Train Truckers S01E06 Colas Rail Tamper

a multi-million pound Mega Railway repair machine the machine altogether is about 170 tons unfortunately we can't bring it by rail so it needs to be put onto lorries can a team hold this giant 1 400 miles from Austria to the UK by rail sea and road without a scratch or Dent look at these absolute idiots yes okay so that I love it a monster diesel locomotive weighing in at 105 tons some people call them the unsung heroes of the Railway world can an elite crew safely navigate this oil burning heavyweight on an epic cross-country Adventure [Music] mechanical Mayhem yeah Superman's looking quite bad massive machines 64 pushing hundred and something ton and treacherous traffic lovely antics of London Eye to deliver these enormous engines on time a Titanic task even for the world's toughest train Truckers [Applause] foreign the historic city of Lentz in Austria on the banks of the Danube sits a railway giant active in over a hundred countries Placer and Toya build railroad superheroes [Music] plaster and Torah are the world's largest manufacturer of on-track machines these are the machines that are used on the railway every night either to build the railway in the first place or to maintain it and look after it workers here are preparing this curious machine hot off the assembly line for an Epic Journey that will see it travel by rails sea and truck 1408 miles to the UK this multi-million pound giant may look like a lunar lander but it's actually a very special machine used to repair railway tracks it's called a railway tamping machine and helps position the stone chips that sit underneath the rails called ballast tamping is the process of squeezing the ballast underneath the sleepers to hold them in position over time rail tracks drift and sink as millions of tons of train traffic passes overhead in the railway's early days tamping was a back-breaking task that would have been done by hand they used Pro bars they measured the track themselves pushed it over to where it should be and then they manually tried to pack the stone underneath it [Music] today this engineer genius ballast sifter is capable of tamping 900 meters of Railway line every hour the machine starts by analyzing the track and calculating how much it has shifted from its original position it then grips the rails and lifts both track and sleepers circular discs push the rails back into the correct position while hydraulic prongs dig down and squeeze the ballast [Music] to lock the sleepers firmly in place the machine's tools and apparatus can work non-stop while its frame crawls forward along the tracks like a giant caterpillar making it quick and economical to operate [Music] we've got the machine ready to be brought to the UK unfortunately we can't bring it by rail at the moment so it needs to travel by rail up to the north of Germany it has to then be put onto lorries onto the ferry and over to the UK this powerful diesel locomotive is pulling the tamping machine on the first leg of its Epic Journey [Music] it will travel 763 Miles by rail from Lintz in Austria to the port of Cook's Haven in Germany once at the port a team of Heavy Hauling Specialists will need to carefully load its two separate sections onto trucks to board the ferry Trucking a monster machine like this calls for an elite crew foreign strategically based in the Midlands is a company that specializes in moving trains by Road two unimats to come from classes in Austria right two of their Crews will have just five hours to load the tamping machine and carefully drive it onto the ferry they will then sail 404 miles to the port of immingham where the trucks will need to carefully disembark they must then drive 241 miles south to London and fight their way through busy narrow streets to deliver this Goliath to a rail yard where it will be put to work repairing train tracks across the country the machine altogether is about 170 tons and splits down Main Pace about 100 tons smaller place just under 70 tons so yeah good sized pieces of piece of equipment it rests on the shoulders of the logistics team to select the best route the best crew and the best kit to bring the machine back to the UK it's Dawn at the German port of cooks Haven [Music] busy Freight Hub that handles thousands of containers and cars each day it's taken three days for the diesel locomotive to pull the tamping machine 763 miles from the workshop to The Dockside it's split in two and ready to load pulling into Harbor the 187 meter jutlandia seaways Ferry arriving from its 24-hour Voyage from immingham in Lincolnshire nestled behind a line of luxury SUVs another Great British export a pair of aliles heavy haulage trucks heading up today's operation is Zach bankrupt everything 30 years old Zack is aliley's youngest driver Zack's second man is Alex Whitehouse keep it going and driving truck 2 is Kev Norris okay watch your talk tonight because they're coming on the boat kev's recently taken on a new right-hand man hey foreign it's cold it's wet and it's windy and I don't like either we've got to get it done we've got a ferry to catch the crew have just five hours to