Episode 1 The Hairy Bikers' Restoration Road Trip

Us Hairy Bikers might be known for our cooking,

but our family roots lie in Britain's proud industrial past.

My father was a print worker. My grandfather was

a winder in the mines and his grandfather also worked in the pits.

Just do as you're told and be careful.

My dad started work in the local steelworks when he was 12,

the same steelworks that gave me my first wage packet.

All across the country, teams of passionate, skilled volunteers...

Come on, next one. Get the bolt out.

..are rebuilding the great icons of Britain's industrial past.

Can you go any faster, lad?

'And we are going to lend a helping hand tinkering with some

'unbelievable machines...'

I am a train driver!

'..from steam trains to coal mines

'and traction engines to cotton mills.'

What an achievement! Yes!

'Every week, we will be travelling across the nation seeking out

'the most exciting restoration projects.'

'Swapping our chefs' hats for hard hats, our spatulas

'for spanners and getting our hands well and truly dirty.'

Covered in muck and oil instead of pastry. Heaven!

But we are in danger of forgetting what made this country

the workshop of the world and we are absolutely determined that is

not going to happen.

And now is the time to rebuild industrial

Britain before it is too late.

This week I go back to my coal mining roots.

-That's what my grandad used to work.

-Ow! You've caught my thumb!

We fire up the engine that changed farming for ever...

I have never seen it run.

Fingers crossed, we will have it going tomorrow.

..dig the black gold...

It weren't just a job, it were a way of life.

..and celebrate the train that helped build a modern metropolis.

I can't believe I'm driving a train.

And there is all the fun of the steam fair. Well, for some of us!

Ohhhhhh!

-It's brilliant, isn't it?

-It's not! It's not brilliant!

Both our families have been shaped by the Industrial Revolution

going back for generations

and I have got coal in my blood, which is

why our first restoration project means so much to me.

We are heading to Pleasley, North Derbyshire, where

a group of ex-miners are trying to save their heritage.

Coal was the fuel of Britain's Industrial Revolution and at its

peak, there were nearly a million miners working in over 3,000 pits.

But the industry went into decline and during the 1980s,

most pits were closed.

This one was shut in 1983, but the lads at Pleasley don't want

the miners' way of life to be forgotten.

16 years ago, they started an ambitious restoration project

and we have come to help.

It's massive, isn't it, the pithead?

Yeah, and that's what my grandad used to work.

-What did he do?

-Well, he was a winder.

This is the winding gate that would drop

the cage down into the shafts, but it wasn't just one seam,

so you had to know where to stop the cage

so the boys could get a safe get out into the seam.

-It's like a very mucky department store, isn't it? "First-floor."

-Yes!

"Ground floor, perfumery, stationery and leather goods."

It's a bit like that!

My grandad controlled the winding gear -

the key bit of engineering that allows the miners to access

the richest seams of coal.

It carries the miners down to the pit bottom...

and the coal to the surface.

The power to pull up 40 men or nine tonnes of coal

comes from the winding engine.

The team at Pleasley have been restoring the pit's two steam

winding engines.

When they first started in 1997,

the whole site had gone to rack and ruin.

They have been working hard ever since.

They had to restore the buildings

and get the roof back on before they could even start on the machines.

They have come such a long way but there is still plenty to do.

-Here's the lads.

-Oh, brilliant!

-How are you?

-I'm Dave.

-Pleased to meet you.

-Good to meet you, Tony. How are you, sir?

-Hello.

-Good to see you. Nice to see you.

-Hey, Dennis.

-So, when did you start work here?

-1949. Little lad.

The first experience I had, that was the downcast shaft

and we used to go up and down here, round about 48 times an hour.

Good grief.

When the men went down the pit, they was lowered at 33 feet per second.

-A second?!

-Per second, yes.

-My God, your stomach would be in your mouth.

It was.

And then when they was winding coal, the mineral,

it were 44 feet a second. That was really fast.

I have to tell you, Dennis, Tony, lads,

-I am dying to see what is through that door.

-Are you sure?

-Go on, boys.

-Crikey! It is massive, isn't it?

-Yep.

Being a winder, my grandad would have felt right at home in here.

To get this massive steam-powered winding engine working again,

every part has to be scraped down and reconditioned.

Today, we are going to de-scale its 21-foot high winding drum

and then reattach the connector rod,

which transfers the power from the pistons to the winding wheel.

But it is decades since the engine had any TLC.

No-one knows what problems we will face.

Right, lads. This is another baby for you to look at.

-There is a well down there, Kingy!

-The scale of it is just enormous!

An engine like this Markham

had enough power to pull a freight train.

The first job, scrape off the dirt from the massive winding drum.

-Right. Are you ready for a bit of drum scraping then, lads?

-Oh, aye.

Somebody hasn't been doing their housework.

The drum held the winding rope.

For smooth and safe running, they were kept spotless.

30 years of rust and filth meant this one is jammed solid.

We've got to shift the lot before she will turn again.

-It is tough to get off this.

-Isn't it?

-Look at that.

It's like a cross between kind of grease and rust.

-Looks just like one of Kingy's beurre noisettes.

-I heard that, you!

Not half as tasty, though.

It is like trying to get wood chip off, isn't it,

-but on an industrial scale?

-Yeah.

-I'm afraid it's one of them jobs that has got to be done.

-Yep.

There is no easy way around it.

We have shifted a ton of muck, but with a surface area of over

1,000 square feet, there's many more days of scraping ahead.

At least we are one day closer to getting her turning.

Winding engines had to haul everything

and everyone who went up and down the pit.

