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Short filmTranscript
00:01Trains. I've always loved them. Big, small, steam, diesel.
00:07Where did that love come from?
00:10When I was six years old, I stood on this very spot,
00:13and what I saw that day I'd never forgotten.
00:16It made me the envy of every boy in school,
00:19because coming across that bridge was a train,
00:22and that train was being driven by my dad.
00:26Ever since then, I've always wanted to get the view he had,
00:30the one that no-one else gets, the driver's view.
00:35So I'm off on a train-lover's odyssey.
00:42Riding the footplates of Britain and Europe.
00:45Oh, that's great.
00:47When you were growing up, did you always want to be an engine driver?
00:50Yes, it's a dream when I was a child.
00:54Some will be huge.
00:56Oh, some of that went in.
00:58Others, a little more modest.
01:00I'll meet some wonderful people
01:02dedicated to this majestic form of transport.
01:05Ah!
01:09Already I'm beginning to feel like a train driver.
01:12And have fun off the train too,
01:14along some of the world's most beautiful lines.
01:17Well, I wasn't expecting to be doing this.
01:19Join me for a ride with a viewpoint that only an engine driver gets.
01:32On my travels, I'll climb the mountains of Switzerland,
01:36cross the beautiful Yorkshire Dales and Moors,
01:40ride the narrow-gauge tract of North Wales,
01:43enjoy the Pinecone Line through Provence,
01:46and catch a train to Colditz in Germany.
01:50But this time, I'm on the Isle of Wight,
01:53in the best seat in the house.
01:55I started that.
01:56You started that?
01:57Yep.
01:57Wow.
02:02Located off the south coast,
02:04the Isle of Wight is England's largest island,
02:06celebrated for its sailing, coastline and nostalgic charm.
02:16My journey to the island begins at Portsmouth Harbour.
02:21The only way to get there is by boat,
02:23unless you're a seagull, of course.
02:27Once I arrive, I'll ride as many trains on the island as possible.
02:30I will start my trip in Ryde,
02:33travelling the Eidon Line to Shanklin,
02:35the last main line still running on the island.
02:40From Smallbrook Junction,
02:41I'll steam through the countryside of Wighton,
02:44I'll follow the long-lost routes closed in the 50s and 60s,
02:48where the spirit of the railway still lingers.
02:51And in Cowes,
02:53I'll circle the tiny track of the island's smallest railway.
02:59Sadly,
03:01there are no trains to the island,
03:03but you can get to drive the next best thing,
03:06a 520-tonne ferry.
03:10Wightroder 1, would I have permission to lead the harbour, please?
03:14Hello. Are you Sergei?
03:16Paul. Hello there, how are you?
03:18Nice to meet you. Good. Are you the skipper?
03:20Yes, I am, yep.
03:21OK, brilliant. Where do you want me to be?
03:24Please jump into the chair and you will assist me today.
03:27Oh, fantastic, thank you so much.
03:29Oh, what a wonderful view.
03:31Independent distance, 1-1-5 over.
03:35Captain Sergei Parahovniks has been sailing this route for eight years
03:38and knows every ripple of these waters.
03:41He seems to be looking out the back,
03:43which is probably good because we're going backwards.
03:44I'm tempted just to press loads of buttons,
03:46but that clearly wouldn't be a good idea, so I won't.
03:50Now we are pointing the right way,
03:52it's going to take about 22 minutes to cross the Solent,
03:56one of the world's busiest channels.
03:59I imagine that in the distance is the Isle of Wight,
04:02with a bit of luck.
04:03OK, Paul?
04:04Yes.
04:05I'm relying on your help today.
04:07OK, yes, well, it all looks very complicated,
04:09but whatever I can do to help you, I'll be very happy to do so.
04:11Well, first of all, whatever you do, don't press the big red button, OK?
04:14The big red button, this one?
04:16Yeah.
04:18What we're doing here is keeping a good watch
04:20for any craft that can be on our way,
04:24possible risk of collision,
04:26so I want you to tell me if you see any traffic on our way.
04:29Yeah, I don't need binoculars to spot this one.
04:33That's a good start, Paul.
04:35Well, maybe I can ask you to make a welcome announcement for our passengers.
04:39Yeah, by all means, yes.
04:40All you have to do is press this button here and just read it out.
04:44OK, fine.
04:45Finally, I get to press a button.
04:47Just not the red one.
04:49Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
04:51Welcome to White Lincoln.
04:52This is Paul Garton speaking.
04:54Don't worry, I'm not driving.
04:55I would like to welcome you aboard White Rider One
04:58for this short sailing bound for Ryan Pierhead.
05:01It's a brilliant sunny day in the Solent today.
05:04Please be advised that if you're more used to the typical British summer,
05:08the sun is that very bright object in the sky.
05:10Have a great day.
05:14That was excellent, Paul.
05:15You could make a living out of it.
05:17I could try, couldn't I?
05:19I could try.
05:20Well, I'm glad I was able to contribute something other than just saying
05:22there's a big ship over there.
05:23Now I've shown you my compressed buttons,
05:26Sergei has handed me control of the ship as we approach the shore.
05:30If you want, you can pull this slowly, gradually.
05:32This one back, that will slow the boat down.
05:34Really?
05:35It will stop, yeah.
05:36OK.
05:36Is that the right kind of thing to be done?
05:38Oh, hello.
05:39OK.
05:40And now bring it to the middle.
05:41Bring it to the middle.
05:44OK.
05:44And now we're in neutral and we're approaching slowly with the air itself.
05:47Right.
05:48At this point, thankfully, Sergei takes over, berthing from the wing
05:53so he can see the side of the ship as we approach the pier.
05:56Paul, I'd like to thank you.
05:58Oh, well, thank you.
05:59You've done excellent work.
06:01Do you think I helped?
06:02I think you did.
06:03You paused.
06:04The most important stuff is you never press the red button.
