
Railways: The Making of a Nation — Season 1
About this season
Historian Liz McIvor explores how Britain's expanding rail network was the spark to a social revolution, starting in the 1800s and continuing through to modern times.
Episodes (6)

1. Time
Aired 28 September 2016 • 30 min
Exploring how Britain's expanding rail network sparked a social revolution. How do you organise a network in a country of separate time zones and no recognised timetables?

2. Capitalism and Commerce
Aired 5 October 2016 • 30 min
Series about Britain's railways. Liz McIvor explores how railways stimulated great changes to the nation's economy, changing how business was done.

3. The Age of Leisure
Aired 12 October 2016 • 30 min
Documentary series about Britain's railways. A look at how the idea of an excursion to distant places became popular from the 1840s onwards.

4. The New Commuters
Aired 19 October 2016 • 30 min
Documentary series about Britain's railways. Liz McIvor examines how the railways enabled people to live further and further from the places where they worked.

5. Food and Shopping
Aired 26 October 2016 • 30 min
Series about Britain's railways. How the railways changed culinary tastes in London, as rapid transport enabled people to enjoy food from across the nation.

6. A Touch of Class
Aired 2 November 2016 • 30 min
Documentary series about Britain's railways. This edition charts how, in the 1800s, the trains gradually acted as a great catalyst in mixing the classes.