180 years after its foundation, using archive footage and photographs this series follows the development of the 'The Great Western Railway', the railway which became known as 'God's Wonderful Railway' and is remembered with more nostalgia and love than any of Britain's other railways. It built and operated the delightful main line from London to the West Country and Cornwall and it was engineered by the legendary Isambard Kingdom Brunei, who designed iconic spectacles such as Box Tunnel and the Royal Albert Bridge. Its steam locomotives were designed by great men like Gooch, Churchward and Collett, but the engines were only half the appeal: the grand railway terminals of London Paddington and Bristol Temple Meads enriched the spectacle, as did those countless tranquil country halts with little more than a pagoda shelter and a couple of milk churns awaiting collection. In the program we look at the development of steam preservation and the renovation of some of the classic steam locomotive that use to run on the GWR suburban and main lines and the return to steam on the mainline railways system.
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