RMweb Premium melmerby Posted July 12, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 12, 2016 Hi all Another railway programme on the Beeb, this time more to do with history. "Victorian Farm" trio Ruth Goodman, Alex Langlands & Peter Ginn look at the effect of the coming of the railways on the British way of life. It's a 6 part series starting Thursday 21st July. The write-up in the Radio Times suggest they will be visiting various railways around the UK. e.g. Festiniog, Foxfield etc. and looking how slate, coal etc was moved before and after the railways were established. Looks like it might be interesting. Cheers Keith Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Ian J. Posted July 12, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 12, 2016 Is that the same trio that did the series on the construction of a medieval castle a little while back? That appeared to be quite a good series. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium melmerby Posted July 12, 2016 Author RMweb Premium Share Posted July 12, 2016 Is that the same trio that did the series on the construction of a medieval castle a little while back? That appeared to be quite a good series. It's the original trio that started in the "Farm" series. (Tudor Farm, Edwardian Farm, Victorian Farm and several similar historical programmes.). Ruth Goodman, Alex Langlands & Peter Ginn. Alex Langlands dropped out after a while and AFAIK this his first programme back with the other two. . The Castle programme was "Secrets of a Castle" With Ruth Goodman and Peter Ginn but had Tom Pinfold as the third person. Ruth's a regular on TV with historic factual programmes and has her daughter along sometimes as well. Cheers Keith Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hroth Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 Just seen a segment of "Breakfast" on BBC1 , interviewing Ruth Goodman and showing clips from the series, including a discussion of how and why detonators are used on the railway. Looks like it will be an interesting series. There's a clip from episode 1 on the programme website. The Gravity Train: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p041z6fq Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chameleon Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 It's pretty bloody good so far... Restored some of my faith in the BBC again. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Legend Posted July 21, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 21, 2016 Yes quite enjoying it. In the mood for a nice red Peckett now thanks to the excerpt on the Foxfield Railway. The quarry train with the brakemen is fascinating Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sigtech Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 Have just seen the first episode - very good, informative, interesting and well made -the descent from the quarry on the 'gravity train' was brilliant!! what a complete contrast to the other program "Trainspotting Live" - which frankly now seems amateurish and trivial after watching this...Will definitely be watching the rest of this series. Gets my vote! Regards SIGTECH (Steve). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgman Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 What utter tripe, mad woman shouty presenter and Blue Peter level content. A great shame as the photography was superb! So, with respect could you do any better ? I think you should give them a chance. It's a whole lot better than that Trainsperting Liveless !!! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesg Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 Very few trains for a programme about railways, but this was a good thing as it gave a wider view of how the railways influenced society. I'll definitely be following the series; what came across really well was the excitement about new technology arriving, even 150 years on. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derekl Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 I don't see that it is vaguely fair to talk about "utter tripe". There is always the problem with this type of program that those who know a lot about the subject will be of the view that "Everybody knows that" but the information may be new to others. Also, as noted above, the exercise with the slate train was fascinating. They left off the wagon at the back carrying the pony back. I am always a little sceptical about the "if it hadn't been for the railways, we would not have" line. There was a synergy in industry at the time which the railway certainly helped substantially. Really as part of the same synergy the canal system was moving quantities of pottery product from Stoke and thereabouts well before 1830, for instance. There is a very clear and useful message that before the ability to move goods in bulk, everything was likely to be local (or non-existent - if it wasn't made nearby you would not have it - unless rich - see what is in some of the houses preserved by the National Trust). The canals did so before the railway, but in very limited areas. Perhaps the real message relates to the massive expansion of the railway network in the relatively short 20 year period from 1830 on. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tankdave Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 I watched and enjoyed it, along with learning some things I did not know, all good by my account. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben racey Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 We're still missing something along the lines of "eisenbahn romantik'. Just a programme about railways..... It's simple really....! Richard Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hroth Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 Not bad at all! An enjoyable overview of what life was like for ordinary folk at the beginning and end of the 19th Century and how the railway introduced the changes in their way of life. Its definitely worth following. And remember to claim your free poster! