A Steam Powered Engine house on the Moor

[@AnEnglishmanInNewYork71]

Dude, the BBC needs to snap you up and get you on your own show. I'm proud to be from Manchester seeing my people doing great things. Hats off to you Martin, another excellent video in the books

[@MartinZero]

Hi Lee thanks very much. Merry Christmas !!

[@Stop..carry-on]

I totally agree martins videos are professional level very very watchable

[@oldgoat5589]

I would avoid the BBC like the plague. Encourage a third-party film company to take an interest in this fascinating stuff.

[@davidmg1925]

YOu keep the bb blinking c well away from this chief. Every thing they touch they spoil.

[@gablia2002]

Agreed

[@VintageTamiya]

Martin you should be very proud of what you do. You’re keeping history alive, I would love to see you have your own tv show. I’ve been watching your videos all afternoon, and well into the evening. Fantastic work. Good on you.

[@connormeechan5784]

And imagine the slow pain staking task of not only digging but bricking EVERYTHING!😨

[@kathyhowarth2934]

Wish you’d had been my history teacher,you bring the past to life with such enthusiasm,thank you 👍

[@carolinebarnes6832]

God, there is something so damn eerie about those tunnels and shafts. I felt it when I watched the one on the Standedge tunnels and I felt it in this one. Absolutely fascinating as well, all that brick work in the shaft and still in pretty good nick even after 200 years. It boggles the mind, and I never knew anything about it when I lived there. Thanks for making these fantastic films.

[@lindamccaughey8800]

That was quite something. Brickwork fantastic but it is a dangerous place to be.. thanks for taking me along

[@AlohaMilton]

Old steam, awesome! This tunnel is historical, and most of the things you cover are of significance to the industrial revolution, is why you have me here, dude. Merry Christmas from California.

[@MartinZero]

Hello thank you very much, good to have you hear. Best wishes to California 👍🏼

[@acidicvideos8733]

Yoo send me a box of 32 oz ?

[@bigladjonnyboy397]

Looking down that 500 foot shaft was proper scary this was an absolutely top video. To put the depth of the shaft into context means that it's deeper than the forward intact section of the Titanic (475 feet) Now a subscriber.

[@billydale9779]

Great work Martin I've been window cleaning in Manchester for 35 years now and know all the places you go to so nice to see the other side of the wall keep the good work up love it

[@MartinZero]

Cheers Billy 👍

[@sharonstuebi8181]

You Dazzle and Amaze me with your curiosity and ingenuity You need to know that you have a fan club in Pisac Peru! there are 5 of us who cant get enough of your videos. Unfortunately im the only one with a computer so we can only do one subscription

[@MartinZero]

Fantastic and thanks very much all the fan club in Peru 😊👍

[@berylfairchild591]

i know oldham and the moors very well,had no idea what was under the hills,absolutely fascinating thanks martin,keep up the good work,love the videos

[@BerraLJ]

Imagine the horror standing there and feeling the metal start to give way :(

[@MartinZero]

That would be awful

[@brianartillery]

Those regular square holes are where the shaft builders' platforms would be placed - usually a steel ring would be used to keep the diameter constant. They'd dig within it for a metre or so, and then brick the walls, leaving the bricks supported on the ring, and then move down, bit by bit. Those holes will be every six feet or so. Great video. I take it that this is what the ruin with the sinister 'well' in it would have originally looked like.

[@MartinZero]

yes probably I think its an incomplete shaft 👍🏼

[@brianartillery]

In the panoramic shot at 05:15, it looks like there are two more big structures on the hillside in the distance, directly in line with this one - or is that my imagination, or are they the tunnel vents you visited earlier?

[@Journeyman53]

I always wanted to know how they bricked the shafts. The brick and stone work in this video is absolutely amazing.

[@MartinZero]

@@brianartillery Yes they are 👍

[@MartinZero]

@@Journeyman53 👍

[@christophersharp317]

This is legendary! You need to/deserve to have your own series with a public "real" TV channel. Awesome!

[@MartinZero]

Thanks Christopher

[@SMajorJimB]

Mate. I’ve been glued to your vids all morning. Absolutely fantastic. A good one for you would be The Danny on the river weaver. There all nice chaps and let you a good vid.

