0:00:02 > 0:00:04STEAM ENGINE CHUGS
0:00:06 > 0:00:08The age of steam shaped how we live today.
0:00:08 > 0:00:09TRAIN HORN HOOTS
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 > 0:00:34But how did it happen?
0:00:34 > 0:00:37To find out, historians Ruth Goodman...
0:00:37 > 0:00:38Flat out!
0:00:38 > 0:00:40..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.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55I feel like I'm in a Western!
0:00:55 > 0:01:00This is very definitely the best steam engine I've ever been on.
0:01:01 > 0:01:03Oh! He's gaining on us!
0:01:05 > 0:01:06A brave new world.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10They will be helped by armies of enthusiasts who keep
0:01:10 > 0:01:12the age of steam alive... SHE GRUNTS
0:01:12 > 0:01:14WHISTLE BLOWS
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.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24They'll follow in the footsteps of the world's finest engineers...
0:01:24 > 0:01:28These are the men that built Britain's railways.
0:01:28 > 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 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.
0:01:45 > 0:01:50This is the story of how the railways created modern Britain.
0:02:04 > 0:02:08For all the changes that the railways made to our working lives,
0:02:08 > 0:02:12just as revolutionary were the changes they made to our lives
0:02:12 > 0:02:14outside of work.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17This is a period when mass tourism really took off,
0:02:17 > 0:02:20and I'm interested in seeing just how the railways catered
0:02:20 > 0:02:23for this exciting new industry.
0:02:25 > 0:02:30The steam engine transformed how we spent our spare time...
0:02:30 > 0:02:31HORN HONKS
0:02:31 > 0:02:33..and where we spent it.
0:02:33 > 0:02:35Good day!
0:02:35 > 0:02:38I'm really interested in how exactly the railways
0:02:38 > 0:02:42created in the nation's mind's eye, a sense of what Britain was,
0:02:42 > 0:02:45and what the different parts of Britain looked like,
0:02:45 > 0:02:47and what character they had.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53I'm interested in all the other ways that people used the railways.
0:02:54 > 0:02:57To explore what it was that Britain's cities,
0:02:57 > 0:03:00towns and countryside had to offer,
0:03:00 > 0:03:04to see how people used the railway to gain a new sort of freedom.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20By the middle of the 19th century,
0:03:20 > 0:03:23the rhythms of machines dictated the rhythms of working life.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25LOOMS CLATTER LOUDLY
0:03:25 > 0:03:28Even your body movement had to adapt to the machinery,
0:03:28 > 0:03:30even your speech.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34Is it any wonder then that people were looking for
0:03:34 > 0:03:37a new form of break from all of this.
0:03:39 > 0:03:43Productivity and efficiency had become a national obsession,
0:03:43 > 0:03:47and with that, a new division between work and leisure began to emerge.
0:03:49 > 0:03:51Just as you could clock on,
0:03:51 > 0:03:53you could clock off.
0:03:53 > 0:03:57The business-owning elites had finally come to realise that
0:03:57 > 0:04:02an efficient, productive workforce was one that had a chance to rest,
0:04:02 > 0:04:08recuperate, and this new-found separate leisure time
0:04:08 > 0:04:12was one that allowed people to think about doing more complex things,
0:04:12 > 0:04:15more challenging things, in their leisure time.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18Things further away from home,
0:04:18 > 0:04:20and the railways jumped on the bandwagon.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34And nowhere was this more true than with the lines
0:04:34 > 0:04:37rail companies built to carry millions of holiday-makers
0:04:37 > 0:04:40to seaside resorts around the British coast.
0:04:42 > 0:04:44Now, this is what I call a holiday.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46This is MY kind of holiday.
0:04:46 > 0:04:51And this line still carries 200,000 people a year.
0:04:51 > 0:04:54That's a staggering number of people, and essentially,
0:04:54 > 0:04:57it provides a service, running people all the way down to Swanage,
0:04:57 > 0:05:00many of whom are going there for their holidays.
0:05:04 > 0:05:07Before the arrival of a rail line to the Dorset coast,
0:05:07 > 0:05:12Swanage was a small and remote community of only 2,000 residents.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17By connecting the town via a branch line to the main network...
0:05:19 > 0:05:23..Swanage more than doubled in size and population...
0:05:24 > 0:05:28..as fishing and light industry made way for the tourist trade.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39Today, drivers and firemen like Andy Croghan
0:05:39 > 0:05:42continue to ferry visitors to the Dorset resort.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45Have you ever seen the beach in Swanage?
0:05:45 > 0:05:46I think once or twice.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48I never go to it, though!
0:05:48 > 0:05:51I visited Corfe Castle for the first time the other day.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53How many years have I been coming?
0:05:53 > 0:05:57Going past it on the train, never go and visit it.
0:05:57 > 0:06:00- What better view could you have of Corfe Castle?- I know!
0:06:00 > 0:06:02Look at that view, it's fantastic!
0:06:09 > 0:06:11Like the Swanage line,
0:06:11 > 0:06:15as the railways connected once isolated regions of the country,
0:06:15 > 0:06:18coastal villages and towns around Britain became
0:06:18 > 0:06:22thriving holiday destinations. In the south-west,
0:06:22 > 0:06:25the impact of these new rail lines was deep and long-lasting.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35The Paignton and Dartmouth steam railway opened up the South Devon
0:06:35 > 0:06:38coast to travellers from all over the British Isles.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45Where tourism had previously been the preserve of the upper classes,
0:06:45 > 0:06:49now, with more leisure time, and an affordable means of transport,
0:06:49 > 0:06:53Victorians from all walks of life could escape polluted
0:06:53 > 0:06:57and overcrowded cities for fresh air in the countryside.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08In the 18th century, a whole new fashion arises
0:07:08 > 0:07:11amongst the poets and the novelists of the era,
0:07:11 > 0:07:16talking about the sublime beauty of Britain's wild places.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20The Lake District, the moors, the heathlands,
0:07:20 > 0:07:23but that was very much an elite pleasure.
0:07:23 > 0:07:26It was for people who could afford a carriage of their own to go and see.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29With the railways,
0:07:29 > 0:07:32suddenly opportunities open up for the rest of us
0:07:32 > 0:07:36to get out into the fresh air and the sunshine,
0:07:36 > 0:07:40and all the plants and the sea and the hills,
0:07:40 > 0:07:46to enjoy, to take pleasure in the beauty of Britain's landscapes.
0:07:50 > 0:07:55Not all Victorians welcomed the arrival of the masses to the countryside.
0:07:56 > 0:08:00"Is there no nook of English ground secure from rash assault?"
0:08:00 > 0:08:02wrote the poet William Wordsworth.
0:08:03 > 0:08:08Such objections lost out to the economic benefits of the railways,
0:08:08 > 0:08:12as tourism regenerated impoverished rural communities,
0:08:12 > 0:08:14providing much-needed employment.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19There's an expression, "Millionaire for a week."
0:08:19 > 0:08:22When you go on holiday, you spend a lot of money,
0:08:22 > 0:08:26but there's a lot of people running around after you, looking after you.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29That's what I'm doing. I'm here at the Swanage Railway, seeing
0:08:29 > 0:08:34exactly what went into making this such a great holiday destination.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38It's going to be oily, it's going to be sooty,
0:08:38 > 0:08:41it's going to be dirty, it's going to be sweaty.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43I think I'm going to need a holiday!
0:08:49 > 0:08:53As the railways paved the way for the summer holiday season,
0:08:53 > 0:08:56extra services were laid on between London and Swanage,
0:08:56 > 0:08:59creating additional pressures for the workforce
0:08:59 > 0:09:01of the small coastal branch line.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07You're just trying to get the loco over that centre point?
0:09:07 > 0:09:10That's right, yeah, get them perfectly balanced,
0:09:10 > 0:09:12it makes it easier to push around, then.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16On a single-track line, for general manager Matt Green,
0:09:16 > 0:09:19fast and efficient turnarounds are vital.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23We then get our bars out this end, and then try and find
0:09:23 > 0:09:25as many people as we can to push her around.
0:09:25 > 0:09:28- We bring that out, do we? - That's the one.
