0:00:05 > 0:00:08The 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 > 0:00:23Connecting our towns with high-speed links,
0:00:23 > 0:00:26revolutionising trade and transportation,
0:00:26 > 0:00:28communication and recreation.
0:00:29 > 0:00:32It was the greatest transformation in our history -
0:00:32 > 0:00:33but how did it happen?
0:00:34 > 0:00:37To find out, historians Ruth Goodman...
0:00:37 > 0:00:40- Flat out!- ..Alex Langlands...
0:00:40 > 0:00:43Shovelling coal is something I'm going to get very, very familiar with.
0:00:43 > 0:00:45..and Peter Ginn...
0:00:45 > 0:00:46It is tough work.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49..are bringing the railways back to life,
0:00:49 > 0:00:51as they would have been during the golden age of steam.
0:00:54 > 0:00:56I feel like I'm in a Western.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59This is very definitely the best steam engine I've ever been on.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03Oh, no! He's gaining on us!
0:01:05 > 0:01:07Brave new world.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09They will be helped by armies of enthusiasts
0:01:09 > 0:01:11who keep the age of steam alive...
0:01:11 > 0:01:13Ugh!
0:01:14 > 0:01:17..on Britain's 500 miles of preserved railway.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20- This is the way to experience train travel, isn't it?- It is.
0:01:20 > 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 > 0:01:30..those who ran it...
0:01:30 > 0:01:34This is brutal - this is savage industrialism.
0:01:34 > 0:01:38..and those for who 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.
0:01:45 > 0:01:50This is the story of how the railways created modern Britain.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09By the 1860s, mainlines had linked Britain's major cities,
0:02:09 > 0:02:12enabling goods and people to move freely between them.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19But leading off the mainlines,
0:02:19 > 0:02:22thousands of smaller branch lines were built,
0:02:22 > 0:02:25connecting rural towns and villages to the rest of the country.
0:02:27 > 0:02:28Today, we tend to look upon the branch lines
0:02:28 > 0:02:32as being this sort of quaint part of this old rural idyll.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36But I'm really interested in the branch lines,
0:02:36 > 0:02:40because I want to find out how they managed to connect very local trades
0:02:40 > 0:02:43with this emerging global economy in the Victorian period.
0:02:45 > 0:02:48The branch lines brought profound changes to villages.
0:02:48 > 0:02:53It makes it much more possible to be very, very specialist,
0:02:53 > 0:02:57to focus in on one thing, and sell it nationally.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00So how was it that these local,
0:03:00 > 0:03:03sometimes very ancient little businesses
0:03:03 > 0:03:07could grow and become national, even global phenomena?
0:03:08 > 0:03:11Branch lines changed the way goods moved around Britain.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13They were essential to the railway network.
0:03:15 > 0:03:19And I want to find out what it was like working on a branch line.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23Branch lines were primarily built to transport goods.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26In the Welsh Valleys,
0:03:26 > 0:03:28they turned wool production from a cottage industry
0:03:28 > 0:03:30into a world-renowned business.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35In the Scottish Highlands, they transformed the local tipple
0:03:35 > 0:03:38into internationally-famous Scotch whisky.
0:03:40 > 0:03:42And in the West Country,
0:03:42 > 0:03:46branch lines turned Devon into Britain's most popular producer...
0:03:47 > 0:03:48..of milk.
0:03:52 > 0:03:53Before the railways,
0:03:53 > 0:03:57milk couldn't be transported long distances because it would go sour
0:03:57 > 0:04:00before reaching its destination,
0:04:00 > 0:04:02so it was produced and consumed locally.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06Victorian London had some 25,000 dairy cows
0:04:06 > 0:04:08in cellars and backyards.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13But when the railways reached Devon in 1849,
0:04:13 > 0:04:17it created a high-speed link between the dairy farms of the West Country
0:04:17 > 0:04:18and London.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27This, I think, is the most beautiful view, with cow, I've ever seen!
0:04:27 > 0:04:31And they look like they belong here - they're a particular breed.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33Yes, they're the South Devons...
0:04:33 > 0:04:35Sandra Fry of Burnford Farm, Dartmoor,
0:04:35 > 0:04:37comes from a long line of dairy farmers.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41As a child, she helped her father milk their herd
0:04:41 > 0:04:43of South Devon cattle.
0:04:43 > 0:04:48And if I went back to an age before the railways,
0:04:48 > 0:04:50would I be still seeing this breed in this landscape?
0:04:50 > 0:04:52Definitely, yes.
0:04:52 > 0:04:55Yeah, they were very much a beef breed and a milking breed.
0:04:55 > 0:04:57Just producing for the local area?
0:04:57 > 0:04:59Yeah, for the milk and the beef.
0:05:00 > 0:05:04Branch lines gave farms access to new markets further afield.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07Milk could travel hundreds of miles and still be fresh
0:05:07 > 0:05:09when it reached people's homes.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15And when your branch line arrives, which was, where...?
0:05:15 > 0:05:17It ran along the bottom here.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19- Of this valley?- Yes.- Right, I mean, there's the moors.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21- Yes.- Right up into the middle of Dartmoor.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25- Yeah.- And that allowed you to be sending milk away?
0:05:25 > 0:05:28Yes, yeah. I suppose my dad had about four churns, and what is it,
0:05:28 > 0:05:3110-12 gallons in a churn? So that would've been...
0:05:31 > 0:05:32- Gone every day?- Yes.
0:05:32 > 0:05:34So, it's thanks to the railways, really,
0:05:34 > 0:05:39that the whole milk industry in this area just got bigger and better.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42It went from being a little, local quality product to being...
0:05:42 > 0:05:45not just the quality, but this huge quantity.
0:05:45 > 0:05:49Mmm, yes. Your lives revolved around the railways, really.
0:05:51 > 0:05:52Come on, then, girls.
0:05:52 > 0:05:56It wasn't just milk the railways were transporting away from farms.
0:05:56 > 0:06:00Jim Jeffrey can also remember South Devon cattle being moved by rail.
0:06:02 > 0:06:07The biggest sale at Tavistock Market was always Tavistock Goosey Fair.
0:06:07 > 0:06:11And it was nothing for them to train away several hundred cattle
0:06:11 > 0:06:14from that market, right into the trains, to Cornwall,
0:06:14 > 0:06:18and of course the north of England as well.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20# 'Twas just a month come Friday next
0:06:20 > 0:06:22# Bill Camperdowne and me
0:06:22 > 0:06:27# Us drove across old Darty Moor The Goosey Fair to see
0:06:27 > 0:06:29# Us made ourselves quite viddy
0:06:29 > 0:06:32# Us graced and combs our hair
0:06:32 > 0:06:34# And off us goes in our Sunday clothes
0:06:34 > 0:06:37# Behind old Bill's grey mare
0:06:37 > 0:06:42# Us smelt the sage and onions as us drove 'cross Whitchurch Down
0:06:42 > 0:06:45# And didn't us 'ave a blowout when us put up in the town
0:06:45 > 0:06:50# And there us seed Ned Hannoford, Jan Steer and Nicky Square
0:06:51 > 0:06:55# It seemed to we all Devon must be at the Tavistock Goosey Fair
0:06:55 > 0:06:57# And it's what be doing of yer
0:06:57 > 0:07:00# And where be going to there
0:07:00 > 0:07:02# Put down your prong and step along
0:07:02 > 0:07:05# To Tavistock Goosey Fair. #
0:07:11 > 0:07:14The South Devon Railway once transported not just cattle and milk
0:07:14 > 0:07:18out of Devon, but also fruit and vegetables from market gardens.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22To find out how the line operated,
0:07:22 > 0:07:24Alex and Peter are taking jobs on the line.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26- Cases.- Yep.
0:07:26 > 0:07:28I'll go and check the timetable.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32The line was part of the Great Western Railway,
0:07:32 > 0:07:35which had a strict code of conduct for its employees.
0:07:36 > 0:07:38Its rulebook stating,
0:07:38 > 0:07:42"The chief concern of staff should be the safety of the public."
0:07:43 > 0:07:45So, before they're allowed near the railway,
0:07:45 > 0:07:49line director Alan Taylor is assessing their suitability.
0:07:49 > 0:07:53- Hi, Alan.- Hiya.- Hello, Alan, nice to meet you.- And you.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56So, as budding young railway drivers and signalmen,
0:07:56 > 0:07:58what's the first thing we need to learn to do?
0:07:58 > 0:08:02Well, the first thing we need to do is make sure that you're actually capable of doing the job,
0:08:02 > 0:08:04so that you can actually see, for one thing.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07Particularly for anybody that works on the footplate - driver,
0:08:07 > 0:08:11fireman or signalman - they need to be able to see both colour
0:08:11 > 0:08:12and actually see at a distance.
0:08:12 > 0:08:16Was it possible for a driver to wear glasses?
