I remember sitting on the grass area close to where aircraft would be towed across the perimeter road from the maintainence hangers. Probably inside the airport boundary now, it was fully open back in the late 70s when I was there. Good views for 28R arrivals and the odd very close up view of a 747 being pulled across the road. There used to be a Comet parked on the grass for training.

I remember that junction well! It (Eastchurch Road) was secured many years ago and all other traffic routed past the Long Stay 2+3 parks and to the Eastern Perimiter Road and Envoy Avenue to skirt all the maintenance areas and reach Hatton Cross.

And in the very beginning....
Somewhat before the time under discussion, but I recently came across this in a parliamentary report on LHR expansion.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....1bf7767bb.jpeg

That Comet arrived from Mexicana if my memory is correct in about 1969/1970. The BOAC apprentices moved over from an Argonaut to this Comet for training purposes. Whilst I was lucky enough to do engine runs on that Argonaut, I don't recall if the Comet was ever utilised for that.

I recall the rather singed looking Argonaut GALHJ was on the fire dump down near the threshold of 10L, as was, and the Comet G-APDT was parked nearby sans wings during my first visits in '75/'76

All such a long time ago but I suspect you are totally correct with both airframes, especially APDT as I'm sure this was the aircraft BOAC leased to Mexicana

Nice find !

Although, interestingly, that plan was changed even before construction began, with the result that the northern runway was built longer (9000 feet) than the plan shows, so that the western NW-SE taxiway was no longer parallel to its runway (No 3):

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....082088e6ab.jpg

I was a BOAC apprentice 68/71, the Argonout was heavily corroded and went for fire training before I could get to play with it but the Comet arrived and we did use that, we would open the engine cowling, function controls and systems culminating with running the engines which seemed to worry the instructor in case we opened the throttles too wide, as if we would!
The radio still worked in RX but no longer in TX after someone broadcast music on a LHR's frequency and the cabin had been kitted out as a classroom with chairs and desks, t didn't go to the BAA fire crews until sometime in the 80's. .

What and when was the first aircraft to use the new LAP?
Immediatly after WW2 long haul flights operated from Hurn, BOAC moved most ops. to LAP around 1948.
As an aside, in 1976 I worked in Airworks radio section at Hurn and outside on a concrete bollard you could still read "B.O.A.C No2 Line Headquarters".

Interesting to look at the very old map-oldest i have seen and with secret stamped all over it one assumes wartime.

Interesting to see the rail link from the Reading /Windsor to Waterloo line at Feltham which was never built but probably should have been - even today there is still a lot of open space between that line and southern LHR.

The 'Sludge' works known as Perry Oaks was reduced in size a little and the Duke of Northumberland's canal rerouted parallel to the Longford river along the southern boundary.

Perry Oaks hamlet had to be the least desirable place to live in Britain with runways on either side of it and back in the day another runway immediately to the east with sewage works to the west. Challenge for any estate agent to make that sound good.

All gone now of course under T5

British South American Airways Lancastrian, to Buenos Aires. Captain was Don Bennett. 1 January 1946.

The Comet 4 was ex-BOAC fleet G-APDT. Out of service at BOAC Autumn 1965 with the rest of the fleet, instead of being sold to Dan-Air like its compatriots it was one of a pair leased, only, to Mexicana, supplementing their fleet they bought new, which lasted for four years. BOAC probably thought they had seen the last of it but it came back at the very end of 1969, and was used as a ground trainer through to 1980, nicely in BOAC livery again. There's a well-known photo of it and a BOAC 747 nose-to-nose, for of course they were never in service together. It was subsequently given to the fire service. The last BOAC Comet flight was November 1965, it coincided with the opening of the new Auckland airport in New Zealand, where the old one had been able to handle Comets, just, but not 707s/DC8, and the Comet doubtless hung on. The last BOAC Britannia was a few months before; it was a time of change.

It was named Starlight.

And this is why the 'temporary/semi-permanent' office accommodation block (old T2 site offices) was named Starlight Point......although Covid situation has now resulted in this building being closed down last autumn and won't be re-opening.

I have an old rolled up 1975 1:50000 map of the area covering LHR. (Not the folded version)
A friend was clearing his office and I thought "That might be useful". No great projects emerged, so it has lived in my man cave for over 10 years.

