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00:05I'm Si King, and I've always loved transport, especially bikes and trains.
00:12Here in Britain, we have every reason to be proud.
00:16This is where the railway was born, 200 incredible years ago.
00:23Change the points. 26 plus, it's all happening here.
00:27But for too long, the real stars of that story, our railway stations, have been overlooked.
00:34I'm never going to look at a train station the same way again.
00:36It's where adventures start and end, where lives change, and where extraordinary human stories unfold.
00:44The camaraderie you have with the passengers, I love that.
00:49I'm joined by architect Damien Burrows and transport historian Siddy Holloway.
00:55Together, we'll uncover their hidden history.
00:58Oh, wow. This is a site you don't see very often.
01:03Stunning architecture.
01:05What an explosion of light and engineering.
01:10And meet the people who keep them alive.
01:13Volunteers, families who have worked the rails for generations, and their communities.
01:18I haven't been to many train stations where I've ended up harvesting fresh veg.
01:24From glorious coastlines to soaring peaks, it's a journey full of surprises.
01:29Now that's a pretty majestic view from a railway station.
01:33So join me to celebrate Britain's favourite railway stations.
01:50This week, we're visiting four unique and iconic railway stations.
01:55From literary connections to awe-inspiring architecture, historic milestones, and engineering marvels.
02:06These stations are destinations in their own right.
02:12While I'm travelling to the dizzy heights of one of the UK's tallest peaks...
02:17Can you believe that that is a train station?
02:20...cities in Yorkshire uncovering the nostalgic charm of Haworth.
02:24Whoo! I'm turning on lamps!
02:28There we go!
02:29Damien will be exploring one of the most beautiful stations in the UK.
02:34Even today, this is still standing up as an impressive piece of engineering.
02:38Very much so.
02:39And we couldn't forget one of the most important stations in the whole of the world.
02:45Hyington here is the world's first railway station.
02:49Each destination will tell a captivating story.
02:55I'm off to Wales, North Wales to be precise, visiting one of the most beloved national parks in Britain.
03:02The Errerie National Park.
03:08With a peak over 1,000 metres, Erwythva, or Snowdon, is one of the most loved mountains in the UK.
03:15With over 600,000 people climbing it every year.
03:19And guess what? It has its own railway.
03:23And with it, its own incredible railway stations.
03:28Now that's a pretty majestic view from a railway station.
03:31Wouldn't you agree?
03:33Perched on the top of Erwythva is Summit Station, the highest railway station in Wales.
03:44The station and its visitor centre showcased thoughtful architecture that seamlessly blends into the mountainside.
03:54But in order to reach this impressive station, it all starts at the bottom of the mountain.
04:01I've been told that you can get four seasons in one day here.
04:06And they weren't telling fibs, were they?
04:15This area is most well known for its history of slate mining.
04:19But in the 18th and 19th centuries, tourism was also on the rise.
04:25And by the end of the 1800s, a railway brought something to the area never seen before.
04:32At the foot of Erwythva is Llanberis Station.
04:36The first in a series of stations that take excited passengers on a journey to reach the summit.
04:43And it's here that I hope to understand how the railway and its stations came to be.
04:48I'm here at the Snowden Mountain Railway Station.
04:52It's iconic and also a huge tourist attraction for the area.
04:56But most importantly, we've got a ticket office and a railway that takes you to the top of an iconic
05:03mountain.
05:04What a beautiful station.
05:06And I'm looking forward to finding out a bit more about it.
05:13And the first port of call is to speak to one of the 85 hard-working team members
05:18who have come from all over to look after this heritage railway, its station and its trains.
05:25Mark, one of the dedicated train crew, is keen to help.
05:30Borda, Mark. Borda.
05:32Nice to meet you.
05:33Pleased to meet you.
05:34And thanks for the invitation. This is fantastic.
05:36So, what do you do here?
05:38I'm a locomotive fireman.
05:40Various steam and diesel locomotives are used to climb this 4.7-mile-long railway to Summit Station.
05:48But firemen like Mark are essential to bring the steam trains safely to the top.
05:54It's a question of keeping my water levels and pressure gauges reading favourably for us to make forward motions.
06:03So, it's highly skilled.
06:06Mark joined the team a decade ago and often thinks about the impressive railway workers that came before him.
06:12The railway's been here since the Victorian period, 1890-odd?
06:17Yeah, 1896 the railway was opened, Easter Monday.
06:21They built the railway in about 14 months.
06:25150 men, two viaducts, several bridges, and they got to the summit in 14 months' time.
06:33So, it was an epic, epic build.
06:35My God, that's ridiculous.
06:36I mean, that is engineering excellence.
06:39After all this effort for the railway to reach the summit of Erwitva, only a collection of wooden huts offered
06:46shelter at the top of the mountain.
06:48And these weren't sustainable.
06:50In the 1930s, sort of, they did a redesign and built a purpose-built restaurant and hotel up there.
