Secrets of The Motorway - M6 Part 3 - Warrington - Lancaster

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  • Опубликовано: 22 авг 2024
  • #infrastructure #road #m6 #cars #driving
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    Right, we've done Scotland, let's get back to the longest Motorway in England.. the M6. It's part 3 of this massive motorway and we'll be, as usual, looking at all kinds of awesome stuff, like roads that don't exist, service station restaurants and Heinz baked beans. We'll also cover the Preston bypass.. the Uk's first motorway, this and so much more... what an episode!
    In this series I aim to explore what our motorway network is hiding. As we drive along at 70mph..ish...we simply just wouldn't be aware of what we're missing. This series will uncover some of the hidden secrets our motorways have to offer.
    *Special Thanks*
    Motorway Services Online - motorwayservic...
    Sabre-Roads - www.sabre-road...
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Комментарии • 802

  • @PhilipStorry
    @PhilipStorry Год назад +309

    I'd just like to note that we should all be thankful that those old 1950s tapes of the original Secrets Of The Motorway series weren't wiped, like so many other things were. Imagine if we lost such a resource! The horror! Great to see the archive footage being used to good effect here.

    • @Stephen_Lafferty
      @Stephen_Lafferty Год назад +32

      I think that they were recorded over old episodes of Doctor Who. :'D

    • @davidroddini1512
      @davidroddini1512 Год назад +31

      I’d like to know his secret! He looks like he hasn’t aged a day since 1958!

    • @davidioanhedges
      @davidioanhedges Год назад +13

      They were shot on Film ... the BBC (and others) only wiped video tapes, which the mostly invented the usable versions of....
      Wiping was due to the fact that they cost money to not reuse, cost money to store, and had no value, as repeats didn't happen and the film copies had already been sent out to the rest of the world and broadcast ... there was nobody left to sell them to ...

    • @David_Crayford
      @David_Crayford Год назад +11

      @@Stephen_Lafferty IIRC First Dr Who was the day after the JFK assassination in November 1963 and correspondingly was a few minutes late.
      *EDIT* On second thoughts, s/he is an f-ing time lord and can be whenever s/he likes.

    • @noizeuk
      @noizeuk Год назад +8

      It's interesting, because this is now that very footage people will go to in 50 years time.

  • @dilwyn1
    @dilwyn1 Год назад +152

    @John ... Defo make a film about the British motor industry. With your ability to research in depth, i'm sure it would be more than interesting 😁

    • @davidioanhedges
      @davidioanhedges Год назад +6

      I look forward to the series - Secrets of British Leyland ...

    • @lxtechmangood9503
      @lxtechmangood9503 Год назад +2

      Definitely need a series on uk motor trade / manufacturing

    • @yeomancam8746
      @yeomancam8746 Год назад +1

      Maybe a 'Secrets of the Truck & Car Factories' series?

    • @gymnasiast90
      @gymnasiast90 11 месяцев назад +1

      I can recommend Ruairidh MacVeigh’s series on this subject. He has a no-nonsense, non-dramatic, very informative style. Especially British Leyland is a very complex topic that is often oversimplified, but I think he managed that one very well.

  • @Jer0nim0
    @Jer0nim0 Год назад +76

    I think the British Leyland era would definitely benefit from the Auto Shenanigans treatment. 👍

  • @deeznuts3186
    @deeznuts3186 Год назад +213

    i have zero interest in roads, cars or motorways outside of these videos but somehow you manage to keep me entertained regardless

    • @saintuk70
      @saintuk70 Год назад +2

      agreed

    • @Sarge084
      @Sarge084 Год назад +15

      I've said it before, and I'll say it again! Jon could narrate a video of paint drying and it would be enjoyable!

    • @texfax
      @texfax Год назад +1

      same here

    • @LoveAngelLA
      @LoveAngelLA Год назад +1

      I am the same no interest in the motorway outside this. He makes it interest and I don't even drive.

    • @Petecope
      @Petecope Год назад +5

      Brilliant video as ever- as someone that has to use them a lot. It’s so much more fun, trying to pick out your highlights and all my family with detailed descriptions of the junctions as we go by. And yes, please, something on Leland, British Leyland, BL would be fantastic

  • @georgebirchall4281
    @georgebirchall4281 Год назад +15

    The building at Haydock was a GPO repeater station. I worked there briefly in the mid 60's. Its purpose was to provide a boost to the analogue signals on trunk lines to/from Liverpool. Became redundant when the network went digital, hence the repurpose mentioned above and eventual abandonment. Working there, it was curious to eat lunch in the grounds, watching the motorway traffic apparently driving on the roof (simple pleasures!)

    • @beeble2003
      @beeble2003 8 месяцев назад

      Is it abandoned? It still has wheelybin service (e.g., 1:30).

  • @colin.d
    @colin.d Год назад +51

    Shame the Pennine Tower at Forton services couldn't be re-purposed, it is such a landmark and unique feature of the MW network.

    • @andybenham9645
      @andybenham9645 Год назад +7

      It was deemed unsafe for public use due to the lack of emergency exits.

