All language subtitles for Mysteries.of.the.Abandoned.S04E09.Haunting.On.Plague.Island.1080p.DISC.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-DoGSO_track3_[eng]

Narrator: an apparent paradise
Still feared by locals today...

And the legend of her death
Still haunts the island,

And some of the locals
Refuse to visit this place.

*

Narrator:
...A pioneering complex

Marked with both glory
And tragedy...

*

*

*

...And a shipping juggernaut
That met a dramatic end.

Scott: this ship is clearly one
That means business,

But it should not be
On these rocks.

*

Narrator: engineering marvels
Now abandoned,

Ruins shrouded in mystery.

Within these decaying structures
Are the echoes of history.

Within these decaying structures
Are the echoes of history.

They speak of death
And destruction,

But also human ingenuity
And endeavor.

Each haunted shell
Ready to be unmasked

And tell its own unique story.

-- captions by vitac --
Www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by
Discovery communications

*

*

In the brandenburg district
West of berlin

Is a unique complex that once
Attracted the world's attention,

Now left to decay in obscurity.

*

Auerbach: few germans realize
That the site even exists.

It's almost as if it's been
Forgotten on purpose.

Narrator: a silent swimming pool
Expectantly awaits guests.

Nusbacher:
There is nothing quite so eerie

Nusbacher:
There is nothing quite so eerie

As standing where there
Ought to be 11 feet of water,

And instead, there is nothing

But a still, chill air.

Narrator: a lone pommel horse
Sits in an empty gymnasium.

Meadows stretch out

In front of carefully positioned
Huts with verandas.

When you look at this place

In all of its green and grassy,
Low-rise glory,

In all of its green and grassy,
Low-rise glory,

It feels as though you're seeing
A purpose-built

Company town.

Narrator: stark blocks,
Reminiscent of barracks,

And murals with a military feel

Interrupt this communal utopia.

They're ugly, and really,

These are buildings
That you don't want to keep.

Auerbach: the walls are covered
With newspapers.

Auerbach: the walls are covered
With newspapers.

When you get closer, you notice
Something strange about them --

They're not in german.

Narrator: the architecture is
Split into two distinct styles,

Yet all the buildings
Appear to be united

In their motivation.

Nusbacher: what this place
Conveys is a sense

To take people's lives
And mold them.

It's all about people
Coming together for a purpose,

But it is not at all clear
What that purpose is.

But it is not at all clear
What that purpose is.

*

Narrator: in 1934, this site,

Sprawling across 136 acres,

Was set to be repurposed.

The man placed in charge of the
Project was wolfgang fuerstner.

It was a pioneering concept

And would play a central role
In an era-defining event

That would capture
The imagination

Of people across the world.

Of people across the world.

Yet just days after the project
Was complete,

Fuerstner would walk down
From his house to the lake,

Stand on this jetty,
And take a pistol to his head.

*

*

What drove this man to suicide

Just days after
What should have been

Just days after
What should have been

The proudest moment of his life?

Jan bejsovic is an expert
On the location's history

And is fighting to preserve
This unique complex.

*

*

*

*

This is the olympic village

For the 1936 berlin games.

When adolf hitler became
Chancellor of germany in 1933,

He inherited the games,

Secured by his predecessor,
The weimar government

That he had worked
So hard to destroy.

This site would house athletes
Flocking in

From competing nations
Across the globe.

Now in 1936,

Now in 1936,

He has an opportunity
To show to the world

A new and rebuilt,
Completely new kind of germany.

*

Nusbacher: this is gonna be
An opportunity for hitler --

Who's been in power
For three years --

To show off the fact

That depression-era
Germany is gone,

The weimar republic is gone,

And the olympics are gonna
Show that to the whole world.

And the olympics are gonna
Show that to the whole world.

*

Narrator:
To successfully demonstrate

That a new, rejuvenated germany

Had emerged
Out of the great depression,

Hitler looked to the los angeles
Olympics of 1932

For inspiration.

*

*

*

*

This led to the creation

Of the first-ever
Permanent olympic village,

Built to last the test of time,

With modern facilities
Enjoyed and exploited

By nearly 5,000 athletes,

Including the likes
Of german boxer max schmeling

And track and field star
Jesse owens.

