It'd have been an obvious choice to put a camera on a bucket. And I did! But as you can see from the video, we were battling intermittent rainstorms all day, and unfortunately the shots didn't work here. However, I hope you'll enjoy next week's 18-minute-long video, "An Unedited, Rain-Soaked Ride on Claughton's Aerial Ropeway".
Can you imagine the amount of fuel savings, labor hours ( truck drivers ) and lack of pollution this ropeway has been responsible for over its lifetime? Well done to the engineers of yesterday.
I wonder if it could compete cost-wise with a truck, a digger, and a couple of drivers though. The maintenance cost of the ropeway is likely higher and fuel costs for that short of a distance would be low. The capital cost of the ropeway must be far higher (though long amortized away). As for labour, I'd guess that the number of people would be about the same. Using trucks would be much more scalable (up or down). For pollution though the ropeway takes the prize by far.
Tom could tell me that the literal fountain of youth was located in the north west, known to a small population of immortal villagers, and I would absolutely believe him
honestly Simon there could be anything up there. Much like the sea, only a fraction of it has been explored. Rumour has it there are barbarians scattered about, but I struggle to believe it personally. The plot of Star Trek Insurrection taking place in the North West would be incredibly on brand. The nebula simply being the surrounding wilderness.
You're not wrong. Not industrial as such, but when I lived in Yorkshire, I went out on my bike, and on the moors, I encountered a couple of blokes repairing a dry stone wall. I was fascinated, and their explanation of how they did it, was like poetry. I gave them a few quid each to get a pint at lunchtime, and left them to it. Made my day, that did.
The fact that the computer design matched the design from a century ago is truly astounding. It reminds me of a quote from a comic, Crécy, that went "These things are going to look primitive to you, but you have to remember that we're not stupid. We have the same intelligence as you. We simply don't have the same cumulative knowledge you do. So we apply our intelligence to what we have".
It's really not as amazing as it sound. It's a simple mechanism and it's not like mathematics are a recent invention. Simply means that the engineers back than did a good job. And because of its simplicity, there's really not much to be gained from implementing newer technology.
My late father worked at a mine in the northern Pennines in the 50’s and 60’s. Not only was their aerial ropeway used for transporting the rock, he also used it to get to work from the family home at the bottom of the fell each day by riding up in the bucket. Some of the metal and concrete footings are still visible near the mine.
@@blessedslave- True! And it would probably only work, because he was just "1" guy, at under the Personal Weight of the "1/4 Ton Per Bucket" of Payload Weight ... the Weight going down the Hill (X many Buckets), if it was the same as "This Example!" Just as a Modern Elevator uses a "Counter Balance" of the Weight of the "Elevator Cabin" plus approximately 50% of the Listed "Carry Weight", to reduce the Load on the Lifting Winch, is a Balanced Calculation, These Ropeway Systems, are more like "More Mass is Moving Downhill than is moving Uphill" (Probably why this presenter stated, "Only Brakes" in his delivery, as opposed to Fuel, Electricity, used to power it! Just as a Glider (Or, its more "Efficient Twin", the "Sailplane!") Once raised up into Rising Thermals, or Ridge Slope Winds, can Gain Altitude, without an engine, it's "Engine" is simply that it is getting More "Lift" from the Air going Up, than it is Losing by "Sinking!" (Glide Ratios of 20:1 {Travels 20 Feet Forward, per 1 Foot of Sink}, for basic Gliders, to greater than 50:1, for High Performance Sailplanes!) These Ropeways are moving, via Gravity, more Mass Down, that needs to move Up! Hence the "Brake!" Something not mentioned, in any detail, was, is that a "Manual Brake" Only, or does it use the principle of Spinning Weights, and Limits, in a "Governor" principle!
That's why I laugh at all those silly "HOW DID ANCIENT GREEKS/EGYPTIANS/AZTECS BUILD THIS?!?!" videos. Humans are smart, and have been long before CAD/CAM.
The computer programmes are only as smart as the people who design them. The advantage computers have is doing calculations many times faster than humans can.
True enough, but there's a big difference: Before computers we designed with (usually!) plenty margin, and constructions were built to last. Now, when I'm designing anything there's always a pencil pusher behind me going "make it thinner and cheaper" and "that's only a risk if it rains more than 2 days in a row..." etc etc. Nothing is built truly durable anymore. I really wish it were different.
The Saturn V was built with slide rules, paper, and god only knows how many white/blackboards. Even today we struggle to reach the levels of precision and sheer determination that they showed in building a skyscraper full of high explosives to put men on the moon!
it would be cool to go back in time and bring the person that designed this to 2036, and show them how perfect their design was, and how the thing they made not only ran perfectly, but completely finished the job.
I’d like to imagine that Tom chose which person to interview by lining them all up and asking them all to say ‘bucket’ and picking which one said it in the best accent
"unless money is constantly spent to keep it in working order, it'll decay into an unsafe blot on the landscape' you perfectly summed up everything kept for heritage value - people think everything should be kept but few are willing to spend the required upkeep costs.
“The computer matched what a person with a slide rule and a pencil did” That’s why I love to learn the method behind how stuff is designed, our parents and grandparents managed to build incredible things with nothing more than their collective brain power and some scratch paper. We flew across oceans, united continents and went to space based on the power of math and a sturdy writing implement.
honestly if it does come down, they should make a 1/1000 scale replica in a museum near by , smaller if need be - with a few buckets and one of the towers to give scale. Its important to keep the old technologies in mind, as well as the study that was conducted nearly 100-130 years later with computer modeling showing that technology 100 years + ago , the individuals reponsible for the design took the knowledge vested across the nation to do what humans do, build upon proven technology - giving something that is 100+ years old and still running strong. Yes the digging is not green, but the fact that it was not electrically powered or anything over the last 100+ years , imagine how much carbon it would have emited.
Wouldn't do anything less than about 1:87 scale (which is common HO model train sized) - anything less will be hard to see the detail. If you go a bit bigger maybe around 1:8 scale (common for "live steamers" miniature ride-on trains) you could have a fits-in-the-room mock-up hands on demonstrator with sand or something.
When I was younger (6-11) I built a Lego version of this. It did not work well because it was difficult keeping the timing right. I had no idea that this ropeway existed until now and it is cool to see that something I thought of when I was a kid using my imagination, ended up being something that is used in real life.
Not Mentioned in detail in this, was what kind of "Brake" was used! For Example, take Two "Cans *Of Soup", one in each Hand, and stand on a "Lazy Susan" or The Center of any freely Rotating, or "Rotatable ?" Platform, have someone spin you a bit, then "Extend and Retract your Hands with these "Cans of Soup" in them! Just like a Figure Skater, your rate of rotation will change, as your hands move out, or in to your sides! This is part of the Principle of a "Governor" for a Motor! One more would be a "Heavy Flywheel" to maintain the "Inertia" that is variable, (in these cases) by Loaded Buckets entering, and Exiting the Ropeway! 😁
It's so cool that Tom mentioned this was sent to him by a person who passed it on the road... just goes to show the most amazing things can be hidden right in front of you.
I agree. I drive under this all the time as a Lancaster local. It never crossed my mind that this is something Tom would be interested in. Maybe he'd also be interested in the canal boat lift down in Falkirk. (Edit, literally as I wrote this I went to search for what it was called (The Falkirk Wheel) and discovered that he's already done a video on it haha!)
@@DRXParadox devils bridge and Sunderland point maybe? Also the old kart track senna used to race at at heysham head, though nothing to see there now unfortunately. Though there's some cool graves carved into stones near there too
I expect to see an identically looking Tom in 15yrs time covering the closure of the ropeway in a follow up video, still wondering if he's 14, 40, or 64.
@@ipissed I don’t think they’re saying that perpetual motion drives this machine, just that there seems to be a lot of interesting things hidden in the north west of England (possibly a perpetual motion machine).
The "Infinity Train" in Western Australia is also gravity fed, designed to charge batteries as it descends loaded from the inland mines to the coastal ports. The charged batteries then propel the empty train back up the hills to the mine. The train weighs about 34,000 tons, is about 3km long, traveling down from 600m elevation (mine) to sea level (port). They figure on saving about 84 million liters of diesel per year.
I was wondering how many examples are left worldwide - I'm wondering why the batteries though? Why not just send an empty train back up with the descent?
