0:00:14 > 0:00:18'In 2009, in the non-award-winning series Toy Stories,
0:00:18 > 0:00:21'we liberated the nation's favourite playthings
0:00:21 > 0:00:25'from the darkness of cupboards to celebrate their enduring appeal.
0:00:25 > 0:00:26'Lego...
0:00:26 > 0:00:28'Plasticine...
0:00:28 > 0:00:30'Meccano...
0:00:30 > 0:00:31'Scalextric...
0:00:31 > 0:00:35'and that educational cornerstone, Airfix.
0:00:35 > 0:00:39'All were subjected to the most ambitious challenges ever dreamt up in a pub.'
0:00:39 > 0:00:41Congratulations. You've inspired us all.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46'But then, inspiration got the better of us,
0:00:46 > 0:00:49'and we tried to build the world's biggest train set.
0:00:49 > 0:00:53'Our aim was a ten-mile-long 00-gauge track.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56'It would follow the route of the abandoned railway
0:00:56 > 0:00:59'that once linked the Devonshire towns of Barnstaple and Bideford.'
0:00:59 > 0:01:01Five, four, three...
0:01:01 > 0:01:04'Five model trains departed Barnstaple,
0:01:04 > 0:01:09'including one that I've owned since I was just nine years old.'
0:01:09 > 0:01:12Long live the Flying Scotsman!
0:01:13 > 0:01:15'But it all went horribly wrong.'
0:01:17 > 0:01:19More!
0:01:21 > 0:01:23Sounds like the engine's faltering.
0:01:26 > 0:01:31'Even though they were propelled by the goodwill of a huge crowd, not one of the five trains
0:01:31 > 0:01:35'made it home - the last one expiring at one o'clock in the morning.'
0:01:37 > 0:01:40I'll be honest - I'm bitterly disappointed we haven't got to Bideford.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43We've got as far as Instow, from Barnstaple.
0:01:43 > 0:01:48That's about seven miles. And the thing is, my 37-year-old Flying Scotsman,
0:01:48 > 0:01:52despite my efforts, failed on the first bend.
0:02:03 > 0:02:05And that could've been the end of that,
0:02:05 > 0:02:08but, of all the toys we featured in that series,
0:02:08 > 0:02:12the train set remains the closest to my heart,
0:02:12 > 0:02:16and I couldn't just leave its reputation broken down by the side of the line.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20And so, like the great pioneering railwaymen of old -
0:02:20 > 0:02:25Trevethick, Blenkinsop, Stephenson -
0:02:25 > 0:02:28I decided to carry on.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31'So we're back to try again
0:02:31 > 0:02:36'and to make it even more difficult, we've decided to add an element of competition.
0:02:36 > 0:02:37'A race.
0:02:39 > 0:02:43'I will be in charge of a team of locals and toy-train enthusiasts.'
0:02:43 > 0:02:46Go. 'And our opponents?
0:02:46 > 0:02:49'the greatest model-train experts in the known world...
0:02:49 > 0:02:51'the Germans.
0:02:56 > 0:02:59'This is Miniatur Wunderland,
0:02:59 > 0:03:02'the biggest toy-train attraction on the planet.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06'There is nothing fat controllers Sebastian and Gerrit
0:03:06 > 0:03:10'don't know about supersized train sets.
0:03:10 > 0:03:14'Last time, they came over to Devon to offer me advice.
0:03:14 > 0:03:16'This time, they're coming back...
0:03:16 > 0:03:18'as my rivals.'
0:03:18 > 0:03:22We start here, and run all the way over to Barnstaple here.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25'And with Miniatur Wunderland's 900 trains having travelled
0:03:25 > 0:03:29'a colossal 2.5 million miles,
0:03:29 > 0:03:31'it's little "wunder" they fancy their chances...'
0:03:32 > 0:03:37We're absolutely confident to win this race because we love to win.
0:03:37 > 0:03:42We are absolutely motivated to do everything to win this race.
0:03:42 > 0:03:47'Confident they may be, but this epic near-ten-mile route will be
0:03:47 > 0:03:50'a daunting technical challenge, even for them.
0:03:52 > 0:03:56'Leaving Barnstaple behind, the toy trains meander through new-build suburbs
0:03:56 > 0:03:59'towards the route of the old railway.
0:03:59 > 0:04:04'Next, they power along a windswept two-mile straight.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10'A quarter of the course is complete when we reach Fremington Junction.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13'Once a thriving industrial hub,
0:04:13 > 0:04:17'it's best known today for its fine cafe serving local produce.
0:04:19 > 0:04:24'Now it's full steam ahead along a gruelling two-and-a-half-mile straight.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28'It is here that blistering speeds of more than two miles an hour
0:04:28 > 0:04:30'may be recorded.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36'At four and a half miles, we reach the level crossing at Yelland.
0:04:36 > 0:04:38'This is only halfway.
0:04:40 > 0:04:45'With Yelland rapidly diminishing in the view from the guard's van, the route continues
0:04:45 > 0:04:48'to the seaside town of Instow.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51'This is where the final train died last time.'
0:04:53 > 0:04:57'With three quarters of the course complete, the final two miles
0:04:57 > 0:05:02'negotiate a series of treacherous chicanes alongside the B3233.
0:05:02 > 0:05:07'Our trains then thunder under the monumental Torridge Bridge.
0:05:07 > 0:05:10'Their hot crankpins begging for mercy, they gird their loins
0:05:10 > 0:05:13'for a last climb into the town...'
0:05:13 > 0:05:19Before finally arriving...here, at the disused platforms of the old station at Bideford,
0:05:19 > 0:05:24where no-one has seen a train arrive for over 30 years -
0:05:24 > 0:05:26not even a toy one.
0:05:26 > 0:05:32'And the distance - over 700 miles at toy train scale - is only the start of it.'
0:05:32 > 0:05:35By making this a race, we've introduced another problem.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37Last time we tried this, we had a single track.
0:05:37 > 0:05:43Now, of course, we will need a double track so that the two trains can compete in opposite directions.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47And because this is a competition, we will need some proper rules.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50The Germans will like that.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57'I've gathered my handpicked selection of local volunteers,
0:05:57 > 0:06:00'dignitaries and experts for a briefing.'
0:06:04 > 0:06:06Ladies, gentleman,
0:06:06 > 0:06:11welcome to the second - and final -
0:06:11 > 0:06:16Annual Barnstaple-To-Bideford Train Challenge!
0:06:17 > 0:06:18There will be two teams.
0:06:18 > 0:06:22The Germans shall be starting here in Bideford
0:06:22 > 0:06:24and racing to Barnstaple.
0:06:24 > 0:06:25We, the British team,
0:06:25 > 0:06:30will be starting here in Barnstaple and racing to Bideford.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33'The race is a best-out-of-three competition,
0:06:33 > 0:06:37'between trains representing different eras.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39'First off, the age of steam.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42'My childhood Flying Scotsman is back
0:06:42 > 0:06:48'and will take on the German BR 58, the sturdy workhorse of the interwar years.
0:06:49 > 0:06:51'Next, in the diesel electric category,
0:06:51 > 0:06:54'the stalwart Intercity 125
0:06:54 > 0:06:57'will face-off against the high-speed German ET 403,
0:06:57 > 0:07:01'nicknamed "The Donald Duck" because...
0:07:01 > 0:07:03'Well, have a guess.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07'Finally, the future - a high-tech battle between top-secret trains
0:07:07 > 0:07:12'modified to run on any power system the teams choose.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16'Whoever wins this best-out-of-three challenge...
0:07:16 > 0:07:18'carries the day.'
0:07:18 > 0:07:21Are there any questions?
0:07:21 > 0:07:23- GENERAL CHATTER - 'Good.'
