How did Heathrow used to look ?
Lived in or around Harrow over various periods between 1980 and 1986, part of it on Bessborough Rd looking towards Harrow Hill. If the landing runway was 23 we'd get a constant procession of airliners, including widebodies and Concordes, passing our front window.
Later, using the commuter service from Euston, would be aware of odd days when there was a stream of airliners crossing the line in Kenton area. Stopped by mid nineties IIRC.
Later, using the commuter service from Euston, would be aware of odd days when there was a stream of airliners crossing the line in Kenton area. Stopped by mid nineties IIRC.
I lived right under the R23 flightpath in Greenford, from the early 60's right up until the last use in 2002 (in two different houses, but both under the flightpath)
As a kid I used to spend hours sitting at my bedroom window watching the line of aircraft coming in from the north-east.
Don't ever recall any take-off's on 05 though, and certainly never saw a landing on 05 during my time on site building T4 during the summer of '81, and back there again through 1983-4.
The current Northern Perimeter Road runs along the line of the old parallel taxiway at that point, and the apron is the tarmac area roughly opposite the Renaissance Hotel's main car park.
Does anyone have some pictures of the old BOAC building 221? It was on the north side and used for the crew reporting offices up until Terminal 3 was built.
GE historic imagery goes back to 1945 although I think it is more like 1950. There are several old airliners visible on the north apron.
Who can identify them?
Who can identify them?
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Nah wasn't me, but I remember the tunnel was put in about '54 or '55. My parents used to take me to 'London Airport' by bus from our home in South Bucks during school holidays (Greenline [713?]from Chesham to Uxbridge then red LT bus, returning by green LT bus to Slough then the 353 back to Chesham). In the early days before the tunnel we got off the bus on the Bath Road and would walk across a taxiway to get to the public enclosure; later we walked though the tunnel (it was allowed in the early days but not now).
The tunnel was I believe constructed using the 'cut and cover' method rather than by boring; I think there was an airborne illustration in the 'Eagle Book of Aircraft' c1956.
The tunnel was I believe constructed using the 'cut and cover' method rather than by boring; I think there was an airborne illustration in the 'Eagle Book of Aircraft' c1956.
Alas no, but I remember it well. My girlfriend (now my wife) worked in BOAC Flight Ops Planning, next door in Building 224.
If only BAA had portrayed the third runway as a "safety realignment of 23" rather than a "new" third runway, they would have gained about 20 years over the HACAN lot.
Article in Propliner magazine, quite a while ago, by someone who was in Ground Control in the 1950s, described these arrangements. The apron coaches were operated under contract by London Transport, using the vehicles which also did the run to Central London, or the previous generation of these. It was regarded as easy work compared to regular bus driving, so tended to be staffed by the most senior drivers, close to retirement. They would hesitantly pick their way across and around the live taxyway, and found this new-fangled radio thing in the cab a bit beyond them, or even the stand numbers. In winter rain and fog, with aircraft landing lights blaring at them, let alone props whizzing round, there were a number of interesting encounters.
Article in Propliner magazine, quite a while ago, by someone who was in Ground Control in the 1950s, described these arrangements. The apron coaches were operated under contract by London Transport, using the vehicles which also did the run to Central London, or the previous generation of these. It was regarded as easy work compared to regular bus driving, so tended to be staffed by the most senior drivers, close to retirement. They would hesitantly pick their way across and around the live taxyway, and found this new-fangled radio thing in the cab a bit beyond them, or even the stand numbers. In winter rain and fog, with aircraft landing lights blaring at them, let alone props whizzing round, there were a number of interesting encounters.
Last edited by WHBM; 29th Jul 2018 at 14:38.
HD you are dead right. I wonder if there has been a day in the life of LHR since say 1960 when there wasnt a large (lets say equivalent to a 6 story office block or bigger) going on somewhere on the airport or failing that something akin to a pretty large piece of roadworks.
Its abi of an irony that the original LHR was one of the few UK Gov projects that started out with a huge amount of excess capcity for movements and a huge amount of development space for longer runways (the 09/27s) and terminals . Of course that couldnt last and so from some point, in the 80s, maybe expansion on a strategic scale, was wilfully ignored.
What no one in politics seems to understand is that airports are all about scale and connectivity and ideas like 'runways in the SE of England being effectively interchangeable is nonsense. No one would look at growth on the London to Manchester rail route and say lets build an extra line to Leeds-they are all in the North and can be substituted.
So once you have a big hub airport you have to expand it - improving capacity at a secondary airport is no use at all nor is building new airport miles from anywhere going to work because you have to move tens of thousands of people and build ultra expensive new rail links through congested suburbs to reach it causing as much disruptionsthe airport itself.
