0:00:05 > 0:00:07The age of steam shaped how we live today.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16The Victorians laid over 20,000 miles of lines
0:00:16 > 0:00:20in the biggest engineering project the country has ever seen,
0:00:20 > 0:00:24connecting our towns with high-speed links, revolutionising trade
0:00:24 > 0:00:28and transportation, communication and recreation.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31TRAIN WHISTLES It was the greatest transformation
0:00:31 > 0:00:32in our history.
0:00:32 > 0:00:34But how did it happen?
0:00:34 > 0:00:38- To find out, historians Ruth Goodman...- Flat out!
0:00:38 > 0:00:40Alex Langlands...
0:00:40 > 0:00:42Shovelling coal is something I'm going to get
0:00:42 > 0:00:43very, very familiar with.
0:00:43 > 0:00:44..and Peter Ginn...
0:00:44 > 0:00:46It is tough work.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49..are bringing the railways back to life as they would have been during
0:00:49 > 0:00:51the golden age of steam.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56I feel like I'm in a Western.
0:00:56 > 0:01:00This is very definitely the best steam engine I've ever been on.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03Oh, no! He's gaining on us!
0:01:04 > 0:01:07It's a crazy world.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10They will be helped by armies of enthusiasts
0:01:10 > 0:01:11who keep the age of steam alive...
0:01:11 > 0:01:14SHE GROANS
0:01:14 > 0:01:17..on Britain's 500 miles of preserved railway.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21- This is the way to experience train travel, isn't it?- It is.
0:01:21 > 0:01:25They'll follow in the footsteps of the world's finest engineers.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29These are the men that built Britain's railways.
0:01:29 > 0:01:30Those who ran it...
0:01:30 > 0:01:34This is brutal! This is savage industrialism.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38..and those for whom life would never be the same again.
0:01:38 > 0:01:39Internet? Pah!
0:01:39 > 0:01:42It had nothing like the impact of the railways.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50This is the story of how the railways created modern Britain.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57TRAIN RUMBLES
0:02:00 > 0:02:03STEAM HISSES
0:02:05 > 0:02:07Of all the changes the railways made to our lives,
0:02:07 > 0:02:09the one that affects us
0:02:09 > 0:02:11most directly was in our homes. BELL CHIMES
0:02:11 > 0:02:15I'd really like to explore the domestic revolution -
0:02:15 > 0:02:17how it was that the railways changed the way we live,
0:02:17 > 0:02:21from the houses we live in to the food we eat.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25The British way of life underwent a cataclysmic change
0:02:25 > 0:02:28because of the railways, and I'd really like to know why.
0:02:30 > 0:02:34Behind this domestic revolution was a new era of mass production
0:02:34 > 0:02:38and distribution, borne by the workers of Victorian Britain.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43Blood, sweat and tears went into building this new version of
0:02:43 > 0:02:46industrialised Britain, of which the railways were at the heart,
0:02:46 > 0:02:49and I'm interested in experiencing just what exactly it took
0:02:49 > 0:02:51to do that.
0:02:51 > 0:02:54Ouch! That is painful.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57For many people in Britain, life had been the same for centuries.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00They'd been doing the same crafts and the same industries,
0:03:00 > 0:03:02but the railways come along and change all of that,
0:03:02 > 0:03:05and I think one of the things I'm really looking forward to is
0:03:05 > 0:03:08almost going back to those times and seeing those changes -
0:03:08 > 0:03:10seeing the impacts that the railways had.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22In 1800, before the railways were built,
0:03:22 > 0:03:24Britain was a very different place.
0:03:26 > 0:03:3080% of people lived and worked in the countryside,
0:03:30 > 0:03:33and life at home had changed little for centuries.
0:03:33 > 0:03:38If you walked into any town or village in the 18th century,
0:03:38 > 0:03:42almost everything you clapped eyes upon would have been produced
0:03:42 > 0:03:47within a 10- or 20-mile radius,
0:03:47 > 0:03:48even at its most basic level.
0:03:48 > 0:03:51Look, I'm getting wood for a fire, here,
0:03:51 > 0:03:52and in the 18th century,
0:03:52 > 0:03:56most people outside of London still cooked on wood.
0:03:57 > 0:04:01From the clothes people wore to the food they ate to the houses
0:04:01 > 0:04:05they lived in, to the plates that they ate and drank off,
0:04:05 > 0:04:09local produce made by local craftsmen was the norm.
0:04:11 > 0:04:16Go on, you're getting the hang of this. Superb. Beautiful.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19The main form of transport was the horse and cart,
0:04:19 > 0:04:22with wheels made by the village wheelwright...
0:04:25 > 0:04:28..but as more and more villages came in range of a railway station,
0:04:28 > 0:04:30its days were numbered.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36All of those individual crafts that had sustained life
0:04:36 > 0:04:39within the village came under threat because materials, products,
0:04:39 > 0:04:42and manufactured goods could be brought into that village
0:04:42 > 0:04:45from all over the country.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49The railways meant villages no longer had to be self-sufficient,
0:04:49 > 0:04:54and handmade items were superseded by cheaper factory-made products,
0:04:54 > 0:04:56distributed across the country.
0:04:58 > 0:05:04It's fantastic to see one of these ancient crafts -
0:05:04 > 0:05:11a craft that would have been fast disappearing in the 19th century.
0:05:14 > 0:05:18Before the railways, even the way we built our homes was different.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22Houses would have been constructed from local materials,
0:05:22 > 0:05:26roofed with whatever could be sourced nearby.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29Sometimes, this was slabs of stone,
0:05:29 > 0:05:34but in many villages, they were thatched with wheat stems - straw.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40Keith Payne is one of the few still working as a thatcher today.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43Where would a thatcher have got his material from, then, Keith?
0:05:43 > 0:05:46- Well, this would all have been grown locally.- Right, OK.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48- You know, just for the grain.- Yeah.
0:05:48 > 0:05:51For making bread and biscuits, really,
0:05:51 > 0:05:52it's the most beautiful part of it.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55So it was effectively a by-product of the wheat harvest?
0:05:55 > 0:05:56Yeah, yeah, exactly.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59They're growing it for a multi-purpose,
0:05:59 > 0:06:00but because the straw's so long,
0:06:00 > 0:06:03- they're using it on the houses. - Yeah.
0:06:03 > 0:06:06- All right in there, like that? - Yeah, yeah.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08But thatch had its problems -
0:06:08 > 0:06:14for one, straw was only available once a year, at harvest time,
0:06:14 > 0:06:17and the thatched roofs need constant maintenance.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20- That's one of the main issues with thatch, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23I mean, locally sourced materials, lovely and thick and insulating...
0:06:23 > 0:06:26- Yeah.- ..but every year there's a job to do on the roof.
0:06:26 > 0:06:29Yes, absolutely - because it's basically a plant,
0:06:29 > 0:06:32- it's wearing out from the moment you put it on.- Yeah.
0:06:35 > 0:06:38What was needed was a readily available, cheap,
0:06:38 > 0:06:39durable alternative.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45The ideal roofing material was slate,
0:06:45 > 0:06:48hewn from the ground in just a few remote areas of Britain.
0:06:54 > 0:06:59But the problem was how to move this heavy, bulky material from
0:06:59 > 0:07:02the isolated quarries into our towns and villages.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09For the slate mines, high in the mountains of Snowdonia,
0:07:09 > 0:07:12the answer was a purpose-built railway.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16The Ffestiniog line ran from the quarries,
0:07:16 > 0:07:2014 miles down through the mountains to Porthmadog,
0:07:20 > 0:07:23from where the slate could be distributed.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29Ruth, Alex and Peter are meeting the railway's heritage director,
0:07:29 > 0:07:31Iain Wilkinson.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34- Welcome to the Ffestiniog Railway. - Thank you very much.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37- This is a particularly early railway, isn't it?- It is indeed.
0:07:37 > 0:07:40The railway was built in the 1830s,
0:07:40 > 0:07:44- and it started off just using horsepower...- Right.- Right.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47..and it was only later on that they went on to use steam locomotives
0:07:47 > 0:07:49like the ones we've got there.
0:07:49 > 0:07:53So why build a railway if you've not got any engines involved?
