0:00:05 > 0:00:10In 1840, one man transformed travel in the British Isles.
0:00:10 > 0:00:12His name was George Bradshaw
0:00:12 > 0:00:16and his railway guides inspired the Victorians to take to the tracks.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21Stop by stop, he told them where to travel,
0:00:21 > 0:00:23what to see and where to stay.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27Now, 170 years later,
0:00:27 > 0:00:31I'm making a series of journeys across the length and breadth of these Isles
0:00:31 > 0:00:34to see what of Bradshaw's Britain remains.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58I'm now more than half way through my journey
0:00:58 > 0:01:01from High Wycombe to Aberystwyth
0:01:01 > 0:01:04and today, I go into the Black Country.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06Whether in the 19th century they called it black
0:01:06 > 0:01:09because of the coal or because of the smog is debateable,
0:01:09 > 0:01:14but there's no doubt that it was a powerhouse of Britain.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17'On this leg, I learn how Victorian blacksmithing
0:01:17 > 0:01:19'was not for the faint-hearted.'
0:01:19 > 0:01:23It's very hard, physical work,
0:01:23 > 0:01:25there's no doubt about that.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28'I'll ride one of Britain's most modern trains.'
0:01:28 > 0:01:31And there we go, a surge of power.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34'And traverse the remarkable Victoria Bridge.'
0:01:34 > 0:01:38In its day, it was the longest clear span in the world
0:01:38 > 0:01:40and it is, of course, majestic.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42TRAIN WHISTLES
0:01:46 > 0:01:48So far, my journey has brought me
0:01:48 > 0:01:50from the rural home counties
0:01:50 > 0:01:51to Shakespeare Country
0:01:51 > 0:01:54and on to Britain's second city.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57I'm now heading through the Black Country
0:01:57 > 0:01:59before moving west into Wales,
0:01:59 > 0:02:02toward my last stop at Aberystwyth.
0:02:04 > 0:02:06This leg begins in Dudley,
0:02:06 > 0:02:08moves south west to Stourbridge,
0:02:08 > 0:02:11then onto Kidderminster, in Worcestershire,
0:02:11 > 0:02:14and finishes at Bridgnorth, in Shropshire.
0:02:21 > 0:02:24My guidebook is dramatic about my first destination - Dudley.
0:02:24 > 0:02:28"Almost every town, village, house, man, woman, child,
0:02:28 > 0:02:32"every occupation and station, are more or less dependent
0:02:32 > 0:02:35"and are at the mercy of lumps of coal and iron.
0:02:35 > 0:02:39"And the human race will mainly owe their moral regeneration
0:02:39 > 0:02:41"to these two materials."
0:02:41 > 0:02:44I think that a Quaker like George Bradshaw was uncertain
0:02:44 > 0:02:48whether the factories and mills of the Industrial Revolution
0:02:48 > 0:02:51were satanic or a gift from God.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55After the English Civil War, Dudley Castle was purposely damaged
0:02:55 > 0:02:59to prevent the Royalists from using it as a fortification.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01Already known for its coalmines,
0:03:01 > 0:03:03by the 16th century,
0:03:03 > 0:03:07the market town was a renowned manufacturer of ironmongery.
0:03:09 > 0:03:14This is Dudley port, even though the nearest sea is 100 miles away.
0:03:14 > 0:03:18But the clue is in the canal, this place once teemed with vessels.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21And my Bradshaw's says, "The night view from Dudley Castle",
0:03:21 > 0:03:25on the hill there, "of the coal and iron districts,
0:03:25 > 0:03:30"reminds the spectator of the smithy of Vulcan as described by Homer.
0:03:30 > 0:03:34"The lurid flames that issue from the summits of the huge chimneys
0:03:34 > 0:03:36"light up the horizon for miles around,
0:03:36 > 0:03:40"and impart to every object a gloomy aspect."
0:03:40 > 0:03:42Well, Dudley looks very different today,
0:03:42 > 0:03:45but I'm here to discover that Victorian past.
0:03:47 > 0:03:48When the canals reached Dudley,
0:03:48 > 0:03:52large iron works sprang up at such a rapid rate
0:03:52 > 0:03:55that they were able to produce the iron chains, anvils and vices
0:03:55 > 0:03:59that would tool Britain's Industrial Revolution.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01I'm at the Black Country Living Museum
0:04:01 > 0:04:05to meet Director Of Collections, David Eveleigh.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09When does the Black Country become industrialised?
0:04:09 > 0:04:11Well, it really stretches back to the Middle Ages.