[@willumwhitmore9419]

thank you - now know where to visit next July...

[@andrewschmitz9707]

Love learning the history of these tunnels, and I knew how they appeared from the base making this top view a treat. So cannot wait to see something like this when I finally get to UK.

[@MartinZero]

Thanks Andrew yes I am in Love with the tunnels

[@brianduncan5758]

"..and we're rover it. " I see what you did there

[@MartinZero]

😃👍

[@TheLastofthefew]

love the intro music..chameleons "swamp thing" MIDDLETONS FINEST..RIP John

[@MartinZero]

Yep. I do love that song myself. Great Band !!!

[@TheLastofthefew]

@@MartinZero happy days djing at the Ritz on a Monday Night(1983-2015) keep up the great work.

[@Simon_Nonymous]

Oooooh Chameleons Swamp Thing and industrial archaeology - heaven!

[@castlejunction1707]

A fascinating place and a dangerous place too.....thanks for doing such an atmospheric video.....caught my kids attention away from their own social media.....thanks.....

[@MartinZero]

Ahh thats good then. 👍😀

[@robmez]

I work next to a 300 foot chimney and it is massive , hard to imagine digging over 500 foot down without Modern equipment , smashing film again Martin

[@MartinZero]

Thanks Robin, whats the chimney ?

[@malcolmcog]

The trip down the shaft on the COC Rover was great !

[@davidclark3603]

That was absolutely amazing! I know what you mean about scary. Going back many years, 1971 I lived near Ashton Moss Colliery at the Snipe Audenshaw. It’s where B and Q stands now. That whole mine had a fascinating history to it.that had tunnels under ground to the Bradford coal pit in Manchester and also to Heyrod power station near me. All the pit head buildings were demolished but the two shafts were left open with a small fence around them. They were about 20 to 30 feet across and apparently a mile deep! The wind was like a tornado. The noise was loud, and what a scary sight. I regularly have nightmares now all these years later. When you dropped a boulder down, it would bounce off the sides and seemed to take for ever to hit the water at the bottom. It was boomy and echoey! If you stand outside B and Q, where it says “Trade Entrance “ the first shaft was there and the second was way deep inside the store. The coal seam was apparently called the “Roger” seam. We used to burn it at home as a child. It was heavy, shiny, very black and would burn for ages and was very hot. What a fascinating video. I was so drawn into it. Absolutely mind blowing. Thanks for sharing!

[@MartinZero]

Thanks David and thats a fascinating story 👍

[@dannorris4945]

Wow.....thanks for sharing that account David. We live between Dukinfield and Stalybridge, I had no idea there was a coliery where Snipe B&Q is now. I would love to have visited that site back in the early 70's.

[@janejohnson7120]

Martin your videos should carry an X rating for sheer terror that's just the things you do the music makes it even more so. Brilliant video from a very obviously proud Mancunian. Just wow thanks

[@brianboru62]

Love that " Oldham a town next Manchester" ( definitely league of gentleman link) haha

[@peterbamber4559]

Great video, I remeber in the late 60s or early 70s my dad taking me up there, parking at the Great Western pub and we walked over to the engine house. I only remember the shaft on the right, it wasn't capped, but had a low red brick wall in front of it, very scary to look down.

[@MartinZero]

I think I went in the Great Western once 👍

[@trevorwright6165]

martin that was fantastic and scary all that way down with the ROVER and it worked great well done to you thank you again for all the hard work you put into the filming for us and the history cheers from trev

[@anastasiamacvicar5609]

i have to say you do one hell of a great channel, putting a lot of effort in and i always enjoy the videos

[@MartinZero]

Thanks very much Anastasia

[@keithhaynes9462]

Amazing martin love this stuff keep it up mate

[@dannorris4945]

Another excellent vid Martin. I've always loved exploring things since I was a kid down in Kent. I live between Dukinfield and Stalybridge now but fully intend to take my 15 yr old son to some of these places. Top notch. 👍😄

[@martinkavanagh196]

And another Season's Retail Rhapsody from me too in N Z. Have a good one Martin.

