Wallace & Gromit's World of Invention - A to B

The desire for freedom and escape has driven human inventiveness through the ages. In this episode, Wallace and Gromit explore incredible transportation inventions from around the globe. In our 'Contraption Countdown' the focus is on peculiar transport devices, and we find out how to cross the River Thames in a plastic bag. We discover the intention behind laser propulsion in the creation of flying saucer technology, and meet Cedric Lynch, an illustrious engineer who invented electric tricycles, as he competes in the world famous TT race on the Isle of Man with his electric motorbike. We take a trip to St. Petersburg in Russia and meet Mikhail Puchkov, who has spent the last 30 years building his own submarine. We meet Sir Clive Sinclair, who devised the first digital watches, home computers and pocket calculators, but who still has plans to revolutionise personal transport. Jem Stansfield looks at Brunel's Atmospheric Railway system, and discovers that perhaps it wasn't the failure history remembers it being.