1 00:00:20,300 --> 00:00:24,540 During the 19th century, the steam engine was used for everything 2 00:00:24,540 --> 00:00:29,980 from driving machinery and mills to propelling ships across the sea, 3 00:00:29,980 --> 00:00:35,940 from lifting coal from the depths of the earth, to powering great locomotives. 4 00:00:38,180 --> 00:00:44,020 One man changed all of that with the invention of a new steam engine, 5 00:00:44,020 --> 00:00:47,420 that was to revolutionise the supply of power. 6 00:00:47,420 --> 00:00:51,780 The steam turbine was invented by Charles Parsons. 7 00:00:51,780 --> 00:00:56,660 It had a great impact on the home, on transport and the workplace. 8 00:00:59,460 --> 00:01:06,420 When Parsons was at university, the Industrial Revolution was in full flow 9 00:01:06,420 --> 00:01:10,580 powered by great steam engines of one form or another, 10 00:01:10,580 --> 00:01:14,860 a lot of them driven by bevelled cogwheels and shafting. 11 00:01:14,860 --> 00:01:17,820 The noise was horrific! 12 00:01:24,100 --> 00:01:27,220 I had a friend, who's now deceased, 13 00:01:27,220 --> 00:01:34,260 who was the chief engineer for a textile firm called Vantona. 14 00:01:34,260 --> 00:01:39,940 He used to tell me tales about when he repaired steam engines. 15 00:01:39,940 --> 00:01:45,900 Put yourself in the picture. It's the middle of the night, about three o'clock in the morning. 16 00:01:45,900 --> 00:01:49,300 They think they've solved the problem with this steam engine, 17 00:01:49,300 --> 00:01:55,460 which had lots of bevelled gearing in its transmission to different parts of the works. 18 00:01:55,460 --> 00:01:59,700 They decided to give it a run. They started it up and the noise! 19 00:01:59,700 --> 00:02:06,580 Clong, ding, dong, dong, dong! Outside the mill gates, there were about 20 people, 20 00:02:06,580 --> 00:02:13,420 who'd been woken up by the noise and thought it was seven o'clock, time to got to work. Incredible! 21 00:02:13,420 --> 00:02:16,500 This, of course, lead to... 22 00:02:16,500 --> 00:02:22,620 the quest to find something that didn't make as much noise. 23 00:02:22,620 --> 00:02:29,500 The answer to that was electricity, which changed the way machinery, like this, was driven. 24 00:02:30,540 --> 00:02:33,940 Up to this time, belts, pulleys and gears where the only way 25 00:02:33,940 --> 00:02:39,900 to take the energy and deliver it to a machine some distance away. 26 00:02:39,900 --> 00:02:47,740 The coming of electricity meant energy could be delivered directly and silently to the machine. 27 00:02:47,740 --> 00:02:50,620 But electricity didn't make steam redundant. 28 00:02:53,060 --> 00:02:57,740 'The mass supply of electricity was made possible by steam.' 29 00:02:57,740 --> 00:03:03,940 Most of the electricity generated in Great Britain comes from power stations, like this. 30 00:03:03,940 --> 00:03:06,860 And, of course, the steam turbine. 31 00:03:06,860 --> 00:03:11,780 In 1888, Charles Parsons installed his first ever steam turbine 32 00:03:11,780 --> 00:03:17,820 in Forth Franks power station in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. 33 00:03:17,820 --> 00:03:23,540 It was the forerunner of many more. The steam turbine is still used. 34 00:03:23,540 --> 00:03:27,580 This is Eggborough power station in East Yorkshire. 35 00:03:27,580 --> 00:03:31,860 It's fired on pulverised coal, that means crushed coal. 36 00:03:31,860 --> 00:03:36,980 It produces 5% of Great Britain's demand for electricity. 37 00:03:36,980 --> 00:03:43,220 Just one power station! That's lots of electric, 5% for all of Great Britain! 38 00:03:43,220 --> 00:03:50,780 These cooling towers are 380 feet high and 200 feet across the base. 39 00:03:50,780 --> 00:03:57,140 Have you ever wondered why they need to be so large? There's a very good reason. 