06:57But, sort of, that became, to the end of its working life, they wished to solve the consistent problems they
07:03have at working at that altitude.
07:05So, they went into partnership with the national parks.
07:10Right.
07:10Built the current iteration of the summit cafe in 2009.
07:15And while the new summit station is more fit for purpose, it's also a warm welcome needed for those reaching
07:22the top of the mountain.
07:29Before I journey up to the iconic summit, I'm keen to understand how on earth a train can climb up
07:35Wales' tallest mountain.
07:37So, I'm visiting the railway's locomotive shed, here in Llanberis, where I'm told Rodney is the man to speak to.
07:46So, this is our workshop.
07:48As you can see, it's quite old as well.
07:51It is.
07:52It is.
07:52When the railway first opened, there was seven steam engines.
07:56OK.
07:57Here.
07:57We're down to three now, at the moment.
08:01Several of the engines did batter when the railway first opened, so Rodney leads a skilled team to keep those
08:08locals running.
08:09Rodney, how many is there that work here?
08:11We've got seven in the workshop this time of year, the summer period, and we've got about 14 to 15
08:19winter period.
08:21A lot of people who work here, they're local guys.
08:24Local engineers applying that craft in that community.
08:27How brilliant is that?
08:28I love it.
08:29A railway supporting a local community of workers is impressive, although the railway itself is another feat.
08:37A train track typically has two main parallel steel rails for trains to run on, but here they use an
08:45ingenious track system called rack and pinion, with a special third tooth rail in the middle of the track.
08:52The engines that use this railway have a gear underneath that helps lock it into the rail's teeth, so it
09:00can climb steep slopes without slipping.
09:03Perfect for mountain journeys like this one.
09:07Rodney has promised me a demonstration.
09:10It sits into the rack like that.
09:13So that, and then this pinion sits on the axle, and with the steam, the axle's driven, and then that
09:22gets these things up a very steep hill.
09:25So it just keeps going into that.
09:29Wow.
09:29So that is what drives the train up the inclines without it slipping on the track.
09:35Yeah.
09:36So in essence, Rodney, it's like a Swiss clock, but just on steroids, isn't it?
09:40That's the one, yeah.
09:41Definitely.
09:43From Tasmania to India to Switzerland, rack and pinion railways are found across the world.
09:49But this one, starting in Llanberis, is the only public rack and pinion railway in the UK, and without it,
09:57thousands of passengers wouldn't be able to reach their ultimate destination, Summit Station.
10:17Our great British railway stations are more than just stops on the line.
10:23They're iconic landmarks that welcome visitors, connect communities, and stand proudly at the heart of every journey.
10:33I'm in North Wales, known for its mountain peaks and knockout views, but why I'm here is for something else
10:41quite remarkable.
10:43Can you believe that that is a train station?
10:46The Aruri National Park sat on the top of Wales.
10:52A bucket list stop for people from around the world, and the same can be said for where Ciddy is
10:59off to next.
11:00A hundred and fifty miles away in West Yorkshire is a village that brought some of our greatest literary works
11:06to life, and is home to a wonderful community railway.
11:11This is Bronte country, where the rolling hills and wild moors inspired some of our nation's most beloved novels, penned
11:19by three trailblazing sisters.
11:21I'm in West Yorkshire, where steam still drifts through the valleys, and cobbled streets lead to stories that shaped world
11:30literature.
11:31This is Howarth Station.
11:36Opened in 1867, this picturesque village station is part of the five-mile-long Keeley and Worth Valley Railway.
11:44A must-visit for railway lovers like me.
11:49This is such a lovely example of an authentic Victorian Yorkshire station.
11:53Just the stone itself already feels very much from this particular area.
11:59But really what's striking me walking here is that this has been meticulously brought back to life.
12:06As the railways faced competition from the roads, Howarth Station and its train line were closed in 1962.
12:15But thankfully, a preservation society was quickly formed, and after only six years, Howarth and its sister stations were reopened
12:24to passengers as a heritage railway.
12:28This local treasure was even used as a filming location in the 1970s classic, The Railway Children.
12:35I mean, it's really transporting you back in time, just walking here.
12:39Even the signage, it all looks like you're back in the 19th century.
12:45And they even have gas lamps.
12:47I wonder if they function.
12:49I bet they do.
12:50I've heard the best person to speak to is the station master in charge, Aaron Hendry, who's one of the
12:57volunteers looking after this little piece of history.
13:00Aaron.
13:01Hello, Sidney.
13:01Nice to meet you.
13:03What a beautiful spot to be meeting you at.
13:06It is.
13:06It is.
13:07Now, tell me, how old were you when you first got involved with the railway?
13:10Well, I was 17 years old when I joined the railway.
13:13I joined as a volunteer.
13:15And how old were you when you became station master?
13:17I was elected station master at 18 years old.
13:20That's where my interest came.
13:22I wanted to preserve this little piece of heritage.