0:07:24 > 0:07:28What gives me great hope about our effort is the massive variety of people
0:07:28 > 0:07:32that this little idea has brought together, because in this room we have vicars,
0:07:32 > 0:07:37we've got some mayors, we've got technical people, retired people,
0:07:37 > 0:07:42children, old people, men and women. You know, all these walks of life - they've all been brought together
0:07:42 > 0:07:46and all possible differences are washed away by this desire
0:07:46 > 0:07:49to get a toy train from Barnstaple to Bideford,
0:07:49 > 0:07:54and I just don't see, looking at those people, how it can possibly fail.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58I mean that - I'm not being sarcastic. How can it go wrong, with that?
0:07:58 > 0:08:00This is what makes Britain great.
0:08:00 > 0:08:03'But while our team is still digesting the rules,
0:08:03 > 0:08:05'the Germans are forging ahead
0:08:05 > 0:08:08'with work on their toy train of the future.
0:08:08 > 0:08:13'Under the rules, they must develop one main secret weapon plus a backup
0:08:13 > 0:08:16'should things go wrong on the big day.'
0:08:16 > 0:08:21This is what we like about this challenge - to develop different types of power,
0:08:21 > 0:08:25just to test something which has never been connected to a trains.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28So, to power on a locomotive for this,
0:08:28 > 0:08:32you need about 2,000, 3,000 apples.
0:08:32 > 0:08:35'Every possibility is being meticulously researched,
0:08:35 > 0:08:39'from absurd fruit-based solutions to good old clockwork.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44'but their greatest breakthrough is adapting a fuel
0:08:44 > 0:08:46'that has driven the German people...
0:08:46 > 0:08:47Urgh-hurgh!
0:08:47 > 0:08:49'..for centuries.'
0:08:49 > 0:08:52We're trying to make liquor out of sauerkraut.
0:08:52 > 0:08:57That was something like an idea to play with a very German stereotype -
0:08:57 > 0:08:58the Krauts.
0:08:58 > 0:09:03So we said, "Of course we can make a train out of kraut."
0:09:03 > 0:09:07This is our sauerkraut liquor - very, very fine liquor.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09Cheers, James.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12So, let's go to the train.
0:09:12 > 0:09:17'With the very lifeblood of the nation powering their secret train through a small piston engine,
0:09:17 > 0:09:22'this moonshine-fuelled 90%-proof prototype will present a serious threat.
0:09:22 > 0:09:24HIGH-PITCHED BUZZING
0:09:31 > 0:09:36'The sauerkraut screamer may well be the loudest toy train ever known to man,
0:09:36 > 0:09:41'but it is also a stark reminder of just how committed to this challenge the German team is.
0:09:43 > 0:09:45'But let's not write the British off yet.
0:09:45 > 0:09:49'My chief engineer, Sim, is ready with a radical idea of his own.'
0:09:58 > 0:10:00HE LAUGHS
0:10:00 > 0:10:03'This may look a bit rough and ready.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05'Actually, it looks like a skateboard.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07'Sim will explain.'
0:10:07 > 0:10:10What I'm going to do - I've already done this, you see, so you didn't notice...
0:10:10 > 0:10:13- There's a bogey there, and a bogey there.- Right.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17'"Bogey" in train talk means a separate, pivoting wheeled chassis.
0:10:17 > 0:10:18'Not snot.'
0:10:18 > 0:10:22And it's going to push...our secret train?
0:10:22 > 0:10:26Yes. It's going to push an Hitachi Class.
0:10:27 > 0:10:33'Once it's fitted, this ducted fan should give our train a top speed of over eight miles an hour.
0:10:33 > 0:10:38'And the opportunities for technological spin-off are huge.
0:10:40 > 0:10:42Your hair looks better.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46'Whilst Sim rummages in his toolkit for a wire brush,
0:10:46 > 0:10:49'I head to Barnstaple station to meet a man
0:10:49 > 0:10:53'who has stumbled valiantly beside me on many a heroic endeavour.'
0:10:53 > 0:10:57I mean, of course, the wine connoisseur and train enthusiast
0:10:57 > 0:11:03Oz "Woody High Notes" Clarke, here on the 6.02 arrival into Barnstaple.
0:11:03 > 0:11:07'Oz was with me for the last attempt.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10'I even let him look after one of the trains.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12Hey, hey, hey! There's my boy!
0:11:12 > 0:11:17'Which made it a gallant halfway along the course before the inevitable.'
0:11:17 > 0:11:21I've just heard a rumour that my train may have burnt out.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24'Despite that trauma, he's agreed to come and help me again.
0:11:26 > 0:11:31'Sadly, his love of train timetables seems to be ironic.'
0:11:31 > 0:11:34I was looking for Oz Clarke. He was going to be on this train.
0:11:34 > 0:11:35Yeah, he was, but...
0:11:37 > 0:11:40It's not your fault. It's almost certainly his.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49HE LAUGHS
0:11:49 > 0:11:51How did you get off of the train without me seeing you?
0:11:51 > 0:11:54- I came by car. What did you expect? - You didn't!
0:11:54 > 0:11:57- We're going to the pub. - Ooh, great.- Come with me.
0:11:57 > 0:12:02'Oz thinks he's here to help me choose the steam engine for the race.
0:12:02 > 0:12:06'What he doesn't know is that he has a choice of one.'
0:12:06 > 0:12:09Oz...I've been wasting your time,
0:12:09 > 0:12:14because what we shall actually be running to represent the era of steam
0:12:14 > 0:12:20is my childhood Flying Scotsman with realistic chuffing sound.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23There you go.
0:12:23 > 0:12:27Oh, James! I mean... The thing about the Flying Scotsman,
0:12:27 > 0:12:30It's possibly one of the most wonderful engines ever, ever built
0:12:30 > 0:12:31when it was real.
0:12:31 > 0:12:36The first one ever went 100mph, a chap called Bill Sparshatt at the wheel...
0:12:36 > 0:12:41- This is a great engine when it's the real thing, but...- Mm-hm?
0:12:41 > 0:12:43But... The...
0:12:44 > 0:12:47- We've used it before!- Yes?
0:12:47 > 0:12:50- How many yards did it get?- 30.
0:12:51 > 0:12:54It went 30 yards, James.
0:12:54 > 0:12:58Listen, I have dismantled that engine since then,
0:12:58 > 0:13:02to make sure it is within tolerances and it runs smoothly.
0:13:02 > 0:13:05I've checked every single wire, every single blob of solder in here,
0:13:05 > 0:13:09every single insulator, for electrical fidelity.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13I've reassembled the whole thing, with lubricant, with gloved hands,
0:13:13 > 0:13:15under a magnifying glass, and this is now,
0:13:15 > 0:13:18despite everything that happened before,
0:13:18 > 0:13:21the finest example of the Flying Scotsman
0:13:21 > 0:13:24with realistic chuffing sound in the country.
0:13:24 > 0:13:28I'm asking you to drive what is...
0:13:28 > 0:13:31Well, undoubtedly the most precious
0:13:31 > 0:13:33of my surviving childhood possessions.
0:13:33 > 0:13:37Could you try and be a little bit more gracious about it?
0:13:37 > 0:13:39You're not tearing up, are you?
0:13:39 > 0:13:41I'm getting slightly hacked off with you
0:13:41 > 0:13:43for being dismissive about it. Look at it!
0:13:45 > 0:13:47Are you going to drive my Flying Scotsman?
0:13:48 > 0:13:50- Yes, I think so.- Thank you.
0:13:50 > 0:13:54- And I will do my level best to get it to Bideford.- Thank you.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57- Right...- 30 yards!