[@MartinZero]

Hi Martin thanks very much and Happy Christmas

[@timspooner59]

Thanks for posting. Merry christmas from new zealand

[@MartinZero]

Cheers Tim Merry Christmas to you and New Zealand

[@RodrigoBoosBR]

21:36 the deeper it gets, the heavier it gets, because more rope is dropped along with the COC equipment... thx for the awesome vid!

[@topshot2787]

Wow never seen a hole so deep. This is easily one of the best channels on youtube, definetly the best on this subject. All the best from lancashire.

[@MartinZero]

Thanks very much Top Shot

[@mikemason6069]

Great video. Makes you think of the poor buggers who would have been lowered down there in a bucket to dig the thing!

[@martinpiggins5772]

Thanks Martin really interesting as ever and can’t wait for the next one, merry Christmas to you and yours🎁

[@MartinZero]

Hi Martin thank you and Merry Christmas

[@emersonalder1486]

Opening music, Swamp Thing by The Chameleons, awesome 😎

[@MartinZero]

Oh yes 👌😀

[@paulanderson9072]

Martin, absolutely awesome mate! Thanks for the video, love what you do and your enthusiasm. Belting music as always 👌🏻

[@MartinZero]

Thanks Paul. Yeah one of my favourite tracks

[@gaius_enceladus]

Gee, that hole is deep! Great video!

[@Seat1AJoe]

The amount of work it took to build this is staggering.

[@MartinZero]

Yeah the place is incredible Joseph

[@stevem1863]

Absolutely fascinating. Reminded me a lot of my colonoscopy.

[@larryscott3982]

The shaft looks well maintained and tuck pointed. Is that the tip from the digging between the engine house and shaft 3?

[@gcfcos]

These videos are just getting better and better 👍

[@MartinZero]

Thank you

[@anna-lisagirling7424]

I kept trying to imagine life for the diggers and brick/stone masons building that shaft nd all the otheers scattered about from that period. Dark, cold, windy and mishaps had to be frequent. Lighting options had to be a constant hazard. You do a bang up job exploring the technical and technological aspects of these projects and the Industrial Revolution in general but I have only my imagination so far for the rest. The means I have yet another justification for doing research on things most of my friends find incomprehensibly boring ; )

[@MartinZero]

😄Hello, on the way back across the moor in the dark and cold we had a conversation about those horrible conditions that were probably endured everyday up there. Nice days on that moor are few and far between 👍🏼Thanks for watching

[@LEO-xo9cz]

Yep good old white privilege.

[@nickcaunt750]

The oily dirt sent up by the draft of capped Shaft 3 is scary. We breath that stuff in from all the vehicles on the roads....

[@markcantemail8018]

Sir Martin Zero ( you should be Knighted ) . That was great , I love it . It worked ! Next step is to strap a Live Chicken on the Coc Rover for a Trip down and up . I enjoyed the lighting of the Engine house at the Start of the Video . Stay safe and Healthy .

[@mickd6942]

Martin i have an under water video camera with monitor and battery in a carry case it's black and white the camera is on 20 meters 60 feet of cable and has built in lights , bought from craplins a few years ago , you can have it for free if you want it ether collect or you pay postage from barnsley , it might come in handy for some of your explores , nice little kit but i just dont use it and i would rather someone get use out of it than it just take up space that i could use for other clutter

[@anthony2806]

I think he's going to need that

[@divineeyeobserver754]

That's a lovely thing to do

[@MartinZero]

Hello, thanks very much. Thats very good of you. You say your in Barnsley ?

[@mickd6942]

Martin Zero yes mate s703hl

[@patricklinsley1070]

Another thing you can do Martin to stop the strain on your back (and from having to lean over the shaft) is to place an aluminium tube (or a scaffolding pole) across the the handrails above the shaft, rap the cord around it a couple of times and use it as a sort of pully when lowering COC-Rover down. You'll then be able to stand well away from the edge of the shaft which will allow yo to keep your back straight, it will ensure a smooth journey down and stop the cord from rubbing - and possibly breaking - on the sharp corner of the brickwork at the top of the shaft as it goes over the edge. You might want to try slightly bigger and wider wheels - rubber ones of the sort you get on the front of some wheelchairs. As they're bigger and wider, there'll be less chance of them snagging on any sharp corners of rock towards the bottom of the shaft.

