Very good Brought back many a good memories when working along side the canton crew on various jobs. I was one of the ooc supervisors on that memorable job
A few of the boys are no longer with us. That was a great recovery job that went well. Phil Parks decided to drag the 37 back to Canton. A fair load over Cocket bank Swansea. Good gangs
Started the railway BR in 1979 and worked in the Worcester Relayers, nearly 40 years there, now Network Rail, but these are the good old days, will never been seen again, work hard, play hard and we drank hard but never an accident... GOOD DAYS BOYS... THANKS
Great video, having served on the breakdown unit on the GNER myself I can appreciate the contents of the film and can only add that this was a true reflection of locomotive recovery . Thanks for sharing this with us , and Mr Clarke...get a life !!
Awesome Recovery and Team Work by everyone involved....You made that job look easy... Those Cranes worked so nice and set that locomotive on those tracks like there was nothing to it.....Hard to believe this was 26 years ago....Hats off to the Crane operators and the signal people......Hope you all are retired and living the good life.....
Thanks, one of the guys passed on this year, some have left the railways. I still work on the railways, as a mobile engineer. They were a very good set of lads. That was a tricky job too. Started at 0700, the entire train and smashed up loco was back at base by 2200 100 miles East to the miss hap. I was lucky to be asked to film the recovery by my boss
just watching the end of the video and those guys laughing and seeing the guy laying down, damn! that beer is going to taste good tonight! thanks for posting....very skilled gang crew!
A quick was and touch up and the old 37 will be back in service loved working the 37s when I was a fireman out of eastfield traction depot Glasgow 1974
An excellent video. I think it's up there with the likes of 'Snowdrift at Bleath Gill' in showing how the railway really works; the skill and thought involved in often overlooked jobs like rescuing de-railed locos. Very well filmed and edited, making the 'story' easy to follow.
I worked in the construction industry all of my life but I've never had to cope with anything like this though. Great job & it's at times like these you dread that unexpected big gust of wind !
Worked the Stratford BDV train numerous times, that was a very complicated job. The re-railing crews are fitters but shows the many teams working patiently, safely, systematically together.
What an interesting video, enjoyed every minute of it especially the dumping of the tea pot! Kudos to you for following through on the whole process, camera placement and editing! I was especially impressed with the cranes. It sounded as though they righted the engine, lifted it and set it back on the track at just above idle. British engineering at it's best, Lucas aside!
OK, so some things have changed in the intervening years, but I'll bet a few 'management' and 'team working' consultants could learn a lot from this video. I would've enjoyed the opportunity of learning from these guys, no manual or course can teach you their work. Great video.
Whatever are you going on about? That management and team working consultant group would gush about *empowerment*, which means do more with nothing, then wonder why the entire train is left where it is, as no heavy equipment was dispatched, awaiting just on time delivery upon order - after a delay to get said equipment across the country. The previously owned equipment, sold as "excess". As part of some junior management wannabe Black Belt attainee, having the chore of eliminating their former position.
They are all good mates, we had a bit of fun over that weekend I can tell you, the only sad bit is that one of the lads passed away this year. A good worker and true friend
James - Thanks so much for that. I was the Petroleum Loco strategy manager up in London, and I remember this. tony Lovell was our Contract manager in South wales you might remember. I knew the old Oak Lads well and used to have meetings at the depot. I worked as Ops Supervior twice with the Wimbledon and and yes, they had a lady on the BDV gang ...We were putting up a new footbridge at Bromley South station and one of the lads brought his wife - we sat down to sunday roast lunch in the vans in the Platform! Wonderful days......
Magnificent this James, top drawer stuff,remember my days on the breakdown gang at Tinsley, long, long hours, but satisfaction was always there when the stuff was cleared and re-railed. SUBSCRIBED immediately. CHEERS IAN
I used to spend hours on that footbridge between 1975-1979, Sadly Canton Diesel Depot is just a shadow of its former self, rows of Class 37 & 47's In its heyday.
james bolem I knew glynn attley well, went on a couple of rugby trips to scotland with him. big mates with mike thomas the train crew bus driver at canton.
We also had a fantastic curry cooked for us on the train, plenty of tea / coffee and a nice trip all round. Glad you enjoyed the video. It very rare to see a job like this filmed.
Thank you James, enjoyed that, you would never get this in "Mighty Machines" or one of those dramatic American tv programs, where was the "coming up" "next" "later" and all those other silly things they say and then they never show how it's done only some bloke moaning about leaving his family behind, maybe that's Ice Road Truckers. No a good film showing how it is. Shows how times have changed too ...no gloves on. Thanks again David.
Don't forget the stupid Thrash Metal Guitar Solo that should be playing during the lift. And also the obligatory argument where one of them walks off the job.
