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First of all
there was water and wind,

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00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:29,920
the earliest forms of power
to drive machinery.

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Then came steam.

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In the 18th century
Britain led the world

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in harnessing the power of coal,
water and steam to drive engines
that revolutionised transport

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00:00:46,160 --> 00:00:49,440
and made mass production possible.

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The steam engine
really is a fascinating thing.

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When it's running it comes alive.

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It has an unbelievable smell,
for a start.

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When people come in here
near me boiler...

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An old guy of 80-odd came in the
other day and he was sniffing away.

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He said, "That brings back memories
from my youth."

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The smell of oil and steam
is like a smell all of its own.

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They say if you could bottle it
you could sell it - it's that good!

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The first engines were
developed for the draining of mines.

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Throughout the 18th century,
one invention followed another.

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Manufacturers could increase their
output to make Britain prosperous

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on a scale that no-one else
could match.

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By the 19th century, steam power
was being adapted to provide
a new means of transport.

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Britain saw the development
of the world's first railway.

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It's only within my lifetime
that steam locomotives stopped
operating on Britain's railways.

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In this series, I'll be looking at
the development of the steam engine

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from the very earliest, right up to
streamlined locomotives like this.

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But what exactly is a steam engine?

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A steam engine
is really a simple thing.

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There are two main principles.

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The expansion of steam in a
cylinder pushing a piston connected
to a crankshaft or a connecting rod.

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The second principle
is the condensation of steam

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which creates a vacuum
in the cylinder,

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making it easier for the steam to
push the piston along the cylinder.

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When you mention steam engines
to people today,

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they think steam is something
from the past, but that's not true.

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It's still with us today.

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It generates electricity,
in order to drive a train like this.

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The age of steam is not yet dead.

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When industry and transport
demanded more and more electricity

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it is still the steam turbine
that provides the power
right up to this present day.

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Three power stations, Ferrybridge,
Eggborough and Drax over there

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are capable of supplying 15% of
the country's needs for electricity.

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These three great power stations
are here because there's plenty
of the stuff that makes them go.

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Number one -
water from the River Aire.

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And number two - coal. There are
plenty of coal mines in the area.

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Coal and water raise the steam that
turns the huge turbines in here.

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These turn the electromagnets
that generate the electricity.

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If it wasn't for steam
we'd have no electricity.

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Steam turbine isn't only used
for generating electricity.

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It serves dozens of purposes
in the world of industry.

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The first steam engine
came about 2,000 years ago

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when we have the first
recorded use of steam power.

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They were done
by a Greek mathematician

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called Hero of Alexandria.

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This is a model of Hero's...

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I call it steam whirligig!

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He did drawings in the 1st century
AD for this creation.

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Nobody knows whether he made one
or whether or not it would work.

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We thought we'd make a model
and prove that it works.

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In some ways it's a turbine
without an outer casing.

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We'll give it a whirl
and see what happens.

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MACHINE HISSES

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HE CHUCKLES

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He disappeared in a cloud of steam!

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Hero's model had a boiler down
at the base of two vertical pipes
with a fire underneath it.

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When the water boiled,
the steam came up the pipes

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and came out into the sphere.

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Then it came out of
the two vent pipes, causing it to...
causing it to revolve.

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I'll just give it
a little bit more steam.

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HISSING INTENSIFIES

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LOUD BANG, HE LAUGHS

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That's incredible!
I knew that would happen!

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Where's the copper pipe bit?

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Well, that rules out any more
demonstrations with the whirligig!

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What a shame!

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In the ancient world, experiments
were carried on as a novelty.

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It was another 1,500 years
before anybody

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tried to carry out any serious
investigations into steam power.

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But they only had limited success.

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The development of the world's
first successful steam engine

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took place in what seems today
to be an unlikely place.

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When you think of Cornwall you
think of scenic beaches like this.

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Cliffs and all nice things.

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For centuries it was the world's
leader in mining tin and copper.

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As the demand for tin and copper
grew it meant that the miners had
to go further and further down,

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which left them with a big problem.

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Water.

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The problem of underground seepage
plagued management and miners alike.