@@sroberts605 the trains are not connected to each other, the trains are 3km long each (longest one is over 7km long) but the distance from mine to coast can be over 1000km. how would you send the empty one back up using another going down?
@@sroberts605 It probably is only 1 rail? To send the empty one up you need 2 rails or at least a 2 rail line somewhere in the middle so they can pass.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg has one you can ride on (or at least it still did last time I was there) although it isn't gravity powered. It is one of the options for transport between different sections of the park.
@@SuperBobKing Aerial trams are everywhere. The novelty here is doing something that it isn't meant for. Regulations and insurance rules may have made it unfeasibly risky for the management, but you know that at some time in the last century someone has ridden a bucket or two.
The Red Owl grocery store in my UP hometown growing up...crazy conveyor belt thingy that delivered totes of grocery bags curbside to yr car... Us kids couldn't even imagine what that ride was like...though we had theories
The modern version of this is the electric dump truck in Biel, Switzerland that never needs plugging in. It takes its load downhill, and uses regenerative braking to recover the energy needed from driving uphill, but empty.
@@terrystearns1196 The energy comes from the potential energy of the ore/tock which is located higher than where it is dropped off. The energy to load the truck is going to be exponentially less than the potential energy released from the height difference
But the dump truck needs batteries to store the energy surely, which means a lot of pollution just mine the metals for them, they probably need changing every so many years as well. The tyres will wear away and need replacing. Yes the wire rope needs replacing on this system, but I bet the energy and pollution required for that are far less than that needed for the dump trucks batteries
100 year old British Aerial Ropeway ingenuity is amazing, it's always been green and is still productive. It's an inspiration for the rest of us in the world.
Quarrying and brickmaking are never likely to be seen as "green" industries, but in a world where we are seeking to reduce carbon emissions transporting goods downhill purely by gravity seems like a very sensible idea. There must be many other applications where a similar type of aerial ropeway could be used to replace conveyor belts and/or trucks.
You need material for building - and you're gonna have to quarry it somewhere. Doesn't matter if it's shale, wood,, steel, or sand for concrete. Bricks are good. They last a long time (if well made and well cared for), can be recycled more easily than any of the others, and they're bricks! Bricks are cool.
Apparently they require 4 people to operate and that would be about £160k per year to operate + maintenance costs. (Converted Norwegian salary to Pound sterling) And, it doesn't seem like it is able to transport that much. Enough for that factory, but not enough for those that export.
@@H.D.83 dump truck would absolutely destroy the road they go through that building a proper road is economically impossible. I'd say aerial trolley preserve the environment these rocks have to go through.
@@phil.i.am2 RUclips has Issues... if you wanna know a way to help, tell me. I claim to know one. Daring claim? Maybe. But i still say so and ask you to ask me about it. I fought Racism, Sexism, P0rn, Spam-Bots and P-Spam-Bots before - and you can do this too. So my claim.
Theres a few railways opperating on a similar principle aswell. "famously" the trains that take swedish ore to norwegian year-round harbors and then bring the empty carriages back are net-energy producing because the trains use regenerative braking and the route is mostly downhill from sweden
Yes, gravity-worked railway inclines used to be very common in the UK but the only one still working is at the Bowes Railway. A number of cliff railways (funiculars) operate on a similar principle by having a tank of water under the carriages which is filled to make the top carriage heavier than the bottom one.
@@DrLoverLover if you are talking to me. im talking about the kiruna to narvik railway which atleast as im aware is somewhere around net-zero to net-positive energy. due to how heavy the ore trains are going down hill.
Pedants on both sides, I should say. You could argue this is correct (Power is rate of work, is gravity "work"?) I'll let cleverer people battle this out but try to remember that this doesn't matter. Hugs to all.
I worked as a mechanical designer for a German ropeway company many years ago. I am glad to see that some installations ( although from a competitor) still exist. 👍🤩
There is actually a quary in Péry in Switzerland where they use electric hauler trucks that do not require charging. They have to drive their load down to the cement plant and can recuperate enough power to drive up the mountain empty.
@@MA22 It takes less energy to drive up since the trucks are empty; you can get more energy since on the way down you're carrying a load with its own potential energy
@@rickrickston3202 I would assume the truck charges using rotational energy when driving downhill. Unless the downhill path is longer than driving uphill, they would have to charge at some point. The extra potential energy would be taken care of by the brakes since you don't want to roll down a hill the speed of light. Extra weight shouldn't affect how much energy is recharged since it doesn't affect the number of rotations downhill vs uphill. Note: I'm not a physicist, correct me if I am wrong. Apologies for the essay, idk how to explain my thoughts shorter.
@@dougaltolan3017 It does make sense that there is more energy exerted downhill than what you need to go uphill. Now i need to learn how regenerative breaking works.
I must point out that at least two companies still make this: Leitner-Poma group and Doppelmayr-Garaventa group. These things still exist and work well, and are still used in certain environments.
This is just about as elegant a solution with gravity as the Romans pulled off with their aqueducts. I'll bet there are more old gravity tricks that have just been forgotten over the years. One that comes to mind are the pendulum weights in old grandfather clocks. To keep the clock running, you just pulled down a counter weight every few days.
Long case clocks (people know them as Grandfather clocks but that's actually wrong),you didn't wind,but pulled a cord,starting the pendulum, which powered the clock !
@@JP-xd6fm watches that use springs, that you wind,are still being made,but cost many thousands of pounds, due to being made by hand. They are incredibly labour intensive, due to the precision required, and have become simply a toy of rich men, a way to show of wealth, like hand made silk suits . l think most of us would end up telling time by the sun :)
@@helentee9863 I have two hand wound watches at home that aren't even a hundred pounds. A proper gold one also goes for a lower price than a battery powered one. Hand wound watches are just inconvenient, and their price reflects that. The only ones that are more expensive (in general) than battery powered ones are those that wind themselves up through motion.
I don’t think I’ve ever been disappointed when clicking on a Tom Scott video. You literally always deliver. Thank you for your work. I love this channel. It teaches me about a lot of things I would’ve never known about
The new age version is the electric trucks of some (Swiss?) quarry that is above the processing plant. Empty ev monster dump trucks trundle up the hill empty, pick up a load of rock and use regen braking to charge the truck on the downhill trip. Brilliant!
I am now unreasonably upset that a thing I had no idea existed 10 minutes ago has an expiration date and will soon be gone forever. It really does feel like something historically significant that should be preserved, although I guess I understand why that's not feasible. Thank you for bringing this and so many other 'lasts' to our attention!
This is why you need to go and appreciate the things you have while they're still here and while you still can. The Notre Dame could have burned down and you'd never be able to visit it.
It's like discovering a brilliant musician, singer, or artist, and being utterly thrilled by their work - only to discover that they had died a few years ago.
Think of it... 15 years is enough to grow from a baby to a teenager with their own life and dreams. 15 years is enough to found a family of a few. 15 years is enough to rebuild our World. (Telecom&Internet) But 15 years is also enough to destroy the lives of millions and shatter the dreams of a dozen times more. 15 years may seem like a short time but there is so much that happens within them. I can't even Imagine how the World will look like then. Maybe the same as now, maybe so much different someone from the 1900s would better fit into now then we into then! (If someone in 2036 reads this, may you have a nice day! The same of course also applies to anyone else! :D )
Excellent, I lived near an aerial ropeway growing up in Peterborough, it was used for the brickworks at Eye. Luckily I took photos before it was lost in the eighties. Where it crossed roads there was steel matting to catch any clay which fell out. Long may it continue. Good work Tom.
Some say that the quality of engineering has since went down. That is obviously untrue, but it turns out when engineers are more constrained they come up with fascinating solutions. When fossil fuel and electric driving systems were not as prolific, they came up with fascinating mechanical solutions!
One significant change that has happened in in designed lifespans - a lot of Victorian engineering projects were designed to last 100 years (and overshot considerably); more modern designs tend to both assume they'll be replaced or upgraded long before they've been operating a century, and be a lot better at not overshooting their design specs by as much.
@@Stephen-Fox Underground conveyor belts wouldn't be used here, in fact they typically aren't whenever the raw material is equal height or higher than where it is processed. Plus far too expensive for shale of all things.
@@alexnoman1498 Yes, you can do a lot with weight. The Rothensee boat lift moves 5,400t with only 8x 44kW elektro engines because of counterweigths making it possible.