The blokes responsible for nothing going wrong were

men like my grandad - the winders. That is him holding me big sis.

I want to get a sense of what his job was like winding the men

up and down the shaft, their lives in his hands.

-Dear me.

-So that is it, the throne of power.

Yes, this is where your grandad would sit...for eight hours,

12 if necessary.

In fact, in 1920s, 30s he probably would be on 12 hours.

So, Kingy, do you reckon you've got it in you to follow in the family

-footsteps? Is it still in your blood?

-I'm not entirely sure,

-but it's quite a terrifying prospect.

-You're going to find out.

Let's go and find out. Let's test.

The winding process was controlled by a sequence of bells.

But there was always pressure to bring the coal

and the men to the surface quickly.

-However, my grandad knew that one mistake and men might die.

-Right.

I'm going to send some men up it, so you respond.

I'm going to ring a three.

I respond with three.

The bells tell the winder that the men are on board.

That is my cue then to put the steam on.

Me grandad has got to manage the steam and the cage.

Overwind it on the way down and it plummets to the bottom.

-Slow it down. Look for me mark.

-Hurry up! I want my dinner!

Done me eight hours!

Overwind it on the way up, and the cage flies out of the shaft

and smashes into the headgear 70 feet above.

I'd have to put the first steam to make the break. Take the steam off.

Men safely up.

He had the lives of his mates quite literally in his hands

every day, every shift.

I am fast appreciating what my grandfather did, that's for sure.

He'd have a lot less safety devices. We are talking, what, 1930s?

Yeah, 30s.

1930s, a lot of these electrical safety devices would not be on.

-He is winding by the skin of his teeth.

-That is mad.

Whilst you have been reliving your family history,

the guys have been getting stuck in.

You're not wrong and it is time to help reattach that three-tonne

-connector rod.

-Right, lads.

Right. I've brought you two more lads here.

-That's good.

-I think we might do a bit of work,

if they can get their hands out of their pockets, yeah.

Come on, lads. Come past here then.

Si, if you pull that that way steady,

they will guide it in at this end.

Right. Four inches, three...

The massive connector rod has been totally reconditioned

and now we are just praying it will fit back into place.

It's supposed to be done in one shift, you know, not two.

-Can you go any faster, lad?

-Yes.

-Your face is going red, Dave.

No, it's his helmet.

You could tell Dennis was the overman at Pleasley.

Too right I can.

Back a bit this way, Si.

The scale might be massive

but it is an exact fit back into place to one hundredth of an inch.

Just a touch more, Si.

-You're on.

-Oh! Bull's-eye!

That's it, mate. That's it. Yes!

-Yes!

-Well done, lads!

It's amazing work the lads are doing here.

Yeah, and you know, these are the last people that have got

these skills and they are using them to keep this place alive.

Aye, but at least we have done enough to earn a cup of char.

Here, lads. Something has just crossed my mind.

You know with all this tea drinking? You know when you

were below the surface and in the mines, where did you go to the loo?

Well, we hadn't got portable loos I can tell you that.

What you did, you used to just switch your light out and that was it.

You just did it where you was.

What is it, lads, that you miss about the mine

-not being open any more?

-People, camaraderie.

It's family, but it was a family pit.

Tony, do you come from a mining family?

There was only my father that wasn't a miner because he, unfortunately,

had asthma and couldn't work down the pit but my grandads, my uncles -

they are all miners local to this area.

I really do feel that what you are doing is very important.

I mean, you take a step back and look at what is here,

it really is quite special.

-I mean, they are not making any more of these any more, are they?

-No.

This job, as Pete will tell you, has been a real project, a real...

-Labour of love.

-Yeah. We're really proud of it, Pete, aren't we?

And you have been involved in this, Pete, since the beginning of it?

-Right from the word go, yes.

-He started it.

-Yeah?

-Yeah, one of the three that started it.

-Why? Why did you do it?

I want to see it restored,

I want to see it get back to its former glory.

The whole building just says quality to you.

The company that built it were passionate about it when they

built it and we are still passionate now and want to see it back in steam.

-That is going to be some day, isn't it?

-It certainly is.

They're doing a marvellous job and yet they don't get paid.

They just turn up, a mug of tea and that is it.

'D'you know, I'm really getting a sense of what life was like for me grandad,

'but I have no idea what my Great Uncle Noble went through.

'He was a face worker, one of the most dangerous jobs underground.

'There's no open shaft here any more, but to see what it was like,

'Dennis has promised to fix us up with a trip down a mine.'

'But first, we've got another trip underground.

'We're off to the smoke in London.'

Whilst us Northerners were going underground to work,

Londoners were going underground to get to work.

This year, it's the 150th anniversary of the Tube.

Before 1863, most Londoners had to walk everywhere.

-POSH ACCENT:

-Or they took a hansom cab.

-GEORDIE ACCENT:

-If they was posh, like, you know.

This meant everyone had to live just a few miles from their workplace.

The streets of London were crowded and smelly, even worse than today!

So when the first Underground line opened, it was an instant hit.

BELL RINGS

The Tube helped open up the city, invent the commuter

and transform London into the world's first mega city.

To help celebrate the Tube's birthday,

there's to be a special event in just a few days' time,

when a number of early steam engines

will once again run on the Underground network.

Met 1 is the oldest working underground steam train

in the world. They've only just finished

an extensive restoration of its frame,

the bit that holds the hull together. During the celebration,

she'll be sharing the tracks with the modern Tube trains.

'However, any breakdowns could cause major delays

'and affect the safety of the network,

'so unless she passes her train MOT, she'll be banned from the event.'