0:07:53 > 0:07:54- Uncanny, isn't it, that?- Yeah.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57It is, but the railway predated the technology,
0:07:57 > 0:08:00so steam locomotives simply didn't exist.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03So there's a whole bunch of railways that were up and running
0:08:03 > 0:08:05before steam engines?
0:08:05 > 0:08:07Yeah. Centuries before, if anything,
0:08:07 > 0:08:09and it was simply a good,
0:08:09 > 0:08:12reasonably friction-free way to move lots of goods around.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14Heavy bulk goods in particular?
0:08:14 > 0:08:16Exactly. Yes, slate.
0:08:20 > 0:08:24In 1830, there were just a handful of railways in Britain,
0:08:24 > 0:08:28virtually all of them carrying minerals from mines and quarries.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34Back then, steam locomotives were in their infancy,
0:08:34 > 0:08:37and were both expensive and unreliable,
0:08:37 > 0:08:39so horses were used instead.
0:08:41 > 0:08:45Ffestiniog is an amazing example of those early railways.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48You have the mine uphill and the port downhill.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51The horses take the carts uphill,
0:08:51 > 0:08:54and gravity takes the train back downhill.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59But there are few records of how it actually operated.
0:08:59 > 0:09:00We've got a couple of wagons here.
0:09:00 > 0:09:01We've got a pony with us
0:09:01 > 0:09:04and we're just experimenting to see how it would have worked.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07- Who you got here for us today? - We've got Tickle here.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09- Tickle?- She's a Welsh pony.
0:09:09 > 0:09:11Right, so she was bred in these mountains?
0:09:11 > 0:09:13She was, yes.
0:09:13 > 0:09:15And how old's Tickle?
0:09:15 > 0:09:17- Tickle is 12 years old.- Right, OK.
0:09:17 > 0:09:19So she's good for this kind of work?
0:09:19 > 0:09:22- She's very steady, yeah. A bit keen, but...- Right.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24How do you think she's going to cope with moving these
0:09:24 > 0:09:27great big lumbering wagons?
0:09:27 > 0:09:30- I think she'll be pretty determined to get it moving.- Right, OK.
0:09:30 > 0:09:31And then she'll keep it moving.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33- Stand still. - She's already ready to go.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36Peter and Alex are manning the brakes.
0:09:36 > 0:09:40If the horse stops suddenly, and the wagons keep on moving,
0:09:40 > 0:09:42it could break Tickle's legs.
0:09:42 > 0:09:44- It's all very well me stopping this one...- Yeah.
0:09:44 > 0:09:46- ..but your one will still be running.- Yeah.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48And if you've got seven of these,
0:09:48 > 0:09:51then the distance that they'll span out is actually quite a lot.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54- Yeah.- So if that horse just stops, we've got to be on it.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57Walk on...
0:09:57 > 0:10:00Oi, steady. Come on.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03Walk on, girl. Walk on. OK.
0:10:03 > 0:10:07I'm just going to put a little bit on here...
0:10:07 > 0:10:09Steady on.
0:10:09 > 0:10:11Ideally we need to get the horse walking in the rails,
0:10:11 > 0:10:15but it's a bit much to ask that of her the first time,
0:10:15 > 0:10:17but of course when you get up into the mountain passes,
0:10:17 > 0:10:19you just don't have that width,
0:10:19 > 0:10:22so you've got to train up your pony to get between the rails,
0:10:22 > 0:10:25so it's a very, very tricky operation for a horse.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28Tickle's finding the sleepers difficult to walk on,
0:10:28 > 0:10:30but back in the 1830s,
0:10:30 > 0:10:34ash or sand was often laid between the rails to make it easier.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37- And whoa. - HORSE SNORTS
0:10:37 > 0:10:40- There we go.- Good girl. We've got the brake down to a fine art.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42Yeah. It is asking quite a bit of her, but she'll do it.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45- She's certainly got the power, hasn't she?- She has, hasn't she?
0:10:45 > 0:10:47- Yes.- She likes to work at speed.
0:10:47 > 0:10:49- Yeah.- Yes.- Unlike Peter.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51- Key question here...- Yes?
0:10:51 > 0:10:54- Has she earnt the apple yet? - THEY LAUGH
0:10:54 > 0:10:56Maybe a few more goes. How do you feel about that?
0:10:56 > 0:10:58- A few more goes.- Let's give her a couple more goes, yeah.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00I think it's time for my apple.
0:11:00 > 0:11:01No, you're not having an apple
0:11:01 > 0:11:05- before the horse is having an apple, OK?- OK.
0:11:05 > 0:11:06Great.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11You could learn a thing or two off of that horse, Peter,
0:11:11 > 0:11:12the speed it works at!
0:11:12 > 0:11:14OK.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16Here we go.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19Well, she does get a shift on, doesn't she?
0:11:19 > 0:11:21Blimey.
0:11:22 > 0:11:26This is a section of the 14-mile track laid in the 1830s
0:11:26 > 0:11:30to carry the horse-drawn slate wagons from the mountainous quarries
0:11:30 > 0:11:32down to Porthmadog.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35Yeah, keep going, lads.
0:11:35 > 0:11:39Alan Tomlinson and his permanent way team are responsible for
0:11:39 > 0:11:41maintaining it today.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44- You know, the permanent way, it's just not the track...- Yeah.
0:11:44 > 0:11:46..it's everything within this area.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48If you look around, we've got fencing.
0:11:48 > 0:11:49We've got dry-stone walls,
0:11:49 > 0:11:52which are a constant problem having to rebuild.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55One day the lads could be fencing, chasing sheep...
0:11:55 > 0:11:57It could be anything.
0:11:57 > 0:12:01Because the Ffestiniog line was built in a mountainous area,
0:12:01 > 0:12:05it had far more tunnels, cuttings, and tight bends
0:12:05 > 0:12:06than a regular railway,
0:12:06 > 0:12:11and in the 1830s, all this had to be dug out by hand.
0:12:11 > 0:12:15But it was made possible by a simple solution.
0:12:15 > 0:12:17The modern passenger railways, though,
0:12:17 > 0:12:20the standard gauge is, what, four foot eight inches and a half?
0:12:20 > 0:12:22- Yeah.- Which is, sort of, out here,
0:12:22 > 0:12:25- so from that rail to about here? - Yeah.
0:12:25 > 0:12:27- What's the gauge here? - It's a two-foot gauge.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29- Just a little two-foot?- Yeah.
0:12:29 > 0:12:31These sort of narrow-gauge rails are very good at
0:12:31 > 0:12:34getting through a landscape like this, and...
0:12:34 > 0:12:36Well, yeah, that's why it's been designed like this -
0:12:36 > 0:12:38because of the geography of the land,
0:12:38 > 0:12:41- you know, narrow gauge was the only option.- Yeah.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43So, I mean, if you've got to make a track bed for something
0:12:43 > 0:12:45that's got a two-foot gauge,
0:12:45 > 0:12:49then, you know, there's that amount of stone has got to be organised.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52But if you were going for the four foot eight, we'd have to...
0:12:52 > 0:12:55We'd have to cut a lot of mountain away to make that extra width,
0:12:55 > 0:12:56- wouldn't we?- Yeah, yeah.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59You know, the expense of cutting more mountain, you know,
0:12:59 > 0:13:02wasn't viable, was it?
0:13:04 > 0:13:08The Ffestiniog Railway opened up new markets for slate.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11By the 1860s, demand was outstripping supply.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18The horse-drawn trains simply weren't powerful enough,
0:13:18 > 0:13:21so in 1863, they invested...
0:13:21 > 0:13:24in Prince, their first steam locomotive.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37Tickle can pull up to ten slate wagons -
0:13:37 > 0:13:39Prince, over 100.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42What this must have been like in the 1860s...
0:13:42 > 0:13:45When these turned up, it would have been like the space age, you know?
0:13:45 > 0:13:46And speed as well, cos of course
0:13:46 > 0:13:49it would have gone a lot faster than a horse could have gone.
0:13:49 > 0:13:50Totally revolutionary at the time.
0:13:50 > 0:13:54With nothing to compare it against, it must have been...
0:13:54 > 0:13:56- quite extraordinary.- Mind-blowing.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02The introduction of steam-hauled slate trains on the Ffestiniog line
0:14:02 > 0:14:04meant production could be boosted tenfold.
0:14:07 > 0:14:11Most of these slates were used to build terraced housing,
0:14:11 > 0:14:15as the Industrial Revolution drew workers from their rural cottages.