0:09:28 > 0:09:30- Ready?- Ready!- Good.
0:09:31 > 0:09:34- A big push to get her going.- Yeah.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37There we go. A tremendous amount of effort to get going,
0:09:37 > 0:09:39but once she's off, she's off.
0:09:41 > 0:09:45Although some locos work just as well tender-first,
0:09:45 > 0:09:48for many, top speed was slower in reverse,
0:09:48 > 0:09:52so a turntable was used at Swanage to point the engine in the right direction.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56A little bit more. A little bit more, a little bit more.
0:09:57 > 0:09:58That's it.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00- Lock on? - That's it, put the lock in now.
0:10:00 > 0:10:03So that's just this lever? That's the lock?
0:10:03 > 0:10:06- Put him over and that just stops the table moving.- Right.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09She's ready now to go down onto her coaching stock,
0:10:09 > 0:10:12tie it onto the train and ready to take the next lot of visitors out.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19By day on the Swanage line, trains ran nonstop.
0:10:22 > 0:10:25Workers had to tend to the engines around the clock,
0:10:25 > 0:10:29keeping the locomotives in steam for the early-morning services.
0:10:32 > 0:10:36These engines would have worked very hard during the day,
0:10:36 > 0:10:39and at the end of the day, the fire needs to come out,
0:10:39 > 0:10:41because obviously a fire is dirty.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44That's a clinker shovel.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47It gets right to the back...
0:10:49 > 0:10:50..of the firebox.
0:10:53 > 0:10:55It means that fire that's in there...
0:10:57 > 0:10:58..can be dragged out.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00That old fire, that dirty fire,
0:11:00 > 0:11:03the fire with the impurities, and thrown out,
0:11:03 > 0:11:06but once the fire is out of there,
0:11:06 > 0:11:09this is going to start cooling down, and we need to use this tomorrow,
0:11:09 > 0:11:12so we've got to keep it warm, which means bedding it in.
0:11:12 > 0:11:15We'll just drop a little bit of coal behind the fire door,
0:11:15 > 0:11:17and that will keep the whole thing ticking over,
0:11:17 > 0:11:20keep the fabric of the firebox up to a high temperature,
0:11:20 > 0:11:24and it means in the morning this can get a head of steam quickly,
0:11:24 > 0:11:27and start running people back down to the seaside.
0:11:27 > 0:11:29Below!
0:11:38 > 0:11:43Rail travel for many Victorians was still an adventure into the unknown.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48Journeys had to be planned in meticulous detail.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53Even the idea of a timetable was an unfamiliar concept
0:11:53 > 0:11:55for the novice traveller.
0:11:55 > 0:11:56Get up!
0:11:58 > 0:12:02A trip to the seaside might have begun with a wake-up call from a knocker-upper.
0:12:03 > 0:12:05BANGING ON DOOR
0:12:05 > 0:12:07I'm up, Mr Willoughby!
0:12:09 > 0:12:12For most people in Britain, travel by rail was still very much
0:12:12 > 0:12:15a rarity - it was a treat for special occasions,
0:12:15 > 0:12:17but it was still a very daunting experience.
0:12:17 > 0:12:22But fortunately, I have the Railway Travellers Handy Book from 1862
0:12:22 > 0:12:26to guide me through the process of travelling by rail.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30It's full of hints, suggestions and advice for the anxious Victorian traveller.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33Of course, the first thing I need to get right is
0:12:33 > 0:12:36I need to make sure that I'm on time, and I've already arranged for
0:12:36 > 0:12:39my knocker-upper to give me my morning call,
0:12:39 > 0:12:42- and so I have made a good start. - Get up!
0:12:43 > 0:12:45But most importantly, to get me started,
0:12:45 > 0:12:48it's got advice on travelling costume.
0:12:48 > 0:12:53"The dress which a person wears when travelling by railway need not be
0:12:53 > 0:12:56"an object of solicitude so far as fashion is concerned.
0:12:56 > 0:12:59"The end to be achieved is comfort and ease.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07"One of the most sensible articles of travelling attire is a shirt of flannel,
0:13:07 > 0:13:11"which is much warmer than the linen or cotton shirt ordinarily worn.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17"The best costume is one of those suits fashioned in such a manner
0:13:17 > 0:13:20"as to leave the body and limbs free and unconstrained.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24"Patent leather boots.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27"They can be cleaned by the wearer himself with a little oil or milk.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31"It would be as well for the traveller to provide himself with
0:13:31 > 0:13:36"pockets for books, newspapers, sandwiches, pocket flask, etc.
0:13:40 > 0:13:43"It is of the utmost importance to keep the feet warm.
0:13:43 > 0:13:47"No matter what the season, in our variable climate,
0:13:47 > 0:13:49"sunshine may at any moment be interrupted by rain."
0:13:55 > 0:13:59As working life became increasingly regulated,
0:13:59 > 0:14:02most Victorians worked a six-day week,
0:14:02 > 0:14:05clocking off midday on a Saturday, and resuming on a Monday.
0:14:09 > 0:14:14The notion of a weekend break or a day trip began to develop,
0:14:14 > 0:14:17providing new financial opportunities for rail companies.
0:14:19 > 0:14:21- Are you taking the dog with you? - Yeah, I'm taking the dog.
0:14:21 > 0:14:24With more spare time and more money in their pockets,
0:14:24 > 0:14:27dog owning took off in late Victorian Britain.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29This was the era within which the Kennel Club was founded,
0:14:29 > 0:14:33and railway companies were quick to exploit this new-found obsession
0:14:33 > 0:14:34amongst the British public.
0:14:34 > 0:14:37So it wasn't just humans that were charged for their fare -
0:14:37 > 0:14:39it was also dogs.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43Return to Swanage, please.
0:14:43 > 0:14:45And the rail companies didn't stop there.
0:14:46 > 0:14:50Not content to make money only from tourists and their pets,
0:14:50 > 0:14:53some ploughed their considerable funds into supplying
0:14:53 > 0:14:56the main attractions of the destinations they served.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06At the end of the Paignton and Dartmouth line,
0:15:06 > 0:15:09passengers could board a paddle steamer
0:15:09 > 0:15:11for a cruise up the River Dart -
0:15:11 > 0:15:15built for and run by the Great Western Railway Company.
0:15:18 > 0:15:22From one steam engine to another.
0:15:22 > 0:15:26This is steam entirely for the purpose of having fun.
0:15:28 > 0:15:33Paddle steamers like the Kingswear Castle became a popular attraction
0:15:33 > 0:15:36at Victorian seaside resorts up and down the country.
0:15:39 > 0:15:41We need a nice, level fire,
0:15:41 > 0:15:45a nice covering of coal on the embers, really, more than anything.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47- Okey doke, so more coal, then? - Yeah, that's right.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52Getting the boat up to steam for its daily river excursion
0:15:52 > 0:15:55is a three-hour process for ship's engineer Dan Wheeldon.
0:15:57 > 0:15:59- I haven't got the hang yet. - A little bit of a flick.
0:15:59 > 0:16:01You kind of have to throw it in.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04- That's it. There we go. - Look at that red.
0:16:04 > 0:16:06Normal operating pressure is 110 PSI,
0:16:06 > 0:16:09so that's what we're aiming for, really.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11So, while we're waiting for that to build pressure,
0:16:11 > 0:16:15- I presume there's other jobs to be done?- There is, lots more.- Lead on!
0:16:15 > 0:16:19- That one there, and we did that one, didn't we?- We did the top.
0:16:19 > 0:16:24Just like a steam locomotive, before and even during the river cruise,
0:16:24 > 0:16:27every moving part of the engine has to be greased.
0:16:27 > 0:16:30There's a heck of a lot of this, like, little tiny touches.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33- That's right.- Like nursing it along the whole time.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36A little bit of oil, a little bit of this, little bit of that.
0:16:36 > 0:16:39It's quite satisfying when you actually start the engine moving -
0:16:39 > 0:16:41it's like bringing something to life.
0:16:41 > 0:16:43You're nursing it, all these little things...
0:16:43 > 0:16:46- You've spent three hours doing that! - That's right, that's right.