13:24Oh, look at that.
13:26Yeah.
13:27Yeah, one of the old northern pacers.
13:31At the time, Aaron was the youngest station master in the country.
13:35Today, he and hundreds of other dedicated volunteers continue to make the station a success.
13:42What other things do you think make it so special?
13:44The fact that it connects to a beautiful cobbled main street, where the Brontis sisters were from.
13:50The Brontis sisters, during all the railway mania, they invested a lot of their money in this early railway before
13:56it was built.
13:57Really?
13:58They bought shares like everyone else.
14:00That's incredible.
14:00And now we have a beautiful, thriving railway here.
14:03Yeah.
14:04And it's quite, I mean, it tugs at your heartstrings to think that this was saved by volunteers who didn't
14:10want it to be lost.
14:12So do you have any favourite part of the station?
14:16I like the gas lamps.
14:17Yeah, I noticed those.
14:19That is my favourite.
14:20Oh, I would love to light some of those gas lamps up.
14:23Can we do that?
14:24Yeah, let's go.
14:24Ooh.
14:27For over 60 years, the Preservation Society has worked their magic on this beautiful station,
14:33restoring and maintaining its historic features, including the gas lamps.
14:38Oh, you know, I've never turned a gas lamp on.
14:41Have you not?
14:42Oh, they're fun.
14:43There we are.
14:44Oh, OK.
14:46So three switches connecting to different parts of the gas lamp circuit.
14:51Do you need to switch them on in any particular order or whatever?
14:54Yeah, left to right.
14:55Oh, OK.
14:56Do you want to have a go?
14:57Yeah.
14:58Can I?
14:58I thought you would.
14:59I mean, it's, OK.
15:00Start with blue.
15:01Blue first.
15:03That's it.
15:07Let there be light.
15:08Oh, my goodness.
15:11Ooh.
15:13I'm turning on lamps.
15:15There we go.
15:17Even in daylight, the gas lamps are so special.
15:20And they're part of what gives Howarth Station its unique charm.
15:24But this Grade II listed building is also the headquarters for the whole railway line.
15:30So, to better understand how the station functions behind the scenes, I'm looking for Ellie,
15:35who I've been told has nearly 10 years of volunteering under her belt.
15:40Very nice vehicles in here.
15:41Hi.
15:42You must be Ellie.
15:43Yes, I'm Ellie.
15:43Nice to meet you.
15:44Nice to meet you, too.
15:45So, tell me about how did you start working with the railway?
15:48So, I started working here when I was quite young.
15:50I was only 13 in the young persons group.
15:53What?
15:53Yes, I was only a little one.
15:55And I've been here quite a while now.
15:56Yeah.
15:57And it's great to be shaped into such a space where you're given so much exposure to all different parts
16:02of this railway, whether that's stations work, catering, locomotive sides, or working in the civil department, engineering.
16:10The scale is very broad.
16:13The Keely and Worth Valley Railway encourages volunteers of all ages to get involved.
16:18Ellie was doing such a good job, she was offered a permanent position here aged just 16.
16:24I would assume when you first started working that you were one of the few women working on the railway.
16:29How does it feel to be kind of a female in a largely male-dominated field?
16:36Right now, I would say, it doesn't make much of a difference to me, it just comes as second nature.
16:40But when I was younger and I first started, it is slightly daunting, but there's people around you that nurture
16:45you and mentor you into feeling that sense of belonging.
16:48Especially, like, it doesn't matter how old you are, how young you are, whether you're male, female, anything, you are
16:53really accepted widely across the whole railway.
16:56Love that.
16:58It's so inspiring to hear from these young volunteers that are keeping Howarth and this Heritage Railway alive.
17:04And just like Ellie, I'm curious about the pioneering women that came before her.
17:11Before I leave, I couldn't miss hearing more about the village's famous past residents, the Bronte family.
17:18Rebecca?
17:19Hello.
17:20Hi, nice to meet you.
17:21Good to meet you too.
17:22What are you reading there?
17:23Puthering Heights.
17:25Probably for about the 15th time.
17:27Oh my God, well, it's very apt for where we are today.
17:29It is.
17:29Rebecca is the director of the Parsonage, the former home of the Bronte family, now a museum in Howarth dedicated
17:37to preserving the area's literary heritage.
17:40They're an extraordinary family who lived in Howarth from 1820.
17:44And the house is preserved as it was in the 1840s, which is when the Brontes are writing their famous
17:50novels, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.
17:54And we have a good working relationship with the railway.
17:57And there's a lovely other connection is that the Parsonage was actually the doctor's house in the original railway children
18:03film.
18:03Oh, that's interesting.
18:04The Bronte family also had connections with the local railway.
18:09After Charlotte's novel Jane Eyre became an incredible success, she used some of her wealth to buy shares in the
18:15booming railway industry.
18:17And her younger brother Branwell was briefly a clerk at nearby Sowerby Bridge Station until he was dismissed for his
18:24accounting errors.