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It cut into profits,
stopped production and took lives.

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Especially when shafts were sunk
on the cliff edge near the coast.

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The workings washed out for over
a mile, like this one at Botallack.

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A blacksmith from Dartmouth
who made tools and bits and pieces

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for mines in the South West,

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saw what was going on and
decided to do something about it.

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When he did, he set in motion one
of the most crucial developments

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of the industrial revolution.

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Between 1710 and 1712,

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Thomas Newcomen invented
a brand-new type of steam engine

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which was designed solely
to pump water from deep mine shafts.

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The first was installed here
in Staffordshire at a colliery.

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It proved to be the world's
most successful steam engine.

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It was used near here
at Dudley Castle

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for pumping water out
of the many coal mines in the area.

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There are only two
Newcomen pumping engines left.

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At the Black Country Living Museum
they've built a full-size replica
with a beautiful engine house.

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When it's in steam it gives you
a chance to go back to the
beginning of the steam revolution.

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You can see the great beam
sticking out of the engine house

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which works the pump rod
down the shaft.

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That's attached to the pumps in
the bottom of the mine shaft sump

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which forces water up a rising main
and down to a pond to get rid of it.

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Hello, Rodger! All right?
Not too bad thanks, Fred.

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This is Rodger - the chief
engineer of this wonderful creation.

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He's one of the few men
who knows how it works!

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Last time we come
we had a bit of bother with it!

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Shall I stop it while we talk? Yes.

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Is that the brake?
It is, yes, and the starting handle.

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You don't seem to turn taps off
to stop it.

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It's different to a steam engine.

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When Newcomen made it
there was no boiler technology.

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There was only a giant kettle
from the brewing industry.

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That's literally what this is.

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It had a copper bottom and lead top
which often melted. The cylinder
is mounted above that with a valve.

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You turn the steam valve off
and inject water. The cold water
condenses and the cycle begins.

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It looks a bit technical
but it's quite simple. It IS simple.

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It's hard to keep going. Most of
the work is keeping the fire right.

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It has no other controls, no valves.

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If the fire is wrong
it stops quickly.

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Rodger is now going
to activate the engine.

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That's what it's all about!

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In 1712, this were the cutting
edge of technology. Before then...

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LAUGHTER

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I do have a water problem at times.

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Believe it or not,
this engine was a breakthrough.

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The only other ways
of raising water from mine workings

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were either by buckets propelled
by horse gins and things like that,

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or wooden pipes
with chains and bits of rag on.

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So really this were quite something.

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It enabled the miners to go
much deeper to get rid of the water.

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It was called an atmospheric engine

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because it used the pressure of
the atmosphere to move the piston.

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This is a drawing of Newcomen's
atmospheric mine-pumping engine.

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It's an interesting thing really.

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This bit here is a boiler.

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It's a simple sort of boiler.
A haystack boiler.

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The early ones were made of lead.
There wasn't much pressure in them.

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When you open this valve here,
the steam filled the cylinder.

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The cylinder was made of brass.

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From the tank here, the cold water -
the "header" tank

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00:11:37,880 --> 00:11:41,880
as you'd say,
like in a central heating system,

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came down the pipe
and it came through this cock here

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and rushed into the cylinder,

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condensing the steam
and making a vacuum.

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Then the atmospheric pressure
pressed the piston to the bottom,

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activating the great beam pulling
up the pump rods in the mine shaft.

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The weight of the rods went down,
working the pump at the same time.

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And that's basically how it worked.

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In spite of
Newcomen's unbelievable success

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and worldwide acclaim for these
engines, it had many weak points.

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They only worked on
a few pounds per square inch

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and reputedly burned as much
as 12 tonnes of coal in a day.

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When you took it away from
the coal fields it wasn't efficient.

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What was needed
was a more efficient engine.

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This is where
James Watt came on the scene.

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As a young man he was given a model
of a Newcomen engine to repair.
He decided to improve on it.

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In 1769, James Watt
came up with the answer.

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He put together all the existing
technologies known at the time

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and come up
with a revolutionary design.

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This earned him the name -
Father of the Steam Engine.

