Fred Dibnah's Made in Britain

The Passion of a Lifetime

Collecting the Coal

The Source of Iron

Castings

Water and Boilers

Fred visits Ryhope pumping station in Sunderland and meets the volunteers who maintain the museum, travels across the Middlesborough transporter bridge and sees the Israel Newton boiler works in Bradford.

The Road to Steel City

Fred fulfils an ambition by driving across the imposing Scammonden Bridge over the M62. He and Alf also visit the steel city of Sheffield to take a tour round a fascinating forge and watch crucible steel being produced by experts Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet.

Mechanics and Riveters

Fred stops off at Andy Thornton's, a company that makes ornate carvings, moves on to Worsborough to have a go at making hot forge rivets, then travels down to Derbyshire to visit the Midland Railway Centre.

Pattern Making

Fred and the boys are staying with the Howard brothers, some old traction engine friends, and taking a break. The engine is having a few problems so it comes into the shed, where Jack takes the front wheel off to see what the problem is. Luckily there are plenty of helping hands around. Leaving the engine behind, Fred visits David Ragsdale, a skilled pattern maker who just happens to own six steam engines. David explains how it all works, then they go directly to the foundry to see the next stage in the process. Steam enthusiasts manage to use steam for all manner of things. Fred visits Tom Nuttall, a man who runs a garden centre and museum - all through the power of steam. The team take a trip out to Ashbourne to visit a clockmaker. The whole workshop is belt driven, just like Fred's garden, and has been a family business since 1826. Fred marvels at the skills and techniques involved in the delicate processes and watches how the tiny teeth are cut into the cogs.

Engines at Work

Fred meets up with a few old friends at the North Staffs and Cheshire Traction Engine Club. All the engines are in steam so Fred is in his element, chatting to his mates and enjoying a pint or two. The next day Fred goes to see Len Crane at Bratch Pumping Station, where Len has spent the last six years restoring a great triple expansion engine that was used to pump the water. They call in at the Severn Valley Railway at Bridgenorth for a chat about the locos and a tour round the workshops. Unfortunately Fred does so much chatting he misses his chance to have a ride on the footplate. Moving on from Bridgenorth Fred, Alf and Jimmy visit the Black Country Living Museum to learn about the rich mining history of the area.

Chains and Copper

Fred, Alf and Jimmy continue their investigation of the Black Country by watching the skills of an authentic chain maker, producing chains in the same way as they would have been in 1910. After all that hard work they sit down to enjoy fish and chips washed down with a pint of local ale. They have a long journey ahead, travelling all the way from Dudley to Anglesey to visit Parys Mountain, a vast copper mine that was once the largest in the world. The copper from Parys Mountain would be made into sheets and taken to a copper spinner just like the one Fred goes to visit in the East Midlands. The spinning process may look easy but, as Fred discovers, there is a lot of skill involved. After leaving Anglesey they travel further down into Wales making an overnight stop at Ffestiniog railway, originally built to transport slate from Ffestiniog to Porthmadog. While the others look after the traction engine, Fred enjoys a ride and drive on the footplate of an 1891 slate shunting engine. He also takes a look around the maintenance yard where he sees Prince - possibly the oldest working steam engine in the world, dating back to 1863.

The Engineering Workshop

A Lifetime's Achievement