0:16:51 > 0:16:55- There we go. And then that one's done.- Right, next.
0:16:55 > 0:16:57Oh, we're already over the 100!
0:16:57 > 0:16:59Yeah, that's right,
0:16:59 > 0:17:02so we're about ready to start warming through the engine now.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05What we're going to do is just crack open the steam.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18- The sleeper awakes.- It's alive!
0:17:18 > 0:17:20SHE LAUGHS
0:17:20 > 0:17:23That is quite special, the way it just quietly, when it's ready,
0:17:23 > 0:17:26- just starts to move on its own. - That's right, that's right.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28It is, it's extremely like an animal.
0:17:31 > 0:17:34It's a little bit touchy in the mornings.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37I think I would be at 112 years old as well!
0:17:44 > 0:17:47Only in control of manoeuvring the paddle steamer,
0:17:47 > 0:17:51skipper Richie Swindlehurst must communicate power instructions
0:17:51 > 0:17:53down to the engine room.
0:17:53 > 0:17:55There we go, there's the pipe.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58If you pull the pipe out, and stick your ear to it.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01We're just going to do a telegraph test, so I'll go full ahead.
0:18:03 > 0:18:04Oh!
0:18:05 > 0:18:08- Full ahead!- I'll go slow ahead.
0:18:12 > 0:18:13Slow ahead!
0:18:13 > 0:18:15And then stop.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18- OK, it really is just a speaking tube.- That's right.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21Like two kids with a pair of cups and a bit of string in between.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23That's right, yeah.
0:18:24 > 0:18:26- And...- And the telegraph just lets me know
0:18:26 > 0:18:29what engine movements Rich wants up in the wheelhouse.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37HORN HOOTS
0:18:40 > 0:18:41We're off!
0:18:46 > 0:18:52Luckily, me and Rich have developed a kind of relationship now
0:18:52 > 0:18:56where I can almost anticipate what he's going to ring.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02In a couple of seconds, Rich will ring slow astern.
0:19:02 > 0:19:04There we go,
0:19:04 > 0:19:06there's the slow astern.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11You are more than welcome to take your drinks away from the bar,
0:19:11 > 0:19:14but if you do, please return your cups and glasses.
0:19:18 > 0:19:23Time, I think, for a little bit of the passenger experience.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29Paddle steamers were all part of the many changes that tourism
0:19:29 > 0:19:33brought to the countryside, as the landscapes of fishermen and farmers
0:19:33 > 0:19:36became playgrounds for Victorian pleasure-seekers.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40The whole concept, the whole idea of
0:19:40 > 0:19:44messing about on boats for fun only really starts after the railways.
0:19:44 > 0:19:49As steam-powered boats and steam-powered railways begin
0:19:49 > 0:19:53to make older sailing somewhat obsolete,
0:19:53 > 0:19:58that's the moment when people begin to see it as a leisure activity,
0:19:58 > 0:20:04and the whole idea of a pleasure trip really takes hold.
0:20:08 > 0:20:12Providing both the transport and sometimes the entertainment,
0:20:12 > 0:20:14the railways planted the seeds of what became
0:20:14 > 0:20:17the British seaside holiday.
0:20:19 > 0:20:21But that wasn't its only legacy.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24Racing along at this speed,
0:20:24 > 0:20:27the train traveller was able to see the English landscape in a way
0:20:27 > 0:20:30they'd never seen it before, but they were also able to take in
0:20:30 > 0:20:34Great Britain's great antiquaries, these ancient sites -
0:20:34 > 0:20:38ruined castles, ruined monasteries and medieval bridges,
0:20:38 > 0:20:41and these places have been the stuff of myth and legend
0:20:41 > 0:20:44for years, and now people were able to come and visit them,
0:20:44 > 0:20:47they became tangible visitor attractions.
0:20:51 > 0:20:55As Britain became a nation of sightseers and day-trippers,
0:20:55 > 0:20:59The National Trust was founded in 1885 to protect
0:20:59 > 0:21:04the country's rich heritage from the effects of all this mass tourism.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10But for me, it's time to swot up on what I need to do
0:21:10 > 0:21:12when I get to the other end.
0:21:13 > 0:21:16"As a matter of course, a railway traveller should,
0:21:16 > 0:21:18"on reaching his destination,
0:21:18 > 0:21:21"look after his luggage as speedily as possible.
0:21:22 > 0:21:25"As the luggage is delivered from the vans, porters are
0:21:25 > 0:21:28"standing near to convey it to such place as the owner may direct.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33"It is an extremely awkward affair to be detected in the act
0:21:33 > 0:21:36"of walking off with some other person's property.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39"And although the mistake may be explained subsequently,
0:21:39 > 0:21:43"it yet entails a considerable amount of mortification,
0:21:43 > 0:21:45"humiliation and delay."
0:21:48 > 0:21:50Paul McDonald worked on the Swanage line
0:21:50 > 0:21:54when it was still part of the national network.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57You would have had thousands and thousands of people in the summer,
0:21:57 > 0:21:59and each of them may have had...
0:21:59 > 0:22:01They'd all probably have at least one case.
0:22:01 > 0:22:03They would have done, yeah, two at least.
0:22:03 > 0:22:07The wealthy would have had a lot of luggage, and the average worker
0:22:07 > 0:22:09would have had just a couple of suitcases,
0:22:09 > 0:22:12with the children in one hand, and the suitcases in the other,
0:22:12 > 0:22:15eager to get to their hotel, and get onto the beach.
0:22:15 > 0:22:19The luggage must have been a nightmare, trying to sort all that?
0:22:19 > 0:22:21Yeah, they would have had paper labels stuck on it where
0:22:21 > 0:22:24its destination was to go, and all managed by the guard
0:22:24 > 0:22:26and the porters on the station,
0:22:26 > 0:22:28or it would have gone into the goods shed, maybe,
0:22:28 > 0:22:30to be delivered out to the hotels.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37I suppose I should get this luggage to its rightful owners.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39Yeah, let's get going.
0:22:43 > 0:22:45Hello, Peter.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47- How are you, are you all right? - Yeah, very good.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50- Good stuff. - Just moving the luggage around.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52Where are you off to?
0:22:52 > 0:22:55I'm off for some hard-earned leisure pursuits, I think.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57You've picked a nice day for it.
0:22:57 > 0:22:59I have indeed. I need my walking boots.
0:22:59 > 0:23:01Can you see your case?
0:23:01 > 0:23:04They're very similar, but that is very definitely my case.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08- So, you have a good time with the loco.- I will do.
0:23:13 > 0:23:16As well as catering for bucket and spade tourists...
0:23:16 > 0:23:18Good day!
0:23:18 > 0:23:20..in an age of new discoveries and advancements in
0:23:20 > 0:23:24scientific understanding, the Swanage line became a gateway
0:23:24 > 0:23:27for scholars and amateur enthusiasts to explore
0:23:27 > 0:23:31the geology of one of the country's most unique landscapes...
0:23:32 > 0:23:34..the Jurassic Coast.
0:23:34 > 0:23:39She sells seashells by the she...seashore.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42She Sells Seashells is a famous tongue-twister
0:23:42 > 0:23:45referring to Mary Anning, the Dorset entrepreneur
0:23:45 > 0:23:49who made a living selling fossils to Victorian scientists
0:23:49 > 0:23:50and holiday-makers.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53You see a slight change in colour here.
0:23:53 > 0:23:55That's actually reflecting changing geology.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58Her important discoveries have inspired generations
0:23:58 > 0:24:03of palaeontologists like Simon Penn to comb the Jurassic Coast
0:24:03 > 0:24:06for the remains of Britain's prehistoric past.
0:24:06 > 0:24:11What we're looking for is the sort of shale wave cup platforms along here.
0:24:11 > 0:24:14It's effectively a really muddy seabed
0:24:14 > 0:24:16that's just been compressed, and turned into rock.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19OK and it's within that kind of deposit we're going
0:24:19 > 0:24:21to find our fossils, you think?
0:24:21 > 0:24:24- Hopefully.- OK, well, let's have a look around, let's have a hunt.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31- Right.- Here we go, what have we got there?
