Locomotion - Dan Snow's History of the Railways

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Locomotion: Dan Snow's History of Railways

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Locomotion: Dan Snow's History of the Railways

Dan Snow

David Vincent

Eamon Hardy

Melanie Archer

Locomotion: Dan Snow's History of Railways: Episode 3

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Episode 3

BBC Two - Locomotion: Dan Snow's History of Railways, Episode 3

The history of Britain's railways from the late 19th century to the outbreak of WWII.

Dan Snow traces the development of Britain's railways from the late 19th century to the outbreak of World War II. During this time the railways changed the economy profoundly.

Over just 50 years, Britain's railways grew from a handful of small lines carrying coal to the biggest industry in the strongest nation on the planet. A nation had built the railways and now those railways would build a nation, influencing working conditions for its employees, proving a valuable export across the globe and even changing warfare. 

Yet the story of railways up until the beginning of the Second World War concerned who they really belonged to - the private rail companies who were obsessed with profit, the public who rode them, or the government, who needed them at times of crisis but was reluctant to regulate.

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Dan Snow examines the development of the railways.

Dan Snow examines the development of the railways from their beginnings as track-ways for coal carts in the early 18th century to the pivotal technology for modern Britain.

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