0:04:11 > 0:04:12We know that coal had been mined
0:04:12 > 0:04:15in parts of the Black Country since the 14th century
0:04:15 > 0:04:16and, by the 16th century,
0:04:16 > 0:04:20the area around Dudley was renowned for the manufacture of nails.
0:04:20 > 0:04:23And we know that Henry VIII's household ordered Dudley nails
0:04:23 > 0:04:26for work on Hampton Court in the 1540s.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28What is the extent of the Black Country?
0:04:28 > 0:04:30Well, that's a very difficult question to answer,
0:04:30 > 0:04:32simply and succinctly because no two people will agree.
0:04:32 > 0:04:34The simplest way to explain it today
0:04:34 > 0:04:37is that it consists of the current four unitary authorities
0:04:37 > 0:04:40of Walsall, Wolverhampton, Dudley and Sandwell,
0:04:40 > 0:04:44- which contains West Bromwich. - It'd have been very different in Victorian times.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46What would the atmosphere have been like?
0:04:46 > 0:04:49I think it's unlikely that we'd have seen such a clear blue sky, for a start.
0:04:49 > 0:04:53The Black Country was proverbially grimy and smoky and black
0:04:53 > 0:04:54and whether it was the coal or the smoke,
0:04:54 > 0:04:57it acquired its name though its griminess and smokiness.
0:04:57 > 0:04:59Everyone commented on this.
0:04:59 > 0:05:03What was the impact of that grime and smoke on people's health?
0:05:03 > 0:05:05Living conditions were very tough.
0:05:05 > 0:05:06There was a lack of fresh water,
0:05:06 > 0:05:08there were very poor drains,
0:05:08 > 0:05:10so the disposal of sewage was a problem
0:05:10 > 0:05:12and a consequence of this, of course, is that it provided
0:05:12 > 0:05:16a ripe environment for the spread of water-borne diseases,
0:05:16 > 0:05:17such as cholera and typhoid.
0:05:17 > 0:05:22But, do you know, none of this, the smoke, the grime,
0:05:22 > 0:05:25the fame of the Black Country for its manufactured goods,
0:05:25 > 0:05:27the notoriety and, of course, the railways,
0:05:27 > 0:05:29none of this would have been possible
0:05:29 > 0:05:33without one absolutely key and vital invention
0:05:33 > 0:05:36- and, you know, I would like to show you that now.- I'm all eyes.
0:05:43 > 0:05:45What is it you're going to show me?
0:05:45 > 0:05:47Well, it's actually this.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50This is a replica, the only full-size working replica anywhere
0:05:50 > 0:05:53- of the world's first steam engine. - Located in this tall building?
0:05:53 > 0:05:55Yes, it's a fairly large steam engine
0:05:55 > 0:05:58so, effectively, you're looking at the steam engine here,
0:05:58 > 0:06:01bricks and mortar and the inside engine working this pump here.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03And this dates to what?
0:06:03 > 0:06:06This dates to 1712, it was built here at Dudley.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09- Fully a century before it was applied to the railway?- Indeed.
0:06:11 > 0:06:14Well, it really is vast, it fills the entire room virtually
0:06:14 > 0:06:18and this really is the origin of a technology that changed the world.
0:06:18 > 0:06:21Absolutely. And, really, it is difficult
0:06:21 > 0:06:23to overestimate the significance,
0:06:23 > 0:06:28the vital impact of this invention on the Industrial Revolution
0:06:28 > 0:06:32and, of course, particularly, on the development of the Black Country.
0:06:32 > 0:06:33Thomas Newcomen's steam engine
0:06:33 > 0:06:36was not the almost universally applicable apparatus
0:06:36 > 0:06:39that James Watt developed 50 years later.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42Newcomen's engine powered a simple lift pump
0:06:42 > 0:06:46that removed excess water from deep coal mines,
0:06:46 > 0:06:49but it was whilst fixing a model of Newcomen's engine
0:06:49 > 0:06:52that James Watt had his eureka moment.
0:06:53 > 0:06:55Well, in all my travels
0:06:55 > 0:06:57through the Industrial Revolution and by railway,
0:06:57 > 0:07:01- I feel today that I've come to the cradle of it all.- Absolutely.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04Known as the workshop of the world,
0:07:04 > 0:07:07the Black Country didn't just have deep coal mines.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10David's arranged for me to meet the museum's resident blacksmith,
0:07:10 > 0:07:15'who makes chains just as they were in Bradshaw's day.'
0:07:15 > 0:07:17What sort of temperatures are you working at in there?
