The Two-Headed Monster Vehicle of Montech

What do you get if you cross two second-hand diesel railway locomotives, sixteen tractor wheels, a couple of girders and an industrial water barrier? Well, in 1974, a man called Jean Aubert tried to find out. His bizarre vehicle last ran in 2009, and was then abandoned, but the rumour is it's still there. So today, we're going on the hunt for the Monster of Montech...
Thanks to Philipp Janssen (@philwjan on Twitter) for bringing this mad machine to my attention!
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IMAGE CREDITS
Thumbnail image by Joël Damase / Tourisme Tarn-et-Garonne
Monster of Montech by Pinpin: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
All other historic images of the vehicle by Profburp: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...

[@rasmAn2]

now, i'm a hydraulic engineer, and i can't for the life of me figure out why anyone would make one of these. i can tell you from many experiences that making a sliding seal is several orders of magnitude more difficult that making a stationary one. if you had the slope already, it would make way more sense to have the busses carry a caisson instead of making a concrete troughs smooth and regular enough to basically squeegee water uphill. if you didn't have the slope yet, an arrangement like a boat lift (2 caissons with a bit of string on them) or something like the Falkirk wheel would make even more sense, because they hardly take any energy to move. remember boys and girls, boats float because they displace an amount of water equal to their weight, so a box full of water with an overflow at a certain level weighs the same as the same box full of water and a boat in it, so 2 caissons can balance each other. making boxes watertight is something humans have been doing for a while, they are called boats. and yes the box needs a door in it, but that's just a lock, and crucially, the seal doesn't move while the box is moving. this arrangement has the trouble with the seal, it needs 5 metric boatloads of power and 7 metric boatloads of grip to get the boat, the water, and itself up the slope. and yes, you get the power back on the way down, except you don't get all of it back because friction (of which there is a lot because grip==friction), and now you have to store the 9 metric boatloads of energy the bewildering contraption eats on the way up, a thing that is notoriously difficult. a lot of people in the process of building this should have known better. this is like growing wheat, feeding said wheat to cows, feeding said cows to tigers, and feeding said tiger to a fire to bake bread with, because you are a vegetarian. it can certainly be done with great effort and at great expense, but why? and should you really want to?

[@TheTimTraveller]

Haha :D This is fantastic, thanks very much for your expert analysis of the situation, I love it! Would you mind if I pin this comment so more people can read it?

[@mittfh]

Canal inclined planes have been around since 600 BC, both with caissons and without (in the latter type, the boat drives onto a cradle, which is attached to the rope and pulls the boat out of the water entirely to traverse the slope (there's a few on the Elbląg Canal in Poland, which might be worth a visit when restrictions eventually end - although given the distance, you'd probably want to find other video ideas in the vicinity!) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canal_inclined_plane?wprov=sfla1

[@philippm.1271]

the answer is quite easy - energy was very cheap back than. make something leaky but lets fill it up from above does make it very robust to damage etc. Yes your solution is very elegant and hell ... ITS BETTER... but when energy is cheap and you only get funding when the idea is crazy... ähm... Concorde, Space Shuttle High ways through citys (high ones - Bridges (no native speaker)). All Projects when energy is cheap and the results on how efficient you do something doesn't matter.

[@GerardMenvussa]

But if it had been made in a more standard fashion, it would never have been featured on this canal euh... channel* Clearly this was a 4D chess move :p

[@rasmAn2]

@@TheTimTraveller Sure! Ones rants can never get too much attention. I fear i may have been slightly misunderstood here though, I like that someone had the sheer pigheadedness to build two of these. What is the human condition if not to build overcomplicated and impractical contraptions, after all? But i hope we can all agree that it is just that, a truely terrible idea.

[@mixererunio1757]

Why need tourist guides, when you can find random old gentlemen with moustache and a flat cap that can tell you everything basically all around the world.

[@mixererunio1757]

You also have to visit Elbląg Canal en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elbląg_Canal They solved that problem basically by putting boats on cable railway wagons.

