Train Truckers S02E04 World War 2 Steam Loco

a cherished wartime iron Workhorse Born in the USA needs transporting across the country for a popular winter extravaganza can a team move it 160 miles radio on through crowded towns country lanes you've got two concrete bollards on your right and the tightest of squeezes we have to miss the manual covers to deliver this Exquisite locomotive without a scratch it's a Monumental challenge [Music] even for the world's toughest train track [Music] s the 2.5 mile Chelsea and Wallingford Branch line in Oxfordshire was opened in 1866 and was part of the Great Western Railway Network until closure in 1959. in 1981 the line was rescued and slowly returned to health as a Heritage attraction the railway has a few of its own engines but not the kind that would be a major box office draw for its hugely popular winter festival as the Polar Express it is without doubt the most important event of the year it brings in more money than probably the rest of the airport together so absolutely critical to the survival of Heritage railways the perfect engine for this job is a 1940s former American Military steam train designated the s-160 and Mr Ironhorse himself proudly struts out of The Roundhouse [Music] 2120 of these U.S army steam locomotives were built between 1942 and 1946. they were deployed worldwide as part of the war effort to move military hardware and civilian Goods officers at Camp Claiborne are experienced railroad map recruited from the nation's major rails actual railroad experiences also looked for among enlisted personnel with many Old-Timers in the ranks today there are just six s-160s left in the UK but right now the 73-ton specimen that's been booked by the Chelsea and Wallingford Railway is nowhere near there it's at home 160 miles away in Staffordshire at the chernet valley Railway moving it to Oxfordshire will take careful planning and Extreme Engineering [Applause] 67 miles south family run firm alleles our experts at the challenging task of moving heavyweight Railway locomotives [Music] founded in the 1950s by Morris alili the business has grown from a small agricultural mover to become one of the trusted names in the heavy haulage industry we can move anything massive abnormal loads enormous steel girders and super long lengths of pipe as well as locomotives of all shapes and sizes are all in a day's work for this team [Music] moving changes are very specialist industry and we're one of the few companies within the UK that can actually move these big trains and locomotives nobody expects to see a local on the back of a lorry there's never a day when you see it where it's not impressive today the crew need to be at the very top of their game no problem [Music] their mission is this complex and valuable iron Workhorse to its destination without a scratch on it with a maximum fully loaded speed of just 30 miles an hour this is a two-day job starting at chernet Valley the team will break the journey with an overnight stop-off at the cruise Depot on day one before continuing on to Chelsea and Wallingford the following day it's the first day of the move and bright and early the crew's lead driver Kevin Norris and his expert team arrive here at chernet Valley the locomotive sits on deep set rails the team's first task is to construct a loading ramp as close as possible to it and connect it directly to the trailer the engine's axles are fixed so if its wheels don't perfectly align with the rails on the ramp easily be a derailment stage one a diesel train pushes the s160 into the right position but before loading can begin the team must reduce the engine's weight by letting the water and steam out calming much more left than it can yeah right we'll get the winch out there mate foreign [Music] Josephs will be driving the second truck carrying the engine's tender or coal storm yeah very physical try and do as Loose as possible though that's what the young Lads are for and luckily for Gavin his prayers have been answered Sebastian ramzio joined the team less than a week ago okay sir well my old man David Runza works here as well and I've been coming here since as a young boy so I've started coming to a company of around about seven seven since I've turned 18. I was like Dad have a word let's see if I can start work see if I can start work then it just happened here I am now today with the ramp assembled Kev gives Seb the critical job of guiding the winch his steel cable back onto its drum as it slowly hauls the engine onto the trailer [Music] take the weight on slowly [Music] take it on process Kev needs to watch each wheel every step of the way just making sure that the wheels line up with the points slow down a bit so the flange lines up the little flange has to sit inside of the Rails and that all the wheels are turning or any of the sand pipes at the front or the back don't catch to stop the engine suddenly rolling backwards Kevin needs to keep a Chuck or wooden stopper ready at all times [Music] what's up Mike Just Lose It Back a touch then Kev is keeping a watchful eye on how well Seb literally learns the ropes it's vital that the winch cable is wound up correctly just when the winch runs slack as a Loco's roll sometimes the winch cable go slack and they don't jump in properly so the cable ends up crossing over and if you've got a lot of weight on it damage the cable the winch is not winding onto its drum evenly which could