0:07:17 > 0:07:19Um... The middle of the fire
0:07:19 > 0:07:22gets to around about 2,000 degrees centigrade,
0:07:22 > 0:07:26the heat of the metal, somewhere up to about 1,300, so it's quite warm!
0:07:26 > 0:07:29And Dudley's made some quite famous chain in its day, hasn't it?
0:07:29 > 0:07:32Yes, we made the Titanic's anchor chain.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35So if you'd like to have a go at flattening the ends.
0:07:35 > 0:07:36Here we go,
0:07:36 > 0:07:38just give it a good bash!
0:07:40 > 0:07:43It's very hard, physical work,
0:07:43 > 0:07:45there's no doubt of that.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47It wasn't just men making chain either,
0:07:47 > 0:07:51women making chain, children even learning how to make chain.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53- Right. If I hold that...- Yes.
0:07:53 > 0:07:56- ..and you give that a whack with a hammer...- Yes.
0:08:00 > 0:08:01Well, turn it over,
0:08:01 > 0:08:03have another go on that side.
0:08:03 > 0:08:04Thank you.
0:08:05 > 0:08:07How's that doing?
0:08:07 > 0:08:08It's not too bad at all.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11And that's it, one finished link.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16After all that hard work, I need a bite to eat
0:08:16 > 0:08:18and I want to find out what life was like
0:08:18 > 0:08:21for the people who lived and worked in Dudley
0:08:21 > 0:08:23when it was still an industrial powerhouse.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27Hello there, are you from these parts?
0:08:27 > 0:08:32Yes, I am a local girl...
0:08:32 > 0:08:34Do you remember the chimneys and the smoke?
0:08:34 > 0:08:36Oh, yes, I do, I do.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39My dad was a moulder and he worked at the Coneygre Foundry,
0:08:39 > 0:08:41which is a local foundry
0:08:41 > 0:08:44and I remember, at school, the teacher said,
0:08:44 > 0:08:47"Is anyone's father a coal miner?"
0:08:47 > 0:08:48So I put my hand up and she said,
0:08:48 > 0:08:50"How do you know, which mine does he work in?"
0:08:50 > 0:08:52I says, "I don't really know."
0:08:52 > 0:08:55And she says, "Well, how do you know he's a coal miner?"
0:08:55 > 0:08:57I says, "Well, he comes home black every night!"
0:08:57 > 0:09:02And it was my job to wipe his back to get all the black sand off,
0:09:02 > 0:09:05so of course, to me, at the age of nine or ten, he was a coal miner
0:09:05 > 0:09:08but he wasn't, I found out later he worked in the foundry.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11- Are you proud of the Black Country? - I am proud of the Black Country
0:09:11 > 0:09:14and I'm proud, I'm proud of my parents,
0:09:14 > 0:09:16cos they came from a working background.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20- Have an old-fashioned chip. - Oh, thank you, you're so kind (!).
0:09:20 > 0:09:22SHE LAUGHS
0:09:24 > 0:09:28I'm leaving Dudley for another Black Country town,
0:09:28 > 0:09:30and to get there, I'll have to change twice.
0:09:36 > 0:09:39Firstly, at Smethwick Galton Bridge,
0:09:39 > 0:09:41from where I'll make the bulk of my journey
0:09:41 > 0:09:44before taking a brief but remarkable service.
0:09:50 > 0:09:51I love records
0:09:51 > 0:09:56and I'm about to experience the shortest branch line in Britain.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58Perhaps misunderstanding the theory of relativity,
0:09:58 > 0:10:00they use very short trains
0:10:00 > 0:10:03as though that might make the journey seem longer.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10TANNOY: We are now approaching Stourbridge Junction.
0:10:12 > 0:10:15Once a notorious Victorian accident black spot,
0:10:15 > 0:10:18the steep hill between the stations at Stourbridge Junction
0:10:18 > 0:10:20and Stourbridge Town
0:10:20 > 0:10:23is now provided by a people mover,
0:10:23 > 0:10:27a hybrid powered railcar which uses flywheel energy storage
0:10:27 > 0:10:31to reduce consumption and emissions.
0:10:31 > 0:10:33'And I hear it's proving popular.'
0:10:34 > 0:10:36- Do you enjoy driving this, do you? - Yes, I do.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39They tell me this has very good acceleration.
0:10:39 > 0:10:41It has reasonably fast acceleration.
0:10:41 > 0:10:43I wouldn't like to take it too fast
0:10:43 > 0:10:46cos I'm limited to 20 miles an hour on this line.
0:10:46 > 0:10:50At the moment, we're running up at about ten
0:10:50 > 0:10:52and it will pick up fairly quickly.
