Unbuilt Britain

[Fir Street]

here's the site

British Cycle Tracks

Between 1934 and 1945, the Ministry of Transport paid local authorities to build 100+ Dutch-inspired cycle tracks. This website documents why they were built, how they were used, and why they faded from memory.

www.britishcycletracks.com

 

[Ogrebear]

A selection of layouts for cancelled plan to turn London's Battersea Power Station in to a theme park resort

Found on another thread.

 

[Guy712]

Found on another thread.

Feel free to post the rest

 

[Fir Street]

At least 10 London Airports were proposed pre ww2 by the air ministry and one proposed tube line to a proposed airport.

 

[Ogrebear]

Unfinished rather than unbuilt, but seems unlikely to be finished after 40 years…

 

[Fir Street]

West London Orbital

Hopefully TFL's Relationship with Westminster improves so that They can take advantage of these regeneration schemes in London

 

[pdf27]

RAF Bovingdon instead of Gatwick as London's second airport after the war?

The terrain allows you to extend the runaway to the same length as Gatwick is today if needed, it was in use for BEA flights after the war in the same manner as Gatwick and is about a mile away from both the West Coast Main Line and Metropolitan Line. That means distance and access are pretty much the same as Gatwick for Londoners, and vastly better for the rest of the country.

 

[tonsofun]

RAF Bovingdon instead of Gatwick as London's second airport after the war?

The terrain allows you to extend the runaway to the same length as Gatwick is today if needed, it was in use for BEA flights after the war in the same manner as Gatwick and is about a mile away from both the West Coast Main Line and Metropolitan Line. That means distance and access are pretty much the same as Gatwick for Londoners, and vastly better for the rest of the country.

This would butterfly London Stansted. In a way, it makes more sense because it closer to more of the country.
I'm admittedly bias towards Gatwick because I live on the South Coast. But I can see it being the Stansted equivalent of this tl.

 

[AndrewSt]

Unbuilt Britain? The M67 links to the M1 and creates a decent cross-Pennine link south of the M62, instead of the god-awful A628 Woodhead Pass and (shudders) A57 Snake Pass. Came across the Snake recently, temporary traffic signals in three (FFS) locations where the road is collapsing into the valley below.

 

[usernamebutepic]

Unbuilt Britain? The M67 links to the M1 and creates a decent cross-Pennine link south of the M62, instead of the god-awful A628 Woodhead Pass and (shudders) A57 Snake Pass. Came across the Snake recently, temporary traffic signals in three (FFS) locations where the road is collapsing into the valley below.

As a Derbyshire man I love that road

 

[AndrewSt]

As a Derbyshire man I love that road

What, the Snake? It's 'orrible, not helped by the fact that DCC tend to ignore it as it terminates outside of their patch. As evidenced by how often they close it in winter.

They also used to look after the Woodhead. Which was equally cut-off from the rest of their network and thus equally badly maintained. At one point the firm I was working for took over responsibility for it during Highways Agency days. The first thing we did was scout the route out. We were appalled to find out how much work needed doing to get it up to scratch. The whole thing got resurfaced over the next 2 or 3 years. Then there were all the holes in the drystone walls that line parts of the route - holes knocked in them by traffic that had been there for many years.

 

[usernamebutepic]

What, the Snake? It's 'orrible, not helped by the fact that DCC tend to ignore it as it terminates outside of their patch. As evidenced by how often they close it in winter.

They also used to look after the Woodhead. Which was equally cut-off from the rest of their network and thus equally badly maintained. At one point the firm I was working for took over responsibility for it during Highways Agency days. The first thing we did was scout the route out. We were appalled to find out how much work needed doing to get it up to scratch. The whole thing got resurfaced over the next 2 or 3 years. Then there were all the holes in the drystone walls that line parts of the route - holes knocked in them by traffic that had been there for many years.

I mean it's not perfect but it's an awesome part of the landscape. Used to go up it to see.my family in Darwen.

 

[AndrewSt]

I mean it's not perfect but it's an awesome part of the landscape. Used to go up it to see.my family in Darwen.

I think you'll find the correct spelling for "not perfect" is "effin' lethal". Just saying. Nice countryside though, I'll give you that. Although as a driver, taking your eyes off the more "interesting" bits of the road for more than a nanosecond is not a wise life choice.