    • @cjmillsnun
      @cjmillsnun Год назад

      It's riddled with asbestos and only has one set of stairs in the central column. Any fire in there and it's game over. It's also listed so any changes to it to make it compliant are uneconomic.

    • @BarryRowlingsonBaz
      @BarryRowlingsonBaz Год назад

      @@andybenham9645 Some "urban explorer" types got in there recently and made a RUclips video. Lots of asbestos in there....

    • @ENLSN77
      @ENLSN77 Год назад +3

      Or copious amounts of asbestos

    • @bobstirling6885
      @bobstirling6885 Год назад

      @@andybenham9645 having been stuck in the lift I can verify this to be true....

  • @jeremywilliams5107
    @jeremywilliams5107 Год назад +47

    For your next video on the M6 I'm sure you'll visit Lancaster University which borders the motorway.
    The fun fact was the existence of a zebra crossing across the motorway at the northern end of the campus. It was the only one on the whole world motorway network at the time. Painted by the students, obviously, during the night of what was "Rag Week", it caused major police worries, not to say a quasi-nuclear level of irritation, as to how this was done without anybody being killed (speed was of the essence) and how to remove it afterwards.
    The responsible persons were offered jobs running the Highways Maintenance Department, or so I've heard...

  • @EuropaSman
    @EuropaSman Год назад +18

    A nice nod at the end, what with Juliet Bravo being set in the fictional Lancashire town of Hartley. Good job, Jon👍

    • @emmahayden1653
      @emmahayden1653 Год назад +4

      Thank you soooo much, not knowing where that music was from despite being so familiar was doing my head in

    • @coops1964
      @coops1964 Год назад +1

      Weren’t the opening credits filmed on the long gone deck access flats at Shadsworth in Blackburn?

  • @ianhutchinson1783
    @ianhutchinson1783 Год назад +67

    As an old Leyland lad thanks for the shout out for my home town. As a kid in the 60s/70s there were parts of the motor works within the town itself and the present-day motor museum occupies one of these buildings. I remember bus and lorry chassis being driven from one part of the work to the other with just a bloke on a strapped down stacking chair by the bare steering wheel bereft of any other bodywork. 'Leyland Testers' we called them, and yes please to a BL video.

    • @richardthomasmillican3980
      @richardthomasmillican3980 Год назад +6

      I remember seeing bus and truck chassis on the M6 on a regular basis, as you describe with the driver out in the elements, no cab, just the seat.

    • @hairyairey
      @hairyairey Год назад +2

      ​@@richardthomasmillican3980there's a reason why the workplace used to be deadly!

    • @williethomson8353
      @williethomson8353 Год назад +1

      How can I comment on this
      Best ever... Used that
      Brill hmm that too
      Freakin sweet awesome... That's it
      Juliet bravo mental

    • @donalddodson7365
      @donalddodson7365 Год назад +1

      In the 1950's I became a U.S. fan of Leyland and Foden lorries through Lesney Matchbox toys.

  • @adamclark6756
    @adamclark6756 Год назад +12

    Conway Twitty was genius, i properly laughed out loud! I love these little nods to other things.

  • @starlight5229
    @starlight5229 Год назад +19

    Yes, yes yes!!!! 🎉
    I see you there on Fowler Lane, Farington (Leyland) Jon, doing your piece to camera 😁
    You're right, Leyland Trucks does need a video all of its own but did you see Centurion Business Park whilst you were there? (Behind Paccar). The style of architecture in that business park is great. From the 60s right up to a modern Amazon warehouse.
    Always love seeing the tower at Forton too.
    Fwicked episode!! 👍🏻😁

    • @Dan23_7
      @Dan23_7 Год назад +2

      I thought it was fowler lane but now you said, I’m glad I’m right😂

    • @ENLSN77
      @ENLSN77 Год назад +2

      No 'mong' in a red astra this time 😂

  • @davewalker7126
    @davewalker7126 Год назад +36

    Yes the first motorway, no speed restrictions, with some cars easily reaching 60 mph

    • @foxual13
      @foxual13 Год назад +2

      Not so easily back down to zero though. good times.

    • @Gordanovich02
      @Gordanovich02 Год назад +6

      Well, the car and occupants could get to zero very quickly. But only once.

    • @paulalexander8874
      @paulalexander8874 Год назад +4

      60 for about 3 minutes before the head gasket dissolves and leaves you somewhere outside Preston miles away from help 😂

    • @bobstirling6885
      @bobstirling6885 Год назад +3

      unlikely to be able to reach 60 these days....

    • @paulcooper3410
      @paulcooper3410 Год назад +1

      ​@@bobstirling6885for very different reasons

  • @TheWorldofGood79
    @TheWorldofGood79 Год назад +18

    How wonderful to hear the Juliet Bravo theme, it is a brilliant piece of music & I absolutely loved the first three series of the programme when Stephanie Turner was the Inspector. Those three series from 1980 to 83 show long long gone world.

