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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?
00:51Yes, 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 dedicated to this majestic form of transport.
01:09Already I'm beginning to feel like a train driver.
01:12And have fun off the train too, along 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.
01:33This time I'm going from coast to coast across the north of England.
01:37Riding a 15-inch narrow gauge line.
01:40This is lovely already.
01:42Searching for the Bronte sisters.
01:46Exchanging horse power for muscle power.
01:49And experiencing one of the work horses of Britain's railways.
01:56My journey begins on the west coast of England, at the edge of the Lake District.
02:02The village of Ravenglass dates back to the Roman era.
02:06But I'm not here for a chariot ride.
02:10Trains come in all sizes.
02:12From the double-O gauge train set that you might be lucky enough to find underneath your Christmas tree.
02:16To the full scale commuter train.
02:19Which is always super reliable.
02:20Until you hear the words, bus replacement service.
02:22But the train I'm off to see today is a narrow gauge railway,
02:25which comes in between the two scales.
02:27And it has a superb atmosphere all of its own.
02:31Via the magic of television, I've changed into my driver's overalls and arrived here.
02:36The Ravenglass and Eskdel Railway.
02:39At seven miles long, it's one of the biggest little lines in the world.
02:44I'm meeting General Manager Stuart Ross as he prepares a locomotive for the start of the day.
02:49Oh, hello there. Are you Stuart?
02:51I am, yes.
02:51Hi, I'm Paul. Hello.
02:54Inside, the shed is full of sleeping locomotives.
03:00Oh, that's quite warm still.
03:03Yeah, it was in use yesterday.
03:05And it will retain its heat for around two days.
03:09Is that the reason why you have this cloth over it?
03:11No, no.
03:11The cloth is because we have odd nesting birds in the roof.
03:18Oh, right, yes.
03:18There's nothing more soul destroying than when you've got it beautifully clean.
03:22Yes.
03:22And you get little presents left on it.
03:24Yes.
03:25And...
03:25It's either that or put nappies on the birds.
03:27It is.
03:27And that will take forever.
03:28It's probably a bit excessive, really.
03:29Yes.
03:30Yeah, okay.
03:32I'll stand back.
03:33Okay.
03:38It's very beautiful, isn't it?
03:41It's just incredibly evocative.
03:44Well, it's what it's all about.
03:45You need to head down to the station.
03:47If you sit at this side, Paul...
03:49Okay.
03:51And then...
03:51There's a cap here, is that yours?
03:53Yeah, that's mine.
03:53I've got to look the parts.
03:55Absolutely.
03:56And it stops all the muck getting in my hair.
03:59Yeah.
04:00The most important thing, give that one a pull there.
04:03This one here?
04:03Oh, yeah, that'll be the whistle of it.
04:04Yeah, it is, yeah.
04:05There we go.
04:07Oh, blimey.
04:09That's a whistle and a half.
04:10It is.
04:11Oh, this is lovely already.
04:13I mean, the smell of the steam coming towards you.
04:16Fantastic.
04:20My coast-to-coast adventure will first take me
04:22from Ravenglass to Delgarth.
04:25Then it's a brief jolly on the waters of Windermere
04:29before I return to rail on the Settle to Carlisle line.
04:34Then it's off to Emsay for a slice of Victoriana
04:37and some raw steam power.
04:40A short stop in Bronte country,
04:43followed by a proper workout on a Derwent Valley pump trolley.
04:48And finally, some window-rattling diesel
04:51on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway from Pickering to Whitby.
04:57Gathering at Ravenglass Station are hordes of my adoring fans,
05:01although there is an outside possibility
05:03that they're just waiting for the 9.30 to Delgarth.
05:10That's an incredibly delicate operation.
05:12You can control this to such a fine speed.
05:15It's very impressive.
05:16It is.
05:17It doesn't always go like that, but we try to.
05:20I've got for you, Paul, some goggles there.
05:23Oh, fantastic.
05:24Because our heads are a little bit above the cab.
05:26Yeah, sure.
05:27We do get a bit splattered.
05:28Yeah, OK.
05:32Lovely.
05:33And unlike being in a full-size steam locomotive,
05:36you actually get a very good view
05:37because you're looking above the engine
05:38as opposed to sort of being down here
05:40and looking for a little sort of aperture.
05:42Here you can sort of,
05:43and having the smoke coming directly into your face,
05:46that's why I'm wearing these safety goggles now.
05:49And how many passengers,
05:49how many carriages do you have on the back of this?
05:51We've got nine on this.
05:53Right.
05:53So that's around 150 passengers.
05:56Brilliant.
05:57Excellent.
05:58And are the small children,
06:00are they sort of like fascinated by,
06:01because they wouldn't have ever seen anything like this.
06:02It's children of all ages.
06:04Yes.
06:04We get more adults than children, actually.
06:06Do you?
06:06Yeah.
06:06If you want to give a two, Paul.