[@neywa402]

we should make an app for it. can call it "local moustache" or something like that :)

[@worldtraveler930]

I believe there used to be a steeplejack in England that fit those descriptions.

[@TPBurrow]

@@worldtraveler930 Fred Dibnah this guy: kzbin.info/www/bejne/aYOWXoyteb-lsMk

[@Okurka.]

I thought all French men wore a beret.

[@ljphoenix4341]

3:16 Marcel's for sure a local legend, probably the unofficial local historian of the area, I'd say. What a great guy, he seemed more than willing to share his knowledge, so nice of him to do that.

[@kiwiwifi]

But he can’t speel loch

[@dafiltafish]

"Random dude who has lived near interesting thing forever" is the best tour guide.

[@xcrockery8080]

When I was a child, in France, in about Year3 we were sent out by school to find random old men/women and we were told to ask them to describe things they remembered from their youth. Best stories I ever heard. Flying machines. German garrisons. It was amazing.

[@MrTryxxter]

Oh, the wonderful Marcel. Little did he realise when he woke up that morning, that his local passion and knowledge would result in him narrating a local canal engineering story to hundreds of thousands of curious people around the world. Marcel, I salute you!

[@timflatus]

Your random gentleman was a gem!

[@johnturner4400]

A gemtleman ....

[@PimStoit]

"...but only about the right to be guillotined. Anyway, speaking about sudden cuts..."

[@dogcarman]

A bit dark there, Tim. 🤣

[@SanderEvers]

well, we could make a religion out of it.

[@danielr.l.mccullough600]

@@SanderEvers don't

[@HalfAsleepChris]

Tooof! Loved the 'pushed the boat out' pun!

[@bokhans]

Hi. I am an old subscriber to your channel too, love banknotes and cats. 😊❤️

[@oddball_the_blue]

One hell of buildup just for that verbal gag...

[@matthewgeorge8813]

Hi I am a fan subscriber of your channel

[@andrewmasters5020]

Managed to barge that joke in.

[@swedervanrosmalen7892]

hi chris!

[@jackpeppiatt3282]

I visited the 'Slope' in 1978 with a party from the Inland Waterways Association. The machine was working and we saw it pass several freight carrying vessels both up and down during our couple of hours on site. It was quick and efficient and leakage past the seals was not great. My memory suggests that a seal was accomplished with rubber coated rollers both at the sides and base, the most prominent leakage being from the bottom corners which conformed with a 45 deg angle of the concrete channel between the sides and base. The machine traveled at a fast walking pace and was no more noisy than a pair of diesel locos pulling away on a train service, which in the open countryside was not unpleasantly loud. The concrete surface was smooth and regular, the French being past masters at cast concrete and locomotives running on pneumatic tyres.

[@antoy384]

Sorry, why is an 8-meter high lock difficult? Is there anything difficult around making a very high lock?

[@SuperBobKing]

@@antoy384 The higher the water difference the higher the pressure, and the harder it is for the doors to do their thing. You can get around that by doing the lock in multiple steps, like the one right next to this. You also have to wait for water to move around, so they can end up taking awhile. I'm not sure doing it all in one step would actually make much difference because of that. People have been dealing with those problems for a long time, and this machine was an attempt to get around them.

[@antoy384]

@@SuperBobKing You're right! And you make me think about a problem raised in Panama canal videos: A single-step-but-high lock loses a lot of water for each boat (because the full column of water goes to the lower river), which is a problem in Panama because it depletes the higher lake, so they work around this by using several locks, which only consumes a margin of the water per lock. This train depletes even less water from the top side, since it pushes water from the bottom to the top!

[@billyswong]

The problem of Jean Aubert's design is less about the slope or the leaky seal. It is about... when your route and workload is fixed (always the same mass because floating boats displace water), why not use a cable car mechanism with proper counterweight to pull / push the water + boat mass? Cables or chains, cogwheels or smooth rails, it doesn't matter.

[@Enforcer12345]

I really love that your videos don't end with "Like, comment and subscribe" but with "If you're interested in that place, here is how to get there". It's so genuine and actually makes me wanna go to all those places!

