Strange things sometimes happen at tunnelling sites. Maybe they are not so funny at the time, and nobody wants to talk about them. Then, as the years go by, the tale will unfold, embellished by the natural humour that is an essential characteristic of the tunneller mentality. In other words, take what follows with a pinch of salt. The stories are word of mouth, so no names are mentioned. If you have anything to add to them, let us know. Likewise, if you have a funny story of your own to tell, our listening post is open at sam@tunnelbuilder.com

Les Vaches du Viande - not for Vegetarians
On 13th June 2005, five cows took shelter from thunderstorms in the Viande tunnel, Tarn-et-Garonne, France. Next morning, they were found dead by the gendarmes, having been hit by the first freight train of the day. SNCF set up alternative routing along the line Toulouse-Montauban-Limoges while personnel from the local abattoir cleaned up the viande dans le Viande. In case you are not French, viande means meat! 25/05.

CTRL2 - rail link or rail sink?
The sinkhole that appeared behind houses in Lavender St, Stratford, East London just 24 h after passage of a CTRL TBM has now attained national status following award to the residents by the BBC of the UK's Worst Homes Under Siege trophy. The residents, some of whose homes may now be demolished, donated the trophy to the contractors, who turned it down on the grounds that they had done nothing to deserve it. Accordingly, BBC presenter Howard Stableford took it into the tunnel and gave it to the TBM. This was rather unfair, as the incident had variously been blamed on anomalies such as old wells, unexploded bombs, underground streams, leaking sewers, urban badgers, and Act of God, and not on Hudson, the TBM. CTRL response had been to take the unnerved residents into the tunnel, at which time they realized the subtle difference in perception between a layman gazing into a temporary hole in his garden, and an entire London district screaming for compensation for the huge permanent excavation beneath their homes. Visit www.ctrl.co.uk 36/03.

Sidmouth Harbour Access - squeezing a quart into a pint pot
In 1836, a harbour was to be built at Chit Rocks, Sidmouth, Devon in the United Kingdom. Chit Rocks projects from the south coast into the English Channel, and it was decided to construct a 530 m-long tunnel through the cliffs to connect the stone quarry to the harbour construction site. A local blacksmith was commissioned to build an engine to pull the wagons of quarried blocks through the tunnel. However, when the time came to transport the blocks through the completed tunnel, it was found that the engine was not powerful enough to pull the wagons. Undaunted, the owners purchased a steam locomotive to do the job but, when this was delivered, it was found to be too big to enter the completed tunnel. Frustration set in, the backers withdrew, and the $22,000 project was abandoned. The tunnel was sealed up and forgotten until the mid-1990s, when a section of the cliff fell down and revealed Sidmouth's folly for all to see.

London Water Ring Main - inadvertently plugged
Many difficulties were experienced bringing this landmark project to a successful conclusion, and many stories can be told. The funniest concerns the operation of a pile driver after a section of the concrete segment lined ring main was completed. The story goes that in-situ piles were being installed for an unassociated construction project, when the auger hit into something solid. A piling hammer was brought in, and this quickly relieved the obstruction and completed the hole to full depth. A reinforcement cage was lowered into the hole and concreting commenced. When three times the expected amount of concrete had been poured, operations were suspended and an investigation started. When Thames Water complained that a 65 m length of its newly-completed ring main had been filled with concrete, the mystery was resolved!

Madame Fjelle - sunk without trace
Visitors to Bergen in Norway have been known to make adverse comment on the ragged state of the highway tunnels entering the city. These were driven by Madame Fjelle, or Mrs Rock to the uninitiated, a hardrock TBM bought for the job. The TBM performed its role magnificently, but the diameter selected was somewhat less than the norm for a two-lane highway tunnel. The perfect circular tube needed to be slyped from waist down to form a flat floor for the carriageway. As a result, car occupants have the ragged results of the blasting at eye level, and tend to ignore the perfectly smooth ceiling left by the TBM. Unfazed, Madame Fjelle set out to make her mark on a hydro scheme on the steep side of a fjord. Once again, she did a first-class job. However, misfortune struck as she was being loaded from the quay for her return to base. The cutterhead was being slung using the boat crane, when stability was lost. The crane operator did his best, but, rather than risk the boat turning turtle, dropped the cutterhead into the fjord. Thus ended an inglorious career: Madame Fjelle became the second hardrock TBM on record to be lost by misadventure.

Sayerville Sewer - delivery by the circle route
This was to have been a straightforward job: purpose-built TBM, manufactured to tight schedule in Essen, Germany, delivered to U.S. by sea, on time. The German/Italian contracting joint venture was ready to start the 350 m x 3.5 m-diameter drive right on schedule. But, down at the docks, could they get the ship’s doors open? They tried everything, but they wouldn’t budge. In frustration, the ship was turned around and sent back across the Atlantic to the owners’ yard to be fixed, TBM still aboard. Three months later, it arrived back Stateside and the TBM was successfully extracted. Danke schoen/Gracias!