0:14:01 > 0:14:06'Next morning at our Barnstaple HQ and I'm hard at work on a plan
0:14:06 > 0:14:10'designed to lay to rest some of the ghosts of our last failed attempt.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13'Last time, we had over 160 car batteries
0:14:13 > 0:14:16'continuously powering the whole track.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19'This meant the power could never be turned off.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22'Holding trains in place while resetting them on the track
0:14:22 > 0:14:25'caused intolerable strain to their motors.
0:14:25 > 0:14:30'This time, the track will be divided into 100m sections
0:14:30 > 0:14:34'electrically isolated from each other. There will be only two batteries per train,
0:14:34 > 0:14:38'plugged into the track by operators who will leapfrog from section to section
0:14:38 > 0:14:41'when the all-clear is flagged.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44'Leading the way, a cleaning device will clear away
0:14:44 > 0:14:46'any leaves on the line.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49'This system of supplying power to the track
0:14:49 > 0:14:54'only when it is needed will bring us to a certain and uninterrupted victory.'
0:14:55 > 0:14:58I have to say, this works so far.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01'But, while my dedicated train teams continue to practise
0:15:01 > 0:15:05'for the 2012 Olympic battery relay event,
0:15:05 > 0:15:09'there is still a huge problem bearing down on us like a runaway express.
0:15:12 > 0:15:18'We're going to have to lay almost ten miles of double track across rural North Devon.
0:15:21 > 0:15:27'And to save you doing the arithmetic, that's over 45,000 individual pieces.'
0:15:29 > 0:15:33Now, last time, we laid our track using this -
0:15:33 > 0:15:36the R8090 semi-flexible track.
0:15:36 > 0:15:41Now, this stuff is beloved of serious railway modellers because you can shape it
0:15:41 > 0:15:46any way you like to make very, very clever curves. You can also cut it to any length you want,
0:15:46 > 0:15:50and that's brilliant, but it does have a few disadvantages.
0:15:50 > 0:15:52The first is, the little fishplates,
0:15:52 > 0:15:55the joiners that make the track stick together,
0:15:55 > 0:15:57are not on it. You have to put these on yourself.
0:15:57 > 0:16:01Pretty quickly you get extremely sore fingers.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05Also, this stuff is quite fragile. If it's being manhandled in large volumes,
0:16:05 > 0:16:09you very easily go "whoopsie" and break a bit off like that,
0:16:10 > 0:16:14This time we're doing away with that stuff,
0:16:14 > 0:16:18and we're going to use this. This is part number R603.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21This is the sort of track you get in your beginner's train set.
0:16:21 > 0:16:25It's perfectly stiff, the fishplates are already in place,
0:16:25 > 0:16:29and because you're going to give this to your kids to play with it on the floor...
0:16:31 > 0:16:35..it is designed to be pretty much indestructible.
0:16:37 > 0:16:40'Now we have the right track, it's time to reveal something
0:16:40 > 0:16:44'the great pioneers of overlong-model-railway building have been crying out for.
0:16:52 > 0:16:57'This is the world's first ever Track-O-Matic.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02'Created by Sim, it's designed to do for model track laying
0:17:02 > 0:17:05'what sliced bread did for sandwiches.'
0:17:05 > 0:17:06- Are they parallel?- Yes.
0:17:06 > 0:17:11Right... That's amazing. How does it work?
0:17:12 > 0:17:15'It turns out to be quite simple...
0:17:15 > 0:17:17'in theory.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20'Track is automatically fed down these chutes at the same pace
0:17:20 > 0:17:24'as the machine's forward motion. It remains only to push the pieces together.'
0:17:24 > 0:17:27And it works!
0:17:28 > 0:17:31That's all you have to do? You walk along, going like that?
0:17:31 > 0:17:35Yeah, so one either side. You that side, I'm this side. Ding, ding, ding.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38- Dunk.- Poor fella pulling it.- Dunk.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41So we have to yoke a shoeless Victorian urchin to the front
0:17:41 > 0:17:44and drag him along a railway route.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48Do you know what, Sim? I think the global market for this machine
0:17:48 > 0:17:51is going to be inconceivably small.
0:17:51 > 0:17:53LAUGHTER
0:17:53 > 0:17:56- But it is brilliant. - You might be right.- Well done.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00Right, the only way to see if this works is to lay some track.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02Let's fill this car park with track.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11Right, who wants to be the small Victorian child?
0:18:11 > 0:18:12OK.
0:18:12 > 0:18:15It only has to go slowly.
0:18:15 > 0:18:17Don't worry - you'll get some gruel.
0:18:17 > 0:18:21'Now, this time-lapse sequence was supposed to show the Track-O-Matic
0:18:21 > 0:18:25'crossing the car park as a flashing blur, leaving perfectly laid,
0:18:25 > 0:18:29'perfectly straight track in its astonishing wake.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32'But after 30 minutes, we'd only laid ten metres.'
0:18:33 > 0:18:37- Stop here.- I thought we could go a little bit faster. - Yeah. Stop there.
0:18:37 > 0:18:40Some of you, at this point, may have doubts about the efficacy
0:18:40 > 0:18:46of the Track-O-Matic machine but don't, because it's at a sort of late prototype stage
0:18:46 > 0:18:49and by the time Simmy goes to bed at about 7am tomorrow,
0:18:49 > 0:18:51I'm sure it'll be fine.
0:18:51 > 0:18:55The most important point is that in the real world,
0:18:55 > 0:18:58not false television jeopardy or any of that,
0:18:58 > 0:19:01this is the thing that matters most.
0:19:01 > 0:19:06Almost more than the Flying Scotsman. That's how serious it is.
0:19:06 > 0:19:08With realistic chuffing sound.
0:19:12 > 0:19:17'Dawn. Barnstaple's revellers are abed, blissfully unaware
0:19:17 > 0:19:20'that while they dream of the coming new railway age,
0:19:20 > 0:19:21'the Germans have arrived.'
0:19:23 > 0:19:26'They are getting to grips with the Track-O-Matic.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31'Having laid only one mile in over three hours, they don't seem
0:19:31 > 0:19:33'very impressed with it.
0:19:34 > 0:19:39'Or maybe they're just too amazed by it.'
0:19:39 > 0:19:42Because no one's ever seen it before, or anything like it,
0:19:42 > 0:19:46I think Sim's Track-O-Matic machine is as marvellous to behold
0:19:46 > 0:19:51as maybe Babbage's difference engine was, or Maudslay's screw-cutting lathe.
0:19:51 > 0:19:53It is an amazing piece of work.
0:19:53 > 0:19:58It's fantastic but the sad fact is it's quite a bit slower than we were expecting
0:19:58 > 0:20:03and time and distance wait for no railway modeller.
0:20:04 > 0:20:09'And so, track-laying continued, as it had through most of history.
0:20:09 > 0:20:14'A gruelling and thankless manual task, overseen by grumbling, underpaid navvies.
0:20:14 > 0:20:21'And as the tiny, silvery shoots of railway recovery grew excruciatingly out of Barnstaple,
0:20:21 > 0:20:25'I realised once again the foolhardiness of the whole endeavour'.
0:20:47 > 0:20:51Hello, viewers. Here I am, alone in my hotel room.
0:20:51 > 0:20:55I wanted to say that time has a fantastic facility for polishing up
0:20:55 > 0:21:00what are actually horrible memories. That's why we think our school days were great,
0:21:00 > 0:21:03when obviously they must have been pretty terrible most of the time.
0:21:03 > 0:21:08And time has diminished the distance we have to go over the last
0:21:08 > 0:21:12year and a half and it's shrunk in my memory.
0:21:12 > 0:21:16But now I've been along the Tarka Trail again on a bicycle,
0:21:16 > 0:21:20I realise that it is, in layman's terms, a chuffing long way
0:21:20 > 0:21:22for a train this big,
0:21:22 > 0:21:27designed to run on a table top, or maybe around the attic,
0:21:27 > 0:21:32or the garage, but not out there. Not with that wind and the rain
0:21:32 > 0:21:36and the blazing sun, and the grit and the dirt, and the giant leaves,
0:21:36 > 0:21:39and the gravel, and the people treading on it,
0:21:39 > 0:21:41and the bicycles and the dogs.
