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Going Great Western

First transmitted in 1986, Miles Kington explores the line laid from Bristol to Exeter by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and then travels through south Devon in all its glory.

First transmitted in 1986, Miles Kington explores the line laid from Bristol to Exeter by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and then travels through south Devon in all its glory.

Along the way Kington examines the enormous task faced by Brunel in the design and construction of the Royal Albert Bridge, which carries the Cornish Main Line railway in and out of Cornwall. Perhaps less well known is the impact of the railway line and the rail company on promoting tourism in the Edwardian golden age of British seaside resorts.

30 minutes

Last on

Thu 31 Mar 2022 00:15
BBC Four

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Music Played

  • Ambrose and His Orchestra & Sam Browne

    The Sun Has Got His Hat On

BBC Four Steam Railways Collection

BBC Four Steam Railways Collection

This programme is part of a collection of programmes celebrating Britain’s extraordinary Steam Railway legacy.

 

Go to the BBC Four Steam Railways Collection

More about this programme

The locomotive ‘Hagley Hall’ 4930 is featured in this programme on a run out from Bristol to Plymouth with fellow Great Western Railway engine ‘Drysllwyn Castle’. ‘Hagley Hall’ 4930 was built in 1929 and clocked up almost 1.3 million miles of service before it was withdrawn from the network in 1966. It is now housed by the Severn Valley Railway. The locomotive ‘Drysllwyn Castle’ 5051 was built in 1936 and withdrawn in 1963 after 1.5 million miles of service. It is occasionally known as ‘Earl Bathurst’.

About BBC Four Collection programmes

Programmes are selected, in part, for their historical context and reflect the broadcast standards and attitudes of their time, which may not accord to some current BBC editorial guidelines. We aim to select programmes which can be shown in their entirety but in some cases edits are required.

Credit

Producer Neil Cameron

Broadcasts

  • Tue 5 Aug 1986 20:30
    BBC Two except East, South East & Yorkshire
  • Sun 26 Jul 1987 17:55
    BBC One
  • Thu 16 Oct 2008 19:30
    BBC Four
  • Boxing Day 2008 10:20
    BBC Two except East, South East & Yorkshire
  • Wed 30 Mar 2022 19:00
    BBC Four
  • Thu 31 Mar 2022 00:15
    BBC Four

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