[@flaetsbnort]

I was laughing out loud at how impratical this thing was and my jaw dropped when you said it was in use for decades

[@Mumbamumba]

6:43 How can you claim it was impractical when it's clearly "un succès international"? xD

[@stefans4562]

It might have been impractical as a mode of transport. However it was an achievement in entertainment.

[@flaetsbnort]

@@stefans4562 I figure. The thing is, I'm a bit of a transportation nerd, but it's unlikely that I'll leave the house JUST to go ride a train or sth. And yet, this thing suggests that people - families , even - would decide that their Sunday event would be to go ride a slow, big boat (????) then eat at a local restaurant, then ride the slow boat back, and that boggles my mind (even though , again, I'd totally do that kind of thing)

[@robertwilloughby8050]

It's French. Past masters at "If it can be done, let's do it and see if it works". Look up Minitel for what the French did with telephone lines and CRT monitors.

[@OmmerSyssel]

@@robertwilloughby8050 French cars has a reputation for obvious reasons ... 🙄

[@silmarian]

As someone who's had to use wheelchairs before (and will again), I really appreciate that you mention accessibility.

[@GaryNumeroUno]

At least the canal has a ramp on both sides for easy wheelchair access for when the monster is out of operation!

[@SecretSquirrelFun]

Yes, I was (and I am) going to say the same thing. I really really appreciate that Tim considers and mentions accessibility at these locations. I have also occasionally wondered if this something with which Tim has a lived experience.

[@poum_pvp]

In France public places are required by LAW to be accessible to wheelchairs. In my town they had to renovate all the new bus stops because they were not accessible, even if there are no wheelchairs user.

[@Lozoot2]

"we want to restore this incredibly unique and historical machine!" "Mmmm... Nah." "We can make it look like a Little Tykes toy" "Now we're talkin!"

[@Jinxtah123]

Loved that friendly old chap happy to tell the history of that monster.

[@alcaulique8358]

Ah l'accent du midi de Marcel sonne bons les vacances!

[@GhostCZ007]

Honestly, just the little exchange with the bus driver made my day. I think I could watch anything you make.

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

2:37 Blue Peter theme song...a man of culture We should try something like this for tourists that come to our nation. A canal ride and some good kimchi, who can resist?

[@tjendenys5028]

All hail the supreme leader!

[@hjalfi]

...and it's the Blue Peter theme song because international code flag P, also meaning 'all people report on board, vessel is departing', is blue and white! (The TV programme was named after the flag.) (Although, the flag can also mean 'my nets are caught on an obstruction'.)

[@robertridley-fj8zz]

Love your work; so much more successful than the copy cat would be autocrats of the west. That Russian chaps seems to know what he's doing too, but hasn't got the whole "officially sanctioned hair cuts" thing at all.

[@robertridley-fj8zz]

@@hjalfi Or "my hovercraft is full of eels" in the Hungarian translation.

[@chegeny]

Love the encounter with your friendly passer-by saying "Tooof" Reminds me of Peter Mayle's Toujours Provence when the old man in the pharmacy said "Tok" to describe a suppository. Wonderful content on your channel. I've never heard of this vehicle.

[@GuntherSchmidl]

Chef kiss for the sudden cut. e: second chef kiss for the U.F.O. theme.

[@kelvinp.coleman563]

You're stuck in the country that I miss travelling to the most, so hearing your conversation with a local filled my heart with joy again, as well as challenging my language comprehension. I like to think I got most of it without the subtitles, but he's certainly got a funny accent. Thanks for this. In the absence of any Permission To Eurostar, your locked down videos shall transport me.

[@pangolin83]

You've found a "Remarkably Foreign Guy"! Getting even closer to basically being a Tom Scott video!

[@nathangathercole6888]

That now makes me want a Tim and Tom Series...

[@pangolin83]

@@nathangathercole6888 If Tim was as good as he was in the Unfinished London series, it's gonna be a great watch

[@sirrliv]

@@pangolin83 Pretty sure you're thinking of Jay Foreman. Though that does now make me want to see an epic 3-way crossover with Tim, Tom, and Jay all together. Heck, throw in Jago Hazzard for good measure and some obscure London railway facts.