  • @Mike-H_UK
    @Mike-H_UK Год назад +13

    The residents of Charnock Richard are appalled about your omission of their favourite local highlight - the Charnock Richard Service Station - from this video. We request, nay sir, we demand, that you include footage of this in your exciting upcoming video on the proud developments of our local car industry in Leyland.

    • @Matityahu755
      @Matityahu755 Год назад

      ruclips.net/video/mryrWRAc8jg/видео.html
      FFW to 10:00 mark, you're welcome.

    • @mikepalmer8
      @mikepalmer8 Год назад +1

      Always wondered if the locals pronouced the "d" at the end, or went for the "continental version"

    • @Mike-H_UK
      @Mike-H_UK Год назад

      @@mikepalmer8 With a "d" every time that I have heard it by a local.

    • @stu.c
      @stu.c Год назад

      Absolutely it's with a D at the end...

    • @Matityahu755
      @Matityahu755 Год назад

      Usually pop into here if I'm headed to Scotland. I live in Lancashire now, but I usually call the place Charnock Dick. My best friend was called Richard, but he was always called Dick. So, that name stuck.

  • @peterhurst
    @peterhurst Год назад +22

    In the 90's the abandoned building was a BT depot where the field data services teams were based for quick access to the network. Before that, not too sure but would expect it's Government related.

    • @firesurfer
      @firesurfer Год назад

      The only thing I could find was Old Boston ATE. (automatic test equipment (ATE) designer and manufacturer)

    • @peterhurst
      @peterhurst Год назад

      @@firesurfer I remember that now, it was a drop off for the transmission routes across the country

  • @SharpblueCreative
    @SharpblueCreative Год назад +12

    Juliet Bravo theme at the end was a surprise. Another great funny & entertaining video.

    • @jeremywilliams5107
      @jeremywilliams5107 Год назад

      Underrated car the TR7.

    • @paulsengupta971
      @paulsengupta971 Год назад

      Ah, that's what it was. I was thinking "The Bill" but thought it wasn't that, and I was trying to remember which Police TV show it was. I came down here to find out the answer!

  • @davidpreston9909
    @davidpreston9909 Год назад +57

    Gathurst Viaduct was the answer to one of the original Trivial Pursuit questions. Something like 'Which motorway bridge crosses all those other forms of transport?". Fun bonus fact - the River Douglas used to be navigable by small vessels at least as far upstream as Gathurst.

    • @mikejefferies1039
      @mikejefferies1039 Год назад +2

      Not a motorway but check out 3 bridges on Windmill lane between Brentford and Southall. It's actually 2 bridges built by Brunel. Canal aqueduct over railway with road over the top..

  • @rileyuktv6426
    @rileyuktv6426 Год назад +16

    Love the authentic flashback to show how Motorway Spotter clothing style has evolved since 1958 ❤

  • @radman8321
    @radman8321 Год назад +3

    Haydock Island was modified a few years ago to increase capacity, at the expense of safety. It's now a massive accident hotspot as drivers unfamiliar with the junction struggle to navigate it safely. Not even death and destruction are allowed to stand in the way of carving up the green belt for massive sheds. Thanks St. Helens Council.

    • @WerdnaLiten
      @WerdnaLiten Год назад

      Sounds very similar to Switch Island..M57/M58/A59.....always seems to be accidents there.

  • @jhdore
    @jhdore Год назад +5

    That Juliet Bravo theme is an absolute banger.

  • @christophermeiners8305
    @christophermeiners8305 Год назад +46

    You would do a phenomenal job of telling the history of all of the British auto makers. Though it would be much less unique than your Secrets of the Motorway series 😅

    • @Sarge084
      @Sarge084 Год назад +2

      He's going to run out of motorways soon so he needs to find another subject matter!

  • @colinsmith8572
    @colinsmith8572 Год назад +14

    As an ex truck driver I found these videos really interesting as I saw many of these features on the road but didn't really know what a lot of them really were, the internet was just a dream back then so finding information on places was a lot slower to get to, Jon's films and his personality really make them a joy to watch, keep up the good work.

  • @dieselfox
    @dieselfox Год назад +29

    Wouldn't be Sunday without John

    • @GamMngitSssEmoTionaL5953
      @GamMngitSssEmoTionaL5953 Год назад +3

      😂 I said to myself when I seen your comment its not Sunday its Saturday mate 🤦‍♂️ pulled down on phones UI for date time and its Sunday 😂🤦‍♂️ just one of them weekends where lost a day the joys hee a nice day mate 😂

  • @user-jq5ef1uh9f
    @user-jq5ef1uh9f Год назад +4

    Building behind the shell station is an old BT repeater station called old Boston .. where old analogue cables and systems where amplified on long main routes linking towns .

  • @cfulmar
    @cfulmar Год назад +4

    Hi John, the abandoned building is an old Post Office Telephone (BT) Known as Old Boston exchange

  • @MistyTheWooshyBarge
    @MistyTheWooshyBarge Год назад +3

    1:35 I work for talk talk and often find myself in buildings very much like this. same design, same parking area and specifically a very specific door. This may be a Telecoms exchange housing all the kit for local internet and phone lines.