I dont know why, but when Tom said 'the last bucket' i kinda became emotional and sad. For some reason i feel bad for a piece of history i've never even seen before this video
There is something about this piece of engineering that I find peaceful and brilliant at the same time. The perpetual nature of this is wonderful to see
The rope is moved because the shale-laden carts going down are heavier than the empty ones coming up. If there's nothing loaded into the system it will stop moving. Is that what you mean by perpetual?
I love your channel my current gf and I have watched every episode since before last November you deleted a bunch of videos but it’s okay we already saw them haha
I've driven under that ropeway a few times in my younger days! There actually used to be two ropeways originally, I'm surprised Tom didn't point that out. I can't recall when the other one was decommisioned...
It reminds me of the last log flume in the US, used for floating logs down the mountain to the sawmill. It was nine miles long, and operated until 1986.
And then in California, we saved all those trees, which increased the fuel density and lead to massive wildfires that destroyed entire ecosystems rather than a controllable burn.
@@Armin2012 There is a good way, go back to how we had it where logging companies were given contract of public lands and let them cut down and replant regularly. Back then the companies took good care of the land because if they didn't plant trees or clear vegetation to avoid fires, they would not have any assets for the future, as they couldn't just get more land. The government in contrast has no real utility for the forests, so they don't have the incentive or manpower to keep track of the forest's condition. Hence why so many in government were blindsided by the fires which private and activist watch groups were sounding alarm about for decades.
Any topic is interesting if you hear someone passionate about it give a talk. A renovator could literally give you a solid entertaining lecture about paint drying.
@@Dorphie Factorio (and this is personal to me, everyone else can enjoy what they want) Factorio added giant alien bugs and mad scientist drone swarms, and still managed to make logistics more boring to me than in real life.
I used to drive under that almost everyday, weird to see Tom making a video about a place I used to go so commonly. I never knew any of this about it though, great video Scott!
I grew up in Brookhouse about a mile from the quarry which I never knew existed until today - however I do have a vague recollection of that bridge & the buckets
Me - "Sure 2036 is like a lifetime away" Tom Scott - "But I suspect when that final day comes in about 15 years time" Me - "Oh right, not that long actually"
When I visited the West Coast of Tasmania during my honeymoon in 1999, I noticed similar ropeway towers running across a valley from a mine site. All that remained were the tower structures with all of the wheels. Mark from Melbourne Australia
I'd love it if once this was decommisioned someone found a way to turn it into a little attraction where you could ride in a bucket, like a cable car system.
It's a lot like the sky ride system at an amusement park I grew up near. That one's not gravity fed, but it'll take you across the park faster than you can walk usually
Are you an emulated brain trapped in a meta simulacrum or something The bloke (sorry, "dude") is Northern, yes. Go up north and incredibly you'll meet lots of people with similar accents. AMAZING, isn't it? Weirdo
We have a similar system still running in Germany near where I live. It's in Dotternhausen in the Swabian Jura (Schwäbische Alb) built in 1942 and was rebuilt in '71. It moves around 4 thousand metric tonnes a day.
This is a genius idea! There should be more things like this, not fewer - or none! There must be more places where this would be feasible. Surely there must be an updated version? This is so sad as well as so brilliant.
There's an updated version of a sort - in Biel Switzerland there's a hillside mine with an enormous electric dump truck that uses regen on the downhill drive to charge its batteries for the return journey.
which is something modern day humans need to relearn. Machines have made the brute force approach all to easy and appealing, while destroying and polluting everything. Imagine how much noise and pollution there would be if all that had been moved by trucks.
@@contytub Just googled it and it's kinda comparable to the saying "set the laziest person to work on it and you'll get the best result" (and maybe "if it's stupid, but it works, it isn't stupid), not exactly the same, but those phrases are still kinda present in people's minds.
I can barely believe these are the type of things I get mega-excited about nowadays. It's just satisfying seeing it all work efficiently without any complex systems. Thanks Tom. Still love the genuine explanations from real people.
It's amazing how well old technology works compared to more contemporary solutions. Here in Pittsburgh we have two funiculars built in the 1870s that are still frequently used. They're protected by a preservation society (also the citizens would riot if they were removed) so they should remain for quite some time. And the view from them is stunning.
@@millerchassis6119 What empressmarowynn fails to mention is that these inclines use electric powered motors to make it work. (I rode on both) Yes, the 2 cars, one travelling up while the other goes down, are counterbalanced. But if they were perfectly counterbalanced, they would sit still and not move. Even putting passengers in one car and leaving the other empty would likely not be enough to overcome friction. And even IF friction could be overcome, what happens when the passengers disembark from the occupied car? We generally need to obey the rules of thermodynamics, lest Isaac Newton and James Joule come back to haunt us. There is one of these inclines in L.A. too. It's called Angels Flight, built in 1901. "Angels Flight" is the title of a 'Harry Bosch' book by Michael Connelly & episode of the Amazon Prime series "Bosch."
I know this brickworks well having travelled underneath this ropeway hundreds of times to and from Lancaster via Caton. In the 1970s there used to be two ropeways crossing the road, if I remember correctly. Glad to see the brickworks is still operating.
It sounds a lot like people think its tech that is outmatched by modern day standards, which is a damn shame considering how simple everything is and how well ot works
You can use it to *_generate_* power as well! The aerial ropeway in the Czech limestone quarry of Černý Důl carries the stone to the Kunčice nad Labem train station. Due to the terrain, a 50Hz synchronous motor is needed to start it, and later regulates the speed so that it rotation matches the mains frequency (and feeds the extra power to the powerlines). It is 8 km (5 mi) long and will be likely dismantled next year as the quarry is nearly exhausted (and cannot spread due to a protected area). You can watch a guy illegally riding it at ?v=OERbOBUuMBY
"Generating" power by using machinery to lift weights to the top of a ropeway is like saying you're "Generating" power by using a wave machine to make waves to power tidal generators. Aka, you're overall LOSING energy.
@@Winasaurus No, electricity is *actually* being generated, as much like the one in Claughton, the _Černý důl_ quarry is at the *upper* station (in the mountains, where limestone is located shallow in the ground) and the transport hub is at the *lower* station in a river valley (practical for railway construction). Because of the terrain, the ropeway’s inclination reverses several times, though (at the start of the linked video, the full crates appear to be travelling up but they go down overall), and that’s why a motor is required during startup and close to shutdown.
I feel like there’s so many applications for gravity fed systems like this as long as we use some digital technology to keep the timing of the loads right
This reminds me of loggers using rivers. They’d toss their logs they cut into the river, and someone downstream would pull them out. Super simple yet efficient.
@@hanaboskova Not self sufficient, yes extra carbon. Did you miss the part where this thing needs maintenance? Besides nothing is truly self-sufficient, so that's already a moot point.
@@jasongarfitt1147 no, it's also energy efficient as well. Dumptrucks being more financially efficient means that the financial cost of materials/energy needed to build and operate one of these aerial ropeways exceeds the financial cost of the materials/energy needed to build and operate dump trucks. We should use dumptrucks when they're cheaper.
@@stanlabs8323 nah, just dump them at the bottom like these people do then the next skier can bring the empty bucket up when they come down. Then you have to dig more rock from the top of the mountain to bring him back up
In Sweden we also have a fairly major rope way, but it isn't used for a somewhat odd but logical reason. It uses electric power on the other hand, but it isn't used since the amount it can move in a couple of days is what the company running it needs in a year. Simply stated, the rope way is far too efficient to be cost efficient compared to trucks, since the maintenance cost is larger than the cost to drive trucks for the given production volume and distance. So it has fallen into disrepair and sections of it has been taken down. A few sections remain as a museum of sorts. Ropeways are fairly simple constructions. Though, this English example is interesting in that it uses the main load carrying rope as the driving rope as well. Has some pros and cons.
People: Your youtube channel has to have a specific focus. You can't just make videos about anything and everything! Tom Scott: Hold my beer... and my slinky, my top hat, my hourglass, my remote control, calculator, and my kaleidoscope.
Similar principle with the iron ore transports between Swedish mines and Norwegian harbors. The carts are fully loaded and going slightly down-hill to the coastline, the electric train is using the brakes "all the way" to the harbor thus recharging the batteries for the locomotive that will take the empty carts back up the hill again.