06:08OK, just one.
06:09Yep.
06:20Shut the blue one now.
06:22What'd I do?
06:23That'll stop the stuff coming out of the puncture.
06:25Just push it down.
06:26That's it.
06:28Operating a steam loco involves a constant routine
06:31of checking gauges, opening valves and pulling handles.
06:35And if you turn that one clockwise until it stops...
06:39That'll stop the pump.
06:40And if you turn that one as well...
06:42Clockwise?
06:42That turns the blower.
06:43Yeah, clockwise again.
06:45The principle is fairly simple.
06:46Send steam to the cylinders when you want to move,
06:49and whatever you do, keep the fire going.
06:54And now the draft of the steam going up the chimney is drawing the fire.
06:58Aha.
06:58And you'll see it sort of pulling now.
07:00Brilliant.
07:05The Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway was built in 1875 to transport iron ore,
07:10and upgraded a year later, becoming the first passenger-carrying narrow-gauge railway in England.
07:17By 1908, it had fallen into such a state of disrepair that it was declared unsafe
07:22and closed completely in 1913.
07:27It was an entrepreneur called Wenman Bassett Loke who revived the railway in 1915.
07:33Regarded as the father of model railways in the United Kingdom,
07:37he was on the lookout for a stretch of line to use as a testbed for his latest business venture.
07:4315-inch gauge locomotives to sell to the rich and famous for their garden railways.
07:55We are only doing sort of like about 15 miles an hour, something like that at the moment, would you
08:00say?
08:01About that, yes.
08:02Yeah.
08:03But it feels much faster.
08:04But it's absolutely wonderful.
08:06I mean, you're in the open air.
08:07It's better the coal.
08:09It's hot.
08:09Ooh.
08:10Sorry, Bob.
08:11He's doing my job now.
08:13I meant to be the whistler, but no.
08:15It's good he's done that, because they're coming up to a level crossing.
08:18I'm going to sit back down, because we're picking up speed and we're going downhill.
08:21But it is an exhilarating experience.
08:27And if everything's a bit bouncy...
08:28Yes.
08:29Yes.
08:33Are they feeling the bounce of the calories?
08:35So I have to be a bit gentle with that, otherwise they feel a bit sick.
08:43By 1960, the railway was down to two working locomotives, so funds were raised to construct this one, Rivermite, which
08:52entered service in 1967.
08:55At 22 feet long, she's only a third the size of a standard locomotive, and is one of a fleet
09:01of five that carries around 100,000 passengers a year.
09:12I can see why I need the goggles.
09:16Yes.
09:18The line's route along the Esk Valley is dense with trees, which exposes the locomotives to a classic railway problem.
09:30This could be quite the sticky wicket up here, because you've got the old 100 trees.
09:35We're digging in on a corner, and the engine can lose its feet, and you'll suddenly hear its slip.
09:41So the problem every year of leaves on the line, that would be something great.
09:46Well, it does affect us.
09:48Yeah, yeah.
09:50Because people sometimes laugh about that, and they think, well, why should that be a problem?
09:54But it is a problem, isn't it?
09:54It's really annoying.
09:56Yeah.
09:56It can be really frustrating.
09:58Well, effectively, like that.
10:01What happened then?
10:02We slipped.
10:03Right.
10:04So we found a wet bit, but it's got a very thin layer of metal, touching a thin layer of
10:10metal.
10:10Yes.
10:11And anything between it basically works as a sliding slime.
10:17Right.
10:17And you lose all your grip.
10:18Right.
10:22We were slipping there, so I used a bit of sand to keep us going.
10:28So the sand just drops on the track just ahead of the wheels?
10:32It does.
10:32Just ahead of the wheels, and gives us a little bit more grip.
10:36Whistle again, Hulk?
10:38Once?
10:38Yep.
11:01Could you have a glance back and just check all the carriages are coming round the corner,
11:05OK?
11:08Yes, seems to be all right.
11:10I'm giving up a long whistle, Paul.
11:20As we approach the delightfully named Delgarth for Boot Station, my time on the Ravenglass and Eskdell Railway is nearly
11:28over.
11:33But before I go, after the carriages are carefully decoupled, I need to help Stuart prepare River Mite for her
11:39return journey.
11:44There we are.
11:45The best bit is to put you back to the tender and push with your legs rather than that way.
11:50OK.
11:50All right.
11:51And once it's started, it should go.
11:52Get its own momentum.
11:53Yeah.
11:54There we are.
11:56But this is relatively easy once it gets going.
11:59It is.
11:59And David will line it up for us.
12:02How's it?
12:02Excellent.
12:03Jump back on.
12:07And we need to give a toot, Paul.
12:09OK.
12:13And then as we go, we need to make sure we wave at all the children and adults and grown
12:17-ups and everyone.
12:20Does that include the dogs?
12:21And the dogs.
12:22It is law.