[@HidingAllTheWay]

Honestly he's not that remarkably foreign, he would not look out of place in small English town.

[@pangolin83]

@@HidingAllTheWay It's more a foreign accent than anything

[@1258-Eckhart]

I'm actually rather amazed that two diesel multiple units had enough power (2.000 HP) to shift that weight up the incline. Plus that leaking water from the back and the water trickle from above to compensate - it''s all so unnecessarily gimcrack. It makes "Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines" look like an FAA teaching aid for aircraft construction.

[@scottfw7169]

The thing brings to mind a phrase, "Gallic logic".

[@xcrockery8080]

The old guy describes it being used to ease a boat down, he specifically said the boat took a different route to get up.

[@Delibro]

The slop is very gentle, I think that's why 2000 HP are enough: 13.3 m height difference on 443 m length (3 % inclination). Also a low speed of 4.5 km/h.

[@Delibro]

@@xcrockery8080 No, it pushed boats down and up.

[@xcrockery8080]

@@Delibro At 3:20 he describes the boats going up via the parallel lock sequence, turning, and coming down the "Pente d'eau". He describes the engine putting down its shield and slowly coming down. He describes the boats going down in the water held in front of the shield then coming back up via the "4 locks".

[@kgmakogon]

After some consideration I find such a contraption brilliant in many ways, and here is why: 1. Resources needed to construct a stationary concrete “gutter” are much less than needed to set up an inclined plane with caissons, or a set of locks. 2. Used rail diesel-electric engines might not be good enough to pull a train, but are still very good to push a shovel. 3. Sealing tightly the shovel is not necessary , because of the water inflow from above. 4. Friction loss or alignment problems when pushing the shovel? No, because of deliberately non-tight construction. The French are not weird, they are famous for solving a complex problem their way.

[@katebygrave]

I do so love that you used the theme music from Gerry Anderson’s UFO. 😍

[@Croz89]

Two references to Gerry Anderson in this one.

[@chrisdodge4462]

Hi Tim ! In 2009 we missed this thing actually working becuase, in a very French way, we were having lunch ! It had been sat at the bottom with it's engines running as we came up the locks, so my wife asked if it was going to perform. Sadly, at this point, there was a small but critical breakdown in communication, as what she interpreted as "at 2 o'clock" was actually "in two hours time", which equated to around 1.30. Hence, as I marched towards it, camcordcer in hand, at around 1.45, the boat which had been raised on it was just emerging from the top. I wish now that I'd simply delayed lunch ! What emerged at the top however was not just a restaurant boat, so there must have been other traffic using it as late as 2009, probably peniches who were in a hurry. Thanks for another great video, though. It's just a shame that they're only tarting it up, and not restoring it to full operation !

[@TheTimTraveller]

Oh no, you could have been the only person on KZbin with footage of BOTH vehicles! I hope it was a good lunch at least :D Interesting to hear that there were still other boats using it in 2009. But I'm guessing that the restaurant boat was the only *regular* user. What you (nearly) saw was probably quite rare by that stage.

[@spacebruce3332]

Sneaky Thunderbirds theme, I approve

[@AlexStankevitch]

I thought it sounded more like UFO 😁👍

[@bluehampar]

They have the same ticket mahines on the bus as we have in stockholm!!! (yes i'm nerdy but it feels like it fits the channel)

[@jakethomasorton]

Erg by the looks of it

[@x123rey]

There are the same machines in Netanya Israel on buses operated by Egged and its subsidiaries that operate municipal lines. I have seen the same machines on municipal buses of other cities.

[@MrSymmah]

I just enjoy hearing genuine french language. As a Canadian, I can only "enjoy" a Quebec version.