I used to work near there about 15 years ago, used to pass under twice a day. Could see the guys working there grabbing the buckets, they didn't have safety helmets nor HV wasn't that long ago! There was another one going to a different quarry along the road towards Lancaster but that was disused and had no ropes but the towers were still up. It's actually in the Lune valley and is very scenic on a nice day, you can see Ingleborough rising above the hills as you drive east from Lancaster along the road.
I always knew the world was a fascinating place, but I didn't know how many fascinating things I'd never heard of until Tom started doing these videos. Always love when a new video pops up in my feed!
We used to have an aerial ropeway like this a few kilometers from where I live, but it has been closed down long ago. They kept a few pillars and lores to look at.
It'd have been an obvious choice to put a camera on a bucket. And I did! But as you can see from the video, we were battling intermittent rainstorms all day, and unfortunately the shots didn't work here. However, I hope you'll enjoy next week's 18-minute-long video, "An Unedited, Rain-Soaked Ride on Claughton's Aerial Ropeway".
Yup
1 day ago as always
Nice grey hoodie, where did you get it from?
Bucket cam
Hi Tom!
Can you imagine the amount of fuel savings, labor hours ( truck drivers ) and lack of pollution this ropeway has been responsible for over its lifetime? Well done to the engineers of yesterday.
I am truly amazed. We need more of this.
@@seldoon_nemar "*Billions* of tons of gold and silver" maybe not that much :)
I wonder if it could compete cost-wise with a truck, a digger, and a couple of drivers though. The maintenance cost of the ropeway is likely higher and fuel costs for that short of a distance would be low. The capital cost of the ropeway must be far higher (though long amortized away). As for labour, I'd guess that the number of people would be about the same. Using trucks would be much more scalable (up or down).
For pollution though the ropeway takes the prize by far.
Never underestimate the power of an old bloke with a slide rule
@@seldoon_nemar Of course it's old tech. Who said anything different? What is your point?
The quarry manager sounds exactly what I'd imagine someone who works in a quarry would sound like.
Rop
BOOK-YET
He's got such a particular accent. Seems vaguely Gaelic in some way but I can't quite place it.
No nonsense. No bs. Just proud of a life of non-whinging utility and a place in history. I'm guessing that is the long version of what you meant ;)
@@Marco_Onyxheart just so classicly northern English.
the fact that a computer, presumably trained for hours to solve this exact problem, said “nah you guys had it right” is awesome
“that’s high praise coming from a machine, cooper.”
@@vertipop ay Titanfall 2
@@ethanw7416 yessir
not sure designers of this age could beat designers of yesteryear without their computers. Goes to show how damn smart those guys were!
@@vertipop BT-7274 survived
Tom could tell me that the literal fountain of youth was located in the north west, known to a small population of immortal villagers, and I would absolutely believe him
I'd like him to end this year by saying "3 of my videos released in the past 12 months were complete fabrication. Guess which ones!"
haha, sounds like something out of resident evil
The youd be a fool
april fools 2022?
honestly Simon there could be anything up there. Much like the sea, only a fraction of it has been explored. Rumour has it there are barbarians scattered about, but I struggle to believe it personally.
The plot of Star Trek Insurrection taking place in the North West would be incredibly on brand. The nebula simply being the surrounding wilderness.
It's poetry when a Northerner describes anything industrial.
You're not wrong. Not industrial as such, but when I lived in Yorkshire, I went out on my bike, and on the moors, I encountered a couple of blokes repairing a dry stone wall. I was fascinated, and their explanation of how they did it, was like poetry. I gave them a few quid each to get a pint at lunchtime, and left them to it. Made my day, that did.
I built a dry stone wall once, with me brother. It were in't back garden.
Bouket
Especially with that accent.
@@joemarmar2861 *bookette 😅
The fact that the computer design matched the design from a century ago is truly astounding. It reminds me of a quote from a comic, Crécy, that went "These things are going to look primitive to you, but you have to remember that we're not stupid. We have the same intelligence as you. We simply don't have the same cumulative knowledge you do. So we apply our intelligence to what we have".
It's really not as amazing as it sound. It's a simple mechanism and it's not like mathematics are a recent invention. Simply means that the engineers back than did a good job. And because of its simplicity, there's really not much to be gained from implementing newer technology.
Not primitive. Newtonian physics hasn't changed.
@Parikrma "The abacus was more accurate than a computer." umm... No.
@Parikrma What?
667TH LIKE UR WELCOME
My late father worked at a mine in the northern Pennines in the 50’s and 60’s. Not only was their aerial ropeway used for transporting the rock, he also used it to get to work from the family home at the bottom of the fell each day by riding up in the bucket. Some of the metal and concrete footings are still visible near the mine.
That must have been fun (on good days!)
Isn't that against gravity?
@@blessedslave I reckon 2 or 3 full buckets coming down will take quite a few men up
@@blessedslave- True! And it would probably only work, because he was just "1" guy, at under the Personal Weight of the "1/4 Ton Per Bucket" of Payload Weight ... the Weight going down the Hill (X many Buckets), if it was the same as "This Example!"
Just as a Modern Elevator uses a "Counter Balance" of the Weight of the "Elevator Cabin" plus approximately 50% of the Listed "Carry Weight", to reduce the Load on the Lifting Winch, is a Balanced Calculation, These Ropeway Systems, are more like "More Mass is Moving Downhill than is moving Uphill" (Probably why this presenter stated, "Only Brakes" in his delivery, as opposed to Fuel, Electricity, used to power it!
Just as a Glider (Or, its more "Efficient Twin", the "Sailplane!") Once raised up into Rising Thermals, or Ridge Slope Winds, can Gain Altitude, without an engine, it's "Engine" is simply that it is getting More "Lift" from the Air going Up, than it is Losing by "Sinking!" (Glide Ratios of 20:1 {Travels 20 Feet Forward, per 1 Foot of Sink}, for basic Gliders, to greater than 50:1, for High Performance Sailplanes!)
These Ropeways are moving, via Gravity, more Mass Down, that needs to move Up! Hence the "Brake!"
Something not mentioned, in any detail, was, is that a "Manual Brake" Only, or does it use the principle of Spinning Weights, and Limits, in a "Governor" principle!
There is something extra special about engineering marvels whose pre-computer designs are on-par with what we can engineer today.
That's why I laugh at all those silly "HOW DID ANCIENT GREEKS/EGYPTIANS/AZTECS BUILD THIS?!?!" videos. Humans are smart, and have been long before CAD/CAM.
The Pathenon is a great example of this
The computer programmes are only as smart as the people who design them.
The advantage computers have is doing calculations many times faster than humans can.
True enough, but there's a big difference:
Before computers we designed with (usually!) plenty margin, and constructions were built to last.
Now, when I'm designing anything there's always a pencil pusher behind me going "make it thinner and cheaper" and "that's only a risk if it rains more than 2 days in a row..." etc etc.
Nothing is built truly durable anymore.
I really wish it were different.
The Saturn V was built with slide rules, paper, and god only knows how many white/blackboards. Even today we struggle to reach the levels of precision and sheer determination that they showed in building a skyscraper full of high explosives to put men on the moon!
it would be cool to go back in time and bring the person that designed this to 2036, and show them how perfect their design was, and how the thing they made not only ran perfectly, but completely finished the job.
Imagine seeing their pride in their faces... That would be so damn awesome!
@@juriwuw a whole team of people totally ecstatic
Tom would also get to make an additional video about how the time machine works. :)
Show HIM
@Repent Repent cope
I’d like to imagine that Tom chose which person to interview by lining them all up and asking them all to say ‘bucket’ and picking which one said it in the best accent
Bookit
Let's be honest. This bloke was the angriest sounding.
@@althejazzman that's just northern accents for you
@@matthewmclean9012 The north actually kept the /u/ sound of "u", while it shifted in the south.
I had some hard few minutes to understand the meaning of bookiy.
"unless money is constantly spent to keep it in working order, it'll decay into an unsafe blot on the landscape' you perfectly summed up everything kept for heritage value - people think everything should be kept but few are willing to spend the required upkeep costs.
“The computer matched what a person with a slide rule and a pencil did” That’s why I love to learn the method behind how stuff is designed, our parents and grandparents managed to build incredible things with nothing more than their collective brain power and some scratch paper.
We flew across oceans, united continents and went to space based on the power of math and a sturdy writing implement.
concorde was the product of slide rules and men with a dream.
What people often fail to realize is that computers aren't smart or clever. They only apply the calculations the people before us had to do by hand.