*

*

*

*

The athletes were further
Impressed by the fact

The athletes were further
Impressed by the fact

That they could see
Their colleagues performing

Live on the big screen.

*

*

*

And hitler didn't shy away from
Promoting his military, either,

And hitler didn't shy away from
Promoting his military, either,

As the artwork in the village
Media center illustrates.

*

*

*

*

Despite flaunting its newfound
Military strength,

The world's leaders
Were buying into the image

Of a renewed
Yet peaceful germany.

Furthermore, this pioneering
Complex was proving

An unmitigated success
With the athletes.

*

So why would fuerstner, creator
Of this magnificent village,

Take his own life?

*

Narrator:
Just outside berlin in germany

Are the remains of the world's
First permanent olympic village,

Built for the 1936 games.

Having convinced the u.S.A.
And great britain to compete

After both threatened
To boycott the games,

Hitler had exactly
The audience he wanted.

Only the soviet union
And her allies

Only the soviet union
And her allies

Followed through
On their threats to stay away.

And hitler successfully
Showcased german engineering

And cutting-edge technology,

Such as the first-ever
Live television broadcasts,

As well as further innovations
To the games themselves.

The nazis were hugely into
Torchlight parade,

And the nazis introduced
The idea of the olympic torch

Going from greece
All the way to berlin.

Going from greece
All the way to berlin.

Narrator:
While the glitz and glamour of
The olympics dazzled the world,

The racial purification
Of germany

Was continuing
Discretely out of view.

While the germans allowed jews
To participate in the games,

They were, behind the scenes,
Rounding up gypsies

And continuing
To pass anti-semitic laws.

Narrator:
Captain wolfgang fuerstner,

The man who had helped make the
Olympic village such a success,

Was one such victim
Of the aryan purity laws.

Was one such victim
Of the aryan purity laws.

It turned out that he had
A jewish grandfather,

And he was taken off
The project in the end.

*

*

The nazis tried to cover it up,
Saying it was a car accident.

The nazis tried to cover it up,
Saying it was a car accident.

Narrator: however, journalists
Uncovered the truth.

Demoted from his role
And, as a career officer,

Knowing he would be dismissed
From the army

For his jewish ancestry,
He chose suicide.

*

The village had served
Its purpose,

And the complex was handed
Back to the german army,

As was always intended --

A ready-made military base.

But with the tumultuous
Years ahead,

But with the tumultuous
Years ahead,

Their stewardship
Wouldn't last long.

*

*

*

A new soviet
Military base emerged.

For a period after the war,

For a period after the war,

Auerbach:
The soviet counterintelligence
Agency, smersh,

Established themselves here,

Hunting for ex-nazis.

And rumors abound that
The underground heating system

And the swimming pool were used
For interrogation and torture.

Narrator: since the collapse
Of the soviet union,

This complex has been left
To disintegrate.

*

Now the site is being repurposed
Once again --

Now the site is being repurposed
Once again --

This time, developed
Into modern apartments.

Auerbach: you can actually see
The long jump pit

Where jesse owens --

One of the greatest american
Athletes of all time -- trained,

And also where the boxer
Max schmeling

Did his prep
In the lead-up to the big day.

And now it's all about
To be demolished.

Narrator:
Rebuilt as contemporary homes,

The site has found a new future,

One that perhaps will help
Erase memories

One that perhaps will help
Erase memories

That many would rather forget.

*

Off the coast of the caribbean
Country trinidad and tobago

Is a lush island
With a sick history.

*

Meigs: when you see this island
From the water,

It looks like a lovely,
Tropical vacation spot,

A nice place to build a resort.

Bell:
But as you get a bit closer,

Bell:
But as you get a bit closer,

You see these colonial-style
Buildings on the shore

Are a little bit dilapidated.

They're falling apart.

Narrator: a once grand house
Sits by the sand,

Forlorn and neglected.

A broken pier reaches
Out over the water.

Inland, further remains
Emerge from the jungle.

Bell: some buildings
Look like they were part

Of an old hospital complex
Or a religious site, perhaps.

It's clear there was some kind
Of a large compound here.

It's clear there was some kind
Of a large compound here.

Narrator:
One part of the site suggests

That those who came here
Never left.

Bell: you see graves,
But not just a few.

There's a whole graveyard.

Clearly, an entire community

Once lived on this
Now-uninhabited island.