Thank you for posting that! I must admit, my first assessment was "gas axe". I'm very impressed that they managed to get it back on the track again. The catch points did an excellent job too!
enjoyed that, really informative to see this stuff in action - thanks. Surprised to see the wheels not chocked upon righting (or maybe just not caught in the vid) and that the damaged loco was removed in the consist of the break-down train. very good
Wheels were chocked when landed on the rails, the same chocks were thrown into the cab by John just as the train was formed up and brake tested The original plan was to move the loco to a better location then recover at a later date but, Dave Parks, the senior engineer on the breakdown decided that we would take it back to Canton after the gang had cleaned most of the ballast off it.The driver was not too happy with restricted speed of the train with the damaged loco.After taking it easy for a few miles and a stop for inspection it was speeded up.I rode up front from Carmarthen to Canton.The 37 worked very hard to get the train up Cockett bank,speed was down to 10mph.Got back at Canton just after 2200,so we made good time on the return.Only 15 hours after starting the recovery on site !. We had a breakdown gang in those days.
Wow what amazing footage..was it your vid camera in those days they were expensive ...the work force looked like they had done this many times..great skill in all men on on this day..fantastic.......jim
Yes Jim,it was my camera, I was asked to record the recovery by my boss.I worked alongside those boys back at our Canton depot base. The Cardiff gang was the best in the UK and often called to serious incidents,the last major one was the HST crash at Upton Nervet Berkshire. A good bunch of lads. I had to hire a jenny to keep the camera batteries charged up as I filmed for 8 hours and edited into into around 1 hour.Much harder in those days with the equipment available.It was a good jvc camera for those days.
It was filmed, Saturday afternoon leaving Canton, recovery on Sunday and returned to Canton around 2200 on the Sunday evening.The loco was found to be stripped of copper pipework and traction cables. A sad end to a magnificent machine
Awesome tricky work. How did it end up where it was....did it rear end another engine ? What part of the UK ? Unbelievable that thieves got into it already and stripped all the copper.
Again, a dated response, but I see no reason to scrap the locomotive, just due to a loss of copper pipework and traction cables, a replacement locomotive costs a hell of a lot more than a rebuilt one. Granted, the front locomotive did suffer some front end damage, but that's part of the rebuild, from what programs I've reviewed that rebuild such units. Still, I'd probably not consider digging down to allow the wheels to have a place to fall to, out of concern of undermining the track bed. What did they use to compact the fill that they replaced the earth removed from next to the locomotive?
@@jamesrivis620 given it derailed at the frog of a switch, I'd suspect something in the switch or the switch wasn't locked into position. Having dealt with a similar locking latch on other industrial equipment, I learned to kick the shit out of that latch, lest it unlatch and send a few tons my way. It only took one experience of pushing up a couple of tons of rolling stock my way to rid me of carelessness in that respect. Only to have, a few months later, an aircraft hatch nail me on the top of the head, due to a failed strut. Fortunately, it was only 90 pounds and as my wife of nearing four decades can attest to, as well as peers in the military, I've an infamously thick skull. ;)
@@spvillano No, it came off at the catch point that you can see at 5:30 just above the spreader beams. The locomotive was actually damaged at the rear end, presumably due to the whatever it was hauling (removed before this video begins) running into it as it stopped. This class of locomotives was starting to become redundant around this time, so likely the stripping of the copper was an excuse to retire this specific one, rather than one that didn't require rebuilding.
@@jamesrivis620 The loco had been lying on its side for nearly four months before it was recovered (derailed in early January; not recovered until late April).
Fantastic video, a very comprehensive look at how rail maintenance was back in the day. Condolences for the loss of your friend as well. By the way, what's the song at the beginning of the video? I feel I've heard it before on some 60's spy thriller but I can't put my finger on it. Thanks again for this great video! :D
A very interesting video. I agree with an earlier comment though - some commentary or captions would make understanding some of the operations easier. Also interesting to note that the train loco 37372 is currently undergoing transformation into a Baby Deltic.
What happened to the 273 in the end, repaired??, anybody else spot the other 37's number in a different order 372, what the chance of that happening again, really enjoyed the film.
It was strpped of parts and cut up at the depot. Its turbos and intercoolers went onto 37402 for instance. 37372 was used because it looked tidy and just came of a big exam at Canton
Hey James, thanks for the explanation, when i saw it on its side & lifted that girl took a battering, hope the driver was ok, glad the parts went onto other loco's, many thanks.
The reason that the cranes were couple together was to simplify shunting when the 00C Brakedown crane and coaches were taken on to London after the Canton crane and coaches were detatched at Canton depot. To speed things up.
My goodness, what a great video James. Have seen many locos jacked up and traversers used to get back on, but I guess the two cranes acting like the equivalent of a giant hand to put it back on was far the best way for this one. Pity nothing like this is in existence any more, they just hire in whats needed!
Glad you liked it, it was well planned, the job started at 0700 and the whole train and recovered loco was back at Cardiff by 2100. It was a difficult recovery as the loco was ontop of a 40 foot embankment. Could have rolled down easily.The cranes had to lift over 100 ton of loco into a narrow cut.