load both parts of the machine and board The Vessel before it set sail for the UK so we're in Cooks Arvin to collect this new machine slightly different method to normal way of loading the rail machines the team planned to load the heavier 98 ton part of the tamping machine onto Zack's 13-axle trailer by rolling it up and over kev's trailer to pull off this engineering feat they must line up both trailers over the docks sunken Railway then add special connectors called jump rails to span the gap they must then build a ramp from kev's trailer down to the tracks allowing them to winch the machine over catch trailer and onto zax both trailers need to be set at exactly the same height an inch out and the tamping Machine could derail with catastrophic consequences much more injury as possible there's one drawback with Zack's ingenious loading plan because the winch doesn't go uh far enough so we push the tamper up to the bottom of the ramp so the winch will reach six people pushing 100 and something ton with everything set that Winder handle there is going to foul the rail can you turn it over for me just as they start to winch the 98-ton machine onto the ramp Zach spots a problem as this first Bogey's just going up the gradual ink line of the ram the guard iron is going to foul on the bracket the multi-million pound machine is in danger of ripping itself apart we've got to do it further down as well Zach needs to think fast or this Railway Mega machine will miss the boat in Germany Zack's team have hit a problem in their mission to load this massive multi-million pound rail tamping machine that's getting closer to there so we're going to undo these six bolts and drop this keeper plate down to make to grow that Gap The Machine's Bodywork is edging perilously close to its bogeys as the heavyweight inches of the ramp happy Gents Zack's quick thinking does the trick same again but hauling the 98-ton machine across the trailers proves painfully slow as the engineers have to make constant adjustments okay just coming on now three two one stay there a minute got there right we're supposed to be Lorry drivers but you have to be an engineer when you come to some of these jobs one half loaded one more to go right don't put your hands on the winch because it'll pull out and it'll take your fingers when you do it okay on board the jefflandia seaways captain Andre mechev is carefully planning the evening sailing the trucks have to stay in the middle because it's already loaded unlimited shifting of the cargo by ships rolling will be damaged to the cargo or to the unit and to the ship as well Zack's crew race to load the second half of the tamping machine tin wants the trucks to board early we're going on first from the sounds of it we're going in the middle and you're gonna end up in front of me in the middle of the ship time to get rolling 30 meter truck backwards [Music] upper narrow ramp you're right on the heart yeah [Music] to the tightly packed ship [Music] for the ride why does it always change their mind following the yellow line and then you get halfway down the boat and then you gotta move with Zach's truck in place Kev can slot in front the crew can now clock off and get set for the crossing back to the UK nice to have a break we don't get a break very often it's always busy so you get 24 hours on here normally so you get probably a relaxed room to yourself no second man in the cab race [Music] um Riviera a holiday hot spot along the Southwest coast of Devon the beaches here are a big draw over the summer [Music] as are the area's Heritage steam Railways which wind their way through the picturesque County this is the South Devon Railway it spans over seven miles and was built in the 19th century to connect the local towns and Industry the railway here originally ran up to ashburton which was a distance of nine miles and it was built in 1872. it was mainly used for wool and coal and that's for trade despite being a steam Railway the day-to-day workhorses are the diesel engines most of the Diesels that we have on this line would have never worked here originally because the railway closed in 1958 a lot of these diesels they didn't find their way onto these sorts of Branch lines really until the 60s or 70s [Music] to enhance the railway's authenticity the team are organizing a unique locomotive swap with the nearby Dartmouth steam Railway line the class 37 is going over to our friends at the ancient and Dartmouth steam Railway and in return they're smaller class 25 is going to make its way over here which should be a far more appropriate locomotive [Music] the class 37 was originally built in 1965 at the Balkan Foundry in Lancashire this diesel engine was designed to haul both passengers and Freight 309 of them were built to be the go anywhere middleweight locomotive capable of working Freight and passes and trains across pretty much anywhere on the network it may have been built in the middle of the last century but its popularity has never waned some people call them the unsung heroes of the Railway World they've worked sort of consistently since the 60s and still working today on the main line it's