Islamic Revolution - TBMs under sanction
When the Shah of Persia gave his blessing to the Tehran metro project, it became a gilt-edged proposition. There was a rush to supply, and a dynamic American manufacturer won the order for the two large TBMs. They were designed and built Stateside, and barged downriver in one of the worst winters of the century. Despite terrifying weather conditions, they traversed the Atlantic, the Mediterranean, the Suez Canal and the Persian Gulf, to arrive at Tehran right on time. Unfortunately, during the course of the lengthy sea trip, the Shah had been deposed and America had instituted sanctions. The TBMs were impounded by the Iranians, and nobody got paid. The manufacturer went out of business, and the Iranians went to war for ten years with Iraq. When it was all over, the Tehran metro got under way, and at the last report the TBMs were working well and had passed the 25 km mark!

Al Rouj Survey - shaggy dog story or mirage?
Surveyors working on Syria’s 4 km-long Al Rouj water conveyance tunnel had difficulty closing their traverses towards the end of the project because of the mirage effect caused by high ambient temperatures and 430 m elevation. It was decided that the solution lay in night survey. However, whenever they tried using their infrared equipment, they were attacked by roaming packs of wild dogs. Deciding that accuracy took precedence over safety, they persevered with night survey with armed guards, using their theodolites to scan the horizon for approaching canines. The tunnel broke through successfully on November 16th, 1998 having been hand driven at 122 m/month from each end. The surveyors, sadly, are still experiencing nightmares.

Metrowest Water - shafted by the competition
When Obayashi/Modern Continental agreed to allow rival contractor Shea/Traylor/Healy to remove its TBM through their working shaft at the Metrowest water supply tunnel site in Framingham, MA during August, 1999 it must have been with gritted teeth and a forced smile. This attitude will have changed somewhat when their guests dropped the rear trailing section of the TBM down the 95 m-deep shaft, tearing out the vertical conveyor and destroying the delivery end of the tunnel conveyor. It took three weeks to clean up the shaft mess and get production back to normal. Efforts to clean the egg off the faces are ongoing.

Millennium Dome - a tunnellers curse
Construction of the cable tunnel under the River Thames to service London’s Millennium Dome was hushed up because promoters were worried about the rumour that parts of East London would be blacked out in the power surge created by lighting up the Dome on New Year’s Eve. The planners had already suffered once at the hands of the tunnellers when they tried to move the ventilation outlet for the Blackwall highway tunnel, which traverses the west section of the Dome. Unfortunately, the stack is a listed building, to be preserved for all time! It was too late to move the $250 million Dome, and it would take an Act of Parliament to move the stack. Under the circumstances, a typical British compromise was reached, and this accounts for the "hole in the Dome". Next time you fly into London along the Thames, look out for it!

Of course, if you want to visit the Dome, you have to use London Underground Jubilee Line, and that is a comedy of errors in its own right! However, to be fair, it did open before the Millennium Dome, thanks to the efforts of Bechtel, who were brought in at the last minute. Just as well really: the Dome has no car parking facilities and the 12,000 pax/h Jubilee Line is its main public access!

Channel Tunnel - whatever happened to the eleventh TBM?
The 8.5 m-diameter Howden north land running tunnel TBM was originally expected to hole out through a portal at Holywell Coombe, Folkestone. However, it was decided to complete the false tunnel across the Coombe to connect with the completed roadheader drive under Castle Hill. This effectively closed the portal through which the TBM was due to exit, so a reception shaft was excavated instead. Unfortunately, the 500 t TBM slipped its slings and was dropped when lifting it out of the reception shaft. It hit the shaft ring beam with such force that it caused a small landslide into the tunnel. Plans to put the TBM up for sale were quickly abandoned.

Kuwait - pipejacking to suit a roller coaster
Kuwait pipejacking project went completely off line when electrician rewired the steering controls the wrong way. Details required. We promise: no names, no packdrill! E-mail sam@tunnelbuilder.com

Pasillo Verde - shocking isolation of a current problem
In 1992, when the Pasillo Verde tunnel was under construction in Madrid, Spain a large electric cable was uncovered by a subcontractor. Neither of the two power supply companies servicing the city could trace the cable, and both denied ownership. The subcontractor could not continue work without removing the cable, nor did he have the means of isolation. Under the circumstances, he decided to reach for the boltcutters and rubber gloves. Fortunately, nobody was injured in the explosion that followed. It turned out that the cable was carrying 10,000 V, yet no complaint has ever been received about the cut-off.