40 00:03:57,140 --> 00:04:00,100 Let's have a look inside. 41 00:04:06,460 --> 00:04:11,260 The cooling water from the turbines enters into pipes a few feet below. 42 00:04:11,260 --> 00:04:16,940 The warm water going down creates warmth inside this great chamber. 43 00:04:18,140 --> 00:04:21,860 The cold air rushes in through the gap, 44 00:04:21,860 --> 00:04:27,300 cools the water and then it's sent back to the power station condensers. 45 00:04:27,300 --> 00:04:33,180 The heat and steam from the cooling towers can be seen 15 miles away. 46 00:04:33,180 --> 00:04:38,660 The stuff coming out of the top is quite harmless. 47 00:04:38,660 --> 00:04:44,620 It turns into dew and floats away. It doesn't do any harm to anybody. 48 00:04:44,620 --> 00:04:51,300 The coal arrives by train. There's a thousand tonnes on every load. When it arrives, 49 00:04:51,300 --> 00:04:57,980 it's taken to the conveyor belts at the back and pulverised into a fine powder. 50 00:04:57,980 --> 00:05:02,420 Coal dust is highly inflammable. As soon as it goes into the boiler, 51 00:05:02,420 --> 00:05:07,660 it explodes with ferocity and generates lots of heat. 52 00:05:07,660 --> 00:05:13,740 At peak periods, when everybody's turning their cookers and electric fires on, 53 00:05:13,740 --> 00:05:17,900 it burns 800 tonnes an hour. 54 00:05:17,900 --> 00:05:22,940 I'm in one of the great boilers. It's incredible, like a cathedral. 55 00:05:22,940 --> 00:05:28,260 Down at the bottom, there's a great boiler full of water. 56 00:05:29,460 --> 00:05:34,700 It's connected to the top drum by thousands of yards of tubing. 57 00:05:34,700 --> 00:05:41,660 When it's going, it contains a pressure of 2,500 lbs per square inch. 58 00:05:43,060 --> 00:05:47,140 When the coal dust blasts through the nozzles, these are the burners, 59 00:05:47,140 --> 00:05:50,180 in the middle there's a great fireball. 60 00:05:50,180 --> 00:05:53,580 It impinges on the pipes, which are full of water. 61 00:05:53,580 --> 00:05:58,700 When it gets higher up, it turns to steam at that great pressure. 62 00:06:01,580 --> 00:06:07,860 Here we are in the turbine hall, where there are four separate turbines and generators. 63 00:06:10,540 --> 00:06:16,980 Steam enters the turbine through nozzles around the perimeter of the blades inside the casing. 64 00:06:16,980 --> 00:06:21,260 When it comes out, it expands and turns the rotors. 65 00:06:21,260 --> 00:06:26,500 They use every available ounce of pressure that's in it. 66 00:06:26,500 --> 00:06:32,020 Really...it hasn't changes much since 1884, 67 00:06:32,020 --> 00:06:35,700 when Mr Parsons first designed it. 68 00:06:36,940 --> 00:06:44,620 It revolves at 3,000 revolutions per minute and turns the shaft that works the generator. 69 00:06:44,620 --> 00:06:49,500 This is really a big electromagnet, that generates the electricity. 70 00:06:49,500 --> 00:06:54,100 Even in this modern nuclear power station in Lancashire, 71 00:06:54,100 --> 00:06:57,660 steam is still at the heart of the process. 72 00:06:57,660 --> 00:07:04,060 The main difference between a coal fired and nuclear station is the fuel. 73 00:07:04,060 --> 00:07:09,420 The nuclear station uses uranium contained in metal fuel rods, 74 00:07:09,420 --> 00:07:14,260 to heat the water that makes steam to turn the turbines. 75 00:07:17,940 --> 00:07:22,780 Although nearly all of industry is powered by electricity today, 76 00:07:22,780 --> 00:07:27,700 there are still a few businesses who do things the traditional way. 77 00:07:27,700 --> 00:07:31,900 Like this little brewery, tucked away in rural Oxfordshire. 