Salvage Squad is a British television programme, in which the "Salvage Squad" faced the challenge of restoring an item of classic machinery. The task was usually against a tight deadline, such as a public unveiling at a vehicle rally. In addition to vintage cars, lorries, railway engines, boats and aircraft, the challenges included the resurrection of a Hampshire water mill and a set of fairground gallopers.
The "Salvage Squad" comprised a presenter, either Lee Hurst or Suggs, and a team of restoration experts: Claire Barratt, Axel Cleghorn and Jerry Thurston. The team was also supplemented on each job by appropriate specialist craftsmen. The role of the presenter was mainly to narrate progress and to research the history of the item being restored, although they were sometimes roped into the restoration work itself.
The programmes included archive footage of similar machines in action, explanations of the characteristic technologies used, descriptions of the restoration techniques, and interviews with people historically associated with the items during their commercial life.
Produced by Wall to Wall, the three series of one-hour programmes were originally broadcast on Channel 4 during 2002, 2003 and 2004 [1] [2] and have since been re-broadcast on the Discovery Channel, the History Channel and Quest (TV channel).
First broadcast in 2002.
Salvage Squad: Lee Hurst, Claire Barratt, Axel Cleghorn, Jerry Thurston
First broadcast in 2003.
Salvage Squad: Suggs, Claire Barratt, Axel Cleghorn, Jerry Thurston
First broadcast in 2004.
Salvage Squad: Suggs, Claire Barratt
This series had a distinctly different 'feel' to the first two. Rather than having a team of three to do the bulk of the restoration, this series featured just Claire coordinating the work undertaken by a number of specialist restorers, often herself having a go at some of the handiwork.
In addition to the usual ten restoration candidates, this series included two 're-visits' to projects from the second series that had not been entirely successful first time round.
A tram is a train that runs on a tramway track on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The lines or networks operated by tramcars as public transport are called tramways or simply tram/streetcar. Many recently built tramways use the contemporary term light rail. The vehicles are called streetcars or trolleys in North America and trams or tramcars elsewhere. The first two terms are often used interchangeably in the United States, with trolley being the preferred term in the eastern US and streetcar in the western US. Streetcar or tramway are preferred in Canada. In parts of the United States, internally powered buses made to resemble a streetcar are often referred to as "trolleys". To avoid further confusion with trolley buses, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) refers to them as "trolley-replica buses". In the United States, the term tram has sometimes been used for rubber-tired trackless trains, which are unrelated to other kinds of trams.
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Conservation and restoration of rail vehicles aims to preserve historic rail vehicles.
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Graham McPherson, known primarily by his stage name Suggs, is a British singer-songwriter, musician, radio personality and actor from Hastings, England.
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Claire Barratt is an English industrial archaeologist, steam engineer and television presenter.
Maley & Taunton is a defunct tram and tramway engineering company. It was situated in Wednesfield in Staffordshire, England. The principals, Alfred Walter Maley and Edmund MacKenzie Taunton held patents for tram and tramway machinery and equipment. The company exported globally, with its tram trucks used, among others, in Lisbon, Johannesburg, and Hong Kong, and locally — to the Blackpool tramway, Sheffield Corporation, Liverpool Corporation, Glasgow Corporation, and the Manx Electric Railway.
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Beamish Museum contains much of transport interest, and the size of its site makes good internal transportation for visitors and staff purposes a necessity.