12:23Thank you so much.
12:25That has been a fantastic experience.
12:29With the smell of steam and smoke still in the air, I've left narrow-gauge railways behind to make my
12:36connection with a full-sized mainline train.
12:41I'm heading for Windermere where I have an appointment with a very different sort of steam engine.
13:02Having left the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway behind, I've travelled east to Lake Windermere where steam engines are used in
13:09a very different environment.
13:13It's beautiful here, Lake Windermere.
13:16And of course, once the railway started up in 1825, this soon became a place which would attract tourists, a
13:23new word.
13:24You know, people coming from all around the country to come and visit the Lake District.
13:27Not popular of everybody.
13:29In 1844, Wordsworth wrote,
13:32Is then no nook of English countryside secure from rash assault?
13:37Well, you know, essentially you can't stop people coming here once they have access to it.
13:42And Wordsworth, you can't just keep the Lake District to yourself.
13:45It's for everybody.
13:46So don't be a selfish bard.
13:53Wordsworth's views belonged to an age before trains.
13:56But the railway companies had different ideas.
14:00And so, in the 1840s, they helped introduce large steamboats to Windermere,
14:06to capitalise on the rail-driven tourist boom.
14:11Ian Shearer, from the Windermere Jetty Museum, is waiting for me on one of the surviving launches.
14:19Oh, hello, are you Ian?
14:20Oh, Paul.
14:21Hello, very pleased to meet you.
14:22How are you?
14:23Good.
14:23Good, thanks.
14:24Oh, this is a beautiful looking vessel you've got here.
14:271902 coal-fired steam launch.
14:281902 coal-fired steam launch.
14:30Yes.
14:31Do you want to have a look on board?
14:32Oh, yes please.
14:32Yeah, thank you.
14:35Just onto the step.
14:36Yeah.
14:37And if you come round here, you can have a look at the engine ticking away.
14:44That's amazing, it's just so quiet as well.
14:46Yes.
14:47That is extraordinary, isn't it?
14:48Yeah.
14:49Basically steam comes through and runs the two cylinders.
14:52A familiar, beautiful smell of coal.
14:55Yeah.
14:56So Finn's going to crew for us today.
14:58Brilliant.
15:03With Finn at the controls, it's time to experience the steam launch Osprey in all her glory.
15:13The huge steam launches built by the railways would carry more than 500 tourists at a time.
15:20Now running on diesel, they are still operating today.
15:24And this year, more than a million sightseers will hop on board to explore England's largest lake.
15:33The train has to carry its own water.
15:36Are you carrying your own water here?
15:38No, we're lucky we have two injector valves.
15:41Right.
15:41And then they're operated by steam.
15:44Uh-huh.
15:44So basically if I turn one of them on, I'll suck water from the lake straight into the boiler.
15:48Oh!
15:49That's handy, isn't it?
15:50Yeah, it is.
15:51So I'll get one of these valves.
15:52Uh-huh.
15:54A little puff of steam, and then it's now sucking water from the lake.
15:58Wow.
15:59And then that will start to slowly rise up.
16:01Um, when I speak to drivers of steam trains, they say each steam train has its own particular personality.
16:10Would you say the same about...
16:12Oh my goodness, yes.
16:12Really?
16:13And it has, um, it can wake up on the wrong side of the bed.
16:17It just, you know, sometimes you're thinking, why are you not working?
16:20Yes.
16:20And other days, everything works perfectly.
16:23Yes.
16:23Uh-huh, uh-huh.
16:24Same as the, uh, the driving of it.
16:26Yes.
16:26You know, at, um, on different conditions and wind.
16:29Um, we've got a big cabin, uh, a big canopy at the back.
16:33Mm.
16:33And on a windy day, sometimes you can get blown around, so it can get quite tricky.
16:41I don't know whether it's the glorious view, or the thought of William Wordsworth berating me from the shore,
16:48but Ian's advice about how difficult it is to pilot Osprey hasn't really registered.
16:54What's the worst that could happen?
16:56Right, uh, Ian, I'll have a go at taking over, if that's all right,
16:59because I've been very impressed with what you've done,
17:00but I think you...you lack a newcomer's vision.
17:06I'm going to see what happens if I...I'm going to turn the wheel.
17:09Let's just see if I turn the wheel that way.
17:11Let's see...
17:12Oh, yeah, there are. That's definitely working.
17:14That's good.
17:15That's good.
17:16Heading into more open water, nothing directly in front of me.
17:20I'll straighten up a bit, if I may.
17:22Yeah.
17:24There we are.
17:34How am I doing?
17:40I'm having so much fun, it would be very easy for me to get carried away and stay on Windermere
17:45for the rest of the film.
17:47But my director has reminded me that this is a show about trains.
17:51So, back to the rails I must go.
17:55I'm saying goodbye to Windermere and the Lake District and beginning my journey east across the Pennines towards Whitby.