 

[usernamebutepic]

I think you'll find the correct spelling for "not perfect" is "effin' lethal". Just saying. Nice countryside though, I'll give you that. Although as a driver, taking your eyes off the more "interesting" bits of the road for more than a nanosecond is not a wise life choice.

Lol I've never driven on it, good memories for me on it as a kid tho

 

[Catsmate]

RAF Bovingdon instead of Gatwick as London's second airport after the war?

The terrain allows you to extend the runaway to the same length as Gatwick is today if needed, it was in use for BEA flights after the war in the same manner as Gatwick and is about a mile away from both the West Coast Main Line and Metropolitan Line. That means distance and access are pretty much the same as Gatwick for Londoners, and vastly better for the rest of the country.

View attachment 918886

That's rather neat.

 

[pdf27]

Ryde to Portsmouth railway tunnel

Following the vigorous reaction to the 1964 plan to close down all rail services on the Isle of Wight, the Isle of Wight TUCC submits a proposal to Barbara Castle the Minister of Transport for an alternative based around a new tunnel from Portsmouth to Ryde. This would allow the shutting down of all British Rail operated ferry services to the Isle of Wight (the privately owned Red Funnel line would continue operating), avoid significant expenditure on Ryde Pier as well as shutting down the tramway and maintenance depots on the Island.
The proposal received support from an unexpected source in the Treasury: concerned about the cost estimates for the recently agreed Channel Tunnel, they saw this as a low-cost way of testing out the real-world costs of the scheme. Combined with cost savings associated with the elimination of new-build ferries needed for the island to replace the existing service, funding for the £30 million cost of the 5 mile tunnel is considered just about bearable. Barbara Castle also sees this as a high-profile opportunity to show that the Beeching process isn't purely about cuts.

Ultimately, it is agreed that two services will be retained on the island: Cowes-Portsmouth and Ventnor-Portsmouth, using the third rail electric system.
<yes, I know this would never get the money in real life, but hey...>

Historical railway map of the Isle of Wight, edited to show the retained track in red.

Portsmouth end - emerging on the line of Burnaby Road and joining the railway line between Portsmouth Harbour and Portsmouth & Southsea stations.

Ryde end - tunnel entrance is at the edge of the Simeon Street Recreation Ground.

 

[El Pip]

Ryde to Portsmouth railway tunnel

Ignore the money, technically that is a hideous job. The ground is horrible unstable running sands and with 1960s tech you are looking at compressed air working in unfavourable ground. The Fawley cable tunnel was dug nearby at the same time, they ended up with the leaking compressed air reacting with the sands and forming sulphuric acid. Any Isle of Wight rail tunnel is going to be bigger, deeper and so probably much worse.

Isle of Wight tunnel studies are normally torn between the technically practical (a Lymington-Yarmouth tunnel which would be cheap and simple to dig) and the actually worth doing (Ryde-Portsmouth, which is the route people want/need to travel).

 

[Ogrebear]

Would an Isle of Wright bridge be easier to build?

Need to be high or lifting to avoid ships but possible.

 

[El Pip]

Would an Isle of Wright bridge be easier to build?

Need to be high or lifting to avoid ships but possible.

Bridge is interesting politically. Maybe after Barbara Castle signs off on the Humber Bridge she could be bounced into approving this one? It might take the sting out of the claims that Humber was just an electoral bribe (it obviously was, but if she approves one in a never-will-be-red area it looks less suspicious).

Technically, a Dartford Crossing sized bridge probably works to give enough clearance I think and that's a 1960s bridge so it's all doable. The problem is probably the approaches, you need to get up that high and you can't be at too steep a gradient or it's unsafe, so you need long gently sloped approach roads both sides. That's a lot of demolition, which will add to the cost, but it is all possible.

 

[pdf27]

Ignore the money, technically that is a hideous job. The ground is horrible unstable running sands and with 1960s tech you are looking at compressed air working in unfavourable ground. The Fawley cable tunnel was dug nearby at the same time, they ended up with the leaking compressed air reacting with the sands and forming sulphuric acid. Any Isle of Wight rail tunnel is going to be bigger, deeper and so probably much worse.

Isle of Wight tunnel studies are normally torn between the technically practical (a Lymington-Yarmouth tunnel which would be cheap and simple to dig) and the actually worth doing (Ryde-Portsmouth, which is the route people want/need to travel).

Looks like suitable tunnel boring machines are just becoming available in the early 1960s, using pressurised slurry on the face to stop the ground collapsing. This would be a very big and early attempt at it, but it isn't impossible. See this website.