0:08:16 > 0:08:18Not in the Victorian era, no, it wasn't.
0:08:18 > 0:08:21And in fact, in those days, the only type of glasses you could have
0:08:21 > 0:08:23would be those with glass lenses.
0:08:23 > 0:08:24And if they broke -
0:08:24 > 0:08:27which there was a high risk because of the risks of the profession -
0:08:27 > 0:08:31you could easily hit something, or a stone could hit you,
0:08:31 > 0:08:34it would break the lens and that would of course go in your eye.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36OK. So...
0:08:36 > 0:08:40The eye test is going to determine who gets to drive the train, then?
0:08:40 > 0:08:42Well, that could well be the case, yes.
0:08:42 > 0:08:43Mmm.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45- A competition! - STEAM HISSES
0:08:45 > 0:08:47It was vital that drivers had good eyesight,
0:08:47 > 0:08:51so they could spot signals when travelling at speed,
0:08:51 > 0:08:53so in 1868,
0:08:53 > 0:08:57railway companies began testing the sight of their employees.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00The idea is that you've got to tell at 15ft
0:09:00 > 0:09:02exactly how many dots you can see.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10Right - how many dots can you see?
0:09:12 > 0:09:14Four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten... 12?
0:09:14 > 0:09:16- 12, indeed.- Well done, Peter.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20- Memorised the chart.- How many dots?
0:09:20 > 0:09:21- Nine.- Thank you.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23Precisely correct. Well done.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26- You've passed the test.- Goodness me!
0:09:26 > 0:09:28- Right, your turn, sir. - Gauntlet has been thrown!
0:09:28 > 0:09:30- Yeah, yeah.- How many dots, sir?
0:09:32 > 0:09:33Erm...
0:09:36 > 0:09:40- 15?- I'm sorry to say, you've failed the test, sir.
0:09:40 > 0:09:41Oh!
0:09:41 > 0:09:4316.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46Looks like I'm working in the buffet car.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48It was essential employees could differentiate
0:09:48 > 0:09:50between red and green signals,
0:09:50 > 0:09:53so they were also tested for colour-blindness.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56OK, sir - tell me what colour I'm showing you.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58- Green.- Thank you, you've passed the test.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00- HE CHUCKLES - Is that it?
0:10:00 > 0:10:02Is my eyesight that bad, Alan?
0:10:02 > 0:10:03If that had been a genuine test,
0:10:03 > 0:10:06I think it's fair to say that you would not have been employed
0:10:06 > 0:10:07by the railway company,
0:10:07 > 0:10:10other than in an office or some sort of backroom job.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13These tests effectively bring in a benchmark, a standard,
0:10:13 > 0:10:15- across all railways. - Well, that was the point, I think,
0:10:15 > 0:10:18and then that started to improve safety from that point onwards.
0:10:22 > 0:10:27For those who passed the medical, training began.
0:10:27 > 0:10:32The road to becoming a driver was a long one, often taking ten years -
0:10:32 > 0:10:33but it was well-paid.
0:10:33 > 0:10:36In the 1870s, drivers were earning over three times
0:10:36 > 0:10:37that of farm workers.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41That's the remnants of a previous...
0:10:41 > 0:10:43Yesterday's fire, yeah.
0:10:43 > 0:10:48On his journey to becoming a driver, Peter's starting at the bottom.
0:10:48 > 0:10:49Right...
0:10:50 > 0:10:52He's been given the job of cleaning the firebox -
0:10:52 > 0:10:54a laborious process -
0:10:54 > 0:10:56in three stages.
0:10:56 > 0:10:58First, the ash is removed by brushing it down
0:10:58 > 0:11:00through the fire grate.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03Something like this was, I suppose, a daily occurrence?
0:11:03 > 0:11:05Yes. It had to be emptied out before the next run.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08An engine of this size would be at least 3.5 hours,
0:11:08 > 0:11:11you need to leave yourself, to prep an engine.
0:11:11 > 0:11:12To help with the job,
0:11:12 > 0:11:17the firebox is illuminated using a burning, paraffin-soaked rag.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20Now you can shovel out - and tip it into the wheelbarrow.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25It makes it easier to see the remaining lumps of unburned coal,
0:11:25 > 0:11:26which must be removed.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37The ash collects underneath the loco, in its ash pan.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40- And we're going under the loco? - We're going under the locomotive...
0:11:40 > 0:11:42The final stage is to wash it out,
0:11:42 > 0:11:45under the supervision of shed master Barbara Turner.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47There's the handle for the hose, to turn it on,
0:11:47 > 0:11:51and you soak all the ash - really soak it very, very well.
0:11:51 > 0:11:53OK. In there, hose going on...
0:11:55 > 0:11:58Washing rather than brushing out the ash
0:11:58 > 0:12:01ensures it doesn't get into the loco's important moving parts.
0:12:04 > 0:12:05There we go. OK, Barbara.
0:12:07 > 0:12:09Ash pan soaked.
0:12:09 > 0:12:11- It's not the only thing! - SHE LAUGHS
0:12:11 > 0:12:14OK, now you can shove the ash right the way through the pan
0:12:14 > 0:12:15onto the ground.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19Working for the railway had its dangers,
0:12:19 > 0:12:21but if you were injured at work,
0:12:21 > 0:12:23the company would do its best to find you an alternative job.
0:12:25 > 0:12:29Once you're in the railway, it doesn't matter where you work -
0:12:29 > 0:12:30you'll stay in the railway.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40In the 1870s, Devon was producing over a quarter of a billion
0:12:40 > 0:12:42pints of milk each year,
0:12:42 > 0:12:47from over 75,000 dairy cows - all milked by hand.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51Back then, South Devon cattle were the region's
0:12:51 > 0:12:53most popular milking breed.
0:12:53 > 0:12:56Today, almost all the dairy herds have been replaced
0:12:56 > 0:12:59by black-and-white Friesians, imported from the Netherlands.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05Friesians produce a much larger quantity of milk - lower butterfat,
0:13:05 > 0:13:07but larger quantity,
0:13:07 > 0:13:11and commercially, quickly pushed the South Devons out of business
0:13:11 > 0:13:13as a milking breed.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18So, what we're seeing today is a sight from the past, really.
0:13:18 > 0:13:22Today, South Devons are reared only for beef.
0:13:22 > 0:13:23- Do you want to have a go? - I'd love to have a go.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25I haven't milked for years.
0:13:28 > 0:13:30I'm rusty.
0:13:30 > 0:13:31Oh, I am rusty, aren't I?
0:13:37 > 0:13:39- Right, wait, wait, wait...- Ooh!
0:13:39 > 0:13:41Glad I've got my boots on, girl.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46Look at that! Foaming and creamy.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50- Lovely.- These are the cattle that were producing the milk
0:13:50 > 0:13:53that supplied the whole of London.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56This is the railway milk industry at its source.
0:13:59 > 0:14:02That scene must have been repeated up and down the country everywhere,
0:14:02 > 0:14:03- mustn't it?- Yes.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05The milk is put into ten-gallon churns,
0:14:05 > 0:14:08ready to be transported by rail.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13The milk is warm when it leaves the cow, so will quickly sour.
0:14:14 > 0:14:17To extend its shelf-life for rail transportation,
0:14:17 > 0:14:19it's cooled straightaway.
0:14:19 > 0:14:21So, how exactly does this cooling work, then?
0:14:21 > 0:14:26So, this goes into the churn, and the water goes round these pipes,
0:14:26 > 0:14:29cooling the milk on the inside of the churn
0:14:29 > 0:14:31- and then...- We turn the tap on.
0:14:31 > 0:14:33Yeah.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36So then, cools the milk, the churn, on the outside.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38Oh, that's really clever!
0:14:38 > 0:14:41Cooling milk slows down the growth of bacteria,
0:14:41 > 0:14:43keeping it fresh for days.
0:14:43 > 0:14:45This is a familiar sight.
0:14:45 > 0:14:47You see them all over the country, don't you?
0:14:47 > 0:14:49Yep. That's right.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51So, the milk churn was put up here,
0:14:51 > 0:14:53ready for the milk cart to come and collect it.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57It was at this sort of height, so then it was easy for him just to...
0:14:57 > 0:14:59- Just to move it across. - ..move it across.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03The churns were taken from the farm to the local railway station.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08From there, the branch line would transport them to the mainline.
0:15:09 > 0:15:10This was done after dark.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16And this evening, Peter will help drive the night train.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18OK, so if you just place the wood in now,
0:15:18 > 0:15:21on top of the coal that you've just put in.
0:15:21 > 0:15:24With the firebox cleaned, the fire can be re-lit.
0:15:24 > 0:15:25Pop it in the middle.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31- And then we'll just let that catch. - Just close the doors?- That's it, yeah, keep the heat in.
0:15:34 > 0:15:37Railways cut a swathe through the British countryside,
0:15:37 > 0:15:40crossing paths, farm tracks and roads.