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One of the best things he came up
with was a separate condenser.

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In the Newcomen system, every time
cold water was injected into
the cylinder it cooled it all off.

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When Watt moved it outside...
it doesn't look important...

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But the smaller of
the two cylinders there
is Watt's outside condenser.

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When the stroke had finished,

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the exhaust comes down
the pipes here into the condenser

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and turns back into water again.

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This had the effect of keeping
the cylinder hot all the time.

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He also made the cylinder
"double active".

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He had a power stroke each side
of the piston. One squeezed it down
the other shoved it up.

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It saved as much as 70% on
the coal bill which was incredible.

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00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:06,360
Meanwhile, back here in Cornwall,

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the increased efficiency of
the Boulton & Watt pumping engines

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00:14:11,360 --> 00:14:16,440
meant there were no Newcomen
engines left in the mining areas.

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00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:19,520
It did another wonderful thing.

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00:14:19,520 --> 00:14:24,600
If you took off the pump rod and
put a connecting rod and a crank on

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00:14:24,600 --> 00:14:31,280
you could make it into a rotary
engine to wind men down to work
faster and bring the ore up too.

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00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:35,360
This was very good news
for the miners themselves.

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00:14:37,760 --> 00:14:40,400
Look into this great chasm here.

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00:14:40,400 --> 00:14:45,280
You can see flights of steps
coming up the cliff side.

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00:14:45,280 --> 00:14:49,560
In the olden days before
steam winders and ropes and cages,

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the miners had to descend the cliff
face as near to the sea as possible.

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00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:58,120
They entered by an adit
that met the main shaft,

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00:14:58,120 --> 00:15:04,840
then continued the journey
for 1,800 feet on ladders
with platforms down the shaft.

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00:15:04,840 --> 00:15:08,440
Then they had to go
for a mile beneath the ocean

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00:15:08,440 --> 00:15:11,280
before they started work.

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00:15:11,280 --> 00:15:15,240
They must have been special men,
them men.

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00:15:15,240 --> 00:15:18,600
The steam winder changed all that.

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00:15:18,600 --> 00:15:23,560
Behind me is the mine at Levant.
It went more than 1,800 feet down,

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00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:27,120
then more than a mile
under the Atlantic Ocean.

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00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:30,080
Quite an incredible feat!

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00:15:31,480 --> 00:15:36,880
In the engine house they've got a
winder I can't wait to have a go on!

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00:15:36,880 --> 00:15:39,840
Can I have a go? Certainly!

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00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:42,800
Take the brake off.
Take the brake off.

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00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:46,880
This engine is what were known
as the fast winder.

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00:15:46,880 --> 00:15:54,400
It's based on a James Watt
beam engine principle
built by Harvey's of Hayle in 1840.

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00:15:54,400 --> 00:16:00,840
It wound skips of ore from a shaft
1,800 feet deep in five minutes.

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00:16:00,840 --> 00:16:05,120
MACHINE CLUNKS

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00:16:07,360 --> 00:16:11,880
Up there you can see the great beam
rocking up and down.

205
00:16:11,880 --> 00:16:17,880
It's unusual because
pumping engines had half the beam
poking outside.

206
00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:21,800
This one is inside the engine house.

207
00:16:25,040 --> 00:16:29,600
Down below is the condenser,
which makes a vacuum,

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00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:33,560
which makes the piston
go up and down easier.

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00:16:33,560 --> 00:16:39,640
It's about 14lbs per square inch
less pressure against the steam

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00:16:39,640 --> 00:16:42,520
so it works more economically.

211
00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:47,080
That's why Cornish beam engines
were very economical.

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00:16:48,160 --> 00:16:52,920
James Watt might be regarded
as the father of the steam engine,

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00:16:52,920 --> 00:16:57,080
but it was a Cornishman
named Richard Trevithick

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00:16:57,080 --> 00:17:02,920
who made great advances
in the 1790s and early 1800s.

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00:17:02,920 --> 00:17:07,480
Trevithick was born
at Illogan near Cambourne.

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00:17:07,480 --> 00:17:11,720
His family soon moved
to this cottage nearby.