0:10:52 > 0:10:54And there we go, a surge of power,
0:10:54 > 0:10:56pretty good brakes as well, I believe.
0:10:56 > 0:10:57Yes, obviously, we have to,
0:10:57 > 0:11:00because of the steepness and the gradient of the line.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02What kind of gradient is this?
0:11:02 > 0:11:05It comes into a one in 67, we have a couple of curves
0:11:05 > 0:11:08and then a straight and then two more curves into the town station.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11Well, the train has lots of passengers today,
0:11:11 > 0:11:14they obviously appreciate the little service into Stourbridge Town.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16Yes. In our first full year,
0:11:16 > 0:11:20we carried over 550,000 passengers,
0:11:20 > 0:11:23so we actually doubled the passenger loading
0:11:23 > 0:11:25and each one of these vehicles in a week will
0:11:25 > 0:11:27actually do just on about 1,000 miles.
0:11:27 > 0:11:28Absolutely amazing.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31Well, the journey may be short, but it's certainly memorable.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34- Thank you very much indeed.- My pleasure.- Bye-bye.- Thank you.- Bye.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40So Stourbridge Town, my Bradshaw's tells me,
0:11:40 > 0:11:44"A handsome town, noted for its glass manufacture."
0:11:44 > 0:11:47Well, glass has been made since almost ancient history,
0:11:47 > 0:11:51but the Victorians had a voracious appetite for it.
0:11:53 > 0:11:56Boosted by an influx of Huguenot glassmakers
0:11:56 > 0:12:00taking refuge from religious persecution in France,
0:12:00 > 0:12:04the plentiful supplies of fireclay and sandstone
0:12:04 > 0:12:09have made Stourbridge synonymous with glass since the 17th century.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13I'm meeting historian and author Paul Collins at a working museum
0:12:13 > 0:12:17called The Red House Glass Cone, to find out more.
0:12:17 > 0:12:19This is one of the most extraordinary buildings
0:12:19 > 0:12:22I've ever seen, what are its dimensions?
0:12:22 > 0:12:25It's 100 feet high to the very top, right up there,
0:12:25 > 0:12:27and it's 60 feet in diameter at the base.
0:12:27 > 0:12:29It was completed in 1788
0:12:29 > 0:12:31and we're actually looking at two million bricks.
0:12:31 > 0:12:33Two million bricks!
0:12:33 > 0:12:34Two million bricks, come on inside
0:12:34 > 0:12:38- and you'll get a better idea of how it works.- Thank you.
0:12:38 > 0:12:39So here you are.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43Oh, it's like a cathedral dome, isn't it? Magnificent.
0:12:43 > 0:12:46It is magnificent but it's a most magnificent chimney,
0:12:46 > 0:12:47cos that's effectively what it's doing.
0:12:47 > 0:12:50I never saw a more beautiful chimney.
0:12:50 > 0:12:52It's one of the best, isn't it?
0:12:52 > 0:12:55You have a series of 12 glasspots in here
0:12:55 > 0:12:59which have got molten glass inside them at about 1,400 centigrade.
0:12:59 > 0:13:02The glass blower would have one of these blow pipes,
0:13:02 > 0:13:05the end of which would be heated,
0:13:05 > 0:13:07it would then be dipped into the glass bowl,
0:13:07 > 0:13:09the glass would then come out and then he would blow it.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12It's quite a task, would you like to just try the weight of that?
0:13:12 > 0:13:14Oh, that is surprisingly heavy, isn't it?
0:13:14 > 0:13:18- You're holding it in the obvious way. - Yes.- This is where you hold it,
0:13:18 > 0:13:21so if you try holding it with both hands there,
0:13:21 > 0:13:24- then, with molten glass on the end... - Yeah.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26Quite difficult, isn't it?
0:13:26 > 0:13:28Yeah. You need have very good arm muscles to do that.
0:13:28 > 0:13:30Extremely good arm muscles
0:13:30 > 0:13:32and then you're also creating something that's very delicate
0:13:32 > 0:13:35and very beautiful as well using that.
0:13:35 > 0:13:37Did the railways make much of a difference?
0:13:37 > 0:13:40In terms of the actual organisation of the industry, not a lot.
0:13:40 > 0:13:45What it did do was open up vastly larger markets for the glass.
0:13:45 > 0:13:50You could get glass products to Liverpool, to Southampton, to London.
0:13:50 > 0:13:55The 19th century was the "Golden Age of Stourbridge Glass".