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

Interesting to hear this one worked. So it was a whole touristy experience when it worked? Well it is certainly a unique thing to come across so I’m not surprised it did well. I was wondering if that thing all the way in the background at 3:14 was it and lo and behold, it was. Glad to hear it was restored and planned to be used for a heritage center. A community should be proud to have something as unique and bizarre as that

[@bricelarie6527]

There's no reason at all to make some sort a pride on about ... But it's quite true this particular region keeps taking care what were the cheapest n simpliest trades paths ... Not only were rivers, a life matters real support but also a livings matters one . Way before "rubber" we already were able to exchange some quite heavy loads on quite long distances ... I don't know if "pulling paths" are proper words to translate but on each river where boats could circulate you should observe and find paths . They are called "chemins de hallages" ... and are the path on which from the bank the river the boats were pulled ... Now they are some bicycle "highway" going at least from ocean to sea . This "everything but a monster" was made to go to a path to another ... cause, water path goes parallel for a bit a distances ... Another place to see is ( please don't take it as an offense ) "le pont canal" on which water path goes up another one perpendicularly ... This region is impudently beautiful ... Dare, care, ride safe, clean, have fun ... From France with !

[@clementlacoste2962]

Thanks ! I lived in Montauban for several years and and was never able to see the monster of montech in action. I Know that people of montech were very proud of it and most of them were sad that this incredible machinerie doesn't work anymore. Thank you to make light on this story. PS : This is absolutely true that (almost) every sity in France is ridiculously beautiful

[@timtranslates]

Thanks for including the greeting in Occitan. I love Marcel's strong Occitan accent. I wonder whether he speaks it. Was quite a find bumping into him.

[@MrDavidgothard]

I love it when travelling and you meet the random old guys who know all the history. Happened in a few places with me. You can't beat that local knowledge and passion: learn things you never would from books

[@weltensittich1266]

Thunderbirds midi and UFO? I love your taste in music! :3

[@jonmiguel]

LOVE THE UFO THEME MUSIC! Gerry Anderson was Magnifique!

[@maccanorton]

I love your commitment to wheelchair accessibility notes Tim!

[@pascalras9421]

Hi, I just went to visit it today (Sept 19,2023) and the "peniche museum" is awesome! It's free of charge and you walk in by yourself. It is so well done tjat in 30mn you know all the secret from this long lived prototype. It's worth a visit to Montech and if you are biking the canal this is a mandatory stop. I encourage everyone to climb up the 13m high steep to the final door.

[@programmingfortheweb]

_"It wasn't complicated enough"_ an apt description of French engineering!

[@Herr_Bone]

Right, and the British prefer to build 20 locks powered by steam engines because they have always done so. Meanwhile, the Germans secretly invented the ship lift: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qZTVY2Bunqmoqa8

[@jeffkent6886]

As a full-time wheelchair enthusiast (for 20 years almost) I really appreciate your addition at the end of each video about accessability. If only I could afford to travel! :-)

[@anthonyxuereb792]

Life would dull without these projects to get our interest, thank you for the daring of those responsible.

[@sergarlantyrell7847]

I loved the piano lounge cover of the Thunderbirds music, it was so appropriate for such an absurd system. I wonder if Monsieur Aubert ever visited Falkirk after building his water slopes, and upon seeing the wheel there, thought "Merde!" because he didn't think to use caissons and counterweights.

[@felixdeckers8863]

In Belgium, there exist a few of these that work with two tanks that work as counterweights, and they seem to work very well (which is quite rare for something Belgian)

[@sheppardpat47]

Where? I'm Belgian and never seen anything like that

[@kevanhubbard9673]

You could add the Falkirk Wheel in Scotland among these strange canal lifting devices.it's between Edinburgh and Glasgow although I must admit I've never been.

[@andvil01]

But the Falkirk wheel is truly genious. It is perfectly balanced, due to Archimedes law, if there is a boat in one but not the other. Only takes a "small" motor to overcome inertia and friction. If they had two large buckets on rollers with a chain over a wheel on the top, they could use the same law here. Just put some more water in the upper bucket and gravitation will do the work.

