Episode 2

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:00:08. > :00:13.Hello, and welcome back to Trainspotting Live at Didcot Railway

:00:14. > :00:18.centre in Oxfordshire. Look at this wonderful train, beautiful. It is a

:00:19. > :00:23.funny old thing, it is from the 1940s, a kind of all in one coach, a

:00:24. > :00:29.railcar. This is the show that celebrates the intrepid rail

:00:30. > :00:34.enthusiasts, fired by their passion, we thrill at the ingenuity of our

:00:35. > :00:38.entire rail network, the oldest in the world, and the landscapes and

:00:39. > :00:41.engineering that has made Britain what it is today. Last night we

:00:42. > :00:45.asked you to get involved and my goodness, you did. Let's look at

:00:46. > :00:52.some of the fantastic clips you sent us. This first one is a class 68,

:00:53. > :00:57.spotted today at 12:59pm by Andrew Wright. We have a couple of

:00:58. > :01:07.pictures. This is the Jacobite at Fort William. What a beauty. And

:01:08. > :01:12.then, a Class 37 at shield me. An ugly looking thing, but never mind!

:01:13. > :01:15.We will be focusing on diesel locomotives and there is one that

:01:16. > :01:20.has probably pulled more passengers than any other class of train. When

:01:21. > :01:25.I was a lot younger I can remember the excitement of this locomotive

:01:26. > :01:28.arriving on the scene, a home-grown design classic and an enduring

:01:29. > :01:34.symbol of the British rail network, the InterCity 125. There it is, that

:01:35. > :01:40.is what we are asking you to spot tonight. Look how modern it looks,

:01:41. > :01:43.even today. Lovely. I'm a mathematician and I'm going to look

:01:44. > :01:49.at the equations behind the shift away from steam, to show you how it

:01:50. > :01:55.happened and we arrived at diesel. We have Dick Strawbridge out and

:01:56. > :01:59.about again, where are you tonight? I'm a stone's throw away, 24 miles

:02:00. > :02:05.down the Great Western Railway, in Swindon, a station that hosted the

:02:06. > :02:12.earliest recorded refreshment room. But we aren't here to eat, we are

:02:13. > :02:16.here to spot trains! Too right! We also have our own expert train

:02:17. > :02:20.spotter, Tim Dunn, who we hope has come back down to earth after his

:02:21. > :02:29.steam spot in Scotland yesterday. Where are you? OK, I have come down

:02:30. > :02:34.to us and I am in Carlisle on my steam safari, we are at the major

:02:35. > :02:40.railway hub. I am moving from steam to diesel. I have come to find a new

:02:41. > :02:47.locomotive, which is agent, the Class 37. Lovely stuff. We want to

:02:48. > :02:51.inspire you at home to get out and spot with us again over the next few

:02:52. > :02:58.days and we will show you how. Tonight's challenge, the iconic 125

:02:59. > :03:00.and there is another new holy Grail on the rail. Welcome to

:03:01. > :03:16.Trainspotting Live! Of course tonight we are mindful of

:03:17. > :03:20.today's rail crash in Italy and our thoughts go to the friends and

:03:21. > :03:23.families of those affected. This tragedy emphasises how important

:03:24. > :03:26.safety is on the railways and later we'll be looking at the mechanisms

:03:27. > :03:32.that routinely keep the network running safely. Now we are joined

:03:33. > :03:39.again by a rapid instead from the National Railway Museum here.

:03:40. > :03:43.Separating our various classes! All of us are a bit nostalgic about this

:03:44. > :03:48.beauty, this steam engine. Why are we supposed to love the diesel?

:03:49. > :03:52.That's the one that made us where we are now and the steam engine was

:03:53. > :03:56.modernised, we moved away, they were cheaper to run because they needed

:03:57. > :03:59.fewer men to look after them and that's why we have moved into the

:04:00. > :04:05.high-speed world now. Let's look at some of the spots that have come in

:04:06. > :04:15.overnight. What do you make of these ones? Here we have this 66, I think,

:04:16. > :04:20.is it? Yeah, there we go. David in Spalding sent us this, there it

:04:21. > :04:25.goes, eight 66. Not only exciting, but efficient. It is taking goods

:04:26. > :04:28.and services all around the country. It will be full of all sorts of

:04:29. > :04:34.interesting stuff in each of those boxes. Freight, one of the most

:04:35. > :04:41.successful parts of the British system. All of us benefit from that.

:04:42. > :04:49.We have a more unusual one here, another 66, here we go, coming from

:04:50. > :04:53.Kent Davies is met Kevin Davies. That is the Royal Scotsman, this is

:04:54. > :05:02.a luxury hotel train for travelling around the country. Any relation to

:05:03. > :05:05.the Flying Scotsman? We are looking for the measurement train, the

:05:06. > :05:10.Flying Banana. We had two during the show and we have had more sightings

:05:11. > :05:12.of this unique train since. Let's see the other one, this Flying

:05:13. > :05:20.Banana, this extraordinary measurement train. It is all yellow.

:05:21. > :05:23.There it is. You can see why it's called that! It is a measurement

:05:24. > :05:30.train, very unusual, only one in the country. Entitled we had over 80

:05:31. > :05:35.people sending us sightings of the Flying Banana, which was brilliant

:05:36. > :05:39.spotting, so thank you very much. Tonight we are moving our sporting

:05:40. > :05:43.challenge onto the InterCity 125 and over the next 24 hours we would like

:05:44. > :05:48.you to send us photo and video of this. Bob, this is the name of the

:05:49. > :05:53.train, but what about the locomotive? It is two locomotives

:05:54. > :05:58.with a set of carriages in between and the two ends are the class 43

:05:59. > :06:01.diesels and you have these lovely carriages that people still think

:06:02. > :06:07.are marvellous and comfortable and that gave us the concept, high

:06:08. > :06:13.power, less weight on the rails, very fast. Originally they started

:06:14. > :06:18.in 1972, how many are still going? The prototype in 72, production in

:06:19. > :06:24.76 and of those, only three are missing. There is still the full

:06:25. > :06:31.fleet. I have also heard the one to five referred to as the 43. 43 is

:06:32. > :06:38.the engine at the front and the back of the train. OK, well, call it a 43

:06:39. > :06:44.or 125, we want you to spot as many as you can tonight. They want you to

:06:45. > :06:49.get involved over the next 24 hours. If you are new to this or if you are

:06:50. > :06:56.already familiar with the 125, think again, here is our guide. The key to

:06:57. > :07:05.spotting the class 43 is to note the numbers at the front of the power

:07:06. > :07:10.car. Class 43s go by various nicknames including screamer, tram

:07:11. > :07:17.and the Flying Banana. Some of them are famous, two hold a world speed

:07:18. > :07:26.record, 43159 and 4104, which has been changed to 43304. 43002 is

:07:27. > :07:31.called the Grange, named in honour of the designer, Sir Kenneth Grange.