I removed the intercoolers and turbos from 273 and fitted them to 37402. The copper pipework had been stripped at the derailment site by gypos. The loco was made uneconomic to repair by that act. Sad that it was used as a spare parts tree then cut up.
yeah, suspect maybe he could have assumed that the road was set "as it always had been". He wasn't the first and certainly wont be the last! A good documentary, Thanks for the reply!.
This was a very good inside view of such an operation. There was a lot of prep work needed before the actual lift could take place, the p-way gang had to put some work in after that, restoring the embankment and cable ducts. The catch point did its work protecting the main, this was a very costly spad, but luckily no one was injured. I was a bit astonished by the fact the damaged loco missing one buffer was taken inside the train, or was that buffer repaired before the move?
James, thanks for the video! As much as you know about this operation it would be great for you to give a narration. Could not help but think of WWII Germans doing what these guys did and worrying about an American fighter strafing the operation at any moment! Whew! Again, thanks for the video.
Just found this, well done Canton crew, show them how it's done ! Not the first South Wales 37 to end up in a hole eh ?:-) sad end to a Valley loco.Ex Canton Bridge Spotter.
Looks to me like its lucky it landed where it did, any where else it may have gone over the side. A good job recovering it too nice video, don't get to see this work very often .
I think it was misjudged speed on approach to the junction, road not set. unable to stop in time and derailes at catchpoints. Very lucky, no serious injuries.Could have gone down a 40 foot embankment.A lot of planning and skill in the recovery of the 37........, location ,Johnston , West Wales
@@carolsutton7828 yeah, because humans should be really, really close to heavy equipment lifting a sling load, to have their limbs and heads taken off if a cable, chain or sling fails. And obviously, people can outdig a backhoe, which is why they never caught on in construction. And welding is better done when the work is buried in the ground as well, after all, everyone's heard of a welding ground-rod, right? Here's a hint, when doing heavy lifts and heavy equipment work, the minimum necessary personnel are allowed around, to reduce disabling or fatal injuries. Or would you prefer more fatal and disabling injuries, so that your tax dollars can support families and the disabled?
Good video and I couldn't help but notice just like any county job there appears to be more supervisors standing around then the actual people doing the work.
There were only three supervisors on that job, but there was a worry about contaminating the stream at the base of the bank.So you had S & T people on standby and enviroment people , it was run very well These days you would have two dozen network rail managers there at least on this job lol
Thanks for posting this. Great stuff, really, and nice job filming, editing. If this was taken in or around Wales, would like know just where, since my maps don't show Canton, nor Old Oak Common, only Cardiff. Have ancestors still living around the Corris area in Wales today, as my great-grandfather had worked as guard on Corris slate run, c. 1883. His name was Lewis Griffith (Gryffyd?) and his mother's maiden name was Williams, from further up the coast, so now wondering if any relation to the Williams who shot this?
My reletives came from West Wales , there are thousands of Williams in Wales. Canton Depot is at Cardiff, a mile West from the Central station, Old Oak Depot is a couple of miles West from London Paddington station. The recovery job was at Johnston, West Wales.... Map ref 51.755656, -4.998026 Five miles North West of Milford Haven
Do the catchpoints stop the loco/train going out onto another line and hitting other traffic? And that is what happened here. I am a novice at this and I can't recognise where the catchpoints were and what it avoided hitting?
@@DOCTORDROTT thank goodness for that! At least when it does happen it is documented like this, and I guess that it's also a major learning experience to help prevent it happening again!
Could they have used air bags to bring it up or help to bring t us off it's side? what was the woman job in this dog fight? I kept hearing her voice. was anything wrong with the worker who was laying down? how much will the crane lift? once the job is done will they have what we call a hot wash up (where they set down and talk about what went on at the job site, what went wrong, what could be done to make the job easier, safer and faster)? Thanks for a very educational video on how to put a power unit back on the rails.
The woman was taking photo stills for the company magazine. Twin crane lift is the safest way to do this job, more control that air bags . The loco was ontop of a 40 embankment with a stream at the bottom. The cranes are rated at 75 tonnes lift each. The loco weighed in at 110 tonne. The whole job was done ahead of time. Started ay 0600 and the entire train was back at base at 2230 abour 100 miles away. So it went very well. Glad you liked it . The worker was ok, just very tired after a long hard graft day, they did not stop for a break on this job
It was derailed at a slow speed, no one hurt.It was ontop of a 40 foot embankment so could have been bad as it was haulling a train of 100 tonne petrol tankers.Could have went down the embankment. The boys did a good job on the recovery.The beds in the train were not very comfortable,I remember that
Nice old video. A couple of questions: What happened to the driver? Also, if the locomotive got scrapped, why didn't they cut it up into pieces on location. It seems they have some repair work to do after moving a lot of dirt and ballast Last, how to do such recovery on a line with overhead wires? Cheers Adam
Driver OK, buffers had to be fitted for it to be towed back to Cardiff. A very big job to cut up on site, it was ballanced on a 40 foot embankment. No overheads on this line, but can be done, wires dropped down
What happened to the damaged locomotive? Beyond repair? By the way, excellent video quality, given it's more than 25 years old. Nice video, really enjoyed watching it though I assume it was a tough job for your unit to get her back on rails
Why don't they build a heavy, extremely strong frame in the locomotive at manufacture with central lifting eyes at the top of the locomotive to save the extensive rigging otherwise needed, as was used here? It would also make it safer for all. One rigging point each end, one lift and no need for the excavation, spreader bars, crawling around the machine trying to secure ropes and straps and you are lifting from the highest point which is always safer for centre of gravity considerations etc..