0:15:42 > 0:15:46To maintain rights of way on mainlines, bridges were built.
0:15:46 > 0:15:47But they were expensive.
0:15:50 > 0:15:53So, on branch lines, thousands of cheaper level crossings were used.
0:15:55 > 0:15:58Alex is joining crossing-keeper John Broadribb
0:15:58 > 0:16:00to find out how the system worked.
0:16:02 > 0:16:05Most crossings were at remote areas or away from a station,
0:16:05 > 0:16:09so the crossing-keeper had to have a cottage provided for him.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11This sounds like my kind of gig, this really does!
0:16:11 > 0:16:15THEY LAUGH
0:16:15 > 0:16:19In the early days, level crossings were dangerous places.
0:16:19 > 0:16:21OK. Out to do the gates!
0:16:22 > 0:16:27In 1861, 71 people died crossing railways.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30So, gates were introduced to make them safer.
0:16:30 > 0:16:31You need to pull that one out.
0:16:31 > 0:16:33Yeah.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35That's it, and over it goes.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37Beautifully-balanced gate, that is, isn't it?
0:16:37 > 0:16:40Now you've got to reach through and pull that other bolt.
0:16:40 > 0:16:41- Yeah.- That's it, you've got it.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44- Got it.- Make sure you're the right side of the gates.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47Don't want to shut myself out.
0:16:51 > 0:16:52The brown lever...
0:16:52 > 0:16:54Once the road traffic has been stopped,
0:16:54 > 0:16:57the crossing-keeper operates the signal.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00We're now basically favouring rail traffic...
0:17:00 > 0:17:02- Indeed, we are.- ..over road traffic.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05The gates are locked, the train can approach.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07TRAIN APPROACHES
0:17:11 > 0:17:14The crossing-keeper had to stay alert.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17A lapse in concentration could result in a collision
0:17:17 > 0:17:19between the road and rail traffic.
0:17:19 > 0:17:20There we go.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25But it wasn't as physically demanding as most other jobs
0:17:25 > 0:17:26on the Victorian railway.
0:17:31 > 0:17:33Very often, those crossing-keepers
0:17:33 > 0:17:36were people who had perhaps been injured in railway service.
0:17:36 > 0:17:39- Right.- Still needed to be looked after,
0:17:39 > 0:17:42and the railway was actually a very good employer in that way.
0:17:42 > 0:17:46Right, so if you found yourself falling foul of the railway system
0:17:46 > 0:17:47and losing a limb,
0:17:47 > 0:17:50you could still find yourself a nice little number like this.
0:17:50 > 0:17:55Oh, that's true. Very good example is John James, who lost a leg.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59- Right, oh, OK.- And to keep him in the employment,
0:17:59 > 0:18:02the railway gave him the job of crossing-keeper
0:18:02 > 0:18:04at Stafford mill crossing, or Nappers crossing.
0:18:04 > 0:18:09- Yeah.- He was provided with a bungalow as part of the job
0:18:09 > 0:18:11because, again, it was remote from anywhere else.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14- Yeah.- And so he was employed there
0:18:14 > 0:18:18for nearly 30 years, actually, as crossing-keeper.
0:18:18 > 0:18:20That really is the perfect sort of job
0:18:20 > 0:18:23with which to take a railwayman who'd suffered an injury...
0:18:23 > 0:18:26- Indeed.- ..and keep them in employment.- Indeed.
0:18:29 > 0:18:31The railways not only found jobs for those injured...
0:18:33 > 0:18:36..Dr Mike Esbester has found evidence
0:18:36 > 0:18:38that the Great Western Railway workshops
0:18:38 > 0:18:40did more than just repair locomotives.
0:18:40 > 0:18:44The companies tried to provide for injured employees
0:18:44 > 0:18:49- sometimes through prosthetic limbs, replacements.- Oh, goodness.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51These are quite basic, aren't they?
0:18:51 > 0:18:56They are. But it's an effort to try and improve the lives
0:18:56 > 0:18:59of the employees and provide for their rehabilitation,
0:18:59 > 0:19:02so they return sometimes to useful work.
0:19:02 > 0:19:04They're a strange mix of beautiful craftsmanship.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08I mean, making an articulated hand out of wood is no easy feat.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12To have several dedicated workshops dotted up and down the country
0:19:12 > 0:19:13making artificial limbs, I mean,
0:19:13 > 0:19:17that really punches home just how many accidents there were.
0:19:17 > 0:19:18Absolutely.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23Working on Victorian railways was dangerous.
0:19:24 > 0:19:29In 1900 alone, over 500 employees died
0:19:29 > 0:19:31and more than 16,000 were injured.
0:19:32 > 0:19:33Something had to be done.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37The rail companies provided training,
0:19:37 > 0:19:40but stopped short of taking full responsibility.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45In 1905, the Great Western Railway made it clear
0:19:45 > 0:19:49that the employees were accountable for their own health and safety.
0:19:49 > 0:19:54The only rules that really related to safety in the rule books
0:19:54 > 0:19:59up to the Second World War tend to be those like Rule 24A.
0:19:59 > 0:20:02"The servants of the company must not expose themselves to danger."
0:20:02 > 0:20:04If you expose yourself to danger, you might be injured
0:20:04 > 0:20:07but you've also broken a rule. The companies are very, very clear.
0:20:07 > 0:20:09It's very much the worker's responsibility.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12- But that doesn't really acknowledge the time pressure.- That they haven't
0:20:12 > 0:20:15- given enough time to actually do the job.- Or enough people to do the job.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18Or enough people to do the job or the right tools to do the job.
0:20:18 > 0:20:23Or looked into other ways of working that would mean that the workers aren't exposed to danger.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26Trainee driver Peter has been preparing the loco
0:20:26 > 0:20:30for the past three hours, under the watch of fireman Alistair.
0:20:30 > 0:20:32This is where you live for your shift.
0:20:32 > 0:20:34Everything you do is up here.
0:20:34 > 0:20:35Is this a kitchen as well, then?
0:20:35 > 0:20:38Yeah. It has to be, so we'd better get some bacon cooking.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40Heat the shovel a bit first. Get it hot, get the pan hot.
0:20:40 > 0:20:41Now it's up to steam,
0:20:41 > 0:20:44the footplate will be their home for the next 12 hours.
0:20:44 > 0:20:46One man's dinner is another man's breakfast.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51You know, this is approaching the night shift.
0:20:52 > 0:20:54But that's the start of our day.
0:20:54 > 0:20:55It is.
0:20:57 > 0:20:58It's looking good.
0:21:01 > 0:21:02Two bacon sarnies.
0:21:04 > 0:21:07- All we need now is a cup of tea. - Cup of tea. Cup of tea, that's here.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10When on duty, the crew couldn't leave the footplate
0:21:10 > 0:21:14for more than a few minutes at a time, so this became their home,
0:21:14 > 0:21:15complete with oven and grill.
0:21:17 > 0:21:19Very good.
0:21:19 > 0:21:21Right, well, I think it's time that we'd better be off now,
0:21:21 > 0:21:23so let's get you...
0:21:23 > 0:21:25you looking the part.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28Railways took their image very seriously
0:21:28 > 0:21:31and the employees were the face of the company,
0:21:31 > 0:21:34so the Great Western Railway insisted that staff
0:21:34 > 0:21:36must always wear uniforms.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45It's a day in the life of a branch-line driver.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49It's hard work, and we haven't even left the engine shed yet.
0:21:50 > 0:21:51I'm knackered!
0:21:57 > 0:22:00Just hit a lever with my leg. That's not good!
0:22:10 > 0:22:14Although the Victorian branch lines revolutionised village trades,
0:22:14 > 0:22:16they still had to get goods to and from the station.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21And for that, they relied on good old-fashioned horsepower.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26Ian Cryer is an expert on working horses.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30So, were there more or less horses once you got railways?
0:22:30 > 0:22:32Well, there were in fact far more
0:22:32 > 0:22:36and they increased and increased until the turn of the century.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38And that's just because there's so much extra work.
0:22:38 > 0:22:42- Yeah.- There's so much extra trade, moving of goods around the place.
0:22:42 > 0:22:43Yeah.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46The number of working horses increased fourfold
0:22:46 > 0:22:49with the advent of the railways.
0:22:49 > 0:22:53By the 1890s, there were nearly 28,000 horses
0:22:53 > 0:22:55owned by railway companies alone.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58The railways were still using horses until the mid '50s
0:22:58 > 0:23:02and the last horse retired in 1967.
0:23:02 > 0:23:03Good gracious!
0:23:07 > 0:23:09What you doing hiding in there?
0:23:09 > 0:23:12I'm waiting for my milk churns!
0:23:12 > 0:23:15Mind out, Hamish. Hamish, move, move, move!
0:23:15 > 0:23:18SHE GROANS
0:23:18 > 0:23:20Oh, dear me!
