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The Abandoned Monster Vehicle of Fonseranes
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 ม.ค. 2021
- In 1984, France unveiled a revolutionary new vehicle, a giant beast designed to push canalboats up a 400m-long water slope, thus avoiding the time-consuming use of traditional canal locks. Did it work? No.
Footage of it working (briefly) in 1990: • The Waterslope at Fons...
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IMAGE CREDITS
Béziers rugby match - commons.wikime...
Fonseranes diagram - commons.wikime...
commons.wikime...
Montech machine - commons.wikime...
"Civil Overengineering", that's one to remember.
if it's worth engineering, it's worth overengineering...
A bit like "By Accidental Design".
It is the French Way.
Civil engineers know how to build an inclined plane. This is clearly the fault of a mechanical engineer, or someone who wanted to be one.
There is no such thing as 'overengineering'. There are only issues that can be enhanced or fixed.
Today's 'Hellooo' was well-timed, sorely needed, tri-lingual, and only slightly over-engineered.
"It lubricated the slope and it all went downhill very quickly after that". I am creasing at that! Well played!
I saw it coming, was satisfying that it came :D
That sound of drum which followed:)
@@TheMajkla I heard the pun coming, thought: "really? bravo, badum-tsss" and then the drumroll actually came. If not for the fact that it's past 11 in the evening when I was watching, I would have really burst out lauging. Instead, I managed to contain it to a more quiet snicker. Still had to rewind a bit after that, as I didn't pay attention to what Tim was talking about next.
My thought at that was: why did he use rubber wheels on concrete, instead of cogs on a toothed rack? That would definitely have avoided any slippage.
@@rolfs2165 noise, maybe? Depends how close it is to anyone who cares. Probably cheaper to replace tires rather than cogwheels too. Certainly concrete is cheaper than toothed steel rail...
The multiple Gerry Anderson references make very happy
who
@@asimplesolution5351 The British guy Michael Bay got the "Made of Explodium!" concept from XD.
@@asimplesolution5351 Gerry and Sylvia Anderson. You didn't recognise the music? Not the Rosie and Jim theme, but the music as the slide was in operation was the Thunderbirds theme and there was a quick reference to Captain Scarlet too!
@@MsGrandunion As well as the music from Stingray
@@MsGrandunion You also forgot Terrahawks.
2:50
"You're going to need locks."
*calls Lockpicking Lawyer*
We need a bigger lock..
We need this! An LPL video that's not 1:24 long.
Would he use a wiper insert, or the lock system he and Bosnian Bill made?
The new intro is a surprising but welcome feature
You can tell Tim was bored over lockdown!
Came here to say this. So I second this motion.
@@mastertrams aren't we all?
@@sandcastle1128 Not necessarily. I admit we're all more bored than we would be, but that doesn't mean we can't find other forms of entertainment.
Hey Tim, I recently found out about some strange ship tunnels in France. One is the Tunnel de Mauvages and the other the Souterrain de Riqueval. Both seem to have some sort of electrically propulsed chain guided towing ship through the tunnel. It seems very interesting and it stems from the Napoleon times,. Maybe an idea to look at those
oooohhh!!
That sounds quite nice. I'll have one of those please! 😀
oh, seems nice ! but now should it google it myself or wait for tim to make a video ? 🤔
Pretty interesting, I assume they do the whole towing process for concerns about the fumes of the propulsion systems of the ships that pass through it, and/or oxygen starvation.
@@Kalvinjj originally the peniche were horse drawn and as the tunnel was built without a towpath the tugs came into being. The mauvage tunnel now doesn’t tow . The tunnel near St Quentin passes through at fixed times towing as many boats that are there. When the canal was busy with commercial traffic there could be tows of many barges. It’s a slow and very noisy trip as the tug clanks along and sparks coming of the overhead wire. Last time we went through it cost 20 euros.
Superb entertainment, Tim. I assume "more or less navigable" equates to alot of Gallic swearing whilst beached on a mudflat.
Fun fact: That kind of thing is why paddle-wheel river steamers were so slow to go out of fashion in the United States. In a pinch, they could "walk" over sandbars and suchlike shallow obstacles, which screw-driven boats can't do.
