- 4 hours ago
Francis Bourgeois & Chris Harris- We Saved A Train (2026) Season 1 Episode 1
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:06Here we go.
00:07What is it?
00:08Oh, it's an 88.
00:09You happy with that?
00:10Yeah.
00:14This is a Class 66.
00:19Do you smell that lovely diesel?
00:21Yeah.
00:22Go on!
00:28That is a sexy train.
00:31Yeah.
00:38I'm Francis Bourgeois, and I love trains.
00:42Oh, my God!
00:43Oh, God, it's stuck in my mouth.
00:45The joy that I share on social media
00:47has connected with people far and wide.
00:51Oh, my God!
00:54Even motoring legend Chris Harris.
00:571,200 horsepower Ferrari,
01:00and you just hang the arse out of it.
01:04On the track and through Top Gear,
01:06I've met obsessives.
01:09Oh, my God!
01:10But no one with the passion of Francis.
01:13Nice one, Danny!
01:14I want Chris's help with my biggest ever project.
01:18It's a lot to ask.
01:20The restoration of a dilapidated diesel engine.
01:23This isn't a quick fix.
01:24Oh, shit, Sherlock.
01:26Look at the size of it.
01:27Look at the size of it.
01:27If he'll join me to revive railway royalty...
01:31That is power!
01:32...then he's in...
01:35...for the ride of his life.
01:38Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!
01:43Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!
01:53To get Chris on board with my restoration proposal,
01:56I plan to sweeten him up a bit.
01:58I thought, as a bit of a surprise, I'd take you to the railway equivalent of Glastonbury Festival.
02:08I've got an imagination, but that's a stretch.
02:11We are celebrating 200 years of the railway in the UK.
02:16We're talking about tens of thousands.
02:19Of people.
02:19People.
02:20Are you good with crowds?
02:21Well, I mean, in a railway setting, people might come up to me.
02:27Might?
02:27Wait, you're Freddie Mercury at a Queen concert, boss.
02:30This is going to be extraordinary.
02:32It certainly will be.
02:38Look at that.
02:39Oh, you're kidding me.
02:48Welcome, Chris, to the Greatest Gathering.
02:55This is going to be a multi-sensory experience.
02:59I'm just looking forward to you showing me your world.
03:02Francis.
03:03Hiya.
03:04Hello.
03:05Can I get a photo?
03:06Yeah.
03:06See ya.
03:07Can I get a picture of this?
03:09Can I have a photo, please?
03:11Oh, I love it.
03:13These are some of my favourites here.
03:15You can already smell the intensity of the sulphur in the coal.
03:19I like seeing people immersed in their passion.
03:22It's one of the nicest things you can see.
03:24Yeah.
03:25Hercules' glorious defiance.
03:31This is a celebration of preservation.
03:36And these are the chimes of triumph.
03:44So this is 45596 Bahamas.
03:49And she is a Jubilee-class double chimney.
03:53Built in 1934.
03:56I just think it looks magnificent.
03:59To kick things off, I'm introducing Chris to the ancient brutes of the railway.
04:05Steam locomotives.
04:07Is it peak steam engine, this?
04:09I need to frame this in a language Chris understands.
04:13This is an XK120.
04:15Is it?
04:15Yeah.
04:16With that translation method, we're going to work out fine doing this, Francis.
04:19I love this.
04:19Tell me what it is as a car.
04:21There is a car simile for every locomotive.
04:26It's sitting here hissing quietly, like it's got a pulse.
04:29Yeah.
04:29But what you can't get across is the smell.
04:32It's a comforting sulphur.
04:35It's a piece of engineering, isn't it?
04:38This was made before CAD.
04:41Yeah.
04:41This was made with broad sheets of paper, rulers, pencils.
04:47This is just pure British engineering.
04:51Look at the size of that.
04:53What's that called?
04:54As with the car, really, a connecting rod.
04:57It's a con rod.
04:57Yeah.
04:58Things I'm into are quite powerful.
05:00This has got a wheel that's quite a bit taller than me.
05:03That's a wheel.
05:05And it's a wheel that's made entirely of metal.
05:07Extraordinary.
05:08There's a lot here for the car enthusiasts, isn't there?
05:11Yeah.
05:11But just the size of the engineering.
05:13The engineering actually is easier to see.
05:15It's more on display and it's bigger.
05:17Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
05:19And whereas with cars, you can kind of get in them and drive them and own them, this has
05:26an almost mythological status.
05:28Yeah.
05:28Going to a trackside of a Formula One race, you're seeing something unattainable from a
05:33driving perspective, but you're there to soak it up.
05:35You're there to feel it.
05:37And in the same way, you know, Derby Station is my Spa-Francorchamps.
05:51What's that?
05:52I believe that's Tornado down there.
05:55Of course it is.
05:56This is brilliant.
05:57This is brilliant.
05:58There's barely a noise down there and he's going, I think that's Tornado.
06:02Can you tell an engine from its whistle?
06:04Absolutely.
06:05Every engine?
06:05Yeah.
