The tiny monorails that once carried James Bond
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- Опубліковано 20 вер 2020
- The Roadmachines Mono-Rail may have been the only truly useful, fit-for-purpose monorail in the world. Of the hundreds that were built, most were never meant for passengers. But they did carry a couple of famous people in their time, including a certain secret agent...
Thank you to the staff and volunteers at the Amberley Museum - Harry and Gerry in particular - for running the monorail specially, and letting me film! The Amberley Museum is a massive industrial heritage museum in the South Downs, and you can find out more about them here: www.amberleymuseum.co.uk/
There are lots more videos of Amberley's rail vehicles at the volunteers' channel here: / @anarrowescape115515
My research is heavily based on David Voice's "Mono-Rail: The History of the Industrial Monorails Made By Road Machines Ltd., Metalair Ltd and Rail Machines Ltd", ISBN 1874422877, available from Adam Gordon Books: www.ahgbooks.com/index.php/pro...
Thanks to Derry Faux-Nightingale for the initial idea!
The Tanat Valley Railway in Nantmawr is the home for the Richard Morris collection, more than seventy surviving Roadmachines Mono-Rails: www.tanatvalleyrailway.co.uk/...
Also a helpful resource:
www.irsociety.co.uk/Archives/...
🟥 MORE FROM TOM: www.tomscott.com/
(you can find contact details and social links there too)
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Thanks to the Amberley Museum staff and volunteers team for letting me film their monorail! There's another James Bond connection at the site, too: the entrance to Main Strike Mine in A View To A Kill was filmed there, and some of the prop signs are still up!
yes
why did'nt you post this earlier?
Neat
Of course its from 3 weeks ago
Yes
"Angry emails from monorail enthusiasts" must be the funniest phrase ever said with such a straight face
I've been writing a French textbook for several years. That line is going into it.
I am actually a slightly-perturbed monorail enthusiast.
Monorail!Monorail!Monorail!
*Cue musical number
@@jorgepeterbarton I hear those things are awfully loud.
It sounds like a line out of Monty Python.
Very brave to go up against monorail enthusiasts again, they tend to have a one track mind😇
Are you a dad, Dave?
This comment needs more likes. It might be a Dad joke, but it’s a good one.
Ha ha ha. I think you did a thing there... 👍
Technically that would refer to all train enthusiasts as if it has 2 or 1 rails it is still 1 track.
@@ADogNamedStay What if its a camel train, or road train?
Tom is speaking so quickly that it feels like the monorail enthusiast that he’s describing are pointing a gun at him from behind the camera.
The monorail enthusiasts even put in a shot that showed his camera equipment, to throw the sheep off the scent!
That's how all his videos are filmed; with a monorail enthusiast behind the camera with a firearm.
What makes you think they weren't?
Cut them some slack. You know how hard it is to run someone over with a monorail? You gotta make your victim balance on that track! You'd fall back on firearms too.
@@RobMacKendrick what's the internet acronym for "laughed so hard the liquid I was drinking shot out my nose"? Cause that what happened when I read your comment. Maybe there's an emoji?
Tom:"talking about the monorail like it's absolutely amazing"
Smol monorail in background: *doing its best *
(crying cat with a thumbs up)
Chugga chugga intensifies
@Verm It's intentional
I think I can I think I can I think I can
Tom Scott has always been one for controversy. Saying monorails are stupid. He's not afraid of being cancelled.
Rebel
He’s a madman!
the year is 2027. all the celebrities are gone. one remains, it's tom. meanwhile, a curious web user stumbles upon this video. tom is cancelled for saying that monorails are stupid.
I mean, isn't that just the general opinion, that they look good but are not good for anything else (obviously except for this one)
Geez, he's been on the internet long enough to not care about this cancel culture bs
Has Tom insulted monorails on several occasions?