:07:32. > :07:38.The colour scheme or livery denotes one of the 43s six operators. It is

:07:39. > :07:42.crucial to note the time and space of any spot, pen, notepad and Camara

:07:43. > :07:48.are the traditional tools, although smartphone apps are catching on. No

:07:49. > :07:53.trespassing, never go on the tracks and no flash photography. Stations

:07:54. > :07:58.are privately owned, so if you spot from one, let the staff know that

:07:59. > :08:05.you are there. The anorak isn't obligatory but make sure you dress

:08:06. > :08:10.for the weather! Yeah watch for the rain. This is our map from yesterday

:08:11. > :08:15.and you can see all the class 66s, 150 of them, from one of them down

:08:16. > :08:22.in Cornwall up to the top of Scotland. Clustered around London

:08:23. > :08:26.and the East Coast Main Line, brilliant. There are the Flying

:08:27. > :08:33.Bananas, one in King's Cross, Cambridge and Hartford. Later we

:08:34. > :08:40.have today's map, we are moving on to the InterCity 125. Bob, here we

:08:41. > :08:45.have these little red pins. This is Dick Strawbridge in Swindon and here

:08:46. > :08:53.is Tim Dunn up in Carlisle. We have very few so far, we want more, send

:08:54. > :08:58.them in. Where are the 125s running? From Penzance update Inverness,

:08:59. > :09:03.Aberdeen, the East Coast Main Line, the Midlands line, up to Leeds and

:09:04. > :09:10.one still goes through the middle, Birmingham. Keep them coming in,

:09:11. > :09:16.please. The 125 indicates that it goes at a speed of 125 mph, but the

:09:17. > :09:22.French, Germans and Japanese are going at 200 mph, what's going on?

:09:23. > :09:27.We are going off a railway that was built in the 1830s, but they are

:09:28. > :09:31.working off brand-new railways. You can go faster if you have a new

:09:32. > :09:36.railway and special signalling, but at the moment 125 is the signal. And

:09:37. > :09:41.very expensive? It is an expensive system but it is coming in. We have

:09:42. > :09:45.been spotting in Didcot, this came in from the Oxford line. Here it

:09:46. > :09:53.comes, sweeping past us on its way to Oxford. We aren't sure if it's

:09:54. > :09:59.going to Oxford. Look at that beauty. The amazing thing is that it

:10:00. > :10:05.is 40 years old and it looks like a very modern freighter. It does,

:10:06. > :10:13.yeah. Let's go to Newport and Rees come and see what he's up to. Are

:10:14. > :10:18.you there? I am. What have you got? It is very quiet at the moment, we

:10:19. > :10:25.had the HST before we came on air. You missed it by about a minute!

:10:26. > :10:30.You're going to see some 125s this evening? We have seen a load of

:10:31. > :10:43.them, we have seen some of the mild ones as well. Look at that! We had

:10:44. > :10:49.the Harry Patch, the remembrance one. You have had them all coming

:10:50. > :10:54.in. Keep us posted. Marvellous. We have a new holy Grail on the rail to

:10:55. > :11:00.spot the night, it is the new beast of burden. We want you to track down

:11:01. > :11:06.at least one of the six mail trains on the network. This is what it

:11:07. > :11:11.looks like. It is actually red with a great yellow stripe, these are the

:11:12. > :11:15.mail trains. There are six of them. Easy to spot, from the colour of

:11:16. > :11:19.them, Royal Mail. So let's have them, send as many pictures and

:11:20. > :11:24.spots and goodness knows what else. How important are they? Very

:11:25. > :11:29.important, they are moving the mail from London to Scotland or from

:11:30. > :11:35.Scotland to London with a hub in the middle in Warrington. The bill you

:11:36. > :11:38.don't want to receive, it may be on that train! Excellent, these trains

:11:39. > :11:45.can be unpredictable but let's see what you can do. Send us your

:11:46. > :11:52.updates on social media using #TrainspottingLive or e-mail us. We

:11:53. > :11:59.will catch up with what you have sent later in the show. Now, it is

:12:00. > :12:04.the iconic aerodynamic design of the 125 that set it apart and that

:12:05. > :12:10.design was down to a young graduate, Kenneth Grange, who was to become

:12:11. > :12:14.perhaps the greatest industrial engineer... Designer, I'm sorry, but

:12:15. > :12:20.his generation. The InterCity is quite a modern train, really. Yes,

:12:21. > :12:24.modernism is the key word in all of that period. It gave real substance

:12:25. > :12:33.to the belief that the railways were going to be reborn as a really

:12:34. > :12:38.modern institution. So tell me about its new technology that it used.

:12:39. > :12:45.Believe it or not, the front of my train is effectively a plastic

:12:46. > :12:47.train. It came out of the railways's plastics laboratory, allowing shapes

:12:48. > :12:54.that hitherto would have been extremely difficult or at least

:12:55. > :12:58.expensive to make with traditional materials. We could make any shape

:12:59. > :13:03.we wanted as a result of this technology. Sir Kenneth was asked to

:13:04. > :13:09.create a new literary originally for the InterCity 125 but he couldn't

:13:10. > :13:14.resist a challenge. -- a new livery. I had never done anything like that

:13:15. > :13:19.before. We had a number of weeks in which to work and I thought, it

:13:20. > :13:23.would be interesting to have a go at redesigning it because it was OK,

:13:24. > :13:28.but fairly blunt, rather predictable, I would say. We made a

:13:29. > :13:31.model in the workshop in the day and take it down to the Imperial

:13:32. > :13:36.College, where we would bribe somebody to wind up the wind tunnel