[@williamgeorgefraser]

Back in 1975, I was working for Beaver Fleet, a hire company in Agen. The nearest boat hire company at the time was Blue Line down in Castelnaudary. A customer had left a boat in Moissac and a journalist was due to pick it up in Toulouse a few days later. I was asked to move it. Although the Montech water slope was limited to barge traffic, the Ponts et Chaussées in charge of the canal wanted a photo of a pleasure craft using it. On arrival at Montech we asked the engineer for permission to go through but, would you believe it, it had broken down and we had to wait while a barge reversed out of it and went through the 5 locks. Unfortunate but not entirely unexpected.

[@poisonousmarrownexsusgamin1804]

great to see this machine. good to hear the UFO near the end of your film. Wish this machine was working

[@horlixuk]

Thank you Marcel. What a lovely gentleman.

[@daniel_bohrer]

1:40 I like that Brits are even polite when they speak a different language.

[@MianCowell]

I'd not recommend observing any chavs on holiday in Spain.

[@glennash4606]

@@MianCowell Poor favour uno beer please. Did I get it right?

[@P1nkR]

Your travel videos have more comedy in them than most recent comedy shows and more history than the History Channel. Absolutely love them.

[@MakeItWithJim]

I worked on French canals as a teenager. Such happy memories!

[@tibsie]

"Speaking of sudden cuts"... That was SAVAGE! Nice.

[@SecretSquirrelFun]

I know it’s already been said ....possibly 400 times.....but I’m going to say it again - Tooof!! (I just loved that. The perfect description in my opinion). Marcel is a natural, just brilliant 🙂 Thank you for sharing your adventures with me, so interesting and funny. I’m now going to hit the little blue arrow, tooof!!, and post my comment 🙂🐿

[@TheFirstGroover]

This is so ridiculously nice to see and watch. The man who speaks about the machine was so proud and calm, just a nice lovely person. And that scenario gaves to me a sense of nostalgia but at the same time like a time travel in the future, we're far away from the noise of the world, simple people still live a simple life. Thank you.

[@mashisma]

Marcel should open his own KZbin channel 👍

[@kzonedd7718]

Today's 'Hallooo' is fresh, vibrant, but also mimics the mating call of the flat-capped Frenchman too closely, so one showed up.

[@Isalys555]

Awesome video! As a french I can tell, your french is flawless!

[@daveduley]

Loved the use of the theme music from the 1960s sci-fi tv show UFO!.....

[@markushell7785]

Thanks for these videos Tim! This and the Fonseranes one finally encouraged me to visit two similar sights in Belgium I'd had on my radar for a while: the Ronquières inclined slope with caissons on rails and the Strépy boat lift, until 2016 the largest boat lift in the world. Both are operational and heavily used, and seeing a boat get into what's basically a giant bathtub is super impressive! I'm sure you're aware of these already but if you feel like a follow-up for massive vehicles carrying boats...

[@RMTren]

The real question is did you get to ride the same coach on the way home? 😂

[@hellelujahh]

THE VIEWERS NEED TO KNOW

[@OntarioTrafficMan]

This was my first question upon finishing the video!

[@worldtraveler930]

We are still waiting for an answer.

[@kevinm3586]

Another great video, thanks. I'm coincidentally planning a trip to Montauban (whenever that may be possible) so this is now on the 'must see' list. It's like the bizarre love child of a brief dalliance between a Stalin-era tractor factory and the city in Christopher Priest's "Inverted World" that just happened to be passing by.

[@Bowpair2]

Thumbs up for Marcel :D

[@davekirwin]

Thank you Tim, another lovely video full of interest! What a fascinating beast and the chance encounter with the local was great. Nice musical and editing touches too. Merveilleux!

[@TheTimTraveller]

Cheers Dave!

[@billcarroll986]

Love the old 'UFO' theme...one my favorite shows when I was growing up. :)

[@iancarter921]

Great theme tune and show. Great to hear it subtly played in this video.

[@MiceAndMinecraft]

I just want to say thank you on this and the previous video, for letting me know the accessibility of the sites! Very much appreciated. My parents live in France and we visit regularly (plague allowing of course, so not for a year now). I’d love to visit these sites when we go back, and I’m a wheelchair user. Not too many French attractions are so welcoming.