cause serious damage Kev can't take any risks he decides to step in who am I hold the cable tight for us tightish keep your fingers out of the way I just take it on [Music] keep cable tied that way you haven't got your fingers in the winch keep your fingers clear [Music] you're getting no gaps now trainee Seb is on top of things the winching can continue he started last Thursday so it's his fourth day so it's a little bit uh new to take in so you learn on the job it's all a good experience to take the weight foreign [Music] slow it down only that [Music] the engine's weight now positioned evenly on the trailer the next task is to chain this giant down just looking where the wheel weights are so I can look where to train it from and the Locos in the middle of the trailer so I'll get half the weight on the trailer and offer to work on the tracked unit and they've got enough weight for traction to go up the hill out of you I might jump down we'll put some chains on this one it's an American low pad and I needed steam engine very quickly this was built as a mass-produced logo because all the main important parts on the outside so they're easily accessible for it seems to be quite a popular local and quite a powerful loader it's not just the number of chains that's crucial in securing the engine it's where they're positioned too there's enough chains on there or chains aren't tied the Loco will move and you don't want it moving about so we change it forwards and backwards and put the protections over as this logo is somebody's probably to enjoy so I don't want the paintwork marking on it it's dirty work but someone's got to do it and Kev thinks it should be sad all that storage you can get in there right take all slack out of him what am I try and twist him into again as tight as you can wind him up no more foreign we all work on the same idea so it's learning on the job it's the best way you remember it with the engine now secure Kev Gavin and Seb will dismantle the ramp as fast as possible and get ready for the next job loading the giant tender foreign lead driver Kevin Norris and his crew are able to leave the churn at Valley Railway in Staffordshire and start their two-day Journey South they have one last job build another ramp and load the s-160s coal tender yeah time to get the candle loaded now [Music] Sam's confidence in the technicalities of the job seems to be growing [Music] have you just got him to go forwards now turn to wind on to go forward [Music] finger in in Gone Going up some more up some more up some more okay hold in there if you shut the two Stinger Taps now the net corn drop then okay you're happy for him to move you just tell him to move man [Music] each of the axles on the trailer can be lowered and lifted using powerful hydraulics the height on either side can be individually adjusted to control the angle of the trailer deck or drop it all the way down for the loading process once the tender is safely on the trailer the Hydraulics must push this Ultra heavy load upwards to the height of the cab all axles must operate in perfect Unison if not even one small difference in height could turn this day into a nightmare if Seb secretly hates trains then this may not be the career for him it's trained every day 95 is trained never seems to stop it's great though the weight on slow as the 10 ramp Gavin must make sure the inner wheel flanges or rims don't ride up onto the rail making sure the uh wheels go up on the ramp the flange is on the right side so it doesn't derail all's looking good okay I said they all think it's a glamorous job but it really isn't it's a dirty horrible job sometimes with the tender now up on its own trailer it's back to the hard work of taking another ramp apart the big rails over there over 100 kilos up to the left and forward here [Music] for each job the support staff back at base anticipate every conceivable problem that might occur on route most of the obstacles and challenges are quite literally bridges over Bridges under bridges viaducts you name it we'll have a lot of conversations with structure owners to make sure that we're facilitating what they require for us to do in order to be able to Traverse over their structures and whether that's dropping the trailer down or lifting it up or spreading the white a little bit more then we'll make sure that we accommodate I was aware that one bridge on their route tomorrow has virtually no height clearance yeah almost done check the height on the Loco That loco runs quite High it runs with 16 foot 4 16 foot five on the trailer with a trailer running quite low so you haven't got a lot of clearance on Bridges so if you check and then check again with cabin trailer now reconnected Kev takes one last opportunity to double check his maths how come if you come down to somewhere there yeah what height is that reading 403 . thirteen two you normally run this trailer at 39 inches foreign [Music] we've got an inch to spare on a bridge that's all we need [Music] confident that with a load that weighs close to 120 tons and is over 18 meters long just 2.5 centimeters clearance is plenty Kev decides it's time they got going [Music] oh with the road clear Kev can start to lead the Convoy out of the yard but with so many sharp corners and tight bends on Route being able to steer the trailer independently via remote control is vital which today is seb's job I will pull forward about a lorry length