0:13:55 > 0:13:57Local glassmakers created myriad shapes,
0:13:57 > 0:14:00colours and decorative techniques
0:14:00 > 0:14:02far outstripping any other country
0:14:02 > 0:14:05for technical brilliance and aesthetic beauty.
0:14:05 > 0:14:10And some of the pioneers of the luxurious and coveted Cameo Glass
0:14:10 > 0:14:12perfected their skills here too.
0:14:12 > 0:14:17The railway companies themselves also bought enormous numbers of glasses.
0:14:17 > 0:14:19They all had little monograms on them.
0:14:19 > 0:14:21When you had a glass of wine or glass of something
0:14:21 > 0:14:23in the dining car on the train,
0:14:23 > 0:14:27it had the railway company's logo on it or initials on it,
0:14:27 > 0:14:29that would have been made here as well.
0:14:29 > 0:14:30What of the industry now?
0:14:30 > 0:14:32The industry as it was represented
0:14:32 > 0:14:35by the products of this glass cone has effectively gone.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38It was priced out of the market by cheaper foreign imports.
0:14:38 > 0:14:40What has happened is that we've gone back
0:14:40 > 0:14:43to a more artisan type of glass industry,
0:14:43 > 0:14:45a studio glass industry, if you like,
0:14:45 > 0:14:48and there's probably a lot more imagination and diversity
0:14:48 > 0:14:53in the use of glass and experimentation with it as a material
0:14:53 > 0:14:55than there ever was at any point in its history.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58- Which way are the artisans?- The artisans are through there.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01- Lovely to see you.- Nice to meet you too.- Thank you. Goodbye.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03- Sarah, hello!- Hello.
0:15:03 > 0:15:06I see you make these beautiful glass beads in many colours,
0:15:06 > 0:15:08is that exactly what you're doing now?
0:15:08 > 0:15:11It is, yes. Every bead I make is different,
0:15:11 > 0:15:15because I don't have a plan of how it's going to turn out,
0:15:15 > 0:15:17I just keep adding and building.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19Shall we make one that's really different,
0:15:19 > 0:15:22- like by me giving you a hand?- OK.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25- So what do I do? - Right, if you take a seat here.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27So you'll need one of these.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30- Ooh...- Twizzle that a bit so it doesn't fall off.
0:15:30 > 0:15:32- Yeah, I'm twizzling it.- OK.
0:15:32 > 0:15:35- Twizzling.- So when it's hot, you want to put it on like that
0:15:35 > 0:15:37and then, turning the mandrel away.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39I'm turning the mandrel away...
0:15:39 > 0:15:40Ooh, that's nice, that's very nice.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43- So now I'm building up a little ring of glass.- Yeah.
0:15:43 > 0:15:45- That's really good. - Look at that!- That's brilliant.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47- You've got it.- You didn't know I had it in me, did you?- No.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49I'm really enjoying that.
0:15:49 > 0:15:53This is going to look like no other glass bead that was ever made.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55Let's have a look. Could you just hold...?
0:15:57 > 0:16:00I told you I would make a bead like no other.
0:16:00 > 0:16:02SHE CHUCKLES
0:16:05 > 0:16:09My Bradshaw's mentions just one hotel in Stourbridge - The Talbot.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11Luckily, it's still standing
0:16:11 > 0:16:14and it's where I'll be spending the night.
0:16:21 > 0:16:23Rejuvenated and ready for the day ahead,
0:16:23 > 0:16:27I'm making my way to my next destination - Kidderminster.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31From about 1735, the town became known
0:16:31 > 0:16:33for the manufacture of carpets,
0:16:33 > 0:16:38a diversification within the well-established local cloth industry.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41But I'm here for one reason, and one reason only.
0:16:41 > 0:16:43Kidderminster, says my Bradshaw's,
0:16:43 > 0:16:46"Stands on both banks of the River Stour,
0:16:46 > 0:16:49"which divides it into two unequal parts.
0:16:49 > 0:16:54"A regular and compact town consisting mainly of two good streets."
0:16:54 > 0:16:57My main interest is that it has a beautiful railway station
0:16:57 > 0:17:01which is gateway to one of Britain's most renowned
0:17:01 > 0:17:04standard gauge heritage steam powered railways.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10For 101 years, the Severn Valley Railway
0:17:10 > 0:17:12ran between Hartlebury and Shrewsbury.
0:17:13 > 0:17:15But in 1963, it closed.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18Seven years later, after an immense effort
0:17:18 > 0:17:21from a group of dedicated volunteers, it re-opened.
0:17:23 > 0:17:24'David Williams was one of them.'