Oh, wow! Oh, aye, what a garage full of goodies this is.

'Today, we've come to the London Transport Museum Depot

'to help her get through.'

-Crumbs!

-Crumbs! You don't get carriages like that any more!

-Oh, it's beautiful, isn't it?

-It is. It's like our sideboard.

-Oh, look at her!

-The famous Met 1.

-Andy...

-'Andy's the operations manager, an important bloke.'

-We're reporting for duty, sir.

-Right. What do you think?

-She's just beautiful.

-I still find it hard

to get my head into the concept of a steam train running underground.

Well, the whole, er, Metropolitan Line was built for steam engines.

It was built with ventilation, so that people didn't get choked,

-or not more than they would do otherwise...

-Aye.

..and this particular locomotive, when it was first built,

-had what they call condensing apparatus on it.

-Right.

So when the steam came out the chimney,

-it actually went back into the boiler...

-OK.

-..and condensed.

Because if we had loads and loads of people that all got asphyxiated,

-it wouldn't be very popular.

-No.

I love it when you get back to the origins of

a way of life we take for granted. I mean, like London Underground now,

how many millions of people do you get in and out every day?

Well, we move 4.1-4.2 million people. We moved more than that in the Games.

-A day?!

-A day.

-And that all comes back to Met 1, doesn't it?

-Yes, it does.

'Our first job is to help fire up the boiler.

'We're all working hard.

'Well, MOST of us!'

'All right, mate, all right! I've got the message!

'But I tell you what, that's a funny looking axe you've got there.

'Any road up, Lance the stoker is getting the boiler lit.'

-How we getting on, Lance?

-Yeah, very good.

-You're alight?

We're alight and I'm just putting the wood in now.

Well, listen, boss, we'll just keep them coming

until you tell us to stop, I guess.

-Have we got any more small stuff?

-Yeah.

Thank you.

-'Now, to get her up to steam...

-GASPS:

-..will take six hours.'

See, I actually don't think with steam trains, you know...

We get so used to a push button society, whereas whether

-it's a train or ship or whatever, you go, "Mmm," and it starts.

-Yeah.

-Of course, this, you've got to plan ahead.

-You have.

You know, it's four hours before it's on the boil.

'There's a good bit of smoke coming out of her now, though, Dave. Look!

'Aye, she's well lit. She'll be wanting more coal!'

-OK, now, what we'll do is put some coal in the fire, all right?

-Yes.

-Because of the design of the door that folds in...

-Yes.

-..we get flame in our face.

-Right.

-Cos, at the moment, there's no steam to operate the blower.

-I see.

-All right?

-OK.

-So, I would like you, if you could, to stand in that corner

and just open the door for me each time, so that we both

-get as little smoke and flame as possible.

-Got you, sir.

-OK.

OK, door, please. Thank you.

OK, thanks very much.

SHOVELLING CONTINUES And one more.

'Crikey! I tell you what, there's some heat

-'coming from that boiler, Dave!'

-Thanks very much indeed.

'Whilst Kingy is warming his backside,

'driver Adrian gets me to do some real work!'

-Being an old engine...

-Yeah.

-..there's no modern grease points

or anything. Everything has to be oiled by hand.

So we've got to start going round, doing the axle boxes first.

Yeah, so if you look between the spokes there,

-you can just see there's a cork in the top there.

-Yes.

-If you'd like to take that out.

-It is a cork as well!

-HE LAUGHS:

-Like a bottle of vinegar, in't it?

We've got to fill it with lubricating oil now. It will take

quite a while to fill up. You just need to pour it in nice and gently.

It won't come out of there very fast anyway.

'Imagine having to oil all the whole fleet every morning.

'15 of these steam engines!'

And we're still going.

-STEAM HISSES

-'Now, I've been asked to climb up

'and add the final ingredient.

'And you'll not be taking a steam engine very far without it - water!

'When she's steaming, Met 1 drinks around 500 gallons an hour!'

-Thanks, mate.

-Water on!

-Not yet! Keep it off!

-WATER RUSHES

-Whoa!

That's some power.

Let us know when it's getting near the top.

It's getting near the top!

-Turn it off!

-Off!

WATER DIES DOWN

-That's us! We're nearly ready to go! Come on, Kingy!

-Fantastic!

TOOT-TOOT!

'Time for the test! To pass, this 100-year-old locomotive

'has to prove she can successfully pull four five-ton carriages.'

Clear my side.

Slow down, Adrian.

'She's fine steaming around on her own.

'But now, I've been tasked

'with hooking her up to the other rolling stock.'

Chain on that one. The hook on this one. OK.

-Can I go there now, sir?

-You can, yes.

-Thank you.

-There's some weight to that, isn't there?

-In't there?

And not the easiest things to get out of.

-No.

-Them trains, are they?!

'Can she take the strain? Everything has to be perfect

'for Met 1 to be allowed onto the actual network.

'It's a big moment for the project leader Andy.'

Our planning's been going on for a year,

because we're running in between normal service trains.

-It's not like a preserved line.

-Mm-hm.

Where, if the train breaks down, then, "Oh, yeah, it doesn't matter,

"we don't need to move for an hour or so." If we don't move within

-a couple of minutes, we've got 250 people trapped on a train.

-Yeah.

-And, behind that, there's 1,000 people on a train.

-Yeah.

-STEAM HISSES LOUDLY

-And that's about blowing off steam!

It's funny!

The engine kind of tells you

-when it's had enough hanging around, doesn't it?

-Yeah, it does.

