenty of grease to keep things running smoothly.- Aye.
0:22:38 > 0:22:43- Are you going to give me a ride?- Of course. Yes. Neil can be on there.
0:22:43 > 0:22:48Come on, young Neil. Put your grease gun away.
0:22:50 > 0:22:54This is a more recent Robey engine,
0:22:54 > 0:22:59but I wonder if the people who put the adverts in those magazines
0:22:59 > 0:23:01all them years ago
0:23:01 > 0:23:06ever imagined there would be people riding around on them for fun!
0:23:07 > 0:23:11My magazines aren't just full of adverts.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14They've got some interesting reading in them.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18I read an article on Victorian shipbuilding.
0:23:18 > 0:23:23It describes Brunel's struggle with the Great Eastern.
0:23:23 > 0:23:29It was so big, they never built one for 50 years after that were as big.
0:23:29 > 0:23:33It took six months to get it in the water.
0:23:33 > 0:23:39The newspaper people ridiculed him, you know, and said he were nuts.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43And there were all sorts of wonderful ideas
0:23:43 > 0:23:46to get it started on the slipway.
0:23:46 > 0:23:51One ludicrous thing were: fill it with people and get them jumping,
0:23:51 > 0:23:54and hopefully it might get it off the thing.
0:23:54 > 0:23:59In the end, it were really Richard Tanges, from Birmingham,
0:23:59 > 0:24:02who were into hydraulic jacks.
0:24:02 > 0:24:06He managed to eventually get it in the water
0:24:06 > 0:24:09after six months of struggle.
0:24:09 > 0:24:13It made Brunel an old man before his time.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15The thing killed him.
0:24:15 > 0:24:19The last known picture of him alive
0:24:19 > 0:24:26were on the deck, examining the remains of one of the funnels which had exploded.
0:24:26 > 0:24:29People might have thought Brunel mad,
0:24:29 > 0:24:32but his advances in ship design
0:24:32 > 0:24:38set the pattern for all marine architecture that was to follow
0:24:38 > 0:24:43and paved the way for Britain's great shipbuilding industry.
0:24:43 > 0:24:48Clydeside was one of our greatest shipbuilding centres
0:24:48 > 0:24:53but the yard closed down in the '60s and '70s.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55There's no trace of this industry.
0:24:55 > 0:25:01One of the ships built there was the paddle steamer Waverley.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09She operated on the Clyde for 30 years.
0:25:09 > 0:25:14Hello, there. How are you doing? I'll go and find Kenneth.
0:25:14 > 0:25:20Now she's been preserved for people like me who want to have the thrill
0:25:20 > 0:25:23of sailing on a real steamship.
0:25:26 > 0:25:30BIRDS CALL
0:25:37 > 0:25:40All me life, I've liked steamships.
0:25:40 > 0:25:45When I were a little lad, I once made one about three feet long.
0:25:45 > 0:25:50I entered it for a model exhibition and I won £3/10s. Never forgotten.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53Here today, on the Waverley,
0:25:53 > 0:25:58which is the last ocean-going paddle steamer in the world,
0:25:58 > 0:26:05made here on the Firth of Clyde, and sailing down the Clyde, is quite pleasant.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07I'm really enjoying it.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15- Good morning, Kenneth. - Good morning, Fred.
0:26:15 > 0:26:19- It's still running sweet as a nut. - Oh, yeah.
0:26:19 > 0:26:23- Are there three sizes of cylinder?- Yes.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27The high pressure one is 24 inches in diameter.
0:26:27 > 0:26:31It's got a five-and-a-half foot stroke, so it's big.
0:26:31 > 0:26:34Summat magic about a steam engine.
0:26:34 > 0:26:38They say we've advanced, but I don't know.
0:26:38 > 0:26:43I went in engine room of a bloody car ferry t'other day - teeny thing.
0:26:43 > 0:26:47The noise coming out of it - unbelievable!
0:26:47 > 0:26:50ENGINE HUMS QUIETLY
0:26:56 > 0:26:59It's magnificent, this.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03It's what all little boys dream about.
0:27:20 > 0:27:24I wonder if Brunel ever did this on the Great Eastern.
0:27:30 > 0:27:35There's no better way to see the scenery of the Firth of Clyde
0:27:35 > 0:27:40than from the decks of a Clyde paddle steamer. It's magic.
0:27:40 > 0:27:46I wish I'd lived in the days when you could travel like this.
0:27:46 > 0:27:50Steam is more than an enthusiasm or a nostalgia.
0:27:50 > 0:27:56Steam power developed here. It's one of our unique contributions.
0:27:56 > 0:28:01So steam, like the sea, should run in the blood of every Briton.
0:28:24 > 0:28:27Subtitles by Sheila Hyde, BBC - 1999