0:23:20 > 0:23:21Shall we get this on its way?
0:23:21 > 0:23:23OK, walk on.
0:23:23 > 0:23:28By the 1920s, such was the volume of milk being transported by rail,
0:23:28 > 0:23:31churns were replaced by glass-lined tank wagons.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35Look at that - Express Dairies.
0:23:35 > 0:23:40This company were set up to move milk and sell it on a big scale
0:23:40 > 0:23:44and they chose that name because they were moving it by railway,
0:23:44 > 0:23:47by express. Now, tankers seemed like a really good idea.
0:23:47 > 0:23:50Hugely more efficient than the old churns,
0:23:50 > 0:23:52but they came with a problem.
0:23:52 > 0:23:54You see, if you get one sick cow
0:23:54 > 0:23:58and you're putting that milk into a churn of milk,
0:23:58 > 0:24:03then all of the milk in that churn becomes infected
0:24:03 > 0:24:08but if those churns had been all put together in a tanker,
0:24:08 > 0:24:13one cow could affect the whole 300 churns' worth.
0:24:15 > 0:24:22Between 1912 and 1937, 65,000 people died from bovine tuberculosis,
0:24:22 > 0:24:24contracted from contaminated milk.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30Only when pasteurisation was introduced in the 1940s
0:24:30 > 0:24:31did milk become safe.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39Peter's coupling up the milk wagons to the loco to form the night train.
0:24:43 > 0:24:46Once the train is prepared, it heads out onto the branch line.
0:24:50 > 0:24:53In some respects, driving on a branch line is more complicated
0:24:53 > 0:24:55than driving on a mainline.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00Mainlines have a separate track for each direction,
0:25:00 > 0:25:03whereas on branch lines all trains travel up and down
0:25:03 > 0:25:04on the same track.
0:25:07 > 0:25:12There are short lengths of double-track where trains can pass,
0:25:12 > 0:25:14but on the single-track sections.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17a system was invented to prevent collisions.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21A driver could only enter the section
0:25:21 > 0:25:25if he's been given a token by signalmen like Alan Johnson.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27These are the little key tokens.
0:25:27 > 0:25:30- Yeah.- And there's another machine exactly the same
0:25:30 > 0:25:31- at the other end of the line.- Right.
0:25:31 > 0:25:36- And they're sort of wired together with a big length of cable between the two.- Yeah.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38And you can only get one token out at a time.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42OK, so this is a sort of fail-safe device, then?
0:25:42 > 0:25:43Yes.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50- Single beat and he should reply by repetition. - DINGING
0:25:50 > 0:25:52That's right. He replies back.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54In order to prevent collisions,
0:25:54 > 0:25:57the machine would only allow one token for each section
0:25:57 > 0:25:58to be issued at a time.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03Entering a section without a token was a sackable offence.
0:26:07 > 0:26:11- Remove the token. - OK, so this is the key.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13OK, of course, this all begs the question -
0:26:13 > 0:26:15how do we get this key from here
0:26:15 > 0:26:17up to the other signal box?
0:26:17 > 0:26:21With that we have a token catcher, so we place the token in there.
0:26:21 > 0:26:23- It just slots on like that.- Yeah.
0:26:23 > 0:26:26And the little pin comes through just to secure it.
0:26:26 > 0:26:30And then we hand that over to the crew on the locomotive.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33Right, so all I have to do is quite simply just wrap that round Peter's
0:26:33 > 0:26:35head as he comes through.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38Peter's night train is on its way
0:26:38 > 0:26:42and needs a token from Alex to enter the next section of single-track.
0:26:42 > 0:26:44Usually we go that way on.
0:26:44 > 0:26:47- Yeah.- And then one arm up.
0:26:47 > 0:26:49And then ready to catch the other token with your other arm.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52- Right, I've got to catch one as well?- Yes.- Right, OK.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55Peter also has a token from the previous section
0:26:55 > 0:26:57which he must hand back to Alex.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00- He's catching that and I'm catching there?- Yes.- Right.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03- Good luck.- Cheers.
0:27:03 > 0:27:05I'm actually quite anxious about this,
0:27:05 > 0:27:07not least cos it's Peter on the other end.
0:27:10 > 0:27:11Holding that like that
0:27:11 > 0:27:15so that it just gets taken out the hand that way.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17Hold it that way, it'll take your fingers.
0:27:19 > 0:27:27And this hand like a snake to go through and collect the other token.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29It's quite nerve-racking, this.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32Watching out for Alex, I've got to crouch really low
0:27:32 > 0:27:35cos he's on the ground and I'm obviously on the footplate.
0:27:38 > 0:27:39Here we go.
0:27:39 > 0:27:40Here we go.
0:27:51 > 0:27:53Ha!
0:27:53 > 0:27:55It worked!
0:27:55 > 0:27:57- We did it.- Right, that's the main one.
0:27:59 > 0:28:00That was relatively easy.
0:28:04 > 0:28:05Well, there we go.
0:28:06 > 0:28:11And that now means a train can only pass from this signal box
0:28:11 > 0:28:13in that direction with this key.
0:28:22 > 0:28:26Milk was transported at night to keep it cool,
0:28:26 > 0:28:27so it remained fresh for longer.
0:28:29 > 0:28:31But driving a steam engine after sunset
0:28:31 > 0:28:33has challenges all of its own.
0:28:39 > 0:28:40- I can see signals...- Red signals.
0:28:40 > 0:28:44..and a vague tree-line there but that's about it.
0:28:44 > 0:28:45Yeah, that's it, yeah.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48- You can't see much at all, can you?- No.
0:28:48 > 0:28:50THEY LAUGH
0:28:50 > 0:28:53- You've just really got to know the route and where you're going.- Right.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56- And is that...Dave's job, I suppose?- That's Dave's job, yeah.
0:28:56 > 0:29:00He's been here for nearly 50 years. He knows what he's doing.
0:29:00 > 0:29:04Driver Dave Knowling started on the railways in 1954
0:29:04 > 0:29:06at the age of just 14.
0:29:06 > 0:29:09- Wow.- Thing about going in the night,
0:29:09 > 0:29:11a lot of the railway traffic went in the night.
0:29:16 > 0:29:19It was as busy in the night, the railways,
0:29:19 > 0:29:21- as in the daytime.- Yeah.
0:29:21 > 0:29:25And in season, you had the broccoli trains went off in the night
0:29:25 > 0:29:27with Cornish broccoli,
0:29:27 > 0:29:30taking it to markets all over the country and that.
0:29:30 > 0:29:32I suppose throughout Britain,
0:29:32 > 0:29:35as the majority of people slept in their beds,
0:29:35 > 0:29:38branch line trains would have been thundering down the tracks,
0:29:38 > 0:29:41- carrying all sorts of goods. - All sorts of goods.
0:29:41 > 0:29:44Milk and, early in the morning, the newspapers
0:29:44 > 0:29:47for delivery at the shops.
0:29:47 > 0:29:50It must have revolutionised people's lives.
0:29:50 > 0:29:53Oh, yeah, it transformed them.
0:29:53 > 0:29:57When you think you could get London to Plymouth in four hours at night.
0:29:57 > 0:30:00- PETER LAUGHS - You'd be lucky to do that now.
0:30:00 > 0:30:01Oh, yeah.
0:30:07 > 0:30:11- Dave, how do you know where we are now?- Actually, we're stopped right on the bridge
0:30:11 > 0:30:14over the River Dart now, but you can't even see the river,
0:30:14 > 0:30:18but if we were going along and passing over it,
0:30:18 > 0:30:21- there'd be a hollow sound.- Right.
0:30:21 > 0:30:23A kind of a hollow tinny sound
0:30:23 > 0:30:27and that's the bridge over the Dart. I know that by ear.
0:30:27 > 0:30:31You do more by ear than eyesight in the night.
0:30:35 > 0:30:39Unlike a car, there are no headlights at all on a train,
0:30:39 > 0:30:42so you've got to know where you're going.
0:30:42 > 0:30:46It's pitch-dark out but the sound of bridges,
0:30:46 > 0:30:47you know, a hollow sound,
0:30:47 > 0:30:51and cuttings - it's a different sound entirely on that.
0:30:51 > 0:30:54- I think it's time to put a bit of coal on.- Right.
0:30:56 > 0:30:57Give it a good flick. That's it.
0:30:57 > 0:30:58Drop some underneath the doors.
0:31:01 > 0:31:03That should do us for the moment.
0:31:03 > 0:31:06Obviously, it's so dark outside you can't see anything at all, can you?
0:31:06 > 0:31:09And the brightness of the fire, it really is blinding.
0:31:09 > 0:31:11As soon as you look at that fire,
0:31:11 > 0:31:13you'll lose any night-vision that you may have.
0:31:13 > 0:31:16Yeah, I mean that is white-hot, isn't it? It is such a bright light.