-"Move!"

"Let's go!"

'It's now or never for the 110-year-old Met 1

'and, unbelievably, they're going to let me drive!'

'Well, dude, this is it, it's your boyhood dream come true.'

Adrian?

-Can we come aboard, mate?

-Come on up.

-Fantastic.

What a treat!

-Really looking forward to this, guys!

-Right!

Right, we're going to move it forward, so knock the catch out.

Right, and wind it so that that pointer comes back here.

'In steam engines, this is what a gear lever looks like

'and I'm putting her in forward!'

-Right!

-Put the latch in.

-Put the latch in.

-Just move it back a bit until the latch clicks.

-Yeah.

CLICK! That's it.

So, if we need to stop it...

-..just do that.

-That's the stop, yeah?

-Yeah. OK.

Now, to make it move, we're in gear,

stick your head out the window, make sure nobody's trying to get out.

-All clear, Adrian!

-Yeah, a quick couple of toots on the whistle.

-TOOT-TOOT!

-Oh, yeah!

-All right, and gently open the regulator.

-Yeah.

-Nice and gently...

-Yeah.

-..cos it's got a lot of weight on this.

-It's hot, innit? Shall I put gloves on?

-Yeah.

It might be a bit sissy, but that's red hot!

SI LAUGHS

You've got hands like asbestos, you, haven't you?

-Right, now...

-Yeah, nice and gently.

-Yeah.

'And now, we see if she can shift the four carriages. Come on!'

That's it, hold it there. Let her take the weight.

LOUD MOVEMENT

-Whoa!

-Oh, what?!

Oh, beautifully done!

I can't believe I'm driving a train!

-TRAIN CHUGS

-Aw, the sound of it, Dave!

-It's just like...

-Give it a bit more.

-..Oh!

-A bit more?

-Just a touch. That's it.

You do get a feeling of power, don't you, you see?

You feel the heat in your face!

-Dave!

-I'm a train driver! Ish!

'I think Met 1's up to the job, don't you?!'

'It's looking good, mate, it's looking good!'

OK, shut it off there. All the way down.

-All the way down.

-Right, stop.

STEAM HISSES Just push it up a bit.

Up, up, up. That's it.

Yes!

'She's done it. She's proved her pulling power,

'which means she can take part in the celebrations and we'll be there

'to join her and the other historic steam locos on the big day.'

TOOT-TOOT!

-Will you stop doing that?!

-I so wanted to do that.

TOOT!

For soft Southerners, going underground

was just about getting places faster.

For us Northerners, it was about digging out coal.

Now, I've seen what my grandad did as a winder.

Now, I want to go down the pit and find out

what it was actually like for my Uncle Noble at the coal face.

It's where most of the men in my family spent their lives.

'So Andy and Dennis have brought us

'to the National Coal Mining Museum to dig some coal.'

What a mean lift.

-Thank you.

-Thanks, mate. Thank you, boss.

-Well, this is it.

-Aye.

-The descent!

It's quite an ominous feeling, Dennis.

-LIFT SHUDDERS

-Hey!

'We're heading down, and down, for over 400 feet.

'It's making me feel quite nervous.'

-Just do as you're told...

-Aye.

-..and just be careful.

-Were there many accidents down the pit, Dennis?

-Quite a lot.

Through people not doing as they were told.

'That means we'll have to behave ourselves, Si.'

'Oh, aye, cos there's no messing with our Dennis, I tell you.'

Right, lads, is it your first day here, do you know?

-Yeah.

-Yes, it is, boss.

-Right, well, here's your tools.

-Right.

-Down that way.

-I'm glad somebody knows.

MARCHING AND WHISTLING ON THE SOUNDTRACK

-All right, lads, this is pit bottom office.

-Right.

And I will get my instructions from pit top on that phone.

It's not the sort of office where you have a secretary

-and a coffee machine, is it, Dennis?

-Oh, no, no, no!

A bottle of water, that's it.

So, what, sit down?

No, you used to stand here, like this, right in here.

"What have you come for?" you know.

"What you got, biker?" "If not, there's no weekend shifts,"

-you know. All sorts of things.

-DAVE LAUGHS

'This really is Dennis's kingdom!'

Right, under there, the pair of you, let's have some coal filled today.

-Right-o!

-Don't get hanging about.

-No, no.

-Right, come on, then.

-Into the abyss.

-I've got about five empty tubs waiting to be filled.

Come on, boys, you need your tools.

You've got to get just 10 yards, just roughly about 16 tonnes.

-16 tonnes?!

-16 tonnes of coal you can throw out, yeah, easy.

This is the position you need to be in.

-TAPPING And get the coal, like this.

-Right.

-And that's it, Andy! Coal!

-Coal!

The stuff that fired the entire Industrial Revolution!

Come on, Dave, it's about time you had a go at this.

-We need to swap over, mate.

-Right-o.

-Easier said than done.

-Oh, aye!

Plenty of room, look!

Right.

I'll use Andy's pick.

Right, here we go.

HE PANTS

Look at that, Kingy! It's like black diamonds.

Beautiful, isn't it?

-It's what millions of men gave their lives for.

-Amazing.

-Only another three ton to go, dude.

-I know.

-Can you imagine?

-Imagine 40 years of this.

-I know what my grandad's brother did now

and my Uncle Noble for a living.

He was a face worker. I wouldn't be liking that.

-What?

-No! Well, it was the winder had the common sense.

Oh... Do you want to come and have a go, Kingy?

I'm not quite sure how I'm going to get to you, mate,

-but I'll give it a go, aye.

-Aye.