78 00:07:31,900 --> 00:07:36,980 Here, at Hook Norton Brewery, steam is alive and well. 79 00:07:36,980 --> 00:07:43,420 They use a combination of steam power and years of expertise in the brewing trade, 80 00:07:43,420 --> 00:07:47,380 to produce prize-winning ales and stout. 81 00:07:47,380 --> 00:07:52,660 Beer's still brewed here, using the traditional methods, 82 00:07:52,660 --> 00:07:56,460 in this beautiful building erected in 1899. 83 00:07:56,460 --> 00:08:03,260 This is it, the main power plant, with a steam engine made 104 years ago, 84 00:08:03,260 --> 00:08:09,300 by Buxton & Thornley at Burton-on-Trent, especially for the brewing business. 85 00:08:09,300 --> 00:08:13,380 It works all the plant by a system of line shafting and bevel gears 86 00:08:13,380 --> 00:08:17,540 and comb clutches to every floor in the place. 87 00:08:17,540 --> 00:08:22,500 Over here is James Clark, whose family has run this brewery 88 00:08:22,500 --> 00:08:27,820 for five generations. He's going to explain a bit about it to me. 89 00:08:27,820 --> 00:08:31,220 As a brewery, we have an abundance of steam. 90 00:08:31,220 --> 00:08:36,220 We've got two oil-fired boilers, so we're using some of that steam. 91 00:08:36,220 --> 00:08:42,660 Ideas of combined heat and power plants for climate change levy aren't particularly new. 92 00:08:42,660 --> 00:08:46,780 I'd rather see equipment like this working, than just there for show. 93 00:08:46,780 --> 00:08:52,580 That's what this does, it's there to work. It's lovely that! 94 00:08:55,420 --> 00:09:01,340 What's going on here? In here's today's brew, at the end of its boiling process. 95 00:09:01,340 --> 00:09:04,380 The energy supplied by the steam runs the engine. 96 00:09:04,380 --> 00:09:07,420 It's the basis of beer, it's not been fermented yet. 97 00:09:07,420 --> 00:09:10,700 We've added hops, which you can smell. Oh, yes! 98 00:09:10,700 --> 00:09:15,980 This will be run out into another vessel, where we'll remove the solid hop material, 99 00:09:15,980 --> 00:09:20,460 ready for its cooling process. I had an uncle who made hop bitters. 100 00:09:20,460 --> 00:09:26,300 He went to a brewery for the spent hops. It was right good stuff. 101 00:09:26,300 --> 00:09:30,380 It wasn't alcoholic though. You never got drunk! 102 00:09:30,380 --> 00:09:33,420 I'm not sure about that! Well, I never did! 103 00:09:38,500 --> 00:09:43,940 The gristmill is another example of original machinery, 104 00:09:43,940 --> 00:09:48,900 still in daily use in the brewing process and still driven by steam. 105 00:09:48,900 --> 00:09:54,540 The mill breaks open the malt grain, so the flavour comes out in the brew. 106 00:09:56,900 --> 00:10:03,460 At the end of the process, the engine pumps the brew to the top floor for cooling. 107 00:10:06,300 --> 00:10:09,780 This is our work pump, again driven by the steam-engine. 108 00:10:09,780 --> 00:10:13,020 The main crank is at the top and there's a bank of three pumps. 109 00:10:13,020 --> 00:10:16,100 The work we saw boiling in the copper earlier, 110 00:10:16,100 --> 00:10:20,500 has been run into these hop vats. The hops are being strained out, 111 00:10:20,500 --> 00:10:24,620 and the work's being pumped nearly to the top of the brewery again. 112 00:10:24,620 --> 00:10:30,980 Not many people have seen under the counter in a pub, but the tackle there is similar. 113 00:10:30,980 --> 00:10:33,940 When you say a pint, please... That's the same design. 114 00:10:33,940 --> 00:10:38,460 The positive displacement pump is gentle on the liquid it moves. 115 00:10:56,540 --> 00:10:58,340 Thank you. 116 00:10:58,340 --> 00:11:04,620 Here we are, drinking a sample of the end product, brewed by steam power. 