Britain's Greatest Machines with Chris Barrie Episode Guide

Episode Guide

Britain's Greatest Machines with Chris Barrie: Season 1 (2009)

• Season 1 Episode 8: Trains

  The actor and engineering enthusiast examines how trains have changed British society since they were introduced in the 1820s. He visits a mine to discover more about the railways' industrial beginnings before taking a ride on board the world's first high-pressure steam engine. Last in the series

• Season 1 Episode 7: Britain's Greatest Machines with Chris Barrie (1980s)

  The actor and engineering enthusiast revisits the battles of the Falklands War as he seeks out the greatest machines of the 1980s and takes a ride in a DeLorean DMC-12, as seen in Back to the Future

• Season 1 Episode 6: Britain's Greatest Machines with Chris Barrie (1960s)

  The actor and engineering enthusiast explores the technology of the 1960s, reliving the Monte Carlo Rally in a Mini Cooper and re-creating Ranulph Fiennes's hovercraft journey on the Nile. He also charts the birth of the white-van man and investigates the secrets of the Post Office Tower

• Season 1 Episode 5: Britain's Greatest Machines with Chris Barrie (1950s)

  The actor and engineering enthusiast investigates the stories behind the technology of the 1950s, which saw Britain striving to become a leader in modern design. Among the inventions he explores are the Routemaster bus and the Vulcan bomber

• Season 1 Episode 4: 1940s

  The actor and engineering enthusiast takes a look at the technology of the 1940s, examining the impact of the Second World War on the decade. He mans a fire pump, and tackles a Blitz-style blaze, before he visits an RAF control centre to discover how radar helped win the Battle of Britain. He also reveals the contribution made by spy planes, jet engines and shrapnel-proof fire engines

• Season 1 Episode 3: 1930s

  The actor and engineering enthusiast drives a Class A4 locomotive - renowned for setting the world-speed record for a steam train, and takes a flight in one of Britain's most successful early commercial airliners as he examines the mechanical innovations of the 1930s. He also finds out how a mass-produced car went on to influence the production of a World War Two tank

• Season 1 Episode 1: 1910s

  The presenter looks back at 100 years of technology and inventions, beginning with the 1910s, the decade that produced new weapons, planes and ships for use in the First World War

Britain's Greatest Machines with Chris Barrie: Other Episodes

• 1920s

  The actor and engineering enthusiast takes a look at the technology of the 1920s, including the R101 airship, motorbikes, articulated lorries, petrol pumps, planes, and the decade's obsession with motor racing