Narrator: whatever happened
To this community,

It led to fear and uncertainty
Among the local population.

*

Bell: some local fisherman are,
To this day,

Bell: some local fisherman are,
To this day,

Still too frightened
To venture onto the island.

*

Narrator:
100 years ago, this island

Off the caribbean country
Trinidad and tobago

Was a popular vacation spot.

It was previously
A fishing village

And a holiday paradise
Where people came to relax,

But it became something
More sinister.

Narrator: in 1924, the island
Changed forever

When trinidad's
British rulers used it

When trinidad's
British rulers used it

To try and solve a problem
That was plaguing the territory,

And a new community arrived
From the capital, port of spain,

As michael forde,
Local expert, explains.

*

*

*

*

These sickly new arrivals
Were the unlucky victims

Of a century of dramatic change
In trinidad.

A colony of great britain,

Where slavery was abolished
In 1833,

Trinidad's landowners
Needed more laborers

To work on their sugar
And cocoa plantations.

A flood of immigrants poured
Into trinidad and tobago,

But with them came
An influx of leprosy.

But with them came
An influx of leprosy.

Narrator: this was one of the
World's most-feared diseases.

*

Leprosy was this devastating
And really tragic disease.

It's caused by a bacterium
That lives in the skin.

Develops slowly over many years.

It does nerve damage.

It can cause blindness,
And, in severe cases,

It causes this terrible
Disfiguration

Of people's faces
Or other parts of their body.

Narrator: the disease of leprosy
Had existed in the caribbean

Narrator: the disease of leprosy
Had existed in the caribbean

For centuries.

But as migrants from across
The world arrived in trinidad,

By the late 1800s,
It had become an epidemic.

*

Bell:
The colonial government opened
A leprosarium in the late 1860s,

But on one occasion,
300 patients fled the facility.

Narrator: fears grew
That this terrifying illness

Was out of control.

Painful, incurable,
And contagious, it was believed

Painful, incurable,
And contagious, it was believed

That the only way
To stop the spread of leprosy

Was to keep those who suffered
From it away from everyone else.

*

In trinidad, the authorities
Decided to act

And began rounding up
The sufferers.

These lepers were taken
From their homes,

Torn from their families
And forced onto a boat --

Sent away to live
In total isolation.

Narrator: and this is where
They were brought to --

Narrator: and this is where
They were brought to --

The chacachacare leper colony.

Opened in 1924,

It was designed
To house 300 patients

And provide everything
They would need to survive here

With only minimal contact
From the outside world.

This is a completely
Self-contained medical facility

With living quarters,
Hospital, laundry.

*

*

*

Narrator:
But although the colony appeared

To provide the lepers
With all they required,

Not everything was as it seemed.

Life was not easy
For these patients.

Men and women were kept
In separate camps,

So there was none of the normal
Romantic or family life

That people expect
As part of the human experience.

That people expect
As part of the human experience.

And you also had to work,

But you were only paid
25 cents for the whole day.

Meigs: water was very short.

They only had rainwater
They collected.

Auerbach:
You weren't even allowed to swim
Except up to chest height,

And if you broke those rules,

You could be sent into
Even further isolation.

Narrator: and worst of all,

Once you had been sent
To chacachacare,

You could never leave.

*

They were allowed no visitors,

No contact with their families
Or even the mainland.

No contact with their families
Or even the mainland.

Meigs:
So even though they were in

Something that looks like
A tropical paradise,

Their lives were actually closer

To kind of a hellish half-life

Where they couldn't go back,

They couldn't see
Their families,

But they also couldn't start
Any kind of new life

That would be a semblance
Of what they'd lost.

*

Narrator: who would volunteer to
Care for this dying population,

Narrator: who would volunteer to
Care for this dying population,

And does the answer help explain

Why chacachacare
Is still so feared today?

*

Narrator: off the coast
Of trinidad is a tropical island

Once utilized as a leper colony.

The island is still feared
By locals,

Who avoid it at all costs,

And the site's religious remains
Offer a clue as to why.

Auerbach: so, they were cared
For by a group of dominican nuns

Brought from france,
And these nuns had to live

Under the same conditions
As the lepers.

Under the same conditions
As the lepers.

It was incredibly dangerous,

And they suffered
Along with their patients.

