Mega Movers

Join us on two treacherous trips as we follow two separate structural moving families in their struggles to relocate and save a 100-year-old homestead and an 1890 Queen Anne Victorian house. In Colorado, a father and son have to fight fierce weather and the fragility of a purported haunted log cabin and decaying barn to move them two miles across a rugged mountainside. In Illinois, three generations of movers are pushed to their limit when they are hired to transport a 180-ton monster house across town. Will these historic homes reach their final resting places in one piece and find peace?

The Matyiko brothers are a legendary Mega Mover family. Their company Expert House Movers entered the record books when they moved the historic Gem Theatre in Detroit, The Schubert Theatre in Minneapolis and the Cape Hattarass Lighthouse. In this Mega Movers episode the brothers battle time and the elements. In Massachusetts, the clock is ticking to move a 900-ton brick building to its new location. Any delays will cost the veteran house movers thousands of dollars. And in North Carolina, three vacation houses must make a perilous journey across 8 miles of open beach to reach their new home. Will the homes arrive safely? Or, will the treacherous waters of the Outer Banks claim yet another victim?

Oil is the lifeblood of the world's economy, and it's up to the Mega Movers to make sure that this flow is uninterrupted. Off the coast of Singapore, one of the largest and most unusual ships ever built will transport an entire 22,000-ton oil rig to the Gulf of Mexico. Making the 14,000-mile trek across two oceans will test the skills of both man and machine. And in Alaska, the pressure is on to move an 80-by-60-foot pump station on the Trans-Alaskan pipeline. But an approaching winter storm threatens to stop this move cold. Will these vital oil industry components successfully reach their destinations?

In 1943, a B-25 Mitchell - the most versatile twin-engine bomber of World War II - Crash-landed in South Carolina. It sank 150 feet to the bottom of a lake and over time was forgotten. 60 years later, a local doctor is determined to raise the giant bomber intact and give it to a museum. A MEGA MOVERS team of divers, engineers and preservationists take on the job of moving the 20,000-pound bomber to the surface. They will have to over come the challenges of working in nearly zero visibility murky waters, an approaching hurricane and the belief the plane is breaking apart.

Travel back to the golden age of railroads in this episode of Mega Movers. A small Washington town is determined to save their cherished train depot from the wrecking ball. But time and Mother Nature have taken their toll on the aging structure. Will the old depot once again welcome tourists to the town of Morton? Meanwhile in two Texas cities Mega Movers are moving two unique locomotives using two different methods - one that's been used for more then 150 years. And another that's on the cutting edge of Mega Mover technology. Watch how these giant locomotives roll again for the first time in 50 years.

Mega Movers are called upon to lift two hidden treasures out of obscurity. In Pennsylvania movers must lift an entire historic 1938 diner out of a building that has covered it for more than 50 years. But moving the cherished landmark unscathed will pose quite a challenge for everyone involved. Meanwhile, a determined mining historian must rescue a gigantic 1923 steam shovel that has been hidden high up in the Colorado Rockies. Will 30 years of sludge and the rugged terrain stop this move before it even begins?

In America's heartland, few structures are as iconic as the country barn and the local church. In Nebraska, Mega Movers will attempt to transport an historic Gothic horse barn to a new farm. Working in sub-zero temperatures they'll have to maneuver the massive structure through 26 miles of extremely narrow unpaved country roads to reach their destination. And in Texas, a 115-year-old church will have to be cut into five pieces before being relocated to a new spot 2 miles away. Will the workers be able to reassemble this cherished chapel and preserve it for future congregations?

When it comes to working in extreme environments at the bottom of the Ocean or in a deadly rain forest Mega Movers are ready. In this episode we travel from Florida to Hawaii. In Florida, they battle the elements to preserve a hurricane-ravaged beach by moving nearly 3 million cubic yards of sand from the ocean floor to the coastline. In Hawaii an old plantation house is moved deep into a rain forest on the edge of an active volcano. You will see the ways pros who know the conditions get the job done.

Whether it's dangling from a tower crane 40 stories in the air or battling a flooded field packed with tree stumps to move an historic farmhouse if it's got to be moved, the Mega Movers are always up to the challenge. In this episode, we look at two very different moves. In California, Mega Movers must disassemble and move a tower crane in Los Angeles. And in North Carolina they struggle to move a pre Civil War house. In this episode you will see the unique methods and tools that these movers use to get the job done.

When it comes to moving giant structures, few moves are as impressive as those that take place at sea. These types of moves require a unique set of techniques and tools as well as careful, detailed planning. In Canada, a team of engineers will attempt to move a gigantic 702-ton ship-loading device from the coast of Vancouver to a small mining island 70 miles away. Meanwhile, off the coast of Virginia, Mega Movers will try to save an endangered island house by loading the entire structure onto a barge and sailing 5 miles to the mainland. But there is little margin for error in this chaotic environment, requiring all of the skill and ingenuity that the movers can muster.

Bridges move people and cargo everyday, but what happens when the bridge itself needs to be moved? In this episode of Mega Movers, we look at how two very different bridges are moved using two very different methods. In Missouri, local bridge preservationists will attempt to transport a 137-ton railroad bridge right through the heart of downtown Kansas City. And in Iowa, the National Guard is called in to save a 129-year old bridge using one of the most modern mega moving tools available: a Chinook helicopter. Will the Mega Movers succeed in preserving these beloved bridges for future pedestrians to use?