More that some people have one-track minds ;-)
when we get like 3 more puns in response can someone say "*facepalm* this is a trainwreck"
@@maris_molotov this is getting monotonous
Somebody please derail this conversation.
The Wuppertal and Disneyland videos
These types of monorails are still in use in Japan. When I go into the mountains near where I live there's a lot of track used around the green tea fields, presumably to help them carry heavy stuff up and down hill and to allow them to move the produce without needing to create miles of road.
They're still manufactured here. Mr Scott must have been focused on one particular type from the UK. Please feel free to insert a "one track mind" joke.
I've used one of these at a civil engineering yard. It ran off propane and when it got to the end of track it would dump its cargo automatically and return to be refilled. We used it to move pea gravel and sand mostly over a canal that separated the two yards. If I remember rightly, I was told it dumped sand into waiting canal boats.
Cinque Terre cities in italy use these to get things down the cliffs.
there also used at vineyards in steep valley like the mosel river
Today I learned something about a place 100km from me .
from a comment to a video, about something 2500km from me.
Today i'm grateful.
Oh i have been there but didn’t see them. Do you have any more information on where you can see them?
They are to be found in many vine yards at least throughout Europe.
Wow I was there last year and wondering what those metal tracks were for, thanks!
The Wupperthal Schwebebahn monorail was probably the best for Wupperthal, because of its geography: there was no other space for it than over the river.
Like literally the negative thing about needing to be elevated was *the point* of the Schwebebahn
Yes, every historical city with narrow streets needs a scenic monorail.
I travelled to Germany just to visit Wuppertal and ride the monorail, and spend a weekend at the Technical Museum in Sinsheim.......sad but true 😅
The Tim Traveller has a great video on it. Tbf, all of The Tim Travellers videos are great! 😎
As a monorail enthusiast myself I can tell you that there's nothing on earth Like a genuine, bona fide, Electrified, six-car monorail!
What’d I say!!!?
@@qfox16789 Monorail!
Monorail. Monorail. Monorail!!!!!
Mono... D'OH!
Same here!
It's always bizarre looking at recommendations and seeing "Oh, I've never seen that Tom Scott video. I wonder why it hasn't been suggested before," and then realizing what I assumed was an old Tom Scott video was one that came out that day.
XD Same. Happens every single time.
Just happened to me
Me too.
The fact that he's looked the same for the past 10 years doesn't help.
Somehow it looks at least a decade in the past always. Not in a bad way or anything
How does this bloke never runs out of topics is beyond me.
The universe is full of an almost infinite amount of things, and as long as there's something to talk about, Tom Scott will cover it.
The red tshirt gives him ideas.
Boring people keep telling him stuff.
Anything is a topic if Tom Scott says it.
Once you become famous stories comes to you.
Black Mesa Research Facility...
You're welcome, Tom.
I get it
i was just searching for that, i'm surprised i actually found it.
["On a Rail" intensifies]
they're waiting for you gordon, in the test chamberrrr
Unforseen consequences
It's amazing that even in a video with multiple cuts, your presentation is still a single take. Including all the shots of the monorail!
You make a persuasive argument, but on the other hand: I've sold monorails to Brockway, Ogdenville, and North Haverbrook, and by gum it put them on the map.
Monorail.
Monorail.
Monorail.
Take your pitch over to Shelbyville, why don't you?
But Mainstreet's still all cracked and broken!
@@chuckygobyebye Sorry Mom, the mob has spoken.
@andrewwmunro they glide as softly as a cloud!
Yes sir there's nothing on earth like a genuine bonafide, dieselized bulk material monorail!
MONORAIL!!!
Mono.
What's it called?
I hear those things are awfully loud
@@itaybron D'oh!
Hey Tom, you will find monorails in many Moselle vineyards, too. They are very steep, so they are driven by gears.
These vineyards are to steep for tractors and cars. So they cannot reach the workes position and the way the workers have to run back and forth were too long. So you have a monorail every some hundred meters going upwards through the vineyards, that the workers just have to run sideways to these...