117 00:11:07,500 --> 00:11:11,140 Mmmm...very nice that! 118 00:11:11,140 --> 00:11:15,540 There aren't many steam-engines sill earning their living, 119 00:11:15,540 --> 00:11:20,460 like the one at Hook Norton. Hundreds have been scraped, 120 00:11:20,460 --> 00:11:24,260 but some have been saved and are now museum exhibits. 121 00:11:24,260 --> 00:11:29,900 This is the National Railway Museum in York, where they have some some of the most famous locomotives 122 00:11:29,900 --> 00:11:34,260 in railway history. The A4 Pacifics were built by Sir Nigel Gresley. 123 00:11:34,260 --> 00:11:38,140 When they first appeared in the mid-1930s, 124 00:11:38,140 --> 00:11:42,220 their revolutionary design caused a sensation. 125 00:11:43,220 --> 00:11:47,060 Mallard was one of the many A4 Class steam locomotives 126 00:11:47,060 --> 00:11:50,700 built by Gresley for the London and Northeastern Railway. 127 00:11:50,700 --> 00:11:54,820 With its wonderful streamlining, it went very fast. 128 00:11:54,820 --> 00:11:59,660 From up the east coast, from London to Edinburgh, non-stop. 129 00:11:59,660 --> 00:12:03,780 The first of Nigel Gresley's A4 Pacifics 130 00:12:03,780 --> 00:12:07,380 left Doncaster Works in 1935, 131 00:12:07,380 --> 00:12:11,460 and it wasn't long before a major problem manifested itself. 132 00:12:11,460 --> 00:12:16,580 It went so fast, the braking system of the period wasn't any good. 133 00:12:16,580 --> 00:12:21,660 The Westinghouse Brake & Signal Company had to redesign the whole braking system. 134 00:12:21,660 --> 00:12:27,500 Gresley decided it would be a good opportunity to push the locomotive to its limit 135 00:12:27,500 --> 00:12:32,220 and recapture the speed record from the LMS people. 136 00:12:32,220 --> 00:12:36,460 Also, to get the world speed record back off the Germans. 137 00:12:39,460 --> 00:12:46,060 It must of been exciting in 1938 when the driver and the fireman climbed on board. 138 00:12:48,220 --> 00:12:53,060 Mallard left Grantham, heading towards Peterborough, 139 00:12:53,060 --> 00:12:58,380 with six coaches and a dynamometer car to register the speed and power. 140 00:12:58,380 --> 00:13:03,460 They reached the unbelievable speed of 126 miles an hour. 141 00:13:03,460 --> 00:13:06,500 It must've been exciting going that fast! 142 00:13:06,500 --> 00:13:09,140 I bet it was shaking everywhere! 143 00:13:11,020 --> 00:13:16,580 I remember listening to the recording of the driver, after the event. 144 00:13:18,180 --> 00:13:23,140 'At the top, I gave Mallard a lift and she jumped to it like a live thing! 145 00:13:23,140 --> 00:13:27,580 'After three miles the speed meter in my cab showed 107 miles an hour. 146 00:13:27,580 --> 00:13:31,620 'Before I knew it, the needle was at 116 and we'd got the record. 147 00:13:31,620 --> 00:13:35,540 'Go on, old girl, I thought. We can do better than this! 148 00:13:35,540 --> 00:13:39,860 'I nursed her and shot through Little Bytham at 123 miles an hour. 149 00:13:39,860 --> 00:13:45,060 '124...125...126 miles per hour.' 150 00:13:45,060 --> 00:13:49,980 '126! The fastest speed of a steam locomotive in the world! 151 00:13:52,420 --> 00:13:55,460 Mallard now has pride of place in the museum. 152 00:13:55,460 --> 00:13:59,540 It's the biggest collection of railway locomotives in the land. 153 00:13:59,540 --> 00:14:03,620 The biggest collection of steamrollers and traction engines that I know of, 154 00:14:03,620 --> 00:14:08,940 is also in a museum at Thursford in Norfolk. One I've known a long time. 155 00:14:08,940 --> 00:14:16,140 At about 15 years old, I found out from people who'd travelled further than I had, 156 00:14:16,140 --> 00:14:21,660 that hidden away in a place called Thursford in Norfolk 157 00:14:21,660 --> 00:14:27,500 there was a gentleman with a field full of steam engines. Incredible! 