06:06What was that high-pitched one?
06:07That was a southern whistle.
06:09I thought that was either Klan Line.
06:11Either Klan Line or British-India Line.
06:16I've got the best tour guide.
06:18I've got the best tour guide.
06:22We need to get going.
06:23We need to have a look at everything.
06:32The bullied Pacifics were well known for being light on their feet.
06:35The driver would put on a bit of power.
06:38What, it was an Edwardian burnout?
06:39Yeah.
06:42This is Sir Nigel Gresley.
06:44Post-war speed record of 112 miles an hour.
06:48Such an iconic locomotive.
06:52This is my friend James.
06:54He lives, breathes and shits merchant navies.
06:58To stand any chance of recruiting Chris to my epic restoration, I need him to tap into the passion that
07:05keeps these locos alive.
07:07We've got like a really dedicated team, we're all volunteers, we do it for love, we wouldn't change it for
07:13the world, we love what we do, we love the people we get to meet.
07:16Without those people who saved this in 1967, this would have been melted down.
07:22It's a real survivor, it really, really is.
07:25I may be biased in saying this as well, Chris, but I don't think there's a better way for metal
07:32to exist.
07:35That's an argument that's going to go on and on and on.
07:41So imagine you're climbing on board your locomotive for your day's work.
07:46What, in a pair of Gucci slip-ons?
07:52From a car perspective, the quality of everything is extremely high.
07:56That is the best looking speedometer I've ever seen.
07:59I thought a 250 Short Warbos had the best speedometer.
08:02That, and it's made by Smith's gauges, which made all the great British sports car gauges.
08:07That is the coolest speedometer ever fitted to a machine.
08:10Look at that.
08:11It's an incredible interface for operating a vehicle.
08:16If I'd done this, the point at which Scarelectrics and Hornby went to different directions, I could have been Hornby.
08:24Yeah.
08:25Once you're bitten by it, once it's in you...
08:27Yeah.
08:28Look at that seat.
08:29And look, you can literally see the ground through the boards.
08:33You'd be rocking around all over the place.
08:35Yeah.
08:38Oh!
08:40Here we go.
08:43Oh, God!
08:47And that goes back in.
08:48Then we close up.
08:50Three, two, one.
08:53Ha, ha, ha!
09:01OK, I get it.
09:01I get it.
09:02I get it.
09:02I get it.
09:02I get it.
09:16I get it.
09:17All right, see you.
09:21I'm at the Glastonbury of trains with a headline act.
09:24All right, how are you?
09:25Great, thanks.
09:26TikTok phenomenon, Francis Bourgeois.
09:30Right.
09:31My plan today is to share my world with Chris.
09:35Quad turbocharged, 245 litre V16.
09:38Basically a Bugatti.
09:40That's a Bugatti.
09:41Then hopefully recruit him for a mammoth restoration.
09:45You've got a bit of sit on your eyebrow.
09:47That's because I'm stood by a massive steam engine.
09:49Now steam has piqued Chris's interest.
09:52It's magnificent.
09:54I need him to fall for my greatest love.
09:59Diesels.
10:04Nothing beats their raw power, reliability, and the thrill.
10:08The thrill of the thrash.
10:16Thrash is like the sound that a diesel engine makes when it's going full power.
10:21Thrash.
10:22Three, two, one.
10:32You'll get to know that, and you'll be able to perform that too.
10:35What's your type?
10:37What are you into?
10:37I get quite easily excited by simple frequencies.
10:41So it's a lot of sound.
10:43Yeah, it's mostly the audio.
10:45With diesel, that's more of a low, probably low frequency,
10:50but high energy vibration that shocks you through the spine.
10:55Chris's diesel education begins with a legendary locomotive.
11:06This is the Class 55 Deltic, an absolute racehorse.
11:11How fast?
11:12They were rated for 100, but could go even more.
11:14This is one of my favourite diesel engines.
11:16Why?
11:18So, the engine itself is incredibly complex.
11:22Right.
11:23But two-stroke.
11:24Two-stroke.
11:26Two-stroke train?
11:28Yes, it's an incredible piece of engineering.
11:30It's kind of in a triangular formation, and on each corner, there's a shared crankshaft, and that goes into a
11:36phasing case, and then that phasing case has an output to generators, which then drive the traction motors.
11:43It's just outrageous.
11:46I associate two-stroke with mopeds, lawnmowers, and chainsaws, not a monster like this.
11:52It is absolutely huge.
11:55I'm trying to explain to Chris, like, how much the Deltic means, and I feel like the only proper way
12:01to do it is to hear the engine.
12:03Yeah, go around this way.
12:05Alex is taking us for a ride.
12:08Luckily, my friend Alex has the key.
12:11What I love to do is I love to put myself in the shoes of an enthusiast in the 1980s.
12:18The only thing that's disconnecting me from that as an authentic experience is the fact that I'm wearing kind of
12:24modern clothes.
12:26You call this modern?
12:28Well.
12:30Go on.
12:31Go on, you go first, Chris.
12:32There's 80s in that.