[@MrLargePig]

You do the atmospheric bit rather well, Martin! Amazing the work that was put into the tunnels- hard to fathom, at this remove. Merry Christmas, to you and yours!

[@MartinZero]

Thank you and a Merry Christmas to you

[@deborahroberts7674]

Brilliant music.

[@chesterdrawers6414]

You young men are doing fabulous work, I really hope we can meet someday.

[@MartinZero]

Thanks Chester 👍🏼

[@mikeparker556]

That was excellent, thank you Martin, really appreciate your videos!

[@MartinZero]

Thanks Mike much appreciated

[@JDLeonard74]

Ahhh, that's what's inside that building they slapped a gate on when they saw this great video you made.😅😉

[@MartinZero]

Yes indeed, those shafts are amazing

[@stevecooper3010]

Great job showing the history of the industrial age Makes you appreciate the hard slog the people from the past put in ,the physical labour was tremendous and dangerous brickin up a shaft 500 ft deep the logistics to acheive it, physically unbelievable

[@redlock4004]

Great video Martin. Next time send the Dalek down the shaft.

[@geoffbray6099]

You take urbex to new heights and depths. Spot on Martin.

[@christopherescott6787]

Amazing as usual. Merry Christmas to you and you friends and family from Edmonton Canada.

[@MartinZero]

Thank you and a happy Christmas to Edmonton Canada. thank you for watching so far away 👍🏼

[@SuperRichhead]

Your ingenuity is to be admired, another great video Martin, all the best for Christmas and the New Year.

[@MartinZero]

Thanks Richard and Merry Christmas

[@keithphilbin3054]

Half way down... there's a guy clinging onto that ladder saying "This is a local tunnel, for local people".

[@MartinZero]

I think your right, I heard him Keith

[@jamie7056]

Great film Martin,you put a lot of effort into this,making the coc Rover etc,thanks.The footage was amazing.I think I’d rather pay you the licence fee than the BBC,there’s coc all on the telly! Great stuff👍

[@readmylisp]

ditto

[@connormeechan5784]

That "troff" like structure is actually what u mention, as they had no efficient way of of getting breathable air down the shafts. they would have small slits in the wood were a small amount of water would release and make the mist and its a moor so constant water supply from the run off from the moor

[@seemorebeer2848]

Creepy creepy ! 😱 Keep up the excellent work my friend ✌🏼

[@MartinZero]

Cheers Ian

[@SuperRonnie1972]

Next time Martin put a 'turn of the rope' around that rail to assist with breaking, you will then be able to tie it off securely to enable you to 'take a break'. Ronnie

[@carlbentley80]

Fantastic.

[@roadpanzir]

Fantastic!

[@rossspenser8314]

You are good .Thanks again so interesting .

[@tonydeleo3642]

The brickwork in the shafts is quite amazing

[@MrPaddykelly17]

Loving the videos martin especially when you put chameleons tunes to them 👍

[@MartinZero]

Hi Paddy, yeah Love the Chameleons

[@MrPaddykelly17]

@@MartinZero I'm from middleton where they come reg n dave used to drink in my local the brunswick which has sadly long since gone

[@robertdobbo3683]

Just subsribed just brilliant mate love my history stuff and you are well up there did not expect that from an already amazing location going to binge on your work 👏

[@MartinZero]

Hi Robert thanks very much. Yeah its an amazing hidden gem that

[@Gix3D]

The pointing could do with redoing down that shaft.

[@craigja1667]

need an opposite Fred Dibnah

[@davidcutts2650]

Interesting & I have seen other videos with beam engines similar to what would have being used.

[@immortalclass]

Great vid. You did well to emphasise the human effort, bravery and audacity of those pioneers. And I guess the finished canal itself, was significant in the transportation of coal - an irony considering how damned hard it was to get fuel and materials onto that desolate place during construction.