0:14:19 > 0:14:21At Beamish in County Durham,
0:14:21 > 0:14:24they've reconstructed a pit village as it would have been in 1900.
0:14:28 > 0:14:33Before the railways, straight streets, squares, crescents
0:14:33 > 0:14:36were the preserve of the wealthy elite,
0:14:36 > 0:14:40found in places like Bath, London, Bristol.
0:14:40 > 0:14:43The railways, however, brought that sort of town planning
0:14:43 > 0:14:45to the rest of us.
0:14:45 > 0:14:48I mean, look at this - this could be almost anywhere
0:14:48 > 0:14:51in any industrial town in Britain.
0:14:51 > 0:14:55You've got standardised slates, you've got standardised bricks.
0:14:55 > 0:15:00There is no sense of individual place, no regionality.
0:15:00 > 0:15:04People had to get used to a whole new, regulated, regimented way
0:15:04 > 0:15:05of railway life.
0:15:08 > 0:15:12Unlike the 1800 house, which was furnished by local craftsmen,
0:15:12 > 0:15:16this house from 1900 is full of products brought in by rail.
0:15:18 > 0:15:20Look at the furniture,
0:15:20 > 0:15:23it's not made of beech or ash or oak.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26There's all sorts of exotic, imported woods being used -
0:15:26 > 0:15:30teak and mahogany, brought halfway across the world
0:15:30 > 0:15:33and then distributed by rail across the country.
0:15:35 > 0:15:42Almost everywhere you look there are standardised, nationwide products.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47I mean, look at the pottery, for example.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51I mean, that's no longer local pots made in one region
0:15:51 > 0:15:53for the people of that region -
0:15:53 > 0:15:55this is nationally available,
0:15:55 > 0:15:59you could buy the same teacup and saucer anywhere in Britain.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07The rail network boosted the new consumer age.
0:16:10 > 0:16:14Mass-produced goods were suddenly available.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18The railways allowed firms to expand their markets to sell
0:16:18 > 0:16:23all over the nation, and that system favoured those who could
0:16:23 > 0:16:28compete most effectively on price and those who could make
0:16:28 > 0:16:31the biggest splash and grab people's attention,
0:16:31 > 0:16:35and those that did it best of all where the soap manufacturers.
0:16:35 > 0:16:38I mean, many of these names are still with us today.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41Look, we've got Lux and Reckitt's and Colman's
0:16:41 > 0:16:42and Lifebuoy and Sunlight.
0:16:44 > 0:16:49We see, for the first time, great, national brands.
0:16:56 > 0:17:00In 1800, just 20% of people lived in cities.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04By 1900, it was 70%.
0:17:04 > 0:17:07And they all needed a roof over their heads.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12More houses were built in this period than at any other time,
0:17:12 > 0:17:15with slate being the number one roofing material.
0:17:17 > 0:17:21The Victorian entrepreneur John Whitehead Greaves
0:17:21 > 0:17:24saw there was an ever-growing demand for slate,
0:17:24 > 0:17:26so began digging in the Welsh mountains.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31Eventually, he struck a rich seam
0:17:31 > 0:17:34and established the Llechwedd Quarry,
0:17:34 > 0:17:38one of the largest in the Blaenau Ffestiniog area.
0:17:38 > 0:17:42At its peak, over 17,000 worked in the Welsh slate industry.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46- Hi, Phil.- Hello.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49Including Phil Jones's ancestors.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52- What are we looking at here? - We're looking now at...
0:17:52 > 0:17:56These are veins, and it goes in veins of slate, granite,
0:17:56 > 0:17:58slate, granite, throughout the mountain.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00The tale goes, it took 'em three years
0:18:00 > 0:18:01to actually find the slate here.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04- Really?- Yeah.- But when they got upon it, they must have...
0:18:04 > 0:18:08- When they got it, he was laughing all the way to the bank.- Hit gold.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10Yeah, he had hit blue-grey gold, there.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12Now, Phil, am I right in thinking you come from
0:18:12 > 0:18:13a long line of slate miners?
0:18:13 > 0:18:16Yes, I can go back about six generations of my family
0:18:16 > 0:18:19working in these places. A great-great-great-great-grandfather
0:18:19 > 0:18:22of mine, he started when he was eight years old,
0:18:22 > 0:18:23worked until he was 69.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25So that was good going, really,
0:18:25 > 0:18:29cos between 35 and 45 was the average age of Victorian miners.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31- So a short life, hard work.- Yes.
0:18:32 > 0:18:36The glory days of the Welsh slate industry ended after the
0:18:36 > 0:18:39Second World War, when cheaper imported slate and clay tiles
0:18:39 > 0:18:41took away business.
0:18:43 > 0:18:46But underground, the Llechwedd slate caverns
0:18:46 > 0:18:49are frozen in time, as they would have been
0:18:49 > 0:18:53when the Ffestiniog Railway made it the slate capital of the world.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59- This is amazing, Phil. - Yeah. All dug out by hand.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03This is like a sort of lost world here, isn't it?
0:19:03 > 0:19:06This is an original candle from the 1800s.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08- This is an original candle?- Yeah.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11- Oh, my goodness. It's been burning a long time.- Yeah.
0:19:11 > 0:19:15Got 250 chambers altogether in this mine,
0:19:15 > 0:19:18and 25 miles of tunnel connecting all the chambers.
0:19:18 > 0:19:19THEY CHUCKLE
0:19:19 > 0:19:23It's quite big. But then, it's not the biggest in the world.
0:19:23 > 0:19:24That is incomprehensible.
0:19:24 > 0:19:26Biggest in the world is across the road.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28- Really? - THEY LAUGH
0:19:28 > 0:19:33In the gloom, quarrymen extracted slabs of slate from the cavern.
0:19:33 > 0:19:38To do this, holes were drilled, into which explosives were packed.
0:19:39 > 0:19:42I don't feel like I'm doing anything.
0:19:43 > 0:19:45You ARE kicking out a bit of dust there.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47I'm seeing the dust coming out there.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50So, erm, we'll leave you down here, then, Peter, shall we, and, er...?
0:19:52 > 0:19:57To drill, the quarrymen often had to scale the cavern walls.
0:19:57 > 0:20:01- So, here he goes. So this all looks fairly ominous, Shane.- Yeah.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04You know, when they were working at this angle
0:20:04 > 0:20:06they would have to have some sort of support.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11Slate has razor-like edges that could sever rope,
0:20:11 > 0:20:13so chains were used instead.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17So you're wrapping that right up there on your leg?
0:20:17 > 0:20:19And now I'm using my own weight, keep myself in position.
0:20:19 > 0:20:23- So now you can drill?- Now I can drill, yeah. Can you pass me the...?
0:20:25 > 0:20:26HE CHUCKLES
0:20:33 > 0:20:34HE SIGHS
0:20:34 > 0:20:37- THEY LAUGH - How's your leg? How's your leg?
0:20:37 > 0:20:40My leg is, er, going to sleep.
0:20:40 > 0:20:41Are you going to give it a go?
0:20:43 > 0:20:45I'm holding the lantern this time, aren't I?
0:20:45 > 0:20:46THEY LAUGH
0:20:46 > 0:20:47OK.
0:20:50 > 0:20:52So, I get up, up to here...
0:20:53 > 0:20:55..and then I'm going to get this...
0:21:01 > 0:21:02Oh, goodness me.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06Ouch!
0:21:06 > 0:21:08That is painful.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11- It is, isn't it? - That is extremely painful.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14Oh, I think I'm pinching something, Peter.
0:21:14 > 0:21:15THEY LAUGH
0:21:15 > 0:21:17- Did you dress to the left this morning, or...?- Oh, God!
0:21:19 > 0:21:22- So then I've got to drill... - That's it, drill there.
0:21:22 > 0:21:26..with that? That is incredibly painful.
0:21:26 > 0:21:30- I don't think I should.- OK. - It's obviously in your blood, Phil.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33That's what my grandfather did.
0:21:33 > 0:21:34And my father.
0:21:36 > 0:21:37HE GROANS
0:21:38 > 0:21:42- It is painful, isn't it? Very painful.- That is painful.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45Well, you think it's more painful when you get 12p a day?
0:21:45 > 0:21:48- Yeah, that's between the team of four, though.- Yeah.
