Britain's Railway Empire in Colour
Season 1 Episode 1 of 2
To mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of rail, this series reveals the story of how Britain gave railways to the world - from the first tentative experiments with steam power, through the domestic boom years, to the exporting of this transformative new technology to all corners of the globe. Experts and enthusiasts and extensive newly colourised archive explore the truly revolutionary nature - both good and bad - of the locomotive. The first episode tracks how the railways grew from coal trucks in the north-east of England to transforming the lives of the Victorians. Trainspotter Francis Bourgeois tells the story of his 19th-century equivalent, schoolboy George Tod, who took stunning black and white photographs of his favourite engines. These and other photographs have been colourised, bringing the old railways back to life. There are also stories from the Empire as well as narratives from closer to home, including the magnificent Forth Bridge