[@MartinZero]

Thank you, yes your right very ironic

[@CitizenErased11]

Interesting video Martin. I just visited it today - it was all shrouded in mist and seriously eerie! I had the dog with me and did not like being inside the building at all - he was very spooked in there

[@MartinZero]

Ahh you went up there. I would love to Photograph it in the mist. Was there mist in the shafts ?

[@CitizenErased11]

There was no mist in the shafts but it was quite eerie up there

[@jayd1974]

Great video once again and da Coc rover a great invention 👍

[@MartinZero]

😃👍

[@wantmot]

the hill at your side the rocky one is all the spoil out of the shafts its all around you ,the shaft on top of the hill what you said you wouldn't go down if you walk a little more down the valley nearer to the pub were the stream runs you will find the other end it runs into the stream via a smaller shaft me and son worked it out one day, i reported the grating being missing/loose once and they did repair it so its a shame some one has damaged it again i would hate an animal or human walking in dim light to fall down it

[@MartinZero]

Hi yes I saw all the spoil I did have it in the video but had to cut it. Yes that open shaft is scary and dangerous

[@Thailandescapades]

once again martin you’ve created a belting video,watching this from manila airport in the philippines,have a fantastic xmas and all the best for the new year

[@MartinZero]

Thank you so much and happy Christmas to you and the Philippines 🎄

[@ColinHarperSummerson]

Great Video Martin, cracking camera action down the shaft, good bit of apparatus , great camera action from Coc-Rover , well thought through , very impressive view of places that we wouldn't normally been able to see, thank you Martin 👍🙂

[@MartinZero]

Thanks Colin

[@ivodr600]

Fascinating Martin

[@MartinZero]

Thank you

[@greatwhite3219]

Great video pal..

[@johorrocks8927]

Coc rover is genius, the shafts were amazing for their time... thank you without this video I would never get to see this to be honest

[@lewisfirth6502]

You rock Marty, streets above owt else on telly

[@MartinZero]

Thanks very much Lewis

[@msoddsoxsox974]

Fascinating and brilliant as always, thank you for all your hard work and dedication ,,

[@MartinZero]

Thanks very much. Really appreciate it

[@msoddsoxsox974]

@@MartinZero Happy Christmas :-)

[@colmone5592]

It looks like building the canal tunnel was a learning experience for the builders as well as for us. I was wondering how they did the brickwork but another commenter explained that. They certainly went to extreme lengths to build that tunnel. Well done on building the Rover.

[@MartinZero]

Thanks a lot. I think you put your finger on it. It was a learning experience for all those involved in the build and design

[@johncliff5417]

Hi Martin, before I forget, just want to mention "Fred and Blaster Bates would have loved your videos. I bet Fred would have been able to give you some history about the tunnels and the steam engines. Another great video Martin. I was getting a bit of vertigo has COC Rover was going down the shaft. Good job I'm not working now ,trying to climb up long ladders and the like. I nearly got kicked off a site in Bradford. I did a free abseil down an empty lift shaft instead of climbing down the ladder on the scaffolding tower that had been temp. erected. The ruddy safety officer on site called me over and I had to bluff my way out of it. I didn't dare say I did it because I enjoyed it. I still would not go down one of those shafts though. The poor sods who had to brick line them. Wonder what they got paid for that then. ?. Not much I bet. I first met Fred at Blackpool. I had just finished a job and driving down the road I saw Fred's van parked up. I pulled up and saw Fred sat astride the top of what was left of a chimney. He was knocking it down with a 4 lb lump hammer. The bricks were dropping straight down the chimney - no mess at the bottom of site. I got my lump hammer out of the van and shouted up and laughing " Want an hand Fred". He waved and just said no your right, it won't tek' me much longer to finish this. He was getting a new boiler made for the price of removing an unwanted chimney. I called in to see him at his place on my way home after a job I had been doing in Bolton I stayed for a bit having a chat and use to see him about when working in Lancashire. Look forward to another of your videos Martin.