Two of the nuns caught
And died of leprosy.

Meigs: and one of them actually
Committed suicide,

Which is definitely
Not something

You're supposed to do
If you're a nun.

And the legend of her death
Still haunts the island.

Some of the locals refuse
To visit this place,

Not because it used to be
A leper colony,

But they're afraid of the ghost

Of the nun
Who committed suicide.

*

*

Narrator: it seemed
The inhabitants of chacachacare

Were doomed
To disfigurement and death.

But then a new group of visitors
Arrived on the island,

And things began to change.

In 1942, the u.S. Stationed

1,000 u.S. Marines
On chacachacare.

*

*

*

For the first time, there was
Electricity at the leper colony.

The authorities began
Relaxing the rules,

And the male and female patients
Were allowed to mix.

In the outside world,
Things were changing, too.

Meigs: by the middle
Of the 20th century,

Treatments for leprosy
Were getting better.

A combination of antibiotics
Can actually treat the disease

And reduce the symptoms.

Narrator: as leprosy finally
Became a treatable disease,

Narrator: as leprosy finally
Became a treatable disease,

It was no longer necessary to
Keep its sufferers locked away.

Meigs: also, the dominican nuns
Were a declining group.

There weren't a lot of new
People coming into the order

To replace the aging nuns

Who, by this time,
Were dying off

Or needed care themselves.

So, eventually the colony
Was shut down.

Narrator: chacachacare
Was a prison no more.

The last patient left
On july 23, 1984.

The entire structure
Was abandoned

The entire structure
Was abandoned

And left over to the elements.

*

Narrator:
Today, there are plans

To redevelop
The island for tourism.

But chacachacare
Is still feared,

Tormented by its deadly past,

And its future
Remains uncertain.

*

In south africa,
Near the port city of cape town,

In south africa,
Near the port city of cape town,

On a dramatic stretch of
Coastline is a sight to behold.

*

Barratt: in this area
Of incredible natural beauty --

It's got an amazing ocean
And a rocky backdrop,

And then suddenly, it hits you
Right between the eyes.

That absolutely
Should not be there.

Bell: you're suddenly confronted
By this extraordinary sight.

Bell: you're suddenly confronted
By this extraordinary sight.

This huge ship lies beached
On the rocky coastline

With this enormous crane
Reaching up for the skies.

Narrator: only part of this
Giant machine is still visible

Above the crashing waves,

Yet the rusting crane and turret
Suggest a sophisticated vessel.

*

Scott: this ship, obviously,
Is built for a specific job.

You've got the huge crane
At one end,

But this beautifully
Designed ship

But this beautifully
Designed ship

Should not be on those rocks.

Barratt:
At sea, things go wrong.

Things go wrong all the time,

And that's why,
For hundreds of years,

There's been a healthy
Salvage industry

Where ships
That run into trouble

Get rescued and recycled.

Something's gone wrong here.

This crane has clearly been here
For some time.

Why has no one rescued it?

Bell: first and foremost,
There's obviously been

Some kind of disaster here.

You just want to know
How this mighty vessel

You just want to know
How this mighty vessel

Has ended up stranded
On these rocks.

*

Narrator:
This vessel has been battered
By the waves since 1994,

When south african salvage
Expert captain nick sloane

Received a distress call.

Sloane:
So, we were busy in false bay,

Hiding with the supertanker.

So, false bay is a perfect
Place of refuge

For large ships in distress.

And we knew the storm
Was coming,

And we knew the storm
Was coming,

So we suspended all operations

In case we lost control
Of the supertanker.

And then cape town port control
Called us up

and said that the bos 400

Was drifting onto the coast.

Narrator:
this is the bos 400.

A french-built vessel known as
A lay barge or crane barge,

It served a highly
Specific role.

Scott: it is basically
A pipe-laying vessel.

So that beautiful engineering
Is designed

So that beautiful engineering
Is designed

So it can lift up, move,

And then lay giant pipeline.

Barratt:
If you're building an oil rig
From scratch, you'd call it in.

It's a one-off machine,
And it traveled the world,

Building huge structures

In difficult
Marine environments.

Bell: this was
One of the most powerful

Crane barges ever built.

In its prime, it was
An engineering marvel,

Touring the globe,
Helping to construct

Touring the globe,
Helping to construct

Some of the most ambitious
Projects anywhere in the world.