[@nomadMik]

A friend of mine has a list of little tips for life on their wall, and it includes 'talk to old people'. I've found it to be excellent advice, and extending it to KZbin is brilliant. You've done us all a service, Tim, by just letting the local do the talking. I hope he subscribes, and enjoys your other content, too, as much as I. Kudos for being so nice to the coach driver, too… I've always imagined that job to be tough at times.

[@sunzero1]

What a fascinating and wonderful machine. Thank you for your excellent videos, they've been a real treat during these difficult times. Cheers!

[@fezogh]

Hey Tim, i don't often comment on yt but I just wanted to thank you for pointing out wheelchair accessibility on every place you visit, it's something small that shows how much you care, thanks.

[@christianbeck5192]

So, now I somehow expect you to go to the Saint-Louis-Arzviller inclined plane next. This one is still in use today on the Rhine-Marne-Canal. It moves you 44 m up in less than 20 minutes. You should give it a try!

[@Will-bo7kg]

Even though there are simpler ways of doing so, it’s still awesome. A perfect example of the rule of cool at it’s finest

[@DonVitoCS2workshop]

That french man seems so friendly! Hope he will find this video :)

[@SeverityOne]

My experience with the French is that they're very friendly overall, provided you're outside the tourist traps. Which more or less rules out the entirety of Paris.

[@8bitbonsai]

you really doing a great job keeping us entertained in those strange times

[@jantschierschky3461]

There are number of interesting lifting systems, when visiting Belgium I seen a number of real interesting ways of doing that, lot more energy efficient and reliable.

[@ekaftan]

I love that you always mention accessibility. Thanks!

[@ReHerakhte]

Fascinating bit of engineering history (or, perhaps, over-overengineering considering the first vehicle). Loved the link back to Part One and Gerry & Sylvia Anderson when showing the repainted version of the machine!

[@spiralpython1989]

Toof! Best ‘quote’ ever! Something so monstrous going, Toof!

[@proudsnowtiger]

That last pun. Is the guillotine free?

[@TheTimTraveller]

Haha I'm so sorry

[@RaglansElectricBaboon]

@@TheTimTraveller said like Father Jack no doubt?

[@fairportfan2]

Nope - costs five Euros a go.

[@GiulioImparato]

love the old man's accent. for some reason reminded me of my grandpa (italian) when he helped me with french homework

[@RedHillian]

That (and the other boat-slide monster) is one of the most fantastically unusual things, and 100% the sort of content I adore this channel for!

[@Sofus.]

The best thing about this channel is it makes me smile 😊😊

[@samcoupland]

The intro isn't an intro without a disappearing Tim.

[@BloggerAndyLeung]

Hi Tim, I am your viewers from Hong Kong. Thank you so much for producing these videos which let me know about the fun stories about those attractions, love it so much :)

[@tav9755]

I want to thank you for your brillant content. Pure YT gold. Very well edited and your explenations are well researched and presented. In these times where we are stuck in our livingrooms you take us places and we can see another ridiculous beautiful french town, we would never have learned to know otherwise.

[@romainc4531]

Excellent !!! Absolutely great video ! I have been to both Montech and Fonseranes and loved both. I highly recommend that next you pay a visit to the « Plan incliné de Roncquières » in Belgium, even more breathtaking, and still working !

[@URTonemanclan]

Did you see the nice bus driver lady on your return trip? Did you have espresso in the park with her later?

[@FubFubFub]

Came here to ask the same thing!

[@Tutul_]

In Belgium you can find a more complex system at the "Ronquières inclined plane" where it's two big caisson full of water that go up and down the slope. We also have the "Strépy-Thieu boat lift" where it's two lift for boat but boat lift is something more common these days en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronqui%C3%A8res_inclined_plane en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Str%C3%A9py-Thieu_boat_lift

[@Ereldor]

Thank you very much for a couple very entertaining and informative videos about places and vehicles I'd never seen or heard of before! I loved the editing with the Gerry Anderson music, and your narration style is great too! Look forward to seeing what you come up with next - these videos are great for lockdown. Happy travels! - Ereldor

[@kgmakogon]

and this little tale is very interesting! by the way, I was amazed to hear the U.F.O. opening musical theme ;)

[@iancarter921]

The UFO theme just added to the video 😀

[@shantiheath8687]

Fu**ing love that southern french accent of marcel !

