''Salvage Squad'' is a British television programme, in which the "Salvage Squad" faced the challenge of restoring an item of classic machinery. The task was usually against a tight deadline, such as a public unveiling at a vehicle rally. In addition to vintage cars, lorries, railway engines, boats and aircraft, the challenges included the resurrection of a Hampshire

water mill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production o ...

and a set of fairground gallopers. The "Salvage Squad" comprised a presenter, either

Lee Hurst Lee Hurst (born 16 October 1962) is an English comedian. Hurst was a regular panellist on the comedy sports quiz ''They Think It's All Over'' from 1995 to 1997. Career Hurst took up comedy after being employed in a number of jobs after leav ...

Suggs Graham McPherson (born 13 January 1961), known primarily by his stage name Suggs, is an English singer-songwriter, musician, radio personality and actor from Hastings, England. In a music career spanning 40 years, he came to prominence in the ...

, and a team of restoration experts: Claire Barratt, Axel Cleghorn and Jerry Thurston. The team was also supplemented on each job by appropriate specialist craftsmen. The role of the presenter was mainly to narrate progress and to research the history of the item being restored, although they were sometimes roped into the restoration work itself. The programmes included archive footage of similar machines in action, explanations of the characteristic technologies used, descriptions of the restoration techniques, and interviews with people historically associated with the items during their commercial life. Produced by Wall to Wall, the three series of one-hour programmes were originally broadcast on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

during 2002, 2003 and 2004 and have since been re-broadcast on the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...

, the

History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...

and

Quest (TV channel) Quest is a British and Irish free-to-air television channel available in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Quest provides factual, lifestyle, entertainment programmes and other imported material, as well as sports coverage. The channel is operat ...

Series 1

First broadcast in 2002. Salvage Squad: Lee Hurst, Claire Barratt, Axel Cleghorn, Jerry Thurston #

Steamroller A steamroller (or steam roller) is a form of road roller – a type of heavy construction machinery used for leveling surfaces, such as roads or airfields – that is powered by a steam engine. The leveling/flattening action is achieved through ...

Centurion Tank The Centurion was the primary British Army main battle tank of the post-World War II period. Introduced in 1945, it is widely considered to be one of the most successful post-war tank designs, remaining in production into the 1960s, and seeing ...

Bristol 407 The Bristol 407 was a sports tourer car produced by British manufacturer Bristol Cars between 1961 and 1963. It was the first Bristol model to be made by the company after separation from the Bristol Aeroplane Company, which had built all previo ...

Gyroplane An autogyro (from Greek and , "self-turning"), also known as a ''gyroplane'', is a type of rotorcraft that uses an unpowered rotor in free autorotation to develop lift. Forward thrust is provided independently, by an engine-driven propeller. Whi ...

Steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

Fire engine A fire engine (also known in some places as a fire truck or fire lorry) is a road vehicle (usually a truck) that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water to an i ...

Alvis Stalwart (FV620) The Stalwart, formally classified by the British Army as Truck, High Mobility Load Carrier (HMLC), 5 Ton, 6 x 6, Alvis/Stalwart and informally known by servicemen as the Stolly, and by former RCT as the Stally, is a highly mobile amphibious m ...

or 'Stolly' '
Restoration report
'' #:Amphibious military supply truck, dating from 1968. #:The main aim of this project was to restore the Stolly's amphibious capabilities. This involved seeking out a set of 'swimming gear' – routinely removed from these vehicles by the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

to save weight – and to install new seals on the huge cargo doors. The final test was to drive the vehicle down a slipway at 20 mph into a river, to see if it would float. Fortunately for all concerned, it did. #

Racing car Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

'
Restoration report
'' #: Lola T142,

Formula 5000 Formula 5000 (or F5000) was an open wheel, single seater auto-racing formula that ran in different series in various regions around the world from 1968 to 1982. It was originally intended as a low-cost series aimed at open-wheel racing cars tha ...

, racing car dating from 1969: the winning car from the 1969 Madrid Grand Prix. #

Thames sailing barge A Thames sailing barge is a type of commercial sailing boat once common on the River Thames in London. The flat-bottomed barges with a shallow draught and leeboards, were perfectly adapted to the Thames Estuary, with its shallow waters and narr ...

de Havilland Gipsy Moth The de Havilland DH.60 Moth is a 1920s British two-seat touring and training aircraft that was developed into a series of aircraft by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. Development The DH.60 was developed from the larger DH.51 biplane. ...

Series 2

Protected Simplex MR1369 of 1918 at Froissy in November 2002

First broadcast in 2003. Salvage Squad: Suggs, Claire Barratt, Axel Cleghorn, Jerry Thurston #

Watermill A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production of ...

#Steam-powered gallopers '
Restoration report
'' #:in the Victorian fairground at

Blists Hill Blists Hill Victorian Town is an open-air museum built on a former industrial complex located in the Madeley area of Telford, Shropshire, England. The museum attempts to recreate the sights, sounds and smells of a Victorian Shropshire town ...

# Massey Shaw Fireboat #

Shelvoke and Drewry Shelvoke and Drewry was a Letchworth, Hertfordshire manufacturer of special purpose commercial vehicles. It was best known for its innovative waste collection vehicles that were the preferred choice of municipal authorities in the UK together w ...

'PN'

Revopak

The Revopak is a type of waste collection vehicle ma ...

(extra-short wheelbase)

dustcart A garbage truck is a truck specially designed to collect municipal solid waste and transport it to a solid waste treatment facility, such as a landfill, recycling center or transfer station. In Australia they are commonly called rubbish truck ...

(''See: Preserved Shelvoke and Drewry Vehicles#SCY 786 X'') #

Simplex In geometry, a simplex (plural: simplexes or simplices) is a generalization of the notion of a triangle or tetrahedron to arbitrary dimensions. The simplex is so-named because it represents the simplest possible polytope in any given dimension. ...

armoured

narrow gauge railway A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structur ...

locomotive #

Steam car A steam car is a car (automobile) propelled by a steam engine. A steam engine is an external combustion engine (ECE) in which the fuel is combusted outside of the engine, unlike an internal combustion engine (ICE) in which fuel is combusted ins ...

# Blackpool "Coronation" tram car no. 304 '
Restoration report
'' #:This was a 'special' restoration, to celebrate the Queen's Golden Jubilee, and was one of the most ambitious. The aim was to restore the tram in time for its 50th birthday. # Morgan Super Sports car #

Ruston-Bucyrus Ruston-Bucyrus Ltd was an engineering company established in 1930 and jointly owned by Ruston and Hornsby based in Lincoln, England and Bucyrus-Erie based in South Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the latter of which had operational controlThe Amazing S ...

10RB 'crane' – restored as a drag line excavator #

Ploughing engine A traction engine is a steam-powered tractor used to move heavy loads on roads, plough ground or to provide power at a chosen location. The name derives from the Latin ''tractus'', meaning 'drawn', since the prime function of any traction engin ...

''(or 'steam plough')'' "Margaret"