18:03It means a short hop on one of the UK's most celebrated lines.
18:12I'm at Settle Station and I'm about to get on this train here, which is on the Settle to Carlisle
18:17Railway line, often considered the most picturesque railway line in Great Britain.
18:31The Settle to Carlisle Railway was the last of the original UK main lines to come into operation and took
18:386,000 navvies seven years to build.
18:47This magnificent feat of engineering was completed nearly 150 years ago at a cost of £430 million in today's money,
18:57which was 50% above the original estimate.
19:00Some things never change.
19:04The heavy cost was more than just financial.
19:08The 71 miles of line required 14 tunnels and over 20 viaducts to be built.
19:15And led to the deaths of around 100 labourers, many of them dying of a smallpox epidemic in one of
19:21the workers' camps.
19:25The sacrifices of these railway workers, along with countless others in the 19th century,
19:30helped lay the foundations for much of the railway network we still rely on today.
19:41This is my stop. This is where I get off.
19:45At Skipton, I'm hopping off the Settle to Carlisle line and heading for the tiny village of Emsay.
19:52Emsay Station looks much as it did 100 years ago and is home to a thriving heritage railway.
19:58And an enthusiastic restoration team.
20:02Here volunteers work to painstakingly restore locomotives and rolling stock to their former glory.
20:10Hiding in one of the sheds is a royal gem.
20:13Queen Victoria's 1887 Golden Jubilee carriage.
20:18Saved from virtual ruin by Stephen Middleton.
20:23So here it is, Queen Victoria's Saloon.
20:25Oh, rather magnificent looking.
20:28Oh, wow. This is something rather special, isn't it?
20:31It certainly is.
20:32Look at this. Fit for a queen.
20:33Yes, indeed. Wow. This is extraordinary.
20:38I've noticed that you've got the dear old queen over there, the late queen, but she doesn't seem to be
20:42so late anymore.
20:43I found her in a skip.
20:45That must have been a good night out.
20:47This feels like a sort of living room area.
20:49Is that kind of what it was used for?
20:51Her Majesty used it to travel most often from Windsor to Gosport and then the Royal Yacht to the Isle
20:57of Wight.
20:58Visitors included Kaiser Bill in 1906, King of the Belgians, King of Spain and of course her own family.
21:08You've got a menu here, a breakfast menu.
21:10Breakfast at nine o'clock.
21:12So we start off with tea, coffee or cocoa.
21:15Savory dishes, we have galantine of turkey, game pie, and then poultry game.
21:21Can we have there pheasants, grouse, partridges, roast chickens, cold lobster, shrimps.
21:25Maybe it's just one of these. It doesn't have them all, perhaps.
21:27That's quite an incredible selection there.
21:30Yes, that was breakfast at Lancaster Station when she was travelling between Balmoral and London.
21:35She didn't really want to eat on the train because she considered that vulgar.
21:39And how long did it take to restore it to this condition?
21:41We estimated four years and we were given six months.
21:45We were working 12, 14 hour days, non-stop for six months.
21:49And we did it to the day.
21:51So how did you discover it then? What condition was it in when it came to you?
21:54It was totally derelict.
21:57I've got some pictures here.
21:59The gamekeeper who lived in it obviously had passed on.
22:03That was his house.
22:05That's it there?
22:06Yep.
22:07Wow.
22:08So all this corrugated iron was built over the top of the coach.
22:12It protected it.
22:13Yes, I suppose it did, yes.
22:14And then it was stripped off.
22:16Mm-hmm.
22:16And you can see the conditioners in underneath.
22:18Wow, yes.
22:20And thinking about it, I suppose the modern coaches don't have the same romantic feel about them.
22:25They're not as exciting, are they?
22:26No, they're not as soulless. Travelling on a train is no longer the adventure it was.
22:30Mm-hmm.
22:31Well, you still can come to Heritage Railways, I suppose, and relive the golden days.
22:36I tell people this isn't my coach, this is our coach, it's our history and it's such a pleasure to
22:42share it with you.
22:42Thank you for sharing your passion with us.
22:56My pleasure.
23:06Thank you, John.
23:13Thank you, John.
23:14Yes.
23:14Hello, I'm Paul.
23:15How are you, Lou?
23:16You're quite tall, aren't you?
23:17I'm rather tall, yes.
23:19What's the best way up?
23:20Hand on each of the air, climb up the steps.
23:22All right, OK.
23:24Oh, it's warm in here, isn't it?
23:26It is.
23:27It's going to be muggy and horrible.
23:29Yes.
23:30OK.
23:31Wow, this is impressive.
23:31I think this might be about the biggest steam locomotive I've ever been on so far.
23:34It's only a little titchy, this one.
23:36This one?
23:36There's a lot bigger than this one.
23:38Really?
23:38Oh, yes.
23:41Engine 2890, Douglas to his friends, was built in 1943 to support the war effort.