18:26It's interesting, I mean, this railway dates from maybe slightly later than the heyday of the Bronte sisters, but they
18:33would have known that they were coming.
18:35And I guess it would have been a big change for this village getting the railway in the 19th century.
18:40Oh, and just as we're speaking, here's the train now.
18:46You know, it's really been mind-blowing to me today to see the passion that the volunteers here have, that
18:54you have for the museum, all of that.
18:56I mean, it truly feels like a place that really celebrates history and the past.
19:02Yeah, it does celebrate the past, but it also looks to the future.
19:05And I think, you know, the railway here and the museum itself are inspiring younger generations to take an interest
19:12in the books that were written and the trains that were built and the railways and get involved.
19:16And I think it's something that's going to be here for a long time to come.
19:19Let's hope so.
19:21Howarth Station might have been lost forever if it wasn't for the hard-working dedication of its volunteers.
19:28But they've created a place where steam and storytelling comes together in perfect harmony.
19:48Back at Llanberis Station, there's still more to uncover along this fascinating railway.
19:54I've been told it's not just the track that makes this place special.
19:58This railway and its stations use a canny signalling method that I want to get a sneak peek at.
20:04Gents. Gents.
20:06Hello, how are you?
20:07Hi.
20:07Listen, I hope you don't mind me intruding, but I'm just really nosy.
20:12What goes on in here?
20:14So this is the traffic control office.
20:16OK.
20:17This is where we control all of the movement of the trains on the mountain.
20:21Owain has worked here for three years, both as a guard and a traffic controller.
20:26Today he's working alongside Supervisor Nigel to ensure everything runs smoothly.
20:33Let me just get this straight.
20:35So there's one track.
20:37Correct.
20:38Lots of trains.
20:39Yes.
20:40And they pass each other at particular points on the mountain.
20:45Is that right?
20:46That's correct.
20:46The whole railway line here has five stations in total.
20:52Llanberis at the bottom, the iconic summit station at the top, and three stations along
20:58the way which the trains use as passing points on the single track.
21:03What's the piece of paper here?
21:05What is that?
21:06This is the graph.
21:07There's a new graph for every day.
21:08Oh, OK.
21:09Basically, it tells me every train on the mountain is all colour-coded.
21:13Right.
21:14Like, for instance, number nine is a yellow, ten brown, and so on and so on.
21:20Right.
21:20Traffic controller, then, we know where everything on the mountain is every minute of the day.
21:26There's three passing places on the mountain.
21:29There's Hebron, Halfway, and Clogwyn.
21:31Yeah.
21:32Every time a train comes to one of them stations, we either tell them to remain there, or if there's
21:37nothing coming down in the upper section, we then tell them to proceed to the next station.
21:42So the more trains you've got running, the graph will change because you've got more trains
21:46on the track.
21:46Exactly.
21:47It's fascinating how it works, and it's a fail-safe.
21:51So the one to Mobile 11, you may set the bottom points correctly at Halfway.
21:56Proceed down to Hebron on 57.
21:59I mean, it's simple.
22:01It doesn't look that simple, but I've got to say, you keep telling us it's simple, I think, so...
22:07Honestly, it's just an excuse to do a bit of colouring.
22:10It's grown-up colouring in, isn't it?
22:12Yeah, exactly.
22:14Now, it takes an hour to go up, and if you miss your train, on the way down, it's a
22:18long walk.
22:19It is about two and a half hours.
22:21It's a nice walk, though.
22:22I'm sure it is, but I won't be missing the train.
22:26Try not to.
22:27No.
22:27We won't wait for you.
22:28I mean, no, I know you won't.
22:31Thankfully, this journey to Summit Station is one I definitely don't want to miss.
22:37The first recorded climb of Elwoodfa may have been way back in 1639, but nearly 400 years
22:44later, this Geordie is going to reach its peak.
23:02Here in North Wales' Aruri National Park, I've been exploring the legendary Snowdon Mountain
23:09Railway and its stations.
23:11And while I've enjoyed my time here at the bottom of the mountain, I can't wait any longer
23:17to reach my final destination, Summit Station, just yards from the top of Elwoodfa.
23:24I've decided to give hiking a miss today, and I'm taking the hour-long train journey instead.
23:31OK, folks.
23:31Please remain seated at all times.
23:33Sit back, relax, and enjoy the trip.
23:37The start of the ascent up Snowdon.
23:44And we made our way through the National Park, and it's been a national park since 1951, and
23:50it's one of the biggest in the UK.
23:54The park covers nine mountain ranges, 11,000 hectares of native woodland, and nearly 1,500 miles
24:03of trails to explore.
24:04And I get to see it all from the comfort of the train.
24:10I'm just thinking of the logistics of actually putting a station at the top of a mountain.
24:22It can't be easy, because you've got a slope like that to contend with.
24:28You've got weather conditions that are often short of horrendous.
