Season 1

Steam power and steam railways helped transform 19th century Britain into the world's first industrial nation. In this first episode, Dan explores the earliest steam railways and their links to the burgeoning Lancashire cotton industry, discovering how railway pioneers George and Robert Stephenson created the first regular rail service from Manchester to Liverpool in 1830.

Host Dan Cruickshank follows the work of Isambard Kingdom Brunel, the brilliant engineer of great originality who designed the Great Western Railway and the first transatlantic steamer.

In this episode our story focuses on the railways on the frontline - moving troops to the front, rescuing them when they retreated, evacuating civilians, suffering nightly bombardment during the Blitz and playing a vital role in the build up to D-Day.