The Engineering That Built the World

This is your chance to reach out and touch the past! Just as a forensic anthropologist analyses bones, and a historian deciphers ancient texts, we now have the technology to "read" the buildings, ruins and landscapes where history was made. The series, presented by Dallas Campbell, teams Steve Burrows (pictured), the brains behind the Bird’s Nest Stadium in Beijing, with a team of pioneering laser scanning experts from the Centre for Advanced Spatial Technologies to unlock the secrets of the world’s greatest engineering and cultural achievements. Locations include the Colosseum, Petra, Machu Picchu, St. Paul’s Cathedral, the Pyramids and Jerusalem.

Hinkley Point C, in a remote corner of the Somerset countryside, will be one of the largest nuclear power stations in Europe, and the UK's first new station in a generation. The 22-billion-GBP project requires mammoth foundations for the two reactors, excavation of 3.5km cooling water tunnels under the Bristol Channel, and an airtight inner steel lining to contain any radioactive material in the event of a meltdown.

Michael Portillo travels on the great train routes of Europe, as he retraces the journeys featured in George Bradshaw's 1913 Continental Railway Guide.

Documentary series revealing the inner workings of Britain's railways, introducing the track-workers, train guards, drivers, police officers and management teams determined to keep the country moving.

Covering thousands of miles, Sir Tony Robinson takes a whirlwind journey around the globe by train.

The three-part series tells the story of British architects Richard Rogers, Norman Foster, Nicholas Grimshaw, Michael Hopkins and Terry Farrell.

In this five-part series, comedy legend Sir David Jason hits the West Coast of the USA. He’s on a revealing and entertaining journey of a lifetime by planes, trains and automobiles, discovering the machines that made America and changed the world.

Guy Martin celebrates the workers of the Industrial Revolution by getting stuck into six of the country's biggest restoration projects, bringing some of the 19th century's most impressive engineering achievements back to life.

How four iconic British-built trains revolutionised rail travel and inspired incredible railway projects the world over.

Spektakuläre Bergbahnen der Schweiz

This series travels the length and breadth of Britain to find out how the Victorians built Britain. It uncovers the incredible and surprising stories behind iconic landmarks; discovers the hidden heroes behind the epic constructions; and finds out how the incredible advances made by the Victorians forged the world we live in today.

British comedian and travel enthusiast Griff Rhys Jones hops on some of Australia's most impressive long distance trains, travelling across the expansive outback and along spectacular coastlines.

Bill Nighy narrates the stories of epic train journeys through stunning scenery.

Ancient Impossible, the new H2 series, picks up where HISTORY’s long running Ancient Discoveries left off. In this next generation of storytelling, Ancient Impossible reveals how many of today’s technological achievements were actually developed centuries ago. Colossal monuments, impossible feats of engineering and technologies so precise they defy reinvention–the ancient world was far more advanced than we ever imagined. We’ll travel through history to reveal a radically different picture of the past, with innovations so far ahead of their time, they’re still in use today. New science uncovers a lost world more like our own than we ever suspected, and reveals how modern technology has its blueprint in the ancient world.

Richard Hammond embarks on a global adventure to explore the world’s biggest structures and machines and discover how engineers build, maintain and use them.

Des trains pas comme les autres

Following an elite crew of workers-- brakemen, engineers, construction crews, mechanics and train drivers – Railroad Alaska illustrates the battle against ferocious weather and treacherous terrain to keep the State of Alaska’s critical 500-mile long railroad rolling to deliver life sustaining supplies. From controlled avalanches to prevent catastrophe, to fascinating characters, like Jim James, the one-handed handy man, learn what it takes to keep this train on track.

Build Your Own Home follows the trials and tribulations of homeowners from across Ireland, as they take on the mammoth challenge of building their own home – under the watchful eye of master builder and building teacher, Harrison Gardner. From a brand new build in West Cork, a Midlands cottage doer-upper, a Limerick farmhouse renovation to a Dublin extension each episode has one thing in common – no building experience and very tight budgets. As the initial excitement of a new project invariably dies down these brave self builders still need to work, pay rent, mind kids and... build a house. No-one said it was going to be easy – as Harrison told them from the start. Across days, weeks and months of hard labour the homeowners are taught and mentored by Harrison, who believes that anyone can learn how to build.

The invention of trains transformed everything about how humans lived. From the movement of goods and population, the design of cities, to conquest and warfare, there are few aspects of civilization that were left untouched by these machines.

They are the high-flying pride of the U.S. military, one-of-a-kind warriors that, over the decades, collectively revolutionized aerial warfare. Through rare, archival footage and compelling testimonies, meet the men and women who fly and maintain these Air Warriors and see how they've overcome incredible obstacles to rule the sky.