0:31:16 > 0:31:17It is. It really is white-hot.
0:31:17 > 0:31:20So, when you're firing, it's always really important
0:31:20 > 0:31:22- to either cover one eye or close an eye...- Yeah.
0:31:22 > 0:31:25..to keep night-vision in one eye, or try to at least.
0:31:28 > 0:31:30Hurtling through the night just gives you a sense
0:31:30 > 0:31:33of what it was like in the steam age delivering goods to a nation.
0:31:35 > 0:31:37Here we are approaching the station.
0:31:38 > 0:31:40It's time to unload the milk.
0:31:41 > 0:31:43And then maybe get some breakfast.
0:31:47 > 0:31:52In the 1860s, there was a shortage of milk in London.
0:31:52 > 0:31:55It was caused by a disease, rinderpest,
0:31:55 > 0:31:57which wiped out most of the city's cattle.
0:31:58 > 0:32:04To meet demand, milk was instead brought in by rail from Devon.
0:32:04 > 0:32:07It wasn't long before so much was being taken to London,
0:32:07 > 0:32:09it became scarce in Devon itself.
0:32:14 > 0:32:16In the 1840s,
0:32:16 > 0:32:19the rail network in both England and Scotland grew rapidly.
0:32:20 > 0:32:22But it took until 1850
0:32:22 > 0:32:24before the two nations were linked together
0:32:24 > 0:32:27by the Royal Border Bridge at Berwick-upon-Tweed.
0:32:29 > 0:32:32Alex and Peter are leaving Devon and heading north
0:32:32 > 0:32:36to see the impact the railways had on the Scottish rural industries.
0:32:39 > 0:32:42Although most branch-line traffic would have been for trade,
0:32:42 > 0:32:45many trains would have included a passenger carriage,
0:32:45 > 0:32:48providing an opportunity for people
0:32:48 > 0:32:50to travel the length and breadth of the country.
0:32:53 > 0:32:57By the 1860s, there were over 500 miles of railway in Scotland.
0:32:58 > 0:33:01But there was one line in particular
0:33:01 > 0:33:05that created one of Scotland's biggest and most lucrative exports.
0:33:09 > 0:33:12This is the Strathspey Railway
0:33:12 > 0:33:15and it was instrumental in establishing
0:33:15 > 0:33:17a world-famous whisky industry.
0:33:18 > 0:33:22It was the railway that allowed barley to be brought to distilleries
0:33:22 > 0:33:25and allowed the end product, this wonderful drink,
0:33:25 > 0:33:27to be transported all over the world.
0:33:29 > 0:33:31But why were the distilleries here?
0:33:32 > 0:33:34What was the key ingredient?
0:33:34 > 0:33:36It was the wonderful water from the River Spey.
0:33:39 > 0:33:41Although distilling whisky in the Highlands
0:33:41 > 0:33:44goes back at least 500 years,
0:33:44 > 0:33:46Scotch wasn't drunk much outside Scotland
0:33:46 > 0:33:50until the arrival of the Strathspey Railway in 1863.
0:33:53 > 0:33:54It meant a journey to the Highlands
0:33:54 > 0:33:57that would have taken days now took hours.
0:34:00 > 0:34:04Tourism boomed as the wealthy came to hunt and shoot
0:34:04 > 0:34:07and got a taste for Scotch in the process.
0:34:07 > 0:34:11Distilleries such as Grant's, Dewar's and Johnnie Walker
0:34:11 > 0:34:12all expanded to meet demand.
0:34:14 > 0:34:17Alex and Peter have come to the Ballindalloch Distillery
0:34:17 > 0:34:21to see the impact railways had on whisky production.
0:34:21 > 0:34:23They're met by Brian Robinson.
0:34:23 > 0:34:25Welcome to Ballindalloch Distillery.
0:34:25 > 0:34:26- Thank you.- Come on in. - Thank you very much.
0:34:29 > 0:34:31We're tucked away in the far north-east of Scotland here
0:34:31 > 0:34:33and this remains to this day
0:34:33 > 0:34:35the epicentre of Scotch whisky production.
0:34:35 > 0:34:40And transport links were sketchy at best,
0:34:40 > 0:34:43so when the railways came in, you then had infrastructure.
0:34:43 > 0:34:46It was the turning point that made the industry
0:34:46 > 0:34:50the huge success that it became in the late 1880s, 1890s,
0:34:50 > 0:34:51and that we enjoy today.
0:34:51 > 0:34:54I guess the estate would also be investing in the station as well,
0:34:54 > 0:34:56to create platforms and holding yards.
0:34:56 > 0:34:58And indeed, it wasn't simply a question of
0:34:58 > 0:35:01the railways coming to the area.
0:35:01 > 0:35:04In many instances, they would come to the distilleries specifically.
0:35:04 > 0:35:07They would have their own arrangement with the railways
0:35:07 > 0:35:09to get stock in and out.
0:35:11 > 0:35:14Private branch lines off the Strathspey Railway
0:35:14 > 0:35:17brought malted barley to the door of the distilleries
0:35:17 > 0:35:19and took whisky to the national network.
0:35:21 > 0:35:25Access to bigger markets meant distilleries began to produce Scotch
0:35:25 > 0:35:26on an industrial scale.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31This is grist, barley that has been ground down.
0:35:31 > 0:35:33It's a sort of gritty texture, isn't it?
0:35:33 > 0:35:37- It's basically a coarse wholemeal flour.- Right.
0:35:37 > 0:35:41The grist is mixed with water from the River Spey, then yeast is added.
0:35:43 > 0:35:45We're going to be agitating the liquid
0:35:45 > 0:35:47so that when we add the yeast...
0:35:48 > 0:35:53..we don't get a solid ball and a clump at the bottom.
0:35:53 > 0:35:55What is the yeast going to do?
0:35:55 > 0:35:57So, the yeast is going to effectively feed on the sugar
0:35:57 > 0:36:00- that we've extracted from the grist.- Right.
0:36:00 > 0:36:03And over the course of three to five days,
0:36:03 > 0:36:06it'll give us around 8% alcohol at the end.
0:36:06 > 0:36:09The strong, flat barley beer without many hops effectively.
0:36:11 > 0:36:13This is a bit like being on a pogo stick in a sauna.
0:36:13 > 0:36:15Within 24 hours,
0:36:15 > 0:36:18the yeast has reacted with the sugars in the barley.
0:36:18 > 0:36:21Next, the fermented brew is distilled.
0:36:21 > 0:36:24This still is just effectively a great big kettle.
0:36:24 > 0:36:25We boil the liquid.
0:36:25 > 0:36:29With alcohol, of course, boiling at a lower temperature than water,
0:36:29 > 0:36:30we're able to create a vapour.
0:36:30 > 0:36:32Turn the vapour back to liquid.
0:36:32 > 0:36:35- So, you're sort of condensing the alcohol.- Exactly what we're doing.
0:36:35 > 0:36:39- And then it'll run through the spirit safe.- And then it's leaving here at what percentage?
0:36:39 > 0:36:44We will harvest it between 73 and 62% alcohol by volume,
0:36:44 > 0:36:46giving us an average of 69%.
0:36:47 > 0:36:51At this stage, the distilled alcohol is colourless
0:36:51 > 0:36:53and bears no resemblance to whisky.
0:36:54 > 0:36:56To give it colour and flavour,
0:36:56 > 0:37:00it must be stored for at least three years in an oak cask.
0:37:00 > 0:37:02Only then can it be called Scotch whisky.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08The boom in whisky production, created by the railways,
0:37:08 > 0:37:12also saw a resurgence of the ancient craft of cask making,
0:37:12 > 0:37:14known as coopering.
0:37:14 > 0:37:17The popular narrative with the crafts industries
0:37:17 > 0:37:20are that, essentially, when Britain industrialised,
0:37:20 > 0:37:21there was less room for the crafts,
0:37:21 > 0:37:23the crafts were put out of business,
0:37:23 > 0:37:26but actually, in this case, the very opposite happened.
0:37:27 > 0:37:30Railway lines connected Scotland up to markets,
0:37:30 > 0:37:32not only in Britain but across the world,
0:37:32 > 0:37:35enabling them to sell whisky to a global market.
0:37:35 > 0:37:38This increase in demand meant there was an increase in demand
0:37:38 > 0:37:40for the craft of the cooper.
0:37:40 > 0:37:44The Speyside Cooperage specialises in preparing casks
0:37:44 > 0:37:46for the distilleries.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49Darren Morrison is showing Alex and Peter the process.
0:37:49 > 0:37:51I don't think I've ever seen quite so many barrels in one location.
0:37:51 > 0:37:55No, it's quite the compound. 120,000 in the park just now.
0:37:55 > 0:37:58They come in from different parts of the world.