These days,the entire loco would have been nicked with todays scrap prices. The scrap yards should be fined as they have a good idea where the scrap has come from.
Much delayed, but, one would think it was abandoned equipment, laying on the side like that unattended. ;P Just give me a holiday weekend, you might not even find disturbed earth to hint that a locomotive was laying there. ;)
Did anyone catch the coincidence of the locomotive numbers! They were 37273,and 37372,almost palindromic. A very interesting video,and British Rail,is catching up on wrecking cranes,in the US. On average,a wrecking crane is 100 ton capacity,and the real heavy ones are 250 ton. I assume that those cranes were 75 tons or there abouts. Again,thanks for a well thought out,and educational video! Go GWR,and never say die!
@@roberthuron9160 Bit of a fluke, 37372 had just come of a repair and paint at Canton Depot and was put on this job. Its now being turned into a baby Deltic . Even stranger lol
To make a gap for it to roll into to have a straight vertical lift. It was ontop of a 40 foot embankment. If not set up right it could have pulled the cranes over and down the embankment
Very good
Brought back many a good memories when working along side the canton crew on various jobs.
I was one of the ooc supervisors on that memorable job
A few of the boys are no longer with us. That was a great recovery job that went well. Phil Parks decided to drag the 37 back to Canton. A fair load over Cocket bank Swansea. Good gangs
Started the railway BR in 1979 and worked in the Worcester Relayers, nearly 40 years there, now Network Rail, but these are the good old days, will never been seen again, work hard, play hard and we drank hard but never an accident... GOOD DAYS BOYS... THANKS
very true
RIP Glyn Attley....tyvm for your work on the rail
Best wishes from an X Eastleigh breakdown crew member, best days of my railway career
superb, quiet confidence, everyone knows his job. Excellent video from the golden days of rail travel.
Great video, having served on the breakdown unit on the GNER myself I can appreciate the contents of the film and can only add that this was a true reflection of locomotive recovery . Thanks for sharing this with us , and Mr Clarke...get a life !!
Awesome Recovery and Team Work by everyone involved....You made that job look easy... Those Cranes worked so nice and set that locomotive on those tracks like there was nothing to it.....Hard to believe this was 26 years ago....Hats off to the Crane operators and the signal people......Hope you all are retired and living the good life.....
Thanks, one of the guys passed on this year, some have left the railways. I still work on the railways, as a mobile engineer. They were a very good set of lads. That was a tricky job too. Started at 0700, the entire train and smashed up loco was back at base by 2200 100 miles East to the miss hap. I was lucky to be asked to film the recovery by my boss
51.735440, -5.025012 these are the co ordinates of the site
as a group and a team , great job , they all know what they are doing...RIP the boys that have passed on...be safe in your work...
just watching the end of the video and those guys laughing and seeing the guy laying down, damn! that beer is going to taste good tonight! thanks for posting....very skilled gang crew!
A quick was and touch up and the old 37 will be back in service loved working the 37s when I was a fireman out of eastfield traction depot Glasgow 1974
An excellent video. I think it's up there with the likes of 'Snowdrift at Bleath Gill' in showing how the railway really works; the skill and thought involved in often overlooked jobs like rescuing de-railed locos. Very well filmed and edited, making the 'story' easy to follow.
Good day
I worked in the construction industry all of my life but I've never had to cope with anything like this though. Great job & it's at times like these you dread that unexpected big gust of wind !
Worked the Stratford BDV train numerous times, that was a very complicated job. The re-railing crews are fitters but shows the many teams working patiently, safely, systematically together.
well done to the crew 1st time iv seen this happen, thanks for sharing
Great video and nice to see the whole operation rather than just a few minutes clip, thanks for sharing
What an interesting video, enjoyed every minute of it especially the dumping of the tea pot! Kudos to you for following through on the whole process, camera placement and editing!
I was especially impressed with the cranes. It sounded as though they righted the engine, lifted it and set it back on the track at just above idle. British engineering at it's best, Lucas aside!
OK, so some things have changed in the intervening years, but I'll bet a few 'management' and 'team working' consultants could learn a lot from this video. I would've enjoyed the opportunity of learning from these guys, no manual or course can teach you their work.