  • @SteveAndAlexBuild
    @SteveAndAlexBuild Год назад +10

    Love the original motorway signs on scaffold tube frames 😆🧱👍🏼

  • @THELEICESTERFOX
    @THELEICESTERFOX Год назад +3

    In the odd Annual trip to Carlisle. I always stop at Lancaster services and see the tower. Its quite unique and shame its been closed for a while. Probably cost too much to do it up. Bet its a fantastic view for miles around.
    I also enjoy this part of the M6 out of the bits of it. I avoid Birmingham...hate how long it goes through staffordshire but Warirngton - Carlisle - Scotland is splendid. Esepecially the bit in Cumbria when huge mountain ranges spurt up

  • @thomaswilliams9730
    @thomaswilliams9730 Год назад +36

    I went with my dad in his lorry carrying asphalt to the original Preston bypass. So this was a look back at my childhood

    • @joehodgkinson9437
      @joehodgkinson9437 Год назад

      You probably passed my Grandad shifting sand from the dunes by Starr Gate in his lorry

  • @DrivermanO
    @DrivermanO Год назад +4

    Paccar also bought Foden when it went under in 1980, I think it was.

  • @PhillHills
    @PhillHills Год назад +2

    Abandoned building, thats Old Boston telephone exchange, the area is now served from the nearby 'Ashton In Makerfield' (LCAIM) exchange.

  • @Dan23_7
    @Dan23_7 Год назад +23

    Thank you, thank you, thank you for mentioning us lot in little old Leyland and our history of motors. I think you can go on tours of the factory, but here we have the “British commercial museum” which you can go in and soak in a lot of our history. Cheers John, I knew you’d get to J28 eventually 😂
    I wish you’d of mentioned the horrendous slip roads on the southbound side, they’ve caught many a driver out with their overly tight bends.
    (9:18… Preston to Lancaster I think you meant)

  • @Noel_Jaco8
    @Noel_Jaco8 Год назад +5

    Ahh the sweet sound of the original theme music 😂

  • @Colin_Pole
    @Colin_Pole Год назад +3

    Fun fact . . . Many outside scenes for Juliet Bravo were filmed in Bacup, Lancashire.

    • @sarahpuddleduck7156
      @sarahpuddleduck7156 Год назад

      Thank you - I could not place the theme at all but then it was many many years ago 😂

    • @paulsengupta971
      @paulsengupta971 Год назад

      With a Bacup camera?

  • @QuarrybankSecretary
    @QuarrybankSecretary Год назад +2

    The Pennine Tower as a truck stop cafe was a good place to eat with great views but the price increases drove the customers away 🤷‍♂️

  • @seprishere
    @seprishere Год назад +4

    While the Shell at J23 (or indeed the Shell near J28) are cheaper than motorway service areas, the Sainsbury's at J29 is likely to be cheaper still.
    There is also an unofficial service area at J31 (this is signed but only from the sliproads and the A59).

  • @glennfoulger9891
    @glennfoulger9891 Год назад +5

    Sandbach, just down the road from Leyland, probably has more commercial vehicle history with both Foden and ERF being built in the town

    • @pedanticradiator1491
      @pedanticradiator1491 Год назад +1

      ERF was formed by Edwin Foden after a family argument over steam v diesel lorries

    • @coops1964
      @coops1964 Год назад

      Sorry, I’ve never heard of Sandbach trucks though so I think Leyland has the honour.

    • @glennfoulger9891
      @glennfoulger9891 Год назад

      @@coops1964 Leyland was the bigger company with out a doubt, but the Foden family history could almost be a contender for a Tv show

  • @tonners.pettitt9938
    @tonners.pettitt9938 Год назад +4

    To hear Leyland and success in the same sentence is actually nice for once! Should be proud they're still kicking

  • @gregtogneri1667
    @gregtogneri1667 Год назад +4

    The abandoned building is a telephone exchange. Which isn't abandoned....😂

  • @uphollandlatic
    @uphollandlatic Год назад +1

    An additional anecdote regarding Jct 26. To the east of the motorway lay the site of my school playing fields (Abraham Guest Secondary Modern, Orrell). For years after the motorway opened. there was simply the bridge carrying the main carriageway but going over nothing. Then on a Saturday sometime in October 1968 (I think) we had turned up to play a school football match. The playing fields were some way from the school. As we were making our way to them the first boys to get there were running back shouting to our teacher, Mr Jones, 'Sir, sir, there's bulldozers all over the field!'
    The constructors had moved in that morning to begin work on the junction and hadn't told the school. We ended up playing the game on a small side field by the school itself.
    Even now when I use that junction and go round the roundabout I'm thinking to myself, 'That's where the jumping pit was' 'I scored a goal about here' etc.

  • @Stephens8x6Workshop
    @Stephens8x6Workshop Год назад +3

    junction 28 (Leyland) is the only junction to exit onto a B road (as far as I am aware). It was originally planned to exit onto the A49 a few hundred yards south where the Shell station is now but Leyland Truck and Bus (as it was known then) somehow persuaded the powers that be to re-route the junction to the B5256 as it was more convenient for them.