:13:37. > :13:44.and using smoke trails, we daily develop some shapes into more or

:13:45. > :13:48.less aerodynamically efficient. The prototype was a great success, but a

:13:49. > :13:55.fresh design challenge came when the train drivers union, Aslef asked

:13:56. > :13:58.that the cabin have two drivers side-by-side instead of one on the

:13:59. > :14:03.grounds of safety, meaning a much bigger drivers window. It had a

:14:04. > :14:09.negative effect on the aerodynamics. Really? That would have been a

:14:10. > :14:14.problem. One key moment in the time I was at Derby with the chief

:14:15. > :14:21.engineer, going over the ground again. I said look, just supposing

:14:22. > :14:25.we could do away with the buffers. And to his everlasting credit he

:14:26. > :14:29.said, it is true that this train, which we hadn't made before, has the

:14:30. > :14:35.power car at both ends and won't be used for shunting, so we won't need

:14:36. > :14:40.buffers. That allowed me to go back to the drawing board and exchange

:14:41. > :14:43.the airflow. Instead of smoothly going down the sides, it went much

:14:44. > :14:47.more smoothly over the top, hence the shape we have now and this

:14:48. > :14:50.characteristic peak that the thing has.

:14:51. > :14:58.When you look at all of the things you've designed, there's some pretty

:14:59. > :15:04.good things in that list. You've got the Kenwood mixers, the Kodak

:15:05. > :15:11.intamatic. But does the Intercity 15 manage to get a special place on

:15:12. > :15:16.your list? Well, my little chest puffed up when I walked past it, of

:15:17. > :15:23.course, but it start out a decorating job and turned out to be

:15:24. > :15:28.the west job of my life. Imagine if Sir Kenneth was just worried about

:15:29. > :15:34.the colours and painted it instead of designing that train. 1976 was

:15:35. > :15:39.the time I left home and started serious rail travel. All my adult

:15:40. > :15:47.life has been getting off Intercity 15s. I used to be given a rail

:15:48. > :15:51.warrant and was sent on my way. 148 miles an hour, the world speed

:15:52. > :15:56.record for diesels. Phenomenal. I have a support with me. He's taking

:15:57. > :16:02.numbers, I'm missing one here. Come on, Thomas! I haven't got that one.

:16:03. > :16:07.168. We've been spotting all day long. We've got some amazing numbers

:16:08. > :16:16.to look at. Mate, what we were looking at earlier and some of the

:16:17. > :16:20.things we saw, the Glorious 90 years. Yes, celebrating the Queen's

:16:21. > :16:26.90th birthday. At Paddington as well. Ot I'm loving here, people are

:16:27. > :16:32.thinking all the trains have different ideas. I like one for my

:16:33. > :16:36.mum, she was 80 last week. But the memories are in there. You've been

:16:37. > :16:41.spotting for quite a while now. Where is your notebook, fella? I

:16:42. > :16:46.don't use a notebook. I normally take pictures and when I get home I

:16:47. > :16:51.mark them off on my little pad. So you don't have apps and databases

:16:52. > :16:55.and things? No. Thomas is the new generation of spotters. The things

:16:56. > :17:00.we've been looking at, if you record them on, there I want to get one end

:17:01. > :17:04.of the train or the other? Maybe you should be concentrating a little bit

:17:05. > :17:08.more. It is difficult, because there's numbers at both ends of the

:17:09. > :17:13.trains. For me I've got an odd number of 15s, doesn't seem to make

:17:14. > :17:20.any sense. The reason why there's two engines is they use a pub-pull

:17:21. > :17:27.type of thing. Push-pull! There you go. The Sir Kenneth Grange is coming

:17:28. > :17:30.along later this evening. It will be going past you first, Peter. He is

:17:31. > :17:39.the legendary man who designed the 15. Do keep your 15 spots coming in.

:17:40. > :17:47.Tim is in Carlisle. Tim. I'm at Carlisle station. My mission tonight

:17:48. > :17:51.which I have gladly chosen to accept is to hunt down one of the class

:17:52. > :17:57.37s. We are going to hear it before we see it. These are known as

:17:58. > :18:01.tractors because of the agricultural reverberating sound of the machinery

:18:02. > :18:10.inside. These are loud. This is a classic item of traction. These are

:18:11. > :18:15.British-built built by English Electric between 1956 and 1965.

:18:16. > :18:23.These are real survivors of the steam age. They are doing the same

:18:24. > :18:25.jobs today as they were doing then, pulling goods trains, maintenance

:18:26. > :18:34.trains and passenger trains. There are other trains behind us now. This

:18:35. > :18:39.is a ScotRail class 156, a nippy little DMU. Carlisle is a big

:18:40. > :18:45.junction of the West Coast Main Line, the Settle to Carlisle

:18:46. > :18:52.railway, the Newcastle line and the Cumbrian Coast Railway. Earlier

:18:53. > :18:58.today we've seen Class 66, 66192 coming light engine through the

:18:59. > :19:04.station earlier today. We've also seen 66737, which is pulling a coal

:19:05. > :19:12.train to a power station. These are far less common than they used to

:19:13. > :19:19.be, and we've also seen a phenomenal on Virgin Trains, a Virgin Voyager

:19:20. > :19:23.22104, off platform 1 to Glasgow. A shout out to the staff on that, who

:19:24. > :19:29.wanted to be mentioned on television. And today the Holy Grail

:19:30. > :19:33.of rail, the mail train. It has already come through tonight. That

:19:34. > :19:40.is not what we are here to see. We are here to see the class 37, which

:19:41. > :19:44.will be here next. Trainspotters don't hold the monopoly when it

:19:45. > :19:48.comes to obsessively collecting train numbers. Some rail enthusiasts

:19:49. > :19:54.go one step further. Rather than noting the engine number down, they

:19:55. > :20:00.collect the numberplate. One of those is Ian castle dine who is with

:20:01. > :20:06.me. Ian, this is an amazing hobby of yours. How many have you got?