It has close to zero value, and the postage might be expensive, as might be acquiring the tube for it, but if it is of value to anyone, do PM me.
AO

AO Perhaps consider a museum that covers the area, or civilian aviation?

This film was shot in 1962 driving along the A4 road.

Journey Without Incident 1962 | bpvideolibrary

From the 6 minute mark, for about a minute, it is passing Heathrow Northside. The road diversion seen there is around the works for the bridge over M4 motorway spur.

Heathrow Memories
 

I was based on the south side in the mid sixties.This was the original Harmondsworth Airport. The southern perimeter road from Hatton cross would take you past the Pan-Am base (best canteen on the airfield), the executive aircraft park, then what were known as the Comet hangars. Hunting Clan was based there, I remember the 'Clan' being painted out as it became the base for Fields, Shell Aircraft Ambassadors with Douglas Bader being a regular visitor as he kept his twin Beech in the hangar, One hangar was used as a freight shed for Seaboard & Western Airlines CL44 aircraft and another housed all the snow ploughs and runway clearing equipment. Fields often had aircraft for maintenance, the Syrian Arab DC6, Iraqi Viscounts and the Misrair Comet come to mind. Further round the peri track you would find the Air India base and the flashing beacon, which was a large cone of green flourescent tubes. There was a glue factory (hoof & horn) down that way and if the wind was right down the runway, everybody knew about it. Regarding the Northside, it became very congested and restrictions were made on Britannias using reverse pitch in the area. Although the Europa building was eventually finished the West London Air terminal at Brompton continued with check-in and the BEA half decker buses with their baggage trailers were a regular sight. Anybody remember collecting mushrooms off the airfield? The best ones were to be found near the runway holding points where the hot air would pass over the grass.

But there was a railway line there; single tracked splitting from the main Paddington - Slough line at Yiewsley. What it was used for I don't know but the tracks south of the old Bath Road (no longer the A4 as this designation was transferred to the Colnbrook bypass) were still down up until the '80s at least so probably just used for goods trains; I think it originally joined the line from Staines to Windsor and Eton Riverside just north of the Staines bypass near where 'PI crashed however I think the section of it south of Bath Road disappeared when the M25 was built and it looks as if it finishes at Poyle now in an industrial area just north of the old Bath Road .
There was also a huge marshalling yard on the south side of Hounslow Heath, just north of Hanworth aerodrome; you can still see traces of it on ZoomEarth..

Here is a 1959 1/10560.

https://maps.nls.uk/view/189258389

Line runs right under the M4/M25 junction from the GWR main line, and is still in use for the two concrete/aggregate works located in Thornley and Colnbrook. It was also heavily used for bring in materials and equipment to the purpose built logistics centre set up for building Terminal 5.

Yes, looking at the old maps it ran from West Drayton via Poyle and joined the Staines/Eton line just NW of Staines. Staines Station used to be Staines Junction and there was another Staines Station which was a branch terminus on the west side of the River Wraysbury. Ones lives and learns...

The rail line is perhaps visible in this photo (to a better trained eye than mine!)

https://www.britainfromabove.org.uk/en/image/EAW003344

Also used for offloading aviation fuel brought in by rail and then piped to the airport:

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....445fdea514.jpg

Operation, Maintenance and Management Services for the Colnbrook Rail Terminal and Colnbrook Pipeline - Oil and gas pipeline consultant (bpa.co.uk)

The train line is a branch from the main line at West Drayton. It used to have a shuttle passenger train to Staines, using a separate unconnected station to the main one at Staines, which was given up in the early 1960s, but still has cargo trains as far as the several terminals in Colnbrook, for heavy building materials and jet fuel for the airport. These run as and when required, but there is one most weekdays and I've even seen two at once down at the end. The line runs right through the middle of the M25/M4 motorway junction at Heathrow, between the bottom level turning lanes, and a few years ago I had a train passing alongside there as I drove through from T5 back to London.

The oil depot (picture above) is not the mainstream supply to Heathrow, which comes by long-distance pipeline from the refinery, but is a very necessary reserve, still regularly used for a proportion of supply. When the Buncefield fuel storage depot exploded (10-15 years ago ?) it operated 24x7 keeping things going.

Buncefield was 15 years ago - time flies...

