These are the Ages of Steam.

We look at the Victorian and Edwardian locomotives of The Golden Age – from the early works of the Victorian engineers who were artists as much as engineers to the first decade of the 20th century, when locomotive size would double and the railways would reach their zenith.

The Jazz Age covers the locomotives of the 1920s, when, following the Great War, the railways of Britain had to renew war damage and then re-group, forming four large companies – ‘The Big Four’.  We follow the progress of locomotive design as each company developed its own style.

The years of the Great Depression are examined in The Streamline Age, measuring the impact of the financial crisis of the 1930s on Britain’s railways. The urgent need for fleet renewal ensured there were major changes, despite the depression, with many emerging locomotive proving to be the final designs of their types.

The last private locomotives are the subjects of The Austerity Age when steam locomotive development almost came to a halt in Britain. We look at the companies which chased simpler and cheaper designs, as well as the most complicated and expensive steam locomotives produced by Oliver Bulleid.