Steam Heritage London

  We're near the Thames on the Western side of London again, and this time we find out about The Kempton Great Engines Trust. Their grand 1920s building would be worth a visit for the architecture alone, but it houses some of the largest steam engines ever built. Also in the collection are steam turbines and spectacular early electronics. Neighbouring is the Hampton and Kempton Waterworks Railway, a narrow-gauge loop that gives passenger rides. The new title music is Infrastructure by Scott Holmes. Many thanks to him for giving his permission to use it here. You can find Scott on http://www.scottholmesmusic.uk/. (I take care about pronunciation, but I've badly mangled a place name in this episode! I've since been told that "Govan" should be pronounced like "govern". I'll try to correct this when I get a chance.)

Today we wrap up the history of the waterworks and how it came to be a museum, plus an examination of the main things to see, of which there's a lot. Without question it's the most diverse collection in London, but it's also incredibly accessible and hugely family-friendly.

It's great to be back! This is the first part of a two-part series on the the London Museum of Water and Steam in Brentford, West London. This Museum really should be visited by everyone living in London! Today we'll cover the history of the water works site and its engines up to about 1870.

The coal-fired twin-screw steam tug, Portwey. Built in 1927, she's almost unique, very original and bleedin' interesting. In this episode, there's a history of Portwey, a description, and directions to make getting to her location in Canary Wharf easy (believe me, they help). History touched on in this episode: the 1944 disaster of Operation Tiger on Slapton Sands in Devon, the redevelopment of Canary Wharf in East London, and the Harland & Wolff shipyard in North Woolwich.

Hi everyone, welcome to Steam Heritage London. My name is Oliver Platts, and this short episode is an introduction to the series.