Main content
Sorry, this episode is not currently available

Deptford to West Silvertown

Michael Portillo embarks on a series of journeys through London. He is invited aboard the construction locomotive for Crossrail.

Michael Portillo is invited aboard the construction locomotive for Crossrail to travel under the Thames and to meet Mary, on whom the project depends.

He travels on the capital's first railway and admires the remarkable brick viaduct on which it was built. He takes a tour underneath its arches with a Victorian map showing the poverty of those who once lived there. The Docklands Light Railway takes him to Greenwich, home to Britain's most famous tea clipper. And in Woolwich, he discovers the firepower of the British Empire before coming to a sticky end at West Silvertown.

29 minutes

Credits

Role Contributor
Presenter Michael Portillo
Series Producer Alison Kreps
Executive Producer John Comerford
Production Company Boundless Productions

Broadcasts

Featured in...

Steam railway programmes on 成人快手 iPlayer

A collection of programmes from the 成人快手 archives on the beauty of steam locomotives.