0:21:41 > 0:21:43It is a big one.
0:21:46 > 0:21:49We finished the track at 7am,
0:21:49 > 0:21:53just an hour before hordes of locals gather for the start
0:21:53 > 0:21:56of the greatest railway race in Devonian history.
0:21:56 > 0:22:03It's clear that restoring the railway destroyed by Dr Beeching truly matters.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05But something is wrong.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08The surviving stations are to the wrong scale.
0:22:08 > 0:22:09That needs sorting.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15The aim is to build a station here, with scenery, for the trains to arrive at.
0:22:15 > 0:22:20The Scouts are here to help to build the scenery and everything to go along with it.
0:22:20 > 0:22:23The trains and the townsfolk are ready.
0:22:23 > 0:22:26All we need now is the fattest of fat controllers.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30Heavenly father, we just ask your blessing on our day. Amen.
0:22:30 > 0:22:31Amen.
0:22:31 > 0:22:35And now we're going to anoint the Flying Scotsman
0:22:35 > 0:22:39with, appropriately, some Scotch malt whisky.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43'But while we put our faith in God,
0:22:43 > 0:22:48'down at the other end of the line, the Germans are putting theirs in the details'.
0:22:48 > 0:22:53We worked at this trains for about one month
0:22:53 > 0:22:57with very, very good people around us who know so much about trains
0:22:57 > 0:23:01and they developed a very good system. I personally trust very much in them.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04'And I very much trust in our team.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09'Well, most of them'.
0:23:09 > 0:23:10Delicious.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18Oh, yay. Oh, yay. Oh, yay.
0:23:18 > 0:23:24Pray silence for James May's race from Barnstaple to Bideford,
0:23:24 > 0:23:28and this year featuring a challenge from the Germans.
0:23:28 > 0:23:30CROWD BOOS
0:23:30 > 0:23:32OZ CHUCKLES
0:23:33 > 0:23:39Ladies and gentleman, what matters today is not who wins.
0:23:39 > 0:23:43What matters is that one of these trains makes a successful home run.
0:23:43 > 0:23:47We owe it to the people of Barnstaple and the people of Bideford,
0:23:47 > 0:23:53we owe it to everybody who has helped us, we owe it to the hobby of toy trains
0:23:53 > 0:23:57and we owe it to the ghosts of old railwaymen who have long since
0:23:57 > 0:24:01bought their one-way ticket to the great station Bothy among the stars.
0:24:01 > 0:24:07But most importantly, Oz and I do not want to come back every year for the rest of our lives.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09CROWD CHEERS AND APPLAUDS
0:24:12 > 0:24:15Steve, I believe the train is ready to depart from the station.
0:24:15 > 0:24:17If you'd do the honours, please, sir.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20WHISTLE BLASTS
0:24:24 > 0:24:27Doesn't work.
0:24:27 > 0:24:29LAUGHTER
0:24:29 > 0:24:30'Oh, God, not again.
0:24:32 > 0:24:35'And worse still, it's given the German team
0:24:35 > 0:24:38'a golden opportunity to race into an early lead.'
0:24:38 > 0:24:40Three, two, one...Go!
0:24:43 > 0:24:46LAUGHTER
0:24:46 > 0:24:50'Well, I suppose this technically means that we are now winning.'
0:24:53 > 0:24:55OK.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00'Finally!
0:25:00 > 0:25:02'And just look at her go.'
0:25:02 > 0:25:04CHEERING
0:25:11 > 0:25:14Come on, give 'em a cheer!
0:25:14 > 0:25:17A Flying Scotsman going up an incline like that,
0:25:17 > 0:25:19at that speed, unheard of!
0:25:19 > 0:25:22This is the big thing. Can it get around that bend?
0:25:22 > 0:25:24Nice and slow, slow, slow.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26CHEERING
0:25:29 > 0:25:33'And The Germans, too, are no longer backward in coming forward.
0:25:35 > 0:25:38'The steam race is well and truly on.'
0:25:38 > 0:25:40This is marvellous.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45'This is the moment I've dreamed of.
0:25:45 > 0:25:49'My Flying Scotsman, like wing'd Hermes, soaring on towards victory.'
0:25:49 > 0:25:53It's gone three times as far as it went last year.
0:26:07 > 0:26:12'Meanwhile, back at the station, the diesel electric race is under starters orders.'
0:26:12 > 0:26:14WHISTLE BLASTS
0:26:14 > 0:26:19'These express trains travel at a greater scale speed than the steam locos
0:26:19 > 0:26:23'and should provide an exciting high-velocity duel to the bitter end.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29'The 125 will be running at the regulation 12 volts,
0:26:29 > 0:26:33'as recommended by its driver, Simon Kohler, from Hornby.'
0:26:33 > 0:26:35Whoa, easy boy.
0:26:36 > 0:26:38I'll leave it on 12, yeah?
0:26:38 > 0:26:41'But the Germans are taking a huge gamble.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45'They've upped the power to a whopping 18 volts.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48'The Donald duck will certainly go faster
0:26:48 > 0:26:51'but it could easily burn out its motor.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55'Meanwhile, half a mile up the track...'
0:26:55 > 0:26:59The Flying Scotsman, Oz, has cleared suburbia
0:26:59 > 0:27:02and is now on what is the true Tarka Trail,
0:27:02 > 0:27:06the old Barnstaple-to-Bideford link of the Atlantic Coast Express route,
0:27:06 > 0:27:08and there it goes.
0:27:08 > 0:27:12I'm thinking of it as though it's heading down, Grantham to Peterborough,
0:27:12 > 0:27:13heading for 100 miles an hour.
0:27:13 > 0:27:16Godspeed, the Flying Scotsman.
0:27:16 > 0:27:18Nothing can beat that.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22Fanta... Look at it go!
0:27:22 > 0:27:23Look at it derail!
0:27:23 > 0:27:26OZ LAUGHS
0:27:26 > 0:27:28Edit that out.
0:27:28 > 0:27:30LAUGHTER
0:27:30 > 0:27:34'Luckily, the German train has also come to a halt,
0:27:34 > 0:27:37'and is comfortably behind the Flying Scotsman.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40'But as the technicians struggle to repair the fault,
0:27:40 > 0:27:42'what should come racing round the bend?
0:27:42 > 0:27:45'It's the 18-volt Donald Duck.'
0:27:45 > 0:27:49Oh, he's already there. He's four times faster with the second train.
0:27:49 > 0:27:53It just took them 20 minutes to be at this train.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58Look at that. It's so much faster.
0:27:58 > 0:28:00Now we have to run.
0:28:01 > 0:28:04We have to run with this train.
0:28:04 > 0:28:07'Sebastian and Gerrit have no time for losers
0:28:07 > 0:28:11'and leave the stricken steam train for its team to sort out.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16'But despite its impressive speed, the Donald Duck
0:28:16 > 0:28:21'has only drawn marginally ahead of our own Intercity 125,
0:28:21 > 0:28:26'which has raced past the derailed Flying Scotsman to lead the British charge.
0:28:26 > 0:28:30'With the contest evenly balanced, it's time to release the secret weapons.
0:28:32 > 0:28:36'Sim has already stunned the world with his Track-O-Matic machine.
0:28:36 > 0:28:39'Now his ducted-fan express will blast Britain
0:28:39 > 0:28:41'into the pages of the toy-train record book.'
0:28:45 > 0:28:47This is going to go like hell.
0:28:49 > 0:28:51- One thing it hasn't got...- What?
0:28:51 > 0:28:52..is brakes.
