‘The Trans-Continental Railroad was the biggest public works project of its time.’ Robert Redford’s The West aka The American West II: Two Front War, H W Brands, historian
The Inside Ring of the Union Pacific Railroad Company: Massive Bribery of Senators and Members of Congress. Grant’s Candidate for Vice President and Other Leading Radicals in the Ring. ibid. newspaper article
Train robberies by Jesse James and his brother Frank are wreaking havoc on the country’s railroad industry. ibid.
Another battle is being fought: Jesse James has been on a crime spree across Missouri and Iowa, fighting for the confederate cause by robbing the northern railroads of their funds. In Chicago famed private detective Allan Pinkerton is looking to put a stop to it. Robert Redford’s The West aka The American West III: Blood & Gold
It’s March 2019 and the Tunnel that runs under the sea between Folkestone in England and Calais in France is just weeks away from its 25th birthday, and days away from the official deadline on Brexit. The Channel Tunnel: Life on the Inside I: Go with the Flow, BBC 2019
What was once a futuristic pipe-dream became a real-life wonder for the modern world in the mid-90s after six years of tunnel construction from both end. ibid.
It’s the busiest railway system in the world running up to 400 trains a day on its 62 miles of track. Most of those trains are Euro-tunnel freight shuttles loaded with trucks and Euro-tunnel passenger-shuttles loaded with people. ibid.
The Channel Tunnel links two great friends and rivals – Britain and France – and it’s been ferrying cars and lorries and people between those two countries for a quarter of a century. The Channel Tunnel: Life on the Inside II: At the Double
‘You will sometimes see wet patches in the tunnel.’ ibid. train driver
There are two crossover points in the Channel tunnel system about a third of the way from the coast at each end. ibid.
Around 1,000 pets a day pass through the Channel tunnel. ibid.
The idea for the Channel Tunnel as we know it was born in 1867 and became a reality in 1994. The twin tunnel connect Calais and France to Folkestone in Kent. And in the last 25 years more than 400 million have zipped through at 140 km an hour or more. It’s run by Eurotunnel, a Franco-British company. The Channel Tunnel: Life on the Inside III, The Initial Idea
They foresaw France and Britain working together to make it happen. They imagined trains travelling back and forth between Paris and London. They even anticipated the finer point of the debate between remainers and leavers. What was once a Channel Tunnel dream has been a Euro-tunnel reality since 1994. The Channel Tunnel: Life on the Inside IV, What Goes Around
At the heart of Britain’s vast rail network is Birmingham New Street station. This is Britain’s busiest interchange. A train departs every 37 seconds, serving over 40 million passengers a year. All human life is here. The Station: Trouble on the Tracks s1e1, ITV 2020
With parts of the line under water it’s time for the dreaded bus replacement service. ibid.
‘To lose Platform 1 during rush hour, I can’t think of anything worse really.’ ibid. customer service lady
If you’re travelling across the UK, chances are you’ll go through here on your way. For the network to function across the country, New Street has to be running on time. The smallest delay has a ripple effect all over the UK. The Station: Trouble on the Tracks s1e2
At London Euston rush hour is in full swing. Euston has nearly 80,000 commuters on a Friday night … The fire service has arrived: commuters have been waiting outside for over an hour. ibid.
Across its 25 platforms, Birmingham New Street must despatch 1,000 trains a day safely. ibid.
Every year over 250 people are killed on the railway. ibid.
The tracks are held and maintained by government-owned network rail. ibid.
While Network Rail manage the station and tracks, the trains here are run by five different companies. The Station: Trouble on the Tracks s1e3
Last year 160,000 trains were delayed by trespassers. ibid.
Central Station – at the heart of Glasgow for 140 years. Meet the people who make the station work running over 950 trains a day for 32 million passengers a year. Inside Central Station I, BBC 2020
‘The word just gets out, like Snapchat Messenger and stuff: we just get on a train and then get some nice sun in, to be honest.’ ibid. birds aboard for seaside
And in 1998 every single one of the 48,000 panes of glass was replaced. ibid.
For generations Glasgow Central has been the gateway to hundreds of destinations across the country. More than two million Scots of working age live within a hour of the city centre. Inside Central Station II
‘You need to be thick-skinned in this game. We have various ways of dealing with it.’ ibid.
Glasgow Central first opened in 1879. Until then passengers had to use Bridge Street Station on the south side of the city. ibid.
Six different train companies operate out of Central Station. And between them they employ about 500 staff. ibid.
‘Monday is pigeon counting day. I’m going to count pigeons.’ Inside Central Station III, station worker with clipboard
It is the start of the summer holidays and Central Station is busier than ever. Trains from Central take passengers to over 220 destinations all over Britain. Today things aren’t going to plan. Inside Central Station IV
The annual Pride march beings tens of thousands of people into Glasgow to walk in and watch the colourful parade and events. Inside Central Station V
Cancellations test the patience of passengers … On the station’s main concourse the countdown to the evening rush hour has begun. Passengers are gathering but the trains are not where they are supposed to be. Inside Central Station VI
Euston Station in Central London: one of the capital’s biggest rain terminals. Tucked alongside it is St James Gardens. On the face of it, an ordinary park. But look closer and you’ll find clues that there’s a hidden history here. An incredible window into London’s past. Because beneath these seemingly unremarkable gardens lies a vast ceremony, and now part of Britain’s biggest ever archaeological dig. Britain’s Biggest Dig, BBC 2020
The huge excavations here at St James’s: it’s part of major investigations along the 150-mile route of HS2, the new high-speed rail link between London and Birmingham and beyond. But before a track is laid, archaeologists will investigate every hill and valley along the route. The law requires them to excavate and rebury any human remains. ibid.
The cheapest plots were in the east, and the highest status burials were in the west: closer to the chapel, closer to God. ibid.
We move up the line to another gigantic excavation to uncover how Victorian Birmingham grew into a boom town of the industrial revolution. Britain’s Biggest Dig II
London, Spring 2019: next to Euston Station the excavation of the 230-year-old St James’s burial ground is reaching its peak. Hundreds of archaeologists are unearthing the largest cemetery ever dug up in Britain. ibid.
During the Second World War this part of London was targeted by the Luftwaffe, and many bombs detonated in and around the cemetery. ibid.
Digs have already started along the route of HS2. Surveys indicate an important site awaits to be unearthed on average every mile along the route. ibid.
Summer of 2018: Next to the City’s famous Bullring, the Fox & Grapes pub, once part of a vibrant working-class community, is being demolished after it is being surveyed by archaeologists. Across the road lies the giant Park Street burial ground, where archaeologists face another huge task … excavations will range over five hectares … making way for the next 7-platform terminus of HS2. ibid.
At the start of the eighteenth century Birmingham was a market town of just 15,000 people. ibid.