:20:07. > :20:12.Pushing on to round about 200 locomotive plates at home. Where you

:20:13. > :20:17.do put them, in the shed in the garden? No, my nearest and dearest

:20:18. > :20:25.allows me to put them on display in the house. You have a very good

:20:26. > :20:30.nearest and dearest. And there's a shot of your watch. What does she

:20:31. > :20:36.say about this? What is your favourite? It would be this engine,

:20:37. > :20:46.a local engine. Based at the local Midland railway centre near where I

:20:47. > :20:56.love. Near near where I live. What else have you got there? Where is

:20:57. > :21:05.the most antique of yours? This is Midland railway, rebuilt in 187. In

:21:06. > :21:10.1876. It is a totally unique plate in terms of pattern. And a lovely

:21:11. > :21:14.shining brass on some of these. Do they all have this wonderful

:21:15. > :21:20.foundries, the names where they come from and the numbers. We don't see

:21:21. > :21:25.that now so much do we? Mostly now the modern locomotives do have a

:21:26. > :21:33.plate on them, much reduced usually, like an enamel plate with lettering

:21:34. > :21:40.on. Much more bore than your plate. Where is the most difficult one you

:21:41. > :21:46.have ever found? A William Beard more, a Scottish shipbuilder on the

:21:47. > :21:51.Clyde, which turned its hands to building locomotives briefly. They

:21:52. > :22:02.are magnificent. This great number here. Is this from today? No, it is

:22:03. > :22:08.a Great Western cab-side numberplate from Keynham Court. I told my mother

:22:09. > :22:14.when I was nine I was going to own that set. It took me until I was 45

:22:15. > :22:22.but I got the set. Are these worth anything? Probably ?2,500, if not

:22:23. > :22:27.more. So your lounge wall is worth raiding one day. I'm not

:22:28. > :22:32.suggesting... Thank you very much. He's a railwayman too. It is all

:22:33. > :22:38.very well for two young lads like Ian and me bang on about railways,

:22:39. > :22:43.but the world of rail needs fresh blood and there is plenty to be

:22:44. > :22:49.found in the most unlikely of places. It was two summers ago. You

:22:50. > :22:54.were a typical female teenager, which is Ed Sheeran, shopping, more

:22:55. > :23:01.Ed Sheeran, more shopping. Yep. And nails. Yep, horrible nails. And now

:23:02. > :23:06.you are a trainee fireman, which is absolutely great. I still can't get

:23:07. > :23:11.my head around it. It's been two years now. You can even weld now.

:23:12. > :23:18.Your boyfriend has taught you to weld. I wouldn't know which end to

:23:19. > :23:21.start. Not on the hot end. That's a good idea. The passion started three

:23:22. > :23:28.years ago. I was completely bored with my summer hol days. Just

:23:29. > :23:32.finished GCSEs and the workshop foreman suggested I borrowed a pair

:23:33. > :23:37.of boots and overalls, and since that day I have within completely

:23:38. > :23:42.obsessed with steam. It has grown and grown. Handbrake off. Clear down

:23:43. > :23:49.that side. And it is clear on my side. This is the loco we are

:23:50. > :23:57.currently refurbishing. We've put the boiler on and the smoke box on.

:23:58. > :24:00.Our next job is sorting the smoke box door. Hopefully when it comes

:24:01. > :24:05.back into steam, which shouldn't be too long away,ly be able to look at

:24:06. > :24:12.it and point it out to people and say, I helped make that bit. I

:24:13. > :24:16.helped do the axle box, lowered it on to its wheel sets and chucked

:24:17. > :24:24.some coal on it to one day hopefully. Waking up at 6.30am to

:24:25. > :24:29.come and play on the steam engines chucked out my girly girl life. At

:24:30. > :24:35.that time in the morning you don't get time to put on your mass Cara.

:24:36. > :24:39.You will come off looking horrendous, but I go home have a

:24:40. > :24:43.shower and everything is fine again. I've coupled the loco up to the

:24:44. > :24:49.train using the link and the vacuum pipe. My hands are filthy from doing

:24:50. > :24:52.it. This is my all time favourite engine. Dougal. It worked in

:24:53. > :24:59.gasworks and I love it because it is so small and cute. I hadn't felt so

:25:00. > :25:04.connected to Megan for years. That's because you don't like painting your

:25:05. > :25:12.nails. Exactly, but I still can't get my head round it but it is

:25:13. > :25:18.absolutely great. The move from steam to deals was a huge upheaval

:25:19. > :25:25.to the railway. But why did Britain embrace this move? Well, an equation

:25:26. > :25:31.can help reveal why. It all comes down to something called torque.

:25:32. > :25:34.Torque is the twisting force, the force required to twist the wheels

:25:35. > :25:38.of the engine. The torque that you need is much higher at slower

:25:39. > :25:43.speeds. If you think of the World's Strongest Man, when they pull a

:25:44. > :25:47.truck along. It takes a long time to get going but once they're off it is

:25:48. > :25:55.easier. The same is true with trains. You need a lot more torque

:25:56. > :25:59.when you start from stationary. You will often hear engines described in

:26:00. > :26:08.terms of horsepower, but the way you talk about steam engines is by using

:26:09. > :26:17.torque. Torque and horsepower are related to this equation. Horsepower

:26:18. > :26:23.is equal to torque, times by two pi because the wheels are circular and

:26:24. > :26:31.divided by 33,000, because imperial units are weird. In terms of this on

:26:32. > :26:35.a steam train, let's hop on and see how this works. Inside the steam

:26:36. > :26:42.train you've got the coal, the fire. You've got a brake here. A Wills. A

:26:43. > :26:47.whistle. And the regulator. This thing controls how quickly the

:26:48. > :26:51.wheels are rotating, the revolutions per minute. Every chug of the piston

:26:52. > :26:55.produces exactly the same amount of torque in a steam engine. Only the

:26:56. > :27:01.revolutions per minute change. That means that in this equation, this is

:27:02. > :27:06.constant. This here is constant. The torque is constant. The only two

:27:07. > :27:08.things you can play with are the horsepower and the revolutions per

:27:09. > :27:13.minute. And that means that the faster the wheels are rotating, the

:27:14. > :27:18.higher the horsepower. The horsepower of a Stevenage gin

:27:19. > :27:25.increases can speed. A deals engine on the other hand always has the

:27:26. > :27:31.same horse power. It is always running at maximum horsepower. Why

:27:32. > :27:35.is this? The reason is that a diesel engine can change speed using its

:27:36. > :27:39.gears, which you've got here. And a brake there. Another horn there. But