"There was no-one around to shout at me." The story of urban exploration.
It is always easier to ask forgiveness than it is to ask permission...😉
Ah, Béziers! The city known for its curves.
Well played sir. Have a thumbs up.
and its relations , the Bernstein Bears, that drive around the town in their very bezier-ie Renaults.
Yeah, I knew it was a stretch.
Nice!
"right from jerry anderson series"
* thunderbirds film starts playing *
the detail on this channel is incredible
Great video Tim, and I love the Gerry Anderson references. One correction - we returned to the Midi in 1992, and it was already out of use then. We have visited it every third year since, but it never looked remotely operational again. As for the one at Montech, that, apparently, suffered a fire in one of the locomotives a few years back, and it's doubtful if that will ever work again either. There is however some good footage of it in the TV series 'Rick Stein's French Odyssey', which was filmed in 2004 and first broadcast a year later.
Ah cheers Chris! I did wonder about that - I think I'm still correct in saying that it was "officially" abandoned in 2001, but yes I'm sure you're right that in reality it was already out of action for several years before then. Re the Montech one, I don't want to put any spoilers in here but there are some exciting updates, which I will cover in part 2 :)
I’ve travelled the Canal du Midi twice. Once was in 2018 and the site looked very much as in the video, except it was warm and sunny. The other time was in 1983 and we had the experience of travelling down the water slope on what I think was its first day of operation. It was certainly very new. One of our party stood on top of our boat in his Speedos playing the bagpipes to celebrate the event. This was long before the advent of affordable video cameras so there’s no movie evidence, I’m afraid.
Follow-up: Wikipedia says “Trial operations commenced in May 1984.” but we were definitely there in September 1983. I know because of when our first child was born!
And now I have the mental image of plaid Speedos. Which I, in all honesty, did not need or want.
@@mooneyes2k478 deepest apologies. IIRC they were dark blue, but I’m not entirely confident of that. I can assure you they were definitely not tartan, if that puts your mind at rest at all.
There was no one around to shout at me 🤣🤣🤣
Urbex Tim
That thing is fallen out of time in so many ways...
18th century: "Let's improve our canal using _science_ and _engineering_ !"
19th century: "Let's do that by building a giant monster machine out of steel!"
20th century: "Let's design it with rubber wheels and the aesthetics of a Volvo!"
21st Century, let's micromanage it to a point it cannot move at all so it is safe!
@@GaryNumeroUno I was going to say "21st century: 'Let's abandon everything that is even slightly unusual,'" but that works too.
What's wrong with Volvo..
Well done on including Occitan in the intro. Frédéric Mistral would be proud.
Tim, thank you SO much for posting this. I'm just home from a horrid shift nursing in an infectious diseases ward, and it a total delight to watch your video. Loved the Anderson references, and I'm excited to see the 2nd part!
Just discovered your channel yesterday and have gone on a binge of your videos. Your subjects are not only fun and original, but well researched and tightly packed without fillers. And then there are your script and delivery, perfect! I would watch you commenting on grass growth in real time. Great job!
Similarly weird canal transportation can be found on Elbląg Canal, where ships are transported with inclined planes. And since we're talking about canals and we're around Mazury region, worth checking huge, never completed Masurian Canal with it's locks you can go inside.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elbl%C4%85g_Canal
Incline planes aren't that weird - the UK canal system had several back in the day.
Now, inclined planes actually worked.
Wow !!!!!
AWESOME video and anxiously waiting for part 2 !!!
Fun episode!! Reminded me of the Ronquières inclined plane and the Strépy-Thieu boat lift. Very excited to see part deux! :)
Ronquières. That was the name I was wracking my brain for. I visited a couple of times in my youth, an impressive bit of engineering.
Let's make a petition to build a French Falkirk Wheel there!
THAN YOU for posting this comment. I have seen pics and vids of the Falkirk _thing,_ but I could *not* remember what it was called, nor where it was located {Scotland}.
Surely the French would hate a British ship lift in their country?
During the whole video I was internally shouting "there is another one in Montech !!!!".
OK, will have to wait for part 2.
