Thread: An interesting tv show

Originally Posted by welder

Brilliant TV Series. Fred Dibnah was a legend in the Traction Engine Restoration community in the UK. Unfortunately, Fred died from cancer a few years ago.

He made many TV shows for the BBC over a period of about 25 years. Initially, the shows were about his work as a Steple Jack. He was one of few Steple Jacks who still worked using the old fashioned methods. There are quite a few shows where he demonstrates the traditional techniques for felling the old 200 or 300 feet high brick chimneys that were used in the old Victorian age factories in the UK. Basically, he knocks a big hole in one side of the base of the chimney, stacks a heap of old timber, tyres, anything else that burns well, and lights it. After a few hours of burning, the heat breaks down the mortar and down the chimney comes in, a very controlled manner, and exactly where he want it to fall - quite spectactuar. The same series also shows him working on the top of very tall church steples. When he starts climbing those tall steples and chimneys , using vertical ladders roped to the side of the structure - you need a good head for heights. I get vertigo just watching him perched on top of a 300 foot high steple, replacing the top stone and the weather cock.

Once the BBC got him started as a TV presenter, he did many other TV series covering topics that included; Traction Engine Restoration, Industrial Archeology, Traditional Building Techniques (castles, cathedrals, etc), steam railways, and much more. In his quest to learn about the 18th and 19th century engineering techniques used in the underground coal mining industry in the UK, he built, from scratch, a working steam engine powered pit head in his suburban backyard. That was subject of a whole series on it's own.

I don't think that any of his shows have ever made it onto Australian Free to Air TV, but maybe they've been on PayTV. I first saw some of his shows in UK TV when I was living there in 2000. I got hooked, and have since managed to buy most of the DVDs of his series from the BBC Internet Shop.

If you can get to see his TV shows, they are great viewing. Unfortunately, there won't be any new ones .....

Regards,

Roy

Most of his television shows are on that channel. Maybe if I start building a traction engine now I can have it done when I'm retired

Perhaps it can be said ,they don't make like that any more.

Men or machines.

Grahame

Originally Posted by AussieRoy

There are quite a few shows where he demonstrates the traditional techniques for felling the old 200 or 300 feet high brick chimneys that were used in the old Victorian age factories in the UK. Basically, he knocks a big hole in one side of the base of the chimney, stacks a heap of old timber, tyres, anything else that burns well, and lights it. After a few hours of burning, the heat breaks down the mortar and down the chimney comes in, a very controlled manner, and exactly where he want it to fall - quite spectactuar. Roy

Roy, you seem to have missed an essential step in the sequence.

1. He knocks the hole in the chimney wall, gradually opening it to about 1/3 of the chimney circumference. The opening will eventually determine the direction of fall.
2. As he is doing that, he packs up the wall with lengths of upright timber power or phone pole to stop the chimney collapsing prematurely.
3. Then he builds the fire across the opening.
4. When he and relevant authorities are satisfied with weather conditions, traffic control, site evacuation and other safety issues, he lights the fire and gets it roaring. The chimney draws the fire from outside, through the timber supports, and up the chimney flue. The fire consumes a substantial portion of the props in the opening which are supporting about 1/3 of the chimney weight. Once the are burnt through sufficiently, they collapse under the weight, leaving the chimney unsupported above the initial opening, and it collapses there, drawing the rest of the chimney with it.
5. When he senses that it is about to go, he issues a final warning with his rubber bulb horn or other noise maker, then runs like crazy as the chimney starts to fall.

Definitely spectacular, always seemed to draw an audience, but in his preserved steam series, he mentions that he regrets destroying chimneys, but it's part of the job.

Brilliant