0:24:31 > 0:24:32There you go.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35Yes, so that's an ammonite.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38This part here that is hollow is actually where the animal lived.
0:24:38 > 0:24:42You would have had a squid-like animal living inside there.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45Goodness me! That's quite phenomenal.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48And with the railways allowing so many more people to travel,
0:24:48 > 0:24:51you would have had very many more amateurs on the case.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54- Yes.- It must have meant that the whole science
0:24:54 > 0:24:57just increased massively, and the whole understanding of the science.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59Yeah, it was a complete renaissance, really,
0:24:59 > 0:25:02in that sort of paleontological thinking.
0:25:03 > 0:25:07This was the age of Darwin, whose theories on evolution
0:25:07 > 0:25:11helped make fossil-hunting a popular Victorian pastime.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14What kind of things are we getting from this part of the world?
0:25:14 > 0:25:18This is the vertebra of a big carnivorous dinosaur.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21This is actually from the neck, so you get a perspective on the size of
0:25:21 > 0:25:25these animals. These were huge, huge animals. It's called Baryonyx.
0:25:25 > 0:25:26- Baryonyx?- Baryonyx, yeah.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28It sounds amazing.
0:25:28 > 0:25:32Amazing to think of the excitement some of those Victorian day-trippers
0:25:32 > 0:25:34would have had coming down here,
0:25:34 > 0:25:37the possibility themselves of finding some of these things.
0:25:37 > 0:25:40Yes, of course. There were new things are being found
0:25:40 > 0:25:41because it's such a young science.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44When they actually cut the railways through the landscape,
0:25:44 > 0:25:47it revealed a huge book of geology that they went and literally
0:25:47 > 0:25:49read, and they went from environment to environment,
0:25:49 > 0:25:52collecting fossil insects to dinosaurs to sharks and ammonites.
0:25:52 > 0:25:55But I'm thinking about a deeply Christian society,
0:25:55 > 0:25:59- a society that thinks effectively that God created the planet.- Yes.
0:25:59 > 0:26:03- How is this shaking things up for them?- Quite a lot.
0:26:03 > 0:26:04Darwin was obviously key.
0:26:04 > 0:26:08The idea of evolution sort of starts in those mid-Victorian times.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11People start to lock into it, and go, "Yeah,
0:26:11 > 0:26:14"we've actually got something here, this is a breakthrough."
0:26:14 > 0:26:16From my perspective, you've got day-trippers
0:26:16 > 0:26:18who can come down here and actually see it for themselves.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21They can see evolution in action, yeah.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27The railway was expanding people's horizons in ways that
0:26:27 > 0:26:30the early pioneers of steam could never have imagined.
0:26:30 > 0:26:32Hello, can I have a return to London please?
0:26:32 > 0:26:34Return to London, certainly.
0:26:34 > 0:26:36For the first time,
0:26:36 > 0:26:39the nation at large was able to fully appreciate and understand
0:26:39 > 0:26:42what Britain was, and what it looked like.
0:26:44 > 0:26:46HORN HOOTS
0:26:49 > 0:26:53And the railways would enable Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert,
0:26:53 > 0:26:57to organise a national event, bringing the country together
0:26:57 > 0:27:00in a way that had never been possible before.
0:27:00 > 0:27:04The Great Exhibition of 1851 was always intended by Prince Albert
0:27:04 > 0:27:10to showcase British manufacturing to an international audience,
0:27:10 > 0:27:14but when it came to it, if ticket sales to the overseas visitors
0:27:14 > 0:27:16were a little disappointing,
0:27:16 > 0:27:19that could not be said, however, of the British public,
0:27:19 > 0:27:23who responded in an unprecedented way.
0:27:23 > 0:27:27A third of the population - yes, a third of the population -
0:27:27 > 0:27:29the entire population,
0:27:29 > 0:27:33visited the Great Exhibition within a six-month period.
0:27:35 > 0:27:38Such was the success of the exhibition,
0:27:38 > 0:27:40that the main venue, the Crystal Palace,
0:27:40 > 0:27:43was moved to a permanent new site with its own station, drawing
0:27:43 > 0:27:48rail travellers from across the isles to events on a national scale.
0:27:48 > 0:27:52I think perhaps this one excites me more than any other.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55On this occasion, there were 500 musicians,
0:27:55 > 0:27:59and a choir of 4,000 voices.
0:27:59 > 0:28:04And what makes it even more special is that this event in 1888
0:28:04 > 0:28:10was the first-ever live performance to be recorded.
0:28:30 > 0:28:35Between 1854 and 1884, an average two million visitors
0:28:35 > 0:28:38travelled to the Crystal Palace each year,
0:28:38 > 0:28:42celebrating British culture and identity.
0:28:42 > 0:28:45This was the time when the very term "Victorian"
0:28:45 > 0:28:47began to be commonly used...
0:28:48 > 0:28:50..and when London itself
0:28:50 > 0:28:54became the nation's number one tourist destination.
0:28:58 > 0:29:02Almost from the very first moment that the Crystal Palace opened,
0:29:02 > 0:29:05Prince Albert and his cronies were planning this -
0:29:05 > 0:29:07the Victoria and Albert Museum,
0:29:07 > 0:29:10which was intended from the very start
0:29:10 > 0:29:14to bring together the finest art and design from all over the world,
0:29:14 > 0:29:18intended for the inspiration and pleasure
0:29:18 > 0:29:21of the British working man and woman.
0:29:23 > 0:29:26When the Natural History Museum opened next door,
0:29:26 > 0:29:30even the world of palaeontology was granted a brand-new space
0:29:30 > 0:29:33to showcase its collections and latest discoveries.
0:29:36 > 0:29:39As the skyline of London was transformed,
0:29:39 > 0:29:43more and more rail travellers flocked to the capital.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48This was when a weekend shopping trip to town became
0:29:48 > 0:29:52a leisure activity for increasing numbers of Victorians
0:29:52 > 0:29:56with more spare time and cash in their pockets.
0:29:58 > 0:29:59SHE CHUCKLES
0:29:59 > 0:30:03It is still possible to just get that little flavour
0:30:03 > 0:30:07of a Victorian London shopping experience, and the railways made
0:30:07 > 0:30:10a big difference to these sorts of businesses.
0:30:10 > 0:30:12I mean, look at all these sticks here.
0:30:12 > 0:30:16The new freedom that the railways gave people allowed them to get out
0:30:16 > 0:30:19and enjoy a whole new world of walking holidays
0:30:19 > 0:30:23out in the fresh air, and that obviously provided
0:30:23 > 0:30:25a new market for small businesses.
0:30:25 > 0:30:28I think it's really telling that this particular little business.
0:30:28 > 0:30:32Before the railways, one tiny little shop,
0:30:32 > 0:30:37but within 20 years of the railways arriving, six emporiums.
0:30:37 > 0:30:40And they're still surviving.
0:30:40 > 0:30:43More than surviving - doing all right.
0:30:47 > 0:30:51As the railways brought people to London from all over Britain,
0:30:51 > 0:30:56the fashions and trends of the capital were exported nationwide.
0:30:56 > 0:30:59I could rock this look, definitely!
0:31:00 > 0:31:01SHE CHUCKLES
0:31:04 > 0:31:06Established in 1840,
0:31:06 > 0:31:09bespoke shoemakers Foster & Sons also thrived
0:31:09 > 0:31:12off the back of London's railway boom.
0:31:13 > 0:31:16- One on each side.- One on each side.
0:31:16 > 0:31:17OK.
0:31:17 > 0:31:20Chairman Richard Edgecliffe-Johnson
0:31:20 > 0:31:25and last-maker John Spencer are still making made-to-measure shoes
0:31:25 > 0:31:28as they would have done in the company's Victorian heyday.
0:31:29 > 0:31:32You're taking a lot of different measurements.
0:31:32 > 0:31:36- Yeah.- John describes this as his Ordnance Survey map of your foot.
0:31:36 > 0:31:40Wow! When you think that usually you just walk in and all it gives you is
0:31:40 > 0:31:45one number, a size so-and-so, and that's all you get.
0:31:47 > 0:31:50So this is the picture of my feet.
