Abandoned Engineering (2017) | Couchpile

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Abandoned Engineering (2017) | Couchpile

Series 2 poster

Series 2

8 Episodes

2018

Hitler's Army Powerhouse

E01

Hitler's Army Powerhouse

5/8/2018·44m

A dark past explains why the Pölitz Synthetic Fuel Plant in Northern Poland is now a derelict industrial site littered with tunnels, bunkers and huge crumbling concrete structures lost in dense forest. The site was built in 1937 as part of Nazi Germany's drive to become self-sufficient on fuel, but it was no ordinary refinery. It used the latest technology at the time, at great expense, to turn coal into oil. In 1945 an Allied air raid pulverised the plant, severely wounding the German war machine and leaving the site in ruins. Other structures examined in the first episode include the incredible vertical Phoenix Shot Tower in Baltimore, which was built to provide America's own ammunition, the former American spy instillation called Teufelsberg (or "Devil's Mountain") in Berlin which waged the Cold War against the Soviet Union, and the now derelict Rubjerg Knude Lighthouse which was built on Europe's second-fastest moving sand dune in Denmark.

Britain's Sea Fort Complex

E02

Britain's Sea Fort Complex

5/15/2018·44m

A strange group of rusting structures off the coast of England, a dilapidated mediaeval-style castle in the heart of urban America and one of the biggest machines ever built lying forgotten in a German field. Once these extraordinary places and objects were at the cutting edge of design and construction, but now they stand disused, sometimes contaminated and sometimes dangerous. But who was it that built these mysterious structures? What incredible stories surround them? What secrets do they hold? And why were they abandoned? Seven huge steel boxes rise 80-feet out of the water off the coast of England at the mouth of the River Thames. Now rusting and derelict, The Red Sands Sea Fort was originally built as a first line of defence to deter the Nazi threat to London. Successfully helping the Allies to victory in 1945, the project is one of the most extraordinary engineering successes of World War II. Also in this episode, a sinister-looking deserted Cold War concrete pyramid in North Dakota; a vast empty complex located in the heart of a Philadelphia; and a 4,000-tonne corroding mass of steel, left to rot in a field in Eastern Germany.

The Italian Dam Disaster

E03

The Italian Dam Disaster

5/22/2018·44m

An abandoned concrete wall... five strange deserted structures. A lost escape route from nuclear Armageddon... A submerged link to D-day... Once they were at the cutting edge of design and construction, now they lie disused, contaminated and dangerous. But who built them? And why were they abandoned?

Battle of Britain Technology Facility

E04

Battle of Britain Technology Facility

5/29/2018·44m

Learn about the strange-looking, derelict military facilities in Farnborough, which were once wind tunnels that played a vital role in WWII.

The Abandoned Nazi Railway

E05

The Abandoned Nazi Railway

6/5/2018·44m

The Canfranc Railway Station is an elaborate abandoned Nazi railway station built near a town of only 500 people in the Pyrenees in Spain. But why was it built there and what secrets does it hold? Also examined in this episode is the Salton Sea Navy Base in California - a military post in the middle of the desert in the American west, the Kola Superdeep borehole - a wrecked record-holding Arctic facility in Russia that goes deep, deep underground, and a huge tower looming over an industrial area in Belgium. All of these extraordinary places and objects were at the cutting edge of design and construction, but now they stand disused, sometimes contaminated and sometimes dangerous.

America's Jungle City

E06

America's Jungle City

6/12/2018·44m

This week, find out why Fordlandia Rubber Town, a symbol of the American dream first established by Henry Ford in the 1920s, is now left rotting in the Amazonian rainforest. Also, what secrets do the enormous monoliths scattered across a secret forest complex in Eastern Poland hold? And what secrets does a fortified corridor of death with a Cold war past stretching for miles across Hötensleben, Germany hold? And a bizarre structure in South Western France built to speed trade was once at the forefront of design, now lies disused and abandoned, but why?

Germany's Lost Warship

E07

Germany's Lost Warship

6/19/2018·44m

The Georg Thiele was a technological masterpiece, but it is a shipwreck, lost to the sea in a Norwegian Fjord after running aground during a naval battle in WWII. Also in this episode, a mysterious concrete giant which echoes the Communist era atop a mountain peak in Bulgaria, a fantastical structure built in the middle of an American river, and one of the world's first and finest Artic feats of engineering, The Miles Glacier Bridge in Alaska, which, when it was first built in the early 1900s, was known as the Million Dollar Bridge.

Lost Highway in the Rainforest

E08

Lost Highway in the Rainforest

6/26/2018·44m

A lost highway in the Brazilian jungle, a forgotten bunker system in the French Alps and a man-made island in the shadow of the Statue of Liberty. Who built them, and why?