"Its more of a Shelbyville idea"
Damn simpsons references
Tiny Monorails? James Bond? Tom Scott? Literally all my favorite things in one video.
Scott, Tom Scott.
Your list of favorite things is woefully small and weirdly disconnected.
How about copious amounts of Simpsons quotes in the comments section.
@@Mythraen I am large, I contain multitudes.
@@RatelHBadger "sorry Mom, the mob has spoken"
Perfect timing with the narration. Talking about the noise just as it appeared right next to him. That is the cutest monorail I've ever seen. Unfortunately, I've now got the last two line of the Simpson's song going through my head on a loop...
Its almost like there was a jump cut for Matt to edit around
monorails are better suited to hills and don't derail
I really want one! A few hundred feet of track and the monorail dump body would be great for hauling firewood and just taking a ride around the property.
1:10 - Showing the viewpoint from the Monorail approaching while Tom has his back to it (but facing the tripod camera) is brilliant. So quirky, unusual, that it really stands out. And it was a fascinating little story in its own right.
Fun fact: for an anniversary, the Wuppertal suspended monorail attempted to transport a four year old elephant called Tuffi. It worked for a while but mid-way the animal got upset by noise and people on the carriage, panicked, pushed through wall of the carriage and fell 10m into the river Wupper below the tracks.
The elephant miraculously survived with just a few minor scratches on it's hindquarters.
The incident beame so famous, a local dairy factory picked Tuffi as their brand name.
Looking up the elefants name will likely get you multiple sources on this story.
Tom Scott getting angry emails from monorail enthusiasts xD. Sounds legit.
Well, one email. From a Mr L. Lanley of Ogdenville.
@@Nimmo1492 you?
The thing about monorails is that there is always a better solution, and they are a bit silly and impractical...
but they're cool.
The Seattle monorail (shown in the video) was constructed to transport visitors from downtown Seattle to the 1962 World Fair (0.9 miles)... But then they built a parking lot next to the destination station, thus making it a white elephant. But then the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was built in the parking lot. So, thanks go to the Gates Foundation from the Monorail Enthusiasts of the world: you haven't cured cancer, but you have made our lives worth living.
And I disagree. For Wuppertal (also show) this is the best thing ever happened to this city. I cannot think of any solution avoiding traffic jams this effectively.
@@bens2312 a metro
@@dav9012 Of course. Or an elevated road/track. But both options are far more costly than a hanging monorail.
So I would consider them to be less effective (at least until a certain capacity)
I remember going there with my parents over the years, and we always called it the James Bond museum. Thank you for reminding me and bringing back those memories Tom :)
It might be worth mentioning that in Wuppertal, the suspension railway makes sense due to the peculiar nature of the city which is the result of the merger of several cities along a river valley. So it was practical to build a suspension railway (mostly) over the river to connect them without disturbing street traffic (actually, it was built before the cities merged). But I suppose it didn't necessarily have to be the monorail system that was used.
Monorail! Monorail! Monorail! Monorail!
I hear those things are awfully loud
@@mysterybiscuits It glides as softly as a cloud!
@@therealjuralumin3416 Is there a chance the track could bend?
@@MacheTheFerret not on your life my Hindu friend
What about us brain dead slobs?
There are a lot of these in the vineyards around Monterosso’s five town hike in Italy. Area is very hilly and guessing this is an easy way to get equipment around and help with the harvest.
yep, they are called monorack and have geared teeth to allow them to go up steep slopes
There are also quite a few of them in the Lavaux vineyard in Switzerland.
Same at the Moselle in Germany. Monoracks are quite popular for steep vineyards.
They're also used on mandarin orange orchards in Japan.
I think the big problem with those monoracks is that they are just indestructible.
All of the ones I've ever seen are halfway eaten by rust, but they still cover hundreds of vertical meters per track in vineyards.
Of course that's a good thing, just not for the company selling them.