24:36You need to be something pretty special.
24:40While I take in the inspiring views, Damien is off to Scotland to visit another spectacular
24:49site.
24:51Perched on Scotland's rugged west coast, just over 30 miles from Glasgow, is Wims Bay Station.
25:01Built in 1903, this masterpiece of Edwardian design has welcomed commuters and holidaymakers
25:08for over 100 years.
25:10But it's also a must-visit for any architect worth their salt.
25:15What an explosion of light and engineering.
25:19It's just beautifully fused together.
25:23For many, the station's most striking feature is its sweeping glass roof, an elegant curved
25:30canopy that spirals gracefully towards the connecting ferry terminal, guiding passengers
25:35from the train to the ferry and onto the islands beyond.
25:43But I want to discover more about Wims Bay Station than its bricks and its mortar, and local historian
25:49Sue Hovisall has offered to help.
25:52Sue, how are you doing?
25:53Hello.
25:53Lovely to meet you.
25:54Yeah, you too, yeah.
25:55This is such an impressive station that you've got here.
25:58It's interesting that when the station was first built in 1903, and it was reviewed, you
26:03know, there were articles about it in the local papers, the people they talked about, or the
26:07person they talked about was Donald Matheson, the engineer.
26:11He was the guy whose station it was, not James Miller, the architect.
26:16He didn't get mentioned, strangely.
26:20Donald Matheson, at the time, was the chief engineer of the Caledonian Railway, overseeing
26:26major infrastructure projects across Scotland.
26:29James Miller was one of Scotland's leading railway architects, and together they created a
26:35station that was not just efficient, but artistically ground-breaking.
26:40And then, of course, you come here, you arrive onto this platform, it's got this incredible
26:45glazed roof structure.
26:47Yes, indeed.
26:48Even today, this is still standing up as an impressive piece of engineering.
26:52Very much so.
26:53But the railway didn't just build an impressive station.
26:57It also brought a whole new industry to this quaint fishing village.
27:02That's how the town develops as a seaside town, a seaside attraction.
27:07But without that connection with the ferry, of course, that wouldn't work.
27:10Matheson and Miller's station enabled the journeys of thousands of holiday trippers, making their
27:16way to the coast.
27:17We know that Matheson went to the States to learn about the management of large numbers
27:23of travellers, passengers in stations and on boats, this kind of thing.
27:29And what he brought back from that was the idea that you really need curves.
27:35You don't have right angles or sharp corners.
27:38You have a system of flowing curves through the building and, as you can see here, this
27:46arrangement from the station itself continues down the pier towards the steamers.
27:52Originally, there had been up to four steamers at the end of the pitch here.
27:57Wow.
27:57So then you've really got to move a lot of people very quickly, very gracefully, without
28:02them even realising they're being managed.
28:04Yes, that's it, yes.
28:06And it's still working for passengers today, wheeling their suitcases towards the waiting
28:12ferries.
28:15While there may be less tourists than a hundred years ago, the station still looks as grand
28:20as it did in its heyday, thanks in large part to the friends of Wimsbay community group
28:25who volunteer here.
28:27Including head gardener Cathy, who's hoping to bring a nod to the station's past with her
28:33floral displays.
28:35And why did you want to bring this sort of arrangement of flowers back?
28:39Because there are quite a few around the station.
28:41Oh, well, it was really to sort of present the station the way it was years ago.
28:46You know, it's an Edwardian station, as you probably know by now.
28:49So we wanted all this colour and the geraniums like they used to have.
28:54Wow.
28:55And so that's what the people look for.
28:57And what's this for?
28:58Now this is called a water bowser.
29:00We're not allowed to have a hose on the station, so we have to bring in our own water supply
29:07to keep the flowers maintained.
29:10So it must be like a little member of the family now.
29:13Has it got a nickname?
29:13Oh, it is, yes.
29:14Bertie Bowser.
29:16And he's quite old now, actually.
29:18That's why he's so scruffy.
29:20Can I have a go?
29:21You sure can.
29:22Oh, yes.
29:23All right.
29:23That would be fine.
29:24So we just...
29:26It's a bit different to my garden.
29:27Switch it on.
29:28Yeah.
29:29And away we go.
29:30It's coming out, isn't it?
29:33It's quite therapeutic, though, isn't it?
29:36Don't forget the top one.
29:37You have to go way up there.
29:38Does somebody else normally do this one for you?
29:41Yes, I bring my husband.
29:43He does the top.
29:44He's just on for the top shift.
29:45I'm so little, I just do the lower.
29:47I mean, to come up with this invention, I mean, that's love and dedication to what you're doing.
29:52Oh, yes.
29:53I just love it.
29:54We like it because it makes the station look so pretty.
29:57And the tourists just love it when the flowers are...
30:00I bet they do.
30:01It may be a grade A-listed building, but alongside Cathy and Bertie Bowser,
30:07Wimsbay Station relies on 16 other volunteers donating their time here.