I could not help but grin from ear to ear when I heard Rosie and Jim!!! And then kelt smiling from ear to ear when I heard all the Gerry Anderson piano jingles just fantastic!!! Great video, Tim.
Oooh!! As part of a family holiday in 1987 we took a house boat from Cap d'Agde (?) to Carcasonne and back and I vividly remember the canal staircase. I have no recollection of the water slide, though that may partly be due to the fact that my sister's and I were busy operating the lock gates, and again, and again. My sister's and I earned our keep that day 😆 A fabulous holiday - and a fabulous video from you as always. Merci!
I really appreciate the thunderbird music when you did the quick cuts to the monster of montesh. I knew it reminded me of a thunderbirds vehicle
Ooooh. I want to see part 2!
There's a lot of great ouvrages on the French canals.
You should visit "le plan incliné" in Arzviller in Grand Est. It bypasses a little less than 20 locks.
Hi Tim, we visited the canal locks two days ago. It was wonderful weather and we walked from Béziers along the canal. While approaching the locks I saw the the giant beast and remembered this video so I could tell the story to my partner. We took pictures but did not get close, you have to be aware with monsters.... Had a great time watching the boats and see how unprepared some are when entering locks. I got respect for the staff at the locks, their patience dealing with these I-know-better-than-you people, especially at the lock in Béziers it became hilarious.
Love the Thunderbirds/Stingray/Captain Scarlet themes in this episode. Keep it up Tim :)
“A little” to the east you have the Ouvrages du Libron. A crossing between a river and the Canal in a very special way.
3:33 lovely thunderbirds call, it really does look like a guest vehicle
The UK channel Yesterday featured this in their show Abandoned Engineering. Worth looking up.
Fascinating programme. Got it series-linked.
I was not expecting all the Anderson references but they made me very happy
I hate cliffhangers 😭
it is more like a slopehanger to be honest.... ⁽ᵠᵘᵉᵘᵉ ʳᶦᵐˢʰᵒᵗ⁾
@@olik136 Dayyum🔥🔥
I always say, "let go of the rope"😂🤣😂🤣🤪😉
@@olik136 What a pun! Also, after a bit of Googling, I noticed the Q in "queue" is actually the Greek letter Phi, so it's really "Phueue rimshot", which is also funny!
Ruddy love you Tim. Glad to see you able to be out and about again!
"Le plan incliné" in Arzviller in Moselle. A brillant pièce of engineering on a canal (there is even rails and wagons on it)
And next to it you could walk along the old abandonned succession of locks. If it is not planned yet, you might be interested ;D
Idem en Belgique, le canal du centre, l'ascenseur de Strépy-Thieu, le plan incliné de Ronquières...
And there's also a tunnel!
@@Dr.K.Wette_BE Yep, was looking for a comment about Ronquières et Strépy-Thieu. Tbh, it's also a bit of a white elephant, here, too, the canal traffic hardly warrants the huge investment made, but this was still pre-federalisation, and money had to be split on a pharmacist's scale between the North and the South. When Zeebrugge was enlarged, *something* was needed in Wallonia...
A very nice place to travel with "house-boats" - have made it already. There are several boat-rentals in this region and a vast amount of canals to ship on. Also various special attractions like: this "bathtub", tunnels, high locks (15m hight), ...
...oh, I forgot, for your jurney: take 2 weeks, your bike (the bakery for your croissants is not on the canal, but a few km away in the next village), and a lot of swiss chocolate - the lock-attendants children and grandchildren love it (since the lock-attendants are not allowed to take money as "thank-you", but swiss chocolate... that is way different)
I should be sleeping. Instead i fell into the rabbit hole called "The Tim Traveler". What a great channel!
More Rosie and Jim music. I like it.
I hated Rosie and Jim as a child, but now it has me pining for what seemed like a more wholesome time
The cliffhanger is outstanding. I want part 2.
Tim, I say this on every video, but your musical Easter eggs are total highlight of your videos. Rosie and Jim didn't go unnoticed.
Fantastic, crazy engineering, canals and a medley of Andersen-esque music. Thank you.
Excellent. I love the piano version of the Thunderbirds theme. I visited Montech ten years ago (and spent this video confused, going 'that doesn't look right...'), so am really looking forward to part 2...