23:47It was originally constructed as a Hunslet austerity saddle tank, one of almost 500 produced.
23:55In the 1990s, its saddle tank was taken off and it was converted into a tender engine.
24:02Today, Douglas will be hauling six carriages with up to 200 passengers on board.
24:07And John is letting me drive.
24:11The regulator here, which is the only control you're really going to be using,
24:16so put two hands on it so you can sort of push with one hand and pull with the other
24:21and you get more control.
24:22OK.
24:23There's a little bit of leeway there.
24:25Yeah.
24:25And then you start, it will open very gently.
24:28You'll hear it go click.
24:30When it goes click, don't move until I tell you to do something else.
24:34Absolutely.
24:34Which will be opening it a little bit further.
24:36OK.
24:36But if you open it too much, it'll just spin its wheels and all hell break.
24:40Yeah, yeah, sure.
24:42Get a whistle.
24:43OK.
24:44And open the regulator.
24:51A little bit more.
24:53A bit.
24:55Just shut back a little bit.
25:04Just back off a little bit.
25:06No, back off.
25:07Back off.
25:08That's it.
25:09See, that was slipping.
25:11All right.
25:11Aha.
25:12The wheels were spinning.
25:13So, open it up a little bit more.
25:18Keep going.
25:19Seems to have hit a stop there, but go past that.
25:21No.
25:23Keep going.
25:23I'm not going to lie.
25:24This is nerve-wracking.
25:26I mean, it's exciting, but frightening at the same time as well.
25:32I'm glad that John's here watching my every move, because you're getting a real sense of power, this incredibly big
25:40engine.
25:40And, er, I imagine it's slightly terrifying, to be honest.
25:49My sense of fear is magnified when I remember there's hundreds of tonnes of train and passengers behind me.
26:03A little bit more if he's got it.
26:05No.
26:06That's it.
26:07OK.
26:07That's all.
26:09It's one of the biggest and most powerful locomotives I've ever driven, and it really feels like it.
26:29It's one place we've started out, because we're coming to a bend at the night, and it's going to be
26:34terrible when we break down, because we are with a dining car full of passengers who are eating there.
26:39And he does want them to be getting smart and sick while they're last.
26:42That's right.
26:43It's a swimming ride like that.
26:43Yeah, yeah.
26:46This line closed as part of the beaching cuts in 1965
26:50and reopened as a 3.5-mile section of Heritage Railway in 1980.
26:57Today it carries 100,000 passengers a year.
27:01Like so many of Britain's Heritage Railways,
27:03it only survives because of the work of a dedicated team of volunteers like John.
27:09How long have you been working on steam railways?
27:13I've been working on steam railways for 55 years.
27:16Really?
27:18If you've been doing this for 55 years, this must be a real passion for you.
27:21Oh, absolutely. I've been retired for the last ten years,
27:24and I do this six days a week, do you? Yes.
27:28On a locomotive of this size, John can't do everything himself.
27:33The fire needs to be fed constantly with a ready supply of coal.
27:38That's the job of volunteer fireman Matt Philipson.
27:42You're doing all the hard work and the driver gets to the floor in.
27:45You're good, but I need some responsibility as well.
27:47Yes, we have. I need some responsibility.
27:49Right, so if something goes wrong, you can say,
27:51well, I'll get the fire going, I don't know what you're doing.
27:55Even on its short runs up and down the line,
27:58Douglas burns around a tonne and a half of coal a day.
28:02And it's back-breaking non-stop work.
28:08Oh, some of that went in, didn't it?
28:15After just three and a half thrilling miles,
28:18we're coming to the end of the line at Bolton Abbey Station.
28:29That was great, thank you very much.
28:30Fantastic experience.
28:32Exhilarating.
28:34Well, that was an absolute thrill
28:36to be in charge of a 350-ton steam engine with carriages.
28:41I mean, there's no other experience like it.
28:44And if you want a steam facial, this is the place to stand.
28:50There it goes.
28:52Wow.
28:54Mm, exhilarating, absolutely exhilarating.
29:00There's no time to stand around, though,
29:02because I have an appointment
29:03with Yorkshire's most famous literary sisters.
29:16My railway adventure from the west coast
29:19to the east coast of England
29:20is taking me ever deeper into Yorkshire.
29:27I'm picking up the Keefley and Worth Valley Railway
29:30for the short ride to Howworth,
29:32home to literary sisters Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontes.
29:39The Brontes took inspiration from these wild moors
29:42to write some of the most powerful novels in English literature,
29:45including Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre.
29:52Joining me on my Bronte pilgrimage
29:54is YouTuber and Bronte obsessive Kate Benson.
29:59She's taken me to St Michael's and All Angels Church,
30:03where the Brontes' father was the curate
30:05and where most of the Bronte family are buried.
30:10So this is the Bronte Chapel, which is where everybody comes to look at the famous stone.