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 Yes, a very enjoyable watch. The presenters worked well together and seemed to be genuinely enjoying it and the various volunteers on the railways visited also came across very well. Very well made and filmed and presented in an engaging manner. I thought they met their brief pretty well, to show some of the many and fundamental changes the railways brought to society. I'll certainly be watching the next episode, it certainly got off to a much better start than Trainspotting Live. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJS1977 Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 What utter tripe, mad woman shouty presenter and Blue Peter level content. A great shame as the photography was superb! Was she the female Chris Evans? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hroth Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 Was she the female Chris Evans? Nahhhh.... She does more than one series then runs away! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Parker Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 It was an interesting side of railway history. If you wanted nuts'n'bolts then this isn't the series for you, but putting railways into a social context is interesting. Can any of us imagine a time when everything was made in our nearest town? One of the odder facts came right at the end when they talked about the change to our diet and the way we cooked when coal (which had to be transported) replaced localy sourced wood. A whole industry making ranges and flat-bottomed pots appears. All of this material also needs to travel by train, increasing railway traffic. The gravity train wouldn't have been much fun in the depths of a Welsh winter, but if we see a bit of sun, I can imagine the FR ticket sales will see an uplift. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
asmay2002 Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 What utter tripe, mad woman shouty presenter and Blue Peter level content. A great shame as the photography was superb! You must have been watching a different programme to the rest of us. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium rab Posted July 21, 2016 RMweb Premium Share Posted July 21, 2016 What utter tripe, mad woman shouty presenter and Blue Peter level content. A great shame as the photography was superb! It would appear you are in the minority! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold queensquare Posted July 21, 2016 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 21, 2016 A really enjoyable watch, informative, engaging and entertaining. Kim, who understands these things, has set the machine to series record. Jerry Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackRat Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 Very enjoyable, in a Fred Dibnah sort of way. Just gently took you along on a very nice ride. All these years as a railway enthusiast, and the pots and pans thing........always something to learn. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJS1977 Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 I did notice they repeated several times that the Foxfield is the steepest railway in Britain - it isn't and nor is it even the steepest adhesion-worked railway (that prize goes to Fawley Hill). Could have overlooked it once but I think they said it about 5 times (were they short of things to say?). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
fozzy280472 Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 I quite liked it ..informative and delivered by the presenters with REAL enthusiasm...not like the forced , fake excitement on Trainspotting live. Cheers Paul. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertiedog Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 Excellent programme, very interesting, aimed at everybody, not just enthusiasts, and nicely filmed, with practical examples of what was being talked about, ...and no Treegate! Stephen Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 I don't see that it is vaguely fair to talk about "utter tripe". There is always the problem with this type of program that those who know a lot about the subject will be of the view that "Everybody knows that" but the information may be new to others. Also, as noted above, the exercise with the slate train was fascinating. They left off the wagon at the back carrying the pony back. I am always a little sceptical about the "if it hadn't been for the railways, we would not have" line. There was a synergy in industry at the time which the railway certainly helped substantially. Really as part of the same synergy the canal system was moving quantities of pottery product from Stoke and thereabouts well before 1830, for instance. There is a very clear and useful message that before the ability to move goods in bulk, everything was likely to be local (or non-existent - if it wasn't made nearby you would not have it - unless rich - see what is in some of the houses preserved by the National Trust). The canals did so before the railway, but in very limited areas. Perhaps the real message relates to the massive expansion of the railway network in the relatively short 20 year period from 1830 on. The big difference is speed. For the canals, coal, iron, etc could be moved around the country, but it took days or weeks to get from one location to another. It didn't help much with remote mines/quaries etc (which is where the Festiniog and Foxfield railways proved they could). Railways contracted the country in a sense, moving bulk goods, much faster, therefore making things cheaper and increasing demand. I've always enjoyed their Victorian/Edwardian Farm/Chemist/Bakers series in the past. This looks like it could well be almost as good. The format isn't quite the same, but it gives a fascinating insight into the social/economic changes the railways brought to our nation (and the world). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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