-Can't you work any harder?

-I'm... We're doing our best!

-It's not good enough.

-Oh, God!

-You need to turn round.

-And I cannae!

If I've got to keep warm with what you two's producing,

I should have to buy an overcoat.

THEY LAUGH

He's relentless, isn't he?!

-Look at that.

-Oh!

Look at that. That'd be a piece you're proud of, in't it?

Oh, that's mint, that. Can I take that home?

You'll not want a very big bag for it.

DAVE CACKLES

There's no pleasing you, is there, Dennis?

No! That's why I was like this.

'Mining's got its own language as well.

'There was a whole culture down here for generations.'

As you go forward... Yeah. ..the iron drops behind you. It's called gob.

-What's gob?

-As we go forward and it all drops

and it's subsidence on top, it's what they call gobsmacked.

It blows air at you

and frightens you to death the first time you ever see it.

-You're joking?!

-I'm not joking. It's like being buried alive.

If you wait gob, you would be buried alive. They'd never see you again.

Can we get out now?

-Right, lads, you can come out now.

-Thank God for that.

Do you want a paper bag to put that coal in?

-No, we've got half a sack of nutty slack.

-Half a sack?

-Aye.

If you were selling that on pit top,

it wouldn't get you a cup of tea in the canteen.

Times are hard, Dennis. Times are hard.

I thought we did quite well.

-What did you reckon to that, then?

-Hard work.

-Hard work?

-Hard, claustrophobic, uncomfortable work.

-Dirty.

-Aye.

Well, you've not filled it out.

You could have gone a bit faster and you could have filled more coal.

You'd have got more money.

You could have got more beer at welfare at night.

Now that's a key. We would have worked to that.

But what did it mean to you, Dennis?

-You've spent your life in mines. And you.

-Aye.

I was a way of life. It wasn't just a job, it was a way of life.

Your life was run round the pit.

Mining is a community. It's camaraderie.

You'd be shouting at each other underground,

and then when you go into the shop, "Are you all right?"

The old saying "making the best of a bad job" is mining.

You go into a bad job but you make the best of it with your mates,

made it into a laugh, made it enjoyable.

-Best of a bad job. You can't say fairer than that.

-Aye, mate.

-After my first ever shift, I don't know about you, I'm starving.

-Aye.

It's time for a snack tin. That's northern for miner's lunch.

-You'd look forward to this, wouldn't you?

-Ooh!

-Bread and dripping.

-Get in.

You cannot whack it, like, can you?

When we were a bit out of money,

my mother used to send my father off with bread and dripping.

She used to say, "Jim, all you've got is bread and scrape,

"I'm sorry." That's bread and scrape.

-It's not ham off the bone, is it?

-No.

-This was all you'd have for a 12-hour shift.

-Yep.

Bread and dripping has to fuel us now for a long journey

down south to join our next group of heritage heroes.

Coal pouring out of the mines powered Britain's

Industrial Revolution, transforming every corner of our country.

Coal-powered steam engines reached Britain's farms in the 1790s

and the first was the barn engine, making light work for some

of the menial tasks that once had to be done by horsepower.

Here at Hollycombe Estate, an amazing group of volunteers

are restoring the engines

that revolutionised life down on the farm.

In fact, it's the largest collection of

working steam engines in the world.

-There's steam in the air everywhere here.

-Lovely spot, isn't it?

-It is.

There's traction engines, tractors, steam trains. Steam fairground!

'Rob Gambrill is an expert in steam engineering

'and has been volunteering here since he was 14 years old.'

-Hello. Nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you too.

There's more than just traction engines round here, isn't there?

-It's incredible!

-We've got a bit of everything, really.

-It's quite an eclectic mix.

-It's just a huge site as well.

I'm really surprised at how big it is.

The technology that kick-started a farming revolution was

the barn engine.

These were big, powerful steam engines that sat in one place

and then powered all sorts of other machinery.

Like this.

All these machines here were designed to make the feed for animals cheaper.

-It was a very labour-intensive job.

-It's amazing.

-It's a factory production line.

-Yeah.

There's all these machines running off that one long spindle.

That's right. The engine is driving through the shaft, so all of them

through leather belts,

which means that one man or two men can look after it.

So instead of 10, 15 men making animal feed, every day,

this does the job for you in bigger quantities.

Saves lots of time.

These machines are powered by a barn engine from the 1900s.

But they've got another barn engine they're working on at the moment.

It's an early, early one from the 1840s.

But after five years of hard work,

the restoration team are on the brink of getting it going.

And we're here to help.

The man in charge of nursing her back to life is Dave.

Dave, we're quite excited

because we've heard this engine hasn't run for an awful long time.

There's a chance we could get it going tomorrow.

We're not quite sure when it was run last

-but it was certainly before the '50s.

-Wow.

-I've never seen it run.

Fingers crossed, we'll have it running tomorrow.

-How long have you been working on this?

-Since 2008.

You've been working on it that length of time

and you've never seen it run?

-What keeps you going to do that?

-Well, that's what I do!

-That's it!

Simple! "That's what we do!"

Our first job is to get the engine's boiler in good working order.

It's been connected up but if it's going to provide enough steam power,

we have to make sure that no heat escapes,

which means lagging.

First up, we lay wooden slats.

Slide it down towards me. That's it.

It beats a cylinder jacket on your hot-water tank at home,

doesn't it, Kingy?

-Right.

-Next.

Next up, it's bricks.

-Are we chucking or carrying?

-We're carrying.

-When I worked in the steelworks, we used to chuck them.

-Yeah.