probably one of British rails best investments ever made over 19 meters long this 105 ton Goliath has earned cult status amongst fans of diesel engines class 37s are very popular in the Heritage scene many were preserved by individuals and groups in fact there were nearly 50 preserved at one point they've got a very distinctive noise they've got very distinctive shape they are always a big draw at Heritage Railways I do like the class 37s they're a very good engine very enjoyable [Music] the gargantuan class 37 to the Dartmouth steam Railway will be a Monumental mission for aliley's cruise team need to hold the engine 15 miles to reach the steam Railways yard in chirsten Ferris this massive diesel engine is too big to navigate the narrow and twisty country lanes so the team must use the main roads that will add an extra 24 miles to their Journey it's the day of the big move heading up the heavy haulage team is Eric Harrison with more than 20 years of train Trucking under his belt no job is too big for Eric all right keep going keep going Eric's right-hand man Chris Case skillfully guides their trailer into the yard while rail Crews shunt the class 37 into position we're going to put down our steel Ram once that's in position we'll set the trailer up get in position and a gentle pull up onto the trailer with the ramp in place it's not a problem the next challenge is to line up the three meter wide trailer with the ramp 10 foot to go egg [Music] go on keep coming keep coming keep coming over there wreck slipped and low in the front now the trailer sits on uneven ground this makes it impossible for the ramp to connect flush with the trailer which could cause the engine to derail to solve the problem the team must add jump rails to bridge the gaps between the trailers and the ramps this will allow them to set the trailer at the correct angle and let the engine travel smoothly onto the trailer without derailing foreign [Music] the next task is to winch the class 37 onto the trailer [Music] but there's a problem it's slightly downhill to the ramp we can't unfasten the coupling if they release the engine's brakes the 105 ton class 37 will roll out of control the port of immingham in Lincolnshire opened in 1912 to export coal today the port handles hundreds of thousands of containers every year the jatlandia seaways ferry carrying the super-sized tamper machine from Cook's Haven in Germany prepares to dock Zack's team have spent 24 hours at Sea there's no thermostat in the other rooms you could turn [Laughter] it's going to be a long day for both Crews they need to truck the two pieces of this Goliath 241 miles from the port to the rail yard in London [Applause] last on first off curve eases the truck down the ramp s careful drive to London first to unload the 70-ton machine this afternoon Zack and Alex's 98 ton load is too big to drive into the capital during the day they need to wait just outside the city until after the evening's rush hour escort driver Jason priest is on hand to help steer the oversized loads clear of trouble these absolute idiots yesterday absolutely settling into the journey the crew used the time to sort out some important matters such as the best way to blow a lottery ticket what will be doing if I wasn't a drugger I would be buying vintage tractors restoring them repairing them collecting them and then collect a few more to go over the collection that you've already got yes so what would you do with your 15 million I would look into some sort of business that is gonna it's always gonna be around such as such as hope someone as long as you've got people you're always gonna have parent yeah so you're always going to need toilets it's gonna need four to lose you're gonna need drainage anything involved with that you're in a job for like all right it stinks oh what doesn't [Music] headquarters the heavy haulage Logistics team are dispatching an advanced party to clear the path for the trucks before they arrive in London London is not designed for ass ice drugs and it's always quite hard work to get it in people park on the corners in the wrong places so we send people down earlier to put no parking cones out just keep the areas clear it is quite a tight sight to get to they need to navigate their trucks into placer's UK yard here in the middle of the busy suburb of West Ealing [Music] this will be new boy Warren's first time steering a train through the capitol streets watch on this curb on the news the first challenge is to navigate Kev around a roundabout this will be tight hold it there so Warren uses wooden planks to protect the curb all right come forward all right you're all clear yeah okay keep going yeah keep going keep going [Music] the West London streets are an urban assault course for this rookie but with a bit of help from Kev it'll go around nicely Warren steers the machine into the yard I don't make the same again safe and sound [Music] thank you on the Southwest coast in Devon yeah we can't on corporate him so we're pulling the whole train at the minute Eric and Chris's mission to load this monster diesel locomotive has hit the buffers the massive engine is on a slope