0:31:50 > 0:31:51- Yes.- What happens next?
0:31:51 > 0:31:55The next thing is, John is going to take that map of your feet,
0:31:55 > 0:31:58- and he's going to make a last. - And that's one of these?
0:31:58 > 0:32:00That's one of those.
0:32:00 > 0:32:03And that happens to be Charlie Chaplin's last.
0:32:03 > 0:32:06- No!- From quite a few years ago. He had quite a strong foot.
0:32:06 > 0:32:10So you make these sort of wooden moulds, models?
0:32:10 > 0:32:13It doesn't represent the foot - it's actually the
0:32:13 > 0:32:15shape of the shoe you want to finish up with.
0:32:17 > 0:32:20The other thing I noticed was this little thing.
0:32:20 > 0:32:23- Oh, yes.- What are you doing with miniature shoes in your shop?
0:32:23 > 0:32:26Well, that's got a bit of industrial history behind it, really.
0:32:26 > 0:32:30This shoe was used for travelling, cos as the country opened up, we
0:32:30 > 0:32:34could go and see our customers, and you didn't want to carry great big
0:32:34 > 0:32:36heavy shoes in your case, so if you took a little one like that...
0:32:36 > 0:32:40So just as the railways were encouraging people to come to London
0:32:40 > 0:32:43for high-quality leisure shopping, it's also allowing
0:32:43 > 0:32:47London specialists to go out into the country and offer a bespoke
0:32:47 > 0:32:51service in the Highlands of Scotland or wherever?
0:32:51 > 0:32:52- Yes.- Such a sweet thing.
0:32:52 > 0:32:55That is a nice piece of history, isn't it? Yes.
0:33:08 > 0:33:13As shoemaking became increasingly mechanised in the 19th century,
0:33:13 > 0:33:16smaller, high-end businesses were able to specialise,
0:33:16 > 0:33:20using the railways to sell bespoke products
0:33:20 > 0:33:22to individual customers all over Britain.
0:33:24 > 0:33:28And the influence of the railways on shoemakers didn't end there.
0:33:28 > 0:33:31As people had more ability to travel,
0:33:31 > 0:33:35sporting events came right to the fore.
0:33:35 > 0:33:39From the 1890s onwards, you begin to see
0:33:39 > 0:33:41the rise of the football leagues.
0:33:41 > 0:33:44Football boots. Grand, aren't they?
0:33:44 > 0:33:46A whole new market for shoemakers.
0:33:46 > 0:33:48More and more people travelling
0:33:48 > 0:33:51to more and more events, and more and more sports. These?
0:33:51 > 0:33:53Golf or tennis shoes.
0:33:54 > 0:33:56Ice skates, anyone?
0:33:59 > 0:34:02With a new thirst for leisure pursuits,
0:34:02 > 0:34:06the railways enabled people to travel far and wide,
0:34:06 > 0:34:08to public events and sporting fixtures.
0:34:11 > 0:34:14But the railways were also used to transport entertainments
0:34:14 > 0:34:17to the masses on high days and holidays,
0:34:17 > 0:34:20whether in the form of travelling theatre groups,
0:34:20 > 0:34:23freak shows or steam fairs.
0:34:23 > 0:34:28MERRY-GO-ROUND MUSIC
0:34:31 > 0:34:34Travelling fairs and carnivals were a common visitor
0:34:34 > 0:34:37to many towns across Britain.
0:34:37 > 0:34:41Although many of them have an ancient heritage,
0:34:41 > 0:34:45it's the lights, the sounds and the movement of those huge rides
0:34:45 > 0:34:48that have their origins in the age of steam.
0:34:50 > 0:34:55The steam rides could be packed away, loaded onto trains,
0:34:55 > 0:34:57ready to be reassembled at the next stop.
0:34:58 > 0:35:01Joby Carter is the son of the founder of Carter's Steam Fair.
0:35:01 > 0:35:05- There we go.- This is gallopers, isn't it?
0:35:05 > 0:35:08- This is a galloper, yes. - You wouldn't say carousel?
0:35:08 > 0:35:12Had you spoke to my dad, "Have you got a carousel?"
0:35:12 > 0:35:14"No, sorry, I can't help you," and he'd put the phone down.
0:35:14 > 0:35:17He genuinely would - he wouldn't entertain the fact that he'd
0:35:17 > 0:35:20received it as the wrong name for a galloper, because it's such
0:35:20 > 0:35:23a lovely word, isn't it, gallopers? Very English, galloper.
0:35:23 > 0:35:25Now, there are differences.
0:35:26 > 0:35:28A galloper goes clockwise. Right.
0:35:28 > 0:35:31A carousel goes anti-clockwise,
0:35:31 > 0:35:34and it's relevant to the side of the road you drive on.
0:35:34 > 0:35:37- I'll accept merry-go-round. - Merry-go-round.
0:35:37 > 0:35:39Merry-go-round, I'll accept. Roundabout...
0:35:39 > 0:35:42Never carousel. Anyone who calls it that is a sell-out.
0:35:42 > 0:35:44- Yep, OK! - HE LAUGHS
0:35:49 > 0:35:52The galloper is connected to a portable steam engine...
0:35:52 > 0:35:54How's it looking?
0:35:54 > 0:35:59..adapted from those used in factories and on farms, to power the ride.
0:36:00 > 0:36:04When we purchased the ride, it was working,
0:36:04 > 0:36:07but it didn't have an engine. My dad saw its potential.
0:36:07 > 0:36:10He fell in love with it, and went about trying to find an engine.
0:36:10 > 0:36:14A friend of his had an engine, which my dad purchased off him.
0:36:16 > 0:36:18The day he put it on, it went straight on,
0:36:18 > 0:36:23the bolts fitted and the cogs lined up, so we think the chances of it
0:36:23 > 0:36:26not being from that ride are very remote, so we were incredibly lucky,
0:36:26 > 0:36:28and we've run it on steam ever since.
0:36:28 > 0:36:30It's been back in steam for 40 years now.
0:36:30 > 0:36:33Wow! That's amazing.
0:36:33 > 0:36:37- That's meant to be, really, isn't it?- Yes, definitely.- Yeah.
0:36:38 > 0:36:46GALLOPER MUSIC
0:36:53 > 0:36:55Well, it's like being a child again.
0:36:55 > 0:36:59Steam power was a fantastic invention.
0:36:59 > 0:37:02It was designed for work, it was designed for the factories,
0:37:02 > 0:37:05it was designed for moving people, but the Victorians,
0:37:05 > 0:37:07they became steam junkies,
0:37:07 > 0:37:10and if it could be harnessed to a steam engine, it was.
0:37:11 > 0:37:13In the wake of the railways,
0:37:13 > 0:37:17Victorians had become used to a faster, more exciting world.
0:37:17 > 0:37:21Some of the wealthiest in society began looking for new ways
0:37:21 > 0:37:23to take the steam engine to the next level.
0:37:25 > 0:37:28If you could afford it, you may very well stretch to one of these -
0:37:28 > 0:37:30a steam-powered car.
0:37:33 > 0:37:37The first thing I need to do is to open up my throttle.
0:37:37 > 0:37:40The problem is, just like a steam locomotive,
0:37:40 > 0:37:42it takes time to warm one of these things up.
0:37:44 > 0:37:46I also need to check the pilot.
0:37:46 > 0:37:49Is he alight? Yes, he's alight, so I'm happy with that.
0:37:49 > 0:37:52Day-tripping was very definitely not a spontaneous affair.
0:37:53 > 0:37:56Steam cars predated the steam railways,
0:37:56 > 0:38:00but it wasn't until the second half of the 19th century
0:38:00 > 0:38:02that the technology gained momentum.
0:38:02 > 0:38:03I'm happy with that.
0:38:03 > 0:38:06I now need to check my fuel pressure.
0:38:06 > 0:38:10Basil Craske is the owner of this later 1910 model,
0:38:10 > 0:38:14which used kerosene rather than coal - the fuel of the jet engine.
0:38:20 > 0:38:22- All up to steam? - Yes, we're all ready to go.
0:38:22 > 0:38:25Right, OK, so shall I climb on board?
0:38:25 > 0:38:27Climb on board.