Series 1 poster

Series 1

6 Episodes

2017

Silent Cities

E01

Silent Cities

2/18/2017·44m

Empty buildings and infrastructures are full of the echoes of real people and vanished lives, leaving many questions unanswered and mysteries unsolved. We explore the worlds strangest engineering projects that created empty silent cities. We ask why a ruined cold war air base has become a no-go area and how a tiny Japanese mining island become the most over-crowded place on the planet. We find out if the street layout of the Soviet Union's model city become a matter of life or death for its population. And how did Nazi Germany create a huge mind control facility at a holiday resort?

Mission: Space

E02

Mission: Space

2/25/2017·44m

We aim for the stars and find out why unwanted battleship guns allow the United States to gain vital information about the borders of space. We ask how the shattered remains of a secret Nazi base became the first on the path to a new world, with the development of the ground-breaking V2 rocket. We explore a forgotten structure deep in the Arizona desert to ask if it is the true home of America's space programme. And we reveal the bizarre link between a discarded oil drum and a Cold War struggle to survive in zero gravity.

Lost Bridges

E03

Lost Bridges

3/21/2017·44m

Soaring across some of the widest rivers and deepest valleys on the planet, bridges have always been at the cutting edge of engineering. We travel high into the mountains of the Colorado desert to find out why a hidden engineering masterpiece could disappear at any time. We ask why a stretch of overgrown concrete in a Czech reservoir is known as 'Hitler's bridge'. We find out how the highest bridge in the world collapsed in less than one minute. Finally, we uncover the story behind Cape Town's invisible bridge, which never carried a single vehicle.

Ghost Ships

E04

Ghost Ships

3/28/2017·44m

Exploring ship graveyards, including Scapa Flow in Orkney, where German warships were scuttled after the First World War, and Mallows Bay, home to 200 wrecks colonised by wildlife.

Quest for Power

E05

Quest for Power

4/4/2017·44m

How Europe's most advanced power station became a film set. Plus, the structures made by scientific pioneer Nikola Tesla in his thwarted quest to prove the US with free electricity.

Roads to Nowhere

E06

Roads to Nowhere

4/6/2017·44m

Hear how a crumbling hill in the Peak District and dunes in California caused the closure of two roads. Learn why a route used by the French Resistance shut in 2003.

Series 5 poster

Series 5

8 Episodes

2020

Disaster in the Desert

E01

Disaster in the Desert

1/21/2020·44m

The desert town that faced a disaster of biblical proportions. Plus, vast coastal ruins that reveal a past once wiped from history.

The Valkyrie Assassin

E02

The Valkyrie Assassin

1/28/2020·44m

The underground base with the power to destroy a nation, the site linked with an attempt to kill a dictator, and an ancient world discovered in the American wilderness.

Escape from Devil's Island

E03

Escape from Devil's Island

2/4/2020·44m

Claustrophobic prison cells that contain a story worthy of international acclaim, and a vast mountainside complex that held the power to change the world.

Top Secret Nuclear Arsenal

E04

Top Secret Nuclear Arsenal

2/11/2020·44m

A secretive underground base that concealed the power to destroy nations, and a sprawling industrial relic clinging to the edge of an unforgiving waterfall.

A Nation Torn Apart

E05

A Nation Torn Apart

2/18/2020·44m

Including an exploration of a marooned iron-clad structure in Portland, off the coast of England, that hides a dramatic story of war and resilience; Pratt Cotton Gin Mill, a vast facility in the heart of America's deep south that helped tear apart a nation; and a Mediterranean island fortress at Spinalonga, Greece, that became the scene of a dark conspiracy.

Ghosts of the Swamp

E06

Ghosts of the Swamp

2/25/2020·44m

Including an exploration of forgotten relics from the defence of America's homeland, at Fort Jackson, USA, concealed by the banks of the Mississippi River; a concrete behemoth at Lorient Sub Base, on the coast of France, that proved invulnerable to enemy bombardment; and a ghostly ruin at Gwrych that is now home to a haunting presence.

Death Behind Bars

E07

Death Behind Bars

3/3/2020·44m

An American prison for the violent and deranged with links to an infamous cult leader, and a cavernous tunnel network in France offering shelter from unrelenting bombardment.

Behind Enemy Lines

E08

Behind Enemy Lines

3/10/2020·44m

An Albanian village home to Allied secret agents, devastated for resisting the Nazi war machine, and a notorious asylum in America that enforced lobotomies on a terrifying scale.

Season 15 poster

Season 15

12 Episodes

2025

Japan's Poison Island

E01

Japan's Poison Island

11/26/2025·44m

Exploring a complex in New Jersey infiltrated by a notorious gang, a tranquil Japanese island with a poisonous legacy, and a top-secret bunker in Lithuania raided in the name of freedom.

Hitler's Fortress of Fury

E02

Hitler's Fortress of Fury

12/3/2025·44m

Exploring a serene institution in Wisconsin seized out of righteous anger, a Spanish settlement stained in innocent blood, and a subterranean lair in France with a disturbing objective.

