New documentary series looking for railway inspiration

[Emma Twofour]

Hello everyone,

I work for a company called Twofour - we are a TV production company based in Plymouth. We make the Yesterday/Science Channel (Discovery US) series 'Impossible Engineering' and we are now working on a spin off series just about railways and trains.

The aim of the show is to look at impressive railway engineering and trains around the world and to discover how they were designed and built. We already have a long list of potential subjects for the series, but as there have already been so many programmes made about railways I wanted to ask the forum if anyone has any slightly more left field suggestions?

We are looking for projects that were hugely challenging to build, offer ground breaking engineering/technology or presented a real game changer for the particular era. Of course as a TV show there needs to be something great to go and film where we can 'show and tell' just why this railway/train is so significant.

Are there any railways/trains (new or historic) that you feel haven't been given enough airtime? Or any spectacular locations you have visited that you think would make great TV?

All suggestions would be very welcome - but be warned, if you appear to be an expert on a particular subject, I may well come back to ask more questions to supplement my own very limited railway knowledge!

Emma

[TRP]

Hi Emma.

I'm no expert, but I find railways fascinating including the engineering achievements. There are plenty of major feats of engineering, but a lesser known feat was how George Stephenson tackled the problem of laying a railway across bogs (without them sinking!) He first did this on the Liverpool & Manchester Railway in 1830 when he crossed Chat Bog by using sheepskins filled with some sort of ballast, dropping these into the bog and then floating the line across the top. He used the same method at Fen Bog on what is now the North Yorkshire Moors Railway (NYMR) 5 years later. As I've said, I'm no expert, but I'm sure if you got in touch with the NYMR, someone could give you a lot more detail.

Hope this is useful & good luck with the series.

Tony

[Emma Twofour]

Hello Tony,

Thank you for your helpful reply - yes we do intend to feature Stephenson and the exact terrain related challenges you mentioned.

We hadn't considered Chat Bog and the Liverpool and Manchester Railway as an example though, so thanks for the suggestion. I shall certainly go away and do some reading about that one, it sounds interesting!

Emma

[TRP]

Hi Emma,

I've looked it up and it's actually called Chat Moss (but it is still an area of peat bog!) & there's a bit of infor here: http://www.engineering-timelines.com...em.asp?id=1150
This also highlights the difficulties of the labourers working on this site.

Tony

[Emma Twofour]

Yes I came across the same text for background research. That website is extremely helpful, I use it a lot for reference

Emma

[Torquay]

Originally Posted by Emma Twofour

Yes I came across the same text for background research. That website is extremely helpful, I use it a lot for reference

Emma

Hi Emma.

Your chat with Tony on the line between Patricroft and Kenyon Junction over the Mosses, Chat Moss being the main name although their are about 8/9 of the mosses known to Enginemen and locals alike,such as
Barton,Irlam,Astley,and of course Chat,what the others are called i do not know.

As per Tony's suggestion on a programme on the achievements of George Stephenson i most certainly would like to know the complete history of how this line was actually built,Tony mentions sheepskins,that is a new one for me, i have heard brushwood,certain types of timber,earth, even peat itself from the bog,the old drivers at Patricroft engine shed even mentioned bales of cotton,and straw,cinders,what is the true story though.

What i must mention is that when going over the moss with a steam engine i could close my eyes and i would know immediately when i was on the bog,as we got a slight vibration until the end at around Kenyon, and yet we could still attain speeds of 70 / 80 mph,plus.

George Stephenson was an engineer way ahead of his time, most of what he constructed is still here today.

Thanks Emma, i will look forward to seeing your future programmes.

Torquay.

[Master Cutler]

It would be good to see some of the Beyer Garratt locomotives featured in your programmes.
These compound locomotives were quite unique and operated in some very extreme environments around the world.
I believe we have an ex BG driver on this forum.

[TRP]

Although not a big engineering achievement, my local line to Hastings provided a bit of a challenge.
When the Tonbridge-Hastings line was built in the mid 1800s (opened in stages between 1845 & 1852) the contractors tried to save money by cutting corners when building the tunnels on the route. These should have been lined with 4 rows of bricks, but we're only lined with 2 rows. When some of the tunnels later started to collapse they were then reinforced with a further 2 rows of bricks, bringing them up to the correct specification, but now narrower than they should be. (Mountfield tunnel was one of these affected in this way).
This restricted the width of trains that were able to pass through the tunnels & in an era when trains were getting bigger, special designs were needed - the Southern Railway designating this width restriction as 'Restriction 0'. This problem persisted through Southern Railway ownership & into the British Railways era, up until 1986 when the double track through the affected tunnels was singled, meaning and end to restriction 0.
Some of the locomotives designed specifically for this route were the SR V (Schools) class, BR Class 33/2 & the BR Class 201 (Thumper) Diesel Multiple Units.
For further reference, Hastings Diesels Ltd (www.hastingsdiesels.co.uk) would be a good place to start- they run a preserved Thumper and their website has some history sections too.

Tony

[TRP]

One of the obvious ones would be the building of A1 Pacific No. 60163 'Tornado' from scratch.
The A1 Steam Locomotive Trust built a brand new main line steam locomotive in 19 years (from project launch) at a cost of £3M & has been successfully running the loco for the last 9 years.
They are now in the process of building an even bigger engine! www.a1steam.com

Tony