0:38:27 > 0:38:29Right.
0:38:29 > 0:38:31Wow!
0:38:31 > 0:38:34That is comfy, that is.
0:38:34 > 0:38:36Handbrake off.
0:38:36 > 0:38:38- Handbrake is off.- Foot brake?
0:38:38 > 0:38:40- No break.- Open her up.
0:38:40 > 0:38:41Oh!
0:38:43 > 0:38:45Off we go!
0:38:45 > 0:38:47HE LAUGHS
0:38:49 > 0:38:51Shut the drain hole at the side.
0:38:57 > 0:38:59HORN HONKS
0:39:07 > 0:39:11I mean, this really was a gentleman-of-leisure car, wasn't it?
0:39:11 > 0:39:13Very much so.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16You had to have a few bob, really, to lay your hands on one of these.
0:39:16 > 0:39:19Well, in 1910, these would have been over £1,000,
0:39:19 > 0:39:24which, in 1910, £1,000 -I dread to think what it relates to today,
0:39:24 > 0:39:27but it's not Mr Average.
0:39:27 > 0:39:30- No, that is an extortionate amount of money, isn't it?- Yes.
0:39:30 > 0:39:32It was all about pleasure-seeking really.
0:39:32 > 0:39:38These were not being purchased as vehicles for functional use in society.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41- No.- This was all about leisure, wasn't it?- Yes.
0:39:41 > 0:39:44This was going out, going for a drive, maybe going out for picnics.
0:39:44 > 0:39:48Yeah, seeing a bit of the world that you'd never seen before.
0:39:48 > 0:39:51- Yeah, it was purely a leisure thing. - Purely a leisure pursuit.
0:39:52 > 0:39:57The steam car was remarkably quiet, and surprisingly fast.
0:39:58 > 0:40:01Achieving a new land speed record in 1906,
0:40:01 > 0:40:06one steam car was clocked at 127mph.
0:40:07 > 0:40:10But there was one major drawback.
0:40:12 > 0:40:15- There we go.- Right.
0:40:15 > 0:40:16Ready to pick up some water.
0:40:16 > 0:40:19So you don't need to stop at a petrol station,
0:40:19 > 0:40:21- but you do need to stop and collect water?- Yes.
0:40:21 > 0:40:23Very regularly.
0:40:23 > 0:40:25THEY LAUGH
0:40:25 > 0:40:28- 25, 30 miles is maximum. - Every 25, 30 miles, right.
0:40:28 > 0:40:30They do a mile to the gallon.
0:40:33 > 0:40:36I'll get us into the water, then I'll know...
0:40:36 > 0:40:39- OK, so if I come into there... - Yeah.
0:40:39 > 0:40:42STEAM HISSES
0:40:42 > 0:40:45Oh, yeah, I can feel the suction, actually, in the pipe.
0:40:45 > 0:40:47It's sucking it down into the water.
0:40:47 > 0:40:49Maybe a few tadpoles in the tank now.
0:40:49 > 0:40:52Well, the water level's coming up on our side indicator gauge.
0:40:52 > 0:40:55Right, there we are, out she comes.
0:40:57 > 0:41:01And there we are, we're now good for another 25 miles.
0:41:01 > 0:41:04And that was ten or 12 gallons, as quick as that.
0:41:04 > 0:41:06- Ten or 12 gallons, just like that. - Quick as that.
0:41:06 > 0:41:10Let's see if we can't find ourselves a nice country pub.
0:41:12 > 0:41:13Over long distances,
0:41:13 > 0:41:17the steam car was never a match for the steam locomotive.
0:41:20 > 0:41:25And with nothing to compete with the train, in the 19th century,
0:41:25 > 0:41:28tourism remained a captive market for rail companies.
0:41:31 > 0:41:35At major junctions and stations on the rail network,
0:41:35 > 0:41:38old coaching inns made way for grand hotels,
0:41:38 > 0:41:40for the weary and usually wealthy passenger.
0:41:43 > 0:41:47And none were more palatial or luxurious than the Midland Grand
0:41:47 > 0:41:50at London's St Pancras.
0:41:51 > 0:41:56I've just stepped through the first public revolving door
0:41:56 > 0:42:00in all of Europe, and you might notice it's got three compartments,
0:42:00 > 0:42:03not four, and that's to make space for all those huge dresses.
0:42:03 > 0:42:07And I've stepped into, well, it's like stepping into a palace, isn't it?
0:42:07 > 0:42:11A great, enormous, exuberant mix of the Gothic
0:42:11 > 0:42:13and the Renaissance and the Persian.
0:42:13 > 0:42:19And this - this is a railway hotel, for railway passengers.
0:42:20 > 0:42:25Opened in 1873, no expense was spared to create
0:42:25 > 0:42:29a landmark building in the heart of the nation's capital city.
0:42:29 > 0:42:33A monument to the success of its owner, the Midland Railway Company.
0:42:34 > 0:42:39And this was the gentlemen's coffee room,
0:42:39 > 0:42:41redecorated for 1901.
0:42:41 > 0:42:43Just for coffee!
0:42:46 > 0:42:50The vision of architect George Gilbert Scott,
0:42:50 > 0:42:55the Midland Grand epitomised 19th century elegance and sophistication.
0:42:55 > 0:42:57Now, this is swanky, isn't it?
0:42:57 > 0:42:59There's even a grand piano over there.
0:42:59 > 0:43:03Imagine it playing, as you ascend.
0:43:16 > 0:43:19In the Victorian mind-set, the railways had become
0:43:19 > 0:43:22much more than just a fast and efficient means of transport.
0:43:24 > 0:43:29This was where the dreams and aspirations of a nation on the move played out.
0:43:30 > 0:43:33Here's a great big shield painted on the wall,
0:43:33 > 0:43:37with the emblems of the six cities that the Midland Railway served.
0:43:37 > 0:43:42Leeds, Lincoln, Leicester, Birmingham, Derby, Bristol,
0:43:42 > 0:43:45and right at the top is a sort of dragon-like creature,
0:43:45 > 0:43:49and that's what the Midland Railway adopted as their sort of logo.
0:43:49 > 0:43:52It was all part of the plan to give that flavour
0:43:52 > 0:43:56of aristocratic elegance to all railway travellers -
0:43:56 > 0:43:58at least, their more wealthy customers.
0:43:58 > 0:44:01It was a sort of democratisation,
0:44:01 > 0:44:04"You, too, can buy into the myths of old England, you, too,
0:44:04 > 0:44:08"even if you come from Leeds or Birmingham or Bristol,
0:44:08 > 0:44:10"and have to live a fairly workaday life,
0:44:10 > 0:44:13"you, too, can be part of this glamorous future."
0:44:15 > 0:44:17An echo of a glamorous past.
0:44:19 > 0:44:23The hotel did, however, have one major design fault.
0:44:26 > 0:44:30Built before the age of the en-suite, guests relied on an army
0:44:30 > 0:44:34of servants to scuttle through corridors with bowls and hip baths.
0:44:36 > 0:44:39Unable to easily modernise because its floors were built from solid
0:44:39 > 0:44:44concrete, the Midland Grand closed its doors in 1935.
0:44:46 > 0:44:48But since the arrival of the Eurostar,
0:44:48 > 0:44:52the hotel and station has been reborn for the 21st century.
0:45:02 > 0:45:04I love the detail here.
0:45:04 > 0:45:07This used to be the booking office, where you came to buy your ticket.
0:45:07 > 0:45:12Obviously, it's a posh restaurant now, but up on here,
0:45:12 > 0:45:15on the capitals, are sculptures of railway people.
0:45:15 > 0:45:18There's a crossing keeper, and an engine driver, and a signalman,
0:45:18 > 0:45:23and a guard, both of them in their uniforms from the 1870s.
0:45:23 > 0:45:27Everywhere you look, little tiny reminders.
0:45:27 > 0:45:29This is railway land.
0:45:32 > 0:45:34By the end of the 19th century,
0:45:34 > 0:45:37there was barely an industry or a community in Britain
0:45:37 > 0:45:40that hadn't been transformed by the railways.