@@0megalul309 As was the Bell X-1, and the Empire State Building
Mind boggling that with less, our predecessors have achieved more in laying the groundworks.
As Tod Cutler likes to say: people back then were just as smart as us - they just didn't have the same level of technology.
Oh that is sweet - I had no idea there was anything like this left in the country!
hello mate
Hello mate
Hello mate
Goo’day’ m8
hi
Actually it's not gravity, its the commanding voice of the quarry manager that makes the buckets move
That's why you always imagine quarry workers as people like that. That's how they make it work.
Engineers of yesterday
Booket is the magic word.
- BOOKIT! GET ON DAH ROAP! NAW GOAH TO DEH DOOMP TROOK
*quitely complies*
MOVE YOU LAZY SODS
This is genius. Old engineering still going strong. If it isn't broken, then there's no need to fix it. Marvelous.
honestly if it does come down, they should make a 1/1000 scale replica in a museum near by , smaller if need be - with a few buckets and one of the towers to give scale. Its important to keep the old technologies in mind, as well as the study that was conducted nearly 100-130 years later with computer modeling showing that technology 100 years + ago , the individuals reponsible for the design took the knowledge vested across the nation to do what humans do, build upon proven technology - giving something that is 100+ years old and still running strong. Yes the digging is not green, but the fact that it was not electrically powered or anything over the last 100+ years , imagine how much carbon it would have emited.
True make an Ant sized model for the museum! Good idea! Keep the it alive n all.
Keep one of the towers up as well.
Wouldn't do anything less than about 1:87 scale (which is common HO model train sized) - anything less will be hard to see the detail. If you go a bit bigger maybe around 1:8 scale (common for "live steamers" miniature ride-on trains) you could have a fits-in-the-room mock-up hands on demonstrator with sand or something.
At the very least we have this video, make sure to download it
OR, modify the buckets so ppl can ride them, and put interesting art work that can be seen from the ride
Here's wishing Tom will be there in 15 years, to make a second video, when the decommission will have to go onto effect.
+
Is really cool that even with our modern tools, the correct answer is still just as correct over a hundred years later. I love engineering.
I was thinking the same. A computer might get the answer quicker, but it's only as good as the minds who design it.
* It’s
@@paddor is*
@@USBEN. sí*
@@gaterin1998 ₴Ĩ*
When I was younger (6-11) I built a Lego version of this. It did not work well because it was difficult keeping the timing right. I had no idea that this ropeway existed until now and it is cool to see that something I thought of when I was a kid using my imagination, ended up being something that is used in real life.
You should have used Meccano!
@@karlhanks4598ah yes, a child could not have built something with lego and then seen something similar as an adult
Not Mentioned in detail in this, was what kind of "Brake" was used!
For Example, take Two "Cans *Of Soup", one in each Hand, and stand on a "Lazy Susan" or The Center of any freely Rotating, or "Rotatable ?" Platform, have someone spin you a bit, then "Extend and Retract your Hands with these "Cans of Soup" in them!
Just like a Figure Skater, your rate of rotation will change, as your hands move out, or in to your sides!
This is part of the Principle of a "Governor" for a Motor!
One more would be a "Heavy Flywheel" to maintain the "Inertia" that is variable, (in these cases) by Loaded Buckets entering, and Exiting the Ropeway! 😁
It's so cool that Tom mentioned this was sent to him by a person who passed it on the road... just goes to show the most amazing things can be hidden right in front of you.
I've driven under this countless times and always thought, wonder what that is. Glad someone went that extra step!
I agree. I drive under this all the time as a Lancaster local. It never crossed my mind that this is something Tom would be interested in.
Maybe he'd also be interested in the canal boat lift down in Falkirk. (Edit, literally as I wrote this I went to search for what it was called (The Falkirk Wheel) and discovered that he's already done a video on it haha!)
I live in Phoenix and I went to this incredible antique mall (the Brass Armadillo) all because I kept seeing it driving on the freeway.
@@DRXParadox devils bridge and Sunderland point maybe? Also the old kart track senna used to race at at heysham head, though nothing to see there now unfortunately. Though there's some cool graves carved into stones near there too
I expect to see an identically looking Tom in 15yrs time covering the closure of the ropeway in a follow up video, still wondering if he's 14, 40, or 64.
that last number hits badly
Now I’m sure there’s a 100 year old abandoned perpetual motion motion somewhere in the north west in the UK that no ones discovered yet
The energy comes from moving the shale. Not perpetual motion.
@@ipissed its a joke?
@@ipissed I don’t think they’re saying that perpetual motion drives this machine, just that there seems to be a lot of interesting things hidden in the north west of England (possibly a perpetual motion machine).
A motion motion
@@SkeletonGuyVT Is there a no-motion machine?
The "Infinity Train" in Western Australia is also gravity fed, designed to charge batteries as it descends loaded from the inland mines to the coastal ports. The charged batteries then propel the empty train back up the hills to the mine. The train weighs about 34,000 tons, is about 3km long, traveling down from 600m elevation (mine) to sea level (port). They figure on saving about 84 million liters of diesel per year.
I was wondering how many examples are left worldwide - I'm wondering why the batteries though? Why not just send an empty train back up with the descent?
@@sroberts605 the trains are not connected to each other, the trains are 3km long each (longest one is over 7km long) but the distance from mine to coast can be over 1000km. how would you send the empty one back up using another going down?
Because it's a train. It's not a ropeway@@sroberts605
@@sroberts605 It probably is only 1 rail? To send the empty one up you need 2 rails or at least a 2 rail line somewhere in the middle so they can pass.
Let's be honest, we all kind of want to ride in that thing.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg has one you can ride on (or at least it still did last time I was there) although it isn't gravity powered. It is one of the options for transport between different sections of the park.
@@SuperBobKing Aerial trams are everywhere. The novelty here is doing something that it isn't meant for. Regulations and insurance rules may have made it unfeasibly risky for the management, but you know that at some time in the last century someone has ridden a bucket or two.
I've never wanted to be shale more.
Hmm... Flip Flap Railway Pt. 2?
The Red Owl grocery store in my UP hometown growing up...crazy conveyor belt thingy that delivered totes of grocery bags curbside to yr car...
Us kids couldn't even imagine what that ride was like...though we had theories
The modern version of this is the electric dump truck in Biel, Switzerland that never needs plugging in. It takes its load downhill, and uses regenerative braking to recover the energy needed from driving uphill, but empty.
Meh, been done years ago on't railway. Just bluster with a dumper, tho'.
Plus the energy to load the truck. This isn't free...
@@terrystearns1196 The energy comes from the potential energy of the ore/tock which is located higher than where it is dropped off.
The energy to load the truck is going to be exponentially less than the potential energy released from the height difference
But the dump truck needs batteries to store the energy surely, which means a lot of pollution just mine the metals for them, they probably need changing every so many years as well. The tyres will wear away and need replacing. Yes the wire rope needs replacing on this system, but I bet the energy and pollution required for that are far less than that needed for the dump trucks batteries
@@super7cat Money is a factor as well. The biggest factor even.
"It's 100 years old"
"A bucket has never been known to come off onto the road in the last 50-60 years"
I want THAT story.
a bucket came off onto the road 50-60 years ago
Or the road is 50-60 years old and didn't exist before that
@@FenceJumper87 Very good point!
They no longer let staff ride the bucket to the quarry... jk
@@DoctorAsshole1 Tell it again grandpa
100 year old British Aerial Ropeway ingenuity is amazing, it's always been green and is still productive. It's an inspiration for the rest of us in the world.
Quarrying and brickmaking are never likely to be seen as "green" industries, but in a world where we are seeking to reduce carbon emissions transporting goods downhill purely by gravity seems like a very sensible idea. There must be many other applications where a similar type of aerial ropeway could be used to replace conveyor belts and/or trucks.
You need material for building - and you're gonna have to quarry it somewhere. Doesn't matter if it's shale, wood,, steel, or sand for concrete. Bricks are good. They last a long time (if well made and well cared for), can be recycled more easily than any of the others, and they're bricks! Bricks are cool.
Apparently they require 4 people to operate and that would be about £160k per year to operate + maintenance costs. (Converted Norwegian salary to Pound sterling)
And, it doesn't seem like it is able to transport that much.
Enough for that factory, but not enough for those that export.