Adding these bricks will give more insulation to that powerful boiler.

Nice!

So what do you do as a day job?

I'm fortunate enough to be able to work on bits of old machinery

-and old railway locomotives.

-Wow.

Hold on, you do it for a day job AND you do it for your hobby as well?

-Yeah.

-That's dedication.

Like most things, it's not as easy as it looks.

But, as with all things in heritage restoration,

with a bit of time and perseverance...

-And patience...

-..and more patience, you can get it right.

You see that bit there? That raggedy bit?

-If you knock that bit off...

-I'll knock your block off!

I can't help it, it's just got to fit!

BRICK CRACKS

-Yes! Nice one!

-# I hid my last brick for you... #

It's like the last Rolo, isn't it?

Tell me that fits.

-Beautiful job.

-Beautiful.

-You see?

-Lovely job.

Finally, a dusting of sand to complete the job.

The people who work in heritage engineering,

there's a very measured approach to time, isn't there?

"When will it be ready?" "In about ten years."

"When will it need doing again?"

-"100 years." That's heritage, though, isn't it?

-That's right.

We've been 150 years getting here, with that.

-Aye. So there's no hurry.

-No.

Now we've got our old boiler lagged, Dave has asked us

to fit a very heavy exhaust pipe onto the engine.

Get it wrong, and you get, well, a jet of boiling steam spurting out.

THEY GROAN

Ow! You've caught my thumb!

-Hold it there.

-I've got it. Right, I'm safe.

-Are you?

-Yes.

I feel I've got the weight of the world on my shoulders.

Won't be long.

-Don't tighten it fully.

-I won't.

-Just...

-Just nipping it up.

DAVE BELCHES

Sorry! Oops! Sometimes steam escapes from one's own pipes!

I just couldn't help it.

I am so sorry!

Just got to slip these in there now.

We can't just fit two pipes together.

You'd get all sorts of unpleasant leakages.

Next, we fit the gaskets,

which will provide a high-pressure seal between the two surfaces.

-Yes!

-We're through.

-Spot-on now, lads. All the way through.

-Lovely.

-That looks as though it's there for another 100 years.

-I do hope so.

This boiler hasn't been lit for over 60 years

and now finally it's time to wake the dead.

-Do you want to do the honours?

-We couldn't.

You've got to strike the light that fires this up

the first time for 60 years.

'Dave brings out what can only be described as an unusual firelighter.'

Is this like a tradition that the first firing of a boiler,

you set fire to your old pants?

No, it's just a bit of rag that we had.

THEY LAUGH

-Now, they're going to be hot pants!

-They are indeed.

And the underpants that lit the boiler for 60 years...

It's like the Olympic torch, isn't it?

Right, we'll put the fire in there.

-Elemental source of power.

-There you go, boys. Put a bit in there.

Like a kettle, all we have to do to get the boiler going is

to light a fire under it to boil the water,

which then produces steam pressure and hopefully drives the engine.

Isn't it amazing how you convert firewood into enough power

to drive this massive engine?

Hold your horses.

If it works, it'll still take two hours to get this up to steam.

Machines like our barn engine meant fewer people working on the land,

but they earned higher wages.

For Victorian workers,

enjoying the sheer luxury of half a day off a week, there was

nowhere better to spend their spare pennies than

at a steam-powered fairground like the one right here at Hollycombe.

I'm not keen. These rides give me the willies. I don't like them.

If we get the barn engine working successfully,

Rob has promised us a ride on the world's only Razzle Dazzle.

This is Britain's first thrill ride.

-It's the first ride to rotate and tilt.

-Where's he gone?

-I think he's going to have a look.

-Oi!

-Myers! Will you get down off there?! Come on!

-It's fantastic.

I know it's fantastic. It's shiny and it's going round.

Get down, we've got work to do.

You can ride on that later, Myers. The boiler is steaming. Crack on.

Oh, aye. It's time to go back

and see if those burning underpants can work their magic.

-I can hear hissing, Dave.

-Yeah, we've got a bit of pressure on.

You have as well.

'As the pressure rises, Dave gets me to open the water pump.'

If you'd like to open that valve a bit...turn a bit more.

This little steam-powered pump keeps the water in the boiler

topped up and stops its pressure getting too high.

Without this clever little widget, the whole engine could boil dry.

Yes!

STEAM HISSES

This is brilliant!

With everything working as it should,

it's time for the big one, the moment of truth.

The first thing we've got to do is to turn the engine round once by hand.

Right.

We've got to give the wheel one turn by hand

to check there's no snags.

Once the engine is powering it, she's a devil to stop.

-There's some weight in this flywheel, isn't there?

-Isn't there?

METAL JUDDERS

-Look at the motion, it's beautiful.

-Beautiful.

Right. Let her be there.

Now we've to warm through the cylinder.

Warming through the cylinder fulfils what purpose?

-If you feel that, it's now stone-cold.

-It is.

That needs to be so you can't touch it, basically.

We need to open this valve a little bit.

If you open that a bit more, just a little bit. That's stopped the pump.

That'll do.

That's the first time we've seen steam bubbling

-out of that for 60 years.

-It's still cold.

It'll be a minute or two before it comes up.

-The anticipation is absolutely killing us.

-I know.

Look at this now! It is very Heath Robinson, isn't it?!

You feel like Dr Frankenstein.

Just about to get the thunderbolt to Frankenstein's brain.

-See if it will work.

-Yes.

-Come on! Is this it?

-Let's give her a bit of a wind around, shall we?

See what happens.

METAL JUDDERS

STEAM HISSES

Wow! Yes! That's fantastic!

