Railways leave digital revolution far behind
Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn explore how the railways enabled easy travel between the Highlands and the south of England in Victorian Britain magnates up there quickly realised what it could mean for business,” he said. “A smaller amount of the spirit had been produced up until then.
“There was a consciousness in Britain of what was available up there because the great and the good of the Empire used to travel north to shoot and they would get a taste for the whisky.
“Railways meant more distilleries being built, mass production and prices coming down. A global industry was built.”
Alex, Ruth and third presenter Peter Ginn also had the opportunity to explore The Flying Scotsman for the series.
“We got to climb into the fire box, which is something they would have done back in the day to check all of the rivets,” Alex continued. “We were sitting in the belly of The Flying Scotsman. I also crawled right up underneath it. To see the train from inside out like that was really something and it was only then I appreciated the scale and accomplishment of it.”
As well as iconic Scottish trains and produce, the trio visit other Victorian railways around Britain, including the Pickering to Whitby line, which transported fish, the Gwili railway in Wales, which moved wool, and the Watercress Line in Hampshire.
Alex added: “Historians are always interested in change and transition in societies and, arguably, in no other period did our island experience such profound change – with the railways at the heart of it all.”
Full Steam Ahead: How Railways Changed Modern Britain, BBC Two, Thursday at 8pm.