M40 motorway - The SMJ Society2024-03-29T04:44:07Zhttps://thesmjr.ning.com/forum/topics/m40-motorway?commentId=3138568%3AComment%3A66812&feed=yes&xn_auth=noThanks Nigel - these photos p…tag:thesmjr.ning.com,2015-04-07:3138568:Comment:668632015-04-07T12:23:17.036ZBarry Taylorhttps://thesmjr.ning.com/profile/BarryTaylor
<p>Thanks Nigel - these photos pretty much put the question to bed.</p>
<p>Does anyone out there have precise dates for the changes?</p>
<p>Thanks Nigel - these photos pretty much put the question to bed.</p>
<p>Does anyone out there have precise dates for the changes?</p> The transition from wooden to…tag:thesmjr.ning.com,2015-04-05:3138568:Comment:670422015-04-05T20:59:25.483ZNIGELhttps://thesmjr.ning.com/profile/NIGELALANFURNISS
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1490441761?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="721" class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1490441761?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024"/></a>The transition from wooden to concrete sleepers is evident at this point. Most of the track chairs are G.W.R. dated 1920's and 1930's with a few B.R. (W.R.) ones on the wooden sleepers. A few tens of yards from the farm crossing on the Northend side.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1490441761?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="721" class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1490441761?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024"/></a>The transition from wooden to concrete sleepers is evident at this point. Most of the track chairs are G.W.R. dated 1920's and 1930's with a few B.R. (W.R.) ones on the wooden sleepers. A few tens of yards from the farm crossing on the Northend side.</p> View of M40 bridge showing wh…tag:thesmjr.ning.com,2015-04-05:3138568:Comment:669512015-04-05T19:55:26.072ZNIGELhttps://thesmjr.ning.com/profile/NIGELALANFURNISS
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1490441612?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="721" class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1490441612?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024"/></a>View of M40 bridge showing why the track had to be elevated to the extent that it has. The old SMJ line disappears into the bushes and trees on the other side of the motorway, centre of photo. Looking towards Kineton.</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1490441612?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="721" class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1490441612?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024"/></a>View of M40 bridge showing why the track had to be elevated to the extent that it has. The old SMJ line disappears into the bushes and trees on the other side of the motorway, centre of photo. Looking towards Kineton.</p> Correction to last statement.…tag:thesmjr.ning.com,2015-04-05:3138568:Comment:667382015-04-05T19:44:11.726ZNIGELhttps://thesmjr.ning.com/profile/NIGELALANFURNISS
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1490441249?profile=original" target="_self"><img class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1490441249?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024" width="721"></img></a> Correction to last statement......only part of the line in this area is welded continuously. Some of the track is on concrete sleepers, a small length from bridge 65 is still on wooden sleepers. Photo above shows old course of the line on the R.H.S. Looking towards bridge 65 at Northend.</p>
<p>There is a farm crossing point here in the…</p>
<p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1490441249?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="721" class="align-full" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1490441249?profile=RESIZE_1024x1024"/></a>Correction to last statement......only part of the line in this area is welded continuously. Some of the track is on concrete sleepers, a small length from bridge 65 is still on wooden sleepers. Photo above shows old course of the line on the R.H.S. Looking towards bridge 65 at Northend.</p>
<p>There is a farm crossing point here in the foreground.</p>
<p></p>
<p></p> Looking at published photos o…tag:thesmjr.ning.com,2015-03-24:3138568:Comment:667202015-03-24T21:34:19.950ZNIGELhttps://thesmjr.ning.com/profile/NIGELALANFURNISS
<p>Looking at published photos of the area near the M40 rail bridge mention is made of the track being</p>
<p>" very modern in appearance for a freight line with deep ballast and continuously welded rails."</p>
<p>Looking at published photos of the area near the M40 rail bridge mention is made of the track being</p>
<p>" very modern in appearance for a freight line with deep ballast and continuously welded rails."</p> I think that you are correct…tag:thesmjr.ning.com,2015-03-20:3138568:Comment:671092015-03-20T11:31:13.599ZBarry Taylorhttps://thesmjr.ning.com/profile/BarryTaylor
<p>I think that you are correct - this would be about the right place.</p>
<p>Thanks to all for your thoughts on this one - I think that we've got it more or less bottomed out now. However, an exact date of the changeover of route would be useful - I doubt that the line would have been allowed to have been cut for any length of time, presumably being considered strategically important?</p>
<p>The changeover could have been made pretty quickly if the new route over the bridge was laid alongside…</p>
<p>I think that you are correct - this would be about the right place.</p>
<p>Thanks to all for your thoughts on this one - I think that we've got it more or less bottomed out now. However, an exact date of the changeover of route would be useful - I doubt that the line would have been allowed to have been cut for any length of time, presumably being considered strategically important?</p>
<p>The changeover could have been made pretty quickly if the new route over the bridge was laid alongside the old and then just connected up - anyone know if that was the case? </p>
<p>Meantime- on to something completely different................</p> I think you can see the start…tag:thesmjr.ning.com,2015-03-19:3138568:Comment:667132015-03-19T21:37:34.591ZSimon Stevenshttps://thesmjr.ning.com/profile/SimonStevens
<p>I think you can see the start of the deviation in the distance in Nigel's photo here:</p>
<p><a href="http://thesmjr.ning.com/photo/north-end-smj-016" target="_blank">http://thesmjr.ning.com/photo/north-end-smj-016</a></p>
<p>I think you can see the start of the deviation in the distance in Nigel's photo here:</p>
<p><a href="http://thesmjr.ning.com/photo/north-end-smj-016" target="_blank">http://thesmjr.ning.com/photo/north-end-smj-016</a></p> My M40 reminiscence might hel…tag:thesmjr.ning.com,2015-03-17:3138568:Comment:667122015-03-17T15:10:48.710ZSimon Stevenshttps://thesmjr.ning.com/profile/SimonStevens
<p>My M40 reminiscence might help with the construction date - I moved to Rowington in September 1989 and was able, on a Sunday afternoon shortly before the motorway opened, to cycle from near Hockley Heath to Junction 16, mostly in the lane three of the wrong direction! There were chained up barriers every so often but one link of every chain had been replaced by a loop of fence wire so I got through easily and must have looked like I was meant to be there as I was ignored by a couple of…</p>
<p>My M40 reminiscence might help with the construction date - I moved to Rowington in September 1989 and was able, on a Sunday afternoon shortly before the motorway opened, to cycle from near Hockley Heath to Junction 16, mostly in the lane three of the wrong direction! There were chained up barriers every so often but one link of every chain had been replaced by a loop of fence wire so I got through easily and must have looked like I was meant to be there as I was ignored by a couple of Police cars. Happy days.</p>
<p>I think there was a problem with the road surface south of Warwick so this section didn't open until some time later. I remember the local newspaper headline 'M-Faulty'.</p>
<p>Construction and opening dates here:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ciht.org.uk/motorway/m40oxfobirm.htm" target="_blank">The Motorway Archive. M40. Waterstock (J8A) to Umberslade (M42 - J3A)</a></p>
<p> </p> Simon Stevens said:The 1:25…tag:thesmjr.ning.com,2015-03-17:3138568:Comment:668222015-03-17T13:52:35.691ZSimon Dunkleyhttps://thesmjr.ning.com/profile/Regularity
<br></br>
<br></br>
<cite>Simon Stevens said:</cite><blockquote cite="http://www.smj.me/forum/topics/m40-motorway#3138568Comment66812"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>The 1:25000 OS map shows a kink to the new alignment over the M40 bridge, under the B4100 and in to the DSDA depot, a distance of about 0.7 miles. It doesn't look such a kink on the aerial view but you can see the original alignment on the south side of the new line. I guess it was easier to raise the railway than lower the…</p>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<br/>
<br/>
<cite>Simon Stevens said:</cite><blockquote cite="http://www.smj.me/forum/topics/m40-motorway#3138568Comment66812"><div><div class="xg_user_generated"><p>The 1:25000 OS map shows a kink to the new alignment over the M40 bridge, under the B4100 and in to the DSDA depot, a distance of about 0.7 miles. It doesn't look such a kink on the aerial view but you can see the original alignment on the south side of the new line. I guess it was easier to raise the railway than lower the motorway.</p>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
Even so, the motorway forms the lowest point in the local area, as was proven on Maunday Thursday, 1998, when very large puddles formed, resulting in long queues in both directions (effectively only the outside lanes were clear, and on the southbound side not completely so). I remember that afternoon vividly: we were heading north and I had been persuaded by my wife not to use my favoured alternative route to the M40, which involved coming off at Banbury... After discussions with Nick,…tag:thesmjr.ning.com,2015-03-17:3138568:Comment:671042015-03-17T10:22:30.271ZMark Readerhttps://thesmjr.ning.com/profile/MarkReader
<p>After discussions with Nick, I've also been looking more closely at this. If you look at the satellite image of the stretch between the B4100 and the road just east of the M40, you can see the original double tree line which marks the original path of the line running a few yards south of the new track. It looks as if the 'shift' starts just east of the minor road and then re-joins at the first set of points inside the Army Depot (a distance of approx. 1500 metres)</p>
<p>After discussions with Nick, I've also been looking more closely at this. If you look at the satellite image of the stretch between the B4100 and the road just east of the M40, you can see the original double tree line which marks the original path of the line running a few yards south of the new track. It looks as if the 'shift' starts just east of the minor road and then re-joins at the first set of points inside the Army Depot (a distance of approx. 1500 metres)</p>