    • @pedanticradiator1491
      @pedanticradiator1491 Год назад +1

      Junctions 39 and 41 of the M6 are both on B roads as is partially J38 too

    • @Stephens8x6Workshop
      @Stephens8x6Workshop Год назад

      @@pedanticradiator1491 Thanks for the info mate. I use those junctions a lot and never even noticed (ha ha). All the best.

    • @pedanticradiator1491
      @pedanticradiator1491 Год назад +1

      ​@@Stephens8x6Workshop Junction 39 (Shap) is actually signposted as (A6) but the road is actually the B6261 possibly the only primary stretch of B road in the country

  • @SGresponse
    @SGresponse Год назад +2

    I always loved that Conway Twitty joke - both because it was a total non-sequitur and because I learned of his existence from it and he's pretty dam lit.

  • @iain1970
    @iain1970 9 месяцев назад +1

    I attended a DfT event at the control centre at Newton (it was about the roll out of Smart Motorways and why the northern M60 wouldn't be included in the scheme). The large round building that looks like a slurry tank houses the control room and all the screens for the cameras. It was pretty good in there.

  • @lukejennings3128
    @lukejennings3128 Год назад +3

    that building looks to be an subexchange of somekind

    • @chriswalford4161
      @chriswalford4161 Год назад +1

      I reckon a BT phone repeater/amplifier station

    • @truckerallikatuk
      @truckerallikatuk Год назад +1

      Definitely has the look of a BT/POTS built hovel. Sauce: Used to work for BT Transport and went to loads of the things.

  • @dickoon
    @dickoon Год назад +2

    Watch the end credits at 2x speed and the Juliet Bravo theme tune is still a banger.

  • @broo0ose
    @broo0ose Год назад +3

    If you ever do the episode on British Leyland it's worth going to the British Motor Museum, where they have a fascinating and depressing infographic showing all the wonderful old British car marques that got swallowed up by BMC and then BL. How did it happen? So many reasons, WWII, poor management, lack of investment, lack of faith in British design. Probably loads of other reasons as well. I look forward to the episode.

  • @VanillaMilkShake96
    @VanillaMilkShake96 Год назад +5

    Broughton, near Preston, is pronounced B roar tun, not Brow-tun

  • @markharris1223
    @markharris1223 8 месяцев назад +1

    There are still service stations operating on the German Autobahn system which have perilously short exit sliproads. One particular sliproad from a service station near Stuttgart is not only very short, but is on a steep upward slope. I once found myself on this sliproad in a Toyota Hiace. It was not a nice experience. The recent prevalence of UK motorways without hard shoulder (like in Germany) is a short-sighted and very dangerous innovation.

  • @MrGreatplum
    @MrGreatplum Год назад +3

    Great video, John. My sister went to uni in Lancaster and the Pennine tower meant we were nearly there! Shame no one can go up there anymore!

  • @stevenmoran4060
    @stevenmoran4060 Год назад +2

    Yes, more on Leyland motor’s please. There still is the high speed test track there with its banked corners.

  • @David_Crayford
    @David_Crayford Год назад +2

    Juliette Bravo outro! The Heinz 57 factory and the British Leyland factory are both worthy of a video. As baked beans are sometimes sold in service stations, there still is a link to motorways.

    • @skapunkno1
      @skapunkno1 Год назад +1

      Juliet Bravo? Yes! thank you, it was driving me insane. 🤗

  • @peterscotney1
    @peterscotney1 Год назад +1

    I set off the alarms at ST JOSEPH'S SEMINARY when i was exploring the place in the middle of the night...lol ....i managed to jump out of a window whilst security were in hot pursuit....i have some great pics of the inside , on one occasion i spent 6 hrs wondering around this massive building

  • @DavidShepheard
    @DavidShepheard День назад

    Pathe News Jon was my favorite bit.

  • @Stephen_The_Waxing_Lyricist
    @Stephen_The_Waxing_Lyricist Год назад +11

    Love this series, which is why I decided to be wicked sweet awesome and subscribe.
    When you eventually run out of motorways, might I suggest a topic for the next series? Ring roads!
    Coventry's is short with 9 junctions, and no two junctions are laid out the same! Also, some junctions have some lovely murals underneath them

    • @iantrembirth6918
      @iantrembirth6918 Год назад +2

      Then there's the Nottingham Ring Road that doesn't go all the way around the city.

    • @qtnet_lee42069
      @qtnet_lee42069 Год назад +2

      Yeah great idea ring roads are good, m.youtube.com/@JohnAtkinsLostNorwich has a great video about Norwich ring road

    • @MrBreadman1966
      @MrBreadman1966 Год назад +1

      There is also the Leeds ring road that also fails to go right around the said city....so yes a series about ring roads would make a great series!

  • @ispi_video_photo
    @ispi_video_photo Год назад +7

    A couple of mates and myself did a roadtrip back in1987. We stopped off at Forton Sevices and decided to take a peek inside the tower part. It was full of truckers, and Only Fools And Horses was on the TV. Oooh the excitement...