30:17Mm-hmm.
30:18It has all the Bronte family names on it.
30:20Their actual vault, we're actually stood on it right now.
30:23Right, okay.
30:24It's just here.
30:26Mm-hmm.
30:26Why do you think that the Bronte sisters' literature still survives today
30:30and that we still know their names?
30:31I think just because the work was very modern at its time
30:36and there's so many parts of it that resonate with people still,
30:41some of the stories, and it was so unusual for the time
30:44because it was talking about everything from domestic violence
30:48to women having strong roles in history, you know, in writing,
30:54and that was unusual.
30:56Mm-hmm.
30:56It was about men mostly.
30:58Mm-hmm.
30:58And, of course, they wrote under pseudonyms pretending to be men
31:01so they could get away with it.
31:04But why were pseudonyms important to the Bronte sisters?
31:06At the time, women were very judged on what they wrote.
31:11If they wrote about love and girly things, that was fine,
31:14but any hard-hitting subjects, and that was just wrong.
31:18And also, the Brontes were very private people.
31:20They didn't want everybody to know about them
31:23and that was the deal the three sisters made.
31:25If they were going to be published,
31:26they would be going under pseudonyms.
31:28Currah, Ellis, and Acton Bell.
31:31Although the irony being that because they were so desperate
31:33to avoid any kind of fame or publicity,
31:36they'd probably be a bit horrified...
31:38Yes.
31:38..if they were walking around now.
31:40I don't think, especially Emily, she would have hated it so much,
31:43the thought that people are walking through her bedroom
31:46looking at her belongings.
31:47But maybe they would still be part of her that they thought,
31:50well, they're here because my books are still being read
31:54and still being appreciated, so maybe I have to accept that.
31:57Yeah, I think Charlotte would have liked it.
31:58Do you think so?
31:59Secretly, deep down, I think she'd be very proud
32:01of how far her book has come.
32:03Mm.
32:03And, you know, the recognition worldwide.
32:06Yes.
32:06Can you imagine these three sisters
32:07that lived in this remote Yorkshire village?
32:10People in Japan are reading their books.
32:13She could never have dreamed that.
32:17I'm leaving Howarth and its beautiful graveyard,
32:20and I'm heading east to the outskirts of York.
32:25And the chance to drive, if that's the right word,
32:28a railway vehicle I've dreamt of for many years.
32:33My destination is the Durban Valley Light Railway,
32:36a short heritage line that originally opened in 1910.
32:43You know, I feel as if I belong here.
32:48Hiya, Paul.
32:49Oh, hello, are you, Alan?
32:50I am, yes. Pleased to meet you.
32:51Yeah, very pleased to meet you as well.
32:52You know you've spelt it wrong.
32:54Oh, no. I'll have to have a word with the signwriters.
32:56Yes, please do.
32:57Are you ready for it, then?
32:59Oh, yeah, by all means, yeah, absolutely.
33:00Follow me. Let's go.
33:01OK, thank you, yeah.
33:02Alan Briggs is one of the trustees of the railway,
33:04and he's promised to show me his proudest restoration.
33:09Not that one.
33:12Or that one.
33:15Or any of these lovely locomotives.
33:21Well, here's your ride.
33:24Is it?
33:25Yep. Shall we get it out?
33:27I suppose so.
33:31Look, I know you're all thinking, that's not much of a locomotive,
33:34but I've spent a lifetime seeing these in old films,
33:37and now I finally get to ride one.
33:43Oh, that's very clever.
33:47Right, so, er...
33:49What you've got to remember is...
33:50Yes.
33:51It's a fixed gear.
33:52Fixed gear.
33:53So, if the wheels are turning, the handle is going up and down.
33:56Yes, yes, of course.
33:57So, if you drop anything, don't bend down and pick it up.
34:00Right.
34:00You might not have any teeth when you stand back up.
34:02I get that. Fantastic.
34:03So, the way we get it going...
34:04Yeah.
34:04...is to get the wheels moving in the direction we want to go.
34:07Right.
34:08And then the handle starts.
34:10Yeah.
34:11And then, away we go.
34:14Alan, what is this machine called? What is this?
34:17It's a pump trolley.
34:18Right.
34:19It was used by the permanent way gang, or the P way gang.
34:24Yeah.
34:25When they wanted to check the line or do maintenance, and then come back.
34:30I never knew what one of these was called,
34:32because I see a lot of them in silent comedies.
34:35You see people sort of going up and down railway lines on these.
34:38But I never knew what they were called.
34:42Pump trolleys are a recurring feature in one of my great passions, silent film.
34:46A Combady hero of mine, Buster Keaton, made great use of one of them
34:51in his 1926 film, The General, set during the American Civil War.
34:56Buster was always a perfectionist,
34:58and this next joke required great accuracy and courage.
35:06And there's no danger of a train coming towards us, is there?
35:08Not today. Everything's shut down.