0:37:58 > 0:38:03Bourbon casks from America, sherry casks from Spain
0:38:03 > 0:38:05and brandy casks from France
0:38:05 > 0:38:09are shipped in and reused to store Scotch,
0:38:09 > 0:38:11each giving a different flavour and colour to the whisky.
0:38:11 > 0:38:13They've got a long life-span.
0:38:13 > 0:38:17They could go to a distillery for 20 years, come back.
0:38:17 > 0:38:20- We'll fix them up again and they go out for another 20.- Right.
0:38:20 > 0:38:25I suppose this here right now is a testament to the impact the railways
0:38:25 > 0:38:30- had on the whisky industry... - Yes, aye.- ..cos this is amazing.
0:38:30 > 0:38:32Casks as far as you could see.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37- How do you think he's doing? - Oh, he's all right.
0:38:37 > 0:38:41First, Darren looks for damaged panels, known as staves.
0:38:41 > 0:38:44We're going to go round the cask, we're going to brush it, good scrub.
0:38:44 > 0:38:47We're looking for any damage, the likes of splits or cracks.
0:38:52 > 0:38:55That's a problem, that, and that'll have to come out, yeah?
0:38:55 > 0:38:57- That has to come out, aye.- OK.
0:38:57 > 0:38:59- Right, so, I'll mark that one up. - Yes, mark that as well.
0:38:59 > 0:39:01What's next, then?
0:39:01 > 0:39:04Next stage would be to open up the cask and re-stave it.
0:39:04 > 0:39:06Iron hoops hold the staves together.
0:39:06 > 0:39:08He's making it look easy.
0:39:08 > 0:39:10There we go, ah!
0:39:10 > 0:39:12No glue or nails are used.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16Made of oak, they're shaped and fitted in a precise pattern
0:39:16 > 0:39:18that makes the finished cask watertight.
0:39:18 > 0:39:20So, that's the stave ready for...
0:39:20 > 0:39:23This is the one with the crack in it that needs replacing.
0:39:23 > 0:39:28The damaged stave is replaced with one recycled from another cask,
0:39:28 > 0:39:30and the hoops are put back on.
0:39:33 > 0:39:36The replaced stave is then trimmed to match the others.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41And herein lies the craft of the cooper, isn't it?
0:39:41 > 0:39:45The ability to use hand tools to finish off this.
0:39:47 > 0:39:51There's one final process - to char the inside of the cask.
0:39:56 > 0:39:58This idea of charring the barrel,
0:39:58 > 0:40:02it's what gives the whisky that extra bit of flavour
0:40:02 > 0:40:04but it also helps to give whisky its colour as well.
0:40:04 > 0:40:07It's very much down to the blend of the whisky-maker
0:40:07 > 0:40:09as to how dark they want that finish,
0:40:09 > 0:40:11and therefore, how much charcoal they want in the barrel.
0:40:16 > 0:40:19- You can smell the difference. - Charred-oak smoke.
0:40:19 > 0:40:21- Yeah, smell that, Peter.- Yeah.
0:40:21 > 0:40:22That's...
0:40:24 > 0:40:29Moving casks by rail meant they had to be robust and leak-free,
0:40:29 > 0:40:32so the end panels, known as heads, were sealed,
0:40:32 > 0:40:34using an ancient technique.
0:40:34 > 0:40:37Daz is now packing in the water reeds
0:40:37 > 0:40:40and it's just forming a very, very tight seal
0:40:40 > 0:40:42between the staves and the lid.
0:40:46 > 0:40:47Oh, to watch a master at work!
0:40:51 > 0:40:52Back at the distillery,
0:40:52 > 0:40:56Brian and Peter are checking on the progress of an earlier batch.
0:40:56 > 0:40:59- Whoa!- What we do want to do is make sure that the spirit we've created
0:40:59 > 0:41:01is working well with the casks we've selected.
0:41:06 > 0:41:07Wow.
0:41:07 > 0:41:10So, there you can see,
0:41:10 > 0:41:12in just a little over 18 months,
0:41:12 > 0:41:14we've gone from a clear spirit
0:41:14 > 0:41:17to something which is starting to really get the colour
0:41:17 > 0:41:18and the characteristic of the cask.
0:41:18 > 0:41:22This is essentially the room in which whisky
0:41:22 > 0:41:24- takes on its colour and taste. - Absolutely.
0:41:30 > 0:41:33The whisky from each distillery is known as a single malt...
0:41:34 > 0:41:36..but they prove too strong a flavour
0:41:36 > 0:41:38for many drinkers outside Scotland.
0:41:40 > 0:41:42So, in the 1860s,
0:41:42 > 0:41:46the process of blending single malts to create a more palatable flavour
0:41:46 > 0:41:49- was developed.- So, Keith, where are these barrels destined, then?
0:41:50 > 0:41:53- This is a typical trip work in picking the barrels up.- Yep.
0:41:53 > 0:41:57They would go to a yard where they'd be formed into a larger train,
0:41:57 > 0:42:01for onward to Glasgow to the blending and bottling plant.
0:42:01 > 0:42:04So, you'd get whiskies from all over Scotland being blended together.
0:42:04 > 0:42:08- Yes.- So, that single malt that comes from each individual distillery
0:42:08 > 0:42:10is actually being brought together
0:42:10 > 0:42:14- to create the more popular blend at the time?- Yeah.
0:42:14 > 0:42:16The blended whiskies rather than the single malt.
0:42:17 > 0:42:21It was the railways' ability to move barrels from distilleries
0:42:21 > 0:42:23to blending plants that made it possible.
0:42:24 > 0:42:28Today, 90% of all Scotch whisky sold is blended.
0:42:36 > 0:42:39The branch lines enabled small cottage industries
0:42:39 > 0:42:42like Fry's Chocolate, Colman's Mustard,
0:42:42 > 0:42:45Hartley's Jam and Bird's Custard
0:42:45 > 0:42:48to grow rapidly and become household names.
0:42:50 > 0:42:53They also revolutionised how products were sold.
0:42:54 > 0:42:59Welsh entrepreneur Pryce Pryce-Jones spotted a retail opportunity.
0:42:59 > 0:43:03This is the age of the mail-order catalogue.
0:43:03 > 0:43:06In 1861, Pryce-Jones set up
0:43:06 > 0:43:09the world's first major mail-order company
0:43:09 > 0:43:12and he went from rags to riches.
0:43:12 > 0:43:17His main selling point was that people could order by post
0:43:17 > 0:43:20and the goods would be delivered by railways.
0:43:20 > 0:43:23It allowed people a new freedom, a new access to things.
0:43:23 > 0:43:27He'd been selling all sorts of woollen goods, from boys' jerseys,
0:43:27 > 0:43:29ladies' knitted woollen cardigans,
0:43:29 > 0:43:31vests, jackets, railway rugs
0:43:31 > 0:43:34and the Euklisia rug,
0:43:34 > 0:43:37which was a sort of forerunner almost of the sleeping bag.
0:43:37 > 0:43:42"For Persons constantly travelling, they are a unique and valuable boon,
0:43:42 > 0:43:43"and when not in use,
0:43:43 > 0:43:47"are indistinguishable from the ordinary rug."
0:43:47 > 0:43:50I'll be honest, I quite fancy ordering one of those.
0:43:50 > 0:43:54People could now order goods from the comfort of their homes,
0:43:54 > 0:43:57and thanks to the railways, these products would be delivered
0:43:57 > 0:43:59straight to their local station for collection.
0:44:02 > 0:44:05Pryce-Jones's business relied on Welsh wool.
0:44:07 > 0:44:09For over 1,000 years,
0:44:09 > 0:44:13fleeces from local sheep had been spun and woven to make cloth.
0:44:14 > 0:44:17But it was nothing more than a cottage industry,
0:44:17 > 0:44:19making blankets and rugs for local people.
0:44:21 > 0:44:24South Wales is still a sheep-breeding area
0:44:24 > 0:44:27and Gareth Richards has been farming in Abergwili all his life.
0:44:28 > 0:44:31Your sheep look fabulous on that hill.
0:44:31 > 0:44:34They look like they're meant to be there, don't they?
0:44:34 > 0:44:36Well, they've been there for quite a while.
0:44:36 > 0:44:40Especially on a day like today, it's very windy and blowy.
0:44:40 > 0:44:42They're a good, solid, hardy breed.
0:44:42 > 0:44:44That's the type that the Jacob is.
0:44:44 > 0:44:48The wool that they produce is a strong quality-fibred wool.
0:44:48 > 0:44:51I mean, one thing that the Welsh wool has always been really good at
0:44:51 > 0:44:52is resisting the wet.
0:44:52 > 0:44:56- SHE LAUGHS - Yes, we get plenty of that.
0:44:56 > 0:44:58You know, plenty of that on the backs of the sheep
0:44:58 > 0:45:00and it's the same in the things made out of Welsh wool, isn't it?
0:45:00 > 0:45:03You know, Welsh wool blankets, Welsh wool coats.
