Locations and locomotives
Perhaps because it proved such perfect comfort viewing during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, The Architecture the Railways Built was one of UKTV’s biggest hits last year. So it’s no surprise to see it returning so soon for a new series – recorded, we’re assured, in a manner consistent with “all Covid-19 procedures and regulations”.
As first time around, the format is relatively simple. Historian Tim Dunn, a train enthusiast with the gift of conveying that enthusiasm to a wider audience, visits architectural landmarks that owe their existence to the railways.
In the first episode of the new series, that means visiting Wemyss Bay Station in Inverclyde, a marvel of curved lines, glass and steel designed by Scottish architect James Miller and completed in 1903.
Dunn also considers the engineering that made it possible to build Blackfriars, the only station to span the Thames, and visits Portugal to see São Bento Station, located in the historic heart of Porto.
Other locations featured in the 10-part series include the Royal Albert Bridge, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and which spans the Tamar to take trains into Cornwall along the GWR (“God’s Wonderful Railway”) line; stations and viaducts in Windsor; and the Barrow Hill Roundhouse in Derbyshire, the only surviving working roundhouse in the UK.
The Architecture the Railways Built Yesterday & UKTV Play / From Tuesday 19 January