0:28:52 > 0:28:54WHISTLE BLASTS
0:29:00 > 0:29:02It works.
0:29:03 > 0:29:07It's a bit unstable, Simmy, if you don't mind me saying.
0:29:12 > 0:29:14No brakes!
0:29:15 > 0:29:17It was quite a nice idea.
0:29:17 > 0:29:19'Meanwhile, back at the German start...'
0:29:22 > 0:29:27The Sauerkraut Special will arrive in Barnstaple
0:29:27 > 0:29:30in five hours.
0:29:32 > 0:29:36'The Sauerkraut Screamer roars out of the station
0:29:36 > 0:29:40'and with Sim's train off the track, the Germans take an overall lead in the race.'
0:29:44 > 0:29:46LOUD BANG
0:29:46 > 0:29:48Oh, well.
0:29:49 > 0:29:51APPLAUSE
0:29:57 > 0:29:59Yes, I hear.
0:29:59 > 0:30:05SHE SPEAKS IN GERMAN
0:30:05 > 0:30:08The train exploded.
0:30:10 > 0:30:11Yes.
0:30:11 > 0:30:12Come on!
0:30:12 > 0:30:14OK, we're going backwards.
0:30:14 > 0:30:18'This is a great opportunity for the ducted-fan express
0:30:18 > 0:30:22'to show the Germans a clean pair of wheels.
0:30:22 > 0:30:25'But just how fast can it go?
0:30:25 > 0:30:28'The answer is very fast indeed.'
0:30:32 > 0:30:34Oh, dear.
0:30:39 > 0:30:43Oh, that's a massive loss of life.
0:30:43 > 0:30:45Returning from London to Paris
0:30:45 > 0:30:49could be quite quick briefly and then fatal.
0:30:49 > 0:30:50'Not that I would ever doubt Sim,
0:30:50 > 0:30:53'but I have been working on a back-up plan
0:30:53 > 0:30:55'in case anything like this happened.'
0:30:55 > 0:30:57Shall we try top-secret train number two?
0:30:57 > 0:31:00Oh, there's another wheel.
0:31:00 > 0:31:05'This is Dr Ben PhD, who, for the last ten days,
0:31:05 > 0:31:07'has been working on a world first.
0:31:07 > 0:31:10'A power system that could change the face of model railways forever
0:31:10 > 0:31:14'and many other things besides.
0:31:14 > 0:31:17'Time to unveil it.'
0:31:17 > 0:31:21And here we have Dr Ben's hydrogen fuel cell transport solution.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24Quite simply, it is a fuel-cell-powered electric commuter train.
0:31:24 > 0:31:28Now, over the past few days, we have extracted hydrogen from water
0:31:28 > 0:31:33using sunlight. It's been stored in these canisters inside the coaches
0:31:33 > 0:31:36and it's fed into a hydrogen fuel cell here.
0:31:36 > 0:31:40That generates electricity, which drives the motors in the train.
0:31:40 > 0:31:43It doesn't take any power from the track - completely self-contained.
0:31:43 > 0:31:46The only slight issue with it is that all this bit -
0:31:46 > 0:31:50the fuel cell and the associated electronics - they're quite bulky.
0:31:50 > 0:31:52But, in time, if this proves successful, they will
0:31:52 > 0:31:56be gradually miniaturised, like everything else - the radio and so on -
0:31:56 > 0:31:59and then they will fit inside the scale model train.
0:31:59 > 0:32:02In the meantime, though, because that's slightly unsightly,
0:32:02 > 0:32:07we're going to disguise it as... Thomas the Tank Engine.
0:32:07 > 0:32:10Oh, yay! Oh, yay!
0:32:10 > 0:32:15Pray silence for the launch of the replacement modified train,
0:32:15 > 0:32:17as allowed in the rules.
0:32:17 > 0:32:22This is Dr Ben's hydrogen-fuelled...thing.
0:32:22 > 0:32:26He can't remember what it's called!
0:32:26 > 0:32:32- This is Dr Ben's hydrogen-fuelled cell... Oh,- BLEEP!
0:32:32 > 0:32:36LAUGHTER
0:32:36 > 0:32:38It's not that complicated!
0:32:38 > 0:32:41WHISTLE BLASTS
0:32:41 > 0:32:43That's magnificent!
0:32:43 > 0:32:47MUSIC: Theme from "Thomas the Tank Engine"
0:32:47 > 0:32:50- Right, you're on your own, Dr Ben. - Thank you, sir. - See you in ten miles.
0:32:54 > 0:32:57'Smarting from the failure of their cabbage-powered commuter concept,
0:32:57 > 0:33:01'Sebastian and Gerrit rush to unleash their backup secret weapon.
0:33:01 > 0:33:04'They're apparently quite pleased with it.'
0:33:04 > 0:33:07We've put so much energy in this small train,
0:33:07 > 0:33:11it's enough to run this race in two hours.
0:33:11 > 0:33:15'While we're running on hydrogen, the Germans have stuffed their train
0:33:15 > 0:33:20'full of lithium batteries, and the guarantee of truly enormous speed.'
0:33:20 > 0:33:24We're starting slowly,
0:33:24 > 0:33:28but it can go much, much, much, much, much, much faster.
0:33:28 > 0:33:30'It's certainly is speedy,
0:33:30 > 0:33:33'but the weight of the batteries makes it very unstable.'
0:33:44 > 0:33:48THEY CHAT IN GERMAN
0:33:48 > 0:33:51We don't have any other weights, so we have to improvise
0:33:51 > 0:33:54and put some batteries on the side,
0:33:54 > 0:33:57so that the balance is much better on the track.
0:33:57 > 0:34:01'If I've got this right, they're using the weight of extra batteries
0:34:01 > 0:34:03'to weigh down the batteries.'
0:34:06 > 0:34:09This is not even half speed, what we're doing now.
0:34:09 > 0:34:12This train can be a rocket train,
0:34:12 > 0:34:18but, if you don't find a solution with the weight,
0:34:18 > 0:34:20we can't go full speed.
0:34:20 > 0:34:23'So, two hours into the big day,
0:34:23 > 0:34:26'we now have all six trains running along the course.
0:34:26 > 0:34:29'Time for a race update.'
0:34:31 > 0:34:36'The Germans are leading the diesel electric showdown by half a mile.
0:34:36 > 0:34:42'But the British are edging ahead in the steam category by 300 yards.
0:34:42 > 0:34:45'With the secret weapons neck-and-neck, it's all square
0:34:45 > 0:34:47'with everything to play for.'
0:34:47 > 0:34:50We're running a bit short of coal, fuel,
0:34:50 > 0:34:53and bacon and eggs to actually cook on the foot plate.
0:34:53 > 0:34:57Apart from that, the 4472 Flying Scotsman
0:34:57 > 0:34:59has never been more glorious.
0:34:59 > 0:35:02And the realistic chuffing sound is still working.
0:35:02 > 0:35:06- The realistic chuffing sound, yes! - I expected that to wear out.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09REALISTIC CHUFFING SOUND
0:35:09 > 0:35:15I know it doesn't seem like much to you, but that's one of the nicest things I've ever seen. Look at that.
0:35:15 > 0:35:17Look at its little heart beating.
0:35:17 > 0:35:19After all those years incarcerated in the attic,
0:35:19 > 0:35:25here it is, on the Tarka Trail, approaching the quayside,
0:35:25 > 0:35:29my Flying Scotsman with realistic chuffing sound.
0:35:29 > 0:35:33'While I'm distracted by nostalgia, Germany's Donald Duck
0:35:33 > 0:35:36'is reaching an important milestone.'
0:35:36 > 0:35:38CHEERING
0:35:38 > 0:35:41'It's arrived at its first checkpoint, Instow,
0:35:41 > 0:35:45'which means they've completed a third of the course.