06:07I know this button here.
06:07Which is already a great success.
06:11Well, as I walk over here, I'm now officially on the island.
06:15Fantastic.
06:15Beautiful day.
06:18My first ride pulls in and there's something familiar
06:21about the appearance of this electric train.
06:24This is Ride Pier Head Station.
06:27And this train here, waiting at its platform for 40 years,
06:30ran on the London Underground's district line.
06:33Coincidentally, the very same line that my dad was a tube driver on.
06:36But the big question is, what's a London Underground train doing here?
06:42Hello, are you Alan?
06:43Nice to meet you.
06:43I'm Paul, hello.
06:44Can I join you?
06:45Of course you can, yeah.
06:46Go in that way and go in that way.
06:47Easy to go, Alan.
06:48Fantastic, thank you.
06:51Oh, it's a bit cramped.
06:52It's a little bit.
06:52For two.
06:55Yeah, this is the first time I've been in the cab of a London Underground train.
06:59My dad was a driver.
07:00Oh, very nice.
07:02But on the district line, he didn't get this sort of view.
07:05Well, I was going to say, yeah, it's definitely a different view.
07:08Yeah.
07:12On a day like this, this is absolutely wonderful, isn't it?
07:15Oh, it's beautiful.
07:15Yeah, it makes you enjoy it, certainly.
07:17You'll enjoy a job like that.
07:20The trains currently operated on the island line have been converted from underground D-78 stock.
07:27They've been used in former tube trains on the island since the late 1960s.
07:33How long have you been driving this train?
07:35I've been driving over on the island 18 years.
07:38Really?
07:39Yeah, on a district line, some of it's overground until you get to sort of West Brompton and then it
07:44sort of becomes, you know, all tunnels.
07:46But you never would have experienced anything like this.
07:49No, not at all.
07:50This is...
07:51And I suppose, you know, when the seasons change and the view changes and...
07:55Absolutely, yeah.
08:00The ride tunnel, which we're passing through now, is the reason the island line uses London Underground rolling stock.
08:08Ah, now, this is the London Underground experience.
08:13The track in the tunnel was raised in the 60s to help prevent flooding.
08:17And as a result, the headroom is now so low that standard trains can't run through it.
08:23Yes.
08:23Going through the tunnel just there was to give you this little taste of what it would have been like.
08:28So, the London Underground train is short enough in terms of height to be able to fit into the tunnel?
08:33Yes, that's correct, yeah, yeah, yeah.
08:34But before, what sort of trains were running? Was it a steam line?
08:37Yes, it was a steam train, yeah.
08:38Right.
08:38Again, they were built specifically for the island.
08:44My first stop is Ride St John's Road.
08:48This is where I get off the ball.
08:50Oh, right, OK, am I taking over?
08:52Yeah, that guy's taking over, and this is where our maintenance depot is.
08:54Oh, right, OK.
08:55And if you follow me, I'll take you to see some of the guys there.
08:57Oh, I'd love to, thank you very much.
09:02This way.
09:04This is a sort of place that the trains my dad drove would have been maintained.
09:11This is a slightly scary walk.
09:16You wouldn't really want to see me seeing this under any other circumstances, the underneath of a train.
09:21The island line is only eight and a half miles long, and each train racks up around 16 return trips
09:28a day.
09:29Assistant Fleet Manager Oliver Wilde keeps them on track.
09:32Hi, Paul.
09:33Heard you around.
09:34I'm Ollie.
09:35Oh, Ollie.
09:35Hi.
09:35Can I stand up?
09:36Oh, I can stand up.
09:37Yeah, loads of room here.
09:38This is a site that no member of the public normally sees, is it?
09:43No.
09:43It's a very special place to be.
09:45So, what are you doing here?
09:47So, we're just measuring the wheels.
09:49So, checking the tyres, as we call them.
09:52OK.
09:53And checking for their sizes and conditions.
09:55So, how often would you be measuring the wheels, checking the wheels?
09:58So, we measure them every seven days at the minute, over here.
10:00Right, every seven days?
10:02Yeah.
10:02And what sort of errors or flaws are you looking for?
10:05The main one is the sort of diameter measurement between wheel to wheel.
10:09Right.
10:09So, we're only allowed 1.5 millimetres difference.
10:11Right.
10:12So, we can, using this, we can ensure that.
10:14Yes.
10:15Is there a reason why you examine the wheels every seven days?
10:19So, we do it.
10:20It's mainly for safety.
10:21With our line, the trains always travel in the same direction.
10:24So, they're essentially going around the same curves in the same way every time.
10:27Right.
10:28Obviously, on the mainland, you have various areas you can turn the train around.
10:31We don't have that ability.
10:32So, the pressure going around the curves and stuff is always the same side of the wheels?
10:36Essentially, yes.
10:36Right.
10:37So, I suppose this is the equivalent of taking your car in for an MOT and having everything checked
10:41and having the wheels checked and making sure the tyres are pressurised and all that sort of stuff?
10:44Yes.
10:45Yes.
10:45Essentially, an MOT every seven days.
10:47Yeah.
10:47Seven days of use almost.
10:48Yes.
10:49Yes.
10:50So, this train is good to go?
10:52Yeah.
10:52Yeah.
10:52Ready to go back out and service this one.
10:54Brilliant.
10:55Fantastic.
10:58It's been a very interesting day here looking at the workings of these trains which used to run on the
11:03district line,
11:04the line that my dad used to drive on.
11:05And I perhaps may have seen more today than he ever did because he would turn up and drive the
11:10train,
11:10but I'm not sure he ever climbed underneath one.
11:12And to be looking underneath one of these things just shows you how much work goes into maintaining a superb
11:19safety record.
11:33I'm on the Isle of White, just off England's south coast, aiming to drive and ride in the cab on
11:39as many trains as possible.
11:41I've been picked up from the depot and we're back on the island's only mainline track, imaginatively named the Island
11:48Line.