12:34Yeah.
12:34Definitely.
12:35There's 80s in those, and there's 80s.
12:37You could be in the 80s.
12:38OK, right, I'm trying to link that through my garments as well.
12:44How much horsepower are you about to start out?
12:471,650 horsepower.
12:49Just one single engine.
12:50Yeah.
12:51You ready?
12:52Yeah.
12:53So keep your finger out.
12:54You ready?
12:54Yeah, go on.
12:58Wow.
13:05Oh, yeah, yeah.
13:06Yeah.
13:11It's like starting an engine the size of a house.
13:13Yeah.
13:15That's really cool.
13:16Am I able to do a little haul?
13:20Yeah.
13:21Yeah.
13:22Do a little haul.
13:26Fantastic.
13:32An idol.
13:32It's got a lovely thrum.
13:34It sounds a bit like a Veyron.
13:35Yeah.
13:37And you feel it.
13:37It's in the spirit of your engine.
13:41There you go.
13:42That's a piece.
13:43Nice to...
13:43Yeah, yeah, yeah.
13:47What a thing.
13:48Deltics.
13:49Wow.
13:51Up close, they are mind-bending.
13:53Yeah.
13:54Though not as mind-bending as the language around here.
13:57There are people here who might be kettle bashers or AC bashers.
14:04Sorry, you've got to...
14:05Let's start again.
14:07To bash is actually riding behind the train.
14:10If you're just sitting there and taking numbers, that's vegging.
14:13That's another story.
14:14What?
14:19The Peaks and the 50s have come to blows on station platforms before.
14:26I'm not joking.
14:27No.
14:28Yeah.
14:28Peaks is a...
14:29Is a Class 45, unafessionately named as a kind of a wagon.
14:33There was a newsletter formed called the Merseyside Anti-Wagon Group.
14:37It was basically a group of 50 enthusiasts who really hated Peaks
14:44and they came to blow.
14:46Yes.
14:47Yeah.
14:47And it got serious.
14:49I don't think anything's going to kick off here.
14:53To think.
14:55Any one of this mob could be a Peaks, a 50,
14:57or the dreaded Merseyside Anti-Wagon Group.
15:00What's your preferred traction?
15:02Diesel's preferred traction.
15:04A specific class?
15:0555.
15:0655, so the Deltics.
15:08Yes.
15:09The Peaks and the 50s coexisted,
15:10but you might have had 50 bashers overlapping with Peaks bashers
15:13at Derby Station and then all hell would break loose.
15:16When you say all hell, what do we mean?
15:17Just friendly banter, I would put it,
15:19but it is, it's them and us.
15:21Is it?
15:22We had the East Coast with the Deltics.
15:25The Western region was the 50s.
15:28Well, he's shown me a Deltic
15:29and I have to say,
15:30one of the most interesting vehicles of any type I've ever seen.
15:34I'm a Deltic fan now.
15:35Music to my ears.
15:37And if you liked the Class 55, Chris,
15:40you're going to love its more popular,
15:43rowdy elder brother.
15:46So this is Class 37,
15:48the fifth Class 37 released from the Vulcan Foundry in 1961.
15:52What?
15:54Just over 337s were built between 1960 and 1965.
16:01Today, 44 still operate on the mainline.
16:07Design masterpieces.
16:10These growlers are the lords of thrash.
16:13And I've chased them all over the country.
16:18But the 37, I'd say, has the biggest cult following.
16:22Yeah.
16:23You meet a Class 37 enthusiast
16:26and you'll know about it.
16:27They are diehard
16:28and arguably some of the most committed railway enthusiasts.
16:33I adore 37s.
16:35Not only do they look great,
16:37they make a fantastic racket.
16:39The loco I'm helping to restore is one of them,
16:42but it's a long way from this pristine example.
16:47We're talking a beast of a project.
16:50Six months hard graft on a 105-ton wreck
16:54that's a decade older than Chris.
16:59Today's been about finding his gateway into the railway.
17:02Fabulous. I'm getting it.
17:04And this feels like the right moment
17:07to try and recruit him to Project 37.
17:10There is actually...
17:11I've noticed a bit of a...
17:12The Thomas the Tank Engine Premier
17:13will commence at 5 p.m. in the Mobility Theatre.
17:17Moment passed.
17:18For all other visitors,
17:20the greatest gathering is now closed.
17:23New strategy, get Chris to the pub.
17:27Nice pint of lemonade, I think, is in order.
17:38And the local here is my kind of pub.
17:42This is a representation of railway enthusiasts being everywhere.
17:48It's a class 37.
17:50Right.
17:50The fact that the head exists in a pub car park
17:54just shows how much this class means to railway enthusiasts.
17:59That partly explains why there's a front of a train in a pub,
18:02but not completely.
18:09Check this out, Chris.
18:10Oh, wow.
18:14Even though it might be quiet in here,
18:16you can just hear the sound of diesel engines.
18:19You know, the...
18:19The Deltic, the...
18:26Cheers, Chris.
18:29Today was really glorious.
