Fred Dibnah's Age of Steam

Fred Dibnah traces the development of steam power from the earliest experiments in the ancient world to the modern nuclear power station. Fred visits Cornwall to look at the early history of the steam engine, first developed to pump water from tin mines.

Fred Dibnah traces the development of steam power, from early colliery railways to the end of steam travel in Britain in the 1960s.

Fred looks at the key role that was played by steam power in the extraordinary expansion of industrial Britain in the 18th and 19th centuries, and at the continued use of huge stationary steam engines in mills, collieries and steelworks until well into the 20th century.

Fred traces the development of steam power. He looks at early experiments in its use for road transport, and at the development of the traction engine.

A look at how steam power revolutionised shipping, from the earliest paddle steamers with screw propellers to more modern vessels like the Royal Yacht Britannia.

Fred Dibnah looks at the advances made with the invention of the steam turbine, still used to generate electricity in coal-fired and nuclear power stations.