35:11Yeah.
35:11So, yeah, we're all safe.
35:16This pump trolley was built for use as a maintenance vehicle
35:19sometime in the early 20th century.
35:22It was found abandoned on the side of the line in 1970,
35:26and then spent over 40 years in someone's back garden.
35:30In 2017, it found its way to Allen, who took three months to restore it.
35:35We could only pump for half a mile, but the original line was much longer.
35:39This, in its heyday, was 26 miles long.
35:43Really?
35:44And it went from nearly the centre of York, Heworth,
35:48to Cliff Common, just short of Selby.
35:51Right.
35:51It was mainly used for agriculture, so farmers getting the produce to the markets in York.
35:58Uh-huh.
35:59The line closed in 1981.
36:02But in 1993, enthusiasts successfully rebuilt this short section,
36:07which is used to this day for heritage diesel and the occasional pump trolley.
36:14Does this have a practical use, or do you have this just for visitors?
36:17We have this mainly for visitors. We offer pump trolley rides.
36:21Right.
36:23We get people from basically all over the country,
36:26because there's not many places you can do it.
36:28No. No, I don't suppose there is.
36:34It's quite a workout for the back, isn't it?
36:36Yeah. You don't need to go to the gym if you've got a pump trolley.
36:38No. I might need to go to an osteopath, though.
36:41Yeah, you might.
36:48After a serious workout, we're finally back where we started.
36:52Oh, brilliant.
36:53I tell you something, it's easier being a passenger than it is being a co-driver.
36:57Did you enjoy yourself?
36:58I did. Slightly back-breaking, but no, very good.
37:01I've always wanted to have a go on one of these,
37:02and now that's a lifelong ambition achieved.
37:04That's brilliant.
37:05Thank you so much.
37:05You're welcome. Pleasure.
37:08Bye, Neil. Bye.
37:10With my physio on speed dial, I'm leaving Merton behind
37:13and heading north-east towards the market town of Pickering.
37:17There, I'll be picking up the last train of my coast-to-coast adventure.
37:21This isn't my train. I'm waiting for the next train to Whitby,
37:25which is the last leg of my journey.
37:26I shall be travelling in the driver's camp,
37:29helping to drive a Class 37 diesel train,
37:32which is a workhorse train from the 1960s.
37:35I'm looking forward to it immensely.
37:50I'm at Pickering Station in North Yorkshire,
37:52as I start the final leg of my journey from the west coast of England to the east.
37:59The last locomotive of my coast-to-coast foray is a diesel-powered Class 37,
38:05hauling the 12 o'clock service to Whitby.
38:10But before we go, there's a bit of adjustment to do.
38:15What this gentleman is doing in here is uncoupling the engine from the rest of the train.
38:21They're now going to move the engine forward, back on the other line,
38:24put it at the other end, so the train's going to be going that direction.
38:27And this is essentially what you have to do if you don't have a turntable at that end.
38:42It's not a job I fancy doing, to be honest.
38:53Well done.
38:53That looks all right.
38:54You've got to be quite athletic to do that, haven't you?
38:56And not two chucks.
38:59Coupling done, it's time for me to get in the cab of engine 37688 Great Rocks.
39:07And hold the rails.
39:09Yes, thank you.
39:10That's quite a step up, isn't it?
39:12It is. It certainly is.
39:14Well, I've been in a few diesel trains, but not quite one like this.
39:17This is very impressive.
39:18And you are?
39:19Andy.
39:19Hello Andy, pleased to meet you.
39:21You're the driver, are you?
39:22Yes, yes.
39:22You're the responsible one.
39:24Tight to be.
39:26I'm sure you are.
39:27I'm sure you are.
39:30At 12 o'clock sharp, we pull out of Pickering for the 24-mile run north to Whitby.
39:36The final leg of my coast-to-coast jaunt is on one train, but covers two railways.
39:43The 18 miles of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway from Pickering to Grossmont,
39:49where we pick up the main line for the six miles to my final destination, Whitby.
39:58And that's a signal because we're just approaching a level crossing, I believe?
40:02Yep.
40:03Wherever there's a whistle board, there's a crossing.
40:05Yes.
40:06What would be the top speed of this engine?
40:09Well, our line speed's 25 miles an hour.
40:11Right.
40:12This would probably do about 80.
40:14Really?
40:15It was in use on the main line as a freight flow code.
40:22The North Yorkshire Moors Railway was designed by George Stevenson and first opened in 1836.
40:30The line was axed in the 1960s as part of the notorious Beeching Cut,
40:36then reopened as a heritage railway in 1973.
40:41Today it carries 350,000 passengers a year, making it arguably the busiest restored railway in the world.
40:52The line is singletracked for nearly all of its length and operates on a token system,
40:57an ingenious yet simple safety practice developed on Britain's railways in the 19th century.
41:05As the train enters a new section of track known as a block, Chris picks up a token which gives
41:10the driver permission to continue.