0:45:42 > 0:45:45The livelihoods of millions of Victorians now depended
0:45:45 > 0:45:49entirely on steam technology, and the armies of workers
0:45:49 > 0:45:52and engineers employed to keep the engines running.
0:45:52 > 0:45:55A little bit more, a bit harder, that's it.
0:45:55 > 0:45:57How often do you do this?
0:45:57 > 0:46:00We do this every 28 days the engine's been used.
0:46:00 > 0:46:03During peak holiday season on the Swanage line,
0:46:03 > 0:46:06locomotives were pushed to their limits,
0:46:06 > 0:46:09requiring workers like Billy Johnson to carry out
0:46:09 > 0:46:11frequent boiler inspections.
0:46:11 > 0:46:14So once the boiler's stripped, our next job now is to flush it out,
0:46:14 > 0:46:17- so we can do the exam afterwards. - So move the tools,
0:46:17 > 0:46:20- cos this is going to get wet, is it? - Yeah, this will all get wet here.
0:46:21 > 0:46:23If you turn that tap...
0:46:25 > 0:46:29Flushing out the boiler removes any corrosive scale.
0:46:31 > 0:46:34As you can see, it's quite a wet and dirty process.
0:46:34 > 0:46:37So once a month you're doing this?
0:46:37 > 0:46:40Yeah, you've done a really good job there, Peter.
0:46:41 > 0:46:46- Well, I could do with one of these at home.- Yeah.
0:46:46 > 0:46:48Operating under extreme pressure,
0:46:48 > 0:46:50cracks in the boiler have the potential to cause an explosion.
0:46:50 > 0:46:53- Put that in the hole, as far as it can go.- Which one, the top one?
0:46:53 > 0:46:56Yep, the top one's fine. As you can see, look...
0:46:56 > 0:46:59Oh, yeah. So, basically, what we've got to look out for is to make sure
0:46:59 > 0:47:03that none of the stays have been cracked, as far as we can see.
0:47:03 > 0:47:05- Yeah.- So we look around.
0:47:05 > 0:47:07Just dip it in a bit more paraffin to keep it going.
0:47:11 > 0:47:15What we do now is we put that in that hole there.
0:47:15 > 0:47:18- Yeah.- And we walk to the front, and as you can see,
0:47:18 > 0:47:22the channel is more or less clear, so you can look all the way down.
0:47:22 > 0:47:25This is a little bit like dentistry for locomotives.
0:47:25 > 0:47:28It is, yeah, this is exactly how they'd done it.
0:47:28 > 0:47:31- There's more of these up in the cab, more in the front.- OK.
0:47:31 > 0:47:34- How many inspection points has this got?- Altogether there's about 40.
0:47:34 > 0:47:37- 40?- Yeah.- Wow.- So we've got quite a lot to look through.
0:47:37 > 0:47:40- Yeah, that's going to take a fair old while, isn't it?- It is, yeah.
0:47:44 > 0:47:47Boilers were one of the steam engine's greatest weaknesses.
0:47:47 > 0:47:51On average, they had a life span of only ten years, keeping
0:47:51 > 0:47:56boiler engineers, like brothers, Hal and Guy Debes, in regular work.
0:47:59 > 0:48:03Boilermakers in Victorian times earned at least as twice as much
0:48:03 > 0:48:05as other workers in the same industry.
0:48:07 > 0:48:10It was an extremely skilled job.
0:48:10 > 0:48:13The smallest fault in the fabric of a boiler
0:48:13 > 0:48:16could have catastrophic and fatal consequences.
0:48:18 > 0:48:23There's a famous account of an engine that fell through the parapet of a bridge,
0:48:23 > 0:48:26which in itself wouldn't have caused any severe damage.
0:48:26 > 0:48:29They are very strong, boilers. However, it fell into a river,
0:48:29 > 0:48:32and the rapid cooling of the water did make it explode,
0:48:32 > 0:48:36and they found the safety valve a mile and a half away when it went through a church roof.
0:48:36 > 0:48:40- A boiler is actually a bomb. - Yeah. Yes, powerful things.
0:48:40 > 0:48:42Powerful things, we want to stay away from explosions.
0:48:42 > 0:48:45Look after them. Don't mess with them!
0:48:48 > 0:48:52Before the mechanisation of locomotive production,
0:48:52 > 0:48:54making a boiler required a lot of heat,
0:48:54 > 0:48:56a good deal of brawn...
0:48:58 > 0:48:59..and a steady aim.
0:49:05 > 0:49:07Jesus wept!
0:49:07 > 0:49:09- So we've done the easy bits now. - Right.
0:49:09 > 0:49:11The hard bits are the corners.
0:49:11 > 0:49:14I have to say, the easy bit was quite hard.
0:49:14 > 0:49:16I'm not looking forward to the hard bit!
0:49:20 > 0:49:24It's amazing, just thinking how many vehicles were in operation
0:49:24 > 0:49:28during that age of steam, and all those vehicles, over their lifetime,
0:49:28 > 0:49:31would have needed boiler repairs. They would have needed to be
0:49:31 > 0:49:33serviced, not just once, but several times.
0:49:33 > 0:49:36I mean, they may have only lasted a few years before they needed
0:49:36 > 0:49:39another one of these end caps. It's hard, hard work.
0:49:39 > 0:49:44You can just see how much pressure and stresses they're under,
0:49:44 > 0:49:47and how much wear they get over their lives.
0:49:48 > 0:49:50A bit like me, to be honest.
0:49:50 > 0:49:52I'm starting to feel it.
0:49:57 > 0:50:00The steam engine was hugely labour-intensive,
0:50:00 > 0:50:03requiring a large and highly-skilled workforce.
0:50:04 > 0:50:08And although by Queen Victoria's death in 1901,
0:50:08 > 0:50:12the steam railway had a firm grip on almost every aspect of daily life
0:50:12 > 0:50:17in Britain, a new, more efficient technology was coming along
0:50:17 > 0:50:19to threaten that dominance.
0:50:22 > 0:50:27I've always wanted to be in my own episode of Wind In The Willows.
0:50:27 > 0:50:30It feels so fast when you've got no roof on, doesn't it?
0:50:32 > 0:50:35Wealthier members of society, who could afford the latest
0:50:35 > 0:50:40petrol-powered motor cars, were the first to seize the opportunity
0:50:40 > 0:50:44to swap the constraints of rail travel for the open road.
0:50:44 > 0:50:47I feel slightly two ways about it, to be honest,
0:50:47 > 0:50:51because at that very moment in which the railways offer everybody
0:50:51 > 0:50:56freedom, the elite start looking around for something different.
0:50:56 > 0:51:00So as soon as there's an alternative, they leap at it.
0:51:00 > 0:51:02"Leave, leave everybody else behind on the train!
0:51:02 > 0:51:04"We'll go off on our own
0:51:04 > 0:51:08"in this very new, expensive form of transport."
0:51:08 > 0:51:12But it also, I guess, enabled all of the many nooks and crannies
0:51:12 > 0:51:14of the English countryside to be explored.
0:51:14 > 0:51:17That's true, it does give a new sort of freedom, but initially,
0:51:17 > 0:51:21and for quite a long time, just to the elite.
0:51:21 > 0:51:23Yeah, that's us today.
0:51:23 > 0:51:26- That's us today.- Let's not knock it.
0:51:26 > 0:51:29- It's quite nice occasionally, I have to be honest.- It is.
0:51:32 > 0:51:36It's something of an irony that the first mass-produced car,
0:51:36 > 0:51:38the Model T Ford,
0:51:38 > 0:51:41the American vehicle that became a symbol of a new era,
0:51:41 > 0:51:44and the future demise of the locomotive,
0:51:44 > 0:51:47was itself a product of steam power.
0:51:47 > 0:51:49I wonder how Peter's getting on.
0:51:49 > 0:51:51That's them.
0:51:52 > 0:51:55Hope they're working him like a dog.
0:51:55 > 0:51:59From the supply of the Ford's raw resources
0:51:59 > 0:52:02to its assembly, from the transportation of its parts
0:52:02 > 0:52:06across the Atlantic, to its distribution in Britain,
0:52:06 > 0:52:11steam engines and factories, on ships and in trains,
0:52:11 > 0:52:13were key to its production.