0:21:48 > 0:21:513p for you, 3p for me and a lot of pain for the both of us.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54I think my groin is worth more than 3p.
0:21:54 > 0:21:56Sure you don't want a go, Peter?
0:21:56 > 0:21:59I am never going to look at a roofing slate in the same way again.
0:21:59 > 0:22:00Hmm.
0:22:02 > 0:22:06At its peak, over half a million tonnes of slate were being
0:22:06 > 0:22:10produced each year, all transported down the mountain by the
0:22:10 > 0:22:13steam-powered Ffestiniog Railway...
0:22:16 > 0:22:17..fuelled by coal.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25Coal was vital to the Industrial Revolution,
0:22:25 > 0:22:28enabling factories to mass-produce goods
0:22:28 > 0:22:31and railways to distribute them.
0:22:31 > 0:22:35But in the 1840s, many of Britain's railways had a different widths
0:22:35 > 0:22:39of track, so wagons from one line wouldn't fit on another...
0:22:40 > 0:22:44Look, for example, at the size of the coal wagons here
0:22:44 > 0:22:46in the comparison to the wagons,
0:22:46 > 0:22:49those little slate wagons that we saw at the Ffestiniog.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57..so in 1846, the Government ruled that all future lines
0:22:57 > 0:22:58should adopt the same width.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07The Gauge Act decreed that they must be built
0:23:07 > 0:23:11with rails a standard four foot eight-and-a-half inches apart.
0:23:14 > 0:23:19And this standard meant that they could join up together at last.
0:23:19 > 0:23:23It also meant that wagons became standardised, too,
0:23:23 > 0:23:26so that the same wagon could run from one end of the country
0:23:26 > 0:23:29to the other, joining up one business with another.
0:23:32 > 0:23:35Feeding into this ever-growing national network,
0:23:35 > 0:23:39thousands of branch lines from mines and quarries.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42Now materials that were building the new, industrialised Britain,
0:23:42 > 0:23:48such as coal, slate and iron, could be transported in bulk
0:23:48 > 0:23:51right into towns and factories across the nation.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00There were over 1,500 lines from collieries alone,
0:24:00 > 0:24:04one of which was the Foxfield Railway near Stoke.
0:24:05 > 0:24:09It ran from the Foxfield Colliery to a mainline junction,
0:24:09 > 0:24:11where it connected to the national network.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17When the pit closed in 1965, the mine was preserved by
0:24:17 > 0:24:20a team of volunteers, including Ron Whalley.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23So it wasn't a passenger line, it wasn't for anything else,
0:24:23 > 0:24:25it was just for a single purpose - shifting coal?
0:24:25 > 0:24:28Yeah. The mine owners wanted a means of getting the coal
0:24:28 > 0:24:33to outside industry as cheaply as possible, and they wanted a railway,
0:24:33 > 0:24:34so they built one,
0:24:34 > 0:24:39- and you can see it's a most peculiar shape.- That is a very odd route!
0:24:39 > 0:24:42The reason for that is there was a stately home there, and the lord
0:24:42 > 0:24:45of the manor didn't want the railway running through his front garden,
0:24:45 > 0:24:47so it had to avoid that, but there was a hill here,
0:24:47 > 0:24:51so it went round the hill and then dropped at this alarming gradient,
0:24:51 > 0:24:54and the steepest bit is about one in 19.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58- One in 19?- Yeah. - That's really steep for a railway.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00It is really steep for a railway, yes.
0:25:00 > 0:25:04This is Britain's steepest line, but whereas at Ffestiniog
0:25:04 > 0:25:08full wagons run downhill, here it's the other way round.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11So, the wagons going, full, up...
0:25:11 > 0:25:14The full wagons are going up the gradient.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17It's the most uneconomical thing you can possibly imagine!
0:25:17 > 0:25:21Such was the demand for coal to fuel the Industrial Revolution,
0:25:21 > 0:25:26that even expensive-to-run lines like this were considered viable.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29- All right, Ruth! - Can I come on board?- Come on board!
0:25:29 > 0:25:31Pulling coal up the gradient today
0:25:31 > 0:25:35is a powerful Bagnall tank engine owned by Andrew Civil.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37He's giving Ruth a driving lesson.
0:25:37 > 0:25:39Do you know what's what?
0:25:39 > 0:25:43- Not really.- Right.- A bit, but not much, so take me through it.
0:25:43 > 0:25:45- What have we got? - Right, this is the regulator.
0:25:45 > 0:25:50This will supply the steam to the cylinder. So that's the accelerator.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54Okey doke. OK. Next one, steam brake.
0:25:54 > 0:25:58Most important is sending steam down to a cylinder under your feet,
0:25:58 > 0:26:00and applying the brakes.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03- Right, so it's just like the foot brake in a car?- Foot brake.
0:26:03 > 0:26:08Exactly. A steam loco, everyone will tell you, is very easy to move,
0:26:08 > 0:26:11but to stop it where you want it to stop is the trick!
0:26:12 > 0:26:14The first job for the Victorian rail crew
0:26:14 > 0:26:16is to hook up the empty coal wagons.
0:26:17 > 0:26:20Right, now look where you're going.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22Definitely forward.
0:26:24 > 0:26:26And...
0:26:26 > 0:26:28Right, shut the regulator.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35Driving a steam engine is a two-person job.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38Matt Healey is the fireman who works alongside the driver.
0:26:38 > 0:26:40He's assembling the coal train.
0:26:40 > 0:26:44That is the connection between the loco and the wagons.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47That basically takes all the pull of the loco and transmits it,
0:26:47 > 0:26:50via a drawbar, back to each wagon.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55Matt's taken the handbrake off.
0:26:55 > 0:27:00Ruth takes the controls to drive the empty wagons down to the colliery.
0:27:00 > 0:27:02Touch more regulator. That's it.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04Oh, not quite as much as that.
0:27:05 > 0:27:08That's a mixture of me and the wagon.
0:27:08 > 0:27:10Just like stalling!
0:27:12 > 0:27:13TRAIN CHUGS
0:27:13 > 0:27:16That sounds good! Oh, that sounds good!
0:27:21 > 0:27:23Little bit more regulating.
0:27:23 > 0:27:24Bit more.
0:27:24 > 0:27:25Oh, there it comes!
0:27:25 > 0:27:28Listen to that chuff!
0:27:28 > 0:27:30Wow, the power!
0:27:30 > 0:27:32You can really feel it!
0:27:33 > 0:27:34Wow.
0:27:41 > 0:27:43- Right, put the regulator in. - Is that the regulator?
0:27:45 > 0:27:48They've now reached the top of the steep incline down to the mine.
0:27:48 > 0:27:52So, we're not just, like, going to let the train roll down the hill
0:27:52 > 0:27:54- and then put brakes on when we want to stop?- No, no, no.
0:27:54 > 0:27:56We've got them dragging right now.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00Each wagon has its own separate brake, which Ron is putting half on.
0:28:02 > 0:28:06Without it, the weight of the wagons could push the loco down the hill...
0:28:06 > 0:28:08with disastrous consequences.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12- No runaway trains over the hill?- No.
0:28:12 > 0:28:14Cos at the bottom of the hill is Ron's garden!
0:28:14 > 0:28:16- Really?- Yeah!
0:28:16 > 0:28:17Andy!
0:28:19 > 0:28:22Brakes applied, the train is ready to descend the hill.
0:28:22 > 0:28:25- I will do this bit.- Yeah.
0:28:25 > 0:28:28I'm quite glad you don't trust me with this bit.
0:28:33 > 0:28:36Even an empty coal train weighs over 50 tonnes.
0:28:36 > 0:28:40So this really is the steepest bit of rail in Britain.
0:28:40 > 0:28:44- We're coming to the steepest bit now.- I can feel it, actually.
0:28:46 > 0:28:47That must be the colliery.
0:28:51 > 0:28:56At its peak, this colliery produced 200,000 tonnes of coal each year.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00The next thing, you have to load up with coal,
0:29:00 > 0:29:03and then we've got to haul it up that hill.
0:29:13 > 0:29:17With the coal-fuelled railways revolutionising the supply chain,
0:29:17 > 0:29:21the slate miners of Wales were working harder than ever.
0:29:21 > 0:29:26To keep up with demand, the men endured 12-hour shifts underground,
0:29:26 > 0:29:28broken by just one half-hour rest.