I love the Amberly Museum. Growing up, I lived in a neighbouring town and went often with my parents. As a kid and playing with their telephone exchange equipment. I took my own kids there just a few years ago, they did the same thing and loved it. It was great to share that experience with them. A friend of mine who volunteers at the museum has been working on restoring a traction engine. If anyone is near or around the area, do yourself a favor and go visit, it's worth it.
That industrial museum must be over the moon for this amazing free advertising.
Ooh, this is like the perfect intersection of action scenes, monorails and Tom Scott. I may have been waiting for this all my life.
I see that you too are a fan of intersections.
There's at least one Tom Scott video about intersections, too
Monorails: the lettuce of transport, fine, but there’s always better
This is advanced Tom Scott lore
As a lettuce enthusiast, I find this comment offesive to myself and other colleagues of mine
Doggo Wiseo i... I can’t decide whether to upvote or downvote you so I’m gonna do neither until the next time I go to subway and decide whether I want spinach or lettuce on my sandwich
i love lettuce i dont want no bitter vegetable in my burger
This really pisses me off! What do you want in your salad, then?
"monorails are almost always Bad ideas, the last time I said that I got angry e-mails from monorails enthusiasts"
I didn't Even know there were monorail enthusiasts
there are always enthusiasts in what ever item (branch) you can think of.
With conventions on them and all.
There are dozens of us!
@@m8sonmiller loved it, when's the next convention?
"I've heard those things are awfully loud."
"Yes, they are."
It glides as softly as a cloud
@Sassy The Sasquatch not on your life, my hairy friend!
@@stevevernon1978 What about us brain-dead slobs?
@@stevevernon1978 the line is "Hindu friend". He's talking to Apu.
@@pvtpain66k I'm guessing the line "my hairy friend" was because it was in reply to Sassy the Sasquatch.
I remember seeing monorails in Thunderbirds. I had no idea they actually existed though, I just thought it was one of the many futuristic things the show had made up.
Whilst we're talking about curious vehicles used by James Bond in the film "You Only Live Twice", I don't think you can really go past the autogyro. That's something I'd love to learn more about.
Thanks Tom for another great video!
Thank you for what you do mate 🙏
Amberley was also the exterior of the mine scenes for A VIEW TO A KILL in 1985 (doubling Silicon Valley), so the YOLT monorail link to Bond is not the only 007 connection here. The Museum sometimes hosts Bond-themed days.
When Tom Scott says ‘except’ you know you’re in for a treat
The transition and timing to a closer shot of this crooked, rickety old monorail was wonderful. It was like calling an old dog and waiting for it to amble its way over.
that monorail bucket is the cutest thing I've seen all week
Going back to this video after the recent monorail video is hilarious
I think similar systems are being used to traverse the vineyards at the Rhine and Moselle rivers in Germany. They're very useful to transport tools and produce up and down the hills.
You're right. They're also used to transport people, presumably grape pickers.
The monorail system, the gyrocopter, and the Toyota 2000GT with the open top are the best things about You Only Live Twice.
Amberly museum is such a great place. So much engineering science history and so much of it practical and interactive. Not to mention the staff and volunteers with eons of wisdom and knowledge. It was a great day out, especially on VCC days when dad would take his 1934 BSA and I could cycle everywhere.
I wonder where “monorails” placed on your “Greatest Thing” list.
I'd actually like to know now.
I really wish we had access to the full data set.
GIVE US ANSWER TOM SCOTT
Somewhere between lyme disease and sleep, methinks
+
UA-cam notified me of this upload whilst I was watching this upload, I am speed.
2 minutes after the upload nice!
NoIcE
Or rather, UA-cam notifications are broken. I got one earlier for a video that was uploaded a week ago.
UA-cam has so many uploads and users that they have started delivering the notifications with diesel powered monorails.
