(Run-time: 1 hour and 46mins approx.)

This programme looks at main and secondary line action from the National Network. We begin with the first of two visits to the busy station at Eastleigh on the South Western Trains route to Southampton and Portsmouth, as well as on the main Cross-country route to and from Bournemouth. The location is also an important freight centre with container traffic passing through on its way to and from the nearby Southampton Ports. On top of this are regular trains of aggregate as well as engineering materials brought in by train to the nearby Yard. All of this makes Eastleigh a major rail centre popular with observers. Our visit brings to you examples of all of the traffic mentioned above, including Class 59, 66 and 70 locomotives as well as passenger classes from 158, 220, 221, 444, 450, 377 and 701.

Heading north we visit Chesterfield and to the popular footbridge situated north of the station. This busy mixed traffic route has four tracks and so trains are seen every few minutes. We see classes 158, 220, 221, 222, 810, 37, 43, 66, and 70 on a variety of passenger and freight workings. Filmed in July 2024.

Just 20 or so miles to the west of Chesterfield is situated the stone quarries around Peak Forest and Tunstead in Derbyshire. Traffic levels in this area coupled with the use of mechanical signal boxes with semaphores signals, make this a magnet for observers and photographers alike. Our visit sees class 66s working heavy stone trains from a number of publicly accessible locations, with some hard-working locos on full power in order to move the heavy trains.

Heading south we cover the secondary passenger route that is the Waterloo to Exeter line. We see class 158 and 159s working trains at several locations between Sherborne and Tisbury, west of Salisbury.

Tamworth sees two main rail routes crossing over each other at its rail station - the north-south cross-country route and the busy West Coast Main Line. We visit the platforms and see a variety of services including classes 221, 325, 350, 390, 805, 66, 70 and 90.

Our final section sees a return to the platforms at Eastleigh.