0:29:29 > 0:29:32- The tea would be made in the morning, like ours is.- Yeah?
0:29:32 > 0:29:35And, I mean, you could creosote a fence with that, to be honest.
0:29:35 > 0:29:39But you'd warm it up, actually, at the point of your lunch.
0:29:39 > 0:29:42- Warm it up over a candle. - Warm it up over a candle.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45- Iechyd da.- Iechyd da. Good health.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48Slate quarries were dangerous places.
0:29:48 > 0:29:51Drilling kicked up deadly slate dust
0:29:51 > 0:29:55which, when inhaled, settled in the lungs and set like concrete.
0:29:55 > 0:29:58The result - a slow, lingering death.
0:30:00 > 0:30:04The owners of the quarry sought to divert the blame.
0:30:05 > 0:30:09They paid the doctors to say they were drinking too much stewed tea.
0:30:09 > 0:30:12- And they believed it. - Why wouldn't you?
0:30:12 > 0:30:15You've got a qualified medical professional telling you the reason
0:30:15 > 0:30:18why you're dying is because you're drinking stewed teas.
0:30:18 > 0:30:19They actually said in the reports
0:30:19 > 0:30:22that the dust was actually good for you.
0:30:22 > 0:30:23Right. Wow.
0:30:24 > 0:30:28If the dust from drilling didn't kill you, the blasting might.
0:30:30 > 0:30:33Every year, three miners in every 1,000 died in accidents -
0:30:33 > 0:30:37more than in coal mining.
0:30:37 > 0:30:40Modern-day fuse wire will burn at around a foot a minute
0:30:40 > 0:30:42so you can time yourself to get away from the blast.
0:30:42 > 0:30:46In those days, they only had a piece of rope or a piece of twine dipped
0:30:46 > 0:30:50into tar, then into the gunpowder and then you'd put it into the hole.
0:30:50 > 0:30:53Good Lord.
0:30:53 > 0:30:55Then you'd pour the gunpowder into the hole,
0:30:55 > 0:30:57slate dust on top of the gunpowder,
0:30:57 > 0:31:00paper on top of the slate dust.
0:31:00 > 0:31:05And then, with this tool here, you'd stamp it all down.
0:31:09 > 0:31:11You have to remember that the fuse is very unpredictable.
0:31:11 > 0:31:15My grandfather, he did go back to the blast.
0:31:15 > 0:31:18The blast went off early and he lost the use of his hand.
0:31:18 > 0:31:21I remember blue freckles all the way up his arm where the slate
0:31:21 > 0:31:23had embedded into his arm.
0:31:23 > 0:31:26So, I can appreciate the danger.
0:31:26 > 0:31:30- That was his career as a slate miner over, really.- Yeah, basically.
0:31:30 > 0:31:32- His livelihood.- Yes.
0:31:34 > 0:31:38Once blasted, the slabs of slate were loaded onto carts.
0:31:39 > 0:31:42Carts were then taken from the chamber to the surface.
0:31:44 > 0:31:48Here, the slabs were sawn using steam-powered machines,
0:31:48 > 0:31:51ready to be split by hand.
0:31:51 > 0:31:55- There we go.- Look at that! - 500 million years.
0:31:55 > 0:31:57That's the last time that saw the light of day.
0:31:57 > 0:32:00- Do you want a go of this? - Yeah, go on, then!
0:32:01 > 0:32:05Slate is formed when clay is compressed and heated in the ground.
0:32:06 > 0:32:08Its crystals become arranged in layers,
0:32:08 > 0:32:11and it's along these layers that it can be split.
0:32:13 > 0:32:18It's this unique property that makes it ideal for roofing.
0:32:18 > 0:32:19And that needs to be split one more time
0:32:19 > 0:32:22- to get the thickness of a roof tile.- Yes.
0:32:22 > 0:32:24You going to try and split that in half, then?
0:32:24 > 0:32:25Going to try. Yeah, yeah.
0:32:25 > 0:32:28This is what we've come for.
0:32:28 > 0:32:31I can feel your nervousness, Peter!
0:32:31 > 0:32:32THEY LAUGH
0:32:35 > 0:32:37Just go gentle with that, now.
0:32:37 > 0:32:39With the hand?
0:32:39 > 0:32:41And then prise it open.
0:32:41 > 0:32:46- Oh, look at that!- Yeah.- That's like taking candy from a baby.
0:32:46 > 0:32:50Yeah, look at that! Unbelievable.
0:32:50 > 0:32:52What a fantastic material!
0:32:52 > 0:32:55- It just sheds water. - It's impenetrable.- Yeah.
0:32:55 > 0:32:59Next, the split layers are cut to size.
0:32:59 > 0:33:01I want those fingers of yours, Peter.
0:33:01 > 0:33:02All in the wrist.
0:33:05 > 0:33:09The finished slates were given regal names according to their sizes.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12The largest were called Empress,
0:33:12 > 0:33:16then Duchess, Countess, and Lady for the smallest.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19- With my slating skills, we've invented a new roof tile.- Yes.
0:33:19 > 0:33:21The Parlourmaid.
0:33:23 > 0:33:27Cutting slate into tiles was a wasteful process.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30Just 10% of the quarried rock was taken by train down the mountain.
0:33:33 > 0:33:35The rest was dumped on spoil heaps,
0:33:35 > 0:33:39which still litter the Blaenau Ffestiniog landscape today.
0:33:40 > 0:33:43Coal production created even more waste.
0:33:43 > 0:33:46At its peak, over 500 million tonnes were mined
0:33:46 > 0:33:49and transported by rail each year.
0:33:50 > 0:33:55At Foxfield, even this small coal train weighs over 200 tonnes.
0:33:56 > 0:33:59To help it grip the track up the steep hill to the mainline,
0:33:59 > 0:34:02Matt's giving the loco a little help.
0:34:02 > 0:34:05Filling the sandboxes up with sand, so that if we slip,
0:34:05 > 0:34:07we've got some sand to put on the rails.
0:34:07 > 0:34:09There's a steam jet in there
0:34:09 > 0:34:12which grabs hold of the sand and blows it out through that pipe.
0:34:15 > 0:34:16So is this what they should do
0:34:16 > 0:34:19- when they've got leaves on the line, then?- Yeah.
0:34:19 > 0:34:22- It is. And modern trains do have them.- Do they really?
0:34:22 > 0:34:25About ten, 15 years ago, they reintroduced sanding gear
0:34:25 > 0:34:28onto modern trains to counteract slippage.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32Whereas rubber car tyres grip the road firmly,
0:34:32 > 0:34:37a steel train wheel against a steel rail gives very little traction,
0:34:37 > 0:34:40so forcing sand between the wheels and the track helps it grip.
0:34:41 > 0:34:46That's all the grip you've got, that little patch on each wheel.
0:34:46 > 0:34:48So if that goes...
0:34:48 > 0:34:51we ain't going anywhere!
0:34:51 > 0:34:53Are we ready?
0:34:53 > 0:34:56- Green flag.- Green flag.
0:34:56 > 0:34:57WHISTLE BLOWS
0:34:57 > 0:35:00So, fully loaded,
0:35:00 > 0:35:03up the steepest incline in Britain.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09Oh, see her struggle!
0:35:13 > 0:35:15The fully loaded coal train is going nowhere.
0:35:21 > 0:35:24Despite sand being used, the wheels are slipping.
0:35:29 > 0:35:32Then Matt spots the problem.
0:35:32 > 0:35:33The brakes are pinned!
0:35:35 > 0:35:39The wagon's brakes were left on after descending the hill.
0:35:39 > 0:35:42With the brakes on, no wonder we ain't moving!
0:35:42 > 0:35:44- Try that again.- OK!
0:35:46 > 0:35:48The brakes released,
0:35:48 > 0:35:52they make a second attempt at claiming the gradient.
0:35:52 > 0:35:53At the first sign of slippage,
0:35:53 > 0:35:57Andy applies sand to the track to increase traction.
0:35:59 > 0:36:02Look, lever's in position and we're moving.
0:36:02 > 0:36:04We're really getting going now!
0:36:09 > 0:36:13She's really working now to get us up here, isn't she?
0:36:13 > 0:36:17Climbing steep hills is where a fireman really earns his money.
0:36:17 > 0:36:19He must continually shovel coal,
0:36:19 > 0:36:23keeping the fire raging to maintain steam.