This giant beast was capable
Of lifting 1,200 tons

And was valued
At over $70 million u.S.

narrator: yet the bos 400
was now in perilous waters

That captain sloane
Knows all too well.

So, you got these frontal storms
That come all the way

Across the south atlantic
From brazil.

They're already full storms
When they hit the coast.

They're already full storms
When they hit the coast.

And then they hit the warmth
From the agulhas current,

And those storms
That are already bad

Go crazy with all
The extra energy.

So, you don't want to be stuck
In a winter storm

Off south africa.

Scott: this treacherous stretch
Of coastline

Is known for its changeable
Weather and its violent storms.

In fact, cape point is known

As the cape of storms.

Narrator:
With no propulsion of their own,

Crane barges rely on tugboats.

and pulling the bos 400
directly into the line of fire

and pulling the bos 400
directly into the line of fire

was a russian tug, the tigr.

So, the barge is not designed
To move under its own power,

And for that, you need a tug --

A small, powerful,
Maneuverable boat --

And that does the hard work.

Narrator:
But there was another problem.

*

Despite dragging this
Giant barge with a huge tow wire

Nearly 4,000 feet in length,

The tug had lost
Its main engine.

The tug had lost
Its main engine.

*

Narrator:
in 1994, the bos 400 --

One of the largest crane barges
In the world --

Was caught in a storm,

And the tug crew
Pulling this mighty vessel

With a 4,000-foot tow wire
Had lost its main engine.

*

With just the backup engine,

You've got a lot less power
And maneuverability,

You've got a lot less power
And maneuverability,

Not to mention the fact

That you could be left
With no engine at all.

And as it turned out,
This was no ordinary storm.

*

Narrator:
The crew had no idea,

But they were heading down
A blind alley.

The port of cape town
Was closed,

But the tug still continued

To make her approach inshore
To cape town.

They then started to try
And turn around,

And that's when they got
Into real trouble.

And that's when they got
Into real trouble.

The tug crew had actually been
Radioed repeatedly,

But because
Of their poor english,

They didn't understand,
So they carried on.

And they tried to turn around
To get further back out to sea,

And during that operation,
That's when the wire --

The tow wire --
Sank to the seabed

And snagged on the reef.

Narrator: the crew on both ships
Were now in grave danger.

Nick's salvage team
Was in a race against time,

As this juggernaut
Floundered towards the rocks.

As this juggernaut
Floundered towards the rocks.

Sloane:
We ran around from false bay

To try and see
If we could get a line on,

But, you know,
In those weather conditions,

Even with a helicopter,

There was no way
We could get close to her.

If you look at this now --
It's summer season.

You got maybe a 1-meter,
1-1/2-meter swell.

But in the winter storm,

Boy, the swells are actually
Almost up above the crane house,

So that's the type of swell
You're talking about.

The swells were so severe
that the bos 400,

The swells were so severe
that the bos 400,

Despite its enormous size,

Was actually disappearing
Completely behind the waves.

Narrator: it was simply too
Dangerous for the salvage team

To attempt to reattach
The tow line.

*

Sloane:
And we just had to sit there and
Watch her slowly break apart.

The helicopters
Took the crew off,

And then mother nature
Took care of her,

And she ended up
On top of the pinnacles

That went straight
Through her bottom,

That went straight
Through her bottom,

And then she was fast
On the reef.

*

Narrator: while the crew
Were airlifted to safety,

Their ordeal was far from over.

On arrival into the port
Of cape town,

They were all rounded up,
Questioned,

And detained by the authorities

While the disaster
Was fully investigated.

And that wasn't
The end of the story.

A vessel of this magnitude
Wasn't going to be left

Without major salvage attempts.

*

*

There was a first attempt
To try and get closer,

And we had to abort,
Wait for better weather.

Then we sent in smaller boats,

And we sent people onboard
By helicopter to assess her.

The tanks right on
The bottom of the ship,

They were all breached.

If you don't succeed
In that first 24 hours

On the south african coast,
Then it's very unlikely

That you're going
To succeed later on.

Narrator: an american company
Later launched

Another salvage operation,
But to no avail.

Another salvage operation,
But to no avail.

A long-running
Court case ensued,

And some of the tug crew
Were held for a full six years

Before they were allowed to
Return home to their families.