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00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:15,920
His father was the manager
of the Wheal Chance copper mine.

218
00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:20,040
Trevithick grew up here
attending the village school.

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00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:23,560
The headmaster described him
as being a loafer

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00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:26,360
and inattentive and very slow.

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00:17:26,360 --> 00:17:29,240
Bit like me, in a way!

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00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:34,040
He didn't do well. Even
his father said he were a loafer.

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00:17:34,040 --> 00:17:41,000
He spent his time wandering around
looking at tin mines and the
machinery that existed at the time.

224
00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:45,480
He amazed his superiors and
so-called men of better education

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00:17:45,480 --> 00:17:52,200
by his unbelievable ability
to solve mechanical problems -
just by his own intuition.

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00:17:52,200 --> 00:17:57,000
By 1790,
at the ripe old age of 19 years,

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00:17:57,000 --> 00:18:02,520
he had already procured quite a few
jobs as an engineer at various pits.

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00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:07,880
His father apprenticed him
to Watts' assistant - Murdoch.

229
00:18:07,880 --> 00:18:12,680
They were erecting all the great
pumping engines round the tin mines.

230
00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:17,520
You've got to think that
Murdoch taught him all he knew

231
00:18:17,520 --> 00:18:23,680
and gave him a good grounding
for his great career as an engineer.

232
00:18:23,680 --> 00:18:30,160
His greatest advance was to design
engines that would work at
a much higher pressure than Watts.

233
00:18:30,160 --> 00:18:35,040
If you got 100lbs pressure per
square inch pushing on a piston,

234
00:18:35,040 --> 00:18:39,080
rather than 15lbs,
which the earlier engines had,

235
00:18:39,080 --> 00:18:43,960
it would make the engine
much more powerful and efficient.

236
00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:47,800
He was working
at the Ding Dong mines in Penzance

237
00:18:47,800 --> 00:18:52,000
when he developed his first
high-pressure steam engine,

238
00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:57,040
which in the long run led to the
development of big pumping engines

239
00:18:57,040 --> 00:19:00,600
like this one
at Cornish Engines in Poole.

240
00:19:00,600 --> 00:19:04,560
The main market for the steam
engine at the time was industry.

241
00:19:04,560 --> 00:19:09,560
Down in Cornwall there was a huge
demand for engines for the mines.

242
00:19:09,560 --> 00:19:14,240
Other engineers used Trevithick's
application of high-pressure steam.

243
00:19:14,240 --> 00:19:18,280
Cornish engines became famous
the world over.

244
00:19:18,280 --> 00:19:23,560
During the course of the 19th
century, they got bigger and bigger.

245
00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:29,560
This is the last of the line of
pumping engines on the Taylor Shaft.

246
00:19:29,560 --> 00:19:32,320
It was erected in 1924.

247
00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:37,160
It represents the ultimate
in mine-pumping engineering,

248
00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:40,760
which started
in the days of Newcomen.

249
00:19:40,760 --> 00:19:46,920
It ran on a three-shift system
with three engine drivers
working day and night.

250
00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:50,200
The ginormous size of it!

251
00:19:50,200 --> 00:19:55,240
It burned 50 tonnes of coal a week
and has a 90-inch diameter cylinder.

252
00:19:55,240 --> 00:19:58,840
It has a ten-foot stalk.
It's incredible!

253
00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:07,040
The majority of these great engines
were made here in Cornish foundries
by people like Allman Brothers

254
00:20:07,040 --> 00:20:10,440
and Harvey's of Hayle
who made this engine.

255
00:20:10,440 --> 00:20:17,200
They exported them all over the
world. Then the Cornish engineers
went out and erected the things.

256
00:20:17,200 --> 00:20:20,680
They stayed to work the mines too.

257
00:20:20,680 --> 00:20:25,720
The idea that Richard Trevithick
came up with was the chimney.

258
00:20:25,720 --> 00:20:29,360
It improved the draft
on the boilers

259
00:20:29,360 --> 00:20:35,280
and eventually became common in
all industrial areas on the skyline.

