Episode 3

It is full steam ahead for historians Ruth Goodman, Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn as they bring back to life the golden age of steam and explore how the Victorian railways created modern Britain.

This time, the team find out how the railways transformed the British diet, rescuing a nation that was struggling to feed itself.

Putting theory into practice, Alex and Peter load a flock of sheep onto a train, discovering how the mass transportation of livestock by rail transformed the quality and quantity of meat available to Victorian consumers. This new capability gave birth to the traditional British roast.

Ruth follows in the footsteps of Britain's herring girls, revealing how the North Yorkshire Moors Railway revived the fortunes of Whitby, turning it into a thriving fishing town, supplying the country's kippers.

Alex looks at how pioneering farmers attempted to use steam power to increase production, getting to grips with the latest steam-ploughing technology.

Peter discovers how steam-powered engines revolutionised production at Britain's oldest brewery and how the traction engine worked alongside the locomotive to distribute beer across the country.

In Yorkshire, Ruth sees how farmers created a monopoly on rhubarb, growing the crop in dark sheds and transporting it nightly to London on the rhubarb express.

Meanwhile, Alex boards a locomotive on the Watercress Line in Hampshire, discovering how the railway brought the nutritional salad to the masses.