0:45:03 > 0:45:05They're very water resistant.
0:45:06 > 0:45:09Sheep bred in these rugged conditions
0:45:09 > 0:45:12produced a coarse, durable, waterproof wool.
0:45:13 > 0:45:15Look at the depth of the wool.
0:45:15 > 0:45:20Oh, goodness. I can feel the thickness of the fibres, too.
0:45:20 > 0:45:23The fleece of any sheep is sort of made up of two sorts of hairs,
0:45:23 > 0:45:27the kemp or the hair that sheds the water
0:45:27 > 0:45:30and then the under hair, which is the wool,
0:45:30 > 0:45:33the one that's all warm and fluffy and soft,
0:45:33 > 0:45:34and in a Highland sheep,
0:45:34 > 0:45:38you'd expect that the longer, harsher kemp fibres,
0:45:38 > 0:45:42you're going to get a few more of them to help the water run off
0:45:42 > 0:45:44and they make it difficult to wear next to the skin,
0:45:44 > 0:45:48but they make it very hard-wearing, so for a blanket, it's perfect,
0:45:48 > 0:45:52- whereas you wouldn't want it for underwear. - SHE LAUGHS
0:45:52 > 0:45:55Passing through the wool-producing areas in south Wales
0:45:55 > 0:45:58was the Gwili Railway, built in 1860.
0:46:00 > 0:46:03This branch line, connected to the Great Western Railway,
0:46:03 > 0:46:06created a link to the rest of Britain.
0:46:06 > 0:46:09This is the last of them, Jeremy. Heavier than they look, aren't they?
0:46:09 > 0:46:13Like the whisky industry of Scotland and milk industry of Devon,
0:46:13 > 0:46:16it gave Welsh wool a route to market.
0:46:18 > 0:46:22Jeremy John helps run the railway today.
0:46:22 > 0:46:25It must've had a huge impact on people's lives here,
0:46:25 > 0:46:28perhaps more than it would in and around a city.
0:46:28 > 0:46:30Oh, yes, and of course, they could see that it would bring prosperity
0:46:30 > 0:46:33because even if you were selling to local markets,
0:46:33 > 0:46:37then you could, of course, prosper.
0:46:38 > 0:46:43The amount of mills that opened up was quite incredible, really.
0:46:43 > 0:46:46You can see the line goes in and then pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop -
0:46:46 > 0:46:49- all these little mills suddenly come in to existence.- Yes.
0:46:49 > 0:46:51The growth was incredible, you know.
0:46:51 > 0:46:52- And so fast.- Yes.
0:46:52 > 0:46:55Yes. Very fast.
0:46:55 > 0:46:58And, I suppose, in Wales, we've got a lot of sheep, you know,
0:46:58 > 0:46:59so it's an asset.
0:46:59 > 0:47:01There was a reservoir of available resource
0:47:01 > 0:47:05which wasn't really being fully used until...
0:47:05 > 0:47:08- Yes, quite.- ..in comes the railway and everybody can...
0:47:08 > 0:47:11And everything can be exported and taken everywhere, you know.
0:47:13 > 0:47:16Coarse Welsh wool was ideal for blankets,
0:47:16 > 0:47:19but to produce clothing, they needed a softer yarn.
0:47:21 > 0:47:24Mark Lucas, curator of the National Wool Museum in Carmarthenshire,
0:47:24 > 0:47:26is showing Ruth how it was created.
0:47:27 > 0:47:30Mark, this is the raw material.
0:47:30 > 0:47:33- Yes.- The fleeces. I mean, were these always very local?
0:47:33 > 0:47:35It started as being very local
0:47:35 > 0:47:37but then when they become more specialised,
0:47:37 > 0:47:40they were always importing what was called colonial wool, as well,
0:47:40 > 0:47:43so the railways would have brought that to the mills,
0:47:43 > 0:47:46but they would have blended that then with the local fleece as well,
0:47:46 > 0:47:49so they could mix it then to make it better quality.
0:47:49 > 0:47:53So right from the start, the railways are changing the product...
0:47:53 > 0:47:56- Yeah.- ..by bringing you in completely different raw material.
0:47:56 > 0:47:57Yes.
0:47:57 > 0:48:00Thanks to the railways, a new type of wool had been created.
0:48:02 > 0:48:04Clothes made from this new blend
0:48:04 > 0:48:08proved popular and demand for them boomed.
0:48:08 > 0:48:11Now the problem was how to boost production.
0:48:13 > 0:48:17Untangling the raw fleece by hand, known as carding,
0:48:17 > 0:48:19was a slow and laborious process.
0:48:19 > 0:48:22- This is the hand carding. - This is hand carding, yes.
0:48:22 > 0:48:24So, you've got a whole series of little...
0:48:24 > 0:48:29- Pins.- ..pins sticking up and you're combing it out
0:48:29 > 0:48:31rather like you're brushing hair.
0:48:32 > 0:48:34It's very slow, isn't it?
0:48:34 > 0:48:38I mean, after I've spent ten, 15 minutes on it, I get one.
0:48:38 > 0:48:39Yeah.
0:48:39 > 0:48:42Gradually, the Welsh wool mills mechanised.
0:48:42 > 0:48:44So, this is the start of the process,
0:48:44 > 0:48:46- the raw fleeces go in that end.- Yeah.
0:48:46 > 0:48:50This is called the willower, and it just keeps tearing it
0:48:50 > 0:48:52and you sometimes call it the devil as well.
0:48:52 > 0:48:55This machine actually took a man's arm off
0:48:55 > 0:48:57and we know they have killed children in the past as well
0:48:57 > 0:49:01- when they've fallen into one. - Really?- Cos it's all spikes inside.
0:49:01 > 0:49:07So, a machine like this is replacing something that was...
0:49:07 > 0:49:08- Yeah.- Done by hand.
0:49:08 > 0:49:10You would have had hand carders before that.
0:49:10 > 0:49:13It's just all constantly disentangling it
0:49:13 > 0:49:14as it goes all the way through.
0:49:16 > 0:49:20Coal-powered carding engines brought into the valley by the railways
0:49:20 > 0:49:22not only increased production,
0:49:22 > 0:49:24but they improved the quality of the wool.
0:49:26 > 0:49:30Next, the detangled fleece was turned into rovings.
0:49:30 > 0:49:32So, when you get to this bit,
0:49:32 > 0:49:35the machine is starting to separate it out
0:49:35 > 0:49:37into bands.
0:49:38 > 0:49:40And then this is shaken back and forth
0:49:40 > 0:49:45and what that's doing then is quietly jiggling it
0:49:45 > 0:49:48to make it into a long, thin sausage,
0:49:48 > 0:49:49which we call a roving.
0:49:51 > 0:49:57The rovings were spun into a yarn, ready to be woven using a loom.
0:49:57 > 0:49:58Then once the railways arrived,
0:49:58 > 0:50:01they would have transported it further afield
0:50:01 > 0:50:03into the industrial valleys of Wales.
0:50:03 > 0:50:05And that gives you the impetus to start investing
0:50:05 > 0:50:08in bigger machines, bigger mills.
0:50:08 > 0:50:11So, how much impact does the railway have on this industry in this area?
0:50:11 > 0:50:14So, there was 24 mills working in this village in this square mile.
0:50:14 > 0:50:16- In this one village? - In this one village.
0:50:16 > 0:50:20They were producing 8-9,000 yards of cloth a week.
0:50:20 > 0:50:22- Each of those 24?- Yeah. 120 miles of cloth a week.
0:50:22 > 0:50:25Pretty much everybody must have been working in the woollen mills.
0:50:25 > 0:50:30Everyone would've been in this village, yes, or tied to it in some shape or form.
0:50:30 > 0:50:34At its peak, there were over 900 woollen mills
0:50:34 > 0:50:37and it became one of Wales' biggest industries.
0:50:39 > 0:50:43Woollen goods from Pryce Pryce-Jones' mail-order business
0:50:43 > 0:50:45were sold all over the world.
0:50:47 > 0:50:50It turned him from a humble shop assistant
0:50:50 > 0:50:52into a knight of the realm,
0:50:52 > 0:50:57with a workforce of 4,000 and a quarter of a million customers.
0:50:58 > 0:51:03His goods were distributed by the railways' own parcel service.
0:51:03 > 0:51:04Whoop!
0:51:04 > 0:51:0524 pieces, now 48!
0:51:07 > 0:51:09- Was that the parcels?- Yeah. - I've been waiting for one.
0:51:09 > 0:51:11Right, which one's yours?
0:51:11 > 0:51:12- Erm...- Oh, it's that one.
0:51:12 > 0:51:14- The one you've got your hands on.- The top.
0:51:14 > 0:51:16- Thanks.- It's not a tea set, is it? - Cheers!
0:51:20 > 0:51:22Look at that.