Tried my absolute best to listen to you explaining the canal buuuut my brain was singing along to Rosie & Jim. Apart from that, bloody fantastic as always thank you very much Mr T!
I love your videos / history lessons Tim. Every one makes me chuckle. Spot on 👍 glad to see your still able to get about (safely of course) and doing well.
Thank you for your warm cozy channel
I was there a couple of years ago and wondered what the hell it was supposed to be. Thanks for the info!
Quite enjoyed the rosie and Jim ditty. Very apt.
"It probably would have worked if it wasn't for several catastrophic flaws" is going to be on my gravestone.
Can t wait for the next 50 episodes of the world of mister Tim... :D
They should have used a rack railway, like those trains that go up steep mountains.
why a rack railway, if you have 2 slopes side by side, connecting the carages by a heavy duty rope and make sure that the one going down is slightly heavier than the one going up, than you only need to apply brakes to control the speed.
consumes fairly little power (since it only needs power for braking)
the water you have anyhow can create the "weight"
@@richardheesterbeek293 that's how inclined plane boatlifts work, and why those were quite a bit more successful.
@@richardheesterbeek293 that moment when an old technology called "funicular" outclasses an overly complicated electrical regeneration in many ways
That's basically what they did at the Montech site (that he hinted at).
Tim, great new intro! The water puns made me groan but I guess I can let it slide
"You're telling me there's another one of these?!"
Sounds like Tim's gonna have to do some...travelling.
Love the editing with/right after the reveal of the second water slope. Also, new intro!
Very interesting Tim. Can't wait for part 2.
Thanks for the nice video. I was using the locks in both directions with a boat in the early 1990s The monster was looking much better at that time, but nevertheless was out of service. I wished to see it in operation, wondering how the construction would avoid loosing the water during travel. I also have some video shots of the sleeping monster. You helped me get more information now after 30 years. Greetings !
I have always wondered why Beziers might be twinned with Stockport (as indeed it is). Now I understand: the locks at Fonserannes are obviously a match for the longer and higher lock flight at Marple (a reluctant part of Stockport): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marple_Lock_Flight
Thanks for continuing to do these videos even though the lockdown in France must be serious limiting your trips. Know that your work is very much appreciated. xoxo
And all of a sudden, I am binge watching your channel.
Thank you for the backing music to the second half of this. Brought back SO MANY MEMORIES
gotta say you're making me really excited to go explore France when we're allowed to travel freely again
I want to go to Wuppertal to take a ride on the Schwebebahne!
*I HAVE SAILED THROUGH THESE LOCKS* as well as about 300 others across France - one of the best times of my life...
Love your videos! Greetings from Palaiseau, Île de France.
Tim Traveler- 2022 Goals should include the Falkirk Wheel in Scotland and the Peterborough, Ontario Lift Lock! I have ridden them both! Man I love these sort of things!
We went up the locks on holiday in 1979 before the lift. By the time we went back with the kids in 2002, the life was already bust. Great Anderson music.
Nice new intro, feels like a season 2!
The musical Easter eggs in your videos are sublime! And the content is great too!
"There was no one around to shout at me" Lolz! Stay safe out there Tim!
Your cheeky cover music is always appreciated but I loved them in this episode
I lived in beziers for 2 years (and on the canal du midi for 1). Always wondered what this machine was for and the slope! Thanks for the informative video 👍
I see your Canal Du Midi Monster and raise you a Big Chute Marine Railway, aka Lock 44 on the Trent-Severn Waterway.
Still works, still runs in the summer, and solved the whole strange powerplant issues by operating as a giant cable car. Good fun to watch if you're bored in Ontario and allowed out of the house.
Hearing the Rosie and Jim theme triggered a memory I didn't realise I had. Very subtle.
Hahaa! I live just next to Beziers, funny to see you do a video about it!
When everything is open, there's a really fascinating immersive-video-cinema kind of thing in the information office about the history of the canal that is worth checking.
And the highest point on the canal between Toulouse and Beziers in the Montagne Noire is really nice as well with a dam and all the information on "how to feed water to this massive artificial river so it doesn't empty everytime you use the locks along the way."
Near Carcassonne, it is worth a visit.
