Discovery Channel - Mark Williams on the Rails (2004)

A collection of all ten episodes from the acclaimed Discovery Channel series celebrating 200 years of railways. Travelling the length and breadth of Britain Mark Williams tracks down the nation's fascinating railway heritage and gets to grips with locos such as the 160 ton Duchess of Sutherland. From the earliest designs of Richard Trevithick and George and Robert Stephenson to the advent of Class 31, the history is all here! Also revealed are the backgrounds to The London Underground and the evolution of railway coaches.

Part 1: Cornish Steam Giant
The actor examines the achievement of Richard Trevithick, who built the first locomotive more than 200 years ago


Part 2: Rocket Men
The creation of railways in north-east England by George Stephenson and his son


Part 3: Brunel
Brunel’s development of the highly advanced Great Western Railway is explored by the comic actor and train enthusiast


Part 4: Moving Mountains
The actor rides American trains to explore the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad, which provided a much-needed link between the country's east and west coasts


Part 5: Carriage Kings
Taking a ride in an old third-class carriage and a lavish trip on the Orient Express, the actor and funnyman investigates how the introduction of railways affected social divisions


Part 6: Death on the Tracks
The reasons why track deaths were commonplace during the early days of train travel, and how flags and electric levers helped improve safety


Part 7: Big Country
How an engine used to transport slate down the Welsh peaks became the inspiration for a railway through the Rocky Mountains


Part 8: Speed and Power
The ways in which the race for speed during the 1920s and 1930s led to locomotive records that are still a match for modern rail travel


Part 9: Diesel Generation
The introduction of diesel electric systems in 1953 comes under the actor's scrutiny, as he drives a Class 31 engine that boasts a hotplate, windscreen wiper and ashtrays


Part 10: Going Underground
The comedian travels through an early tunnel beneath the Thames as he explores the London Underground, the oldest subterranean rail network in the world






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