260
00:20:35,280 --> 00:20:40,960
The advances he made in pumping
engines and winding machinery

261
00:20:40,960 --> 00:20:48,080
gave Cornwall an unbelievable
prosperity between 1800 and 1870.

262
00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:53,680
But in spite of the great advances
that had been made,

263
00:20:53,680 --> 00:21:00,440
the steam engine didn't change
the fact that mining was still
a difficult and dangerous business.

264
00:21:00,440 --> 00:21:05,320
Sometimes it was the steam engine
itself that made it dangerous.

265
00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:08,880
This is the shaft head
of the man engine at Levant.

266
00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:14,600
There was a great wooden pump rod
leading to the bottom of the shaft.

267
00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:17,120
As the engine had a ten-foot stroke,

268
00:21:17,120 --> 00:21:19,960
it had platforms and handles to
hold.

269
00:21:19,960 --> 00:21:25,960
Level down the side of the rod were
platforms at ten-foot centres.

270
00:21:25,960 --> 00:21:30,200
A man stood on the platform
holding the handles.

271
00:21:30,200 --> 00:21:35,000
The pump rod descended ten feet and
he jumped on a platform at the side.

272
00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:38,920
All this in pitch dark
with a candle on his head.

273
00:21:38,920 --> 00:21:44,800
Here in 1919, on this spot,
a terrible accident happened.

274
00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:51,520
The man in charge of the man engine
complained to the manager that
there was something wrong with it.

275
00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:56,520
If they didn't do summat quick
he would leave their employ.

276
00:21:56,520 --> 00:22:00,000
They didn't do anything
and he left their employ.

277
00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:06,080
Later the beam broke and the rods
went down the shaft with the men on.

278
00:22:06,080 --> 00:22:12,360
36 of them died. They were smashed
to bits by timber and iron.

279
00:22:12,360 --> 00:22:16,320
It took four days
to dig them all out.

280
00:22:16,320 --> 00:22:20,080
This really is a very sad spot,
here at Levant.

281
00:22:20,080 --> 00:22:24,960
The whole industrial landscape
in Cornwall is a bit sad really.

282
00:22:24,960 --> 00:22:27,640
It's just about all derelict now.

283
00:22:27,640 --> 00:22:33,760
There is little trace of the work
of Trevithick, one of
the greatest pioneers of steam.

284
00:22:33,760 --> 00:22:40,640
His development of the Cornish
Engine wasn't the only thing that
made him one of the giants of steam.

285
00:22:42,240 --> 00:22:46,280
He never got true recognition
for his contribution

286
00:22:46,280 --> 00:22:49,760
to the development
of the steam engine.

287
00:22:49,760 --> 00:22:54,640
Not only in mining but in steam
road transport and railways too.

288
00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:59,720
His invention of high-pressure,
or "strong steam" as he called it,

289
00:22:59,720 --> 00:23:05,600
led to the development of
the first steam-powered locomotives.

290
00:23:05,600 --> 00:23:09,040
His first was designed
to run on a road.

291
00:23:17,760 --> 00:23:23,200
Trevithick's use of strong steam
meant you could build an engine,
weighing about ten tonnes,

292
00:23:23,200 --> 00:23:28,320
that would do the same work as
an engine that weighed 650 tonnes.

293
00:23:28,320 --> 00:23:34,240
He realised that the engine
were small enough
to transport itself along the road.

294
00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:39,520
Here at Cambourne they've built
a reproduction of the Puffing Devil.

295
00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:42,440
It's an interesting machine.

296
00:23:42,440 --> 00:23:45,080
The engine was pretty simple.

297
00:23:45,080 --> 00:23:51,720
A mixture of wood and iron, it was
blacksmith made. The only problem
was the boiler was too small.

298
00:23:51,720 --> 00:23:57,640
The steam couldn't be kept up
for long when it was under way.

299
00:23:57,640 --> 00:24:02,720
But it was the first successful
high-pressure engine

300
00:24:02,720 --> 00:24:09,600
constructed on the principle
of a moving piston which was raised
and depressed by the steam.

