Lines of Industry

This episode looks at how the humble industrial railway lines are emerging from the shadows of the more traditionally glamorous passenger lines.Anthony Smith looks at steam engines used in industry and visits Amberley Chalk Pits narrow gauge railway museum, Castle Donington power station and the site of old ironstone works in Oxfordshire. At the dawn of rail transportation and during their peak, private industrial lines covered thousands of miles of Britain’s railway tracks. Sadly their heyday came to an abrupt end and much of their legacy has been forgotten. Through the efforts of keen rail enthusiasts who are working to restore old industrial locomotives and rolling stock, their legacy will not be lost.