Great video.
Whatever are you going on about? That management and team working consultant group would gush about *empowerment*, which means do more with nothing, then wonder why the entire train is left where it is, as no heavy equipment was dispatched, awaiting just on time delivery upon order - after a delay to get said equipment across the country.
The previously owned equipment, sold as "excess".
As part of some junior management wannabe Black Belt attainee, having the chore of eliminating their former position.
Well done for filming that, it can't have been easy with all the flack from the guys.
Also thanks for posting an interesting part of railway history.
They are all good mates, we had a bit of fun over that weekend I can tell you, the only sad bit is that one of the lads passed away this year. A good worker and true friend
Great effort & result. Well done lads.
Awesome video. Shows the knowhow of the Maintenance personal to get the job done safely.
James - Thanks so much for that. I was the Petroleum Loco strategy manager up in London, and I remember this. tony Lovell was our Contract manager in South wales you might remember. I knew the old Oak Lads well and used to have meetings at the depot. I worked as Ops Supervior twice with the Wimbledon and and yes, they had a lady on the BDV gang ...We were putting up a new footbridge at Bromley South station and one of the lads brought his wife - we sat down to sunday roast lunch in the vans in the Platform! Wonderful days......
Magnificent this James, top drawer stuff,remember my days on the breakdown gang at Tinsley, long, long hours, but satisfaction was always there when the stuff was cleared and re-railed. SUBSCRIBED immediately. CHEERS IAN
I used to spend hours on that footbridge between 1975-1979, Sadly Canton Diesel Depot is just a shadow of its former self, rows of Class 37 & 47's In its heyday.
Poor old tractor! :) Great "on the ground" documentary, thanks for sharing.
RIP Glyn Attley, one of the guys on this job. A good worker at a good friend
My condolences to hi family and friends James.
james bolem vhbjvv fyuuhvv4&1234566789890! 5t
james bolem I knew glynn attley well, went on a couple of rugby trips to scotland with him. big mates with mike thomas the train crew bus driver at canton.
Well done those men! And thanks for posting the very informative video!
If I woke up on a rare train hauled by a class 37, with Tea on demand, I'd have to check if I was dreaming or not. Great vid!
We also had a fantastic curry cooked for us on the train, plenty of tea / coffee and a nice trip all round. Glad you enjoyed the video. It very rare to see a job like this filmed.
That was fascinating, but some subtitles explaining what and why would make it even
better. Thanks for loading.
Very nice and informative video - Thank you for posting.
Well, I've never seen this done before. It was a great video and gets a thumbs up and sub from me!! Thanks for sharing, I really enjoyed this.
Excellent entertainment. Best hour of today . 👍😎
A few of those lads are no longer with us . Glad you liked it
Great video. Never seen anything like this before.
Thank you James, enjoyed that, you would never get this in "Mighty Machines" or one of those dramatic American tv programs, where was the "coming up" "next" "later" and all those other silly things they say and then they never show how it's done only some bloke moaning about leaving his family behind, maybe that's Ice Road Truckers. No a good film showing how it is. Shows how times have changed too ...no gloves on. Thanks again David.
Don't forget the stupid Thrash Metal Guitar Solo that should be playing during the lift. And also the obligatory argument where one of them walks off the job.
Interesting video. Thanks for posting.
2017 all the young fellas are like me now old men , grate video..cracking work ... ..
One of the lads has since passed away. The others are retired. Good bunch of lads
Thank you for posting that!
I must admit, my first assessment was "gas axe". I'm very impressed that they managed to get it back on the track again. The catch points did an excellent job too!
I LOVE Your videos
enjoyed that, really informative to see this stuff in action - thanks. Surprised to see the wheels not chocked upon righting (or maybe just not caught in the vid) and that the damaged loco was removed in the consist of the break-down train. very good
Wheels were chocked when landed on the rails, the same chocks were thrown into the cab by John just as the train was formed up and brake tested The original plan was to move the loco to a better location then recover at a later date but, Dave Parks, the senior engineer on the breakdown decided that we would take it back to Canton after the gang had cleaned most of the ballast off it.The driver was not too happy with restricted speed of the train with the damaged loco.After taking it easy for a few miles and a stop for inspection it was speeded up.I rode up front from Carmarthen to Canton.The 37 worked very hard to get the train up Cockett bank,speed was down to 10mph.Got back at Canton just after 2200,so we made good time on the return.Only 15 hours after starting the recovery on site !. We had a breakdown gang in those days.
Wow what amazing footage..was it your vid camera in those days they were expensive ...the work force looked like they had done this many times..great skill in all men on on this day..fantastic.......jim
Yes Jim,it was my camera, I was asked to record the recovery by my boss.I worked alongside those boys back at our Canton depot base. The Cardiff gang was the best in the UK and often called to serious incidents,the last major one was the HST crash at Upton Nervet Berkshire. A good bunch of lads. I had to hire a jenny to keep the camera batteries charged up as I filmed for 8 hours and edited into into around 1 hour.Much harder in those days with the equipment available.It was a good jvc camera for those days.