41:15New Bridge to Levesham.
41:18So that's the token, New Bridge to Levesham.
41:21Uh-huh.
41:22And that gives us authority to pass the next signal.
41:27So this token system was introduced in the fairly early days of the railway.
41:31Very early days.
41:321889.
41:32Right.
41:34And was that a result of a couple of accidents where two trains met each other on a single track?
41:38Yeah.
41:40Another piece of essential safety technology is built into the locomotive itself.
41:45Now I notice here you've got to, because my dad used to drive a district line train on the northern
41:50line.
41:50I heard about that.
41:50And he used to talk about a dead man's handle.
41:52Yep.
41:52So there's a foot treadle.
41:54Right.
41:54And he's resting his foot on.
41:56Yep.
41:56Yes.
41:57And if you take your foot off that, within about three seconds the power will stop and the brakes come
42:01on.
42:02Right.
42:03Heaven forbid that the driver has some kind of medical emergency, the train will come to a halt.
42:07Correct.
42:08Yeah.
42:12One thing I've noticed, having spoken to a lot of people who are involved in the Heritage Railway, they're very
42:17enthusiastic.
42:18And when they start to talk about their fascination with trains, there's a little glint comes into their eye like
42:24you have now.
42:25Yes.
42:26What is it about trains, railways in general that you love?
42:29Well, I mean, I'm sure my friends and family will laugh aurorously about it.
42:34Yeah.
42:35But I do very much enjoy the history of it, the machinery, the teamwork, and the view really.
42:42Yes.
42:42It's all superb.
42:44And so it's a real privilege to be here.
42:46Yes, absolutely.
42:48And so did you have a train set when you were a boy?
42:50Of course.
42:50Yes.
42:51Do you think that's how a lot of people prefer to get into it?
42:53Yeah, I'm sure it is.
42:55Enthusiasm about the whole thing.
42:57It's almost like a branch of show business in a way.
42:59You have your customers and you're putting on a show.
43:01Well, yeah.
43:02I mean, on this railway, you know, very few people use it as a means of transport.
43:07It's a day out for the public.
43:10Yes.
43:10Which we hope they enjoy.
43:11As we approach the next station, we get a bonus, the briefest glimpse of Tornado.
43:17One of a handful of brand new steam locos built for the UK mainline in the last 50 years.
43:25Oh, look at that.
43:25Like every steam engine you see these days, it's in excellent condition.
43:31They're away from the driver there.
43:34Looks wonderful.
43:35Lots of people having their lunch.
43:38Raising glasses of champagne.
43:42Great Rocks might not have the glamour of a steam loco,
43:45but from the 1960s, Class 37s like this were central to Britain's passenger and freight services.
43:53309 of them were built between 1960 and 1965.
43:57And around 65 of them are still operating six decades later, mainly for freight and maintenance services.
44:06They are well-loved by drivers and enthusiasts alike and have gained the affectionate nickname, Tractors, due to their distinctive
44:14sound.
44:21This is a lovely experience.
44:22It contrasts greatly with being on the footplate of a steam engine, which of course is dirtier, hotter, less room.
44:31Not saying I prefer this because there is something very magical about the steam engine experience,
44:37but it makes a nice contrast to have a bit of room and not be sort of like shoveling coal.
44:52As we make our final approach into Whitby, the North Yorkshire Moors Railway has one more surprise up its sleeve.
45:00As you come round this corner, you see the spectacular Lark Ball Viaduct, brick viaduct on the former Scarborough to
45:09Whitby Railway.
45:10Right.
45:10Made of three million bricks.
45:13Three million? Oh yes, look at that.
45:15Oh, that's wonderful, isn't it?
45:17It is.
45:32Oh, we've arrived. Safe and sound. It's been a brilliant journey and thanks for that.
45:36Yeah, thank you. That was great.
45:37And Chris, thank you so much.
45:40You made the most of your job.
45:42I hope so.
45:43No, it was great.
45:44Yeah, I tried to.
45:44I see all the passengers getting off, so I should get off here as well. I should join them and
45:48best of luck.
45:53See you again.
45:56And this is it, North Yorkshire's seaside gem, home to Whitby Abbey and a setting for Bram Stoker's novel Dracula.
46:08I'm in Whitby, journey's end. I've had a fantastic time travelling 158 miles across the breadth of Great Britain via
46:16steam, diesel and muscle power.
46:19I think I've earned this.
46:22Oh, I don't know.
46:25Who bought me this?
46:27Who bought me this?
46:28Who bought me this?
46:31Whoyim?
46:48Who bought me this!
46:48Who investigated me that� drugging polémocer.
46:48And went and bought me this.
46:48Who bought me this?
46:49What bought me this?
46:49Who bought me this?
46:52I buy back.
46:52Is it $ichising.
46:53Isn't it $ichising.
47:06I'll see you next time.
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