The Nazi's Last Stand

E03

The Nazi's Last Stand

12/10/2025·44m

Exploring Nazi towers in Berlin that were defended to the bitter end by child soldiers, a Chicago institution that was the largest of its kind, and an odd vision in the Malaysian jungle.

Suicide Island

E04

Suicide Island

12/17/2025·44m

Exploring a Dover stronghold transformed during an unprecedented crisis, and a top-secret site in Japan used for wartime missions of no return.

London's Burning

E05

London's Burning

12/24/2025·44m

Exploring a towering structure in London on the banks of the river Thames, witness to the city's darkest days, and a Wisconsin farmstead that brewed up a storm.

Cold War Cover Up

E06

Cold War Cover Up

12/31/2025·44m

Exploring a top-secret military base in Michigan linked to an unexplained disappearance, and a California transportation hub that inspired lasting change.

Escape from Dunkirk

E07

Escape from Dunkirk

1/7/2026·44m

Exploring the nerve centre of a heroic rescue mission in England, a dilapidated mansion in Virginia raided during the Civil War, and a facility in Detroit where a champion made his name.

The Invisible Enemy

E08

The Invisible Enemy

1/14/2026·44m

Exploring a top-secret facility in Scotland besieged by militant protesters, and a small Greek island caught in a chilling web of controversy.

Agent Zigzag

E09

Agent Zigzag

1/21/2026·44m

Exploring a Philadelphia venue that set the stage for era-defining artists, a French compound where a staggering deception was launched, and a the scene of a baffling crime in Malaysia.

Peru's Massacre Island

E10

Peru's Massacre Island

1/28/2026·44m

Exploring a remote Peruvian island besieged by a violent rebellion, a refuge in Nevada that offered hope to its occupants, and a French worker's paradise seized by an invading force.

Churchill's Folly

E11

Churchill's Folly

2/4/2026·44m

Exploring a secret New Jersey facility infiltrated by a Soviet spy ring, an island stronghold besieged by the Nazis, and a palatial compound in Peru frequented by the country's elite.

Churchill's Shadow War

E12

Churchill's Shadow War

2/11/2026·44m

Exploring a secret subterranean network in London that inspired James Bond author Ian Fleming, and an Italian country retreat that was designed to brainwash a generation of children.

Series 10 poster

Series 10

12 Episodes

2022

Raiders & Invaders

E01

Raiders & Invaders

9/5/2022·43m

Explore Oradour-sur-Glane, a French town drenched in infamy, the victim of a notorious raid, Alcatraz, a facility famed for breakouts, subjected to a daring break-in, and Sealand, a micronation off the English coast, stormed by a band of mercenaries.

The Rock

E02

The Rock

9/12/2022·43m

The Tunnels of Gibraltar were a Second World War espionage base, hidden in the Rock of Gibraltar, which lay undiscovered for decades. At Atlas-1 Test Site, are the remains of an ingenious US Airforce project that continues to keep people safe.

Enemy At The Gates

E03

Enemy At The Gates

9/19/2022·43m

Exploring a series of vaults, hidden from view in Edinburgh, Scotland that tell a murky story of opportunity, crime and destitution.

Cowboy Mountain

E04

Cowboy Mountain

9/26/2022·43m

Exploring the remains of an ingenious sky-high solution to a ground-based problem, Chiatura, once know as the Venice of the air

Drone Wars

E05

Drone Wars

10/3/2022·43m

Exploring Agdam, a city in Azerbaijan raised to the ground in a conflict decided by a new weapon of war.

Moonshot

E06

Moonshot

10/10/2022·43m

Exploring an industrial ruin in the Florida Everglades that once competed in the greatest race humankind has ever witnessed.

Rock And Ruin

E07

Rock And Ruin

10/17/2022·43m

Exploring traces of a mass deception hidden at Ponte Dirillo in Italy, as well as a once lavish theatre in Ohio and an ancient city with a poisonous secret.

Castle Of The Occult

E08

Castle Of The Occult

10/24/2022·44m

Explores a dense forest near the Czech capital of Prague that hides Houska Castle, an eerie keep that has been subject to long-standing rumours that it possesses supernatural powers.

The Green Line

E09

The Green Line

10/31/2022·44m

Exploring Serbia, Fort Pike in Louisiana, and a mountainside refuge in Georgia that was revealed to the world by an act of God.

Blitz Spirit

E10

Blitz Spirit

11/7/2022·44m

Exploring a grand structure in Hull that was reduced to rubble by Hitler's planes, Casa Albero in Italy, USS Hornet in California and the Sofia tunnels.

An American Exodus

E11

An American Exodus

11/14/2022·43m

Exploring a decrepit Liberian landmark with American origins, a desolate town in Belgium and a pioneering scientific structure in Cleveland.

The Drop

E12

The Drop

11/21/2022·44m

Exploring the Dew Drop Inn in New Orleans that dared to take on the authorities and paid the price and Belgica Fort, built to defend an unlikely treasure.