30:12Simon's been lending a hand at the bookshop for 14 years now
30:16and can proudly recall the history for any curious passers-by like me.
30:21Simon, how are you doing?
30:23Hello, Damien.
30:23Good to meet you.
30:24And you too.
30:25Being here at the station for as long as you have been, looking back at the station's history,
30:30what was it like when it sort of first opened?
30:33Well, obviously I'm not that old.
30:34I would remember that.
30:35It was a very busy station.
30:37It was a key part of the Glasgow holiday destinations that Glaswegians know was,
30:42doing the water.
30:43So during the Glasgow fair, all the businesses and big industries shut down for two weeks
30:47and people went on their summer holidays.
30:50We were given a description of the Glasgow fair Saturdays.
30:54That's the main day that people went on holiday.
30:56Around about 1957, in one hour, they got 10,000 people through the station and onto ferries
31:03and steamers off to Millport, Dunoon, Rothsey, you know.
31:09So these sort of things died down, as we know that seaside towns started to struggle and so on.
31:16People come in, they see this big station, they go outside and they come back in,
31:20they say, where's the town?
31:22Because we're only a small village.
31:24Yeah, it served a very specific purpose.
31:26Yeah.
31:27In fact, I think they've designed it so well that they find it difficult to maintain
31:31because of the actual skill of building it.
31:33That makes this station even more precious, not only for the community, but for the country as well.
31:39Yeah.
31:40And it's the community that are pouring their love and support into this station today.
31:45They've even won a few awards for it.
31:48I see the plaques around the station.
31:50And then there was the World Cup of Stations that we won in 2023.
31:54Fantastic.
31:55Yeah, we're very pleased to win that.
31:58And it kind of brought a bigger audience to who might come here
32:05because people are now coming just to see the station rather than coming here to go on a ferry.
32:09You know, the station is the destination.
32:21In 1903, when this station opened, it shocked and amazed the passengers that traveled through here.
32:30But what's really special now is how it pulls all the community together to restore it, care for it, love
32:39it, and protect its future legacy.
32:42And to me, that's what makes this a truly iconic station.
33:01Back in Wales, I've been on a whistle-stop tour of the Snowden Mountain Railway stations,
33:07and I'm excited to reach my final destination.
33:14We're here at the station at the top of Snowdonia.
33:21And as you can see, we can see absolutely nothing.
33:37At over 1,000 metres above sea level, it feels like I'm walking amongst the clouds.
33:42On a clear day, lucky visitors can see views stretching from Summit Station towards Ireland.
33:49But I have a feeling it's not just the views which can be amazing up here.
33:53There's definitely still more to uncover about the station on the top of the iconic mountain.
34:13We've been on a journey to explore some of Britain's favourite destination railway stations,
34:18which have been bringing in the crowds for hundreds of years.
34:22I'm in one of my favourite places, North Wales, in the Arruri National Park,
34:28and I've just pulled in to its epic Summit Station.
34:33Built in 2009, this structure was skilfully crafted to withstand the harsh mountain weather
34:39while offering shelter to its many visitors.
34:42So, to get an insight into life at Wales' highest railway station
34:47and to take in some of those cracking views, I'm meeting Carl,
34:52the dedicated manager of the station's visitor's centre.
34:56These days are the best up here because of the views.
34:58Just out of interest, how many days do you get?
35:00I won't say that, I'm just in case.
35:02No, we're quite fortunate. We do get a lot of days where we can see the views.
35:06The best job in the world.
35:08Although with the ever-changing mountain weather, the work at Summit Station is seasonal.
35:14The summit itself operates from May until the end of October.
35:18We usually do try and open early in April, if the weather's on our side.
35:23Unfortunately, we still have a lot of snow come April, so...
35:26So, just give us an idea of the temperatures in the winter up here.
35:30So, over winter, I know a few years ago,
35:32they put a thermometer in one of our rooms in the back,
35:35and they hit minus 25 over winter.
35:37Yeah, and what's the snow like up here? Is it just...
35:40The back doors, as you see when we came through,
35:43the snow will be over the back doors, up to the top of it.
35:46Really?
35:46Yeah, in winter times.
35:48Despite the weather, Carl's been working here for nearly 12 years,
35:51and like so many employed by the railways, it's a family affair.
35:56So, my dad works in the bottom, so he drives the steam train.
35:59Does he?
36:00Yeah, so he's been here 49 years. His name is Gwyn Jones.
36:03Of course it is. Gwyn Jones?
36:05Everyone's a Jones in Wales.
36:06Gwyn Jones, the engine driver? Oh, come on. This is great.
36:09Yeah, and then his father worked here before him as well,
36:12so it's three generations of family members working at the railway.
36:15What does it mean to you?
36:16It's just very unique.
36:17I'm very proud to work in the heritage site like this as well,
36:20and obviously the people that come up here on the train,
36:22it's a once-in-a-lifetime for them,
36:24so to be able to give people access to the top of the mountain in Wales,
36:29you know, it's unbelievable.
