Is this 1962 aerial photo really M5 J5?

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gepree68
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Is this 1962 aerial photo really M5 J5?

Post by gepree68 »

Screenshot 2021-09-02 at 14.08.46.png
2021-09-02 M5 J5.png
aerial-view-of-m5-motorway-under-construction-at-junction-5-near-droitwich-D4M7JC.png
Picture 1 is M5 J5 from the 1962 OS one inch map, showing M5 from north to south, and A38 from south west to north east.

Picture 2 is the same junction (from Apple Maps) showing the slip roads in today's layout.

Picture 3 is from https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-aeria ... 34772.html and apparently is an "Aerial view of M5 motorway under construction at Junction 5 near Droitwich 19/7/1962"

But how is picture 3 from M5 J5 as it claims? It does not have the same layout as the 1962 photo in Picture 1.

Do Alamy have the wrong location for this photo?
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Chris Bertram
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Re: Is this 1962 aerial photo really M5 J5?

Post by Chris Bertram »

gepree68 wrote: Thu Sep 02, 2021 14:41
Screenshot 2021-09-02 at 14.08.46.png 2021-09-02 M5 J5.png aerial-view-of-m5-motorway-under-construction-at-junction-5-near-droitwich-D4M7JC.png
Picture 1 is M5 J5 from the 1962 OS one inch map, showing M5 from north to south, and A38 from south west to north east.

Picture 2 is the same junction (from Apple Maps) showing the slip roads in today's layout.

Picture 3 is from https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-aeria ... 34772.html and apparently is an "Aerial view of M5 motorway under construction at Junction 5 near Droitwich 19/7/1962"

But how is picture 3 from M5 J5 as it claims? It does not have the same layout as the 1962 photo in Picture 1.

Do Alamy have the wrong location for this photo?
I think they do. It looks very much like M50 J1 (Twyning/Brockeridge Common), with the road to the SE from the junction curve. It is a fairly similar layout to how the Wychbold junction originally was - and it's notable that M50 has not one two-bridge roundabout junction, while M5 J4-8 only had two (J7 has since been converted to one) - but it's missing a village on the one side, and the angle at which A38 crosses the motorway is far closer to perpendicular than at M5 J5.
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SteelCamel
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Re: Is this 1962 aerial photo really M5 J5?

Post by SteelCamel »

If picture 3 is the junction in picture 1, the picture has been mirrored - the photo has you encounter the left exit first (from both directions) when travelling along the motorway, while the map shows you pass the right hand side exit first before reaching the left exit (in both directions).
But even if you flip the photo, it still doesn't seem to quite match up, so I'd agree it's likely not to be there.
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M4 Cardiff
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Re: Is this 1962 aerial photo really M5 J5?

Post by M4 Cardiff »

Comparing the photo with OS mapping, the photo is definately M50 J1, taken from the south. The areas of woodland and shapes of field boundaries also match up.
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JammyDodge
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Re: Is this 1962 aerial photo really M5 J5?

Post by JammyDodge »

M4 Cardiff wrote: Sat Sep 04, 2021 23:45 Comparing the photo with OS mapping, the photo is definately M50 J1, taken from the south. The areas of woodland and shapes of field boundaries also match up.
Agreed, definitely M50 J1. The curve of the road approaching the roundabout also matches
You can also see there is no development nearby, but you can see that the M5 J5 has development more or less up to the junction
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Beardy5632
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Re: Is this 1962 aerial photo really M5 J5?

Post by Beardy5632 »

As others have said, yes this is M50 J1.
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