Episode
MegaStructures: Train Wreck
Overview
Railroads are the backbone of American industry. 170,000 miles of track crisscross the country from coast to coast, moving two quadrillion tons of freight every year. But nothing lasts forever, and that includes a couple of 180-ton locomotives. Their engine technology is inefficient so they're headed for the scrap dealer where they'll be cut down and cannibalised. Any salvageable parts must come out intact for resale, while any leftover metals – like steel and copper – will be cut up, melted down and ultimately reformed into new products. In this business, nothing goes to waste. Take an inside look at the unknown world of scrap, where locomotives go to die and be reborn
Details
- Series
- MegaStructures
- Season
- Season 6
- Episode
- Episode 4
- Air date
- 2009-03-24
- Runtime
- 60 min
Episode context
Train Wreck is Episode 4 in Season 6 of MegaStructures. It aired on 2009-03-24. The runtime is 60 min.
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Episode 3: Grand Canyon Skywalk
In the extreme Russian north a team of engineers are ready to dismantle a Typhoon-class submarine – the world's largest nuclear submarine. In its heyday, this monster sub was a terrifying weapon of war. It prowled the oceans of the world armed with 20 deadly nuclear missiles. Now that the Cold War is over, the Typhoon is ready for demolition. But dismantling a submarine with two nuclear reactors is a risky mission. It will take the team over a year to remove the radioactive nuclear fuel, move the submarine into the dry dock and cut its hull into pieces small enough for recycling.
Episode 5: Train Wreck
Three teams of engineers are locked in a race to harness what may be the most powerful form of green energy: swift tidal currents and battering waves, the power of the oceans. Each team believes it can solve a portion of the world's energy needs. They're testing three different machines designed to be placed in the water and convert oceanic energy into electricity. But getting the machine from the design stage to implementation is a difficult challenge and now each team prepares to install their systems and turn them on for the first time. If they succeed, they could radically change the way we power our planet.
More episodes from this season
Episode 2: Soviet Doomsday Sub
Perched 4,000 feet above the Colorado River on the very edge of the Grand Canyon is one of the most recent and innovative engineering marvels of our time. The Grand Canyon Skywalk, opened to the public in March 2007, is an engineering masterpiece united with natural wonder. It is the first ever cantilever designed glass bridge. Constructed in a horseshoe shape, visitors are given the chance to walk out over the edge of the canyon and look straight down. It's about 4,000 feet above the canyon, which is higher than any of the world's largest buildings and extends 70 feet from the edge. Take a closer look at the Skywalk's design, construction and the people that made it a reality.
Episode 6: Electric Ocean
The only purpose-built "flying crane" in existence, the Air-Crane heavy lift-helicopter is the most powerful helicopter workhorse in the world. It does extra-heavy, brute-force work with surgical precision thanks to its ability to keep its hanging load from twisting or swinging while aloft. It's also the only helicopter in the world with an aft-facing pilot seat to allow the payload to be strategically placed.
Episode 1: Miami Super Stadium
The Orange Bowl, home to the Miami Dolphins for 21 seasons and host of five Super Bowls is about to be demolished. It’s a monster breakdown job, with a monster deadline: in just four months, a demolition team needs to clear over a quarter million feet of stadium to prepare for a new stadium. Not only is there a tight timetable, everything must be salvaged or recycled. But before the team can break down the stadium, they have to save parts of it. After a memorabilia company combs the bowl for collectibles and auctions off what they salvage, it’s finally time for the demolitionists to get their hands on the bowl. 50,000 left over orange seats, nearly 100,000 square feet of turf, and eight ten-ton stadium light towers are recycled or resold, freeing the team to take down the stadium itself. Using a combination of wrecking balls and mega machines, they cut, pull and pummel this historic structure until it’s nothing more than rubble. The iconic Orange Bowl, is about to be history.
Episode 7: Extreme Helicopter
Breaking through over 40 feet of ice demands a vessel of incredible power. That's where the Icebreaker comes into its own. These behemoths keep the world's shipping lanes open during the harshest of conditions, making them vital to the global economy. Follow the construction of a vessel that can break ice and carry cargo at the same time: the Arctic Icebreaking Containership. This is the largest commercial icebreaker ever built.
Episode 8: Icebreaker
This installment follows the demolition of a 40-year-old rocket launch tower at Cape Canaveral. This tough, 90m high structure represents a massive logistical challenge for a family of demolition experts. Up to a third of the building’s entire weight must be stripped out before the tower can be imploded. Workers must brave high winds at great heights to ensure charges are planted correctly.
Episode 9: Super Sky Tram
For over 40 years the Big Red Box at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, carried skiers, hikers, paragliders and sightseers up to the 3,400-metre summit of Rendezvous Mountain. But nothing lasts forever, so when cable inspector Norm Duke found evidence of stress fractures inside the aging steel track cables, there was no choice but to tear down and replace Jackson's iconic aerial tram. At a cost of US$31 million, this two year construction project is a top-to-bottom, state-of-the-art replacement. It will operate in 120 kph winds and minus 30°C temperatures, all with the quiet precision of a giant Swiss watch. Construction crews battle a record-breaking snowfall, zero visibility, high winds and impassable mud-slick mountain roads to build its five towers and two terminals, and string more than ten miles of heavy steel cable as they risk their lives in a battle to finish before winter closes in.
Episode 10: John Deere
Episode 11: Skyscraper
Episode 12: The World's Tallest TV Tower
Episode 13: Super Sky Tram
For over 40 years the Big Red Box at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, carried skiers, hikers, paragliders and sightseers up to the 3,400-metre summit of Rendezvous Mountain. But nothing lasts forever, so when cable inspector Norm Duke found evidence of stress fractures inside the aging steel track cables, there was no choice but to tear down and replace Jackson's iconic aerial tram. At a cost of US$31 million, this two year construction project is a top-to-bottom, state-of-the-art replacement. It will operate in 120 kph winds and minus 30°C temperatures, all with the quiet precision of a giant Swiss watch. Construction crews battle a record-breaking snowfall, zero visibility, high winds and impassable mud-slick mountain roads to build its five towers and two terminals, and string more than ten miles of heavy steel cable as they risk their lives in a battle to finish before winter closes in.