Monster Moves

In a special edition, we mark the 40th Anniversary of the greatest structural move ever undertaken. We reveal how twenty of Egypt’s finest ancient temples were relocated from the rising waters of the River Nile in the 1960s. We recount how engineers cut up the twin temples of Abu Simbel into over 1,000 blocks to dismantle, move and re-assemble them piece by piece to safety on higher ground. We show how divers dismantled monuments flooded underwater on the Island of Philae and recount how the 900-ton temple of Amada was moved two miles on rail tracks across the desert. To illustrate the techniques used to relocate the temples, a modern day team of movers led by America’s leading structural movers Jerry and Gabe Matyiko attempt to cut, lift and re-assemble a replica sandstone statue of Ramesses.

On Nantucket Island in Massachusetts, we follow Jerry Matyiko and Joe Jakubik attempt to move Sankaty Head Lighthouse away from the crumbling cliff edge. The historic landmark weighs over 500-tons and is over 90ft tall. Can the team keep it upright as it moves along a unique rail track inland? In Malmberg, Sweden we follow 25-year old house mover Andreas Martensson relocate the homes in a mining town. With the mine underneath the town collapsing, Andreas is locked in a race against time to move the buildings to safety before the arctic winter strikes.

Britain’s leading heavy hauler Andrew Goodman embarks on an epic one hundred day journey on road, rail and ocean to move a vintage 15F steam locomotive 7,000 miles from Bloemfontein in South Africa back to Glasgow, Scotland where it was originally built sixty years ago. The team face a tough set of obstacles hauling the 100-ton loco home. From dockside cranes that prove incapable of lifting the engine to severe ocean storms around South Africa’s treacherous coast. Can Andrew’s team haul it to Glasgow in time for homecoming celebrations?

In Manitoba, we follow Canada’s leading heavy hauler Harold Minty relocate a colossal clubhouse 30 miles over a mountain encrusted in snow and ice. The building must be cut into three pieces for the move. Will it survive the rough road journey without warping out of shape? In Staunton, Virginia we follow house trucker Jimmy Matyiko use every mode of transport possible to move the historic Frontier Village across the countryside. A farmhouse, two barns and a well embark on the journey. But will one of the fragile outbuildings survive being hauled by... horses?

In Iowa, mansion mover Jeremy Patterson attempts to shift the huge 1,000-ton Murillo Hall through the middle of a bustling city. Its brick walls are four-layers thick and extremely fragile. Will the building – and the city’s sewers – survive the move without falling apart? In Vancouver Canada, we follow a team of vintage aircraft enthusiasts attempt to cut up and dismantle a precious Lockheed Lodestar plane to move forty miles across the trans Canada highway. Can the team complete the move before rush hour traffic clogs the road?

In Texas, we follow a building collector piece together a historic ‘time that town forgot’. His dream is to move a historic 300-ton stone Ranch to his village, called Star Hill, for his mother to live in. Can a move team beat cactuses and rattle snakes to deliver this ultimate gift-wrapped present? In Seattle, newly-weds Tawny and Ian Wilson buy and attempt to move a historic house into the city. Their two-storey dream home is particularly tall. Can Canadian mover Jeremy Nickel move it across land, sea and an active airport and deliver it to their garden intact?