Episode 6

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.

In the final episode, the team find out how the combination of increased leisure time and affordable rail transport brought a new kind of freedom for working-class Victorians. Ruth travels along the beautiful south Devon coast from Paignton to Kingswear, where she helps get a paddle steamer prepared for a journey up the River Dart.

At Swanage, Peter finds out what it was like to work on the excursion trains and the impact mass tourism had on the area. Alex discovers how railways enabled geologists and amateur fossil-hunters to explore Britain's prehistoric past. In the heart of the capital, Ruth visits the landmark hotel built by the Midland Railway at St Pancras Station and finds out how the railways made London a tourist destination, before embarking on a Victorian shopping spree. The steam fair comes to town and Peter helps prepare the gallopers, while Alex takes to the road in a steam car and discovers just how fast they could go.