The Train Now Departing
The Train Now Departing: Twenty Years After the End of Steam is a 1988 BBC Two documentary series about railways that was broadcast 20 years after the end of steam on British Railways. It was written and narrated by Anthony Smith. A book to accompany the series was also published by BBC Books with photographs by Ivo Peters.
Episode list
There were six 30 minute episodes:| Episode No. | Episode Title | UK Broadcast Date | Description |
| 1 | "The Long Drag" | 15 November 1988 | The most dramatic steam route is over the Pennines on the Settle-Carlisle railway. Complete with magnificent viaducts and awesome tunnels hacked through solid rock, it was the last railway to buit by pick and shovel. But this historic line faces an uncertain future... |
| 2 | "The West Highlander" | 22 November 1988 | On Scotland's West Highland railway engine driver Callum MacRaild is back on the locomotives he loves. We join him as his crowded holiday train is steam-hauled through breathtaking scenery and listen to nostalgic stories of cooking kippers on the coal shovel. |
| 3 | "The Holiday Line" | 29 November 1988 | Steam enthusiast Barry Smith delights in his childhood memories of the 'Atlantic Coast Express'. But retracing the route from Waterloo to Exmouth leaves him in no doubt that the journey is no longer the best of the Summer holidays. |
| 4 | "Steam on the Isle of Man" | 6 December 1988 | Unaffected by mainland modernization, the Isle of Man's 114 year old Steam Railway rolls on. Now a valuable asset to the Island's booming tourist industry, we visit the famous line and delight in its Victorian elegance. |
| 5 | "Lines of Industry" | 13 December 1988 | The steam locomotive - universal workhorse of the Industrial Revolution is gone - but forgotten or unrecorded. Today conservationists are renovatin rust-ing locomotives and rolling stock, while we can watch Ivo Peters' unique archive film of many industrial lines long since closed. |
| 6 | "The Survivors" | 20 December 1988 | The 80s - an age of enthusiasm when the Preservation of steam locomotives in museums and on working railways like the Bluebell Line in Sussex are not only a reminder of the power and glory of steam but also a part of Britain's growing tourist industry. |