STEAM TRAINS | A celebration of some great British engines, enthusiasts and journeys.
CHANNEL | BBC2
FIRST BROADCAST | 27 November 1980
DURATION | 58 minutes 10 seconds
FIRSTBROADCAST
1980
In this affectionate documentary, Michael Palin confesses to being a train spotter when he was a boy and fulfils his ambition to travel to the Isle of Skye by train. On the way, he contrasts the practical world of modern trains with the nostalgic dreams of steam and stops off to hop on a steam train in Yorkshire. His mission fulfilled at the Kyle of Lochalsh, which route will he take home?
Passengers can still take the train from Inverness to the Kyle of Lochalsh, but since 1995 the ferry to the Isle of Skye has been replaced by a bridge.
The atmospheric sounds of railways and trains from a bygone era.
Steaming down to Eastbourne with a canine passenger on the footplate.
The Mallard's swansong on the line from Grantham to Peterborough.
A lyrical memorial to some of the stations closed by 'The Beeching Report'.
'Diesel engines are machines, steam locomotives are practically human.'
John Noakes gets his hands dirty on a trip from London to Brighton.
Non-stop from London to Edinburgh - can the Flying Scotsman do it again 40 years later?
Reminiscences about Birmingham Snow Hill station in the 1920s.
Which hobby unites an airline pilot, a carpenter, a schoolboy, a diplomat and a science teacher?
Take a trip through the Yorkshire Dales on the Clan Line.
Join Michael Palin as he travels from London to the Highlands of Scotland.
A celebration of locomotion, from the Rocket to the APT.
Travel on the footplate on the West Highland Line.
Visit the Cornish and Devon Riviera on the Great Western Railway.
A stunning journey from Fort William to Mallaig with a very contented train driver.
The story of the Isle of Man's Victorian steam railway.
Enthusiasts keep steam alive on Britain's tracks.
How the arrival of the rail networks changed the British countryside.