Smoke & Steel - Secrets of the Modern World Season 1 Episodes

Episode 1

A Leisure Time Game Changer

60 mins

Examining a cliff in North Yorkshire that offered the public a new ride experience. Plus, the world's oldest operating roller-coaster, an astronomical observatory in California and a mining hoist in Germany.

Episode 2

War on the Waves

44 mins

Examining 'The Warrior', an ironclad warship on the south coast of England. Plus, a grand public works facility in Prague and the mint building in San Francisco.

Episode 3

A Subterranean Revolution

60 mins

The industrial legacy of a tunnel under the Thames, how steam engines reshaped the Netherlands, and a surprising link to our digital world.

Episode 4

The Birth of the Factory

A mill on the outskirts of Manchester was part of a dawning revolution in the way we work - the factory. Plus, a bridge in St. Louis, and a vast hanger in Brazil.

Episode 5

Global Communications Breakthrough

Examining the legacy of a cable hut in Cornwall, how a mountain railway in New Hampshire inspired its passengers and a lighthouse in France.

Episode 6

Scaling New Heights

Examining the legacy of the first iron framed building (a mill in Shrewsbury), how paper production changed the world, and the impact of the Trans-Siberian Railway.