@@dubious6718 it said it move 300 tonnes a day, didn't it? I'd say thats a lot
@@lenonel3286 Roughly 10 dump trucks. Could probably be done by 2 men (2 trucks) going back and forth.
@@H.D.83 dump truck would absolutely destroy the road they go through that building a proper road is economically impossible. I'd say aerial trolley preserve the environment these rocks have to go through.
That's the most environmentally friendly plant equipment I've ever seen.
Agreed these plants should celebrated, upgraded and built in more numbers. Surely this the way to go instead of closing it down?
@@phil.i.am2 RUclips has Issues... if you wanna know a way to help,
tell me.
I claim to know one.
Daring claim? Maybe. But i still say so and ask you to ask me about it.
I fought Racism, Sexism, P0rn, Spam-Bots
and P-Spam-Bots before - and you can do this too. So my claim.
@Mable's Fatal Fable Hahaha.
Your head-canon is nice! Thanks for sharing it!
At least 3 people even gave a (maybe sarcastic) like!
Haha.
@@loturzelrestaurant you're weird
@@loturzelrestaurant Brain damage ain't no laughing matter. I suggest you see a doctor.
Theres a few railways opperating on a similar principle aswell. "famously" the trains that take swedish ore to norwegian year-round harbors and then bring the empty carriages back are net-energy producing because the trains use regenerative braking and the route is mostly downhill from sweden
Yes, gravity-worked railway inclines used to be very common in the UK but the only one still working is at the Bowes Railway.
A number of cliff railways (funiculars) operate on a similar principle by having a tank of water under the carriages which is filled to make the top carriage heavier than the bottom one.
No they dont
@@DrLoverLover What don't?
@@DrLoverLover if you are talking to me. im talking about the kiruna to narvik railway which atleast as im aware is somewhere around net-zero to net-positive energy. due to how heavy the ore trains are going down hill.
@@RJSRdg There a cool one from Lynton down to Lynmouth. There probably a Tom Scott video about it
This thing needs to be preserved simply for how significant it is.
😇😇😇😇😇Definitely well worth Preserving!
If you're watching this in 2036: How many did come to see the last wagon roll down the ropeway?
...or is lock-down still in effect?
@@googlesucks7840 well the UK is the only country opening up completely righ tnow I think but I might be wrong
I'd be interested to see
@@ps92809 I direct your attention to New Zealand
126
Tom Scott after 15 years : Saying goodbye to the last aerial ropeway.
Cable Car company: hippity hoppity, you are now my property
I hope this happens. At which Tom has joined the ranks of (to be) eternal legacies :)
I think someone will make the joke that the robe way "kicked the bucket"
Maybe Tom will ride down in the last bucket himself on that tragic day with a 5-D holographic recording system.
lets hope
The physics pedants are going to have fun with "uses no power"
The grammar pedants are going to have fun with "pendant".
Pedants on both sides, I should say. You could argue this is correct (Power is rate of work, is gravity "work"?) I'll let cleverer people battle this out but try to remember that this doesn't matter. Hugs to all.
As are the comedians, if they can keep away from make any puns-dits
@@cabbageconstable um actually that would be spelling pedants - the grammar is perfectly fine
@@OliWarner gravity technically does develop work on the carts, but it’s clear Tom means “external power” ;)
I worked as a mechanical designer for a German ropeway company many years ago. I am glad to see that some installations ( although from a competitor) still exist. 👍🤩
There is actually a quary in Péry in Switzerland where they use electric hauler trucks that do not require charging.
They have to drive their load down to the cement plant and can recuperate enough power to drive up the mountain empty.
Due to friction, there's no way they would never need to charge the trucks however it may be minimal
@@MA22 It takes less energy to drive up since the trucks are empty; you can get more energy since on the way down you're carrying a load with its own potential energy
@@rickrickston3202 I would assume the truck charges using rotational energy when driving downhill. Unless the downhill path is longer than driving uphill, they would have to charge at some point. The extra potential energy would be taken care of by the brakes since you don't want to roll down a hill the speed of light. Extra weight shouldn't affect how much energy is recharged since it doesn't affect the number of rotations downhill vs uphill.
Note: I'm not a physicist, correct me if I am wrong. Apologies for the essay, idk how to explain my thoughts shorter.
@@NoThrottle Energy = force times distance. Downhill the force is perhaps 3 times greater than uphill.
@@dougaltolan3017 It does make sense that there is more energy exerted downhill than what you need to go uphill. Now i need to learn how regenerative breaking works.
It's amazing how the modern equivalent of this is literally just.... design a new one exactly the same, it was always perfect.
Because men of the past did their own computations with analog instruments. Slide rules and brains.
@@georgemorley1029 and men of this time did their own computations with digital instruments and computer software what's your point?
@@battleoid2411 What you said is exactly his point. It's no wonder two "calculators" came up with the same solution.
To think, calculators were once not a thing, but rather a person. Amazing, really
@@Armin2012 not really we all just got lazy.
I've driven under that so many times and never seen it moving so i thought it was redundant. This video has made my day
I must point out that at least two companies still make this: Leitner-Poma group and Doppelmayr-Garaventa group. These things still exist and work well, and are still used in certain environments.
I’ve cycled past this a hundred times and never realised the significance of this system until now 😐
I love cycling. Specially fun riding past old industrial things.
@@kishascape Cycling is the best!
same
@@kishascape you know, I wish my area had more old industrial things.
@@jackreid2664 there probably is something but isn't as interesting when not endorsed by a RUclips celeb
This is just about as elegant a solution with gravity as the Romans pulled off with their aqueducts. I'll bet there are more old gravity tricks that have just been forgotten over the years. One that comes to mind are the pendulum weights in old grandfather clocks. To keep the clock running, you just pulled down a counter weight every few days.
Throwing logs into the nearby river which then float downstream to a sawmill. The sawmill itself is powered by a water wheel.
Long case clocks (people know them as Grandfather clocks but that's actually wrong),you didn't wind,but pulled a cord,starting the pendulum, which powered the clock !
Well if the big blackout of the grid happens, then we need to have those designs out of the draws and ready to go again.
@@JP-xd6fm watches that use springs, that you wind,are still being made,but cost many thousands of pounds, due to being made by hand. They are incredibly labour intensive, due to the precision required, and have become simply a toy of rich men, a way to show of wealth, like hand made silk suits . l think most of us would end up telling time by the sun :)
@@helentee9863 I have two hand wound watches at home that aren't even a hundred pounds. A proper gold one also goes for a lower price than a battery powered one. Hand wound watches are just inconvenient, and their price reflects that. The only ones that are more expensive (in general) than battery powered ones are those that wind themselves up through motion.
I don’t think I’ve ever been disappointed when clicking on a Tom Scott video. You literally always deliver. Thank you for your work. I love this channel. It teaches me about a lot of things I would’ve never known about
I agree. This channel is a great example of what RUclips can be. Top quality, always interesting and informative
The new age version is the electric trucks of some (Swiss?) quarry that is above the processing plant. Empty ev monster dump trucks trundle up the hill empty, pick up a load of rock and use regen braking to charge the truck on the downhill trip. Brilliant!
I am now unreasonably upset that a thing I had no idea existed 10 minutes ago has an expiration date and will soon be gone forever. It really does feel like something historically significant that should be preserved, although I guess I understand why that's not feasible. Thank you for bringing this and so many other 'lasts' to our attention!
This is why you need to go and appreciate the things you have while they're still here and while you still can.
The Notre Dame could have burned down and you'd never be able to visit it.
It's like discovering a brilliant musician, singer, or artist, and being utterly thrilled by their work - only to discover that they had died a few years ago.
Title: "will be gone by 2036"
oh that's sad, but still quite far away
Tom: "in 15 year's time"
oh my word, how is it only 15 years to 2036?
sadly ya. Time flys
2036-2021=15
@@matthies8431 wow you're smart
Think of it...
15 years is enough to grow from a baby to a teenager with their own life and dreams.
15 years is enough to found a family of a few.
15 years is enough to rebuild our World. (Telecom&Internet)
But 15 years is also enough to destroy the lives of millions and shatter the dreams of a dozen times more.
15 years may seem like a short time but there is so much that happens within them. I can't even Imagine how the World will look like then.
Maybe the same as now, maybe so much different someone from the 1900s would better fit into now then we into then!
(If someone in 2036 reads this, may you have a nice day! The same of course also applies to anyone else!