  • @EdgyNumber1
    @EdgyNumber1 Год назад +2

    5:43 *LEYLAND TRUCKS* was actually one of 4 of the best bits of the British Leyland conglomerate. They were quite innovative in their engineering, and build quality was generally very good. They were the first to introduce the tilting cab for cab-forward tractor units and they made some quite powerful engines. They also created the semi-automatic gearbox for buses, the first being the Leyland National.
    By the way, the other most successful parts of the business were of course, Land Rover, Jaguar - though this was just about able to hang on (their suppliers caused so many big issues,) and a side hustle call BL Technologies. In fact this was the most successful of all of them. It was set up to provide comms technologies for all parts of the business but had extra capacity to sell to others. In the end I think it was sold on and eventually ended up becoming part of Marconi.

    • @highpath4776
      @highpath4776 Год назад

      Pretty Sure "Self-Changing Gears" predated the Leyland National.

  • @seaspirit5087
    @seaspirit5087 Год назад +5

    Really like your videos turning what would be a dry subject into an interesting subject full of places to visit. When traveling watch a video to learn about the motorway and share knowledge making a journey so much more enjoyable. Real blast from the past Juliet Bravo 🚨

  • @JerryChanD
    @JerryChanD 5 месяцев назад

    I think it is so true to be a dedicated episode for British Leyland as I am from Hong Kong, and there are plenty of buses from Leyland and Metro Cammell.
    I still remember when I was a kid going to and off school between Causeway Bay and Aberdeen Hong Kong, the Leyland Victory Mark 2 with her mighty Gardner diesel engine howling inside of the tunnel, after the tunnel I can see the giant Ocean Park icon with its cable car every day.
    Until the day I left Hong Kong in 2020, many great British engines like Gardner still running on the Hong Kong waters, and there were many small boats still running them!
    Is Leyland gone? Yes and no, the masterpiece of buses, the Leyland Olympian bus set up the new standard of the 3-axle heavy buses since it was designed and manufactured in Leyland UK in 1980. Until now, Volvo still uses the fundamentals of its design til today.

  • @JohnSmith-bx8zb
    @JohnSmith-bx8zb Год назад +1

    Leyland Motors first product was steam lawnmowers.
    The original site in Leyland moved from the center of the town north passing through Farrington up to the current DAF assembly plant.
    All buildings south of the assembly site were cleared and redeveloped apart from one large shed that became the British Commercial Vehicle Museum.
    Also Leyland Motors produced Tanks during WW2 and post war the Centurion.
    At the M6 junction the large stone memorial was originally sited alongside the north bound carriageway on the bridge. Sadly a couple of minor shunts and close calls got it relocated to prevent motorists trying to read it while on the M6

    • @DJOllieK
      @DJOllieK Год назад

      There's also a Centurion tank you can visit just by the roundabout on the A582 - Penwortham Way and Flensburg Way with the plaque 'Made In Leyland'

  • @David_D.
    @David_D. Год назад +2

    Jon, just to the west of Junction 27 is Wrightington Hospital where Sir John Charnley pioneered the artificial hip replacement in 1962. It still remains a centre of excellence in orthopaedic surgery.

    • @rockerjim8045
      @rockerjim8045 Год назад

      secrets of the Artificial Hip

    • @David_D.
      @David_D. Год назад

      @@rockerjim8045 😁😁

  • @dilwyn1
    @dilwyn1 Год назад +3

    Lets go John !!

  • @Sarge084
    @Sarge084 Год назад +1

    Nice advert for Downton's... and while we're on the subject, I used to drive for them!

  • @Tylan_the_gamer
    @Tylan_the_gamer 11 месяцев назад +1

    theres a simular "bridge over nothing" on the A27 in west sussex near Arundel, where there were plans to continue the dual carriageway section of the road further. theres even ghost sliproads still in place leading forwards into a dead end simular to the northern end if the M23. I believe there are plans to revive the extention as part of the Arundel bypass project.

  • @PineappleSkip
    @PineappleSkip Год назад

    Particularly loved the flashback to Secrets of the Motorway 1958. I did think of alternative less charitable scripts about various things your British Leyland might do “with no speed limits”, all of which ended in tears.
    Yes please to the Secrets of British Leyland and its predecessors. Mr father can provide entertaining material regarding an asthmatic Austin A40 which failed every test of quality until it bit the dust in the 1950s. He then bought another mechanical shambles in the form of an Austin Lancer. That escapade also ended in tears.

    • @AutoShenanigans
      @AutoShenanigans  Год назад +1

      He obviously didn't learn his lesson the first time around! Thanks mate!

  • @billybean8859
    @billybean8859 Год назад +9

    Another superb instalment from John keeping fast paced and engaging as always…..but no “photo bomber” spoiling the video…..never mind See you next week John

  • @kierangrasby5728
    @kierangrasby5728 Год назад +1

    Heck yes to a video about British Leyland.