18:32And I loved the engineering.
18:33This Deltic, there's something extraordinary
18:35about the layout of that engine.
18:37Absolutely.
18:38Ridiculous.
18:38It's why they have such a cult following,
18:40but the locomotive that has the biggest cult following of them all
18:44is the 37.
18:47That thing.
18:47There are 37s that are still operating on the main line
18:5065 years after they've been made.
18:53There are class 37s in preservation
18:54that are owned by enthusiasts.
18:57And there are class 37s that are in pieces.
19:02There's a locomotive that means a lot to me.
19:04Yeah.
19:05Based up in Scotland.
19:07This locomotive operated most consistently over a line
19:12between Inverness and Kyle of Lockhouse
19:14that was saved by my great-great-uncle.
19:18He was the lead campaigner that kept that line going.
19:22Sounds like a fabulous story.
19:23It's a line that means a lot to me
19:25and, crucially, it's a locomotive that means a lot to me.
19:31Where am I going with this, Chris?
19:32Well, cut to the chase.
19:37Would you be up for helping me
19:42with a locomotive in bringing it back to life?
19:48You want me to restore a train with you?
19:50I know, yeah, it's a lot to ask,
19:54but you hear engines that are particularly good.
19:5837.025.
20:00It's up there.
20:01I'm getting, like, goosebumps.
20:05The enthusiasm is infectious.
20:08Indeed.
20:08So I'm infected, but I haven't got a clue how to restore a train.
20:12I've got nothing for you there.
20:14There are people already there who have the expertise.
20:17They have to train people up regularly.
20:19They're volunteers.
20:21For us to lend a hand could be a huge help for them.
20:24So, frankly, you want me to restore a locomotive,
20:27and it's based in Scotland.
20:30Correct.
20:30Where do you live?
20:32London.
20:32I live in Bristol.
20:34Do you like driving?
20:35Good point.
20:37Do you like riding on trains?
20:39I do, Chris.
20:39Yeah, so it's perfect.
20:42Have you always wanted to do this?
20:45Yeah.
20:46Yes.
20:46This is my juice, Chris,
20:48and I hope that you can start to feel that tingle.
20:50Your enthusiasm makes me smile.
20:52I want my inner smile to be watching you love it.
20:56Thanks.
20:56I'm in.
20:58Nice one, Chris.
20:59Fuel up the damer.
21:01Perfect.
21:02Going to a depot in Scotland.
21:04Yes.
21:05Cheers.
21:06Cheers.
21:24Have you heard of Bowness before?
21:26No.
21:27It's in between Glasgow and Edinburgh.
21:29It's a pretty place, especially with the railway,
21:32but it has a very...
21:33It has an industrial grunt to it.
21:36We're bound for Bowness,
21:38home to the Scottish Railway Preservation Society,
21:41a charity that runs the Bowness and Keneal Heritage Railway
21:46and breathes life into dying engines.
21:5037025 is sitting in one of the workshops at Bowness.
21:55Here's a question for you.
21:56You're now a trained superstar.
22:01Is this one of the things that you'd always wanted to do
22:04if you became a trained superstar?
22:06Oh, yeah, but this is it, Chris.
22:08The railway and the railway community have given me so much.
22:12Like, I feel so lucky and privileged
22:14to be in the position that I'm in.
22:17From a personal perspective,
22:19I want to contribute to keeping the engines that I love alive.
22:25And there's nowhere better to do that than here.
22:33So this is Bowness,
22:36home of the SRPS,
22:38Scottish Railway Preservation Society.
22:41They look friendly enough.
22:43Hi, guys. Welcome to Bowness.
22:46Hi. These are for use?
22:48A bit ominous. High-vis straightaway.
22:50The railway is based on safety first.
22:54He'll be along in a minute.
22:57I'm not allowed to cross the border without a high-vis.
23:00It'll be worth it in the end
23:01for a first look at a truly epic project.
23:11Hey, guys.
23:13Welcome to a two-five.
23:17Wow.
23:22Three-seven zero-two-five.
23:25Diesel royalty in distress.
23:30105 tons.
23:321,750 brake horsepower.
23:36Top speed of 90 miles an hour,
23:38but not for a long time.
23:41Some jacks.
23:46That's impressive.
23:50I'm putting time and money
23:52into restoring this wrecked legend.
23:54I just hope Chris isn't having second thoughts.
23:58So we have two special Class 37 dump caps.
24:01Oh, lovely.
24:01Special for you guys.
24:03025 in the front.
24:04You know, we have been put in green high-vis
24:06just to denote that we are inexperienced.
24:09When do we graduate?
24:11Well, later.
24:12Later, OK.
24:14If we do graduate,
24:15we'll join an elite team.
24:19These guys are the Avengers of Heritage Rail.
24:24300 volunteers assembled to restore,
24:28repair and maintain heritage engines,
24:31wagons and carriages.
24:35Chartered accountant by day,
24:37Guy is the numbers guy.
24:41My fascination with trade
24:42came through my OCD-ness.