0:36:23 > 0:36:25If the steam runs short,
0:36:25 > 0:36:27the load will pull the loco back down the hill.
0:36:31 > 0:36:35That is flat-out. there is absolutely nothing left!
0:36:35 > 0:36:39- RUTH LAUGHS - Flat-out!
0:36:56 > 0:37:00You can feel that immediate change as we hit the top...
0:37:00 > 0:37:02and easing back.
0:37:04 > 0:37:07Oh! You didn't think she was going to go for a minute.
0:37:07 > 0:37:09I could see it in your face.
0:37:09 > 0:37:12You thought, "She's not going to move. She's not going to move."
0:37:12 > 0:37:15It was getting called all the names under the sun under my breath!
0:37:17 > 0:37:20The joy at hitting the top of the hill is short lived.
0:37:20 > 0:37:24- I can see flames. - Yeah, I can see flames!
0:37:24 > 0:37:27Working the steam locomotive flat-out has drawn burning coals
0:37:27 > 0:37:28up and out of the chimney,
0:37:28 > 0:37:30setting fire to the embankment.
0:37:33 > 0:37:35All the early railways, the steam days,
0:37:35 > 0:37:40had to keep their banks really tidy because of exactly this problem.
0:37:40 > 0:37:42They had to manage the whole landscape,
0:37:42 > 0:37:45keep it as flat and as green as possible.
0:37:45 > 0:37:47There we go.
0:37:47 > 0:37:50When steam trains were withdrawn in 1968,
0:37:50 > 0:37:53British Rail stopped tidying up embankments.
0:37:53 > 0:37:57As the trees grew back, a new problem arose -
0:37:57 > 0:37:59leaves on the line.
0:38:00 > 0:38:03But burning coals thrown from the loco wasn't just
0:38:03 > 0:38:05a problem in the countryside.
0:38:05 > 0:38:09I mean, can you imagine in the middle of a town,
0:38:09 > 0:38:12if you live there and you had your washing out?
0:38:12 > 0:38:14I mean, first of all, it'd get totally ruined
0:38:14 > 0:38:16by the train going past,
0:38:16 > 0:38:19and then you can always get it set on fire as well.
0:38:24 > 0:38:27For centuries, wood had been burned to cook food and heat homes...
0:38:29 > 0:38:32..but the arrival of the railway in a town
0:38:32 > 0:38:35meant coal prices fell by a third.
0:38:37 > 0:38:39It quickly became the fuel of choice,
0:38:39 > 0:38:41burning hotter and for longer than wood.
0:38:43 > 0:38:45But there was a downside.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50Look at that! Filthy, isn't it?
0:38:50 > 0:38:52And that is the problem with coal fires -
0:38:52 > 0:38:56they leave this awful muck over everything.
0:38:56 > 0:38:58It's not just like dust falling out of the fire,
0:38:58 > 0:39:02it's also the smoke creates sort of like smuts in the air.
0:39:02 > 0:39:04Almost like little black snowflakes.
0:39:04 > 0:39:08They're filthy and they're sticky
0:39:08 > 0:39:10and they make everything...
0:39:10 > 0:39:11Eurgh.
0:39:11 > 0:39:15It creates this vast burden of housework.
0:39:15 > 0:39:19Coal trapped women within the home.
0:39:20 > 0:39:24Before the railways, washday might be just once a month.
0:39:24 > 0:39:26Now, it was weekly,
0:39:26 > 0:39:29and shifting coal smuts required carbolic soap.
0:39:30 > 0:39:34Unfortunately, it doesn't activate it in cold water.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38So, in order to make the soap work,
0:39:38 > 0:39:40I have to have
0:39:40 > 0:39:43not only it grated down, like that,
0:39:43 > 0:39:47but I have to have hot water, therefore burning more coal.
0:39:49 > 0:39:53Likewise, my washing water also has to be warm or hot.
0:39:53 > 0:39:55I mean, quite hot, actually,
0:39:55 > 0:39:58or the soap will not activate, will not do its job.
0:40:01 > 0:40:04So, because I have a coal fire, I have to use the soap.
0:40:04 > 0:40:08Because I'm using soap, I have to use more coal fire.
0:40:15 > 0:40:18And then you start doing what a washing machine does.
0:40:18 > 0:40:21Bashing, twisting - in hot soapy water.
0:40:23 > 0:40:25Laundry day.
0:40:25 > 0:40:27Dreaded throughout the nation.
0:40:29 > 0:40:32Laundry had always been hard work,
0:40:32 > 0:40:36but the coming of coal brought into the towns and cities by the
0:40:36 > 0:40:40railways changed it almost beyond recognition.
0:40:40 > 0:40:42Made it almost into a way of life.
0:40:45 > 0:40:47I'm going to spend the whole of Monday from before dawn
0:40:47 > 0:40:50till after dusk, just doing the basic washing process.
0:40:50 > 0:40:54And then Tuesdays and Wednesdays were often taken up
0:40:54 > 0:40:56with ironing, drying and sorting -
0:40:56 > 0:40:59about half your week could be consumed just by laundry.
0:41:12 > 0:41:15- Fantastic landscape, Peter, it really is.- Beautiful.
0:41:15 > 0:41:19- Oops!- Peter, one in ten, mate. One in ten.
0:41:19 > 0:41:22Come on. Chop chop!
0:41:22 > 0:41:23"One in ten!"
0:41:26 > 0:41:31Ruth's returned to the Ffestiniog Railway, to drive the slate train
0:41:31 > 0:41:33from the port up to the quarry.
0:41:35 > 0:41:38So we're heading up the mountain now,
0:41:38 > 0:41:40with all the empty wagons behind us.
0:41:40 > 0:41:44And when we get to the top, hopefully we should meet the boys.
0:41:44 > 0:41:47Who should, I hope, have mined some slate.
0:41:56 > 0:41:58Such was the scale of the operation,
0:41:58 > 0:42:02that often two locomotives were needed to haul the wagons.
0:42:15 > 0:42:17Well, there they are. Waiting for us.
0:42:19 > 0:42:20It's red and it's noisy.
0:42:22 > 0:42:26- It's a nice steam engine as well, isn't it?- Wonderful.
0:42:27 > 0:42:29We have some slates for you, as well.
0:42:29 > 0:42:33- Oh, they look proper, don't they? - These are lady slates.- Lady slates?
0:42:33 > 0:42:37- Do they meet with your approval? - Special female slates.- Yeah.
0:42:37 > 0:42:39They're lovely.
0:42:39 > 0:42:42- Well, lady's the size. - Oh, is it?- They've all got names.
0:42:42 > 0:42:44They're predominantly female names, but...
0:42:44 > 0:42:46Lady's actually quite a manageable size.
0:42:46 > 0:42:48Some of these things are pretty big.
0:42:48 > 0:42:51So this is a lady you can handle, Peter(!)
0:42:53 > 0:42:57The slates are loaded onto the train.
0:42:57 > 0:42:58Are you all right?
0:42:58 > 0:43:02- I only brought a lady-sized stack of ladies.- Oh, right, yeah!
0:43:02 > 0:43:04The wagons are tightly packed,
0:43:04 > 0:43:07so the fragile cargo reaches the port intact.
0:43:08 > 0:43:12You can certainly see how these things were rattled around
0:43:12 > 0:43:13and you'd have lost slates.
0:43:13 > 0:43:16Because we're going to need a lot more to pack them in,
0:43:16 > 0:43:18because otherwise we'll have a load
0:43:18 > 0:43:20of coasters with cuts by the time we get to the end!
0:43:26 > 0:43:29So we've got our slate loaded up. What's the job now?
0:43:29 > 0:43:33- Well, we've finished with our steam locos now.- Right, OK.
0:43:33 > 0:43:37And we're going to detach them and now just use gravity to get all
0:43:37 > 0:43:39the way down to the harbour.
0:43:41 > 0:43:44- It's known as the oldest roller-coaster on earth.- I like it!
0:43:44 > 0:43:49- Right. Right, slates to the sea, then?- Yeah, slates to the sea!
0:43:49 > 0:43:54In one go, 120 wagons carrying 500 tonnes of slate could be
0:43:54 > 0:43:58rolled from the quarry 14 miles downhill to the mainline.
0:44:00 > 0:44:03- So, Ruth on there now.- OK.
