Yesterday. For Today

The Hornby model of British Rail’s short-lived Advanced Passenger Train (right) doesn’t just look like the original 1980s intercity train – it travels at a speed exactly proportionate to its scale. The model goes round a track of fixed length, and a Hornby engine specialist consulted a chart to translate the model’s speed into real-world miles per hour. It took a couple of tries to get it right: “We’re looking at 160-165mph, slightly higher than we were hoping for, but once the carriages are attached we’ll be there.” Hornby: A Model World, season 1 episode 4 – stream for free on UKTV Play

From the fire brigade’s secret tunnel at King’s Cross station to the surprising journeys of classic cars, here’s fuel for curious minds

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Watch Yesterday on Freeview 27, Sky 155, Virgin Media 129, Freesat 159 – or stream for free on UKTV Play

Driving force: the Ford Capri, Europe’s answer to the American Mustang

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9 amazing facts from the Yesterday channel

1. Hornby really cares about detail

There’s an unexpected twist when the reliably excitable presenter Gregg Wallace (above) goes to France to see how Le Creuset cast-iron cookware is made. It turns out that the technique for making cast-iron cookware was actually invented in Ironbridge by one Abraham Darby, who pioneered a way of blending steel and pig iron at higher temperatures than had previously been possible, and then casting the faster-running molten metal from huge crucibles into recyclable sand moulds. In the wise words of Wallace, “Wow! Woo! Wow! This is big! Look at this! The size of this thing! Wow! The heat! It’s incredible!” Inside the Factory, season 5 episode 6 – stream for free on UKTV Play

2. Le Creuset’s story casts back to Shropshire

The Citroën 2CV was produced from 1948 to 1990, but was nearly fully developed by 1939. Prototypes of the car – with its innovative suspension system – were so good that the mock-ups and designs were hidden from the Nazis during the Second World War occupation of France. Auctioneer Derek Mathewson doesn’t normally rate Citroëns, but he soon comes round to the charm of the 2CV that’s bought from him by a Merseyside couple (left) who love the marque. “I think it’s a better car, better designed, better built than a Mini,” he says after spending 20 minutes trying to prise open its bonnet. “When a car feels nice to drive, and gives other people pleasure seeing it, I think you’ve cracked it.” Bangers & Cash – watch new episodes at 8pm on Thursdays on Freeview 27, or stream for free on UKTV Play

3. Citroën kept its best tech hidden from the Nazis

King’s Cross station in London is so full of hidden nooks and crannies that it takes an entire episode of Secrets of the London Underground to explore them. Not only does the station have its own underground freight siding, but there’s a separate entrance and staircase for the London Fire Brigade. This was added as part of the reconstruction of the station in the wake of the 1987 fire, in which 31 people died. “This access point allows the fire brigade to come straight into the station without having to pass through the public areas,” presenter Siddy Holloway (right, with co-presenter Tim Dunn) explains. The fire brigade tunnel reuses part of an old exit walkway lined with cast iron (see fact 2). Secrets of the London Underground, season 2 episode 6 – stream for free on UKTV Play

4. Forget Platform 9¾ – these are the real secrets at King’s Cross

The InterCity 125 train was produced from 1976 to 1982, but was so successful that it continues to haul millions of passengers around the UK to this day. Designed as a stopgap while the Advanced Passenger Train (see fact 1) made its long journey from the drawing board, the 125 was once the second fastest passenger train in the world, after the Japanese Shinkansen aka the bullet train. Fittingly, then, the 125’s replacement (above) is made in Japan by Hitachi. It’s called the Hitachi 800, it’s been operating on selected lines since 2017 and its body shells are shipped from Japan to a 31-acre, £82 million assembly plant in the UK. Train Truckers – watch new episodes at 8pm on Tuesdays on Freeview 27, or stream for free on UKTV Play

5. A UK placeholder train had major staying power

The giant round sea forts that still stand in the mouth of the Solent were conceived as part of the 1859 Royal Commission by prime minister Lord Palmerston to guard against invasion by the French, who had mastered the technique of producing iron light enough to clad their warships (see fact 2). “Britain had no equivalent, and its ageing wooden fleet didn’t stand a chance,” intones the programme’s narrator. The flagship of the French fleet was La Gloire, the super weapon of its age (see fact 9). The forts were built as defensive outposts, erected on the seabed on foundations of concrete blocks that were dropped into place by divers. Abandoned Engineering – watch new episodes at 8pm on Mondays on Freeview 27, or stream for free on UKTV Play

6. Solent forts were born from age-old rivalry

When Ford launched the Capri (above) in 1968, the idea was to produce a European version of the American Mustang. Ford at first wanted to continue the Mustang theme and call the car the Ford Colt. Unfortunately, Mitsubishi had already registered that name for its small car, so Ford continued the aspirational Italian naming that had already brought it success with the Cortina. The guano-spattered special 1.6 Laser edition that cost the crew way too much money is memorably described by those in the know as “a sheep in wolf’s clothing”. Bangers & Cash: Restoring Classics, season 1 episode 4 – stream for free on UKTV Play

7. Ford had to opt for a horse of a different colour

The steam engines that run on the Snowdon Mountain Railway were built to a very special design, as presenter Tim Dunn (left) explains. “The boiler is at an angle here on the level, because when the trains go up the slope the boiler levels out, which is the safest way for them to be.” It’s not the engine that drives the wheels but a giant cog which slots into a pinion between the tracks and drags the train up the mountain. Although the carriages have been extensively modernised since the railway was built in the late 19th century, some of them are constructed on the original Victorian bogies. The Architecture the Railways Built, season 1 episode 7 – stream for free on UKTV Play

8. Snowdon had an acute need for inventive train design

9. Britain built a world-leading warrior that fought no battles

The enormous HMS Warrior, which sits in Portsmouth Harbour as a museum ship (above), never fired a shot in anger, yet changed the face of the modern world. “Her time in active service was short, but her impact was on a global scale,” says engineer Shini Somara. “This ship not only changed the outcomes of 19th-century battles, but also influenced battles right up until World War II.” This steam-driven iron monster was built in 1861 as Britain’s answer to France’s La Gloire (see fact 6), which it dwarfed. So great was its firepower that no one dared take it on in battle. It was the world’s first weapon as deterrent. Smoke & Steel, season 1 episode 2 – stream for free on UKTV Play

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Watch Yesterday on Freeview 27, Sky 155, Virgin Media 129, Freesat 159 – or stream for free on UKTV Play