0:17:24 > 0:17:26- David!- Hello, Michael.- Hello.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29- Welcome to the Severn Valley Railway, Michael.- Thank you.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32Well, congratulations to you on the Severn Valley Railway.
0:17:32 > 0:17:34How was it preserved and saved?
0:17:34 > 0:17:36In the very first place,
0:17:36 > 0:17:40we had to raise £2,500 as a 10% deposit on the track
0:17:40 > 0:17:42and that took raffle sales, jumble stalls,
0:17:42 > 0:17:45all sorts of things to raise the money.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48This was 1965-66 and people started to join
0:17:48 > 0:17:52from Birmingham, Wolverhampton and the Black Country
0:17:52 > 0:17:54with a great enthusiasm for it.
0:17:54 > 0:17:57We realised that unless we were going
0:17:57 > 0:17:59to actually buy the land, the track,
0:17:59 > 0:18:03the infrastructure, the locomotives and the coaches,
0:18:03 > 0:18:05it would all disappear completely
0:18:05 > 0:18:07and perhaps just be in static museums
0:18:07 > 0:18:10and it seemed worthwhile to make a preserved railway
0:18:10 > 0:18:12with steam trains still operating.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15And you were a group of young men at the time, weren't you?
0:18:15 > 0:18:18We were indeed and very enthusiastic.
0:18:18 > 0:18:21This photograph I took in 1966.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23You look like The Beatles generation here, don't you?
0:18:23 > 0:18:24I think we really were.
0:18:24 > 0:18:27It's a great, great achievement. How do you stand now?
0:18:27 > 0:18:29How many miles of track, how many locomotives,
0:18:29 > 0:18:31how many carriages?
0:18:31 > 0:18:33We've got 16 miles of line
0:18:33 > 0:18:36extending from Kidderminster to Bridgnorth,
0:18:36 > 0:18:40we've got 28 steam locomotives,
0:18:40 > 0:18:4468 passenger coaches
0:18:44 > 0:18:46and even goods wagons.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48A station like this makes my heart sing
0:18:48 > 0:18:51and I have a feeling it's not the last time today
0:18:51 > 0:18:52that my heart is going to sing.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54David, thank you so much.
0:18:54 > 0:18:55I know I am going to enjoy this very much.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58- I'm sure you are, Michael.- Thank you. - Goodbye.
0:19:02 > 0:19:04The first thing that strikes me about the Severn Valley Railway
0:19:04 > 0:19:07is the beauty of its rolling stock.
0:19:07 > 0:19:13Here are two sets, whole trains of wonderfully restored carriages.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16This one on the left, incredibly, is made of teak,
0:19:16 > 0:19:21it used to run on the LNER between Kings Cross and Edinburgh
0:19:21 > 0:19:25and since I used to ride that route myself in the 1950s,
0:19:25 > 0:19:28I may have travelled in these very carriages.
0:19:29 > 0:19:30HE BLOWS HIS WHISTLE
0:19:35 > 0:19:38There's nothing like a departure by steam,
0:19:38 > 0:19:42the shuddering and the clanking and the hissing... It's real.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50The Severn Valley Railway may appear quaint,
0:19:50 > 0:19:52but it's come a long way from the type of fundraising
0:19:52 > 0:19:55that it undertook in the 1960s,
0:19:55 > 0:19:59recently raising £720,000 in just one month,
0:19:59 > 0:20:02from a share offer that it hopes will eventually net
0:20:02 > 0:20:03three million pounds.
0:20:06 > 0:20:08Fist stop, Bewdley.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11Having admired, and now ridden in the rolling stock,
0:20:11 > 0:20:15I'm meeting Richard Gunning at the railway's restoration shed.
0:20:15 > 0:20:18How long does it take you to restore a car?
0:20:18 > 0:20:20Five to ten years depending on its condition.
0:20:20 > 0:20:23That is extraordinary, it can take so long, what patience!
0:20:25 > 0:20:30- This is a break pigeon van, Michael.- Pigeon van?- Yes.- Why so?
0:20:30 > 0:20:33Pigeon racing started as a short-distance hobby.
0:20:33 > 0:20:38When the railways arrived, that opened up a new opportunity
0:20:38 > 0:20:42to take the pigeons further and have longer races.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45In 1886, King Leopold of Belgium
0:20:45 > 0:20:49gifted a flock of racing pigeons to Queen Victoria,
0:20:49 > 0:20:51and her son, Edward, Prince of Wales,
0:20:51 > 0:20:53began flying them competitively.
