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The first story (two episodes) is set during the construction of the line, and its main character is Robbie Grant, a boy who has been brought to the valley because his father is working on the railway as a [[Railway Navvies of the SVR|navvy]]. Although the Grant family was fictional, the story included characters such as [[John Fowler | Sir John <noglossary>Fowler</noglossary>]] and [[Henry Orlando Bridgeman]] who were involved in the building of the real Severn Valley Railway, while the plot line in which Robbie is severely injured by a fall of rock is notably similar to an actual [[Railway Navvies of the SVR|accident which took place during construction in 1859]]. The Didcot Great Western Society's veteran Wantage Tramway locomotive "Shannon" was used for filming, being either propelled or hauled into shot as it was not in steam at the time.
The second story (three episodes) is set in the Edwardian era, when the now-elderly Robbie is the signalman at [[Highley]], and his grandson George is about to start work as a porter at the station. [[4566]], renumbered as 4506, served as a locomotive of that era. A brief clip from this story showing 4566 setting off from Arley was later reused by the BBC as a cutaway shot in the 1982 Doctor Who episode '[[Doctor Who (Black Orchid)|Black Orchid]]'.
In the final story (three episodes), set in 1939, George is Station Master at [[Arley]]; his son Andy has to deal with an evacuee from Birmingham billeted with the family, and becomes suspicious that a spy is trying to destroy [[Borle Viaduct]]. A number of locomotives were used including [[5764]] and [[7819|7819 Hinton Manor]].