:27:40. > :27:43.I'm not going to use that one. The fixed horsepower on the diesel

:27:44. > :27:48.engine the thing that makes the difference. If we go back to this

:27:49. > :27:53.equation and have another version, which I drew earlier. There is your

:27:54. > :27:57.steam engine. This is it for the deals engine. The diesel engine, the

:27:58. > :28:02.horsepower is the thing that's fixed. This is fixed the, this is

:28:03. > :28:08.fixed, these are the only two things that can move. Because this equation

:28:09. > :28:10.has to stay equal, this, the horsepower overall has to stay equal

:28:11. > :28:15.that. Means that at slower revolutions per minute you have to

:28:16. > :28:20.have a much higher torque. And that means that diesel trains are much

:28:21. > :28:24.better at pulling the train forward, especially at slow speech.ds this is

:28:25. > :28:28.especially important when you are stopping and starting a lot, as

:28:29. > :28:33.number the UK between lots of stations. If you add to that the

:28:34. > :28:37.diesel engines were much more fuel efficient, they distribute the

:28:38. > :28:41.weight much better. Better at slower speeds, it was a clear winner

:28:42. > :28:47.between the two unfortunately. I'm confused by one thing. Most trains

:28:48. > :28:54.now are diesel or diesel electric, so what is driving them, diesel or

:28:55. > :29:02.trick? This one is full diesel. We have to go to Tim in Carlisle! As

:29:03. > :29:09.you can probably hear and see, the class 37 has just come. In it came

:29:10. > :29:15.in a bit early. It is 2031 it was duction e in but it came in a few

:29:16. > :29:25.minutes ago. It came up the platform in quite a magnificent way.

:29:26. > :29:36.Locate, as you can imagine, it came straight in, it is concrete Bob, 17

:29:37. > :29:42.45, it has come up the Cumbrian coast. These machines are

:29:43. > :29:46.remarkable, quite loud. The trucks are named after the engines inside.

:29:47. > :29:52.There are 40 left on the mainline, some of them owned by Direct Rail

:29:53. > :29:58.Services, some by West Coast and others. All of different types and

:29:59. > :30:00.sorts, and different in their subclasses. This particular

:30:01. > :30:08.locomotive is quite a stunner and it has been named Concrete Bob on one

:30:09. > :30:12.side and Lord McAlpine. This machine is named after the man who helped to

:30:13. > :30:17.build the West Highland line we saw yesterday, the concrete viaduct, in

:30:18. > :30:26.Harry Potter, was built by the man who this locomotive was named after.

:30:27. > :30:32.Thereof 40 of these in preservation in the UK -- there are. Down the

:30:33. > :30:34.West country, the Warwickshire Railway have just restored one of

:30:35. > :30:41.these magnificent beasts to its former glory in British rail livery.

:30:42. > :30:45.As you can see, this is just chuntering away slowly, before it

:30:46. > :30:54.goes back to King more dapper, just north of Carlisle. -- King more

:30:55. > :31:01.depot. It is time to look at another locomotive we have seen, it is a 37,

:31:02. > :31:09.similar condition, but British Rail livery. As you can see, just

:31:10. > :31:11.powering up alongside the platform. I think you can see the 37 footage,

:31:12. > :31:28.the lard logo. -- large logo. What an amazing train and what a

:31:29. > :31:38.racket it makes. We have had two sightings of the mail train, one of

:31:39. > :31:44.them in Stafford, at 8:14pm, and eight minutes later, a bit north of

:31:45. > :31:51.Stafford, near Manchester. Very exciting. We have some tweets coming

:31:52. > :31:56.in, keep them coming in. Somebody aged 12, sporting the Class 37 in

:31:57. > :32:03.Penzance at three minutes past eight. Karen Matthews saw the class

:32:04. > :32:13.43, the 125 in Durham about half an hour ago. Darren has seen the rare

:32:14. > :32:23.GW 125 in green livery. Oh yes. OK, Bob, keep these tweets coming in.

:32:24. > :32:26.You'll spots as well. We have these 125s, building up on the East Coast

:32:27. > :32:31.Main Line. Terrific stuff. It would be good to get some from Scotland as

:32:32. > :32:35.well and maybe further west and towards Swansea, that would be good.

:32:36. > :32:39.Very good indeed, we'll keep watching. Let's go to our life

:32:40. > :33:01.Oxford Camara and look, right at this moment. We've got a...

:33:02. > :33:11.Somewhere like Felixstowe. Southampton, I think, that train. I

:33:12. > :33:21.think I fell away a little bit there. Class 66 doing a good old

:33:22. > :33:27.job. We are concentrating on the 125, the wonderful Kenneth range

:33:28. > :33:34.train. -- Kenneth Grange. Earlier we saw this 125, a very special one,

:33:35. > :33:38.that is the train that is named after Sir Kenneth Grange, the man

:33:39. > :33:43.who designed this wonderful 125. Kenneth Grange is the name of the

:33:44. > :33:49.train. That's right, in the original livery for when they first came out

:33:50. > :33:58.in 1976. That's a really nice spot. Terrific, what a wonderful memorial,

:33:59. > :34:04.although he is very much alive! Malcolm, you are in crew, what's

:34:05. > :34:17.going on. We have had a lot of trains coming through, Pendolinos

:34:18. > :34:26.coming along. We have... Another London Midland. Great stuff, it's

:34:27. > :34:29.all happening. Crewe is one of the big centres of the railway system in

:34:30. > :34:37.Britain. I think that the 125 was built there. Can you still hear me?

:34:38. > :34:43.There is the heritage centre as well, so a lot going on in Crewe.

:34:44. > :34:53.Thank you, Malcolm. We have had one spot of this diesel train sent in,

:34:54. > :35:00.it is the DMU, the diesel multiple unit. What is different about these

:35:01. > :35:06.from the 125? They are self-propelled trains. The 125 has a

:35:07. > :35:08.locomotive at either end of the carriages, but the DMU is a

:35:09. > :35:14.self-propelled train and it goes back a long way. 1903, the first one

:35:15. > :35:21.is just being restored, it was built in York and it goes back a long way.

:35:22. > :35:26.Many people, they have been travelling on them. Sometimes. They

:35:27. > :35:30.local trains and very long distance as well. For ages they do as well.