so we can get Gavin in behind and we'll set the trailer up mate [Music] on the curb keep it going Kev Kev needs to leave enough space behind him to allow Gavin to haul his truck with the tender on it right up behind the locomotive Oh Come Back Gavin's truck carrying The Tender Is Now lined up behind the engine ready for the off as escort driver Seb will be the eyes and ears of the Convoy and over the next 73 miles will alert the drivers of any problems ahead we have a fleet of In-House escort vehicles and drivers and they are there to accompany the truck throughout their journey and to warn other drivers of the dangers whilst they're on the road okay to come up Sev yeah come up if you want the red Honda Civic kind of Vans coming down on the black BMW oh come out if you've could you could hold the traffic back for us a little bit yeah do you mind just moving to this side of the road just just yeah just just swing over loop around me being the escort driver isn't easy there is plenty for Seb to watch out for uh Matt two trucks are coming on the side of the road for uh just around the corner on top of the hill okay is it all right to come up is there anything the traffic stops yeah come on this is only day one of the journey the crew's Final Destination is 160 miles away in Oxfordshire yeah you're all clear nothing can up just the transit van parked in labor they plan to get to their own company's Depot halfway this evening Glory coming down towards you yeah I just told him flowing back a little bit just so we can get it round onto a level bit mate but with a top speed of 30 miles per hour the best they can hope for today is a three-hour Journey that's a bit spot online if you could go to the top of that Hill no the next Hill and then just as it goes over the Broadway a lot just worn them from coming down please mate so we can get up here yeah received the team must make allowances for other vehicles are you there Seth we're coming round now mate and have planned the route to the last turn [Music] yourself ahead a little bit and get around that Junction and then steer it rounded we won't hold any traffic up then traffic has stopped for us we'll take it wide to the right and go around mate with a tight left turn in front of him Kev needs Seb to abandon his road traffic management role and instead remote steer the trailer let's keep off the curve on the right hand side and it gets a bit tight on the curl on the left-hand side but it will go around yeah [Music] with both trucks safely around the corner seb's back on Lookout thanks very much thank you Brooklyn having successfully negotiated country lanes and a handful of urban streets kev7 Gavin can breathe a bit easier as they hit the motorway [Music] finally after 10 hours on the clock and halfway through their Journey the crew pull up at the company's Depot in Studley it's gone all right today it was a little bit awkward sometimes but it went all right didn't rain back in the yard safe for the night tomorrow Kevin the team must negotiate the one major Challenge on their route a bridge with just 2.5 centimeters of clearance thank you it's 6 a.m in the trucking team's dark and chilly haulage Depot morning checks check everything's tight nothing's loose no damage tires Kevin Norris is gearing up for day two of the move [Music] we've got to go down to uh Wallingford today unload these in the order they want them make sure they're coupled up and they're happy so hopefully by about two o'clock this afternoon we should have these unloaded Kev and his team are moving locomotive s160 to the Chelsea and Wallingford Railway 88 miles away who await its arrival with baited breath as it'll be the star attraction over the winter months as the Polar Express running our Santa specials is a really important part of the the calendar we'll be carrying something like 25 000 passengers over Christmas we're running a much longer train than we would during the normal operating season so we need a large powerful Loco in order to pull this particular train over the Christmas period there you go transporting this giant load requires enormous skill especially as today there may be a problem there's one little Footbridge we've got to go under that is marked at 16 foot high and as this is 16 foot 4 we have to go over to the side of the carriageway you go under it which generally around Oxford can be a little bit busy with most of us still waking up Kev second driver Gavin and trainee Seb are ready for the off this time with seba's escort driver on Lookout behind the Convoy okay ready ready when you are by 6 45 the traffic is starting to pick up okay mate when there's a break in the traffic couldn't move over please might be turning right at this island there you go move over to the middle now have you seen the traffic yeah the m42 after seven o'clock in the morning it's all like that mate but it makes it easier for us to get over onto the M40 because the traffic's going slow in a bit Kev has already calculated that they only have 2.5 centimeters clearance under a bridge up ahead kev's only option is to move his truck into the place with the most high clearance the middle of the road it's vital that Seb holds back any traffic as Keb gets closer okay Seb to wear this low bridge structure here so we'll move over uh we do hold back a little bit so you can see what the Locos like on the bridge if you're not sure mate we'll stop and get out and we'll have