:D
)
@@blank6604 2036 checking in, its operation has been extended to 2052
I wonder how many people have taken rides in those buckets over the years..
I wonder how many squirrels get a kick out of the free rides.
booooket
Me
They should have a raffle and whoever wins should be aloud to ride in the last ever bucket ride.
@@alexhetherington8028
THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Excellent, I lived near an aerial ropeway growing up in Peterborough, it was used for the brickworks at Eye. Luckily I took photos before it was lost in the eighties. Where it crossed roads there was steel matting to catch any clay which fell out. Long may it continue. Good work Tom.
That was interesting. Sorry to see this go.
They should really do make it a tourist attractions once the day comes...
My dude we might all die before this thing comes down
I hope I go down the second this ropeway does, don't wanna live in a world where this doesn't exist.
Ok google remind me to get shmurdered in 2036
Can we make a heritage ropeway? A national ropeway museum?
@@TomZoy Easily pay for the upkeep that way
Some say that the quality of engineering has since went down. That is obviously untrue, but it turns out when engineers are more constrained they come up with fascinating solutions. When fossil fuel and electric driving systems were not as prolific, they came up with fascinating mechanical solutions!
And I'd guess likely better for the environment than the underground conveyerbelts, and especially the lorries going back and forth...
One significant change that has happened in in designed lifespans - a lot of Victorian engineering projects were designed to last 100 years (and overshot considerably); more modern designs tend to both assume they'll be replaced or upgraded long before they've been operating a century, and be a lot better at not overshooting their design specs by as much.
@@Stephen-Fox Underground conveyor belts wouldn't be used here, in fact they typically aren't whenever the raw material is equal height or higher than where it is processed. Plus far too expensive for shale of all things.
As XKCD remarked (1045), doing science or art under constraints almost always gives more novel solutions.
Anyone who says " has since went down" would lose all credibility in my eyes.
When you said uses no power, and I saw filled buckets going down, I literally went "Wait, you mean- Oh, that GENIUS!"
Exactly the same here xD "It's the weight!" :O
@@alexnoman1498
Yes, you can do a lot with weight.
The Rothensee boat lift moves 5,400t with only 8x 44kW elektro engines because of counterweigths making it possible.
Modern day technology is stupid actually because it’s just more reliant on maintenance and not efficient
I've passed under this ropeway since I was a kid going caving at Ingleton, but just now found out all about it! Many thanks.
I dont know why, but when Tom said 'the last bucket' i kinda became emotional and sad.
For some reason i feel bad for a piece of history i've never even seen before this video
I hope there's a ceremony where one of them kicks it.
There is something about this piece of engineering that I find peaceful and brilliant at the same time. The perpetual nature of this is wonderful to see
The rope is moved because the shale-laden carts going down are heavier than the empty ones coming up. If there's nothing loaded into the system it will stop moving. Is that what you mean by perpetual?
Super interesting! Great video. Gives me better insight into the old mining tramway here
Oh hey! Nice to see you here! Looking forward to this week's video!)
Knew i would see you here
I love your channel my current gf and I have watched every episode since before last November you deleted a bunch of videos but it’s okay we already saw them haha
The crossover we all deep down knew we wanted ❤️
Somehow I knew I'll find you here ❤️
I've driven under that ropeway a few times in my younger days! There actually used to be two ropeways originally, I'm surprised Tom didn't point that out. I can't recall when the other one was decommisioned...
It reminds me of the last log flume in the US, used for floating logs down the mountain to the sawmill. It was nine miles long, and operated until 1986.
And then in California, we saved all those trees, which increased the fuel density and lead to massive wildfires that destroyed entire ecosystems rather than a controllable burn.
Is that like the TV show the Beachcombers
@@DaveSmith-cp5kj arguably just as bad for the environment, if not worse. And there was no good way to address that issue
@@Armin2012 There is a good way, go back to how we had it where logging companies were given contract of public lands and let them cut down and replant regularly. Back then the companies took good care of the land because if they didn't plant trees or clear vegetation to avoid fires, they would not have any assets for the future, as they couldn't just get more land.
The government in contrast has no real utility for the forests, so they don't have the incentive or manpower to keep track of the forest's condition. Hence why so many in government were blindsided by the fires which private and activist watch groups were sounding alarm about for decades.
@@DaveSmith-cp5kj that, is something I didn’t know. Learn something new everyday
only this guy can make the logistics of transporting raw shale via ropeway interesting
Any topic is interesting if you hear someone passionate about it give a talk.
A renovator could literally give you a solid entertaining lecture about paint drying.
You've never played Factorio I'm guessing?
@@Dorphie Factorio (and this is personal to me, everyone else can enjoy what they want) Factorio added giant alien bugs and mad scientist drone swarms, and still managed to make logistics more boring to me than in real life.
I see “aerial ropeway” mentioned on older OS maps a lot, good to finally visualise the concept.
Pure genius! No pollution; not a computer in sight!!
I work in a brick factory myself. It's very unglamorous work, but the history and heritage of the industry is surprisingly interesting.
I used to drive under that almost everyday, weird to see Tom making a video about a place I used to go so commonly. I never knew any of this about it though, great video Scott!
Very interesting
I grew up in Brookhouse about a mile from the quarry which I never knew existed until today - however I do have a vague recollection of that bridge & the buckets
it is indeed weed
It would be fun to take a ride in one of the buckets.
Something about 1920's era engineering just makes me unbelievably happy
Totally. Like, everyone was hoping to create the future, and they did, but it turns out it's the past.
The computers couldn't even improve upon the design. I think that speaks volumes about the engineers that originally designed it.
Christ
That is brilliant! I hope they can continue for decades to come, using this ingenious method to move the materials from source to destination...
Honestly, I don't see why it can't be dismantled and used at another quarry when the time comes.
Loving Tom's new video title style, "Outline of an informative research paper"
We could also call it "The Very clickbait-free style".
Me - "Sure 2036 is like a lifetime away"
Tom Scott - "But I suspect when that final day comes in about 15 years time"
Me - "Oh right, not that long actually"
For a lot of the viewers here that is about their current lifetime away
We're closer to the year 2036 than 2000.
@@autumn702 scary
@@autumn702 The fact that we are now equal distance to 2036 and 2008 is incredible
make that 13 years away
when the title is the complete opposite of clickbait and gives the entire video away
And everyone still watches to the end
@@_aullik as they should
When I visited the West Coast of Tasmania during my honeymoon in 1999, I noticed similar ropeway towers running across a valley from a mine site. All that remained were the tower structures with all of the wheels.
Mark from Melbourne Australia
I'd love it if once this was decommisioned someone found a way to turn it into a little attraction where you could ride in a bucket, like a cable car system.
It's a lot like the sky ride system at an amusement park I grew up near. That one's not gravity fed, but it'll take you across the park faster than you can walk usually
Claughton Towers. Like Alton Towers but there's just this one bucket ride. Still, I would go and gladly pay.
@P JL Put it on your bucket list.
I love that dude's northern accent, I love how that's his genuine accent and not some movie impression.
Are you an emulated brain trapped in a meta simulacrum or something
The bloke (sorry, "dude") is Northern, yes. Go up north and incredibly you'll meet lots of people with similar accents. AMAZING, isn't it?
Weirdo
We have a similar system still running in Germany near where I live. It's in Dotternhausen in the Swabian Jura (Schwäbische Alb) built in 1942 and was rebuilt in '71. It moves around 4 thousand metric tonnes a day.
What a champion. Smart by deign, thankyou for sharing. I have snacks ready to watch the unedited rain soaked ride on Claughton's aerial ropeway !
This is a genius idea! There should be more things like this, not fewer - or none! There must be more places where this would be feasible. Surely there must be an updated version? This is so sad as well as so brilliant.
There's an updated version of a sort - in Biel Switzerland there's a hillside mine with an enormous electric dump truck that uses regen on the downhill drive to charge its batteries for the return journey.
Well they said in the video they tried to design an updated version using a computer. The computer suggested the exact current design.
Locks on canals lift boats uphill using the power of rain.
Hydroelectric power stations produce electricity from rainfall.
Who knew a shale transport system would be so fascinating. Tom Scott: Never boring. Never disappointing.
should be a t-shirt ...
I live in Lancaster about 10 mins away from here, I never knew that it was powered by gravity alone, this is why I love your videos
This aerial ropeway we need more of not less, this is a super green way of moving stuff.