0:35:45 > 0:35:50'Donald glides supremely through the complex curves of Instow Crossing
0:35:50 > 0:35:52'and out into open country.
0:35:54 > 0:35:56'But the British Intercity 125,
0:35:56 > 0:35:59'with its finely tuned team of flag-wavers and leapfrogging battery men,
0:35:59 > 0:36:04'is running superbly as it too nears its first checkpoint, Fremington.'
0:36:04 > 0:36:06Here it comes.
0:36:06 > 0:36:07CHEERING
0:36:07 > 0:36:09Thank you.
0:36:09 > 0:36:12APPLAUSE
0:36:12 > 0:36:17- Marvellous.- Hello.- Hello, Simon. - Hello, James. How you doing?
0:36:17 > 0:36:22The Germans' second train, the Donald Duck diesel, has just gone past Instow.
0:36:22 > 0:36:26OK, well, we'll see what happens at the end of the day,
0:36:26 > 0:36:30but if they're using full power - if they're using 18 volts
0:36:30 > 0:36:33- all the time - I suspect they may have a few problems.- So do I.
0:36:33 > 0:36:36'Psychic Simon is right on the money.
0:36:36 > 0:36:41'Even as he speaks, the Germans' high-voltage gamble goes wrong.
0:36:41 > 0:36:44'Luckily for them,
0:36:44 > 0:36:46'they have Wolfgang, their chief engineer,
0:36:46 > 0:36:48'who has a comprehensive kit of small parts
0:36:48 > 0:36:51'to sort out the over-stressed engine.'
0:36:51 > 0:36:52Go!
0:36:52 > 0:36:54CHEERING
0:36:54 > 0:36:58'Wolfgang clearly has the touch of the master engineer.
0:36:58 > 0:37:02'Thank God I have someone similar tending to my Flying Scotsman.'
0:37:02 > 0:37:08Whisky was sent south from Scotland to be distilled into gin.
0:37:08 > 0:37:11If it wasn't for Americans, if it wasn't for prohibition,
0:37:11 > 0:37:13God knows what would have happened to the whisky market.
0:37:13 > 0:37:18- 'Oz, the train's come off.' - ..million Americans wanting a drink
0:37:18 > 0:37:21and artificial whisky there was such rubbish...
0:37:21 > 0:37:25'But if my flying Scotsman is suffering from neglect,
0:37:25 > 0:37:31'its opponent, the BR58, has too much company for comfort.
0:37:31 > 0:37:34'Two miles out of Bideford, civil war is breaking out
0:37:34 > 0:37:39'between the drivers of the steam engine and the much faster lithium-powered secret weapon.'
0:37:39 > 0:37:45Take it away! Slowly, train.
0:37:52 > 0:37:55'The steam train finally makes way...'
0:37:55 > 0:37:59- See you later.- Very nice! See you later, yes.
0:37:59 > 0:38:02'..only for the modified train to fall off the line.
0:38:02 > 0:38:05'Leaving the steam train to crawl past...'
0:38:05 > 0:38:10- Yes. Power.- Yes? OK!
0:38:10 > 0:38:13'..before finally the modified train overtakes properly
0:38:13 > 0:38:16'and leaves the steam train for dead.'
0:38:18 > 0:38:22Oh! And now I'm the last!
0:38:23 > 0:38:26'The next hour passes in a blur of nerve-shredding racing.'
0:38:26 > 0:38:28TRAIN WHISTLE
0:38:28 > 0:38:30'But now, four miles out
0:38:30 > 0:38:32'and approaching the halfway mark at Yelland,
0:38:32 > 0:38:35'Germany's Donald Duck hits a snag.'
0:38:37 > 0:38:40'Dirt on the track is slowing progress to a crawl.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43'Then Gerrit comes up with a suspiciously familiar
0:38:43 > 0:38:45'track-cleaning device.
0:38:45 > 0:38:48'Something we trademarked days earlier.'
0:38:48 > 0:38:53Gerrit just had the brilliant idea to clean the track with the stick,
0:38:53 > 0:38:57and since we do that, we are nearly 20% faster.
0:38:57 > 0:39:01So we are nearly at Yelland, half of the track,
0:39:01 > 0:39:04so there's maybe a small chance left.
0:39:04 > 0:39:09'With its speed restored, the German electric train storms through Yelland
0:39:09 > 0:39:12'and a record-breaking half-mile burst brings it close to crossover
0:39:12 > 0:39:16'with its British opponent. I decide to lead a scouting party.'
0:39:16 > 0:39:18Where's your train?
0:39:18 > 0:39:23- It's coming. Hello.- It's coming? I believe it!- We're not far behind.
0:39:23 > 0:39:26- Hey, James. How are you?- How does that go so fast? I'm baffled.
0:39:26 > 0:39:32- We don't have any clue why this unmodified train is doing so well. - Bye!- That's modified. Come on!
0:39:32 > 0:39:38No, that's not modified, not at all, It's all about Gerrit the cleaner.
0:39:38 > 0:39:41I'm staggered. That's so fast.
0:39:42 > 0:39:46The Germans are just coming whizzing straight past us now.
0:39:46 > 0:39:49Going great guns. Well done, guys.
0:39:49 > 0:39:53I saw the difference in the speed
0:39:53 > 0:39:57and our train was running quicker.
0:39:57 > 0:40:01'After four hours, the race is entering a critical phase.
0:40:01 > 0:40:03'Here's an update.'
0:40:03 > 0:40:09'Battling at the back of the field, the Flying Scotsman leads the steam race.
0:40:09 > 0:40:13'The secret weapons are still neck-and-neck at four miles apiece.
0:40:13 > 0:40:17'But up in front, the Donald Duck has opened up a clear one-mile lead
0:40:17 > 0:40:21'over the 125, and with such a handsome advantage,
0:40:21 > 0:40:24'the Germans are becoming slightly complacent.'
0:40:26 > 0:40:30I hope James is as relaxed as we and is enjoying this beautiful
0:40:30 > 0:40:36weather and wonderful spring air and is just having fun doing this race.
0:40:36 > 0:40:39The sun is shining, it's wonderful out here,
0:40:39 > 0:40:44it's a bit like holiday and I'd like to stay.
0:40:47 > 0:40:50Yes. What?
0:40:50 > 0:40:52- Have a break.- Have a break.
0:40:52 > 0:40:54THEY SPEAK GERMAN
0:40:55 > 0:40:57Good ice cream.
0:40:57 > 0:40:59OK, thank you.
0:41:02 > 0:41:06The Germans are at Fremington, ie 2.3 miles from the Barnstaple end.
0:41:06 > 0:41:09They're so cocky, they're so confident of winning
0:41:09 > 0:41:12the whole team has stopped for an ice cream.
0:41:13 > 0:41:16This is a tortoise-and-hare moment because that could be a grave error.
0:41:16 > 0:41:19Who knows what lies ahead? There could be all sorts of problems.
0:41:19 > 0:41:21They've got to go down that hill to the muddy bit,
0:41:21 > 0:41:22through the underpass,
0:41:22 > 0:41:25anything could have happened down there.
0:41:25 > 0:41:28'While the Germans enjoy the best ice cream North Devon has to offer,
0:41:28 > 0:41:31'their diesel electric rival is racing towards the two thirds
0:41:31 > 0:41:35'distance and a significant and rather emotional landmark.'
0:41:35 > 0:41:40This is where we got to the last time
0:41:40 > 0:41:41and it was at one o'clock,
0:41:41 > 0:41:45I was filthy, having fallen in a ditch,
0:41:45 > 0:41:47because it was pitch black.
0:41:47 > 0:41:51This is where the last train gave up the ghost and that was it.
0:41:51 > 0:41:56'But this time we arrive at Instow and just keep on going.
0:41:56 > 0:41:58'Fantastic!'
