Steam Days

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Steam Days
Steam Days.jpg
End title card
Written byMiles Kington
Presented by Miles Kington
Composer Roger Limb
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of episodes6
Production
Executive producersNeil Cameron
Peter Walton
ProducerClive Holloway
EditorsGeoffrey Moore
Mike Freeman
Running time30 min
Original release
Network BBC Two
Release8 July (1986-07-08) –
12 August 1986 (1986-08-12)

Steam Days is a 1986 BBC Two television documentary series written and presented by Miles Kington. Each episode is themed around the history of British steam locomotives and railways, particularly highlighting preserved locomotives operating at the time of its filming. [1] The series consists of six half-hour episodes. It aired on Public Television stations in the United States under the title Great Steam Trains. Two episodes, "Going Great Western" and "The Fishing Line" are available to watch on the BBC Archives website. [2] [3] The whole series subsequently became available to watch on the BBC iPlayer. [4] but until 8 December 2017 and is currently not available.

Contents

Episode list

Episode No.Episode TitleUK Broadcast DateDescription
1"Travels with a Duchess"8 July 1986
46229 Duchess of Hamilton Dent Stn LMS 8P 4-6-2 46229 Duchess of Hamilton 10.08.82.jpg
46229 Duchess of Hamilton
A journey over the Settle to Carlisle Railway on Duchess of Hamilton . The presenter meets Kim Maylon, the Duchess's custodian at the National Railway Museum in York for the engine's preparation for its epic trip.
2"The Fishing Line"15 July 1986
44767 George Stephenson on the Mallaig Line Polnish Chapel - geograph.org.uk - 7555541.jpg
44767 George Stephenson on the Mallaig Line
Miles Kington takes a LMS Black Five from Fort William to Mallaig on the West Highland Line, examining Glenfinnan Viaduct and investigating the importance of kippers and dental drills to the construction of the line.
3"Workhorses"29 July 1986
47383 47383 at Highley.jpg
47383
Examines the unsung role of goods engines during the age of steam.
4"Quest for Speed"22 July 1986
4498 Sir Nigel Gresley LNER 4498, Sir Nigel Gresley takes on water at Garsdale station - geograph.org.uk - 6438888.jpg
4498 Sir Nigel Gresley
Charts the development of the fastest express passenger locomotives from the Stirling Single to 4468 Mallard via the City of Truro
5"Going Great Western"5 August 1986
5051 Drysllwyn Castle and 4930 Hagley Hall The Great Western Limited - geograph.org.uk - 2706673.jpg
5051 Drysllwyn Castle and 4930 Hagley Hall
The history of the Great Western Railway from the days of Isambard Kingdom Brunel and the broad gauge Iron Duke to the development of the Cornish Riviera .
6"A Tale of Two Scotsmen"12 August 1986
4472 Flying Scotsman Chinley 1st 9.jpg
4472 Flying Scotsman
Explores the history of the "Flying Scotsman" - both the 4472 Flying Scotsman locomotive and the train of the same name running up the East Coast Main Line from London to Edinburgh. This episode also evaluates the line's many appearances in film.

VHS releases

#VHS nameRelease dateEpisode story
1Travels with a Duchess and The Fishing Line11 October 1986Includes: Travels with a Duchess, and The Fishing Line.
2Workhorses and
Going Great Western		6 January 1987Includes: Workhorses, and Going Great Western.

Despite a third volume being advertised on the end of the second release, it was never released.

DVD releases

#DVD nameRelease dateEpisode story
1Legends of Steam: The Flying Scotsman7 January 2004Includes: A Tale of Two Scotsmen.

See also

References

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