Steam Days

Steam Days is a 1986 BBC 2 television documentary series written and presented by Miles Kington. Each episode is themed around the history of British steam locomotives and railways, particularly highlighting preserved locomotives operating at the time of its filming.[1] The series consists of six half-hour episodes. It aired on Public Television stations in the United States under the title Great Steam Trains. Two episodes, "Going Great Western" and "The Fishing Line" are available to watch on the BBC Archive website.[2][3] The whole series subsequently became available to watch on the BBC iPlayer.[4] but until 8 December 2017 and is currently not available.

Steam Days
End title card
StarringMiles Kington
ComposerRoger Limb
Country of originUnited Kingdom
No. of episodes6
Production
Executive producersNeil Cameron
Peter Walton
Running time30 min
Release
Original networkBBC Two
Picture format4:3
Original release8 July (1986-07-08) 
12 August 1986 (1986-08-12)

Episode list

Episode No.Episode TitleUK Broadcast DateDescription
1"Travels with a Duchess"8 July 1986A journey over the Settle to Carlisle Railway on ex-LMS Princess Coronation Class Duchess of Hamilton. The presenter meets Kim Maylon, the Duchess's custodian at the National Railway Museum in York for the engine's preparation for its epic trip.
2"The Fishing Line"15 July 1986Miles Kington takes an LMS "Black Five" from Fort William to Mallaig on the West Highland Line, examining Glenfinnan Viaduct and investigating the importance of kippers and dental drills to the construction of the line.
3"Workhorses"29 July 1986Examines the unsung role of goods engines during the age of steam.
4"Quest for Speed"22 July 1986Charts the development of the fastest express passenger locomotives from the Stirling Single to the LNER Class A4 4468 Mallard via the GWR 3700 Class City of Truro
5"Going Great Western"5 August 1986The history of the Great Western Railway from the days of Brunel and the broad gauge "Iron Duke" to the development of the "Cornish Riviera".
6"A Tale of Two Scotsmen"12 August 1986Explores the history of the "Flying Scotsman" - both the LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman and the train of the same name running up the East Coast Main Line from London to Edinburgh. This episode also evaluates the line's many appearances in film.

VHS releases

#VHS nameRelease dateEpisode story
1Travels with a Duchess11 October 1986Includes: Travels with a Duchess, and The Fishing Line.
2Workhorses6 January 1987Includes: Workhorses, and Going Great Western.

Despite a third volume being advertised on the end of the second release, it was never released.

DVD releases

#DVD nameRelease dateEpisode story
1Legends of Steam: The Flying Scotsman7 January 2004Includes: A Tale of Two Scotsmen.

See also

References

  1. "Obituary: Miles Kington", Daily Telegraph, 1 February 2008
  2. "Going Great Western", BBC Archive, bbc.co.uk
  3. "The Fishing Line", BBC Archive, bbc.co.uk
  4. Episodes, BBC Programmes, bbc.co.uk

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