0:44:03 > 0:44:04Peter with William.
0:44:04 > 0:44:06Good. Peter on there, good.
0:44:06 > 0:44:09- I'm on the important carriage. - Come up front with me.- Yes.
0:44:09 > 0:44:11Ian is the driver of the engine's train.
0:44:11 > 0:44:15His only means of control are simple brakes on each wagon,
0:44:15 > 0:44:17which Alex, Peter and Ruth must help operate.
0:44:17 > 0:44:20OK, let's go.
0:44:20 > 0:44:22BUGLE BLOWS
0:44:24 > 0:44:26All off!
0:44:28 > 0:44:29Just like that?
0:44:31 > 0:44:32We're off!
0:44:34 > 0:44:36- We're really getting a shift on here, Ian!- Certainly, yeah.
0:44:36 > 0:44:40It's quite some speed! Blimey.
0:44:42 > 0:44:45So at what point, Ian, do we start putting the brakes on?
0:44:45 > 0:44:48- Probably just around this corner. - Fine, OK.
0:44:48 > 0:44:51BUGLE BLOWS CONTINUOUSLY
0:44:55 > 0:44:59These mountains also would have supported
0:44:59 > 0:45:00a thriving sheep industry,
0:45:00 > 0:45:03with lots and lots of crossings.
0:45:03 > 0:45:06And this is what Ian's bugling for.
0:45:06 > 0:45:10Just so that the sheep and the shepherds know that the slate
0:45:10 > 0:45:11train's coming through.
0:45:18 > 0:45:20- Still haven't applied any brakes yet, Ian.- No.
0:45:26 > 0:45:28It's amazing how much 15mph feels
0:45:28 > 0:45:31so much faster when you're sat on the edge of a slate truck.
0:45:31 > 0:45:32Absolutely.
0:45:33 > 0:45:37Running the train downhill without an engine, just using gravity,
0:45:37 > 0:45:41not only saves coal, but it makes the ride smoother.
0:45:42 > 0:45:46Going down the hill under the power of gravity,
0:45:46 > 0:45:49the same force is working over the entirety of the train.
0:45:49 > 0:45:54So that means there's less jolting, less vibrations.
0:45:54 > 0:45:56And less slates breaking.
0:45:56 > 0:45:57So by the time we get to the port,
0:45:57 > 0:45:59hopefully most of them will be intact.
0:46:06 > 0:46:09It's the responsibility of the driver to maintain enough speed
0:46:09 > 0:46:12to carry the wagons to the end of the line.
0:46:12 > 0:46:15So we're probably going just about fast enough,
0:46:15 > 0:46:17so if you want to pull on that lever and put our brake on.
0:46:17 > 0:46:20- OK.- You just do one for now.
0:46:20 > 0:46:23OK, so we've got one brake on now.
0:46:23 > 0:46:27One brake! The rest of the train is now bunching up,
0:46:27 > 0:46:30because we've got this one brake on.
0:46:30 > 0:46:32To apply the rest of the wagon's brakes,
0:46:32 > 0:46:36Ian shouts out numbers as to how many must be applied.
0:46:36 > 0:46:38OK, two!
0:46:38 > 0:46:40Here we go. Brake on...
0:46:42 > 0:46:47And you can feel it, actually it's just starting to slow.
0:46:48 > 0:46:51That's the signal for all of the brakes on?
0:46:51 > 0:46:54Yeah, all of the brakes are coming on on the train and
0:46:54 > 0:46:56that'll slow us down.
0:46:56 > 0:46:57- All off!- All off!
0:47:00 > 0:47:03That was absolutely thrilling, that run down.
0:47:03 > 0:47:07But the brakeman's job here is a pretty exposed job, isn't it, Ian?
0:47:07 > 0:47:10It is, especially at this time of year.
0:47:10 > 0:47:13Running up and down the mountain, basically just sat on slates.
0:47:13 > 0:47:15Exactly. Day in, day out, all year round.
0:47:15 > 0:47:19That's a pretty harsh job by anyone's reckoning.
0:47:21 > 0:47:25I do see actually how it is incredibly easy to control.
0:47:25 > 0:47:29I mean, we're just now creeping into the platform.
0:47:31 > 0:47:34That is magical!
0:47:34 > 0:47:38Absolutely magical. Time for a cup of tea, I think.
0:47:38 > 0:47:41It's time for a nice, warm cup of tea.
0:47:41 > 0:47:46- I'd love one, but I've got slate bum.- Cold, cold slate bum.
0:47:46 > 0:47:51- Oh! Oh!- Come on, old man! Come on, you old dear.- Thank you.
0:47:51 > 0:47:55Let's go get you a nice cup of tea, Peter, shall we?
0:47:55 > 0:47:59- That was thrilling though, wasn't it?- Yeah, that was something else.
0:47:59 > 0:48:01- That was absolutely amazing. - Something else.
0:48:12 > 0:48:15Once the slate had been brought down the mountain on the narrow
0:48:15 > 0:48:21gauge railway, it was transferred to the standard gauge national network,
0:48:21 > 0:48:24where it could be distributed across Britain.
0:48:25 > 0:48:30By the 1880s, the railways had connected all of Britain's cities.
0:48:34 > 0:48:38St Pancras Station in London, completed in 1876,
0:48:38 > 0:48:41connected the capital to the Midlands.
0:48:41 > 0:48:45I absolutely love this station. It is breathtaking.
0:48:47 > 0:48:51And to think, they were going to pull it down. My goodness!
0:48:51 > 0:48:55Today, it stands as a testament to the railway's ability to move
0:48:55 > 0:48:58bulky building materials across Britain.
0:48:58 > 0:49:01We are stood right on the limit of Georgian London.
0:49:01 > 0:49:05And those houses, they're built out of bricks that are made locally,
0:49:05 > 0:49:08using clay that's dug out from the very ground below us.
0:49:08 > 0:49:10And it's formed what is known as a London brick,
0:49:10 > 0:49:13which is very, very yellow in colour.
0:49:13 > 0:49:15But St Pancras is made out of red bricks,
0:49:15 > 0:49:18and that's because St Pancras is built out of materials
0:49:18 > 0:49:20that have been brought here by the railways.
0:49:22 > 0:49:26The bricks that face the building have come from Nottingham.
0:49:26 > 0:49:30The red stonework was also brought in by rail from Mansfield...
0:49:32 > 0:49:34..the white stone from Ancaster in Lincolnshire...
0:49:35 > 0:49:39..and the ironwork that spans the ceiling, from Derbyshire.
0:49:41 > 0:49:46The crowning glory of this building is its roof. It is beautiful.
0:49:46 > 0:49:50And it is made out of, you guessed it, hundreds of thousands of slates.
0:49:50 > 0:49:53Many of those slates have been mined from the Welsh slate mines
0:49:53 > 0:49:55that surround the Ffestiniog Railway.
0:49:55 > 0:49:59And those slates have travelled down the very same gravity train
0:49:59 > 0:50:00that we've sat on.
0:50:00 > 0:50:05And this place... it's a monument to the railways.
0:50:05 > 0:50:10It is a statement of their prowess in being able to move bulk goods
0:50:10 > 0:50:13from the heart of the country into the capital
0:50:13 > 0:50:15of the industrialised world.
0:50:26 > 0:50:30While the railways brought many benefits to those living in towns,
0:50:30 > 0:50:33some traditions were lost forever.
0:50:34 > 0:50:37One was the way we cooked our food.
0:50:42 > 0:50:45If you roast a piece of meat in front of a wood fire, all the
0:50:45 > 0:50:50fat draws in the flavours from the wood smoke, and it's just divine.
0:50:50 > 0:50:54But the railways meant people switched from cooking on wood
0:50:54 > 0:50:56to coal.
0:50:56 > 0:50:58Anything that's roasted or open cooked,
0:50:58 > 0:51:01where the smoke can get at it, is going to get that taint.
0:51:01 > 0:51:02In front of a coal fire,
0:51:02 > 0:51:06it does the same thing with the coal smoke, and it tastes disgusting.
0:51:06 > 0:51:08So people have to start changing the way they cook.
0:51:12 > 0:51:16Open fires were replaced with cast-iron ranges
0:51:16 > 0:51:19that separate the smoky burning coal from the food,
0:51:19 > 0:51:21with an oven and a hob.