We did the canal from Carccassonne to Agde in 2013. Most wonderful vacation ever. Rented a canal boat for a week and made our way through some of the most beautiful areas of south France.
Mr. Tim, thank you very much for your films on the South West of France! This made us go on holiday in Occitania. And we did visit Beziers today and did see this amazing machine. Which was in somewhat better shape than you filmed it in.
I am just really surprised that you failed to report on the most famous train of Beziers.. the Petit Train Touristique 😉
Keep on the good and fun work and keep us entertained!
A day on this part of the Canal du Midi is the best experience. Multiple locks, an aqueduct and great scenery.
My (non-engineer) suggestions for this invention:
1) Grind a small trough down the center of each concrete "rail", then attach a toothed rack along each trough so that the teeth are slightly below the original height of the trough. Then, replace the 2nd rearmost set of wheels with toothed gears to match the rack in each trough.
This way, the only set of wheels that need to be powered are the gear-wheels. This would increase the tractive force potential greatly, provide more precise and predictable movement, and also eliminate the catastrophic potential of a hydraulic leak. (hydraulic leaks can be eliminated by the below suggestion)
2) swap the complicated powertrain with a 3rd rail or caternary system, along with simple electric motors. This would also likely make the power re-generation process much simpler, and also eliminate the hydraulic fluid issues
Love the bit of the Captain Scarlet theme at the end, there. Thanks!
thanks for showing us that thing. hopefully it gets restored/fixed one day
Over six minutes of joy to brighten a lockdown evening. Gerry Anderson promised 'anything can happen in the next half hour', so I'm going to fill the rest of the half hour with other joyful Tim vids. 👍🏻
Tim, thank you very much for this. I live in Toulouse -- when my work allows me to go home, that is -- and I am very familiar with the thing, and even more so with the Montech one. Looking forward to your next video! :-D
Only one vid of this thing in action? That is both strange and sad
It faced oil leaks and other issues? Well that’s a bummer. It looks like an interesting concept
There are literally 100 of canal elivators around. Most of them is just fenicular and water powered.
"I'll put a link in the description in case you want to go and see the whole video."
Well yes, yes I do.
I spent a month in Béziers in 2012 working and no-one told me about the transporter vehicle! I even visited the neuf écluses! I can't believe I missed it!
Actually, the Fonserannes Monster was built because of the enlarging problems of the Canal du Midi. The locks in the canal were planned to be enlarged from 30 to 39 metres, the Standard Freycinet-Peniche-dimensions. For obvious reasons, enlarging a staircaselock is quite impossible, and that's why the experimental 'Pente d'eau' was built :)
Nice to see he is out there making videos. It is like a little light when the clouds start breaking after a storm.
The "bonne année" shot without any comment ... priceless!
Warm and fuzzies returning, thanks to you and your videos being able to return to a sort of pre-covid energy and ambience.
Class. Thoroughly enjoyed watching thank you. Very well put together documentary and delightful puns for good measure! 🙂
Nice video - Spending most of the 90s working in broadcast tv seems to mean I'm the only one who got the Rosie and Jim theme tune :P
Brilliant as always. Love all the musical Easter eggs :)
New Intro. OMG! And the transporter vehicle is really impressive.
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(This reminds me that I owe Tim a canal video of Leipzig, geez, I really have to do my homework.)
I didn't expect Rosie and Jim's theme song but I'm glad it came
Yours are some of my favorite videos on youtube. Thank you!
My initial reaction on hearing about this system was "Wow those victorian-era (but in France) French engineers were really thinking outside the box..."
1 minute into the video... "Oh, this was made in 1984... Not even 40 years ago. Boat lifts were already a thing by that point."
Tim's music spotter, 2001, Thunderbirds, Stingray and Captain Scarlet. What a collection. Well done Tim and a belated Happy New Year.
Impressive vehicle and piece of engineering. Thanks for showing us.
Thanks a lot for showing this to us!
Your opening credits aren't the same without your signature wail whilst jumping off a wall! Still all good content, looking forward to when the world's madness is over for more videos of your travels 😃
Yeah, I have to say that a boat lift seems like a lot easier solution. Tried and tested too.