0:52:13 > 0:52:15Why does it smell of fish around here?
0:52:15 > 0:52:17I've got a little surprise for you, Ruth.
0:52:17 > 0:52:22Enabling tourists to explore the countryside off the beaten track,
0:52:22 > 0:52:27the motor car did much to instil in the nation a growing appetite
0:52:27 > 0:52:29for picnicking.
0:52:31 > 0:52:33Even providing a means of cooking a hot meal.
0:52:35 > 0:52:37There we go.
0:52:37 > 0:52:41Lovely little aftermarket oven, which you can sit on the manifold.
0:52:42 > 0:52:45Some fish and potatoes.
0:52:45 > 0:52:47Ruth will be happy.
0:52:49 > 0:52:51Here we go, Ruth.
0:52:51 > 0:52:55Some extremely hot potatoes and smoked mackerel.
0:52:55 > 0:52:57Smoked mackerel?
0:52:57 > 0:53:00- Yeah.- It's sort of like cooking things on the shovel
0:53:00 > 0:53:04- in a steam engine, isn't it?- It is and slightly more sophisticated.
0:53:04 > 0:53:07I'm interested to know if they taste of petrol.
0:53:09 > 0:53:12There's not even a whiff of kerosene about it.
0:53:12 > 0:53:15- There isn't, is there? - Lovely jersey potatoes here.
0:53:15 > 0:53:18Brought to you courtesy of the railways.
0:53:18 > 0:53:20- Smoked fish as well.- Smoked fish.
0:53:20 > 0:53:23- True.- Brought all the way down from the North of England.
0:53:23 > 0:53:25Yes. Actually, when you think about it,
0:53:25 > 0:53:28- the jam will have been railway transported.- Yeah.- Flour.
0:53:28 > 0:53:31- Probably, actually probably most of these ingredients.- Yeah.
0:53:31 > 0:53:35There is a real intermeshing of transport technologies, isn't there?
0:53:35 > 0:53:39You know, the two systems have found a level.
0:53:39 > 0:53:41And especially when it comes to leisure,
0:53:41 > 0:53:44the leisure industry that the car inherited
0:53:44 > 0:53:46was basically born out of the railways, wasn't it?
0:53:46 > 0:53:48If it hadn't have been for the railways,
0:53:48 > 0:53:50you wouldn't have had seaside towns,
0:53:50 > 0:53:52you wouldn't have had sort of access to the countryside.
0:53:52 > 0:53:56- Here's to integrated transport. - The integrated transport network.
0:53:57 > 0:53:59I can imagine Peter now, though.
0:53:59 > 0:54:01Sweat pouring from his brow.
0:54:01 > 0:54:04Let's be honest, though, that is his natural habitat.
0:54:04 > 0:54:07The man is never happier than when he's covered in filth.
0:54:09 > 0:54:12- Whoops! Oh, sorry. - You all right?- Yeah.
0:54:12 > 0:54:14I'll give you a shout when it's near the top.
0:54:14 > 0:54:16Getting close to the top.
0:54:16 > 0:54:20Where the steam locomotive required frequent refills with gallons of water...
0:54:21 > 0:54:23Needed a wash.
0:54:25 > 0:54:28..and when getting an engine up to steam took hours,
0:54:28 > 0:54:32the internal combustion engine could be started with a turn of a key.
0:54:32 > 0:54:34ENGINE STARTS
0:54:34 > 0:54:35There we are.
0:54:36 > 0:54:38And following the railway's lead,
0:54:38 > 0:54:41motor companies were quick to produce their own guidebooks.
0:54:41 > 0:54:44Well, seeing as you're happy with the driving, Ruth,
0:54:44 > 0:54:47- I can consult the Michelin guide. - Okey doke.
0:54:47 > 0:54:50Swanage, here we come.
0:54:50 > 0:54:52Well, we can always have a drink at The Ship.
0:54:52 > 0:54:55That's on the high street, apparently.
0:54:55 > 0:54:58And if we have any problems with the car,
0:54:58 > 0:55:01there's the central garage, which is on Station Road.
0:55:01 > 0:55:03Station Road!
0:55:03 > 0:55:04SHE LAUGHS
0:55:08 > 0:55:11It always amazes me just how much effort goes into
0:55:11 > 0:55:15not just bringing a steam engine up to steam,
0:55:15 > 0:55:18but in actually driving and firing the thing.
0:55:20 > 0:55:24- And it is fantastic... - HORN HOOTS
0:55:24 > 0:55:25..but it's hard.
0:55:27 > 0:55:30The motor car would have its day, but by then,
0:55:30 > 0:55:34people had already become accustomed to travelling far and wide.
0:55:34 > 0:55:38It was the steam railways that had got Britain on the move,
0:55:38 > 0:55:42changing how we thought about and used our countryside and cities,
0:55:42 > 0:55:44transforming our shopping habits,
0:55:44 > 0:55:48what we did in our spare time, and where we spent our holidays.
0:55:50 > 0:55:52Well, no sign of them.
0:55:53 > 0:55:56Is that Peter's face I can see there?
0:55:56 > 0:55:57There they are.
0:55:57 > 0:56:01I can see Alex in his little cap, looking smug.
0:56:03 > 0:56:06The car was wonderful and clean, Peter.
0:56:06 > 0:56:08Unlike you.
0:56:08 > 0:56:10Not for much longer!
0:56:10 > 0:56:12- You've had a good day? - Give us a hug.
0:56:14 > 0:56:17Do you fancy finishing your day on the beach with an ice cream?
0:56:17 > 0:56:20Are we next to the sea? I had no idea!
0:56:20 > 0:56:22- You hadn't noticed? - No, you never see it.
0:56:24 > 0:56:26- This is nice.- It is, isn't it?
0:56:28 > 0:56:30- Lovely, isn't it?- It is.
0:56:30 > 0:56:35I have really, really enjoyed this exploration of railways.
0:56:35 > 0:56:38Not just the doing, which obviously I've enjoyed,
0:56:38 > 0:56:39but also the history of it, you know? Just...
0:56:39 > 0:56:44Well, you come away knowing that there is almost no aspect
0:56:44 > 0:56:49of modern life that doesn't owe this huge debt to the railways.
0:56:49 > 0:56:51Many of those things, as well,
0:56:51 > 0:56:56were really sort of unintended consequences of a design
0:56:56 > 0:57:00and a plan that was forged at the beginning of the 19th century.
0:57:00 > 0:57:03By the time we get to the end of the 19th century, you know,
0:57:03 > 0:57:07that railway is doing so many things that people had never envisaged it would do.
0:57:07 > 0:57:11- Yeah.- But I suppose that's...
0:57:11 > 0:57:15Almost the enigma of the railways is the fact that there was no plan.
0:57:15 > 0:57:17This was pioneers.
0:57:17 > 0:57:21- Yeah.- There was no thought of how this was going to turn out -
0:57:21 > 0:57:22nobody knew.
0:57:22 > 0:57:25They went for it, and they went for it in such a way that they created
0:57:25 > 0:57:29- something amazing.- And, of course, it created the infrastructure
0:57:29 > 0:57:32- of modern Britain, didn't it? - Most definitely.
0:57:32 > 0:57:35You know, would this seaside town have been here without the railways?
0:57:35 > 0:57:38Probably not - it would probably still be a fishing village.
0:57:38 > 0:57:42Look at it now - I mean, it owes its fortunes all to the railways.
0:57:42 > 0:57:45And when that steam finally sort of fades away,
0:57:45 > 0:57:49or puffs into the distance, you know, the railways have to develop
0:57:49 > 0:57:52and change and find a new role in life.
0:57:52 > 0:57:55I find it very heartening that here in the modern age,
0:57:55 > 0:58:01there are more trains carrying more people than there have ever been.
0:58:03 > 0:58:06There is one thing to be said for you being covered in coal dust,
0:58:06 > 0:58:08yeah, it makes the ice cream show up more.
0:58:08 > 0:58:11Not already! Goodness! You can't take him anywhere.
0:58:11 > 0:58:13SHE LAUGHS