0:20:55 > 0:21:00Long-distance pigeon racing quickly became a mass participation sport
0:21:00 > 0:21:02reliant on the railway network
0:21:02 > 0:21:05to transport the homing birds to race points,
0:21:05 > 0:21:09where they were released simultaneously from their baskets
0:21:09 > 0:21:11by railway porters and guards.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19The North Eastern Railway was, we think, the first in 1905.
0:21:20 > 0:21:24But by 1930, the London, Midland and Scottish were running
0:21:24 > 0:21:2617 pigeon van trains a day.
0:21:26 > 0:21:27That's extraordinary.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30- And carrying seven million pigeons a year.- Oh, I can't believe it.
0:21:30 > 0:21:32It is unbelievable, isn't it?
0:21:32 > 0:21:36- Hello!- Hello, Michael.- Hard at work?
0:21:36 > 0:21:38- Oh, very much so. - What are you doing here?
0:21:38 > 0:21:41Well, this is called a drop light,
0:21:41 > 0:21:45it's familiar to most people of our generation.
0:21:45 > 0:21:46HE CHUCKLES
0:21:46 > 0:21:48It slides up and down in a door,
0:21:48 > 0:21:52- it's a piece of glass, a frame and a leather strap.- Yes.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55We're about to drop that in there, would you like to do that for me?
0:21:55 > 0:21:58Oh! That would be a great honour indeed.
0:22:00 > 0:22:04- Oh, not as heavy as I thought. - Very, very light.
0:22:07 > 0:22:09Down it goes
0:22:09 > 0:22:11and then, I can use the leather strap
0:22:11 > 0:22:13just to put it in position.
0:22:13 > 0:22:16Isn't that a beautiful piece of work, congratulations!
0:22:16 > 0:22:17Thank you very much.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27Bound now for Shropshire,
0:22:27 > 0:22:32I'm excited at the piece of railway history that I'm about to encounter.
0:22:37 > 0:22:40Sir John Fowler, joint engineer on the Forth Bridge
0:22:40 > 0:22:43and the first part of the London Underground,
0:22:43 > 0:22:46also engineered the Severn Valley Railway
0:22:46 > 0:22:50and he left a dramatic structure as his legacy.
0:22:50 > 0:22:53The highlight of this journey is the Victoria Bridge,
0:22:53 > 0:22:57patriotically named after our Queen.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00In its day, it was the longest clear span in the world
0:23:00 > 0:23:03and it is, of course, majestic.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05TRAIN WHISTLES
0:23:18 > 0:23:21I shall ride this train to the end of the line at Bridgnorth,
0:23:21 > 0:23:23which Bradshaw's tells me,
0:23:23 > 0:23:26"Is a considerable town situated on both sides of the Severn.
0:23:26 > 0:23:31"The two parts being distinguished by the names upper and lower
0:23:31 > 0:23:35"and connected by a noble bridge of six arches.
0:23:35 > 0:23:38"It has a considerable carrying trade on the river.
0:23:38 > 0:23:43"In other respects, it is of a miscellaneous character."
0:23:43 > 0:23:46I look forward to visiting both the upper and the lower
0:23:46 > 0:23:48and maybe to discovering what is meant
0:23:48 > 0:23:50by "a miscellaneous character".
0:24:03 > 0:24:04From the six-arched bridge,
0:24:04 > 0:24:07I see what Bradshaw meant by miscellaneous,
0:24:07 > 0:24:10some houses are brick, some are half timbered,
0:24:10 > 0:24:13some buildings are of stone, others are whitewashed,
0:24:13 > 0:24:16one church has castellations,
0:24:16 > 0:24:18another is like a temple.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22Founded at the beginning of the 12th century,
0:24:22 > 0:24:24when its now ruined castle was completed,
0:24:24 > 0:24:27Bridgnorth is not only on a heritage line,
0:24:27 > 0:24:32it's also got England's oldest and steepest inland funicular railway.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35With a vertical rise of 111 feet,
0:24:35 > 0:24:39the Cliff Railway links Bridgnorth's High and Low Towns
0:24:39 > 0:24:43and is now powered by electricity instead of water ballast,
0:24:43 > 0:24:47but functions as efficiently as it did in Bradshaw's day.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51'Jason Tipping is the Company Secretary.'
0:24:51 > 0:24:53I'm really looking forward to this.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00Beautiful old cars, have they recently been restored?
0:25:00 > 0:25:03Yes, they have, we had them repainted this year
0:25:03 > 0:25:06in the traditional Trafalgar blue and cream
0:25:06 > 0:25:09and we also had the brick work re-pointed
0:25:09 > 0:25:11and the top station re-boarded as well,
0:25:11 > 0:25:14wood from Belgium with hand cut nails.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17Fantastic job, how old is the railway?