0:41:58 > 0:42:02CHEERING
0:42:06 > 0:42:11I tell ya, this is really good, from the last time I was so upset,
0:42:11 > 0:42:16so depressed... This is elating. This is great, this is fabulous.
0:42:16 > 0:42:24I wish James was here because he witnessed the demise of the other loco.
0:42:24 > 0:42:26'Well, I'm not THAT far behind.'
0:42:26 > 0:42:30It is 15.10, this is Yelland,
0:42:30 > 0:42:33Yelland crossing is the midway point of the course.
0:42:33 > 0:42:37Coming from that direction, very close now, minus its Thomas cover
0:42:37 > 0:42:40because it was causing problems with it toppling over,
0:42:40 > 0:42:43but it's Dr Ben's hydrogen fuel cell transport solution,
0:42:43 > 0:42:47but down there is the Germans' second-place train
0:42:47 > 0:42:51approaching the same point, their alternative technology.
0:42:51 > 0:42:55'To keep his train from falling over like the Germans',
0:42:55 > 0:43:00'Dr Ben has patented Dr Ben's hydrogen fuel cell transport solution stability solution
0:43:00 > 0:43:02'or holder-oner for short.'
0:43:02 > 0:43:07Ladies and gentleman, Dr Ben's hydrogen fuel cell transport solution!
0:43:07 > 0:43:10APPLAUSE
0:43:10 > 0:43:13- What's that bit for? - It's just a little bit wobbly.
0:43:13 > 0:43:16So we have to stay upright. We go fast, just not straight.
0:43:16 > 0:43:20Fair enough. It IS pioneering technology.
0:43:22 > 0:43:25- Oh.- Uh-oh. Hello, hello.- Hello.
0:43:25 > 0:43:28'Despite their distinctly inferior Double-A Battery Balancer
0:43:28 > 0:43:31the Germans remain confident.
0:43:35 > 0:43:38Oh, What a rotten bit of luck!
0:43:38 > 0:43:41That's their modified train, so our modified trains
0:43:41 > 0:43:45have crossed within 20 seconds of each other at the midway point.
0:43:45 > 0:43:49This is the real race. That's very exciting.
0:43:49 > 0:43:54Dr Ben, more power!
0:43:54 > 0:43:58'And 30 minutes later, there's more good news for Team GB -
0:43:58 > 0:44:02'the Flying Scotsman reaches the halfway point before the BR58.
0:44:02 > 0:44:05'This is great.
0:44:05 > 0:44:07'But then, disaster.'
0:44:07 > 0:44:10I think I rather pushed her up the incline a bit.
0:44:10 > 0:44:14'The Scotsman's central chassis block must be replaced.
0:44:14 > 0:44:17'It means dismantling the whole locomotive -
0:44:17 > 0:44:21'a job normally carried out in a spotless workshop.
0:44:21 > 0:44:25'It's a nail-biting moment for the crowd.'
0:44:27 > 0:44:30I need to have a word with you, actually, driver Clarke.
0:44:30 > 0:44:33- About overdriving your train?- No.
0:44:33 > 0:44:36- What, about the quality of coal I'm putting in?- Dereliction of duty.
0:44:36 > 0:44:38Dereliction of duty?
0:44:38 > 0:44:41I've heard reports of you poncing around talking about wine and stuff
0:44:41 > 0:44:43and not looking after my...
0:44:43 > 0:44:46No, that was a complete mistake.
0:44:46 > 0:44:49I set up a refreshment station for you...
0:44:49 > 0:44:52'Oz's pathetic protestations of innocence are thankfully
0:44:52 > 0:44:56'interrupted by a phone call from our spies in the German camp.'
0:44:56 > 0:44:59Hello. Right, OK.
0:44:59 > 0:45:03Well, that's marvellous, thank you.
0:45:05 > 0:45:07Bye-bye.
0:45:09 > 0:45:13They're almost there. 20 minutes away.
0:45:13 > 0:45:16Can you see Barnstaple over there?
0:45:16 > 0:45:19- This is Barnstaple. - This is Barnstaple.
0:45:19 > 0:45:25# We will be the champions We will be the champions
0:45:25 > 0:45:32# No time for losers Cos we will be the champions... #
0:45:32 > 0:45:34- Any more?- Of the world?
0:45:34 > 0:45:36Ah, of the world, of course!
0:45:38 > 0:45:41The miniatur world champions, scale 1:87.
0:45:41 > 0:45:44But they haven't won yet, not while Simon Kohler
0:45:44 > 0:45:49and the British Intercity 125 are on the home straight to Bideford.
0:45:49 > 0:45:52I'm kind of nervous now. We are on the last 200 metres?
0:45:52 > 0:45:54I don't know.
0:45:57 > 0:46:01Just behind this tunnel!
0:46:04 > 0:46:07Power, power, power!
0:46:19 > 0:46:21HE SPEAKS GERMAN
0:46:26 > 0:46:31Can you organise a few beers at the Barnstaple station for all of us?
0:46:36 > 0:46:43At 4.25pm, the Donald Duck reaches Barnstaple station car park.
0:46:43 > 0:46:45So I guess we did it.
0:46:49 > 0:46:53It's not confirmed. That's the last we heard.
0:47:03 > 0:47:05No, the gearbox.
0:47:06 > 0:47:07Wolfgang, the gearbox.
0:47:07 > 0:47:09The gearbox.
0:47:09 > 0:47:11The gearbox!
0:47:11 > 0:47:14'I think there's something wrong with the gearbox.'
0:47:14 > 0:47:15The gearbox.
0:47:15 > 0:47:18The gearbox!
0:47:18 > 0:47:20THEY SPEAK GERMAN
0:47:27 > 0:47:29The gearbox has broken.
0:47:29 > 0:47:34Maybe 20 metres... I can't believe it.
0:47:34 > 0:47:37'As British Rail once said, "Let the train take the strain.
0:47:37 > 0:47:39'"But not too much."'
0:47:39 > 0:47:40Wolfgang!
0:47:43 > 0:47:47Mr Town Mayor, ladies and gentleman,
0:47:47 > 0:47:52the English team is now on the home straight.
0:47:52 > 0:47:53CHEERING
0:47:53 > 0:47:59However, the Germans are 100 yards from Barnstaple railway station...
0:47:59 > 0:48:01BOOING
0:48:01 > 0:48:05..but they have broken down.
0:48:05 > 0:48:07CHEERING
0:48:10 > 0:48:15The engine is broken, 20 metres before the target.
0:48:22 > 0:48:24We don't have any idea if we can fix it.
0:48:30 > 0:48:32Nein, nein, nein, nein, nein!
0:48:32 > 0:48:34Not long to go now.
0:48:34 > 0:48:38We just keep our fingers crossed that she hangs in there.
0:48:38 > 0:48:39THEY SPEAK GERMAN
0:48:50 > 0:48:54Yeah, I guess we fixed it. It should be enough for 20 metres.
0:48:54 > 0:48:56Hopefully.
0:48:58 > 0:49:00Power on.
0:49:03 > 0:49:05Come on.
0:49:09 > 0:49:12Be careful, it's still 20 yards.
0:49:12 > 0:49:15Did somebody hear something about James?
0:49:15 > 0:49:19'Simon and his team are racing through the Bideford suburbs,
0:49:19 > 0:49:23'but with the Germans back on the move, surely it's all over.'
0:49:23 > 0:49:25This is maybe too much for the train.
0:49:31 > 0:49:35'But the curse of the gearbox strikes again,
0:49:35 > 0:49:40'this time just ten yards from the finish line.'
0:49:41 > 0:49:44I just want to keep going now.
0:49:44 > 0:49:49It's impossible to do a ramp like that with an unfuelled miniature train.
0:49:49 > 0:49:51'We are the Champions?