0:51:24 > 0:51:28It meant that spit-roasted beef was consigned to history.
0:51:28 > 0:51:31The tradition of Britain as the home of roast beef underwent
0:51:31 > 0:51:37a major overhaul as soon as the railways started moving coal
0:51:37 > 0:51:40into ordinary people's houses.
0:51:40 > 0:51:44Ruth's unearthed a recipe from the 19th century.
0:51:44 > 0:51:49Spuds, lots of spuds in a baking tray.
0:51:49 > 0:51:52A saucer. Breadcrumbs...
0:51:52 > 0:51:54It shows how people adapted
0:51:54 > 0:51:58from roasting beef on wood to baking it with coal.
0:52:00 > 0:52:05So I want you to think of this as a very typical post-railway dinner.
0:52:05 > 0:52:10The sort of thing you would have once coal had taken over your life.
0:52:10 > 0:52:14Knob of fat. I've got a bit of butter.
0:52:14 > 0:52:16And now my beef goes on top,
0:52:16 > 0:52:20and that sits right on top of the saucer.
0:52:20 > 0:52:22Next, some hot water.
0:52:24 > 0:52:27And this water goes around the potatoes.
0:52:29 > 0:52:32Controlling the temperature of a coal oven was difficult.
0:52:32 > 0:52:36But the water provided an ingenious way of stopping it overheating.
0:52:37 > 0:52:42If you've got water present, it sort of evens out temperatures.
0:52:45 > 0:52:48Traditional food of Britain was changing.
0:52:48 > 0:52:51Gone were the 18th-century recipes.
0:52:53 > 0:52:56The whole of the traditional British diet
0:52:56 > 0:52:58was under attack from the railways.
0:53:00 > 0:53:05It wasn't just our diet that was changing. So was our kitchenware.
0:53:05 > 0:53:09This is more or less the traditional shape of pots,
0:53:09 > 0:53:11cooking pots in Britain.
0:53:11 > 0:53:15For over 500 years, they had been round-bottomed and with legs.
0:53:17 > 0:53:20On a wood fire, flames come up, they hit the bottom of that round
0:53:20 > 0:53:26shape and then as they come up, they spread out and lick around the pot.
0:53:26 > 0:53:28But look at it on here.
0:53:28 > 0:53:29SHE LAUGHS
0:53:29 > 0:53:34The traditional pans of Britain did not work on these new coal fires.
0:53:34 > 0:53:38You just had to replace them! There was no choice,
0:53:38 > 0:53:42you suddenly had to go for flat bottomed pans like the kettle,
0:53:42 > 0:53:45like the saucepans that we're all used to.
0:53:45 > 0:53:50Moreover, on a wood fire, an iron pot, say something like this,
0:53:50 > 0:53:54will in fact last two, three, 400 years.
0:53:54 > 0:53:58The sort of thing that can be passed down in your family. An heirloom.
0:53:58 > 0:53:59It's just going nowhere.
0:54:01 > 0:54:04But if you put the pan directly over the coal,
0:54:04 > 0:54:07you're looking at a lifespan of no more than 20 years.
0:54:07 > 0:54:10From something that can last you generation after generation,
0:54:10 > 0:54:13that could be passed down, to something you're going to have to
0:54:13 > 0:54:16replace a couple of times in your lifetime.
0:54:16 > 0:54:21So all this coal the railways are bringing into towns and villages and
0:54:21 > 0:54:26cities all over Britain are bringing with it a new demand for ironware.
0:54:30 > 0:54:34The terraced miners' cottages were all pretty much identical.
0:54:34 > 0:54:38There was one place the occupiers could express their individuality...
0:54:40 > 0:54:42..in the garden.
0:54:43 > 0:54:47These gardens very quickly became a source of pride, because this
0:54:47 > 0:54:50was the opportunity to differentiate yourselves from your neighbours.
0:54:50 > 0:54:54You're all living in essentially the same buildings.
0:54:54 > 0:54:57You needed some way to say, look, I'm different. It's all about me.
0:54:57 > 0:55:01You could keep your garden meticulously clean
0:55:01 > 0:55:02and highly productive.
0:55:02 > 0:55:05And it said something about you as a member of this community.
0:55:05 > 0:55:11But of course, the main benefit that all of this was to have was the fact
0:55:11 > 0:55:16that for the first time, really, these industrial communities
0:55:16 > 0:55:20had the opportunity to grow their own fresh fruit and veg.
0:55:22 > 0:55:26These'll go lovely, I think, with our baked beef.
0:55:35 > 0:55:36- A-ha!- Smells good!
0:55:36 > 0:55:40- Good timing, good timing.- Hi, Ruth. - Hello, Peter!
0:55:40 > 0:55:41Oh, that looks good.
0:55:41 > 0:55:43Wonderful.
0:55:43 > 0:55:45Absolutely wonderful.
0:55:46 > 0:55:50I'm not even going to try and do clever carving. This is lumps.
0:55:50 > 0:55:54- I like lumps. I don't like thin slices.- Thank you.
0:55:54 > 0:55:56Lovely!
0:55:56 > 0:55:58Smells delicious!
0:55:58 > 0:55:59This is a railway dinner.
0:55:59 > 0:56:02Everything about it speaks of that network.
0:56:02 > 0:56:04You know, bringing the coal in,
0:56:04 > 0:56:07bringing the ironwork so that you're having to change your recipes
0:56:07 > 0:56:11and cook in a new, different way from the way you've done before.
0:56:11 > 0:56:13Everything we're looking at is about
0:56:13 > 0:56:16the connectivity of Britain that the railways brought.
0:56:16 > 0:56:19We think of this as our sort of traditional cuisine,
0:56:19 > 0:56:21the meat and the two veg -
0:56:21 > 0:56:23it's a railway cuisine.
0:56:23 > 0:56:27- And it's railway dinner, effectively in a railway cottage as well.- Yeah.
0:56:27 > 0:56:30You couldn't have built effectively the housing for industrial Britain,
0:56:30 > 0:56:32without the railways.
0:56:32 > 0:56:35The 19th century itself is just almost
0:56:35 > 0:56:39a perfect storm in Britain of advancement.
0:56:39 > 0:56:40You've got a population explosion,
0:56:40 > 0:56:43you've got advances in medicine and materials,
0:56:43 > 0:56:45and the railways are that kind of lightning rod
0:56:45 > 0:56:47that conducts it all and just makes it happen.
0:56:47 > 0:56:52Yeah. For 150 years, nearly 200 years,
0:56:52 > 0:56:54the railways allowed a new,
0:56:54 > 0:56:56unique and special way of life.
0:56:56 > 0:56:58It's probably, I think,
0:56:58 > 0:57:02the most amazing legacy from the industrial period -
0:57:02 > 0:57:05the railway networks that still furnish our modern
0:57:05 > 0:57:08British cities and still function and enable those cities to function.
0:57:08 > 0:57:10Exactly!
0:57:11 > 0:57:13So, railway food.
0:57:13 > 0:57:16It's good, but it's not quite as good as the old roast beef, is it?
0:57:16 > 0:57:19- You don't think?- No.- I don't know, Ruth. This is pretty good!
0:57:19 > 0:57:23- It's the same as the one I had in St Pancras.- Is it really?- Yeah.
0:57:23 > 0:57:27- That's two roast beefs you've had in two days.- This ain't roast, mate.
0:57:27 > 0:57:30- Two baked beefs in two days, Peter! - Baked beef!
0:57:30 > 0:57:33You can see what the railways have done for Peter.
0:57:37 > 0:57:41Next time, we see how the railways transformed from being
0:57:41 > 0:57:45a carrier of goods to a carrier of people...
0:57:45 > 0:57:47And it's nicely painted. It's all lovely and clean in here.
0:57:47 > 0:57:50But it is just a wooden wagon with some wooden benches.
0:57:50 > 0:57:55..experience the life of the workers who built the new network.
0:57:55 > 0:57:57I think you left it in the pot a bit long there.
0:57:57 > 0:58:00Seen better days. Give it a clean-up, it'll be fine.
0:58:00 > 0:58:04..and find out what is like to be a passenger in Victorian Britain.
0:58:04 > 0:58:07"In going through a tunnel, it is always as well to have
0:58:07 > 0:58:09"the hands and arms ready, disposed for defence."
0:58:11 > 0:58:12Tunnel!