24:44I realised that there was a number sequence.
24:46Certain ones with noses
24:47had the number three-seven at the beginning.
24:48The long ones had four-seven
24:50and the shorter ones had two-seven and two-six.
24:53That was it.
24:53It was all about numbers.
24:56Alistair is the driver.
24:59Cars never really tickle my fancy.
25:01There's nothing better than being a train driver
25:03in a cab.
25:03Just you, the machine.
25:04It's lovely.
25:05And it's a proud moment
25:07driving something that's maintained
25:08purely by volunteers.
25:09It does bring a wee tear to your eye.
25:13The team needs all the help it can get
25:15with an old girl
25:16born before the moon landings.
25:20She is 65 years old.
25:24Wow.
25:25And, yeah, she's a she,
25:27as far as I'm aware.
25:28Yeah.
25:28Oh.
25:29Let's have a look at the face.
25:31So, when the class 37s
25:34were released from the Vulcan foundry
25:36in the early 60s,
25:37they had these two boxes on either side
25:40to display what's called the head code
25:42that basically classifies
25:44what the locomotive is doing.
25:46For this to be preserved like this
25:48is wonderful,
25:49because so many 37s
25:50have had their split head code box removed.
25:53It gives it a bit of a face.
25:54The reason why these are so popular
25:56with the public
25:57is because they look like dogs.
25:58And people like the look of dogs.
25:59So, this is the number one end.
26:01The number two end is around the back.
26:03That, in another context,
26:03would make me laugh,
26:04the way you said that.
26:05But I'm being more mature now.
26:07Yes, yeah.
26:07Originally,
26:08the number one end
26:10would have, like,
26:10a nice high-pitched horn,
26:12so it would be...
26:14Like that.
26:15Yeah.
26:15And then the other side would be...
26:19Hang on.
26:20Just finding it in my catalogue.
26:23Oh, come on.
26:26But sometimes on that end,
26:28it would have a...
26:29News to me.
26:31No, sorry.
26:32It would have a...
26:35Like that.
26:36It would have a bit of a...
26:37Do you know what I mean?
26:38A bit of reverb.
26:38A bit of...
26:40Sometimes,
26:41the number two end horns
26:42can go into an overtone,
26:43so it can go from a...
26:46And then exceed to the same tone
26:50as the number one end.
26:51So, at one point,
26:52I had a horn that went like this.
26:54It went...
27:00Which is the best combination
27:02of horns that I've ever had.
27:07Brilliant.
27:08Absolutely brilliant.
27:09But I'm less impressed
27:11by the sound
27:12of a suitably massive to-do list.
27:14She needs a full repaint,
27:16and as you can see from up here,
27:19a fair amount of bodywork
27:20before we even start painting it.
27:22Are the engines all right?
27:23The engine needs some work.
27:26It's not run for a year and a half.
27:27Wow.
27:28And she basically needs a new set of wheels.
27:31And it's probably one of the most expensive things.
27:33Anywhere between £150,000 and £300,000.
27:36Good Lord.
27:38That's not what you'd find at QuickFit.
27:40It's absolutely massive.
27:42How on earth are we going to do anything with this?
27:45Well...
27:45That's a massive lump of metal.
27:47These things here are enormous,
27:49and the wheels are, I'm told,
27:50£150,000 to £300,000.
27:52This isn't a quick fix,
27:53and there are little things that need to be...
27:56No shit, Sherlock.
27:56Look at the size of it.
27:58You might have broken me in a bit more gently, though, boss.
28:01I mean, a bit of foreplay would have been nice.
28:02I feel like you've thrown me straight into a big marriage here,
28:05but we'll do our best.
28:06The greatest gathering was foreplay.
28:08Was it?
28:09Yeah.
28:10We need to talk about your foreplay, Francis.
28:14Actually, we need to sit you down, Chris,
28:16because this is the tip of the iceberg.
28:22Do the wheels first.
28:26Now, the engine connects directly to a generator.
28:31Engine turns the generator, current is generated,
28:35feeds into the traction motors,
28:37and the traction motors turn the axles.
28:39The traction motors are housed in a structure called the bogey,
28:44and the bogey also houses the axle boxes,
28:48which the wheels connect to,
28:50the suspension and the brakes.
28:53The centre of the bogey structure links up to the body,
28:57so it can articulate.
28:59Each wheel is connected to an axle, like that.
29:04In terms of the loco's refurbishment,
29:07bogeys are refurbished.
29:09New tyres.
29:11Check the bearings.
29:12We need to refurbish the brakes.
29:14The traction motors need to be refurbished.
29:16Fix rotten bodywork.
29:18Cut it away, re-weld it.
29:20We need to repaint the loco,
29:21so I'm stripping everything back,
29:23and then applying lots of lovely layers of gloss.
29:26We need to check the engine.
29:27We need to check the tappets, the injectors, everything.
29:29We can manually crank it,
29:31just to see if the timing's all in check.
29:33And then, crucially, we can press start,
29:35if it's all good.