:35:31. > :35:36.You can travel a long way on the DMU. Good, we will have pictures of

:35:37. > :35:42.the mail train. I wonder where it's going to get to, maybe Scotland. We

:35:43. > :35:46.have seen every conceivable kind of train and locomotives have dedicated

:35:47. > :35:48.groups of spotters and enthusiasts and the InterCity 125s is no

:35:49. > :35:57.exception. It is no surprise that this iconic

:35:58. > :36:00.train has a group of dedicated fans, many of them experienced engineers

:36:01. > :36:06.and railwaymen who call themselves the 125 Group. The long-term aim of

:36:07. > :36:10.the group when we set up 22 years ago was to preserve the conduction

:36:11. > :36:14.125 but that train is so successful, there are none for us to preserve. I

:36:15. > :36:20.don't think any of us expected them to be going in 2016. We thought

:36:21. > :36:24.maybe 2000, 2005 we would have our hands on one. So by this time you

:36:25. > :36:30.thought you would have a fleet of them!

:36:31. > :36:37.So, to get their hands on the power car, they got the National whaling

:36:38. > :36:42.museum to lend them the only surviving prototype of the 125 and

:36:43. > :36:46.they promised they would restore it to full working order -- the

:36:47. > :36:52.National rail museum. So far it has cost them ?125,000. That's a lot

:36:53. > :36:57.considering their train only ran commercially between Paddington and

:36:58. > :37:01.Bristol for 18 months. This is yours, that must be great? It's

:37:02. > :37:05.fantastic, and believable, we have to pinch ourselves to Raillo lights

:37:06. > :37:11.that we've got it. Part of the attraction, coming here and getting

:37:12. > :37:16.stuck into a big job like this -- pinch ourselves to believe that we

:37:17. > :37:21.got it. Amazing that we have got to this stage. We have put in the hours

:37:22. > :37:27.and now we get to play with it. What these guys called play isn't for

:37:28. > :37:32.amateurs. Look at this! Tyree wired this from scratch and since then I

:37:33. > :37:41.have put in 1000 columns of cabling. 599 individual cables. Over in 1100

:37:42. > :37:46.joints on the cables. Somebody looks at this and they are thinking it is

:37:47. > :37:51.so complicated, but for us, actually, there is a lot. This is

:37:52. > :37:56.why as electrical engineers, we get away with murder! All of this work

:37:57. > :37:58.is to one end. What is it like to drive? Wonderful, wonderful to

:37:59. > :38:10.drive. It's easy to forget that the 125,

:38:11. > :38:13.cutting-edge technology in its day, was launched eight years after steam

:38:14. > :38:19.engines had been officially phased out. Back then, the drivers who

:38:20. > :38:23.would be put forward to drive the new high-speed train will be used to

:38:24. > :38:27.driving steam locomotives rather than a space age of looking train

:38:28. > :38:32.like this. The controls are arranged around the driver with the dials,

:38:33. > :38:37.the speedometer in easy view. The power of this? 2250 horsepower,

:38:38. > :38:48.controlled by this power control here. We have five notches of power.

:38:49. > :38:50.One and two, going into three. Notch four and the best one, full power,

:38:51. > :39:04.five. There's something nice about that,

:39:05. > :39:09.isn't there? Oh, yes. I the proof of the pudding is that it is running

:39:10. > :39:14.after 40 years. Oh, yes. Pleased with that? Yes, the public like them

:39:15. > :39:21.and the staff like them. John once the train! I know.

:39:22. > :39:25.I love hearing the power of the motor, amazing. You can tell that

:39:26. > :39:33.John is happy to be a train driver. I have some different train spotters

:39:34. > :39:36.with me. Gary and ten free Mac, you don't write down the numbers, you

:39:37. > :39:42.record. It is all about the changing soundscape of the numbers, -- of the

:39:43. > :39:47.train, going from diesel and steam to electric. How did you get the

:39:48. > :39:50.interest in trains? My father worked on the railways so I have been into

:39:51. > :39:59.trains since I was smaller than this one. Have you recorded anything,

:40:00. > :40:04.Kip? Yes, was it the 125? A 125? Yes. What is the most interesting

:40:05. > :40:11.thing you have recorded on the railway? A squeaky wheel! And the

:40:12. > :40:15.actual collection, what are you going to do with it? It is for

:40:16. > :40:19.posterity, the future, so people will understand in the future what

:40:20. > :40:26.the soundscape was like in 2016, for his generation. So the history, like

:40:27. > :40:29.our heritage, it is exactly the same but is that photographs, sound.

:40:30. > :40:34.Absolutely, we know that there has been a change in the railway tracks,

:40:35. > :40:39.there is the solid line, so it is constantly changing. It is silent

:40:40. > :40:45.here at the moment which is very unusual force wind on. We have some

:40:46. > :40:51.more trains coming and. -- unusual for Swindon. Some sightings of

:40:52. > :40:55.Kenneth Grange, I'm interested in when it comes to you. Keep your eyes

:40:56. > :41:01.open. You are sending us many tweets. Ian

:41:02. > :41:07.on Twitter says that he has seen another mail train, is currently in

:41:08. > :41:16.Trent Valley, at 8:32pm. That's the second one, the red ones. And the

:41:17. > :41:22.ease coast InterCity 125 with the spirit of Sunderland vinyls,

:41:23. > :41:26.whatever that means. Robert has seen the well Scotsman and Banbury and

:41:27. > :41:31.Ben Jane Smith has seen the InterCity 125 at King's Cross. At

:41:32. > :41:37.the forefront of our line today, after the tragedy in Italy, safety

:41:38. > :41:41.on the network. That requires many calculations and a lot of complex

:41:42. > :41:44.maths too. Too much for me to handle, so Hannah went to the

:41:45. > :41:50.regional operations centre in York and put her brain to work.

