Steel Wheels: Railway History, Technology and Safety.

Today we examine the next stage in the development of the steam engine from a stationary power plant to a mobile source of traction. The low pressure engines had reached their zenith by 1800, and the designers had somewhat backed themselves into a corner in terms of onward development. Clearly high pressure steam would have to be harnessed if the steam engine was to ever move beyond this stage.

Today we progress the story of the railways through the era of the horse drawn tramway to 1804, when the eccentric Cornishman, Richard Trevithick, unveils a new world changing invention...the steam engine!

In homage to the traditional Ghost Story for Christmas, in this special episode Steel Wheels presents one of the most famous ghost stories in horror fiction, "The Signalman", by Charles Dickens.

As compensation for the delay in releasing the new episodes, I have decided to produce and extra long safety episode for all my regular listeners, and release it ahead of schedule.

In this episode, we will investigate the devastating Charfield Railway disaster, one of the most mysterious railway accidents ever to take place in the UK.

In our first safety episode, we lift the lid on the terrible crash that took place at Norton Fitzwarren on the GWR in 1940, and learn how it teaches us all too clearly of the dangers of making assumptions in safety critical roles.