11:48We're heading south and ride and driver Alan's put his foot down.
11:52Are we up to 45 now?
11:54No, we're still doing 40 at the moment, but we'll be there shortly.
11:58Yes.
11:59Well, this feels faster than if I was doing 40 in a car, I don't know why.
12:04It's an odd feeling when the first time you drive a train it's really weird.
12:09Yes.
12:12So, how long does it take to learn to drive a train?
12:16It can take anywhere up to two years. On the island it's about a year and a half.
12:20Right, this view we're getting here, no passenger gets this view and I think this is absolutely wonderful.
12:27We're now in rolling countryside, a mix of farmlands, sleepy villages and small woodlands.
12:33It's like going back to 1950s England.
12:36Alan is dropping me off at a pretty little station called Smallbrook Junction, which has no road access.
12:42You can only get to it by train.
12:53Well, I'm crossing the line here at Smallbrook Junction because I've left the electric vehicle behind.
12:59And here I'm going back 100 years in time because this line is serviced by steam.
13:09I should be here at any moment.
13:13Mind you, if I'm going back 100 years in time, what's a few minutes?
13:17I've just heard a whistle, so that's about half a mile away apparently.
13:28Look at that, the sound, the steam.
13:33It is something rather remarkable.
13:35There's nothing quite like a steam engine.
13:38This is the Isle of Wight steam railway, which runs beautifully restored locos and carriages
13:44through five and a half miles of island countryside.
13:47Wow.
14:05The more observant amongst you would have noticed that that train came in backwards.
14:08So what they're going to do now is they're going to uncouple the engine from the front of the train,
14:11bring it back on this parallel track here, which is called a passing loop,
14:15and the train is going to go back in the direction in which it arrived.
14:20The Loco W24 Cowbourne was built in 1891 and is the sole survivor of its O2 class.
14:27Here it is on Ride Pier in 1962, before the island line was electrified.
14:33So it's going to slow right down now.
14:36It's the flagship steam engine on this line.
14:39It weighs 49 tonnes and comfortably pulls seven coaches.
14:43Look at this beautiful train.
14:45You can see it's been kept in wonderful condition.
14:47I'm sure it's been refurbed over the years, but the paintwork,
14:51I love the sort of like the black outline on Southern,
14:53it makes it sort of stand out.
14:55Kitted out in overalls, it's time to meet my driver Steve.
15:00Right, wonderful. There we go.
15:01OK, I'll come and join you if I may.
15:03Come and join us. It's very warm in here today.
15:04Right, OK. I suppose it's very warm every day, isn't it?
15:06Very much so.
15:07And here we are, the beloved O2.
15:09Right.
15:10Brilliant.
15:11It's in fantastic conditions.
15:13So presumably it's been refurbed over the years.
15:14Many, many times.
15:16Yeah.
15:16Nearly as old as our fireman today.
15:18Oh, right.
15:18He's clocking up the years there.
15:20Oh, yes, OK.
15:21And what's his name?
15:22His name's Steve.
15:23Steve.
15:24Is that a regulation of the railway?
15:26Can they be called Steve to work on the bus?
15:27Everyone's called Steve.
15:27We even have it on the bucket,
15:29so everyone knows who we are.
15:31OK, Steve the Bucket. Fantastic.
15:32OK.
15:34All right, then.
15:34Well, should we get Steve on board then?
15:37Yes, certainly.
15:38We can't go about him.
15:39No.
15:39Hi, hello, Steve.
15:41Hi, hello.
15:41Hello, I'm Steve.
15:42Morning, morning. I'm Steve.
15:43Are you Steve?
15:44We're all Steve together.
15:45We're all Steve together.
15:45Fantastic.
15:46OK, this should be called a Steve train, not a steam train.
15:49Wow.
15:49Love it, love it.
15:52There we go.
15:56Oh, that is loud, isn't it?
15:57That's good.
15:58Oh, it's beautiful.
15:58No way you're missing that.
16:01For the first leg of this journey on the three and a quarter mile run down to Haven Street,
16:06I'll be learning the basics of driving from steam.
16:09So what's that, what was that instrument there?
16:12That's called a regulator.
16:13Right.
16:13So that's regulating the steam that's contained in the boiler.
16:16Uh-huh.
16:17Right.
16:17By opening that, opening the valve, allows the steam to go down to the valve into the pistons.
16:22Right.
16:22And now, once we're going, let's remove the pole.
16:29It's quite changing here in the car.
16:31Right, OK.
16:32So it's conserving the steam as opposed to using all of the steam in one here.
16:36Right, I see.
16:38The train begins to pick up speed.
16:41This line used to be part of the Ryde and Newport Railway, which opened in 1875.
16:47I can see just on the bridge coming up there, you've got that sort of black smoke stain,
16:51which has probably been there for decades.
16:53Decades.
16:53Just with the steam trains going through.
16:56And we keep adding to it every time.
16:57Oh, yes.
16:57Lovely.
16:58Lovely.
17:00After the line closed to passengers in the 1960s, a group of enthusiasts stepped in to
17:05save a small section, restoring it as the Isle of Wight steam railway.
17:10Well, when you were a boy, was it your ambition to be a boy?
17:13Was it?
17:13Always.
17:14Never thought I'd ever do it.
17:15Right.
17:16And it's wonderful, utterly fantastic.
17:21On single track heritage railways like this one, trains carry a token as permission to
17:27be on that section of line.
17:29As we approach Haven Street Station...
17:31I can see there's a guy on the platform with his arm out.
17:34He's got a token.
17:36Fireman Steve exchanges it for the next one for the section ahead.
17:40Token?
17:41Yeah.
17:42That's very simple.
17:51While the two Steves prepare the loco for the next leg to Wooten, I'm exploring Haven
17:55Street Station, a quaint little place complete with its own signal box.
18:01Built in 1926, the outside doesn't appear to have changed much since then.
