Fred Dibnah's Age of Steam

Season 1

Fred Dibnah, a long time steam enthusiast, presents the history of steam power in Britain from the early beam engines up to modern steam turbines used in electrical power generation.

Where to Watch Fred Dibnah's Age of Steam • Season 1

6 Episodes

The Early Pioneers
E1
The Early PioneersA visit to Cornwall illuminates the early history of the steam engine in Britain, which was developed to pump water from the tin mines.
The Transport Revolution
E2
The Transport RevolutionHow the advent of steam power radically changed the way people travelled.
Driving the Wheels of Industry
E3
Driving the Wheels of IndustryThe Lancastrian steeplejack’s continuing history of steam power charts the role of steam in Britain’s 18th- and 19th-century industrial expansion, and the use of huge stationary steam engines in mills, collieries and steel works until well into the 20th century.
Steam down the Road
E4
Steam down the RoadThe Lancastrian steeplejack’s continuing history of steam power looks at experiments in the use of steam for road transport that took place a full century before the invention of the car.
Steam on the Water
E5
Steam on the WaterA look at how steam power revolutionised shipping, from the earliest paddle steamers with screw propellers to more modern vessels like the Royal Yacht Britannia.
Steam and the Modern Age
E6
Steam and the Modern AgeThe Lancastrian steeplejack’s history of steam power concludes with a look at today’s powerful steam turbines that generate electricity and the preservation of our steam heritage in museums.