0:25:17 > 0:25:21It's 120 years, we've just had our 120th anniversary this year.
0:25:21 > 0:25:25The Cliff Railway was the brainchild of a Victorian town councillor
0:25:25 > 0:25:31who, on a day in 1888, counted 3,000 people using the 200 steps
0:25:31 > 0:25:33that linked the split-level town.
0:25:34 > 0:25:36And after Sir George Newnes,
0:25:36 > 0:25:38a proponent of funicular railways got involved,
0:25:38 > 0:25:40the railway soon opened for business.
0:25:43 > 0:25:47In 2011, the Tipping family, bought it, ensuring its survival.
0:25:49 > 0:25:50And are you pleased you bought it?
0:25:50 > 0:25:52We're pleased we bought it.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54And I think the wider public of Bridgnorth were pleased
0:25:54 > 0:25:56that we saved the railway.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00It's just wonderful, wonderful to be part of this ongoing process
0:26:00 > 0:26:03and we shall keep it in our family for many years to come.
0:26:03 > 0:26:06Making sure that the cars are empty,
0:26:06 > 0:26:10Jason has agreed for me to have a go at controlling the Cliff Railway.
0:26:10 > 0:26:13- It's all controlled from the top, as you might imagine.- Yes.
0:26:13 > 0:26:15Is it complicated?
0:26:15 > 0:26:18No, what I tell everybody is once you've mastered the brake,
0:26:18 > 0:26:20everything else falls into place.
0:26:20 > 0:26:21HISSING
0:26:21 > 0:26:24- That's the brake making the hissing noise.- Uh-huh.
0:26:24 > 0:26:27- And that you have to judge quite carefully, don't you?- Yes.
0:26:29 > 0:26:30OK, one notch at a time.
0:26:31 > 0:26:32That's it.
0:26:34 > 0:26:37- Oh, it goes off at quite a rate, doesn't it?- Uh-huh.
0:26:37 > 0:26:39- I keep going up here?- Yes.
0:26:39 > 0:26:40Tell me, tell me, what do I do?!
0:26:40 > 0:26:42OK, you brake.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45Bring this handle back down to two and start using the brake
0:26:45 > 0:26:46to get it down to 100.
0:26:52 > 0:26:54- Oh, Lord, what's happened? - You've stalled it.
0:26:54 > 0:26:55SHE LAUGHS
0:26:55 > 0:26:57- What do I do now?- Would you like me to get you out of that,
0:26:57 > 0:27:01- to bring the car...? - Yes, please, rescue the situation.
0:27:01 > 0:27:03Don't worry, you're not the first, you won't be the last.
0:27:05 > 0:27:07And there we go.
0:27:07 > 0:27:09- Ah, I've failed.- Oh, you'll be fine.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12Thousands of passengers have been carried safely,
0:27:12 > 0:27:13but not when I was driving.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16- No, but you can always come back and have another go.- Thank you.
0:27:16 > 0:27:17SHE CHUCKLES
0:27:24 > 0:27:26During the Industrial Revolution,
0:27:26 > 0:27:30smoke hung densely over the towns of the West Midlands.
0:27:30 > 0:27:35The forges, furnaces and glassworks made Victorians wonder
0:27:35 > 0:27:39whether mechanisation had unleashed the fires of hell.
0:27:39 > 0:27:41Today, on the Severn Valley Railway,
0:27:41 > 0:27:44I saw coal burning again in the locomotives
0:27:44 > 0:27:47sending plumes of smoke into the air
0:27:47 > 0:27:51and we look back on a golden age of travel with misty eyes.
0:27:54 > 0:27:57On the next leg, I'll experience Victorian entertainment
0:27:57 > 0:28:01in one of Wales's best-loved resorts.
0:28:01 > 0:28:03Here are the waves hitting the shore
0:28:03 > 0:28:05and here is the Bay Of Aberystwyth.
0:28:05 > 0:28:08'Hear how the railways took Welsh textiles
0:28:08 > 0:28:11'into even the most exclusive households.'
0:28:11 > 0:28:13When Queen Victoria sat down,
0:28:13 > 0:28:16there was a good piece of Newtown flannel between her and the throne.
0:28:16 > 0:28:17HE LAUGHS
0:28:17 > 0:28:21'And unleash the power of a 19th century engineering triumph.'
0:28:21 > 0:28:23Whoa!
0:28:23 > 0:28:25Listen to the sound of that water!
0:28:25 > 0:28:28It's got 125 feet of head behind it!
0:28:53 > 0:28:56Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd