Runways on motorways

[J--M--B]

I did read somewhere that at least one WWII runway was turned into a road when the base it was on was closed.

There's one here in Lincolnshire - it even still looks a bit like a runway.

Have you ever driven down a proper runway? It is very strange in a car!

[Nic]

Not quite the same, and certainly not (that) roads related, but on a recent "No such thing as a fish" podcast, they were talking about a system of giant concrete arrows in the US, to guide the early mail planes from one coast to the other.

Here's a restored one, but there are still quite a few on teh ground it seems, minus the lighthouse and beacon.

[J--M--B]

Not quite the same, and certainly not (that) roads related, but on a recent "No such thing as a fish" podcast, they were talking about a system of giant concrete arrows in the US, to guide the early mail planes from one coast to the other.

Here's a restored one, but there are still quite a few on teh ground it seems, minus the lighthouse and beacon.

We have our own concrete arrows here.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/doffcocke ... 7457600282

https://www.flickr.com/photos/doffcocke ... 7457600282

[WHBM]

M62 west of junction 9 near Warrington is right along the main runway of the old Burtonwood RAF base, which had a notably long runway for transport aircraft. You can still see old elements of the base either side.

M4 right at Heston Services near J3 is across the old Heston airport, one of the significant London airports of the 1930s-50s. It was a grass airfield so no formal runway, but the longest run is along the carriageways.

a system of giant concrete arrows in the US, to guide the early mail planes from one coast to the other.

The most significant UK air route by the 1920s, before aircraft radio, was London to the Continent. The railway line from London to Dover had the station names painted in large white characters on the roofs of the buildings, to be identified from the air. They were all removed in 1939, of course.

Meanwhile, THIS gasometer
https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=51.5068 ... 4,,0,-8.27
in Southall, West London, has a big LH (for London Heathrow) and an arrow painted on it. It was put up to overcome confusion with nearby Northolt, which more than one jet started heading for and one actually landed there in error.

[Chris Bertram]

M4 right at Heston Services near J3 is across the old Heston airport, one of the significant London airports of the 1930s-50s. It was a grass airfield so no formal runway, but the longest run is along the carriageways.

Some of the old aircraft hangars still exist as units in the industrial estate immediately south of the westbound services. Years ago, we had a crazy programme director on one of our major programmes at work who was obsessed by aviation and tended to use plane-based imagery wherever possible. In other ways he was a cross between Dilbert's Pointy-Haired Boss, and Gus Hedges from Drop the Dead Donkey. You'll guess that he left the company quite a long time ago from this.

Anyhow, as a team-building exercise he had a group of us go from Birmingham to Hounslow and piece together clues to a location of historic significance, whereafter we were to find this location and take photographs of ourselves there. It turned out to be the location where Neville Chamberlain disembarked from his journey back from meeting Hitler, where he signed the agreement that consigned Czechoslovakia to oblivion. We were to identify the spot where he stood to be photographed by the press holding the piece of paper with the Fuehrer's signature on it. This turned out to be on this industrial estate, by the perimeter fence of the services. So we all had photos taken in turn, holding a piece of paper in mimicry of Mr Chamberlain.

It was the biggest waste of my working time that I have ever experienced.

[rhyds]

It was the biggest waste of my working time that I have ever experienced.

I take it you've never had to deal with Openreach in a professional capcity then?

[Ruperts Trooper]

Not quite the same, and certainly not (that) roads related, but on a recent "No such thing as a fish" podcast, they were talking about a system of giant concrete arrows in the US, to guide the early mail planes from one coast to the other.

Here's a restored one, but there are still quite a few on teh ground it seems, minus the lighthouse and beacon.

We have our own concrete arrows here.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/doffcocke ... 7457600282

https://www.flickr.com/photos/doffcocke ... 7457600282

There's one at Musselburgh, just by the mouth of the Esk - used for bombing practice in WW2

http://www.flickr.com/photos/woolamaloo ... 320379704/

[Conekicker]

This bit of the A15 is on the line of a WW2 runway:

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?ll=53.60 ... 2&t=h&z=15

Presumably layers of black on top of the old concrete runway?

[scragend]

M62 west of junction 9 near Warrington is right along the main runway of the old Burtonwood RAF base, which had a notably long runway for transport aircraft. You can still see old elements of the base either side.

You could, up until a year or two ago, but unfortunately not any more. The area has now been developed with distribution warehouses and such.

[vlad]

Have you ever driven down a proper runway? It is very strange in a car!

I've walked along one....