  • @RexRaces
    @RexRaces Год назад +1

    I very much look forward to part 4. (Excited Cumbrian)

  • @piggybakkers
    @piggybakkers Год назад +1

    Leyland Trucks were sold off in 1987 to the Dutch company DAF Trucks not then owned by Paccar. It became Leyland DAF. After going into receivership in 93 the group was split up and it re-emerged under the ownership of Paccar.

    • @markm-ci6rj
      @markm-ci6rj Год назад

      Came here to say this but got beaten to it, although I am sure it was 1996 not 93 but doesn't really matter.
      I think the bus division was taken over by Volvo while trucks went to Paccard.

  • @SebsTruckStop
    @SebsTruckStop Год назад +2

    I love these, I watch them in the evenings whilst eating dinner

  • @JackosJingles
    @JackosJingles Год назад +3

    Love to see a vid on British Leyland. I owned an MG Midget and not one but two TR7s.

  • @ianwilson2631
    @ianwilson2631 Год назад +4

    Please do a British Leyland piece. My Dad was a lorry driver for many years and his company always had BL vehicles. Went to the BL commercial museum quite a few years ago and really enjoyed the place.

    • @k.r.baylor8825
      @k.r.baylor8825 Год назад +1

      Perhaps just an episode visiting the BL museum and interspersing it with Jon's trenchant commentary about BL's demise.

  • @KaosGaming668
    @KaosGaming668 Год назад +3

    The roundabout that’s common for crashes reminds me of the Newbu bridge roundabout. 60 MPH road to a small tight roundabout. When I first went through there in my own motorbike last week I almost went strident into the island. It scared the shit out of me. Luckily there was no cars coming.

    • @hectorshouse7348
      @hectorshouse7348 Год назад +1

      Being alert is essential

    • @iandickinson6400
      @iandickinson6400 Год назад +1

      If it's the Newby Bridge roundabout you're referring to, you needn't worry much longer. Work has started on the A590 to reduce the speed limits on the section between Ayside and Greenodd, including the installation of 9 (yes 9) average speed cameras.

    • @KaosGaming668
      @KaosGaming668 Год назад +1

      @@iandickinson6400 my bike is only a 125 so i was doing 55 on approach but yeah, yeah its the same between Lancaster and preesall which I did Saturday morning

    • @KaosGaming668
      @KaosGaming668 Год назад

      @@hectorshouse7348 yeah the roundabout had changed since i went there last as a passenger in a car and i got caught on the gravel on the entry to the roundabout which was a big factor into my almost launching my new motorbike into the iasland

    • @KaosGaming668
      @KaosGaming668 Год назад +1

      @@iandickinson6400 also it could be the greenodd roundabout im thinking off ill have the check the map and get back to you

  • @petro1986
    @petro1986 Год назад +5

    Looking forward to part 4 and you covering the old layout of Junction 34! So much mad scrabbling to get up to speed on the north bound slip road (where it's now sitting there slowly getting grown over)

  • @AlpakaWhacker
    @AlpakaWhacker Год назад +4

    It really is amazing the sheer number of incomplete roads across the UK. Some probably best that they were never completed and others where they probably should have been completed

  • @Hairysnid
    @Hairysnid Год назад +2

    I live in Lancaster and have never been up the Pennine tower. I believe its a listed building now so hopefully one day we may see it open again.
    I'd love to see a Austin/Morris/BMC/BL/Austin Rover/ Rover Group/MG Rover video!

    • @nowster
      @nowster Год назад

      Sadly it possibly will never open again as the only accessible exit is the (curiously shaped) lift. It's a fire safety problem.

    • @andrewholland990
      @andrewholland990 Год назад

      I have been up the Pennine tower at Forton Services in the days the motorway stopped at Carnforth. It must have been in the 1960s. It was to the roof top not the restaurant. Looking at the antenna farm on the roof top I would guess the internal space is now filled with equipment racks.

  • @SiRhodesDriverTraining
    @SiRhodesDriverTraining Год назад +1

    The Highway Depot at the beginning is also the Regional Control Centre for National Highways. I’ve been for a tour, they have all the screens watching the CCTV cameras, it’s like a cinema but real time. Also home to the North West Motorway Police that are a combined group of Cheshire, Merseyside and Greater Manchester Police.
    Gathurst Viaduct had a tragedy once when a truck went through and over the edge after an accident.

  • @paulmorris9081
    @paulmorris9081 Год назад +5

    As ever, John, top educational learning facilities provided here.
    Your Scotland miniseries - aside from the eviseration of place names - was brilliant and built on your wider collection of videos.
    It was very enjoyable hearing about part 3 of the M6 series.
    Looking forward to next week's instalment!

  • @colinnewman2000
    @colinnewman2000 Год назад +1

    Juliet Bravo - Love it !!

  • @svalomat
    @svalomat Год назад +1

    This is so relieving after listening Not Just Bikes' manipulative speech... :D

  • @nickwhitney1534
    @nickwhitney1534 Год назад +3

    Video on Leyland please, and more Conway Twiddy.👍

  • @rechnin6680
    @rechnin6680 Год назад +1

    Juliet Bravo!