18:06Hello, are you Geoff?
18:07Hi.
18:07Yes, I am.
18:08Hello, I'm Paul.
18:09And Nor has the inside.
18:10Pleased to meet you.
18:11Welcome to the Isle of Wight signal box.
18:13Wow, this is quite impressive.
18:14It is.
18:15This is an original frame.
18:17I mean, this was a full working order in the 60s.
18:20Right.
18:20We have added to it, we've got the electric signals up there.
18:23But all this is mainly rod and cable.
18:27The token just handed to Steve comes from a machine in the signal box.
18:32It's a safety device that locks the line so no other train can follow.
18:37It also means I get to play with the points.
18:39If you'd like to pull number five.
18:41Okay.
18:42So is there a knack to this?
18:43Yes, there is.
18:44Okay.
18:44Keep it back in line with the lever.
18:46Pull.
18:48That's right now, pull it.
18:49Right over.
18:49Oh, I see.
18:50All the way.
18:50All the way, yeah.
18:53Now let the lever go.
18:55Uh-huh.
18:55That's it.
18:56That locks in place.
18:57Right, okay.
18:59Yeah, a bit of effort needed there, isn't there?
19:01Yeah.
19:01That's not the heaviest though.
19:03No, isn't it?
19:03Number seven, we are changing two sets of points all in one go.
19:07Shall I try number seven?
19:08If you would like to.
19:09Okay, so we put that one back.
19:10I'll put that one back for you.
19:14Right.
19:14I was expecting a pint of beer to appear at the bottom.
19:17Okay, let's see number seven.
19:19Okay, let's see what number seven's like.
19:22Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
19:24Oh, does that go any further down?
19:25Yes, it does.
19:26Right the way forward.
19:28I don't think I can get that.
19:29Can you do that?
19:30Can you do that last bit?
19:32Oh, yeah, it needs a bit of...
19:33I can see you've got the arm muscle.
19:34Oh, yeah, after doing it for so long.
19:36Yeah, yeah, that is hard.
19:37And then push it...
19:38So, back again?
19:39Again.
19:40Oh, that's easy.
19:40All the way.
19:41Oh, I say it's easier going back.
19:43Oh, blimey.
19:44No.
19:45No, it isn't, is it?
19:46No.
19:47I think you'll have to take over again there, yeah.
19:49As I say, you're doing two sets of points.
19:51Right, yeah, go.
19:52Yeah, yeah.
19:55Heritage Railways rely on strong, passionate volunteers like Geoff.
20:00Oh, now, here is a very interesting item here.
20:02It says here, during the 1800s, a railway signalman who lost his legs in an accident purchased
20:08a baboon.
20:09Baboon began to operate the railway and was eventually given a job and salary, and in nine
20:14years of employment, never made a mistake.
20:16Well, there's a tribute to the ingenuity of the animal kingdom.
20:20It's not true.
20:22Oh, well, you would say that, otherwise a monkey could do this job.
20:25No comment.
20:26No comment.
20:28Back outside, the two Steves are nearly ready for me.
20:31But, with another loco coming into the station, it's my chance to help with the token exchange.
20:37Just let them put their arm through and snatch it out of their hand.
20:41Right.
20:41Just keep an eye on this one.
20:43Yeah.
20:43Make sure you go through the loop.
20:44OK.
20:45OK?
20:46Right, OK.
20:46OK.
20:47All right.
20:47Look at the size of this engine coming towards me.
20:49And here I am.
20:50I look like I'm going to try and knock it out with my fist.
20:53OK.
20:54OK.
20:59OK.
20:59So, this is, er...
21:00There we go.
21:01Got this at the right height, hopefully.
21:03Yeah, you can take your arm through it.
21:05Yeah, OK.
21:09There you go.
21:11Oh, brilliant.
21:12Well done.
21:14There you go.
21:15Your first poking in the gate.
21:16Well done.
21:17I think it was quite helpful they were going at a fairly slow speed.
21:20It does help.
21:21Yes, yeah.
21:22Thank you very much.
21:24When I was just standing here just now with the token and this huge locomotive coming towards
21:30me, OK, admittedly fairly slowly, but nevertheless, the sense of power as it came forward and making
21:35sure that I did that and did that at the right height and stuff, that was quite something.
21:41It's time to get a real sense of that power.
21:45Do you fancy having a drive?
21:47Yes.
21:48You've seen how it's done now, haven't you?
21:50Well...
21:50Easy.
21:51How long did it take you to learn?
21:53A few years.
21:54A few years.
21:55OK.
21:55Well, you show me what I need to do.
21:56The driving's the easy bit.
21:57It's the stopping.
21:58All right, OK.
21:59That's the bit we have to run into.
22:00All right, fine.
22:00We'll cross that bridge when we come through.
22:02Harden the pun.
22:03Yeah, indeed.
22:03All right.
22:04We have to move the pole forwards.
22:05Right.
22:05It will pull you because it's counterbalanced.
22:07OK.
22:07So you need to put your foot hard against that.
22:09Hard against that, yeah.
22:10And then hold that and be very, it will pull you forwards.
22:12All the way.
22:13OK.
22:13All the way.
22:15OK, yeah, I've done that.
22:16Perfect.
22:16Now you want to get yourself in a position with your back to that.
22:19Right.
22:19I'll stand that side.
22:20OK.
22:21And here we have the regulator.
22:22Yeah.
22:23So we're going to use that like a hammer motion.
22:25Right.
22:25When we get right away from the guard.
22:27I hope the workout in the signal box has strengthened my muscles.
22:30Right away.
22:31So we go.
22:31Nice long whistle on this hand.
22:32It's up here.
22:33All right, yeah, OK.
22:35Oh, that's great.
22:36That's it.
22:36And just open it gently, but push it further each time.
22:39Back and forwards.
22:42That's it, keep going.
22:43Keep going.