When you think you can't learn anything more today, you stumble upon a Tom Scott's video talking about monorails... I love life ! 😆😁❤
Excellent Video as always Tom
Having just recently gotten addicted to abandoned mine exploration videos, it's a shame they didn't think of this back then. Seems like it would've saved quite a few miners quite a few headaches (and backaches!)
Miner here. There are some situations underground where I'd love to have one!
Well, sir, there's nothing on earth
Like a genuine, bona fide
Electrified, six-car monorail
What'd I say?
Lisa needs braces
@@JLPichelski You Don't Win Friends With Salad
Isn't there a chance the track could bend?
I love Amberley, well worth a visit. Thanks for publicising its existence.
I know a chap who still runs this system commercially. Different carts with different engine but the same monorail system. They use it for carrying dredgings out of environmentally sensitive areas, brilliant things really.
I never knew these existed and now I need one. For something.
You'll never be able to convince me that monorails are a bad idea Tom!! 😄
Honestly though, that's quite interesting! Bit of a shame they didn't continue researching this type of monorail, but all these other developments seem to have made it fully obsolete.
Now this is how I like to see a video presented! Short, fast and chocked full of information! Thanks for sharing!!
Of course we wanted this video, Tom! Enjoyed it!
Is that the chalk pits museum? I watched them film the 80s "view to a kill" bond airship scenes there. It was fun watching the blimps flying around over there all day.
djsmeguk yep it is. The blimp scenes were partly filmed in what we call the brown pit and in the white pit. (Named due to the different types of chalk found in these areas)
Grace Jones still buried there?
@@joshpayne3318 cool stuff. I used to live down the road near Horsham when I was a kid. Chalk pits was often a day out..
TIL that there was once a fish monorail.
I mean... It's hardly gonna come up in a quiz, but somehow, my life just feels that bit more complete, now!
I’ve learned about so many interesting places and things on your channel! Keep up the amazing work!
Good stuff. Thank you.
No James Bond villain lair is complete without a monorail.
Tom Scott starterpack:
Things you might not know
Amazing places
Very good edited videos about... videos
Red shirt
🇬🇧
yaaasss
Hi Tom, your videos are always interesting to watch. Cheers 👍
Randomly brilliant! Packed with information and always well delivered. I doth my cap 8n your direction, good Sir.
They also filmed James Bond “a view to a kill” in the chalk pits where the museum is
What? People get excited by monorails?! The things we learn everyday!
Much love, your friends at Rev Media!!
Excellent, interesting, and informative content as usual. Top notch work as always Mr. Scott
As a proud resident of North Haverbrook, and a huge monorail enthusiast... thank you for this upload!
Need to see this full of fish that would be amazing
I would like a Technical Difficulties sound effect / gesture of a monorail full of fish. And because Tech Diff, it would just be a regular monorail.
Vvvvvvmph [hands gesturing doors sliding open], splaff flip flop flip [gesturing fish tumbling out]
Update: my top recommended video from here is already 'The Battle Of Fishguard and "Brandy"'.
I've sold monorails to Brockway, Ogdenville, and North Haverbrook, and by gum, it put them on the map!
This is super cool!! I really like monorails, they always seem so novel to go on
Angry emails from monorail enthusiasts is an amaZing sentence
Tom always wanted to have a toy train... this is a great substitute!
Despite monorails almost always being a bad idea the Seattle monorail, a legacy of the 1962 Worlds Fair is the only transit in the city that pays for itself out of fair box revenue. Every other piece of transit in the city, as in most cities, is subsidized heavily.
And with the Seattle Kraken coming to Seattle Center, it’s only going to get more use as people flood aboard it for games.
I've never been there but I assume it's because it runs a fairly central and high intensity line in the city? Aside the novelty factor ofcourse.
It's just that a lot of people use the same argument for public transport here in Europe but the point is not to have 3 lines that will be full every moment - it's to connect the entire city and provide a cheaper alternative to cars and traffic everywhere and throughout the day.