  • @BrucieNZ
    @BrucieNZ Год назад

    The waving at the end always makes me smile 😂

  • @DavidMartin-tk4fs
    @DavidMartin-tk4fs Год назад +1

    Bloody 'ell Juliet Bravo, that brings back memories! Guess that was set round here then was it?
    Another great episode in this area. Good work. 👍

    • @GWorsfold
      @GWorsfold Год назад

      I'm so glad I'm not the only one who recognised that tune!
      That does mean my age is showing though... 😣

    • @pedanticradiator1491
      @pedanticradiator1491 Год назад

      It was filmed around Darwen and Blackburn so would have been more fitting to have used it for the M65 video

  • @rogerduerden373
    @rogerduerden373 Год назад

    Ah - the Juliet Bravo theme! A fond childhood memory of mine.

  • @OverDriveOnline7921
    @OverDriveOnline7921 Год назад +2

    One thing you could have mentioned about the Preston Bypass was that it was used to test the Jaguar e-type, driving test cars up to the bypass and then running them flat out to make sure the car could take the stress of racing. This was also done at night so there was less traffic around. Some reports even said they did this while the bypass was still under construction, allowing the builders to make sure the surface would perform for cars traveling at speed.

  • @factorylad5071
    @factorylad5071 6 месяцев назад +1

    Winston Curhill opened the M6 at Thelwall viaduct. There they left up plaque which has either been stolen or sunk into obscurity. I was there.

  • @thebazgaz
    @thebazgaz Год назад

    My dad was born in Herbert Street, Leyland at his Aunts house, and 4 of her sisters lived with their families in the same road! My dad lives less than 100m away still, and worked at Leyland Motors for many years until he was, like literally half the town, made redundant when it eventually failed. As a town we have the commercial vehicle museum, and a festival parade in June, where a lot of old Leyland made vehicles (amongst other things) are brought out -including the Pope-mobile made for the Popes visit to the UK in the early 80's.
    I believe the Leyland brand is still going in India too!
    Id love to see a series on old British motor engineering companies, that would be wicked, sweet, awesome.

    • @pedanticradiator1491
      @pedanticradiator1491 Год назад +1

      Yes there is a truck company in India called Ashok Leyland which was a subsidiary of BL at one time. Similarly there is a company in Turkey called BMC Trucks

  • @bryansmith1920
    @bryansmith1920 Год назад +2

    I'm a 69yr old who has driven(mopeds16/17yrs old)cars since two months after my 17th B/D so just over 52yrs, I remember driving on the M1 with just a grass verge between you @ 70mph(if you could afford a car that went that fast)and oncoming traffic just a yard or so away, The A2/M2/A2 being 2 lanes all the way down to Faversham, and if you wanted Margate/Ramsgate a shared 3 lanes, I think your modern driver, might need to take Extra underwear,😂😂😂

  • @CathodeRayNipplez
    @CathodeRayNipplez Год назад +2

    That was great! 😆

  • @mrsinn2642
    @mrsinn2642 Год назад +1

    I worked in motorway maintenance for 10 years on the M7/M8 motorway here in Ireland and hated it but yet come here and love stuff about the motorways🚘🚘

  • @seldom_seen_kid
    @seldom_seen_kid Год назад

    6:03 That's a yes from me 👍🏻
    Spent my childhood around Atlanteans, Titans, Olympians, Leopards, Tigers and Cubs. Of the Leyland variety.

  • @kristan999
    @kristan999 Год назад

    Definitely think an "Icons of the Motor Industry" should be on the cards. Where were they made, where did they export to etc etc. Cars, lorries, buses, motorbikes, tractors and anything else that moves!!

    • @kristan999
      @kristan999 Год назад

      ...and my grandfather was at the opening of the Preston Bypass as the family business supplied a lot of the trees and shrubs planted as part of the landscaping.

  • @robinwells8879
    @robinwells8879 Год назад +1

    That abandoned building has a telephone exchange vibe going on.

  • @markparsons2864
    @markparsons2864 Год назад

    Blimey, the JB theme tune certainly brings back happy memories 😎😎😎😎😎😎

  • @joannacole681
    @joannacole681 Год назад

    I'm actually ashamed how much I've been looking forward to this one...

  • @seanvernon5549
    @seanvernon5549 Год назад +1

    The building behind the shell station at haydock belongs to BT. And we defo need a video on the British motor industry

  • @chrisatye
    @chrisatye Год назад

    ‘Juliet Bravo’? I’m sure there’s a reason, but whatever - love it!

  • @BlokeOnAMotorbike
    @BlokeOnAMotorbike 11 месяцев назад

    Juliet Bravo... what a show!

  • @tomsurrey2252
    @tomsurrey2252 Год назад

    I think I'm in love BUT... only at a distance, haha!! BRILLIANT!

  • @grahamjones5021
    @grahamjones5021 Год назад +1

    North of Lancaster, you'll have the building of the M6 dissect the Lancaster Canal three times between just before Burton in Kendal services and just after Junc 36 - no consideration given to 'crossing over other means of transport', just get the concrete down....