22:44Keep going.
22:47Keep going.
22:48Keep going.
22:49Oh, I see.
22:49Oh, yeah, I got it there, yeah.
22:51There you go.
22:52That'll do.
22:52OK.
22:53And away we go.
22:58I started that.
23:00Easy, isn't it?
23:00You've started that.
23:01Yep.
23:01Wow.
23:02That's a thrill.
23:04Great.
23:08I don't think we need you anymore.
23:09Thank you a lot.
23:11Let me know.
23:12Let me know when you've stopped it.
23:13Yeah, I will.
23:14The most important aspect of driving a steam loco is keeping your eyes on the dials.
23:20We've got food.
23:20We're looking at our edges now.
23:22We've got a good point of pressure.
23:23Right.
23:24Our brakes are all off.
23:25Yeah.
23:26Got a nice hold on our boiler.
23:28Yeah.
23:29Relax.
23:29Action.
23:33I'm getting the hang of this.
23:38It's just an amazing position to be in because you are just feeling the power of this magnificent
23:43locomotive.
23:45It's a great experience to feel that you've started a steam engine.
23:48I mean, not many of us who aren't steam engine drivers ever get that experience.
23:52I'm immensely grateful for the honour and privilege of beginning it today.
24:05We're going to come to a bend.
24:06You can see that.
24:07That bend will actually slow us down a little bit.
24:09Right.
24:11We're going to get you to do a bit of braking now.
24:13Okay.
24:14Pull that round to there.
24:15Back to there.
24:17Oh, right.
24:17I see.
24:23We're arriving in Wooden, which in 1969 hosted the second Isle of Wight festival.
24:28That's beautiful.
24:30Where famously Bob Dylan came out of semi-retirement to play to 150,000 fans.
24:37Yeah, that was something.
24:39Wow.
24:44By then, Wooden station had already closed, so Dylan definitely didn't get here by train.
24:50But his appearance put the festival on the map.
24:54Earlier yesterday, I was on the island and it was a beautiful sort of view as you're going
24:58through, but it is an electric train.
25:00But this is a whole nother level, isn't it?
25:02I mean, because there is so much, well, there's so much to do, first of all, on this.
25:06Definitely.
25:07They're living and breathing.
25:08Yeah, they are living and breathing.
25:12As Paul's driven, I think he waggled a few levers in the signal box, didn't he?
25:15So he deserves a little bit of a treat.
25:17There you go.
25:19Bacon and eggs, cooked on the shuttle.
25:21What do we have here?
25:22An engine man's brunch.
25:24An engine man's brunch.
25:25Okay.
25:26So how have these been cooked in there?
25:28Ah, Bob, I'll try to find them.
25:30Okay.
25:30Splendid.
25:33You know, this looks almost good enough to eat.
25:36Well, I hope it is.
25:37Okay, let's try it.
25:38Let's try it.
25:38Yeah.
25:40Is it good enough to eat?
25:41Mmm.
25:53I'm continuing my Isle of Wight adventure.
25:57I've stepped away from the steam railway to explore the surrounding countryside.
26:02There's a long history of farming on the island, and this farm has been selling dairy products
26:06since 15 Guernsey cattle arrived way back in 1923.
26:11I'm supposed to be learning to milk this famous and beautiful breed, but when I arrive,
26:15one of the cows needs help.
26:19It's a problematic birth, and I've been asked to lend a much-needed hand by my host,
26:24farmer Paul Griffin.
26:26If you would walk slowly along the fence line.
26:29Okay, walk slowly along the fence line, yeah?
26:33Will she be nervous of me, do you think?
26:36Don't give her eye contact.
26:38No, okay.
26:39And then just come where I am.
26:41Right.
26:42And between us, we're going to deliver this calf.
26:45Okay.
26:46Which, at the moment, I can't find its head.
26:49But I will do.
26:51Yes.
26:52I want you to come to the left of me.
26:53To the left of you, yes, I'm doing that.
26:55And just gently hold that blue rope.
26:59The blue rope.
27:00So that it doesn't slip off from where I've got it.
27:03Okay, there, yeah.
27:04Stand there for me.
27:05Stand there, yeah.
27:06And no need to pull too tight.
27:08Okay, fine.
27:09Just, just firm.
27:11Yeah.
27:12Most cows give birth without human intervention, but this calf is in the wrong position
27:16and urgently needs assistance.
27:19I've got one foot with a rope on.
27:21Right.
27:22I want to put the other rope on the other foot.
27:25Yeah.
27:25Save me putting that in my mouth.
27:27Loosen that for me.
27:28Loosen it.
27:28Yeah.
27:29Like that.
27:29That's it.
27:30Perfect.
27:30Yeah.
27:33This is like a, the most bizarre tug of war you've got to be involved in.
27:41Let's hope we don't get pulled in.
27:43Can you please?
27:44Yeah.
27:45Just gently hold that one.
27:46Hold, gently hold that.
27:47Yeah.
27:47Yeah.
27:48Yeah.
27:49And I'm going to go hunting for a nose.
27:52Yeah.
27:53Has she given birth before?
27:55She has.
27:55Right.
27:56So that's why she's letting me do this.
27:57She knows we're helping.
27:58Yes.
27:59Oh my God.
28:02Okay.
28:02Yeah.
28:03A bit slippery, but.
28:06We've got a head here now.
28:07Right.
28:08Right.
28:08You can pull.
28:09Yep.
28:10Oh.
28:12It's coming.
28:13Yep.
28:15Yeah.
28:15I'm hoping it's a she.
28:16We want a girl.
28:18It's a bit too late to change now, isn't it?
28:20She isn't.
28:21Can't send it back.
28:22No.
28:23Come on.
28:25There we go.
28:26Oh.
28:27Come on, blink your eyes.
28:30When it gets past its rib cage.
28:32Yeah.
28:32We're going to stop.
28:33Okay.
