Hello everyone!
I LOVE Steam Trains so today is my lucky day!
I’m in North Wales to go on a ride through
the Snowdonia Mountains, and learn all about
these amazing machines!
Woohoo, this train is just leaving the station
now!
Look at all that steam coming out – it’s
no wonder they’re called Steam Trains.
Many years ago, these trains were used to
transport slate from up high in the mountains,
but now they are just used to take lucky passengers
on amazing train rides.
Come on!
Let’s get on board!
These old fashioned carriages are very comfy,
and you can even get yummy hot chocolate served
straight to your seats!
This train is the best!
Just look at the amazing views out of the
windows as we steam our way through the Snowdonia
Mountains.
Wow, it’s beautiful here.
We’re all very clean and comfortable in
here, but I wonder what it’s like for the
driver in the cabin up front?
The part of the train that does all of the
hard work is called the Locomotive, and it’s
up to the driver and the fireman to keep the
locomotive running and pulling all of those
carriages and passengers.
Steam trains run on coal and the fireman has
to shovel lots of it into the firebox to keep
the engine running.
This is Ian, and he’s the driver of this
locomotive.
Ian, please can you tell us how coal makes
the train go?
So this is the coal we burn on our steam engine.
We put it in the fire there and we burn it.
And that produces lots of heat and that heat
we use to boil this water.
It's just like boiling your kettle at home.
It makes the steam come out of the top but
we capture that steam and we send it to the
front of this steam loco.
And that makes us go.
To make sure there’s enough coal for the
journey ahead, the crew have to load up the
train’s coal from the coal store at the
station.
This is hard, tiring and dirty work!
All of the crew that work on the trains are
volunteers too, which means they don’t get
paid.
They do it because they love the trains!
This is Claire and she’s the fireman – it’s
her job to load the coal into the firebox
and keep that fire roaring!
What I’m doing now is I’m making my fire
bigger because we're pulling a very big train
today so it needs a nice big very hot fire
to be able to do that.
I love steam trains because I just find them
magical.
As well as loading the coal into the train,
it’s just as important to make sure that
the train has plenty of water in the tank,
because this is what gets turned into steam
which pushes the train forwards.
The crew are topping up this train’s tank
with water now!
Wow this one’s thirsty!
Ian, how do you drive a steam train?
We drive a steam train by making it go faster
like that and then this is the brake.
This is what we use to stop ourselves.
This lever here makes us go either forwards
or backwards.
And that is how you drive a steam train.
Let’s take a look at the different parts
of a steam train!
Here’s the cab, and this is where the driver
and fireman drive the train and load the fire.
Inside here is the firebox, which is really
really hot.
Above the firebox sits the boiler where the
water is stored.
Because this is right above the fire, the
water boils and turns into steam.
The steam is then forced down through a pipe
and pushes something called a piston, which
then drives the wheels forwards or backwards.
This is the Chimney, which is where the smoke
from the firebox can escape.
And most importantly, this is the Whistle!!
The whistle works when I pull this handle.
That means that steam is going up to the whistle
and making the sound.
Ian is connecting a carriage to the locomotive.
This is called coupling!
Because these trains are very old, they take
a lot of looking after, which is why the Ffestiniog
and Welsh Highland railway have their own
special garage with an amazing team of engineers,
mechanics, joiners and painters.
This place is a hive of activity.
In here they’re building a brand new carriage
from scratch.
And in here, this is where the beautiful details
on the outside of the carriage are painted
on by hand.
Well it’s time for me to say goodbye to
these beautiful trains.
Thanks very much to all the team at the Ffestiniog
and Welsh Highland Railway for teaching us
all about Steam Trains.
To watch more videos from me, just tap here,
and to download the Toddler Fun Learning App
– just tap here!
See you again soon, byeeeeee!