36:30And it's a very special mountain.
36:32It is, yeah.
36:32While Carl gets back to work,
36:35it gives me time to admire the architecture of this extraordinary building.
36:40So, if you've noticed, the interior of this waiting room
36:44is clad with Welsh oak,
36:47and it was to form a welcoming, warm interior
36:52in sharp contrast to the rugged exterior.
36:57It works really well, doesn't it?
36:59Every detail of the station building has been carefully considered
37:02to withstand the challenging conditions at the summit.
37:06And with temperatures that reach minus 25 during the winter,
37:11100-mile-an-hour winds,
37:12and 1,085 metres above sea level,
37:16you need to know what you're doing.
37:17And here, because the station is seasonal,
37:22so roughly about the end of October,
37:24it stops servicing all the people that come up the mountain,
37:28and it seals itself as an icy cavern on top of Snowden.
37:36Pretty impressive stuff, really.
37:39The way the station blends into the landscape
37:42is truly remarkable.
37:44But as I take in its modern form,
37:47I can't help but think about the railway stations
37:49that came before it,
37:50and how it all started in the village of Hyington,
37:54in County Durham,
37:56just six miles from Darlington.
37:59The county is known for its influential role
38:02in the Industrial Revolution,
38:04including two of the greatest inventions of all time.
38:08The Stockton and Darlington Railway,
38:11and the world's first railway station.
38:152025 marks 200 years of this iconic railway legacy,
38:20which saw Britain and the world change forever.
38:24And here at Hyington Station,
38:27this history is being carefully preserved
38:29by the friends of the Stockton and Darlington Railway group,
38:33including Caroline, Niall, and Jim.
38:37Hyington here is the world's first railway station.
38:40The role of the friends of the Stockton and Darlington Railway
38:44has been vital over the past 13 years or so.
38:48It's been that desire that's driven them to say,
38:52hang on,
38:52this is a world-famous,
38:56influencing,
38:57innovation happening right here,
39:00and still,
39:01it's either taken for granted or forgotten.
39:03But it isn't just the building
39:05that is of historical significance at Hyington Station.
39:10Hyington here has got,
39:12as far as we know,
39:14the world's first,
39:15earliest surviving railway platform.
39:19And it's interesting because it's so unremarkable.
39:23It's cobbles and flagstones,
39:25and that's it.
39:26It may be simple,
39:28but this was a blueprint for railway stations across Britain.
39:32Although it might not exist
39:34if it wasn't for the astounding legacy
39:36of the Stockton and Darlington Railway.
39:39In the early 1800s,
39:41coal ran the world.
39:43Everything was powered by steam,
39:45and of course for that you need coal.
39:47In the southwest of Durham,
39:49the area had coal deposits in it,
39:51but it was a very hilly area
39:53with poor access,
39:54very poor roads.
39:55It was quite expensive
39:56getting coal out of there.
39:58So for a long time,
39:59a number of business people were thinking,
40:01how can we get the coal
40:03out of that part of southwest Durham?
40:05Their solution,
40:06after much consideration,
40:08was actually to build a railway.
40:10And this railway ended up
40:11changing the face of the world.
40:14This new 26-mile stretch of railway line
40:17ran from Shildon in the west
40:19to Stockton in the east of the county,
40:21passing through Darlington
40:23and here in Hyington.
40:25But before the line opened,
40:27the locomotives designed to run on the tracks
40:30needed to be tested.
40:32One of the exciting
40:35and relatable things
40:37as we stand here
40:38with trains still rattling past
40:41200 years later
40:42is that here
40:44is where the first steam locomotive
40:47of the Stockton and Darlington railway
40:49was put on the track.
40:51It was built
40:52by George and Robert Stevenson's factory
40:54in Newcastle
40:56and then it was brought here.
40:58They put it on the track
41:00just there.
41:01The tests were successful
41:02and on the 27th of September 1825,
41:06the Stockton and Darlington railway
41:08opened with much fanfare.
41:11And one of the outcomes
41:12from that opening day
41:13was that people saw
41:16that the railway was successful
41:17and that meant
41:18that the railway started to spread
41:20across the rest of the country
41:22and across the rest of the world.
41:24When the railway first opened,
41:27there was no formal stations.
41:29But in 1827,
41:31this all changed
41:32when Hyington Station,
41:33at the time called Acliffe Lane,
41:36was opened.
41:37So, as built in 1826-27,
41:40you had two rooms.
41:41One through the door on the far side
41:43leading onto the platform
41:44and another room at the back.
41:45And because it's such an early building,
41:48the term waiting room
41:49hadn't really been invented.
41:50But we've got people here
41:52waiting for their trains,
41:53for passengers,
41:53and these were two
41:55sort of fairly multifunctional rooms
41:56where people could come in,
41:57do business,
41:58wait for their trains,
41:59leave packages,
42:00collect mail,
42:01all sorts of things.