28:34Drain the lungs out.
28:36Stop.
28:37Right.
28:39This helps.
28:40Because they can drown.
28:42You can breathe, Carr, if you're alive.
28:45Okay.
28:45Lovely.
28:46Come and have a lick, Mummy.
28:48Come on.
28:50And it's a girl.
28:52Wonderful.
28:55And you see the milk is coming in now.
28:57Oh, right.
28:58Yes.
28:58Yes.
28:58So she started running milk.
29:00Yeah.
29:00And that calf needs to get a good drink of that within two hours of birth.
29:04Right.
29:05So step back a little bit.
29:07Yeah.
29:07Okay.
29:07Give them a bit of space.
29:09Yeah.
29:11Well, that was an extraordinary experience, I must say.
29:13So thank you so much for that.
29:14But I think I've earned, I think I've earned myself some refreshment.
29:16I think you certainly have.
29:18Yes.
29:18Okay.
29:19Shall we?
29:19Yes.
29:24Delivering that calf was no picnic.
29:27But this is a scone with delicious Guernsey butter.
29:32And thankfully our calf is now standing as well as bonding with its mother.
29:38Can I do the honours?
29:39Yeah.
29:39Go on then.
29:41Oh, that's a fair amount, isn't it?
29:43That's good.
29:44Go for it.
29:44Mmm.
29:47Cheers, Paul.
29:48Mmm.
29:48Cheers.
29:51It's been a pleasure to be here today and help you with this incredible moment.
29:5840 years of doing this, it still gets me a nice carving like that with a heifer carving.
30:03Mmm.
30:04Mmm.
30:05Yeah.
30:05Have you ever lost a wrist watch?
30:09It comes out in the end.
30:11Yeah.
30:18Talking of time, I have a train to catch.
30:22I'm back here at Wooden Station to catch the 11 o'clock train to cows.
30:27Unfortunately, I shouldn't have got here earlier because, well, I've missed the train by 60 years.
30:32In the 1960s, the infamous Dr Beechin swung his axe across Britain's railways.
30:38And this line got the chop.
30:40However, many of the island's other railways had already shut in the 1950s.
30:44Luckily today, there's a replacement service.
30:52Although it's a little slower than the train.
30:55For this next ride, it's less chuffing and more puffing.
30:59Are you good?
30:59Yeah.
31:00Three, two, one.
31:02Let's go.
31:03Many of the island's old railway lines have been turned into bike routes.
31:06And keen cyclist Keevan Ansell is taking me for a trip along one of the most popular.
31:12The Red Squirrel Trail.
31:13All right, squirrel.
31:15So-called because the old railway lines that make up the trail run through one of the last strongholds in
31:21England for the endangered rodent.
31:23So this used to be a railway line?
31:25Yeah.
31:26So this is the line that takes you through from Newport to Merstone Station.
31:31Uh-huh.
31:32You'll see the platform as you get to it.
31:34So this is why this is a very flat, nice route to be cycling a lot.
31:37Oh my, you're absolutely right, yeah.
31:39That is the nice thing about the Red Squirrel Trail.
31:41Mm-hmm.
31:41Oh, he'd be coming into the-
31:43I see, yeah.
31:43He'd be coming in to see the-
31:45Yeah.
31:46Platform there.
31:47Yeah.
31:47I mean, obviously the station buildings are gone.
31:50But yeah, this would have been a very busy station in this day.
31:52Yes.
31:54From Merston, a junction station, you could have taken a train to either Ventnor on the south coast or Sandown
32:00on the east.
32:01At its peak, the island's railway network stretched to 55 miles.
32:06Today, you can cycle over 40 miles of old railway routes.
32:10So where would be a good place to try and spot the Red Squirrels?
32:13Actually, we're not far off a station called Alverstone Station.
32:17Uh-huh.
32:17And just up from there, you've got Alverstone Mead, which is a nature reserve.
32:21Fantastic.
32:26But the Red Squirrel is famously elusive.
32:29So we've got, I think there's about, I think there's sort of roughly about 3,000 on the island.
32:34Mm-hmm.
32:34This is a real hot spot, because the reason is because they love, they love all the trees here.
32:40Yes.
32:40So you don't have any grey squirrels here?
32:43No.
32:44No.
32:44We've only got the red ones.
32:45So the grey squirrels were introduced from America in the 1800s, I think.
32:52Right.
32:53So that would be on the mainland.
32:54So that's on the mainland.
32:55Mm-hmm.
32:55But obviously we've got that body of water, haven't we?
32:57Yes.
32:58So they can't get over here.
32:59And actually, Paul, it's actually illegal to bring a grey squirrel here.
33:04Right.
33:04I think it's quite a heavy find, actually.
33:06On the mainland, grey squirrels are out-competed reds.
33:11The Isle of Wight, therefore, is an ideal haven, but today the reds are proving hard to find.
33:17What is the red squirrel's natural diet?
33:20Well, they pretty much eat anything, to be honest with you, Paul.
33:23I mean, you know, hazelnuts, cob nuts, they love all that.
33:26Mm-hmm.
33:27But just keep your eyes peeled and, you know, fingers crossed, you should see something.
33:31Where would be the best place to be looking for a squirrel? Up a tree?
33:34Yeah, they're running around a bit, really. They do like the treetops.
33:38Just then, there's a rustle up above.
33:41Can you see one?
33:42Yeah, yeah, there's a little glimpse of red up there, look.
33:45Oh, there you go.
33:48Yeah, it's quite distinctive against the green ones.
33:50Yeah, it's quite red as well, that one.
33:52Mm.
33:55Right.
33:58Have they learned to fly planes?
34:00No, it's the flying squirrels.
34:02Right.
34:06With the heat of the day forcing most of the squirrels into hiding,
34:09it's back on the bike, as I have an appointment with another loco.
34:13So, I've got to get off at the Isle of Wight Model Engineering Society.