[@TheTimTraveller]

Me too!

[@tomvanleeuwen2711]

I fu**ing love Marcel!

[@RegebroRepairs]

I can understand him! Meanwhile, in Paris: "jedeveupaslemebeuflaparilebytufououf".

[@TheMajkla]

@@RegebroRepairs that sounds like Boris de Pfeffel Johnson.

[@Platypi007]

I barely know ANY French and I could pick out quite a few words of what he said.

[@minustaco42zero24]

Thank you for all the little bits of history of France

[@ProfSimonHolland]

Fab...we live a few miles north...must go and see the monster...thanks Tim.

[@Maxime_K-G]

1:33 Your French is so good! I wish I was as good at casual conversation as you. I know everything that was being said but I wouldn't be able to put it together so nicely.

[@Zebra_M]

It helps that he actually is French. :P But yes, that was a very nice bit of the video!

[@Maxime_K-G]

​@@Zebra_M No, he's British. He just moved to Paris to make more KZbin videos on the European mainland.

[@Zebra_M]

@@Maxime_K-G Neat, didn't know. Point still stands, living in a country does generally help you learn the language. :')

[@timwhite4301]

I found this very interesting and funny. I love how you bumped into someone that actually been on the thing. I really like your channel I never miss a video.how do you find out about stuff for your videos I wouldn't know how find this stuff

[@adamben3789]

Excellent as always, you are a genius, Tim!

[@lennartmiau6504]

Hi Tim! New intros, I like it! Also holy heck, I looked at your view counts and blanched a bit :D At the risk of repeating myself, congratu-effin-lations :) Your awkward (but endearing as heck) farewell to the bus driver got me thinking why you left that in - and I realized that these simple human interactions are something that we don't get too often nowadays, and it felt kinda reassuring experiencing it through you. Further into the video you talked to the cool dude and you showed your first take on interviewing somebody (at least as far as I recall), and you nailed it! Good cuts, cohesive and compressed dialogue, and perfect amount of it too, since the video would drag on if it's not scripted enough. AND: you ffs let the man speak ^^ So many interviewers/hosts interrupt their person of interest, and every time I wonder why they ask stuff if they don't wanna know their answer. Maybe you got lucky that the dude was interesting to listen to, and you had more interviews in the past with other people but their explanations weren't "video ready" enough? Great video again, in a time where it's hard to do what you do.

[@HenrysAdventures]

Great to see its being restored! Where did the diesel locos come from? I've never seen any quite like that before. There is the Elbląg Canal Incline plane in Poland which still seems to work and a similar but abandoned system (The Hay Incline) at Ironbridge which is much older technology! As for this one! I'd love to see a miniature version (but big enough to carry passengers) built the visitor attraction its going to become!

[@DandamanV]

We're all talking about how the machine is a monster, but I think the true monstrosity here is the paint job they've done on it!

[@ShadowDragon8685]

Why did Jean Aubert do it this way? Because he was a Dieselpunk-fueled mad genius, that's why. He didn't make the most efficient way of getting a boat up a slope. He did it in the most _awesome_ way he had funding to do!

[@bucherwurm5344]

I can´t express how much I love your videos, and I could write this under every single one!

[@Welshman2008]

4:37 The Thunderbirds music is quite appropriate

[@cdemr]

Your level of French is quite impressive to be honest. Did you learn it so well while being lockdowned in France or did you know French well before?

[@cakemartyr5794]

Another fascinating good humoured video. I really liked the chance contribution of the local guy. Would be nice to see more of that in future.

[@markanthony4655]

Nice video. My head was suddenly "bopping" away to the stylised "UFO" theme, a blast back to the 1970's for me as a kid. One of the best themes I have ever heard.