Great stuff, its rare to see this sort of br staff footage..
Great video nice to see cheers Kevin
This is real mans work. No pussy hat wearing dweebs here ! Good job mate.
Cracking Vid...Loved it
Cheers Warren
It was filmed, Saturday afternoon leaving Canton, recovery on Sunday and returned to Canton around 2200 on the Sunday evening.The loco was found to be stripped of copper pipework and traction cables. A sad end to a magnificent machine
Awesome tricky work. How did it end up where it was....did it rear end another engine ? What part of the UK ? Unbelievable that thieves got into it already and stripped all the copper.
Again, a dated response, but I see no reason to scrap the locomotive, just due to a loss of copper pipework and traction cables, a replacement locomotive costs a hell of a lot more than a rebuilt one.
Granted, the front locomotive did suffer some front end damage, but that's part of the rebuild, from what programs I've reviewed that rebuild such units.
Still, I'd probably not consider digging down to allow the wheels to have a place to fall to, out of concern of undermining the track bed. What did they use to compact the fill that they replaced the earth removed from next to the locomotive?
@@jamesrivis620 given it derailed at the frog of a switch, I'd suspect something in the switch or the switch wasn't locked into position. Having dealt with a similar locking latch on other industrial equipment, I learned to kick the shit out of that latch, lest it unlatch and send a few tons my way.
It only took one experience of pushing up a couple of tons of rolling stock my way to rid me of carelessness in that respect.
Only to have, a few months later, an aircraft hatch nail me on the top of the head, due to a failed strut. Fortunately, it was only 90 pounds and as my wife of nearing four decades can attest to, as well as peers in the military, I've an infamously thick skull. ;)
@@spvillano No, it came off at the catch point that you can see at 5:30 just above the spreader beams. The locomotive was actually damaged at the rear end, presumably due to the whatever it was hauling (removed before this video begins) running into it as it stopped. This class of locomotives was starting to become redundant around this time, so likely the stripping of the copper was an excuse to retire this specific one, rather than one that didn't require rebuilding.
@@jamesrivis620 The loco had been lying on its side for nearly four months before it was recovered (derailed in early January; not recovered until late April).
Excellent it's good to see how it was done.
Fantastic video, a very comprehensive look at how rail maintenance was back in the day.
Condolences for the loss of your friend as well.
By the way, what's the song at the beginning of the video? I feel I've heard it before on some 60's spy thriller but I can't put my finger on it.
Thanks again for this great video! :D
Car
They didn't even stop for tea and crumpets. As already posted by another, great to see and entire operation and not stopping before the outcome. USA
Little Blitz of course they had tea,,,,
A very interesting video. I agree with an earlier comment though - some commentary or captions would make understanding some of the operations easier. Also interesting to note that the train loco 37372 is currently undergoing transformation into a Baby Deltic.
I too also spotted 37372 as I'm a fan and follower of the Baby Deltic Project.
What happened to the 273 in the end, repaired??, anybody else spot the other 37's number in a different order 372, what the chance of that happening again, really enjoyed the film.
It was strpped of parts and cut up at the depot. Its turbos and intercoolers went onto 37402 for instance. 37372 was used because it looked tidy and just came of a big exam at Canton
Hey James, thanks for the explanation, when i saw it on its side & lifted that girl took a battering, hope the driver was ok, glad the parts went onto other loco's, many thanks.
excellent video a lot of thought went in to the recovery of this loco and what i saw was the men working hard and i enjoyed watching the video
The reason that the cranes were couple together was to simplify shunting when the 00C Brakedown crane and coaches were taken on to London after the Canton crane and coaches were detatched at Canton depot. To speed things up.
I was just wondering about Route Availability as in my day [1960s!] cranes had a limited RA
crane to crane in the consist
thanks Graham,
My goodness, what a great video James. Have seen many locos jacked up and traversers used to get back on, but I guess the two cranes acting like the equivalent of a giant hand to put it back on was far the best way for this one. Pity nothing like this is in existence any more, they just hire in whats needed!
Glad you liked it, it was well planned, the job started at 0700 and the whole train and recovered loco was back at Cardiff by 2100. It was a difficult recovery as the loco was ontop of a 40 foot embankment. Could have rolled down easily.The cranes had to lift over 100 ton of loco into a narrow cut.
37273 was withdrawn and grounded at Canton in February 1993 and later tendered for sale. She was cut up in the first week of May 1993.
I removed the intercoolers and turbos from 273 and fitted them to 37402. The copper pipework had been stripped at the derailment site by gypos. The loco was made uneconomic to repair by that act. Sad that it was used as a spare parts tree then cut up.
