On Thu, 15 Dec 2011 11:46:50 -0000, "Recliner"
wrote:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/dec/13/crossrail-unveils-machines-from-germany?newsfeed=true
Quote:
"...a German contraption measuring 140 metres (460ft) in length,
designed to drive into the very core of the City within months... the
starring role belongs to the machines in the small town of Schwanau, in
the south-western state of Baden Württemberg, at the growing global
headquarters of Herrenknecht, which is prospering as the manufacturer of
more than half of such monsters worldwide.

Eight of these £10m moles have been commissioned for the 13 miles of
tunnel: six designed to cope with the London clay from Royal Oak in
Paddington in the west, and two for the chalk in the eastern stretch
down to Woolwich."

I assume that the TBM is another British invention that's no longer made
in this country?


Sadly, yes. It was yet another British industry that concentrated on
the UK and Commonwealth market. When the Commonwealth could buy
elsewhere, it did, and the UK market wasn't enough to support the
induatry.

The Germans and Japanese sold worldwide. Any peaks and troughs in
demand in their home markets were usually compensated by demand
elsewhere. Steady sales and profits meant that the Germans and
Japanesey could invest in new technology, and the most sophisticated
tunnelling machines (used in difficult and complex ground conditions)
always came from outside the UK.