as the winch pulls it towards the ramp the engine could pick up momentum too much force on the ramp could knock it out of alignment and cause the engine to derail seasoned hawlia Eric hatches a plan I think you're gonna have to come with us I think just let the whole lot the whole train come down uh until it levels out then we can uncouple the logo from the rest of the train sure yeah yeah right then they'll use the weight of the carriages to Anchor the engine from rolling out of control as they winch it it's going fine nice and slow foreign probably a stone under the rail [Music] it takes an hour to haul the oversized engine onto the trailer with the class 37 in position Eric and Chris Pack away the ramp and lubricate the chains that secure the engine on the trailer but they could also do with a little less friction you don't you do a little square just there no you don't you do no you don't trust me I know with the chains in place they get ready to hit the road [Music] uh [Music] still all good yeah I cave up escort driver Rob pulls in front of the truck while a second driver guards the rear but just as they put pedal to the metal yes mate [Laughter] they run into trouble Eric Bob said that there's a bit of a bit of smoke coming from the back Tire or back wheel on the trailer oh on their way to London with the 98 ton half of the massive Austrian tamping machine Zack's team debate the big issues Jason what is your favorite biscuit maybe wow I'm quite partial to a golf bar personally I've got a couple of different ones for different reasons like for dipping biscuits It's gotta be rich too and just as a biscuit just for eating you know not dipping or Messing about with a dark chocolate digestive personally but then I look like I love dark chocolate as you can tell by my chins oh I forgot shortbread you have a d crushed shortbread as a biscuit I do well what else is it it is a Biscuit in it but it's not it's not a cake no no bread they're in it it's just bread is it I'm not sure I know in the name it says short red but it can't be no it can't be no 29p special there's some things you can't cut corners on than that is The Tartan tin y ahead of them in West Ealing okay tilt forward again [Music] kev's team is already gearing up to unload the first 70 done section of the machine okay take it on mate [Music] okay off [Music] to God [Music] that's it as soon as I Take These Chains off no it's chopped it's secured that's my job done Zach's team is on a Motorway slip Road sitting out the rush hour so we're not that far away um so we're at Junction two now we're getting off until then it'll start getting a bit more interesting 7 30 they head into town [Music] but as they pull off the motorway they hit their first obstacle tight right hand turn okay Dave go on mate go on yeah and uh you know about second Lodge but definitely or maybe definitely as they attempt to turn right off the slip Road the truck becomes stuck and blocks The Junction if Zach moves the truck any further forward the huge load would strike the traffic lights damaging the valuable machine and causing gridlock [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] Alex needs to work fast to reach and engage the remote control that steers the trailer's Wheels rights on my lights go back green Alex okay whenever you're ready with all 13 axles steering together they clear the junction that's it mate lucky job all right I'm gonna shoot up and uh stop them they're back on the Move Zach is following the same route that Kevin took but with a heavier longer load more traffic and less light this drive will be a whole lot tougher coming on to the roundabout nowadays Alex remember to stay with me not before me okay yes mate on that curb on the right hand side in a minute there's a low bit of the curb which you can use don't go over the manuals yes all right [Music] we're not friends of the locals that are coming in this time of night but it's the only thing we can do because we can't come in the daytime you had a three million pound house or do you want this coming past your house in the day there you go you've got to go through this Gateway now all right after a long day on the road come on we've got about a foot on the right hand side inside my arm they make it into the rail yard there's just one task left get the 98-ton machine off the trailer and safely back on the tracks in Devon Eric and Chris are in trouble smoke is billowing from one of the wheels of the trailer carrying the diesel engine they should be off now there is an old layby just over this bridge mate [Music] there's a brake binding [Applause] the wheels on one of the axles are locked this is because air is not reaching the trailer's pneumatic brakes friction caused by the trailer moving whilst the brakes are stuck has created smoke until the brakes are released Eric and Chris are going nowhere [Music] oh my God [Music] we're just making sure that there's enough air going to it that the bike's releasing properly I think that's its originally yeah with the air brake released they can get back on the road have you already then yeah yeah [Music] the next challenge is to steer the 19 