Via a new build (early 60's?) pipeline that connected up to the WW2 era GPSS and PLUTO fuel pipeline systems, one of the many immense wartime infrastructure projects undertaken in such a short period of time during the war, and which are still being used to this day to our benefit.

The Fawley - Heathrow pipeline runs right past my front door at the moment but is scheduled to be re-laid about 200 yards away next year.

Colnbrook rail depot
 

As described it currently ends facing south. However, the plans for R3 were that it arrives at a new siding facing west, for material (maybe fuel as well), carbon offset etc.
Pre Covid a new contract was signed between a rail freight operator and a fuel company (Kent coast), probably to feed T5 satellite (not T6).
Of course another new line via tunnel is proposed from GW line to T5, £1bn +. Both lines will impact on rail capacity, freight trains are slower.

The new runway should be No. 8, as there have been 7 runways at Heathrow already.
Perhaps the fallout of applying for an 8th runway may not be very good.:)

Ah Buncefield, about 6-8 miles away due South and happened to be looking out the widow to see the Weather for a Golf Game in Watford. Huge red mushroom cloud and the rumble about 30 seconds later...Radio report shortly afterwards advising M1 closed so cancelled Golf
Drove past next day still damping down
Seem to remember no one killed

No one killed thank God Kilty - I woke up around the same time that the explosion took place (early Sunday morning) and wondered if the bang had travelled 30 miles south and permeated my double glazing and slumbers... My colleagues had been working on the design for the rebuild when we folded - no reconstruction work visible on Google yet...

Our house near Woking shook badly at the right time so I'm guessing that was the shockwave so you would have felt it too..

We heard it at Canary Wharf. Colleague in Rickmansworth had garage window broken. The Laing construction company, relevant to a Heathrow history thread as they built so much of it over time, had their offices directly facing the site, they had merged into Laing O'Rourke about three years beforehand and had just finished consolidating everyone elsewhere and the offices were just finally vacant weeks beforehand. They were completely destroyed. Talk about fortune.

This is main entry for Buncefield Depot with a link in there to the fire in December 2005. I was away that weekend but my housemate about 8.5 miles away was rudely awakened. It measured 2.4 Richter Scale!

The site opened on the edge of Hemel Hempstead but, as in all places, the new town expanded steadily. There were a number of large offices on the eastern side of the industrial estate and some were prefab, rather than brick. Mostly they were shredded. If it had not have been six in the morning the death toll would have been enormous. The Wikipedia page is fairly detailed and lists that the explosion was the usual Swiss Cheese of failed equipment and failure to maintain. The site operator was found liable.

On a business trip today, I made a drive by of the site. Still some old tanks that look like they are waiting for removal but lots of new ones. Also various excavations, bunds and ponds evidently to do with fire precautions. I'm not sure when the pipeline reopened.

My infrastructure engineering colleagues were working on the design of the bunds to contain spillage and so on. Actually, just looked at Google Earth rather than Google Maps so I could look at the site history and I see that while some of the storage tank area is still vacant, there are indeed new tanks in place on other parts which I thought were those left intact (or are they all to be replaced?). Also, remarkably or so it seems to me, part of the original tank farm is now a large Amazon distribution centre!

Is that perchance the Three Magpies at 6:40?

Thanks for the suggestion treadigraph, that is a very good view of Buncefield. You can see clearly where some buildings have not been replaced and, therefore, how close they were!

There is a cemetery nearby (800m or so) which was undamaged of itself but - due to the very strong intake of air at low level by the fire to feed itself - the wind had collected LOTS of rubbish, paper, take away food cartons from the neighbouring area and so on that then got caught in the flowers, trees and hedges. Took them a long time to clear it all and it demonstrated the power of the fire in a very different way.

I think it must be. When did it come down ?

Notable also the 1930s housing on the opposite side of the road, all bought up and hotels put there.

I think the Three Magpies is still there? I wonder what else survives that is visible. I notice on Google maps that a bit of Cains Lane can still be seen inside the airport. I think it used to go right across to the Bath Rd prior to 1946.

Methinks reports of the Three Magpies demise are greatly exaggerated.

Three Magpies pub in Heathrow | Greene King Local Pubs (greeneking-pubs.co.uk)

October 21 2019


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....9bd4e19d7.jpeg