It's working!

The steam powers the piston, pumping in and out

and that turns the flywheel.

The flywheel can be used to power anything you need on the farm.

-Congratulations, Dave. Absolutely magic. Magic.

-Thank you.

Well done, mate.

STEAM HISSES

She sounds so beautiful.

-That is the symphony of the Industrial Revolution.

-Yeah.

'It's great to see this historic steam engine running again.

'When steam technology became widely used on farms,

'it had a massive impact.

'My family were farmers way back before steam power.'

-Hello, Rob.

-Hello. Fantastic!

-Isn't it?

-Magic. Well done, Dave, top job, mate.

-Did you have any doubts, Rob?

-No, of course not.

'I've looked at my family history

'and they were farmers before steam engines arrived.'

I mean, my forebears were quite wealthy, they were yeoman farmers.

That meant he had a farm with people working for him.

But, you know, 100 years later they were all working as labourers

in the steelworks and the shipyards, iron miners, engine drivers.

What happened? Maybe my ancestor didn't embrace this technology.

Or maybe they thought they gave up, maybe didn't have the courage

to face it and they went to work in the factories.

What a complete change of life, though, it was.

They went from having, you know, 12-14 acres of farm

to living 12 people in a two-up two-down in an industrial terrace.

-Yes. And that was all because of this.

-Absolutely because of this.

Now it's working,

I can see exactly how it changed the face of our nation.

It is powering all those things that were once done by hand -

pulpers, threshers, hullers, clovers. All sorts of skills.

You can't stop progress, Kingy.

And I'm chuffed as nuts to see it going again.

But it's time for our reward now, a ride on the Razzle Dazzle.

You're joking! Do we have to?

-Come on!

-I am not coming.

-Come on.

I don't like them, you know I don't like them.

It doesn't matter that it's steam.

This was the state-of-the-art in its day. It was licensed to thrill.

Come on.

-Hello, Jez.

-Hello. Nice to see you.

-How are you? All right?

-Yes, I'm good, thanks.

-This is some machine, isn't it?

This is fantastic. It's the only remaining Razzle Dazzle in the world.

-THE only Razzle Dazzle?

-The only one.

You won't find another one anywhere else.

Come on, Kingy, let's climb on board and put some razzle in your dazzle.

It seems a bit incredible there is no safety belts or anything.

No lap straps, nothing like that. This is just cutting edge.

-Well, how do you stay on?

-Centrifugal force.

That's going to push you that way.

-Hold on, you're in prime position there.

-Not really.

-Does it go fast?

-Yeah, then it tips up.

-It tips up?

You never told us it tipped up!

See, the thing about the Razzle Dazzle is,

it was the first kind of fairground ride that worked on three axes.

-The only way is up.

-Oh. It makes you feel sick.

You haven't seen nothing yet.

-Ohh!

-DAVE LAUGHS

Oh, no, this is... Oh!

DAVE LAUGHS

This is mental.

I'm nearly off!

Ohh!

-It's brilliant, isn't it?

-It's not.

-Faster!

-Don't go faster.

Shut up, you!

'I'm hoping me head stops spinning in time to get back to

'London for Met 1's big day out.'

It's the day of the Underground's 150th birthday celebration.

All the early pioneering steam and electric underground trains

are being prepared for the big day, including our very own Met 1.

She is already steaming into position further up the line.

Fingers crossed all goes well, you know, cos she's a bit old like.

But at Wembley Station, we've joined the enthusiastic crowds,

young and old, awaiting the first steam engine of the day

which will be the 1920s-era L150.

That's what makes this so exciting,

the way they are meshing that with the modern Underground.

Well, it is still...

This has got to work because it is still on the same timetables

and has to fit in with everybody else.

-I think that's amazing and that is the achievement of today.

-It is.

'You can't ride on this Underground train with your travel card,

'but tickets for this special event sold out months ago.'

-How much did you pay for your ticket for this?

-£30.

-£30?

Were you surprised to know that when this first ran, it was thruppence?

I know, they've just added a nought

-and just moved it up a bit.

-Very clever.

What motivates your interest in steam?

-Well, it is my husband's birthday treat.

-Hello, happy birthday!

-Thank you.

-Are you fans of the steam trains? Yeah?

I've been a big fan of steam trains all my life.

I bet you never thought you would go on the Underground on one?

No, that was quite frightening to start with!

-My grandad used to drive a steam train years ago.

-Oh, fantastic.

Not in this country, abroad. I have just always been interested.

We did all our courting days going to see steam trains which is why

I'm here!

Really? Well, that's nice, isn't it?

-Look!

-Oh, we're up the steam, look at that. Fantastic.

THEY CHEER

Fantastic.

-What a great feeling that is.

-Yeah.

-Get in.

-That was worth waiting for.

'Our first ride of the day and isn't she magnificent?

'We are bound for Amersham Station, where we

'will hook up with Met 1 and ride her all the way back to Wembley.'

-'POSH ACCENT:

-First-class travel, Dave, on the Tube? Thank you.

'Aye, in the early days they did. For them that could afford it.'

WHISTLE BLOWS

Look at that, what a sight.

Out of this carriage you're looking at London Underground.

And we're off.

But I have got bad news for you,

-Si, on this trip we are not going underground.

-What?

Oh, don't tell me. Health and flaming safety.

Bingo, got it in one. But there is a good reason.

Mike Walton from the London Transport Museum knows how terrible

it was back in the days of steam.

It was variously described as Hades.

This was a hell under the streets of London,

with the filth and the smoke and the noise,

but again, that must be put into context.