Now that is pure genius. KISS is the simple elegance behind something like this. Just wonderful.
which is something modern day humans need to relearn. Machines have made the brute force approach all to easy and appealing, while destroying and polluting everything.
Imagine how much noise and pollution there would be if all that had been moved by trucks.
How many people trully understand concepts like KISS these days ...
@@contytub Just googled it and it's kinda comparable to the saying "set the laziest person to work on it and you'll get the best result" (and maybe "if it's stupid, but it works, it isn't stupid), not exactly the same, but those phrases are still kinda present in people's minds.
@@contytub Exactly! Seems that with time people are generally getting "dumbed-down", sad state of affairs.
@@MrXPeaceLP If you Googled it, it would tell you that it stands for "Keep It Simple Stupid". I do like your definition though.
I can barely believe these are the type of things I get mega-excited about nowadays. It's just satisfying seeing it all work efficiently without any complex systems. Thanks Tom.
Still love the genuine explanations from real people.
Some random guy was driving along, noticed this, sent it to Tom, and now we have a video.
That is one smart operation ! Great viewing, as always !
It's amazing how well old technology works compared to more contemporary solutions. Here in Pittsburgh we have two funiculars built in the 1870s that are still frequently used. They're protected by a preservation society (also the citizens would riot if they were removed) so they should remain for quite some time. And the view from them is stunning.
What are they?
@@millerchassis6119 we call them inclines, they are counterbalanced trolleys used to go up and down the steep hills into the city
@@millerchassis6119 What empressmarowynn fails to mention is that these inclines use electric powered motors to make it work. (I rode on both) Yes, the 2 cars, one travelling up while the other goes down, are counterbalanced. But if they were perfectly counterbalanced, they would sit still and not move. Even putting passengers in one car and leaving the other empty would likely not be enough to overcome friction. And even IF friction could be overcome, what happens when the passengers disembark from the occupied car? We generally need to obey the rules of thermodynamics, lest Isaac Newton and James Joule come back to haunt us.
There is one of these inclines in L.A. too. It's called Angels Flight, built in 1901. "Angels Flight" is the title of a 'Harry Bosch' book by Michael Connelly & episode of the Amazon Prime series "Bosch."
@@RichardFallstich there are water powered ones
OK. It could be powered by water, electric, or steam, etc. they still need some external power to move mass and overcome friction.
What's amusing is that in 15 years, this video is probably going to be the most potent reminder that this existed.
Also, you know, all the buildings they made from the bricks they made from the shale
I know this brickworks well having travelled underneath this ropeway hundreds of times to and from Lancaster via Caton. In the 1970s there used to be two ropeways crossing the road, if I remember correctly. Glad to see the brickworks is still operating.
BRILLIANT
What a great idea.Simple, sophisticated, low-cost-low maintenance.
I want one of these...
"It will be gone by 2036" is somehow way different than "It will be gone in 15 years"
Dude Tom Scott says that as if it’s for sure like I highly doubt
2036 sounds linger away huh?
It sounds a lot like people think its tech that is outmatched by modern day standards, which is a damn shame considering how simple everything is and how well ot works
@@eageraurora879 it's not outmatched but it's definitely harder harder to maintain
If you didn't guessed it was in uk by the stupid accents and the mining industry polluting the soil you have the weather 😂
Doesn’t life get much, much better when Tom releases a new video!
You can use it to *_generate_* power as well!
The aerial ropeway in the Czech limestone quarry of Černý Důl carries the stone to the Kunčice nad Labem train station. Due to the terrain, a 50Hz synchronous motor is needed to start it, and later regulates the speed so that it rotation matches the mains frequency (and feeds the extra power to the powerlines). It is 8 km (5 mi) long and will be likely dismantled next year as the quarry is nearly exhausted (and cannot spread due to a protected area). You can watch a guy illegally riding it at ?v=OERbOBUuMBY
"Generating" power by using machinery to lift weights to the top of a ropeway is like saying you're "Generating" power by using a wave machine to make waves to power tidal generators. Aka, you're overall LOSING energy.
@@Winasaurus No, electricity is *actually* being generated, as much like the one in Claughton, the _Černý důl_ quarry is at the *upper* station (in the mountains, where limestone is located shallow in the ground) and the transport hub is at the *lower* station in a river valley (practical for railway construction). Because of the terrain, the ropeway’s inclination reverses several times, though (at the start of the linked video, the full crates appear to be travelling up but they go down overall), and that’s why a motor is required during startup and close to shutdown.
I feel like there’s so many applications for gravity fed systems like this as long as we use some digital technology to keep the timing of the loads right
This reminds me of loggers using rivers. They’d toss their logs they cut into the river, and someone downstream would pull them out. Super simple yet efficient.
That "boocket" mechanism is fascinating
“They do walk quite a few miles in a de”
@@denteater3498
I just imagined Gary Brannan from the Technical Difficulties saying this out loud. :-)
These are the technologies that should be re-adopted in the modern era, especially in the age of energy efficiency.
@@PoliticalJames financially efficient but not energy efficient
No extra carbon, Totally self sufficient ... So we cancel it.
@@hanaboskova To be fair, the only reason it's getting shut down is because the hill is going to run out of rock
@@hanaboskova Not self sufficient, yes extra carbon. Did you miss the part where this thing needs maintenance? Besides nothing is truly self-sufficient, so that's already a moot point.
@@jasongarfitt1147 no, it's also energy efficient as well. Dumptrucks being more financially efficient means that the financial cost of materials/energy needed to build and operate one of these aerial ropeways exceeds the financial cost of the materials/energy needed to build and operate dump trucks. We should use dumptrucks when they're cheaper.
Superb, I really enjoyed this
It just shows the magnificence of the original engineering
Now, if we could just get skiers to ski uphill the chairlifts could be just as efficient.
Nah no need for it. Just load enough of heavy stones, matching skiers weight on the top and it would lift them up!
@@HuatengChen Congratulations, you have just invented an elevator on it's side. That's why they have counterweights.
@@HuatengChen you're gonna need to get those rocks back up though
I wonder if there would be enough snow being produced on a continuous rate to obtain free counter-weights for the downhill side...
@@stanlabs8323 nah, just dump them at the bottom like these people do then the next skier can bring the empty bucket up when they come down. Then you have to dig more rock from the top of the mountain to bring him back up
In Sweden we also have a fairly major rope way, but it isn't used for a somewhat odd but logical reason.
It uses electric power on the other hand, but it isn't used since the amount it can move in a couple of days is what the company running it needs in a year.
Simply stated, the rope way is far too efficient to be cost efficient compared to trucks, since the maintenance cost is larger than the cost to drive trucks for the given production volume and distance.
So it has fallen into disrepair and sections of it has been taken down. A few sections remain as a museum of sorts.
Ropeways are fairly simple constructions.
Though, this English example is interesting in that it uses the main load carrying rope as the driving rope as well. Has some pros and cons.
Fascinating, thank you!
People: Your youtube channel has to have a specific focus. You can't just make videos about anything and everything!
Tom Scott: Hold my beer... and my slinky, my top hat, my hourglass, my remote control, calculator, and my kaleidoscope.
Sounds like AtomicShrimp
almost everything is related to engineering in some way
Similar principle with the iron ore transports between Swedish mines and Norwegian harbors. The carts are fully loaded and going slightly down-hill to the coastline, the electric train is using the brakes "all the way" to the harbor thus recharging the batteries for the locomotive that will take the empty carts back up the hill again.
So Tom gets to check another item off his "bucket list" 😂
why
booket*
@@yvesd5882 bocket*
BOOOOO!!! BAD BOOKET MEM.
Good one
I used to work near there about 15 years ago, used to pass under twice a day. Could see the guys working there grabbing the buckets, they didn't have safety helmets nor HV wasn't that long ago! There was another one going to a different quarry along the road towards Lancaster but that was disused and had no ropes but the towers were still up. It's actually in the Lune valley and is very scenic on a nice day, you can see Ingleborough rising above the hills as you drive east from Lancaster along the road.
I always knew the world was a fascinating place, but I didn't know how many fascinating things I'd never heard of until Tom started doing these videos. Always love when a new video pops up in my feed!
We used to have an aerial ropeway like this a few kilometers from where I live, but it has been closed down long ago. They kept a few pillars and lores to look at.