The road here was originally the runway for the Krasnoyarsk North airport. Things have changed completely in the past few years - but when I was there in 2000 hardly anything had altered since the airport closed in 1987 - and it was basically possible to walk along the runway, which was a bit unnerving. I appreciate Siberia is known for its long, wide avenues but this road is different.

(In a nod to history the road is now called Take-Off Street.)

[Isleworth1961]

Some of the old aircraft hangars still exist as units in the industrial estate immediately south of the westbound services.

Actually, there's only one Heston Airport building surviving now, the so-called Jackaman Hangar (one of the first buildings put up there, and thankfully listed):

http://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/image/epw031403

On GSV:
https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?ll=51.48 ... 2&t=h&z=20

[Isleworth1961]

Meanwhile, THIS gasometer
https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=51.5068 ... 4,,0,-8.27
in Southall, West London, has a big LH (for London Heathrow) and an arrow painted on it. It was put up to overcome confusion with nearby Northolt, which more than one jet started heading for and one actually landed there in error.

Yes, it was confused with a similar (but smaller, and now demolished) gasholder that used to be by South Harrow station. It was a Pan Am Boeing 707 that landed at Northolt in 1960. After that, the South Harrow gasholder had NO painted on it, Southall had LH.

[Ruperts Trooper]

Meanwhile, THIS gasometer
https://maps.google.com/maps?ll=51.5068 ... 4,,0,-8.27
in Southall, West London, has a big LH (for London Heathrow) and an arrow painted on it. It was put up to overcome confusion with nearby Northolt, which more than one jet started heading for and one actually landed there in error.

Yes, it was confused with a similar (but smaller, and now demolished) gasholder that used to be by South Harrow station. It was a Pan Am Boeing 707 that landed at Northolt in 1960. After that, the South Harrow gasholder had NO painted on it, Southall had LH.

Even without those confusions, pilots have been known to land on taxiways parallel with the runway at more than one airport!

[MJG]

I guess that my question is does anyone know a) did i remember this correctly, b) where is it, c) is it still there and d) germany is special in the history of the cold war, but did they do the same thing anywhere else?

It think it still is the normal practice in many countries.

Only one of the almost 20 highway strips in Finland is located on a motorway. The remaining ones are on widened 1+1 roads. This is practical because there is no need to remove the middle barrier.

Typical highway strip

Military exercise at a highway strip

[Trebeck]

There was once an Urban myth that the M1 (NI) could be used as a runway.

As for runways which became roads, Nutts Corner became part of the A26 road, the apron hosts a market and a large car park, a go kart circuit and some warehouses.

When I did the single seater experience on Silverstone, that was held on the small track in the middle of the course, on the old runway. They had someone stand at the braking point to make sure nobody took off over the end barriers.

(The famous F1 course was built over the perimeter roads)

[Owain]

It was the biggest waste of my working time that I have ever experienced.

Mine was having to eat as many cream crackers as I could in one minute. Team-building, apparently. Thank the heavens I no longer have to work in the private sector. They were always talking about 'cascading' things too, when they just meant 'circulate'.

Back on topic (almost), I remember the M1 being used as a runway by a Boeing 737 when I was a kid. Amazingly, nobody was killed.

[ronA1066]

There is a minor (very minor) road on Bodmin Moor that uses the perimeter taxiway of RAF Davidstow Moor airfield. This was one of World War 2's less successful developments. The site may have looked ideal - very flat, no need for enormous earth-shifting - but they overlooked the fact that the area is fog-bound more often than it's clear.

Map

History

Streetview

[quarella]

As for runways which became roads, Nutts Corner became part of the A26 road, the apron hosts a market and a large car park, a go kart circuit and some warehouses.

Stock car, not go-karts. http://nuttscornerraceway.co.uk/info/about.ashx

[Trebeck]

As for runways which became roads, Nutts Corner became part of the A26 road, the apron hosts a market and a large car park, a go kart circuit and some warehouses.

Stock car, not go-karts. http://nuttscornerraceway.co.uk/info/about.ashx

I'm well aware of the stock car track which is an oval.

I was originally thinking of this http://www.nuttscornercircuit.com/thecircuit.html

[quarella]

As for runways which became roads, Nutts Corner became part of the A26 road, the apron hosts a market and a large car park, a go kart circuit and some warehouses.

Stock car, not go-karts. http://nuttscornerraceway.co.uk/info/about.ashx

I'm well aware of the stock car track which is an oval.

I was originally thinking of this http://www.nuttscornercircuit.com/thecircuit.html

My apologies. I will write out 100 times "I must check my facts before disputing another forum member."
Must be a good 15 years since I went to the stock car racing at Nutts Corner and Ballymena.