42:02Over the years,
42:03the site has become dilapidated.
42:05But Niall and the Friends Group
42:07are fighting hard
42:08to preserve this history
42:09by restoring
42:10the old station building.
42:13Before you start
42:14any historic building restoration,
42:15you've got to try
42:15and understand the building.
42:16So, one of the first things
42:18we'll be doing
42:18is stripping off
42:19the modern layers
42:20to find out
42:21what's left underneath.
42:22So, you never know
42:22when we actually
42:23take all this apart,
42:24we might even find
42:25the original Georgian ceiling
42:26underneath it.
42:27And the Friends of the
42:28Stockton and Darlington
42:29Railway Group
42:30have great plans
42:31for the station's future.
42:33The next couple of years
42:35is going to be a process
42:36of conserving,
42:37restoring the building
42:38before we can
42:40hopefully launch it
42:41to take people back
42:42to the late 1820s.
42:44We want it to provide
42:45local jobs,
42:46an income
42:47and we want people
42:48from the rest of the world
42:49to come and visit us
42:49and learn about this heritage.
42:51So, it touches potentially
42:52the lives of so many people.
42:55From a humble beginning
42:56with a single platform
42:58to the vast stations
42:59we see at Glasgow Central,
43:02King's Cross
43:02and St Pancras,
43:04they all owe a lot
43:06to Hyington Railway Station.
43:10And in the 200th anniversary year
43:13of the Stockton and Darlington
43:15Railway Line,
43:15now, more than ever,
43:17there feels a need
43:18to preserve the legacy
43:19of this station.
43:25The same can be said
43:27for another site
43:28over 200 miles away
43:30in North Wales.
43:31Summit Station
43:32on the Snowden Mountain Railway.
43:35The perfect mix
43:36of engineering marvel,
43:38magnificent landscapes
43:39and a hard-working community
43:41behind it all.
43:44There's so much to admire
43:46about this wonderful station.
43:49Now I've had some time to explore,
43:51before I head off,
43:53I just have a few more questions
43:55for Carl,
43:55the manager up here.
43:57What's sort of fascinating
43:58we call about this station
44:00is the logistics
44:01of actually managing it.
44:03So every day
44:04we bring all the stock
44:05up on our staff train.
44:07We've got to make sure
44:07we've got everything.
44:08You can't, you know,
44:09remember to forget anything.
44:11We've got to make sure
44:11we've got enough bins
44:12to last the entire day as well.
44:14It's a very complex,
44:15you know,
44:16a unique challenge.
44:18And just to add
44:19to that challenge,
44:20Summit Station
44:21and the Visitor's Centre
44:22have no water
44:23or electricity supply.
44:27The building has to run
44:28on two generators
44:29and then we have to bring
44:31nearly 10,000 litres of water
44:32up daily
44:33just for the building to run.
44:3510,000 litres of water?
44:36Every morning, yeah.
44:38And in the summer
44:39it could be 12,000
44:40depending on how quickly
44:40you go through it.
44:42Wow.
44:43But the station also
44:44has a hidden trick
44:45to collect more water
44:46for the building.
44:48So the summit building itself,
44:50it harvests rainwater
44:51off the roof
44:53and then it goes
44:54up to an outside tank
44:56and then that's used
44:57just for the flushing
44:58of the toilets
44:58and any maintenance
45:00that we need it for.
45:01I mean, it's beautiful
45:02but it's one of the
45:03wettest places in the UK
45:04so you shouldn't be
45:05short of rainwater
45:06every day.
45:07It's, you know,
45:08it's a positive
45:09and a negative.
45:09You want the rainwater
45:10to fill your outside tank
45:12to use the toilets
45:13but then again,
45:13you're on nice and sunny days.
45:14To bring the customers up.
45:15Yeah, exactly.
45:16Yeah, yeah.
45:17And the mountain itself,
45:18it's getting busier
45:19and busier every year
45:19so you can imagine
45:20the challenges every year
45:21gets a little bit more.
45:22It really is a remarkable operation
45:25with people working together
45:27to make the station
45:28such a success
45:29year after year.
45:30Carl and the team
45:31are testament
45:32to why the Snowden Mountain Railway
45:34and the iconic Summit Station
45:37is a much-loved destination
45:39and it's been that way
45:41since it first opened
45:42in 1896.
45:44This is a very special railway station.
45:48It's living heritage
45:50and so important
45:52to the culture
45:53of both Clamberis,
45:56Urwitfa
45:57and Irui,
45:59the national park.
46:03I arrived in the cloud
46:04and I'll be leaving
46:07in the cloud.
46:16Next time,
46:17we're visiting the stations
46:19that shaped our seasides.
46:21It's the place
46:21where journeys begin
46:23and the sea
46:24is just a few steps away.
46:27And I've got some work to do.
46:29Change the points.
46:3126 bus.
46:32It's all happening here.
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