[@MartinZero]

Thanks John great story. I never had the pleasure of meeting Fred

[@davidhudson8415]

Great video Martin - COC rover 🤣 - have NASA come calling yet mate . Keep the videos coming - now subscribed 👍👍

[@MartinZero]

I turned em down. Thanks for subscribing David

[@oliverghunter]

Fantastic video Martin. Loving your ingenuity at creating and braveness in using COC-Rover! Great footage from the plucky little device! 😀Looking down the shaft brings the feelings of vertigo as clearly as if I was there myself - terrifying as you say! I was worried about the rope scraping over the edge of the brickwork though - you could use a short section of 2mm plastic pipe to reduce friction and risk of snagging, but would need someone to hold it or a way to secure it in place. Keep up the fantastic work!!

[@markmatthews7401]

Another excellent video Martin you always go above and beyond well done

[@MartinZero]

Thanks Mark 👍

[@Pythonagrator]

COC rover the shaft explorer. Sounds like a scene from a carry on movie :)

[@MartinZero]

😆👍

[@idiotbox8291]

Great work again Martin! Merry Christmas to you from Australia.

[@MartinZero]

Thanks Happy Christmas to Australia and you 😄

[@fat_biker]

If there’s a next time, buy a Willian’s sit-harness & a descender, it’s the kit you would use when abseiling and it would let you take all the weight of the rope at your waist rather than on your back. Also the descender would allow you to lock it off so that you wouldn’t need to keep holding it...

[@Dave64track]

Another great video the footage with the Go pro it's unreal you get a real sense of the size of that shaft. I felt like a was going to fall down it just watching on my TV can't imagine looking over the edge like you did but well worth it. Thanks for sharing keep up the good work and adventures

[@MartinZero]

Hi David yeah I bet it was ace on a large screen. Thanks very much for watching 👍

[@Thunderer0872]

You did it again dude, awesome. I was checking out Google Earth for the ventilation shafts, you can see them clearly and many of the abandoned ones or test shafts as you scroll across the moor, But there was a rectangle structure and here you have shown me what it was/is, Many many thanks, scary indeed but you've done it so I don't have to although I'd may be go look at the building and the shafts one time but I don't need to risk going in. One thing you haven't mentioned is all the stone piled up around the shafts and this pump house. That's all the spoil from the tunnel when they built it (Also clearly seen on Google Earth) also there's sort of Google street view passing the Well shaft you went GoPro fishing in. I guess that one is a shaft capped off but full of water now? Keep up the good work chief and cheers again.

[@MartinZero]

Yes I did do a piece where I talked about the spoil but I think it just never got in the video. I imagine the engine house does look mysterious on Google Earth when it appears as a rectangle 👍

[@TheFilwud]

Another brilliant video Martin, I really want to get back on a narrowboat and take a trip through Standedge, these videos just keep reminding me! Keep up the good, no, great work!

[@MartinZero]

Thanks Phil, yeah Id love to do that

[@Urbexy]

Another brilliant video. COC - rover certainly done it's job. It must be a little unsettling being in that building knowing it has two 500ft shafts dug below it.

[@MartinZero]

Its very unsettling 😱

[@dchalkie]

Spooky Martin, have a great Christmas matey 👍🎄🍺

[@MartinZero]

Thanks David happy Christmas

[@fatimaali7539]

That was a successful maiden voyage of coc rover 1 congrats lol 😂 I really enjoy learning about the history of where u live x

[@MartinZero]

Thanks Fatima glad you enjoyed 😃

[@cnocspeireag]

Your COCrover is so reminiscent in concept to the AFLO devices early cave divers made up to help them navigate flooded caves half a century ago. AFLO was an abbreviation of AFLOLAUN, apparatus for laying out line and underwater navigation.

[@MartinZero]

Ahh thats interesting

[@phildavis4878]

I absolutely love the video you went above and beyond my friend so you can give us review of those shafts awesome awesome work and that little girl was thinking about smart idea keep up the good videos my friend I'll always watch him

[@MartinZero]

Thanks Phil

[@GeoffJonesEsprit]

OMG The Chameleons & MZ... feels like I'm back home :-)

[@MartinZero]

Cant beat a bit of `chameleons 😄👍🏼

[@stuboyd1194]

I'm kinda surprised that the some couple in conjunction with the show Grand Designs hasn't turned this into a modern home.

[@MartinZero]

I hate that Stu.