29:36Once the refurbished wheels are attached
29:38to the refurbished bogeys, including the brakes,
29:41we can return the body to the refurbished bogeys.
29:44Then new chairs,
29:45and new nameplates.
29:47It's quite daunting.
29:51Mm-hmm.
29:51Really daunting.
29:52And, of course, each of these items
29:54can be expanded into many different sub-jobs.
29:59I might as well just...
30:02..do a...
30:04That's just me putting down the power.
30:07And then you're watching over my shoulder.
30:10I look like Jay from the Inbetweeners.
30:12You look like you've just lost a fight with Mike Tyson.
30:15I like the number, though.
30:17Yeah.
30:17The really important number is the 55,000 foot-pounds of torque,
30:22because a conventionally torquey passenger car
30:26has 300 foot-pounds of torque,
30:28and a monster
30:30has 1,000 foot-pounds of torque.
30:32That would be the most
30:33torquey car
30:34ever made.
30:35It'd be a handful.
30:36So it's 55 times the twisting force
30:38at the crank.
30:40Let's have a game of mercy.
30:42What's mercy?
30:43You know, when you just do that
30:44until you break someone's fingers.
30:45Oh, goodness.
30:46So I would be...
30:48I think I'd be able to beat you,
30:50because I've got more torque than you.
30:51Yeah, yeah.
30:52That's what we're talking about.
30:54Sorry, that's a terrible burp.
30:55You don't want a game?
30:56No, I don't want a game,
30:57because I think I might damage you.
30:58But this is an extraordinary number.
31:00That's why I'm seduced by all of this.
31:03This is Top Trump's.
31:04Indeed.
31:05You find me a car that can beat that in Top Trump's.
31:07There isn't one.
31:08And we're working on it.
31:09I know.
31:10It's a real beast.
31:11How long is the connecting rod of the engine?
31:14I'd say the con rod.
31:16From there.
31:18So it's two feet, really.
31:20Yeah, so imagine that all
31:22going around like that.
31:24Down and up, like that.
31:27And you've got 12 of them.
31:38It's a beast.
31:41And it's not the only beast at Bowness.
31:4537403 is the society's working 37,
31:48and she, too,
31:50is in dire need of an overhaul.
31:53What are they doing?
31:55The tyres are very, very thin.
31:57If it were to slip
31:58to a point where it's critical,
32:00it's out of action.
32:02And that's a huge amount
32:03of revenue lost for the railway.
32:05So what we need to do
32:06is get 025 ready
32:08before 403 goes out of service.
32:11Can we get this done?
32:13Oh, honestly,
32:13I've never done something
32:15as intimate as this
32:17with any locomotive,
32:19and it's going to be heavy.
32:22Best case scenario,
32:24403 limps on till spring,
32:26giving us five months,
32:28which is already a tall order.
32:30This is almost half a year's
32:32worth of work.
32:33Worst case,
32:35403's tyres give out sooner,
32:37slashing our deadline.
32:39I didn't even know
32:40that a train had tyres.
32:46These came off
32:47of class 37025.
32:48These wheel sets
32:49are from our loco.
32:51These need to go down
32:52to the South Devon Railway,
32:54who are one of only
32:56two places in the country
32:57that will put new tyres on.
32:59Chris and Francis,
33:00that's your job.
33:01You need to go down
33:02to the South Devon
33:03and get these tyres taken off
33:05and new tyres put back on.
33:07We will bear
33:08a huge responsibility in Devon.
33:10Tyre replacement
33:11has a tiny margin of error.
33:15That is not a tyre.
33:16That's a ring of metal.
33:18If you've got your wheel,
33:19which is the central part,
33:21and there's a tyre
33:23that's compression fit,
33:24metal on metal.
33:26Am I right in thinking
33:27your other 37,
33:3037403 has quite thin tyres?
33:32Yeah, that's correct.
33:33If we have tread
33:35below the minimum,
33:36it's game over.
33:36You can't run.
33:37So we need to get 025
33:40back in the rails.
33:41We have, quite simply,
33:43a race against time.
33:44Can we see 403?
33:45Of course.
33:46It's just outside the shed doors.
33:47We'll bring it in
33:48and you can see
33:49the width of the tyres.
33:51Sorry, you're going to start it up?
33:52Yeah.
33:52Yes, please.
34:10I've brought Chris
34:12to the Scottish Railway
34:13Preservation Society
34:14to see the loco
34:16we're restoring.
34:17And we're about to see
34:19the engine
34:19she'll replace
34:20in action.
34:22Woo!
34:23There it is.
34:24Can't wait.
34:25So that's their
34:26other Class 37 there.
34:29Nice day for it, Francis.
34:32Come to Scotland, you said.
34:34Look at some trains, you said.
34:36OK, Alistair,
34:37do the honours.
34:38Stand by.
34:45There we go.
34:46That is power.
34:49You'll hear the compressor
34:50kicking in the moment.
34:51Woo!
34:52This is capable
34:53of producing
34:54the best noises
34:55you can hear
34:56on the railway.