158 00:14:27,500 --> 00:14:33,820 Everyone said he was mad because he bought them 40 years ago for £25.00 each. 159 00:14:33,820 --> 00:14:38,580 That's all they were worth. Some of them got cut up for less. 160 00:14:38,580 --> 00:14:46,260 The man who collected all these was named George Cushing. He collected 45 engines, 161 00:14:46,260 --> 00:14:53,540 nearly one of every type of traction engine and portable engine you could have. 162 00:14:55,620 --> 00:15:02,540 This one, I know for a fact, is one of Mr Cushing's favourites, the Aveling & Porter. 163 00:15:02,540 --> 00:15:08,980 Thomas Aveling did a great deal for the development of the traction engine. 164 00:15:08,980 --> 00:15:12,620 After the Aveling, is a Burrell. Like the Avelings, 165 00:15:12,820 --> 00:15:16,020 they were like country blacksmiths in Thetford. 166 00:15:16,020 --> 00:15:22,180 It makes you wonder how they constructed these, in a village hidden away, in Norfolk. 167 00:15:22,180 --> 00:15:25,260 It's amazing! 168 00:15:25,260 --> 00:15:31,900 All of them, each individual person who... The beginnings of the firms, were village blacksmiths. 169 00:15:31,900 --> 00:15:36,060 Er...then, of course, they developed and developed 170 00:15:36,060 --> 00:15:38,860 into quite big engineering concerns. 171 00:15:38,860 --> 00:15:43,700 They made hundreds of these things right up until the 1930s, 172 00:15:43,700 --> 00:15:46,940 when the death knell were here. 173 00:15:46,940 --> 00:15:49,620 They didn't really have a long life, 174 00:15:49,620 --> 00:15:53,300 not as long as the actual steam locomotive. 175 00:15:53,300 --> 00:15:57,380 This is what's known as a Savage centre engine. 176 00:15:57,380 --> 00:16:03,620 The engine was placed in the centre of a great roundabout. They built the roundabout round it. 177 00:16:03,620 --> 00:16:07,100 It's interesting because this is thought to be 178 00:16:07,100 --> 00:16:10,540 the second oldest of its type in existence. 179 00:16:10,540 --> 00:16:16,260 Lots of nice embelishments on it and looks very pretty, doesn't it?! 180 00:16:16,260 --> 00:16:19,060 Mr Cushing bought 'em 181 00:16:19,060 --> 00:16:21,580 because he really loved them. 182 00:16:21,580 --> 00:16:27,180 He realised what a shame it would be if they all got chopped up. 183 00:16:27,180 --> 00:16:31,300 I did have the pleasure of meeting him. 184 00:16:31,300 --> 00:16:38,140 I'm afraid to say he's just passed on at the old age of nearly 99, he were only a week short. 185 00:16:38,140 --> 00:16:41,620 Whatever he did, he deserves a lot of recognition 186 00:16:41,620 --> 00:16:45,660 for saving these magnificent pieces of machinery. 187 00:16:45,660 --> 00:16:48,500 He never saw the end of his dream 188 00:16:48,500 --> 00:16:53,980 because there's another 30 outside that have not been done up! 189 00:16:53,980 --> 00:16:56,420 Hopefully someday they will be. 190 00:17:07,900 --> 00:17:12,260 Nearly all Aveling & Porters, you know. 191 00:17:12,260 --> 00:17:14,900 That's one just like mine at home. 192 00:17:18,580 --> 00:17:22,020 Literally dozens of 'em, in't there, everywhere? 193 00:17:23,140 --> 00:17:25,700 Incredible place! 194 00:17:27,900 --> 00:17:30,540 To get all this running again 195 00:17:30,540 --> 00:17:35,220 would take thousands and thousands of man hours. 196 00:17:35,220 --> 00:17:38,500 Fortunately, plenty are still running, 197 00:17:38,500 --> 00:17:42,020 kept alive by enthusiasts like these. 198 00:17:42,020 --> 00:17:45,940 They've gathered for a steam fair in Camborne. 199 00:17:45,940 --> 00:17:48,260 Hello, how are you? I'm all right. 