The streets above London, you couldn't move in them.

Horse traffic, pedestrian traffic, the streets were really narrow,

so the Underground, even though steam technology was

so awful for people in many ways, it represented a new fast way,

relatively speaking, to get from one part of London...

It was revolutionary.

It was much more successful than the promoters envisaged.

And it's been working for 150 years.

Not with steam trains, but, yes, it has been working for 150 years.

And you mustn't forget that this is the oldest underground

system in the world.

Now we're about to do something that hasn't been

done on the London Underground for 70 years.

Would you like a bun, sir?

-Lovely, thank you.

-You all right?

-There you go, guys.

-Have we got enough?

-Yeah, we have got loads.

-How are we doing?

Oh, we are nearly there, Kingy.

Excellent, now, you may be wondering why two Hairy Bikers are handing out

buns on the London Underground cos they didn't have a catering service.

Ah, there you're wrong,

because between 1910 and the Second World War they had a Pullman Class

dining car on the London Underground for the benefit of the toffs.

-Thank you.

-Enjoy your baps. Buns.

-Hairy buns!

-Hello.

-Steady on, sir!

As we come into the next stop, we catch sight of Met 1 in a siding.

Something is up, Dave, I don't like the look of this, I tell you.

-All right, gents?

-All right, man? You all right?

-You all right, Andy?

Aye.

-What's happened?

-Well, we have had a really good time.

-Yes, we have.

-Our big end, a little bit weak.

-Right.

-So we have to take her back to the depot carefully.

-Oh, no.

Well, it happens.

When you get an engine that is over 100 years old,

it's one of these things that happens.

And these guys have been nursing her through and, you know,

we'll take her back and we'll spend a couple of days on her.

She should be back on the road.

-It's been a massively successful day, Andy, hasn't it?

-Yes, it has.

And you have nursed her through to this point. What a shame.

-Everybody has really, really enjoyed it.

-Yeah.

-It has been a piece of magic.

-Well done, mate. Fantastic.

Met 1's being escorted back home by one of her mates.

You can't win them all, Kingy.

You're not wrong, dude, but I know she will be back stronger than ever.

'And now we're heading back up north for one last time for another

'very special event.

'The lads at Pleasley are going to be firing up the winding

'engine that they have restored.

'And to see it turning 30 years after the pit closed

'is worth a celebration.'

-It's good to be back, isn't it?

-It's great.

Oh, look, the boys are spannering.

'At Pleasley, the lads have been fixing two winding engines.

'And this, as TV chefs say, is one they restored earlier.

'Our job today is to help start it and that is worth

'celebrating in my book.

'That would be brilliant, man, to see it in action, to experience

'what my grandad did every day of his working life, amazing.

'Engines are like men, you know,

'the older they get, the more they want to drink.'

-It is like me on a Friday night!

-I may be here a while.

Come on, Kingy, you're not watering plants.

I can only work with the tools that the fella has given us.

-We are used to working with tools anyway.

-I heard that!

Kingy, bit of balsamic vinegar and dipping bread, you'll be laughing.

We'll get the tomatoes from a greenhouse and all, it'll be great.

-Beautiful.

-Business end is ready.

-This end is ready.

-Let's start it.

Let's go for it.

'This is the moment we have been waiting for,

'the winding engine turning again.

'In the old days, there would have been a powerful steam engine

'to drive this wheel, but today it is linked to a small electrical

'motor that needs some help to get it going.

'So in typically British fashion,

'we're going to give it a sort of kick-start...

'with a big plank of wood.'

That's it.

Yes! This is fantastic, look at the size of it going.

Congratulations, this is what we have been working towards

for the last...how many years?

-20 years.

-Yes, it's majestic, isn't it?

-It's lovely.

Lads, it's such a great privilege for me

to be able to see what relationship my grandfather had with

the Industrial Revolution and industry

and to see it moving is so special.

It's reactions like that that keeps us going.

Tony, you are an ex-miner,

what does it mean to you to see this running again?

Just look at it, it's marvellous.

I never thought I would have anything to do with mining

once I left the pits.

But, I mean, I joined

and I was here every week for the last probably eight years.

You can ask me wife!

THEY LAUGH

Tony, what has it meant to you to be involved in this restoration?

It gave me a new lease of life. I was retired, I was bored.

You think it is never going to move again but nothing fazes us.

Everybody has put their heart and soul into getting it going

and that's what they're like.

-It's not just a one-man job, there is a lot of us.

-Brilliant.

Well done, lads.

To celebrate the turning of the wheel,

the lads have laid on the local brass band.

The pit is closed but there is still coal in this community's blood.

What the lads are doing here is so important,

a living testimony to all the men who came before them.

You're not wrong there, mate.

It's impressive to see that they have got this one going,

but the engine we worked on is still a few years away from running.

Do you know what, though?

I can see us coming back here again to help, can you?

Yeah, me too, Kingy, me too.

Do you know, what I am fast learning about restoration projects

like this, it's far more than just engines and steam and winders.

It is about recreating that comradeship and regaining

a bit of pride and passion for the industry that they clearly loved.

Miners are skilled workers doing a dangerous and demanding job,

and it is friendship that got them through.

What's wonderful to see is the miners' spirit is still alive

and well in the world of restoration.

-And long may it continue.

-Well said.

'Next week, we try not to shoot each other.'

You'd better stop! Ah, stop!

'We get stuck trying to work a steam plough in the rain.'

I can't really see.

'And then when we try to spin cotton, things start to unravel.'

This is a nightmare, a nightmare!

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