301
00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:17,000
On Christmas Eve 1801, he ran this
up a hill of several hundred yards

302
00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:20,920
with a few people hanging on it
a bit like this!

303
00:24:20,920 --> 00:24:25,880
Unfortunately it burnt out
when Trevithick and his mates

304
00:24:25,880 --> 00:24:31,520
had a booze-up to celebrate
their success in a nearby inn!

305
00:24:31,520 --> 00:24:34,160
This concrete is bad news!

306
00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:41,160
This first carriage
was mad-looking but it worked.

307
00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:45,920
Encouraged by his success
he went on to build another one.

308
00:24:45,920 --> 00:24:48,680
It was even madder-looking!

309
00:24:48,680 --> 00:24:51,240
STEAM HISSES

310
00:24:51,240 --> 00:24:55,760
In 1803, Richard Trevithick
built a second road carriage

311
00:24:55,760 --> 00:24:59,680
which he drove
around the streets of London.

312
00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:06,080
He realised by the road surface
that the vehicle wasn't up to it,
so he abandoned it.

313
00:25:06,080 --> 00:25:12,120
You can't help wondering
what would have happened
if the roads were as they are today.

314
00:25:12,120 --> 00:25:15,840
The history of road transport
would be different.

315
00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:23,160
This magnificent engine has been
made by Mr Tom Brogden,
a chap who I've known for some time.

316
00:25:23,160 --> 00:25:30,400
He's constructed this engine
more or less on his own
from just a few drawings.

317
00:25:30,400 --> 00:25:33,080
It's a wonderful creation.

318
00:25:33,080 --> 00:25:36,720
What made you decide
to construct it?

319
00:25:36,720 --> 00:25:42,280
My wife gave me a birthday card
from the Science Museum in London.

320
00:25:42,280 --> 00:25:47,680
It was a picture they'd had painted
to see what this would be like.

321
00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:51,560
It intrigued me.
It got me going so I researched it.

322
00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:54,280
I got the patent drawings.

323
00:25:54,280 --> 00:25:58,560
It's a Trevithick carriage
built to his pattern.

324
00:25:58,560 --> 00:26:02,920
If he was here now
he'd demand royalties!

325
00:26:02,920 --> 00:26:08,240
He carried eight people from London,
from Holborn to Paddington, in 1803

326
00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:11,440
and brought them back the same day!

327
00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:16,360
What an achievement! They refused
to go again! A hairy ride!

328
00:26:16,360 --> 00:26:19,800
The carriage
would only run forwards.

329
00:26:19,800 --> 00:26:24,440
Its engine is a high-pressure,
simple expansion engine.

330
00:26:24,440 --> 00:26:27,720
It uses a water pump to
supply the boiler.

331
00:26:31,600 --> 00:26:34,400
..Yes. Shall I put some on?

332
00:26:34,400 --> 00:26:38,080
INAUDIBLE

333
00:26:39,280 --> 00:26:42,960
We'll put a bit on.
Just keep it alive.

334
00:26:42,960 --> 00:26:46,800
Where there are holes -
fill the front holes.

335
00:26:46,800 --> 00:26:52,360
Trevithick's industrial engines
ran at 100lbs per square inch.

336
00:26:52,360 --> 00:26:58,600
He only ran this at about 30
because he was worried about it
blowing up on the road.

337
00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:02,040
I'll climb up
into the driving position.

338
00:27:08,720 --> 00:27:10,760
Ah!

339
00:27:42,440 --> 00:27:46,320
HE CHUCKLES

340
00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:59,320
I really enjoyed that! You can
imagine what it was like in 1803!

341
00:27:59,320 --> 00:28:04,240
The roads were full of deep ruts
and horse-drawn traffic.

342
00:28:04,240 --> 00:28:11,080
It's all right on a nice smooth
car park but you can see why
Mr Trevithick abandoned it!

343
00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:15,360
If you've got to put up
with them sort of conditions!

344
00:28:19,800 --> 00:28:25,920
So Trevithick developed
a steam locomotive to run on rails.

345
00:28:46,240 --> 00:28:49,080
Subtitles by BBC Broadcast - 2003