200 00:17:48,260 --> 00:17:50,460 How's your tractor? Very well. 201 00:17:50,460 --> 00:17:54,740 This is one of the oldest Aveling & Porter tractors 202 00:17:54,740 --> 00:17:58,620 converted into a steam roller, in't it?! 203 00:17:58,620 --> 00:18:03,900 That's right. My mate here is going to convert it back to a tractor. 204 00:18:03,900 --> 00:18:08,900 Somebody said the other day it'll look nicer 205 00:18:08,900 --> 00:18:13,020 when you re-do the paint work! Arrgh! 206 00:18:14,660 --> 00:18:20,740 Who gave you a passport to come here! Long time no see. It's been ten bloody years. 207 00:18:20,740 --> 00:18:23,540 Indeed! Or more than that. Absolutely. 208 00:18:23,540 --> 00:18:28,860 How's your Mclaren going? Fine. How many tons does it weigh? 22. 209 00:18:28,860 --> 00:18:31,820 They made quite a few. They did. 210 00:18:31,820 --> 00:18:36,220 This is the only Mclaren engine this size left in the world. 211 00:18:36,220 --> 00:18:42,700 It's through enthusiasts' dedication, that historic steam engines are kept alive and in steam. 212 00:18:42,700 --> 00:18:47,140 There are more than 50 steam railways around the country, 213 00:18:47,140 --> 00:18:49,580 all run by enthusiasts. 214 00:18:49,580 --> 00:18:55,300 One I found interesting is the Tanfield railway, near Newcastle. 215 00:18:55,300 --> 00:18:59,900 One of the interesting things is that here, 216 00:18:59,900 --> 00:19:03,180 you can see the history of the railways - 217 00:19:03,180 --> 00:19:06,620 from the earliest horse-drawn wagonways - 218 00:19:06,620 --> 00:19:09,900 to the modern industrial locos like this one, 219 00:19:09,900 --> 00:19:13,740 built by Robert Stevenson and Co in the 1940s, 220 00:19:13,740 --> 00:19:17,420 more than 100 years after they built Rockets. 221 00:19:17,420 --> 00:19:20,460 The guest of honour! Thank you! 222 00:19:20,460 --> 00:19:25,940 Today the Tanfield Railway is run by a group of dedicated enthusiasts. 223 00:19:27,980 --> 00:19:32,060 We're here to get steam up. Aye, we'll have a go. 224 00:19:32,060 --> 00:19:35,140 Here, at the Marley Hill engine sheds, 225 00:19:35,140 --> 00:19:39,140 they've built up a grand collection of industrial locomotives 226 00:19:39,140 --> 00:19:43,220 from shut-down power stations and defunct coal mines. 227 00:19:55,700 --> 00:19:59,940 How many locomotives have you got on your railway? 228 00:19:59,940 --> 00:20:05,740 I believe there are 54... Blumming 'eck, that's a lot! 229 00:20:05,740 --> 00:20:12,540 ..of one shape or another. In various degrees of working or not. 230 00:20:12,540 --> 00:20:18,340 How many wagons would this pull, when it were performing proper? 231 00:20:18,340 --> 00:20:22,420 It would think nothing of 25 coal hoppers, 232 00:20:22,420 --> 00:20:25,140 going in and out of collieries. 233 00:20:25,140 --> 00:20:29,500 A few hundred ton then? Oh, yes. 15,000 ton on this one. 234 00:20:29,500 --> 00:20:32,260 It's a lot of weight, in't it? 235 00:20:32,260 --> 00:20:36,820 You can get more fire in them than what we've got now. Oh, aye. 236 00:20:36,820 --> 00:20:39,260 But a lot more noise! 237 00:20:39,260 --> 00:20:44,740 It runs very sweet, doesn't it!? Nice engine. It is a nice engine. 238 00:21:05,460 --> 00:21:08,740 Squealing flanges! 239 00:21:10,020 --> 00:21:17,020 This is the Causey Arch, the oldest surviving railway bridge in the world. 240 00:21:17,020 --> 00:21:22,900 It was built in 1725-26, by a group of coal owners, 241 00:21:22,900 --> 00:21:27,020 who called themselves the Grand Allies. 242 00:21:27,020 --> 00:21:30,660 Nobody had built an arch that big in 1725. 