34:17Are we going to be ending up anywhere near there?
34:19Do you want me to give you a lift?
34:20Oh, yes, please.
34:20Right, let's do it.
34:21OK, you seem to know the way and I'll just follow you.
34:23I'll drop you off.
34:25My next stop on my Isle of Wight adventure is Cows,
34:29which is famous for the world's oldest regatta, Cows Week.
34:33But it's also home to the island's smallest railway.
34:36The Isle of Wight Model Engineering Society's miniature railway
34:40is a seven and a quarter inch track that circumnavigates a park.
34:44At the controls today is Ian Bland,
34:47who's been driving scaled down locomotives for half a century.
34:51Oh, beautifully stopped.
34:53Hello, you're Ian.
34:54Hello, Paul.
34:54Oh, I'm Paul. Hello.
34:55Oh, well, yes.
34:57We'll do a sort of a yes.
34:59So, this is a magnificent model you have here.
35:03What is the scale size of this compared to sort of a full scale?
35:08It's an eight scale model.
35:10An eight, yes.
35:10Now, I can see you've got sort of smaller bits of coal,
35:13so you'll have a fire box just like the...
35:16Yep, we have a fire in there, just the same as the full size ones.
35:21Yeah.
35:21Is it difficult to learn how to drive one of these?
35:24No, basically running it round the track is quite easy.
35:27Keeping it in steam and full of water is a little more difficult.
35:31Would you think I'd be able to give it a go?
35:33Yeah, you can run it round for a couple of laps.
35:35OK.
35:36It's only a matter of sitting on it and opening this...
35:40This is a regulator.
35:41Right, yeah.
35:42You just move that sort of vertical
35:44and then just use it like a throttle in a car.
35:47Right.
35:48I suppose one key question is how do I stop it?
35:51When you stop, you move that to there...
35:53Yeah.
35:54..and put the brake on here...
35:55Right, yeah.
35:56..will stop the train.
35:57I don't think you'll be going round very fast.
35:59No, I hope I'm not.
36:02But luckily, because it's a loop,
36:04if it turns into a runaway train,
36:05I'll be passing you every couple of minutes
36:07until the steam runs out.
36:09With the fire stoked and a full head of steam,
36:12I'm gloved up and ready for the off.
36:14OK, here we go.
36:16Hopefully I'll see you shortly.
36:19Definitely.
36:20Move it back.
36:24Hercules is an 040 tank locomotive designed in the 1960s.
36:29It's just over three foot long, weighs approximately 220 pounds
36:33and has been painted in the same Southern Railway colours
36:35as the larger loco on the steam railway.
36:38Well, this is a rather exhilarating experience, to be honest.
36:41I'm in total control of this steam engine.
36:43Oh, I'm going too fast again. Let me slow down.
36:45We're coming up to a bend,
36:47so I don't want to be approaching that bend at too fast speed.
36:50It's an incredible piece of engineering
36:52to bring something as big as the loco I was driving earlier
36:56down to this kind of scale.
36:58Even the controls are identical.
37:04Just apply the brake.
37:07Or is he going round again?
37:10Driving all right, it's stopping the problem, isn't it?
37:12You need to use the brake.
37:14I push that all the way across.
37:15Yeah.
37:16But I need to pull that towards me.
37:18Correct.
37:18OK.
37:18Can I go round one more time?
37:20Yes, of course you can.
37:20OK, fantastic.
37:21And I'll see if I can stop right where you are.
37:23OK.
37:24We'll make that a challenge, OK?
37:26OK.
37:27Let's give it a go.
37:28Let's find out what happens.
37:29OK.
37:30Brake's off.
37:30Yeah.
37:31Here we go.
37:36That's good.
37:37All right.
37:38I need to give it a bit more power because we're slowing down.
37:41There's obviously a gradient on this curve.
37:57That was better.
37:58That was better, isn't it?
38:00That was enormous fun.
38:02And thank you for showing me the brake because I think that was the key thing I was missing
38:05in terms of stopping it.
38:07Are you looking for any volunteer drivers at the moment?
38:09We're always looking for volunteer drivers.
38:12Oh, well, thank you so much.
38:13Here, we can shake hands now.
38:14We can shake hands.
38:15OK.
38:17Oh, great.
38:18Lovely.
38:18Can I take it home?
38:19No.
38:20Oh.
38:35I'm on the final leg of my Isle of Wight expedition to get the driver's eye view from
38:40as many trains as possible.
38:43And so I'm riding the rest of the island line on a train very similar to the ones my dad
38:47used to drive on the underground, all the way down to its southern terminus at Shanklin.
38:54Oh, now, what was that?
38:55Is there a level crossing coming?
38:56It's a foot crossing ahead.
38:58Oh, right.
38:58I see, yeah.
38:59Just next door to the football ground.
39:01Now, all these foot crossings, I assume, they are just for pedestrians.
39:04There's no vehicles coming across there.
39:05No, no.
39:05The only one is literally just around the corner, which is Brewhouse Crossing.
39:08That's a use of work crossing, so the farmer has access across it.
39:13Right, uh-huh.
39:13Across.
39:14Uh-huh.
39:15That's just around this bend here.
39:18Beautiful view over there towards distant meadows.
39:24This is wonderful.
39:25I mean, this is a real treat.
39:28During its final miles, the island line drifts through farmland and wooded cuttings.
39:34Near Braden, it skirts wide marshes where reeds and waterways stretch into the distance
39:40before running south towards Shanklin.
39:43My final stop was once a Victorian holiday favourite, famed for its wide, sandy beaches
39:48and popular with writers such as Keats and Dickens.
39:52Right, so this is, uh, Shanklin?
39:54Yeah.
39:55That's it.
39:56So, do you get out and stretch your legs?
39:58Yeah, I've got to try and go.
39:59Oh, of course you have, haven't you?
40:00Yeah.
40:02Not so easy driving it backwards.
