Steam Train Diaries

A journey through North York Moors National Park aboard the heritage steam engines that travel through its hills and valleys. In this first episode, steam train aficionado Piglet fires an 88-year-old engine along the steepest section of track. Plus, a look into the complex workings inside traditional signal boxes and a groundbreaking mission to convert a full-size heritage engine from coal to oil.

Paul Middleton is on the footplate of a North Yorkshire Moors Railway locomotive, travelling between the picturesque stops of Goathland and Levisham. Meanwhile, iconic engine Tornado is brought in on a mission to boost passenger numbers, the lineside team are in action monitoring the UK's only venomous snake, and we see how a Victorian loom is keeping heritage railways all over the world running smoothly.

The steam engine Tornado travels from the remote Levisham station to the market town of Pickering. With the season in full swing, disaster strikes as a giant wildfire jeopardises the steam train services. Volunteers work tirelessly to keep the stations spick and span, and guide dog puppies gaining their first experience of trains.

Staff and volunteers go to extremes to make a success of the railway's steam gala, transporting a 60-tonne locomotive more than 300 miles from the Isle of Wight to Yorkshire. Plus, a historic tram and a vintage steam crane are put into action.