243 00:21:30,660 --> 00:21:33,940 They used Roman technology for a guide 244 00:21:33,940 --> 00:21:38,780 and it was years before anybody built another one as big as this. 245 00:21:38,780 --> 00:21:43,820 The man who built it, Sir Mr Wood, had a panic attack near the end. 246 00:21:43,820 --> 00:21:51,180 Before it was completed, it's reputed that he jumped off and never saw it finished! 247 00:21:51,180 --> 00:21:55,820 It was feared the wagons of coal going over might have collapsed it. 248 00:21:55,820 --> 00:22:00,740 As many as 900 wagons a day went over this bridge full of coal. 249 00:22:11,060 --> 00:22:14,140 How's the water level? It's canny. 250 00:22:14,140 --> 00:22:16,540 We need the water to go over here. 251 00:22:16,540 --> 00:22:20,540 Before you go down the hill you need plenty of water. 252 00:22:20,540 --> 00:22:22,460 We don't want to drop the flow down! 253 00:22:26,340 --> 00:22:30,900 It's quite a hill we're going down. It is indeed. 254 00:22:30,900 --> 00:22:34,660 We could freewheel down here! Aye! 255 00:22:39,300 --> 00:22:44,300 At a time when Stevenson was building lots of locomotives, 256 00:22:44,300 --> 00:22:49,700 this railway was still running on wooden tracks and horse propelled. 257 00:22:49,700 --> 00:22:54,300 It wasn't until the 1840s that steam was introduced here 258 00:22:54,300 --> 00:22:59,820 and then it wasn't locomotives, but three stationary winding engines. 259 00:22:59,820 --> 00:23:06,100 All that remains of one of them is this rather sad hole in the ground. 260 00:23:06,100 --> 00:23:11,020 Once here there was an engine room, with a winding engine 261 00:23:11,020 --> 00:23:15,260 and a great chimney and a resevoir for the boilers. 262 00:23:15,260 --> 00:23:21,780 Then finally, in 1881 I think, they finally got steam locomotives. 263 00:23:21,780 --> 00:23:26,500 Apparently, they hauled the coal up and down during the week, 264 00:23:26,500 --> 00:23:29,580 bricks and all sorts of other materials, 265 00:23:29,580 --> 00:23:33,380 but on Saturdays the passengers could have a ride on... 266 00:23:33,380 --> 00:23:37,500 the paying public, in the same wagons that brought the coal. 267 00:23:48,780 --> 00:23:54,260 There were quite a few railways like this, here in the north-east, 268 00:23:54,260 --> 00:23:56,300 including one from South Shields, 269 00:23:56,300 --> 00:24:01,060 that was known as the Marsden Rattler by the locals! 270 00:24:01,060 --> 00:24:05,860 In a way, steam has now become a bit of a holiday attraction, 271 00:24:05,860 --> 00:24:07,940 something for a day out. 272 00:24:07,940 --> 00:24:12,180 Or if you come up here to Scotland, more like a week out... 273 00:24:12,180 --> 00:24:17,020 if you take a cruise on this lovely steamer, the Vic 32. 274 00:24:23,940 --> 00:24:29,420 You're encouraged to have a go at everything. You might shovel coal, 275 00:24:29,420 --> 00:24:34,700 or help to raise the anchor before you set sail to explore 276 00:24:34,700 --> 00:24:38,580 the lochs and islands off the west coast of Scotland. 277 00:24:38,580 --> 00:24:45,180 This boat was built in Yorkshire in 1942 and is based on the Clyde Puffer. 278 00:24:45,180 --> 00:24:47,900 They didn't have a condensor. 279 00:24:47,900 --> 00:24:52,740 The exhaust steam went up the chimney and helped to draw the fire. 280 00:24:52,740 --> 00:24:58,260 It was really designed for inshore delivery boats, around Britain. 281 00:24:58,260 --> 00:25:02,740 They delivered all sorts of stuff. 282 00:25:02,740 --> 00:25:06,580 When we were out in the loch, I talked to Nick Walker, the owner. 283 00:25:06,580 --> 00:25:10,660 He told me the boat used to deliver ammunition during the War. 284 00:25:10,660 --> 00:25:17,140 It's an inshore craft. What did it do after its days of carrying ammunition? 