:41:51. > :41:59.Every day the rail network carries over 5 million passengers. 50% more

:42:00. > :42:02.than ten years ago. The regional operations centre in York controls

:42:03. > :42:06.all of the trains on the London North Eastern route, from King's

:42:07. > :42:11.Cross up to the Scottish Borders. Was this thing here? This is a

:42:12. > :42:16.system called the control centre of the future, CCF, what the

:42:17. > :42:21.controllers look at to see the state of the network at the moment. This

:42:22. > :42:27.live map displays the London North East and network in sections. So we

:42:28. > :42:30.have six trains coming in to lead a station and we have just two coming

:42:31. > :42:36.in from the east end -- Leeds station. The trains are red, green

:42:37. > :42:40.or clear and each train is a coloured rectangle, the colour

:42:41. > :42:44.indicating the train's status. Showing green, meaning it is an

:42:45. > :42:48.time. When things start going purple, we have a problem. The

:42:49. > :42:51.controllers managed late running trains but also any incident on the

:42:52. > :42:57.network that might interrupt traffic. What about leaves on the

:42:58. > :43:03.line? In the autumn, many leaves fall on the rails and as the train

:43:04. > :43:08.goes over it, it crashes the leaves and raise a Teflon like coating on

:43:09. > :43:12.the rails. It causes problems, the rails get very slippery and the

:43:13. > :43:17.trains don't always stop where we want them to and also, train

:43:18. > :43:20.detection. The signalling system uses electric currents in the tracks

:43:21. > :43:24.to locate the trains and leaves on the line can block those signals. If

:43:25. > :43:29.we can't see where the train is, then the network is inherently

:43:30. > :43:36.unsafe. While the control room coordinates the response to any

:43:37. > :43:43.incident... It is up to the signal to manage the fine detail of how the

:43:44. > :43:51.train runs. -- signaller. What did he want? It is a blockage on the

:43:52. > :43:55.line, basically. Engineering work, between two points, normally

:43:56. > :43:58.signals. Each signaller controls between six and 60 miles of track

:43:59. > :44:03.and it is up to them to manage trains around engineering works,

:44:04. > :44:08.scheduled or not. How does that change how you run the signals?

:44:09. > :44:12.Before line blockages, I have to look at the timetable and make sure

:44:13. > :44:20.there is sufficient gap for them to get in. Like always feel a bit

:44:21. > :44:25.scared going over a level crossing? We have the signal to stop things,

:44:26. > :44:29.if your car broke down... You could stop the train? Yeah. What about the

:44:30. > :44:33.automatic systems, how much do they help you and how much is you using

:44:34. > :44:38.your experience? If you did it on your own, it would be a nightmare

:44:39. > :44:42.because you would be clicking left right and centre constantly and the

:44:43. > :44:47.cursor would be flying like table tennis. You aren't just dealing with

:44:48. > :44:52.the fast intercity trains, the slow trains, the freight trains,

:44:53. > :44:56.presumably the Queen's train as well? Yes, absolutely, and we look

:44:57. > :44:58.after it well. And do you make all the signal lights go green for her?

:44:59. > :45:09.We do our best, yes. Good citizens! Tas natting stuff. You might think

:45:10. > :45:14.I'm sitting in a cattle truck but this is an old third class carriage

:45:15. > :45:22.with Roger Orchard, the manager here at Didcot railway centre. Now, what

:45:23. > :45:30.is this? This is a third class open carriage from 1838, from the days of

:45:31. > :45:34.Brunel, for third class passengers travelling to Bristol to Paddington.

:45:35. > :45:38.It is uncomfortable. That's right. But people in those days had never

:45:39. > :45:44.experienced train travel, the horse was the fastest thing, so this was a

:45:45. > :45:48.brand-new world. And it allowed people to spend money on other

:45:49. > :45:51.things. That's right, it allowed people to leave the villages and

:45:52. > :45:57.towns that they lived in. And exposed to the air? Yes, it was an

:45:58. > :46:02.interesting journey, sparks and soot from the chimney of the steam engine

:46:03. > :46:08.landing on your head, and freezing colds in winter. I love the notice.

:46:09. > :46:15.The best place to be is in the carriage further depress the engine.

:46:16. > :46:21.Very much so. Thank you Roger. We are going back to Dick. There is one

:46:22. > :46:23.train that may be more of an apparition. Tim tracked it down and

:46:24. > :46:41.hitched a ride on the ghost train. Michael, lovely to meet you. Let's

:46:42. > :46:45.get on board. I think it is just us today.

:46:46. > :46:54.Gosh! We are leaving now on the ghost train. Michael, why are they

:46:55. > :46:58.called quest to trains? Because it is the only train of the day in this

:46:59. > :47:03.direction along this particular line. I did notice as we got on this

:47:04. > :47:06.train had this was not advertised on the departure board. Not on any

:47:07. > :47:12.board. So it is a quintessential ghost train. It is done to keep the

:47:13. > :47:16.line open. To close a railway is complicated, you have to through

:47:17. > :47:24.lots of procedures. It is easier to keep the line up than the statutory

:47:25. > :47:29.procedures to open it. Chiltern Railways would say it is for driver

:47:30. > :47:35.training. This was the Great Western line to Birmingham. It is a rusty

:47:36. > :47:41.single track. Once the locomotives of the Great Western Railway raced

:47:42. > :47:45.up here... The King and the Castle classes. Autumn the great classes of

:47:46. > :47:50.the Great Western Railway came along this line. This isn't the only ghost

:47:51. > :47:55.train in Britain? Some people estimate there are about 50 ghost

:47:56. > :47:58.trains or ghost stations in the country, where service start and

:47:59. > :48:03.begin at strange times with strange people like us on board. People

:48:04. > :48:12.have, trainspotters who spot ghost trains. They are known as ghosties.

:48:13. > :48:16.Sometimes when you find one or two people on a ghost train you can be

:48:17. > :48:21.reasonably sure that they are ghosties. Against all odds it turns

:48:22. > :48:26.out we are not the only people thon train. I'm here now with John and

:48:27. > :48:30.Peter, who are both on this remarkable ghost train heading north

:48:31. > :48:38.to west rye slip. What are you doing on this railway? I've been up and

:48:39. > :48:44.down this track on trains but never a service train. John said he had

:48:45. > :48:50.never done it, society was a great opportunity for a day out. We are

:48:51. > :48:56.going there and become again. Next station is west Ruislip. This train

:48:57. > :49:02.terminates here. All change. Here we go, the end of the line. Thank you

:49:03. > :49:07.Tim. We've got someone called David spotting a southbound mail train at

:49:08. > :49:15.Tam worth in the Midlands. That was 8.38, society looks as if we've got

:49:16. > :49:22.one going north and one going south. Two tweets, an Intercity 125 at

:49:23. > :49:30.Inverness. And Charlie spotted an Intercity 125 here at Carlisle.