0:51:22 > 0:51:24- I've sent away for it.- Wow. - Here we go, mail order.
0:51:24 > 0:51:26OK, so, this has been brought in on the railways,
0:51:26 > 0:51:28courtesy of a catalogue.
0:51:28 > 0:51:32Absolutely. This is just another one of those examples, isn't it?
0:51:32 > 0:51:36Of something that starts as a tiny little cottage industry,
0:51:36 > 0:51:39really quite outdated. I mean, they're still using spinning wheels
0:51:39 > 0:51:40in some parts of west Wales.
0:51:40 > 0:51:45- Yeah.- And you'd think in a new industrial age,
0:51:45 > 0:51:47powered by steam and rails that that would be the first thing
0:51:47 > 0:51:51to go to the wall, and yet...and yet
0:51:51 > 0:51:56many tiny little specialist craft industries
0:51:56 > 0:51:58got a whole new lease of life.
0:51:58 > 0:52:01Right, OK, so let's have a look at this. This is an authentic...
0:52:01 > 0:52:04- So, this is...- Oh, wow. - ..an Euklisia rug.- Wow.
0:52:04 > 0:52:06Proper Welsh blanket.
0:52:07 > 0:52:12Thanks to the railways, the Euklisia rug was a huge success.
0:52:12 > 0:52:16This is the forerunner to the modern sleeping bag
0:52:16 > 0:52:19and this goes global in a matter of years.
0:52:19 > 0:52:22Pryce-Jones sold over 100,000.
0:52:22 > 0:52:25- The trade opportunities that are opened up by the railways...- Yeah.
0:52:25 > 0:52:28..meant that those industries could expand and grow.
0:52:28 > 0:52:30- And they're doing it through mail order.- Yeah.
0:52:30 > 0:52:32So, catalogues are getting sent out by the railways,
0:52:32 > 0:52:36people are browsing through those catalogues and going, "Ooh, I quite like one of those."
0:52:36 > 0:52:39This is it. I know, I'm right in front of the fire.
0:52:39 > 0:52:40Put a pillow at the back.
0:52:40 > 0:52:43- I'm feeling warm already. - Get myself all warmed up.
0:52:43 > 0:52:46Right, I'm ready for a journey now, you know,
0:52:46 > 0:52:49the carriage with no heating, right up to Scotland.
0:52:49 > 0:52:53So, all of a sudden, Great Britain has access to a fine Welsh wool,
0:52:53 > 0:52:56the finest Scotch whisky.
0:52:56 > 0:52:58Fresh milk even in the middle of town.
0:52:58 > 0:53:03You've got access as a consumer to all the produce anywhere.
0:53:03 > 0:53:07Yeah, so the railways are not only standardising towns across Britain,
0:53:07 > 0:53:11they're enabling towns and areas to specialise.
0:53:11 > 0:53:14It's odd, isn't it, that the two things should be going on at once?
0:53:14 > 0:53:17- Yeah.- It's a drastic transformation.
0:53:17 > 0:53:18It really is, you know,
0:53:18 > 0:53:21trains would have changed within a matter of decades,
0:53:21 > 0:53:24- all because of the railways.- Yeah.
0:53:24 > 0:53:27Rail usage peaked in the early 20th century,
0:53:27 > 0:53:32when 420 million tonnes of goods were being moved each year.
0:53:33 > 0:53:38Then the railways' position as the nation's main form of moving goods
0:53:38 > 0:53:40came under attack from the roads.
0:53:42 > 0:53:45Cos the railways have to carry goods,
0:53:45 > 0:53:47they've often used roads to move them,
0:53:47 > 0:53:49either from local businesses to stations
0:53:49 > 0:53:52or even between stations that are close together.
0:53:52 > 0:53:55Much of this was done with horse and cart,
0:53:55 > 0:54:00but as the road network improved, and vehicles came along,
0:54:00 > 0:54:04lorries such as this could carry much heavier goods
0:54:04 > 0:54:06like these planks.
0:54:06 > 0:54:09And they didn't just have to carry them to the branch line.
0:54:09 > 0:54:11They could go all the way to the mainline.
0:54:11 > 0:54:15So, suddenly, branch lines are looking at their own demise.
0:54:18 > 0:54:23Moving goods by road proved to be not only more convenient,
0:54:23 > 0:54:24but also cheaper.
0:54:25 > 0:54:28From 1900 to 1960,
0:54:28 > 0:54:32the number of wagons on the railway fell by a third
0:54:32 > 0:54:33and rail passengers by half.
0:54:35 > 0:54:39The railways were losing over £100 million of public money every year.
0:54:40 > 0:54:42The government had to act.
0:54:43 > 0:54:48In 1963, the British Railways Board published a report
0:54:48 > 0:54:50entitled The Reshaping Of British Railways,
0:54:50 > 0:54:52written by Dr Richard Beeching.
0:54:54 > 0:54:59Some of you will say, can't we have the branch lines, as well?
0:54:59 > 0:55:03Can't you attract enough traffic to them to make them pay?
0:55:03 > 0:55:05But unfortunately, we can't.
0:55:06 > 0:55:09He recommended that over the next five years,
0:55:09 > 0:55:136,000 miles of mostly rural lines should be scrapped -
0:55:13 > 0:55:16closing over 2,000 stations...
0:55:18 > 0:55:22..the Gwili Railway that was so instrumental in the wool industry...
0:55:23 > 0:55:27..the Highland Railway that put whisky on the map
0:55:27 > 0:55:31and the South Devon Railway, providing London's milk,
0:55:31 > 0:55:33were all closed.
0:55:35 > 0:55:38Driver Dave Knowling was a victim of Beeching's axe.
0:55:40 > 0:55:42I started in 1954 on British Railways
0:55:42 > 0:55:47and got made redundant by Dr Beeching in 1966.
0:55:47 > 0:55:52Right. So, I suppose his cuts signal the end of steam.
0:55:52 > 0:55:53There was a total ban on...
0:55:53 > 0:55:57Well, a lot of railways in a lot of places, like in Devon here,
0:55:57 > 0:55:59the Southern line was completely closed.
0:55:59 > 0:56:02They were all branch lines that fed off the mainlines.
0:56:02 > 0:56:05It was those branch lines that suffered the most.
0:56:05 > 0:56:08Oh, yeah. It's like a river cut off the tributaries.
0:56:09 > 0:56:11But Dave was not long out of work.
0:56:11 > 0:56:16The South Devon Railway soon reopened as a steam heritage line
0:56:16 > 0:56:17and he was reemployed as a driver.
0:56:20 > 0:56:23In 1969, Dr Beeching come and officially...
0:56:23 > 0:56:26- I shook his hand, the one that made me redundant! - PETER LAUGHS
0:56:26 > 0:56:27Wow.
0:56:27 > 0:56:30And there's a photo of me shaking hands with him
0:56:30 > 0:56:32on the day he officially opened it.
0:56:32 > 0:56:34Wow. You're shaking the hand of the man that signed the...
0:56:34 > 0:56:36- Signed the death warrant! - Signed the death warrant.
0:56:36 > 0:56:38- Yeah, yeah. - HE LAUGHS
0:56:38 > 0:56:40I think that coming here,
0:56:40 > 0:56:45seeing an engine operating on a branch line,
0:56:45 > 0:56:49it's only now I realise just how much this one thing
0:56:49 > 0:56:52represents an entire industry.
0:56:52 > 0:56:55It was English life, really, the branch lines.
0:56:57 > 0:57:01Dave is now Britain's longest-serving steam locomotive driver,
0:57:01 > 0:57:04having spent 63 years on the footplate.
0:57:06 > 0:57:11Ironically, 500 miles of lines previously closed by Dr Beeching
0:57:11 > 0:57:14have reopened as preserved railways.
0:57:16 > 0:57:20And so, despite the cuts, steam is thriving in the 21st century.
0:57:22 > 0:57:23And that's not all.
0:57:23 > 0:57:25Over the last few decades,
0:57:25 > 0:57:29the railways have seen a resurgence in both goods and passenger numbers.
0:57:30 > 0:57:34Today, nearly 30 million tonnes of freight are moved
0:57:34 > 0:57:38and one and three quarter billion rail journeys are made each year -
0:57:38 > 0:57:41more than at any time in the history of the railways.
0:57:46 > 0:57:49Next time, the railways revolutionise leisure...
0:57:49 > 0:57:51Return to Swanage, please.
0:57:52 > 0:57:55..creating seaside holidays...
0:57:56 > 0:57:58Full ahead!
0:57:58 > 0:58:00..trips to the countryside...
0:58:00 > 0:58:03The train traveller was able to see the English landscape
0:58:03 > 0:58:05in a way they'd never seen it before.
0:58:05 > 0:58:08..and days out at the steam fair.
0:58:08 > 0:58:11The Victorians, they became steam junkies.
0:58:11 > 0:58:13- This is nice.- It is, isn't it?