34:5837403
34:59is more than a jewel
35:00in the crown
35:01of the Heritage Line
35:02and a darling
35:03of 37 Bachelors.
35:04It performs
35:05vital services
35:07on the main line,
35:08pulling the Caledonian
35:09sleeper,
35:10shunting locos,
35:11earning thousands
35:12a day
35:13in vital funds.
35:19Now you hear it.
35:20You hear the symphony.
35:24And the smell.
35:26You know,
35:27each locomotive
35:28has a slightly
35:29different smell.
35:30Are you sure
35:31about that?
35:31I'm 100%.
35:32Could you do
35:33a Pepsi smell test
35:34with these?
35:35I think I could.
35:36I'm down for that.
35:37I'm more down.
35:38for a close encounter
35:40with 403's tyres.
35:42I've never been
35:43in an inspection pit
35:44with a 37.
35:46So this is the gauge
35:47that we use.
35:48They're all calibrated.
35:49Clamp that on
35:50and you screw them up.
35:52What we'll get
35:53is the tyre thickness.
35:55So the thickness
35:56on this is 53 millimetres.
35:58You can't go
35:59any lower than 43.
36:00We're one side away
36:01from being goosed,
36:02as the saying goes.
36:03These don't stop
36:04like a car.
36:05It can take up
36:05to two miles
36:06to stop a train
36:07from 100 mile an hour.
36:08So it's all
36:10very scary stuff.
36:12So this
36:12needs some work
36:14and we've got to
36:15get on with doing
36:15that one
36:16so this can be worked on?
36:17Yes.
36:18It's imperative
36:18that we've got
36:19a backup local
36:20ready to fill
36:21the gap that this leaves.
36:24It's a noble cause
36:25I can get on board with
36:26but where do you start
36:28with a project
36:29this big?
36:31You start
36:32by suiting up.
36:35Are you doing
36:36trousers off?
36:37Yeah, I'm going
36:38to get hot in there
36:38otherwise aren't I?
36:44Those cords
36:45are going to be
36:45warm in there now
36:46aren't they?
36:47It's alright.
36:49We are wearing
36:51the locomotive
36:51that we are fixing.
36:52Look how proud
36:53you are!
36:54That grin
36:55and that body language
36:56reminds me of one thing
36:57and it's a really
36:58lovely moment for me
36:59it's when my youngest
37:01did his first
37:01stand-up way.
37:05Show me the grinder.
37:09Best thing
37:10is to clear
37:11round here
37:12taking these
37:12back down
37:13to the absolute
37:14bare metal
37:14OK?
37:15Sounds good
37:16thank you.
37:17Chris and I
37:18are launching
37:19our partnership
37:19with a filthy job.
37:21Four of 025's wheels
37:23have been stripped
37:24and primed green.
37:26Stripping the other
37:27four is our
37:28responsibility.
37:29The only thing
37:30between these
37:31heading down
37:32to the South
37:32Devon Railway
37:33to get their tyres
37:34done
37:34is basically
37:36us cleaning
37:36this bilf off.
37:38Wow, like you
37:38really have to
37:39chisel it.
37:40Yeah.
37:40It's a two-stage
37:41process.
37:42I've got some
37:43really gnarly bits
37:44up here I cannot
37:44shift.
37:45Stage one
37:46hand scrape
37:47the thickest
37:48crud
37:48from around
37:49the hub.
37:50I used to test
37:51supercars for a
37:51living, mate.
37:52Now look what I do.
37:53A scrape
37:54crud off wheels.
37:57I'm finding this
37:58rather satisfying.
37:59This is punishment.
38:01I remembered
38:02what this crud
38:03actually is
38:03and it just
38:04made it
38:05even more
38:06enjoyable.
38:07This crud
38:08is 37-025's
38:10accumulated
38:11juices, really.
38:14If I said that
38:16I'm basically
38:16cancelled.
38:17He says that
38:18it's cute.
38:19I love it.
38:20It's just the way
38:20the world works
38:21isn't it?
38:22Got a bead on
38:23now.
38:23Have you got a bead
38:24on now?
38:25A bead?
38:26Yeah.
38:26Bristol in for a
38:27sweat on, mate.
38:28Come on, son.
38:30I've certainly
38:30got a bead on
38:32underneath my
38:33corduroy trousers.
38:37Phrases I never
38:37thought I'd hear.
38:41My first
38:42high-vis filth.
38:43You haven't even
38:44started yet.
38:45What you're about
38:46to do next will
38:48we'll get you
38:49looking like this.
38:50OK?
38:51It's taken two
38:52hours to scrape
38:53off just the
38:54first layer.
38:55This now requires
38:56a power tool.
38:57The next stage
38:58is to use
38:59angle grinders
39:00with wire brush
39:01heads to bring
39:02the wheels back
39:03to bare metal.
39:04A correction.
39:05The next stage
39:06is lunch.
39:08I love this
39:09space.
39:10I love the shed.
39:10I like the people.