Its abi of an irony that the original LHR was one of the few UK Gov projects that started out with a huge amount of excess capcity for movements and a huge amount of development space for longer runways (the 09/27s) and terminals . Of course that couldnt last and so from some point, in the 80s, maybe expansion on a strategic scale, was wilfully ignored.
What no one in politics seems to understand is that airports are all about scale and connectivity and ideas like 'runways in the SE of England being effectively interchangeable is nonsense. No one would look at growth on the London to Manchester rail route and say lets build an extra line to Leeds-they are all in the North and can be substituted.
So once you have a big hub airport you have to expand it - improving capacity at a secondary airport is no use at all nor is building new airport miles from anywhere going to work because you have to move tens of thousands of people and build ultra expensive new rail links through congested suburbs to reach it causing as much disruptionsthe airport itself.
Chevvron,
Not Green Line route 713, that IIRC came through South Wimbledon from Dorking ( ? ) on its way through London to Dunstable or was it Luton? It was paired with route 712.
I think yours may have been 703 or one of the other numbers before 710. My Green Line history book is somewhere in a cardboard box along with all my bus and aeroplane books from the 50s!
Not Green Line route 713, that IIRC came through South Wimbledon from Dorking ( ? ) on its way through London to Dunstable or was it Luton? It was paired with route 712.
I think yours may have been 703 or one of the other numbers before 710. My Green Line history book is somewhere in a cardboard box along with all my bus and aeroplane books from the 50s!
Last edited by Brian 48nav; 29th Jul 2018 at 19:50. Reason: missing capital letter
Chevvron,
Not Green Line route 713, that IIRC came through South Wimbledon from Dorking ( ? ) on its way through London to Dunstable or was it Luton? It was paired with route 712.
I think yours may have been 703 or one of the other numbers before 710. My Green Line history book is somewhere in a cardboard box along with all my bus and aeroplane books from the 50s!
Not Green Line route 713, that IIRC came through South Wimbledon from Dorking ( ? ) on its way through London to Dunstable or was it Luton? It was paired with route 712.
I think yours may have been 703 or one of the other numbers before 710. My Green Line history book is somewhere in a cardboard box along with all my bus and aeroplane books from the 50s!
By the way, I cancelled my Arsenal direct debit several months ago and they've now sent me a Silver membership card; what should I do?
chevvron
Continuing our thread drift - I got to the top of the Red Membership several years ago to be told I was being upgraded to Silver. I said I was never going to use the extra benefits, particularly as I hope never to go to London again and asked to remain on the Red list. Not possible they replied, so I cancelled my membership. Now they are trying to get me to rejoin! BBC Breakfast this morning - G reveals he is an Arsenal fan! Top man!
Back to LHR - hindsight is a wonderful thing but what a shame that somewhere like Blackbushe didn't become the capital's main airport.
Continuing our thread drift - I got to the top of the Red Membership several years ago to be told I was being upgraded to Silver. I said I was never going to use the extra benefits, particularly as I hope never to go to London again and asked to remain on the Red list. Not possible they replied, so I cancelled my membership. Now they are trying to get me to rejoin! BBC Breakfast this morning - G reveals he is an Arsenal fan! Top man!
Back to LHR - hindsight is a wonderful thing but what a shame that somewhere like Blackbushe didn't become the capital's main airport.
Last edited by Brian 48nav; 31st Jul 2018 at 08:57. Reason: 2 missing letters.
chevvron
Continuing our thread drift - I got to the top of the Red Membership several years ago to be told I was being upgraded to Silver. I said I was never going to use the extra benefits, particularly as I hope never to go to London again and asked to remain on the Red list. Not possible they replied, so I cancelled my membership. Now they are trying to get me to rejoin! BBC Breakfast this morning - G reveals he is an Arsenal fan! Top man!
Back to LHR - hindsight is a wonderful thing but what a shame that somewhere like Blackbushe didn't become the capital's main airport.
Continuing our thread drift - I got to the top of the Red Membership several years ago to be told I was being upgraded to Silver. I said I was never going to use the extra benefits, particularly as I hope never to go to London again and asked to remain on the Red list. Not possible they replied, so I cancelled my membership. Now they are trying to get me to rejoin! BBC Breakfast this morning - G reveals he is an Arsenal fan! Top man!
Back to LHR - hindsight is a wonderful thing but what a shame that somewhere like Blackbushe didn't become the capital's main airport.
The US D of D even offered to fund an extension of Blackbushes main runway to 10,000ft and build a parallel 7,000ft runway, but to no avail; Gatwick was there and people were gonna use it!