In the investigations
That happened after the event,

It was found that this tugboat
Was underpowered

And, quite frankly,
Just not up to the job.

Sloane: there was about
An $80 million insurance claim,

And that's why they arrested
the tug, the tigr,

And held the owners responsible.

But they didn't have that type
Of money or insurance,

But they didn't have that type
Of money or insurance,

So it was a total loss

And a disaster from
The french construction company

And from the underwriters.

Narrator: the tugboat
Was eventually auctioned off,

But unfortunately,
It's simply too dangerous

To salvage the remains
Of this powerful barge.

*

Today, the bos 400 is
not just a unique spectacle
for hikers --

It may well have a future
After all.

It may well have a future
After all.

Sloane: there's not much of
The barge that has survived --

The core structure
Of the foundation of the crane.

In the next four or five years,

I wouldn't be surprised
If she topples into the water.

Maybe it'll add
Some value, yeah,

As a recreation/sport area,

And you'll find
A artificial reef,

And a whole ecosystem
Will grow up on top of her.

*

*

Narrator: in the green fields
Of southwest england

Is a valley littered
With a set of unusual ruins.

*

Auerbach: sweeping over the
Stunning cornwall countryside,

You come across
A grand stone viaduct

That spans a river valley.

But as you get closer,

You see that there's something
Different about this one.

You see that there's something
Different about this one.

Right next to it, there's
These series of tall columns

That are clearly a lot older

And have obviously got
Some kind of story to tell.

*

Narrator: did the structure
That once stood here collapse?

Or was it destroyed
Deliberately?

The ruins mirror the structure
That still stands.

The mystery deepens
As you look up,

And you see
That the columns just end.

There's no bridge there anymore.

There's no bridge there anymore.

Narrator: on the surface,

This may look like
An easy place to build,

But not all is as it seems.

On the valley floor, you can see
It's quite muddy, a bit boggy.

It doesn't really look that
Stable of a surface to build on.

Look at these tidal mud flats.

Look at the depth
Of the earth here.

This is not going to be
A simple place

To accomplish such
A feat of engineering.

*

Narrator: the structure that
Once stood here was ridiculed,

Narrator: the structure that
Once stood here was ridiculed,

Attacked,
And eventually destroyed,

But its story
Is inextricably linked

To that of one of the world's
Greatest ever engineers.

*

The current viaduct carries
The railroad across this valley.

Back in the 19th century,
Steam trains were driving

The united kingdom's
Booming economy.

And cornwall was home
To a thriving mining industry.

And cornwall was home
To a thriving mining industry.

But without a railroad,

This region was at risk
Of being left behind.

If they wanted to keep
That business

And keep that trade alive,
What they needed was a railway

To connect into
The other main lines

And ultimately continue
All the way up to london.

Auerbach: now, railways, when
You're dealing with flat ground,

It's easy enough.
Just lay down the tracks.

But that's not the case
In cornwall.

You've got river valleys.
You've got steep hills.

You've got river valleys.
You've got steep hills.

This is going to be
A more complicated exercise.

Narrator: and this particular
Valley was key to the route.

There were dozens of bridges
To build,

Miles and miles of track to lay.

But if they couldn't cross
This valley,

All of that was for nothing.

You have to get
Across the valley,

And the viaduct
Is the answer to that.

*

Narrator: these are the remains
Of the first carnon viaduct.

Narrator: these are the remains
Of the first carnon viaduct.

The plan was to build
A vast bridge, 750 feet long,

Supported on 11 stone pillars.

But was this a design failure?

Local historian
Bob richards explains

The challenges
Its engineer faced.

*

Richards: this was actually
One of the deepest valleys

They had to cross
On the whole route.

And so, this viaduct itself,

The track bed was some 96 feet

Above the valley floor.

Above the valley floor.

Auerbach:
When you're building a viaduct,

You want something
That's stable,

You want it flat,
And you want it to last.

And that's not an easy thing
To accomplish here.

You have soft, muddy land

That's over 20 feet thick
In some places.

The water level was higher
In those days,

And it's also tidal.
Not only did this

Make construction
Conditions difficult,

It also put different stresses
And strains on the structure.

It's almost as though
Everything was against them.

It's almost as though
Everything was against them.