39:12But I thought
39:13you were going to
39:13say let's go to
39:14Tokyo, Shinkansen,
39:16let's go to
39:16Orient Express.
39:18But actually
39:18we are right
39:20next to a
39:20massive chemical
39:22refinery and
39:23factory in
39:25Scotland.
39:25I'm going to be
39:26here quite a lot.
39:27This is like the
39:27core of kind of
39:29sort of British
39:30industry really.
39:31Big engineering
39:33gives big
39:34longevity.
39:34The idea that
39:35that's 60 years
39:36old and actually
39:37still go out and
39:37work.
39:38The B-52 bomber
39:40I think is the
39:40only military
39:42or sort of
39:43commercial grade
39:44vehicle that
39:44still operates
39:45at that age.
39:45Is that right?
39:46I'd say so.
39:47Yeah.
39:49I do like
39:50seeing you
39:50around stuff
39:51that makes you
39:51go all
39:52juddery.
39:52The two
39:53Type 37s,
39:54that was quite
39:54something.
39:55Yeah.
39:56Just for
39:57future reference,
39:59it's Class
40:0037.
40:02The Class
40:0337 is a
40:03Type 3.
40:04So within
40:05the Type 3
40:06bracket, you
40:07have others
40:07like the
40:08Class 35.
40:09There's
40:09something very
40:09particular about
40:10this that's
40:10interesting.
40:11It's not
40:11actually the
40:12classification,
40:12it's the fact
40:13that you can
40:13actually, within
40:14your world, you
40:15can deploy that
40:16level of pedantry
40:17without actually
40:18getting punched
40:18in the face.
40:19If I was in a
40:20car meet and
40:20I went, actually,
40:22it's not an
40:23E60, it's an
40:23E61 because
40:24it's the estate,
40:25someone would
40:25hit me in the
40:26knackers and
40:26walk off.
40:27But in your
40:27world, you can
40:28do that because
40:29you're nice
40:29people.
40:30I think it's
40:30quite important
40:30there.
40:31All the
40:33people, which
40:34is increasingly
40:34not very
40:34pleasant, doesn't
40:36belong here, is
40:36it?
40:36People are
40:37polite, nice
40:37tute.
40:38Yeah.
40:39It's kind of
40:40like an
40:41alternative to
40:42going to the
40:42pub.
40:43You're still, you
40:44know, doing
40:45stuff with
40:46mates, but
40:46you're actually
40:47just using a
40:48spanner rather
40:49than pulling a
40:50pint.
40:51It feels like a
40:52good thing to
40:53do and I can
40:55see the appeal.
40:56It also feels
40:57like an
40:58insurmountable
40:59task.
41:01Even with an
41:01industrial angle
41:02grinder, it
41:03stage two of
41:04wheel prep, is
41:05the kind of
41:06backbreaking toil
41:07I like to pay
41:08other people to
41:08do.
41:10I'm allowed to
41:11say this on
41:11camera, but
41:11Francis has
41:12clearly got the
41:13better knack of
41:13this.
41:14Chris thinks he's
41:15going to hurt the
41:15wheel somewhere.
41:16I think he must
41:16think it's a car
41:17wheel or something.
41:18Francis definitely
41:19looks better at the
41:20moment.
41:21At the end of the
41:21day, this is a team
41:22effort, so I'd like to
41:23think we're all
41:24winning together.
41:27It's essential the
41:28metal is spotless for
41:30paint to adhere to
41:31it.
41:31And now we've
41:32entered the fun
41:33stage.
41:35It's torture, but
41:37it's rewarding
41:38torture.
41:41The reward is that
41:42lovely finish.
41:43It's a touch thing.
41:44You go from that
41:44surface there, which is
41:45fingernails down,
41:46blackboard finish, and
41:47this is just smooth,
41:49expensive bit of
41:50metal.
41:51Look at that.
41:51the water.
42:00Well done.
42:01You're absolutely
42:02knackered, aren't you?
42:03All told, it's taken us
42:05three hours to clean
42:06four wheels.
42:07And though it looks like
42:08a drop in a massive
42:09ocean, our restoration
42:10has begun.
42:15Yeah, I felt a bit like
42:16a Jack Russell that
42:17smelt a rat under a
42:19bundle of hay, just not
42:21stopping until I have that
42:23rat in my mouth.
42:29Is this now ready to go to
42:31Devon?
42:31That's now ready.
42:32Pan cleaned.
42:33It's now ready to go.
42:34To Devon?
42:35Yes.
42:36Cream teas.
42:38Jam on first or cream on
42:39first.
42:40Cream then jam.
42:41Cream then jam.
42:42Makes sense to me.
42:43Jam then cream.
42:44Do you put jam on before
42:45butter on toast or what?
42:46I mean, it doesn't
42:47say logical.
42:48No, it's jam before
42:48cream.
42:49But why are you going
42:50with the less viscous
42:51option first?
42:53Oh, he's done you there.
42:55He's used the word
42:56viscous.
42:56You're done.
43:10I mean, it doesn't
43:26mean, it doesn't
43:26mean, it doesn't
Comments