Years of research and trial and error culminated in the invention of the first locomotive on rails. Not bad for a father-and-son experiment. That's what Murdoch and his son George achieved in 1797.

George Stephenson tries out his invention, a steam locomotive. He allows his son, Robert, to ride on it as long as he stays on the edge of the carriage and gets ready to jump off if the rails buckle under the weight of the locomotive... which they do. Luckily his son followed his instructions!

The future of the railroad depends on whether George Stephenson's locomotive, 38 cars long, will run or not. The local townspeople debate whether it will go full speed ahead or not budge at all due to its size.

This next part of the Il était une fois series on George Stephenson deals with the Rainhill Trials, a competition that determined what kind of trains (steam engines or locomotives) would be used on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway.

This last part of the Il était une fois episode on George Stephenson deals with the Rainhill Trials, a competition that determined what kind of trains (steam engines or locomotives) would be used on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. Stephenson proves to be the best competitor.

The series Il était une fois… les Amériques: Les premiers Américains (Once Upon a Time… the Americas: The First Americans) relates American history from the very beginning up to the twentieth century. Enjoy the opening song about the making of America and its first settlers...

Finding food was often difficult for the earliest settlers of the Americas. Luckily for the characters in this video, there's enough berries to go around.

Since all the animals have moved away from their area, these early Americans are forced to follow in their paw prints... otherwise they'll have no food!

It's one thing to have to track down a woolly mammoth for food, but it's another thing to cook it! Luckily these prehistoric Americans just discovered how to make fire.

The series Il était une fois... les Amériques: Les premiers Américains (Once Upon a Time... The Americas: The First Americans) relates American history from the very beginning up to the twentieth century. In this episode, hunters boast about their day chasing after a huge animal.

The Maestro has made his final journey and will not join the next expedition. It's time to bid him farewell!

In this segment of the Il était une fois episode on the Americas, a group of hunters go across what is now known as the Bering Strait in search of game. Little do they know that, by doing so, they'll become the first settlers of North America!

This tribe of hunters must use whatever they can find to nourish themselves and survive. Luckily, two of their children stumble across a pond full of fish after the ice melts, giving them plenty more to eat.

Food is scarce, too many men, not enough game to kill. What are they to do? The explorers setting foot on the Americas are having a tough time.

This new episode of "Il était une fois..." covers Cortés and the Aztecs. The story starts in 1519, when Ferdinand Magellan attempts to circumnavigate the earth. His ship makes it as far as Brazil.