*

Narrator: this was an almost
Impossible feat of construction,

And to have any hope
Of being completed,

It needed a colossus
Of engineering to build it.

*

Narrator: in the countryside
Of cornwall, england,

Stands the remains
Of the first carnon viaduct.

In the mid-19th century,

A bridge was needed to carry
A railroad across this valley.

But the valley's vast size
And unstable ground

Made this
An engineering nightmare.

Made this
An engineering nightmare.

At the time, there was only
Really one person

Who could solve
This particular problem --

Isambard kingdom brunel.

Narrator: brunel was one of
Britain's greatest engineers.

He was responsible for many
Of the innovative railroads,

Steam ships,
Tunnels, and bridges

That underpinned the country's
Industrial revolution.

But could he construct a viaduct

To span this treacherous valley?

He had a solution,
But what he was proposing

He had a solution,
But what he was proposing

Was considered by some to be
Both extreme and dangerous.

Why not complete the top
Of the viaduct with wood

Instead of stone?

Much cheaper,
Easier to work with,

And you'll be done much quicker.

But people wondered,
Would a wood structure

Hold the weight of a train?

*

Narrator:
Brunel designer timber trestles

That fanned out
From the stone pillars

To support a wooden deck
Which would carry the railroad.

To support a wooden deck
Which would carry the railroad.

*

It was an innovative design,

And by using timber
Instead of stone,

Brunel would save
The railroad company money.

But this was high unusual
For the time,

And brunel's plans
Were ridiculed in the press.

*

Barratt: in 1860,
This is cutting-edge stuff.

It's scary.

People don't know
It's gonna work.

They haven't seen it.

To modern eyes, we see
A big, stable structure,

To modern eyes, we see
A big, stable structure,

But to everyone else back then,
This is the future.

Narrator: brunel's imaginative
Design was a real risk,

And today,
A new viaduct has replaced it.

Auerbach: we have these
Stone piers, stumps, really,

With nothing on top of them.

Did the wood survive?

Did it collapse?

What happened?

Barratt:
Don't underestimate timber.

It might not look as solid
And as heavy as masonry,

It might not look as solid
And as heavy as masonry,

But actually,
It's incredibly strong.

And if it's used
In the right way,

You can transport
Incredible loads across it

Quickly and safely.

Narrator: in fact,
Brunel's wooden design worked.

But this success wasn't just
Down to what was on the surface.

The stone piers going down
Under the ground to the bedrock

Were what took the real weight
Of the construction,

And the wooden fan design on top

And the wooden fan design on top

Spread the weight evenly

Across the whole
Of the 750-foot expanse

Of the viaduct itself.

Narrator:
The fact that these pillars

Were built out of hard rock
Deep in the ground

Was what made
The structure so strong.

To achieve this, brunel had made
Use of an ingenious invention

That he'd worked with before.

Barratt:
He sinks these caissons,
These round steel rings,

Barratt:
He sinks these caissons,
These round steel rings,

Into the riverbed

And then pumps out
All the mud and silt,

Which then enables your laborers
To get down there

And build proper masonry
Foundations.

Narrator: using caissons
Kept the foundations dry

And meant thy could be
Placed deep

Underneath the unstable earth
On the surface.

While this soft ground
May have once been a concern,

Brunel's design
Certainly overcame that issue.

These columns
Aren't going anywhere

These columns
Aren't going anywhere

For a very long time.

Narrator: this victorian
Masterpiece carried trains

For 70 years.

But sadly, its creator
Never saw its operation.

Brunel died before
It was completed.

So, what signaled the end
For this epic invention?

Although it lasted
An incredibly long time,

Its major downfall
Was the cost of maintenance

And particularly
That top timber section.

And particularly
That top timber section.

Narrator: by the 1930s,

The railroad authorities
Decided to replace it

With a newer stone structure.

However, brunel's construction

Was one of the last original
Timber viaducts in cornwall

To remain in service.

*

Today, the modern viaduct
Carries tourists

Along a branch line.

But brunel's columns
Still stand alongside it.

But brunel's columns
Still stand alongside it.

Richards: anything that
Isambard brunel got involved in

Was built to last,

And these are a fine example
Of his engineering genius

And a fine example of the
Workmanship that went into them,

The fact that they're still here

150, 160 years after they were
Initially constructed.