:49:31. > :49:34.That's where Tim is. Neil spotted a pair of Intercity 125s in

:49:35. > :49:43.Cricklewood. Over the Dick right away! This is it. We've been waiting

:49:44. > :49:47.all evening. It is the Sir Kenneth Grange Intercity 125, 43002. The

:49:48. > :49:51.whole of the platform has people looking at it. This train is

:49:52. > :49:57.commemorated, 40 years ago the design was done for this train. It's

:49:58. > :50:03.coming up to us and it is coming up to us in good old fashion 125

:50:04. > :50:08.livery. This is what I saw as a youngster. I'm surprised they are

:50:09. > :50:14.not the same any more. Sir Kenneth is 87 at the weekend. Happy birth

:50:15. > :50:17.day, Sir. And of my adult life I've been travelling around in your

:50:18. > :50:31.creations. I love it to bits. And there we go.

:50:32. > :50:37.This plaque has been designated as of historic interest and is part of

:50:38. > :50:43.our railway heritage, so the plaque will survive long after the train

:50:44. > :50:48.has gone. There's a bit of history there. Do you know what? I've been

:50:49. > :50:52.collecting numbers for 125s but this is the most Special One. We've been

:50:53. > :50:57.correcting lots of numbers. Come on, Thomas. You need to tell me about

:50:58. > :51:02.some of the things we are doing. I've got numbers galore. You have.

:51:03. > :51:13.First things first, I love the hum of the 125. I love it. It is

:51:14. > :51:18.amazing. We saw a class 59. Yes. 59207, a freight train going towards

:51:19. > :51:24.Chippenham way. Not too many freight trains in this part of the world.

:51:25. > :51:29.Not here, this isn't really a good place to see freight trains. 66192

:51:30. > :51:36.came through as well. A couple, but not many. One of the ones I was most

:51:37. > :51:41.impressed to see was Squadron Leader Harold Star. I know the names and

:51:42. > :51:45.you know the numbers. Died in the Battle of Britain but he was from

:51:46. > :51:49.Swindon. What we have here is some of the history from the town.

:51:50. > :51:55.Anybody looking at the trains will actually understand what's going on.

:51:56. > :51:58.They'll get to see part of the history of Swindon if they come to

:51:59. > :52:10.the railway station, a great part of it. And, of course, we've also got

:52:11. > :52:15.5300... Sorry, 43005. The new Great Western livery came out yesterday.

:52:16. > :52:19.There are two sets altogether. I haven't seen anything like it

:52:20. > :52:26.before. The company changed its name a while back and only had one train,

:52:27. > :52:32.or one Intercity 125 set in green. And then they added another one.

:52:33. > :52:38.About a month or so ago. So that was a rare thing to see? It was. There

:52:39. > :52:45.are only two sets. I'm feeling better about this. What I've got

:52:46. > :52:50.there is a bit of rate. I've got the beauty of this beside me. Trains

:52:51. > :52:53.like that, when I was your age, that was the only trains to go between

:52:54. > :52:58.cities with. This is more special than the others. The rest of the

:52:59. > :53:05.125s we've seen, if you stay here, do you get to see most of them?

:53:06. > :53:10.Yeah, pretty much around a handful. They normally do the same journeys.

:53:11. > :53:14.The train from London to Bristol then does Bristol to London, unless

:53:15. > :53:24.something happens. I did see one of those coming back. Both directions.

:53:25. > :53:30.We've seen some of the little DMUs. 158 and 155s yes. The variety of

:53:31. > :53:33.those, I'm a little bit confused, I'm new to this. When looking at the

:53:34. > :53:42.numbers, I had a couple of 150s. Yes. A 158. Is that the same as a

:53:43. > :53:47.150? No, they can go just a tiny bit faster and they are normally formed

:53:48. > :53:52.of three coaches while the 150s are formed of two coaches. The only way

:53:53. > :53:55.ky tell ormed of two coaches. The only way ky tell the difference is

:53:56. > :54:00.-- the only way I can tell the difference is by looking at a data

:54:01. > :54:07.sheet. I've got a sheet on my computer can check to see if I've

:54:08. > :54:11.got it. So you do all the filing side of life? Yes. Compared to some

:54:12. > :54:16.of the older people around here, tur young buck side of life. Yes, trying

:54:17. > :54:24.to get new technology into the railways. Do pencils scare you? No.

:54:25. > :54:28.I was just wondering about that. We've come here and what I've

:54:29. > :54:37.managed to see today has been phenomenal and the star for me

:54:38. > :54:43.undoubtedly, Sir Kenneth Grange. Stand by for the pun of the evening,

:54:44. > :54:54.well spotted dick! LAUGHTER We've just had a picture of

:54:55. > :55:03.the mail train. Very excite. Colin Taylor sent us this from Warrington.

:55:04. > :55:09.There's a magnificent mail train on its way possibly up to Scotland, who

:55:10. > :55:15.knows. Knows. Wonderful stuff. And we have some tweets in. The mail

:55:16. > :55:29.train spotted in Derby from Chris Watt, a couple of minutes ago. Paul

:55:30. > :55:38.Roberts has seen a Class 66 come in Watt, a couple of minutes ago. Paul

:55:39. > :55:46.Roberts has seen a Class 66 come and we've got John Bradford who spotted

:55:47. > :55:50.a Class 66. Tomorrow Dick will be in Clapham and we'll be bring

:55:51. > :55:55.everything up to date and looking into the future of trainspotting,

:55:56. > :56:03.with electric trains, super-express trains and 3D modelling. Tim on the

:56:04. > :56:10.other hand is going to take on the Holy Grail spot himself. Will he be

:56:11. > :56:15.in Stafford searching for the mail train. Train. Don't forget if you've

:56:16. > :56:20.managed to spot, there's pictures and videos and the 125. Tomorrow

:56:21. > :56:24.we'll be asking you to spot the EMUs, the electric multi-cal unit.

:56:25. > :56:27.That's all we've got time for. We'll be back tomorrow at 8 o'clock, where

:56:28. > :56:40.we'll leave you now with some