a look and just hold back a little right we'll creep up to this bridge I said mate if you drop back and you'll be able to see the appearance between the Loco and the bridge okay Mike can you see all right yeah yeah Serb is now the critical eyes and ears for Kev if he gets this wrong 80 tons of steam locomotive May soon lie across the road a real Highway to Hell Kev reduces his speed to a crawl his position on the road must be perfect oh good step yeah oh God [Music] yeah well I've been under it before with a low cab I couldn't remember how close it was with the only major obstacle cleared Kev second driver Gavin and seb's Final Destination is in sight the Chelsea and Wallingford Railway okay so the place we're going to is up here about three quarters a mile on the right hand side yep we'll pull up on the left just before it and then you've got the parking van up then [Music] after four hours on the road they finally arrive now they must guide the giant tender into the very tight drop-off point keep going you're awkward [Music] whenever you're ready said Mike we'll get her off the road oh then I'll go get Kevin tender safely in position it's time for phase two six and fours open make the leads on the back yeah part two get your virtual Orion this one's a bit longer call them when you're ready okay mate we can go there you go seb's job sure that the trailer keeps well away from sharp corners and lines up precisely where Kev wants it in the yard keep it going Kev join do my second man job I'll be getting onto the big wagons get my class one license then hit the road depends on the left-hand side here yep yeah received okay I'm liking to work it's only about my fifth shifting but I'm liking it the mighty steam engine and its tender have safely arrived at their temporary new home but for Kevin Gavin and Seb now the real work begins this is a little bit different we can't use that tracked unit to winch the tender down because we can't get it out so I've got to drop this winch off this neck and winch turn around and back up teams we can use this one to unload him and then same again with the Loca so uh 10 minutes we should be somewhere near first they'll drive the truck with the tender forwards into the yard uncouple Gavin's cab and park it then build a ramp and unload the tender from the trailer then they need to dismantle the ramps and recouple the cabin trailer once empty they'll reverse it back out of the way squeezing past the second unit carrying the engine the space is incredibly tight one false move and they're wedged in seb's hours spent gaming at home may not have been entirely in vain left right on I've been told not to touch these three ready when you are gov oh darling keep it going you're all clear thank you try to try this to the left side it's as left as it will go before unloading can begin the team need to disconnect the driver's cab from its trailer and the only way to do that is to decompress the hydraulic system when it steers or you lift you put pressure in the system so as we disconnecting it all we're doing is dropping the pressure out from here now across so we can get the pipes on and off again afterwards it does make a mess if uh one pipe does blow it makes uh quite a fountain [Music] [Music] let's wait for him to finish moving and we'll start doing it then with the cab gone they now have the space they need to construct the ramp to unload the tender go back I'm actually sweating which is the middle of November yeah this is the easier bit now that we're out today we're just packing it up now keep it stable so the rail doesn't move when it unloads so tend to find an uneven ground that the points will kick up you have to watch that in case it uh it moves and it possibly derails them right I'll back my truck up and I'll put the winch on it like a bit of room with everything in position they start to unload the lights on playback All That Remains now is to ensure that the winch cable is at the correct tension just take it on a little torch so it goes tight and it starts to move then it'll come back off off foreign Kev keeps a chalk at the ready in case any wheel slips off a rail now at the bottom of the ramp the yard team attach another engine to pull it clear [Music] with the tender safely out of the way the team must make space to unload the steam engine first they must reattach the cab to the empty trailer bring it back [Music] this is now the critical part of the operation Gavin and Seb must reverse this enormous trailer keep it coming you're all clear back far enough to allow Kev space to drive his truck forward to where he can unload the steam engine that's why I'm gonna go sit inside now because I don't think I'll get the door open keep it coming Gavin has barely enough space left Seb had better be paying attention Keep It Coming fast as well foreign is struggling to reverse his giant truck out of the tightest of spaces keep it coming with the assistance of trainee Seb who seems pretty relaxed about it all keep it coming we'll get back yeah I received when you're ready Kev okay sound like going forward Gavin has reversed as far as the space will allow in the truck carrying the engine Kev must hope he's now got enough room to move forward keep it going clear both sides [Music] keep it going through both sides thank you [Music] that's as close you can get to the left stop somewhere there and let's have a look yeah I received finally Kevin is Happy