0:49:51 > 0:49:53'More like Under Pressure.'
0:49:55 > 0:49:59- Power on.- Power on.
0:50:20 > 0:50:22CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:50:31 > 0:50:32Good job, guys!
0:50:32 > 0:50:35PHONE RINGS
0:50:35 > 0:50:37Who's that?
0:50:39 > 0:50:42- Hello.- Hello.
0:50:44 > 0:50:45And congratulations.
0:50:45 > 0:50:49Yeah, see you in the pub later. OK?
0:50:49 > 0:50:51All right, congratulations.
0:50:51 > 0:50:54Thank you, bye.
0:50:57 > 0:50:59He doesn't sound so happy.
0:50:59 > 0:51:04He said in a voice like that, (SADLY) "Congratulations, Sebastian."
0:51:04 > 0:51:08'While Sebastian and Gerrit celebrate, I reluctantly leave
0:51:08 > 0:51:12'the repaired Scotsman in the unsteady hands of Driver Clark
0:51:12 > 0:51:18'and head up to Bideford where the crowds are waiting for the first of the British trains to arrive.'
0:51:18 > 0:51:21This is great, isn't it? The completion of ten miles.
0:51:21 > 0:51:25I think everybody's done really well, it's been a good walk.
0:51:25 > 0:51:32In second place it may be but, after seven hours, our tiny 125 rushes into Bideford station.
0:51:32 > 0:51:34The first of the British team home.
0:51:37 > 0:51:39Yes!
0:51:45 > 0:51:46Fantastic!
0:51:49 > 0:51:52That is excellent, the first two trains home have both been
0:51:52 > 0:51:54out-of-the-box models. Look at that!
0:51:54 > 0:51:58'And for Simon Kohler, a veteran of our previous failure,
0:51:58 > 0:51:59'it's a moment to savour.'
0:51:59 > 0:52:01Fantastic, great.
0:52:01 > 0:52:04- It's quite emotional!- Yes! Oh, sorry.
0:52:07 > 0:52:08It IS emotional.
0:52:10 > 0:52:16'So we're 1-0 down, but back out on the track the race is far from over.
0:52:22 > 0:52:27'When we last saw them, the alternative-energy teams were neck-and-neck at the halfway point.
0:52:27 > 0:52:31'Since then, the Germans have found their rhythm and their speed
0:52:31 > 0:52:34'and have passed the final checkpoint of Fremington with ease.'
0:52:34 > 0:52:38- The winning team is coming. - The winning team is coming.
0:52:38 > 0:52:42'Dr Ben has also reached his final checkpoint at Instow,
0:52:42 > 0:52:44'but he's not exactly speeding along.
0:52:44 > 0:52:49'If he loses, then Germany will have an unassailable 2-0 lead.'
0:52:49 > 0:52:55- Look, there is Barnstaple. - That's Barnstaple.- Yes, yes.
0:52:55 > 0:52:56We can see the end!
0:52:56 > 0:53:01'But remember the old saying, "Zahlen sie nicht ihre huhner",
0:53:01 > 0:53:06'roughly translated as, "Don't count your hens."
0:53:08 > 0:53:11'And no prizes for guessing what's gone wrong...'
0:53:11 > 0:53:15- Here, ah!- Here. Here.
0:53:15 > 0:53:23They tried to get this bloody train near Barnstaple. Two miles.
0:53:23 > 0:53:27Two miles left and it's bloody awful.
0:53:27 > 0:53:31'So with the German hope crippled and forced to go at its lowest speed,
0:53:31 > 0:53:37'all that's left is for Dr Ben to safely bring home his hydrogen fuel celled transport solution.
0:53:37 > 0:53:45'Just to rub it in, we've even had the luxury of reinstating Thomas the Tank engine for the home straight.'
0:53:50 > 0:53:52- Oh, yay! - CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:53:52 > 0:53:56Will you please welcome the British hydrogen train!
0:54:06 > 0:54:08"Hello," said Thomas.
0:54:11 > 0:54:17- Dr Ben's hydrogen fuel cell transport solution!- Hooray!
0:54:27 > 0:54:307 hours 14 is about twice as long as I hoped to do
0:54:30 > 0:54:33but pretty good, so I reckon if we came back with
0:54:33 > 0:54:38proper vorsprung durch technik on the mechanics, then the fuel cell would do it.
0:54:38 > 0:54:43So I think for first go, for two weeks' work, pretty cool, actually.
0:54:43 > 0:54:4618.34 hours, congratulations.
0:54:46 > 0:54:54Right, now for the emotional one... the Flying Scotsman.
0:55:02 > 0:55:05'There's nothing I can do but wait.
0:55:12 > 0:55:18'News comes from down the line - the Germans' modified train with its dodgy gearbox
0:55:18 > 0:55:22'has limped into Barnstaple station.'
0:55:24 > 0:55:29Yes! Woo-hoo!
0:55:30 > 0:55:34'I await the inevitable second message, "Scotsman broken down again for good. Stop.
0:55:34 > 0:55:38'"Driver Clarke AWOL in pub. Stop.
0:55:38 > 0:55:46'"German steam train that moves slower than a Chekhov play now certain to win. Stop."
0:55:46 > 0:55:48'Come on, Oz.'
0:55:53 > 0:55:56- Is that Oz?- Yeah.
0:55:56 > 0:55:59- Is that Oz?- Yeah.- That's Oz.
0:56:09 > 0:56:12I can hear the realistic chuffing noise.
0:56:14 > 0:56:17Come on, Driver Clarke.
0:56:17 > 0:56:21'I hope driver Bill Sparshatt, the record-breaking driver
0:56:21 > 0:56:24'of the real Flying Scotsman, is looking down on this.
0:56:24 > 0:56:30'Because here's a new record - latest arrival in railway history.
0:56:30 > 0:56:33'It's 18 months overdue.
0:56:33 > 0:56:35'But it's here now.'
0:56:35 > 0:56:41Oh, look at this. Here it comes, all the way from Barnstaple
0:56:41 > 0:56:45and all the way from my childhood.
0:56:45 > 0:56:50Flying Scotsman with realistic chuffing sound, come on.
0:56:50 > 0:56:52Come on.
0:56:56 > 0:56:58It's there!
0:56:58 > 0:57:03- Driver Clarke, I will allow you to embrace me.- The Fat Controller.
0:57:07 > 0:57:10All the way.
0:57:10 > 0:57:15That's the first time that you've ever allowed me to embrace you in all the time that we've known each other.
0:57:15 > 0:57:20Honestly man, that, all the way from 1972, my childhood, Barnstaple.
0:57:20 > 0:57:25- The annals of history. Well done, mate.- Thank you.
0:57:25 > 0:57:29Flying Scotsman with realistic chuffing sounds! Look at that!
0:57:33 > 0:57:36Yes!
0:57:47 > 0:57:49Driver Clarke...
0:57:49 > 0:57:54You brought her home. Thank you.
0:57:54 > 0:57:55- You trusted me.- I did.
0:57:55 > 0:57:58I wasn't sure I could.
0:58:01 > 0:58:03Good man!
0:58:03 > 0:58:05- A pint?- Yes.
0:58:05 > 0:58:07- Two pints?- Yes!- Yes!
0:58:07 > 0:58:13- Were are they?- Over there. - Let's go.- In the station bar.
0:58:13 > 0:58:17Hang on, what happened to the Germans steam train?
0:58:17 > 0:58:25# The road is long
0:58:25 > 0:58:31# With many a winding turn
0:58:31 > 0:58:34# That leads us to
0:58:34 > 0:58:42# Who knows where, who knows when
0:58:45 > 0:58:50# But I'm strong
0:58:50 > 0:58:55# Strong enough to care
0:59:00 > 0:59:06# He ain't heavy, he's my brother. #