RIP Alistair Dowse, the Canton breakdown supervisor on this job
yeah, suspect maybe he could have assumed that the road was set "as it always had been". He wasn't the first and certainly wont be the last! A good documentary, Thanks for the reply!.
This was a very good inside view of such an operation.
There was a lot of prep work needed before the actual lift could take place, the p-way gang had to put some work in after that, restoring the embankment and cable ducts.
The catch point did its work protecting the main, this was a very costly spad, but luckily no one was injured.
I was a bit astonished by the fact the damaged loco missing one buffer was taken inside the train, or was that buffer repaired before the move?
Hell, that engine looks ok those few scratches will buff out..
James, thanks for the video! As much as you know about this operation it would be great for you to give a narration. Could not help but think of WWII Germans doing what these guys did and worrying about an American fighter strafing the operation at any moment! Whew! Again, thanks for the video.
Real big brave tough ones who swoop down and strafe helpless people on the ground.
@@daqt6079 Yes. The courageous ones were repairing the rails so trainloads of women and children could resume being fed into the ovens.
@@deconteesawyer5758 you still believe in Boomer Regime? That religion has started to fall apart.
Just found this, well done Canton crew, show them how it's done ! Not the first South Wales 37 to end up in a hole eh ?:-) sad end to a Valley loco.Ex Canton Bridge Spotter.
Looks to me like its lucky it landed where it did, any where else it may have gone over the side.
A good job recovering it too nice video, don't get to see this work very often .
I'm surprised that the 2 cranes were coupled together and not separated by a van although I note the cranes are the later 75t cowans cranes .
see above explanation
GREAT VIDEO THANK YOU
Great video for share that you how people work together as a team player
I believe this was at the Waterston refinery points which is disused now off the mail line to Milford Haven
Hello there, it was filmed at Johnston West Wales
very interesting film of a difficult task,teamwork by all.
I think it was misjudged speed on approach to the junction, road not set. unable to stop in time and derailes at catchpoints. Very lucky, no serious injuries.Could have gone down a 40 foot embankment.A lot of planning and skill in the recovery of the 37........, location ,Johnston , West Wales
I served my time Reading/Swindon/ OOC seen a few derailments (breakdowns) but nothing like this, who was driving ??
A well done video!
reminds me of my days on br, lots of men watching on,while a couple do the work
Hey I kind of thought that was all work was done. Lots standing by watching and a couple actually working. All over the world.
@@carolsutton7828 yeah, because humans should be really, really close to heavy equipment lifting a sling load, to have their limbs and heads taken off if a cable, chain or sling fails.
And obviously, people can outdig a backhoe, which is why they never caught on in construction.
And welding is better done when the work is buried in the ground as well, after all, everyone's heard of a welding ground-rod, right?
Here's a hint, when doing heavy lifts and heavy equipment work, the minimum necessary personnel are allowed around, to reduce disabling or fatal injuries.
Or would you prefer more fatal and disabling injuries, so that your tax dollars can support families and the disabled?
@@spvillano I wondered if the slings are cables with some type of covering, or chains. The thought of a cable snapping, that would be awful.
Good video and I couldn't help but notice just like any county job there appears to be more supervisors standing around then the actual people doing the work.
There were only three supervisors on that job, but there was a worry about contaminating the stream at the base of the bank.So you had S & T people on standby and enviroment people , it was run very well These days you would have two dozen network rail managers there at least on this job lol
mark johnson th-cam.com/video/P-JVnlB7Onk/w-d-xo.html
good work ! how / why did the loco jump the points as to damage the front ?
It went through catchpoints and its train hit the trailing cab
Thanks for posting this. Great stuff, really, and nice job filming, editing. If this was taken in or around Wales, would like know just where, since my maps don't show Canton, nor Old Oak Common, only Cardiff. Have ancestors still living around the Corris area in Wales today, as my great-grandfather had worked as guard on Corris slate run, c. 1883. His name was Lewis Griffith (Gryffyd?) and his mother's maiden name was Williams, from further up the coast, so now wondering if any relation to the Williams who shot this?
My reletives came from West Wales , there are thousands of Williams in Wales. Canton Depot is at Cardiff, a mile West from the Central station, Old Oak Depot is a couple of miles West from London Paddington station. The recovery job was at Johnston, West Wales.... Map ref 51.755656, -4.998026 Five miles North West of Milford Haven
Do the catchpoints stop the loco/train going out onto another line and hitting other traffic? And that is what happened here. I am a novice at this and I can't recognise where the catchpoints were and what it avoided hitting?
Yes , it protects the the line. error was made during this movement causing this incident
@@DOCTORDROTT Thanks for the reply James. How often does this sort of thing tend to happen?
@@vxrdrummer Thankfully very rare , three times in 40 years !
@@DOCTORDROTT thank goodness for that! At least when it does happen it is documented like this, and I guess that it's also a major learning experience to help prevent it happening again!
@@vxrdrummer I was asked by my boss to film the recovery as it was a rare incident
super vid, regardless of mr clarke's comment, just wondered how the loco scrap value compared to the cost of the exercise !
