Michael returns to the cradle of the Railways, Rainhill, a little town not far from Liverpool in the northwest of England, where in 1829 a competition was held to discover the most improved locomotive engine for the railway.

Michael looks back at notorious crimes on the railways during the times of his Bradshaw's and Appleton's Guides and delves into the history of skulduggery by the owners of North American railroads.

Michael reflects on 180 years of royal fascination with the railways. He recalls King George V and Queen Mary's Royal Train Tour in 1913 to the calm the militant north of England.