Full Steam Ahead

Historians Ruth Goodman, Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn relive the golden age of steam as they explore how the Victorian railways created modern Britain

Peter Ginn and Alex Langlands work as navvies, who built the railway tracks in all conditions, and Ruth Goodman finds out what impact the railroads had on the cottage industries

How the railways transformed the British diet, with the mass transportation of livestock giving birth to the British roast. Plus, how rail helped transformed the fortunes of Whitby

The historians take a trip on the Flying Scotsman, arguably the most famous locomotive in the world, and explore how the railways revolutionised communication

Historians Ruth Goodman, Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn relive the golden age of steam as they explore how the Victorian railways created modern Britain

Peter Ginn and Alex Langlands work as navvies, who built the railway tracks in all conditions, and Ruth Goodman finds out what impact the railroads had on the cottage industries

How the railways transformed the British diet, with the mass transportation of livestock giving birth to the British roast. Plus, how rail helped transformed the fortunes of Whitby

The historians take a trip on the Flying Scotsman, arguably the most famous locomotive in the world, and explore how the railways revolutionised communication

A veteran steam engine driver gives Peter Ginn a few tips on shovelling coal, and Ruth Goodman finds out about the dangers involved in working on the Victorian railways

How the combination of increased leisure time and affordable rail transport brought a new kind of freedom for working-class Victorians