Great work, now to clean up the mess left behind.
Could they have used air bags to bring it up or help to bring t us off it's side? what was the woman job in this dog fight? I kept hearing her voice. was anything wrong with the worker who was laying down? how much will the crane lift? once the job is done will they have what we call a hot wash up (where they set down and talk about what went on at the job site, what went wrong, what could be done to make the job easier, safer and faster)? Thanks for a very educational video on how to put a power unit back on the rails.
The woman was taking photo stills for the company magazine. Twin crane lift is the safest way to do this job, more control that air bags . The loco was ontop of a 40 embankment with a stream at the bottom. The cranes are rated at 75 tonnes lift each. The loco weighed in at 110 tonne. The whole job was done ahead of time. Started ay 0600 and the entire train was back at base at 2230 abour 100 miles away. So it went very well. Glad you liked it . The worker was ok, just very tired after a long hard graft day, they did not stop for a break on this job
Good video! I've Subscribed!
How did it derail in first place???
oh and wat happened to loco after was it written off and scraped or was it repaired and back on main line?
got scrapped in 1993 i'm afraid
It was derailed at a slow speed, no one hurt.It was ontop of a 40 foot embankment so could have been bad as it was haulling a train of 100 tonne petrol tankers.Could have went down the embankment. The boys did a good job on the recovery.The beds in the train were not very comfortable,I remember that
Thank you ,:)
Forgot to enquire, what caused the severe frontal damage?
leading wagon ran into the back
I imagine it was tea and biscuits in the managers office for the driver for running through the catch points.
Nice old video.
A couple of questions:
What happened to the driver?
Also, if the locomotive got scrapped, why didn't they cut it up into pieces on location. It seems they have some repair work to do after moving a lot of dirt and ballast
Last, how to do such recovery on a line with overhead wires?
Cheers Adam
Driver OK, buffers had to be fitted for it to be towed back to Cardiff. A very big job to cut up on site, it was ballanced on a 40 foot embankment. No overheads on this line, but can be done, wires dropped down
Was any one hurt in the crash? It looks pretty servere. Interesting method to get it back upright!
GREAT VID, ALL VERY SKILLED MEN.
What happened to the damaged locomotive? Beyond repair? By the way, excellent video quality, given it's more than 25 years old. Nice video, really enjoyed watching it though I assume it was a tough job for your unit to get her back on rails
Great work putting the loco upright and on the tracks. What was the cause of the derailment?
driver error
amazing
Problem on the points. The 27273 derails and ends in the dich. heroic team work and the 37 is back on the track.
where is this?
Bloody good job chaps
Awesome vid!
Now I know what the rail network means when they say there are leaves on the line at 3:12.
If there was a prize for best comment, you'd have just won it!
@@VehicularBrit leave it for a bit longer, it'd have been scrapped in place - counting all cars and trucks.
Why don't they build a heavy, extremely strong frame in the locomotive at manufacture with central lifting eyes at the top of the locomotive to save the extensive rigging otherwise needed, as was used here? It would also make it safer for all. One rigging point each end, one lift and no need for the excavation, spreader bars, crawling around the machine trying to secure ropes and straps and you are lifting from the highest point which is always safer for centre of gravity considerations etc..
They are built with lifting points, has worked fine for 50 years , loco over 100 ton
Where did this take place? Sounds like in europe.What happened.
These days,the entire loco would have been nicked with todays scrap prices. The scrap yards should be fined as they have a good idea where the scrap has come from.
Much delayed, but, one would think it was abandoned equipment, laying on the side like that unattended. ;P
Just give me a holiday weekend, you might not even find disturbed earth to hint that a locomotive was laying there. ;)
"the entire loco would have been nicked" Especially in Milford Haven
Did anyone catch the coincidence of the locomotive numbers! They were 37273,and 37372,almost palindromic. A very interesting video,and British Rail,is catching up on wrecking cranes,in the US. On average,a wrecking crane is 100 ton capacity,and the real heavy ones are 250 ton. I assume that those cranes were 75 tons or there abouts. Again,thanks for a well thought out,and educational video! Go GWR,and never say die!
@@roberthuron9160 Bit of a fluke, 37372 had just come of a repair and paint at Canton Depot and was put on this job. Its now being turned into a baby Deltic . Even stranger lol
Back when BR was BR . Great footage , there was a female on site , didn’t see her doing anything ?
She was the company photographer .
james bolem . Ok . Thanks .
What's the reason for digging near the locomotive?
To make a gap for it to roll into to have a straight vertical lift. It was ontop of a 40 foot embankment. If not set up right it could have pulled the cranes over and down the embankment
level the ground so loco safe and level for strops ensures the safety of the men attaching the strops
was the 37 a runaway or was there someone in the cab at the time of derailment??
Great video. Any casualty?
the recovery loco 37372, is now being converted into the baby deltic