285 00:25:17,140 --> 00:25:22,820 She was laid up at a naval dock yard, then sent to the scrap yard... 286 00:25:22,820 --> 00:25:25,700 Ooo 'eck. ..at Inverkeithing. 287 00:25:25,700 --> 00:25:29,540 We have Keith Tominberg, who owned the Island of Eigg, 288 00:25:29,540 --> 00:25:31,100 to thank for rescuing it. 289 00:25:31,100 --> 00:25:36,260 My wife and I have spent the last 25 years restoring it, taking people on holiday. 290 00:25:36,260 --> 00:25:41,020 It's a lot of people's dream to put to sea on a steam-driven ship. 291 00:25:41,020 --> 00:25:43,500 Absolutely. It's a dream come true. 292 00:25:43,500 --> 00:25:48,020 Now, let's go down below and look at the engine. 293 00:25:50,940 --> 00:25:58,060 This is the engine. It's a compound which means it uses the steam twice. 294 00:25:58,060 --> 00:26:01,900 It is typical of a boat of this sort of style. 295 00:26:01,900 --> 00:26:07,540 The steam is firstly used in the high-pressure cylinder, 296 00:26:07,540 --> 00:26:10,980 then it's exhausted into an intermediate chamber, 297 00:26:10,980 --> 00:26:14,140 and then into a low-pressure cylinder. 298 00:26:14,140 --> 00:26:19,300 This equalises the pressure on the torque on the crank shafts. 299 00:26:19,300 --> 00:26:22,220 After that, it's exhausted into the condensor, 300 00:26:22,220 --> 00:26:27,220 which is then condensed back into water and used over and over again. 301 00:26:27,220 --> 00:26:31,900 The seafaring machine cannot take water out of the ocean, 302 00:26:31,900 --> 00:26:33,940 it's very bad for boilers. 303 00:26:33,940 --> 00:26:37,980 I've noticed that the pressure is dropping a bit, 304 00:26:37,980 --> 00:26:40,620 I'll put some coals on the fire 305 00:26:40,620 --> 00:26:44,700 in case the captain up top shouts down for more steam! 306 00:26:44,700 --> 00:26:47,340 I'll get on with that then! 307 00:27:00,940 --> 00:27:05,420 I'd rather be on this than one of them plastic things! 308 00:27:08,860 --> 00:27:13,540 Now I've got steam up, he's gonna let me have a go at the steering. 309 00:27:13,540 --> 00:27:16,980 Keep in close to this shore, you've got to come in closer. 310 00:27:16,980 --> 00:27:22,060 You're safer because there are rocks all around here. 311 00:27:22,060 --> 00:27:26,420 If you come in starboard a bit, because we're clear of that ridge. 312 00:27:26,420 --> 00:27:29,980 That's right-hand side, "starboard"? Yes. 313 00:27:29,980 --> 00:27:33,500 Come to starboard slowly and follow this shore. 314 00:27:33,500 --> 00:27:35,500 Look out for red lobster pots. 315 00:27:35,500 --> 00:27:39,500 If you see one have a look for another, they're always in pairs. 316 00:27:39,500 --> 00:27:43,820 We don't want the rope wrapped round our prop. Yeah. 317 00:27:43,820 --> 00:27:48,260 Then he put me to work on a bit of steeplejacking. 318 00:27:48,260 --> 00:27:53,580 WHISTLES BLOWS 319 00:27:53,580 --> 00:27:57,540 There's no better way to see this lovely Scottish scenery, 320 00:27:57,540 --> 00:27:59,260 It's magic! 321 00:27:59,260 --> 00:28:05,220 I wish I'd lived in the days when you could travel like this all the time. 322 00:28:08,380 --> 00:28:12,660 Steam is more than just enthusiasm or nostalgia. 323 00:28:12,660 --> 00:28:16,620 Steam power was developed here in Britain - 324 00:28:16,620 --> 00:28:20,380 one of our unique contributions to history. 325 00:28:20,380 --> 00:28:22,700 It's a great credit 326 00:28:22,700 --> 00:28:28,700 to all the dedicated enthusiasts we've seen in this series, 327 00:28:28,700 --> 00:28:33,380 that such an important part of our heritage has been kept alive. 328 00:28:36,460 --> 00:28:41,700 Subtitles by Deltha Mcleod and Claire Benstead BBC Broadcast - 2003 329 00:28:41,700 --> 00:28:44,020 E-mail us at: subtitling@bbc.co.uk