I'll come out that'll do sound with the tender unloaded it's time for the star of the show it's a little bit more time consuming it's a bigger ramp a little bit more packing and the ground isn't the levelist here so we're everything will all set on a funny angle um well as long as we take our time we'll have no problems the secret to these is getting them somewhere near lined up as the axles don't turn so they'll want to move the easiest feature which will be the ramp a Kev this isn't just another delivery passion for steam I think it's a great invention it really is I've grown up with steam my dad's got grew up the steamroller so at 10 years old I was driving Steamrollers just something about it I smell um it's like when you see one of these come into into a station it has a different feeling compared to some Modern Mainline train they're built to last with the cabin trailer decoupled Kev can move the cab out of the way leaving the team space to build the next unloading ramp oh good Kevin Gavin have built so many ramps they could probably do it in their sleep but this is a chance for Seb to pull his and the rails wait drop the rail on for line it'll slide metal that's it take it back to you little touch over that that's it like Kev may have done this a thousand times but Perfection is in the detail just pull the rail out to you just a touch because you have to adjust him here moving to where you want him yeah it's got to go in some more mate [Music] Seb must unwind the winch slowly and evenly well as ever Kev keeps a Chuck at the ready foreign [Music] just make sure there's nothing in the way the brakes don't drop on and lock the wheels we've got a lot of play there and because of growing softs the end of the ramp will lift now [Music] as the ramp rail moves under the weight of the engine is where it could go horribly wrong oh back on [Music] over there oh [Music] the engine was incredibly close to derailing just as it comes down the wheel just started to sit on the top of the line rather than dropping down inside because the axles don't move and it will follow whatever line it wants so it'll tend to want to kick the ramp out [Music] do I drop the winch off Gavin take it away with both the steam engine and its cold tender now safely unloaded there's one last job oh that's that's perfect design for it that attach them [Music] okay all stop them whenever you're ready to take it away mate yeah all good and just as Kev had promised they'll be home on time tonight job and well moved over build four ramps all together two to load it two to offload job well done all that work just to see it go past well now you've got a photo you can say that's the first where will you move that is correct you see on your CV you can go you helped the Polar Express all the smiling faces of the kids at Christmas now you go I'm responsible for that you made kids Christmas now good experience for the first time good experience onto bigger and better stuff two days of motorways stopping traffic and building and dismantling ramps is trainee sep made of the right stuff it's a lot to take in there's a lot of things to learn and uh try and get your head round the first few times you do it so a little bit at a time and uh you'll get there yeah he's doing all right [Music] the s160 is no longer just a locomotive on a lorry it's about to meet its adoring public [Music] at Wallingford station hundreds of people are on Route for day one of an experience the organizers hope will Garner rave reviews we've never had anything as big as this running on this line and therefore the volunteers the engine drivers the firemen are all very excited at the prospect of being able to run such a Loco on this line with an hour to go before visitors arrive a last chance to make sure everything's looking at its best it's absolutely gorgeous and the amount of people that it's bringing into Wallingford just just purely to come and film the steam engine take photographs of it today will literally be all about getting the show on the rails we serve hot chocolate we do some dances and a bit of singing and we just have everyone have a good rest of time with gallons of hot chocolate simmering gently and mountains of snacks standing by all Kev Gavin and seb's hard work is about to pay off [Music] I like steam trains because instead of um electricity and they they use um coal to put in Fire and it actually makes it move [Music] we've come to see a steam train today you can see your father Christmas [Music] as the steam train reverses gently down the platform it time for cutting up [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] may I have your attention please yes the big man is on board but I still have a job to do so let me see them tickets foreign [Music] [Music] [Music] over the next four weeks probably half of the country's hot chocolate supplies will be drunk and Santa will have made at least 25 000 people very happy indeed Miss tonight's new and exclusive episode of bangers and cash restoring Classics catch up now with UK TV play next oh see what's on classic car buyers rust bucket list with our most recent series of bangers and cash [Applause] thank you

Channel: Matt Willis Video Productions

Views: 1,146

Keywords: TRAIN TRUCKERS, CHANNEL 5, ALLELYS HEAVY HAULAGE, CHURNET VALLEY RAILWAY, CHOLSEY AND WALLINGFORD

Id: Wd-NjsIluCw

Length: 43min 34sec (2614 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 21 2023