What is this thing? It is a tunnel machine of some sort I believe, but what the heck?

There was a USAF concept in the early 80s to build a figure of 8 tunnel system with missile silos within, and move the icbms within the tunnel in a kind of giant shell game to make it impossible for the soviets to know which complex actually had missiles in.

I may be completely wrong, but judging by the placard, its possible the boring machine is related to this concept.

If you Google 'USAF tunnelling machine' you will hit the motherlode of whacko conspiracy B-S!

Doesnt surprise me Im afraid. The prime contractor on the Nevada test site was (and memory probably fails me) E G and G, who coincidentally were involved in the extension to the Jubilee line in London about 10 years ago.

Probably looking for the Alien spacecraft from 'Quatermass and the pit'.

They should start at Hobb's Lane then!

I could swear the two middle blokes in that pic are Doug McLure and Peter Cushing.

Its a more or less perfectly standard design for tunneling machines, in fact its a fairly small one

I believe the sign in the upper right reads (somebody with better eyes can check)

USAF
ICBM-OBCS
TRW START
Oct 14 1982

Dammit now I've got go watch my copy of the DVD.

Here in the states it was called "Five Million Years to Earth".

It's online...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGfrYN1WGDk...feature=related

Oh bollocks, there goes the neighborhood -- let's break for tea and biscuits and watch the show from afar.

Its very good indeed, in fact its often admitted by the creators of the X files, that many of their finest ideas came from Nigel Kneale, the writer of the Quatermass series. He also inspired the creators of Doctor Who.

Incidentally there is a longer version on DVD, which is the original BBC teleplay that went out in the late 50s. (arguably better, though missing the excellent London Underground opening sequence of the film version) If you get the BBC boxed set it also features Quatermass 2 and the last surviving episode of the Quatermass experiment (Both of which were also made by Hammer into films).

Chris, now that you mention it, there is some similarity. As long as they bring back some 6 foot tall amazonian warrior females, im all in favor of this flagrant waste of taxpayers money.

RE boring machine, the other possibility that springs to mind is that its building a tunnel on the nevada test site to conduct nuclear tests underground. However, the ICBM tag makes me think otherwise. I would also think they would hand the contract over to someone else rather than do the digging themselves.

I'd say ICBM DUCT

Cool, another thing to add to my DVD want list. It's getting pretty long.

Maybe we should start another "Manly" DVD thread in the FFZ.

TTIWWP

Thanks aevans. I always did like Barbara Shelley.

I LOVE your avatar!

When I was 12 it scared the pants off me. Even thinking about it still gives me the creeps!

BTW, I really don't want to encourage video piracy, but the whole film (in parts one to ten) is on youtube (as is an amusing US trailer for the American release)

But them martian bug dudes are so cool...