Season 1

Season 1

2004-04-01
10 Episodes

Episodes

Cornish Steam Giant

1. Cornish Steam Giant

2004-04-01

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Mark Williams celebrates two hundred years of trains, charting the development of the first locomotive by Richard Trevithick in 1804.

Rocket Men

2. Rocket Men

2004-04-08

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Mark Williams celebrates two hundred years of trains, tracking the creation of railways in the North East by George Stephenson and son.

Brunel

3. Brunel

2004-04-15

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The creation of the Great Western Railway under the control of a single engineer I.K. Brunel

Moving Mountains

4. Moving Mountains

2004-04-22

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Mark Williams discovers how a curious engine used to transport slate down the Welsh mountains inspired an amazing railway through the Rocky Mountains.

Carriage Kings

5. Carriage Kings

2004-04-29

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Mark Williams explores how the introduction of railways affected society. He rides in an old third-class carriage before travelling in style on the Orient Express

Death on the Tracks

6. Death on the Tracks

2004-05-06

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In this edition, Mark Williams learns how, during the early days of train travel, death on the tracks was tragically common.

Big Country

7. Big Country

2004-05-13

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Mark Williams rides the American railroad to explore how the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad linked the east and west coasts of America.

Speed and Power

8. Speed and Power

2004-05-20

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Mark Williams explains how the race for speed during the 1920s and 1930s led to locomotives setting records that are still a match for modern rail travel.

Going Underground

9. Going Underground

2004-05-27

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Mark Williams gets to grips with the oldest subterranean train network in the world, London's Underground, and travels through an early tunnel under the Thames.

Diesel Generation

10. Diesel Generation

2004-06-03

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Mark Williams explores the introduction of diesel electric systems in 1953 and drives a Class 31 complete with hot plate, windscreen wiper and ashtrays.