meter long load through these major roadworks so the chocolate is where the road works are right the next set of Lights you'll see is where you want to go the wrong side The Works restrict the width of the road [Music] so Rob's team have to move them clear of Eric's path might just need to tuck these a little bit but rather look [Music] oh mate before you come [Music] hi Eric steady mate it takes the whole day to steer the engine through the villages that lead to the Dartmouth steam Railway but there's one final challenge [Music] yeah we're back in and then driving down the slope the only way to get into the rail yard is down a narrow twisting Hill this will test Eric's True Grit [Music] in West Ely Zach's team need to unload the second half of the Austrian Railway tamping machine actually died here you go mum go and bring it back into the foot I'll put the railing off you come then Zack and Alex are only permitted to work 15 hours a day that should be enough time to unload the machine and still get home to their own beds but only if everything runs smoothly see you go ah it's just sitting on that join there despite the 98 tons of rolling weight this tiny join between the rail and ramp is enough to stop the engine in its tracks go come off again Alex pulls the train backwards hoping that a bit more momentum might do the trick maybe not I might just take it out Zach removes the packing from under the ramp to reduce the height of the joint Ali come on [Music] look at that look just like that finally it's down and time to pack up and head off it's 10 past midnight now it's a another another job done went well no issues we're ready to roll now to get out of here we'll be we should be back in the yard by R2 might be able to construct a bit of toast oh yeah no someone went to the shop on their way to work today nice and fresh ready to go come on [Music] three weeks after its delivery the engine gets to work it's proud new owners will be sending it to every corner of the network wherever rails need realigning today's the day that drives have got the keys in their hands it's ready to go this is a rare opportunity to see the machine run during the day [Music] from now on it will only venture out under cover of Darkness working tirelessly through the night to keep the railways running [Music] at the class 37 diesel engines new yard Eric is preparing to drive the 19 meter long locomotive down a narrow twisting Hill well we're here now the uh fun starts the difficulty is as you're coming down a steep slope and then trying to turn 90 degrees right so the trail will be trying to tip it's crucial that you keep leveling the trailer at all times as Eric negotiates the twisty descent Chris balances the trailer's hydraulic suspension to ensure the top heavy load doesn't topple over all right [Music] looks pretty good bit newer back in for a little bit you know because she was worried about the trailer but it's rained so that's that's the worst of it hopefully next challenge anchor their unloading ramp into a tight Bend in the track foreign [Music] [Applause] that's a point anyway so that can go over can't it yeah Eric needs to line the trailer up with the ramp [Music] to maneuver he must drive into the engine shed and carefully straddle the trailer over the Deep locomotive inspection pit therefore cautiously reversing the Lorry up to the trailer [Music] just into your back nice and steady until I keep going keep going the truck May finally be in position but they're not home and dry yet normally now we would winch him off but the issue we've got because the angle We've Ended up on we can't winch it off because the winch is not straight with the load the angle of the winch it just won't run off straight it will the winch get all tangled up and also ever resourceful Eric has a plan they're coming up with another locomotive with a barrier Wagon in between and they'll couple up to it and then they'll gently take it off they hook an empty wagon between the diesel engine and shunter to avoid driving the shunter of the ramp if you wanna watch here I'll watch the point yeah yeah [Music] [Music] job done it does come off a little bit faster but I mean it was nice and steady at The crucial point where the wheels were about to come back from our valves onto their rails Happy Days [Music] with the class 37 settling into its new home on the English Riviera's prestigious Coastal Heritage line it should be a crowd pleaser for many years to come [Music] one week later the second locomotive the class 25 Mercury is moved down to the South Devon Railway swap complete and both Railways are delighted with their new oil burning workhorses I think it's a good idea to preserve these for austerity future generations to enjoy them not just as a static exhibit to but to see one actually makes a noise and works [Music] thank you foreign [Music] [Music] [Music]

Channel: Matt Willis Video Productions

Views: 1,539

Keywords: TRAIN TRUCKERS, CLASS 37, DARTMOUTH STEAM RAILWAY, SOUTH DEVON RAILWAY, CHANNEL 5, ALLELYS HEAVY HAULAGE, COLAS RAIL

Id: RMoslbopkJc

Length: 43min 28sec (2608 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 21 2023