Imagine building and maintaining a monorail to a suburban area with ~5000 people, or even several of those as opposed to a loss-making but far cheaper bus line.
Ivor It connects the downtown Seattle with the “Seattle Center” area where the Space Needle, sports arenas, arts theaters and similar businesses are located. This area is notoriously short of parking as well so parking downtown and taking the monorail is often preferable (I do this myself). The Seattle Center is also a big tourist destinations for those staying at downtown hotels.
But would not the same service be better and more reliable - if less flashy - as a similarly constructed light rail service?
@@adiuntesserande6893 year later it’s a nightmare trying to use it after the games. Easier to walk.
I visited Amberley in 2019 and it's one of the best museums i've been too. Great video tom.
Brilliant video! We were delighted to have you at our Museum.
I was a monorail enthusiast for just over 3 minutes.
I've gone off them now though.
I guess you could say you’ve gone off the rail
@@WillMonin ba dum tsss
f for Sean Connery
This is awesome! Very nice solution to a problem!
I live 20 minutes from here and have visited half a dozen times! It's a wonderful museum and everyone there is delightful. It's an excellent museum and the collections are frankly fascinating.
Tom: Monorails
The Disney fan in me: *Please stand clear of the doors! ¡Por favor manténgase alejado de las puertas!*
0:00 - Monorails are bad ideas? 🤨 Pft. 🙄 They put Brockway, Ogdenville, and North Haverbrook on the map. Not to mention the best LEGO set, 6990. Nice. 👍
> Brockway, Ogdenville, and North Haverbrook
Never heard of them.
@@ChrissieBear it's a Simpson's quote
Very good this, well done mate.
I always love the content! Keep up the wonderful work Tom!
I comment to help statistics
Tom: "Monorails are a bad idea"
*The Tim Traveller would like to know your location*
-Where is Amberley?
-It’s between Cocking and Burpham.
Isn't that where 'The Archers' lived?
That sounds like a good night out!
Sad names
Friendly reminder that it's always a bad idea to eat processed meat before having intercourse.
Is that along Ramblers Way?
I have seen them still in use in Taiwan in 2019! It was for a construction site on a hill and it climbed very steep slopes and there were only foot paths. Without it they would have to use a helicopter, so it was a very practical solution. And it makes totally sense that Taiwan would use construction material from UK. I was very happy to see your video about it!
I just watched your other monarail video for the third time a few hours ago, good timing
Tom Scott is such a simple perfect name
RIP Sean Connery
You will be remembered
In my mind you are the only James Bond
Absolutely loved this. Also, sorry for not being able to seat you at the fully booked cafe I work at right down the street! (I was so delighted to see the red t shirt)
This guy can explain stuff like a dirt without making the video boring
the series name, “things you might not now” really does stand by its name. monorail enthusiasts exist?!
it's a niche of the rail transport enthusiasts. (it has a lot of other branches)
I mean there are enthusiasts for loo paper, staplers, stamps, light fixtures. just name it.
it's ether a enthusiast group on it's own or a section of a bigger intrest group.
There are dozens of us! Dozens!
be careful Tom, monorail enthuasiasts might track you down
PS1 Hagrid I agree, watch out, those enthusiasts have a one track mind
You can always spot a group of monorail enthusiasts by how they travel single file. (To only leave one line of tracks.)
Be careful, some of them grew up on the wrong side of the track.
I've been to a tea farm in Taiwan a couple of months ago, which is located on a mountain nearly 2000 meters from sea level, because as you might know, tea leaves grow better at higher altitudes.
There, they still utilize this kind of monorail, simply because it's convenient! There are pathways along the farmlands, which are narrow, steep and curly paths, and you'll probably be no faster riding a bike than taking a monorail. It really shows that the concept can still be useful under certain circumstances.
Bloody hell Tom I'm so glad to be subscribed to these interesting pills. This is deffinitely one of the best channels on UA-cam