40:04Yeah, no wing mirrors.
40:05Yes.
40:06I've got to get up myself then.
40:14Sitting in the driver's compartment of that, uh, refurbished district line train
40:19in the...
40:21looking at the controls that my dad would have been very familiar with, I suppose,
40:24made me think about him and...
40:26like a lot of men who grew up in the Second World War,
40:29he was not one to display or discuss emotion.
40:35Um, we never talked about my career in any meaningful way.
40:39And after he died, I discovered a cupboard in my parents' living room above the television set
40:45that was full of videotapes that he'd bought and used to record every single television program I'd ever been on.
40:51And he'd written on the labels of the videotape, the name of the program, the date it went out.
40:57And although he never in any way suggested to me that he was proud of my career,
41:04here was the irrefutable proof that he was, a treasure trove of everything I'd ever done.
41:10Hidden away.
41:19Thinking about my dad's generation, before I leave this island I want to discover the role it played in the
41:24war,
41:25lying just across the channel from Nazi-occupied France.
41:28I'm searching for clues in Shanklin Chine, a lush, coastal ravine filled with rare plants and some interesting creatures.
41:36Who would have thought it would have been easier to spot a dinosaur than a red squirrel here on the
41:41Isle of Wight?
41:43But I'm not here to explore the Jurassic wildlife.
41:45I'm here to find out a bit more about one of the most audacious, top-secret operations of the Second
41:50World War.
41:53In fact, there were two top-secret projects developed here during World War II, both involving underground pipes.
42:00And I'm going to meet historian Tim Wanda, who's going to tell me much more about them.
42:06So, tell me, first of all, I suppose, what was it used for?
42:10This pipeline was designed to flood the beaches with petrol should this beach on the Isle of Wight be attacked
42:16by the Nazis.
42:17Fuel could be flooded down to the beach, ignited, and in horrific form incinerate the invading army.
42:25Right. Wow.
42:27It was known as a flame barrage.
42:28Right. And because, of course, we are very close to the mainland here on the Isle of Wight, aren't we?
42:33We are. We're only some three miles from the mainland, but the Isle of Wight has been a source of
42:38invasion for thousands of years.
42:39Churchill was absolutely adamant this island would not fall, and if we did fall, the Germans would pay for every
42:47inch.
42:48Yes.
42:48The second top-secret pipeline was developed later in the war, ahead of D-Day, and codenamed Pluto, or Pipeline
42:56Under the Ocean.
42:57The idea was to supply petrol to the troops after they landed in Normandy more than 80 miles away.
43:04So, Paul, this is where Pluto happened, and this is Pluto.
43:09Right.
43:09This is the pipeline under the ocean, a three-inch Hamill pipe, and this is what will change the war.
43:15And there was 82 miles worth of that.
43:18There was. In fact, there was more than that, because the idea was to lay six of these pipes all
43:22the way to Cherbourg.
43:23And in essence, they had to be over 90 miles long because they go down to the bottom of the
43:27ocean.
43:27Right.
43:28It was a huge endeavour. This technology did not exist in 1943, and they needed it ten months later.
43:34Because what you've got to remember is, during D-Day, on D-Day, June 6th, 1944, we're going to land
43:391,550 Sherman tanks.
43:41They do less than one mile to the gallon. To mount the invasion, we need one million gallons of fuel
43:48a day to fight the Nazis.
43:50How do you get it there? Pipeline under the ocean.
43:53But the pipeline had one major flaw, which revealed itself the moment the pumps roared into life in October 1944.
44:01You can't force petrol down two and three-quarter inches of pipe over 96 miles when it's less than two
44:08degrees.
44:09It's just too thick. Right.
44:10So in the early hours of the morning, the first pipeline exploded, then the second SWAT pipeline exploded.
44:15It was truly a pipeline too far. It couldn't handle the pressures.
44:18So what they did is they used this experience as a prototype.
44:22Yep.
44:23They'll pack up here and they'll move literally down to Kent to Dungeness and relay the pipelines across there over
44:29just 21 miles.
44:30But here in the Isle of Wight, all this fuel is still not going to go to waste because what
44:36we'll do is we'll run fuel around the island and we'll then have these channel tankers which will take the
44:41fuel and we'll take it across the channel in 124,000 gallon lumps.
44:47They will offload their fuel into 20 million jerry cans within a month of D-Day and that allows them
44:53to fuel the trucks and the jeeps and of course the tanks and within three months we're knocking on the
45:01borders of Germany and the war is all but won.
45:03Yes, it's an incredible story of engineering ingenuity, isn't it?
45:07Yeah, and as General Patton said, my boys can eat their belts but my tanks have got to have gas.
45:12Yes.
45:12And Pluto and Pluto around the island and Pluto at Dungeness fueled the invasion to free Nazi Europe and the
45:21life and the world we now live in.
45:23Yes, absolutely.
45:24Fantastic.
45:30I know a little bit about the history of World War II but I'd never heard about this beach in
45:34the Isle of Wight that at one point they were considering setting on fire to repel the Nazi troops.
45:43It's extraordinary now when you see how beautiful it is to consider that 80 years ago it might have been
45:48all entirely up in flame.
45:51It gives you something to think about, doesn't it?
46:00It's time to speed home on another example of British ingenuity.
46:06This has been a magnificent trip to the Isle of Wight. I've had so many different experiences.
46:10First I sat in a driver's compartment with a train that my dad would have been very familiar with and
46:15I've even driven a small little train myself as well as being on a big train.
46:18I've even helped deliver a baby calf so all in all it's been an extraordinary experience.
46:23One that most tourists of the Isle of Wight I'm sure would never dream of having.
46:27See you next time.
46:29It's sweet.
46:29Yeah,
46:49The square of the Isle of Wight.
46:49Good luck!
46:49So Manners must be with one of all his food.
46:50Detosa,
46:50Ai!
46:51You you!
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