Secrets of The Motorway - M54
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 16 มิ.ย. 2024
- #m54 #infrastructure #motorway
On the plus side, the M54 takes you away from Birmingham... however it only seems to lead to Telford with not much happening inbetween. Or so you'd think because of course, in this episode we've found a few things to keep you busy along the way.
This week, We've got industrial steam hammers, engine manufacturing plants, old war sites.. and theres some motorway in there as well.
In this series we aim to explore what our motorway network is hiding. As we drive along at the 70mph..ish...we simply just wouldn't be aware of what we're missing. This series aims to uncover some of the hidden secrets our motorways have to offer.
Find us on:
Twitter - @JonShenanigans
Facebook - Auto Shenanigans
Many thanks to:
Roads.org.uk
Pathetic.org.uk
Sabre-roads.org.uk - ยานยนต์และพาหนะ
Wreck-in? It's the Ree-Kin Mate...
It's even pronounced like that in the clip he showed... SMH
I think he does this intentionally for interactions... He did Earley wrong the other week.
@@corroded precisely correct
@@corroded Yes as someone very familiar with both places this is irksome indeed.
@@corroded on that score he should have mispronounced Coven and Brewood that the Motorway passes through.
Humour is so british. Sarcastic, dry and just spot on.
thanks mate, appreciate that!
@@AutoShenanigans Your sense of humour is a big part of what makes this channel unique. I love it. Please never change 👍
Yes as a Black Country lad (and former employee of Shropshire County Council) it is reekin not wreck-in.
The M54 also goes by the side of Moseley Old Hall, the Elizabethan manor house where Charles II hid from Cromwell. My mother's ashes are scattered in the small orchard there.
Saved me the bother of pointing out the shandy-drinking-southerner's transgression...
@@andrewdenby8239 same here
yea.... that was the only bit that really annoyed me..... even the video he inserted had the correct pronunciation lol
Come on guys, give Jon a break, his videos are extremely interesting in general...anyway, I’ve learned how to pronounce Wrekin today, thanks to Philip (and in a way, Jon), so all is good 👍🏻
The basic meaning of 'round the Wrekin' is 'the long way round', as in 'the main road was closed and a diversion took us all round the Wrekin'.
Rammstein's "Mutter" rendered on piano. Awesome outro!
indeed. took me a second or two to realise, but once you hear it...... have to try and find that version now :D
Took me a few seconds too but it's an awesome version.
As soon as I heard it, I thought, "hang on, that's Rammstein!". Interesting.
Who doesn't love a bit of Rammstein!
@@AutoShenanigans Haven't been in my playlist for years... thank you for bringing them back!
When you run out of motorways, you should cover the major primary and trunk routes, as some of them should have plenty of secrets to them.
Tales from the trunk roads perhaps...
Eventually he will just do all the roads in the uk from motorways to dirt tracks
Indeed, they were yesterday's motorways after all.
the whole A38
He should visit other countries and do there roads
That’s a classy rendition of Mutter! Great work
Glad I’m not the only one who noticed! I loved it!!
The road north of western Telford is the A442 not the A422. It runs in the other direction down into Worcestershire. Props to all other locals pointing out the correct pronunciation of the hill. Story - many years ago a new expatriate MD arrived (from Japan via the US of A) to my then-employer and was given a brief tour of the area. Upon seeing the hill, he pointed and said he wanted that for his house. He had to be politely reminded that we tend to have smaller properties in Britain and the Wrekin might not be for sale. That man was a legend. There are stories that cannot be told about his tenure.
The amount of work, research and traveling you punt into these series is amazing. I envy your attitude and skill. All the best to you from a traffic engineer from the Netherlands
Thanks for your comment, appreciate that. It's been a while since I was in the Netherlands but the last few times I drove over, the roads seemed to be a little bit more thought out than what we have here. Until I got to Amsterdam...you might as well park up and cycle.
@@AutoShenanigans Yeah I remember driving in Amsterdam in the early 2000's. The combination of coffeeshops, trams and driving on the right, made it somewhat challenging to say the least 🤣
I was not prepared for an assault by the Hell March 2 in the middle of a video. Bravo, sir
Pronounced Reekin
Blooody sutherners😄 Awesome outro thats going on pub jukebox tonight.
What few people realise that Jon actually played this gorgeous piano outro himself. What a talented guy.
More seriously: great slice of road related industry here. Can see why I'd want to work there. Had good luck with the weather. Those woods do look nice.
Not a biologist but I wonder how healthy it actually is for a nesting bird to live over a constant stream of ICE car exhaust?
Schon by Rammstein?
@@steve5772 by Jove! Wow
@@steve5772 Mutter (Mother) by Rammstein)
idk if they would chose to be there cos its so loud
No mention of J3, RAF Cosford, the Aviation Museum and flight base of the Middlands Air Ambulance?
I did want to include it.. buuuut.. you can't fly a drone around there, so no cool shots from the air. With permission, we could film inside the museum, but we didn't have that. So we'd be left with me in the car park talking about it.. but with little interesting footage to go with it.
Loving the outro music. Mutter has always been a favourite song and just lovely as a piano version.
Incidentally, the M54 is one of my least favourite motorways to drive as the surface is unpleasant and very noisy.
Horrible surface!!
How this brilliant series has not been picked up by mainstream broadcasting I’ll never know…keep up the brilliant work!
It’s probably the last thing anyone would want. Better off being solo doing what he does rather than the BBC telling you what to show, say and think.
BBC did a doc on BBC 4 a few years back. But it was more of the history/inception of the big motorways only.
All these hidden pieces of of folly are help to wildlife as well as peaceful! Even though traffic noise can still be heard, the lines of trees greatly deaden the sound! Thanks Jon👍
I drove the entire length of the M54 coming from Wales last night - always seems to have good, aware and proactive drivers on it.
Quick stretch of non-smart motorway. Amazing how much the quality of driving rises when people aren't constantly watching speedos and overhead gantries, like the M6.
Ending with a piano version of Mutter- beautiful! Wunderschon!
It's a wonderful tune and a great band !
Absolutely, great choice of music!
The Rammstein outro was a really sweet touch.
Love this series, keep doing what you're doing!
Cheers mate.
Was that 'Hell March'?? A great choice of music.
Nice use of 'Mutter' as well, top work!
Yeah it was! :D
I came to comment to double check I was hearing that right that piano cover of mutter at the end with the scene from the drone was brilliant, any idea were to find that cover?
The great mystery of Telford roads: you have the M54 motorway going east-west, and the motorway-like A442 going north-south, yet there is no proper junction between them. (You have to leave one, go around a signalised roundabout, along the A5 for half a mile, then around another signalised roundabout to get onto the other....)
As a child of the 70s, we moved from Shropshire to Essex in the early 80s and made the nigh on 5 hour trip north back to see relatives in Oswestry fairly often. A journey that today is A12, M25, M1, M6, M54 and A5 was then A414, M10, M1,M6, a break in motorways for a bit to jump back on at Shifnal and the rickety racket of the M54 at Telford before jumping on the old A5. As a boy, I could never understand why the M54 just "stopped" and wondered what was beyond the closed bollards. I can recall asking my dad and he said they had run out of money and would likely leave it like that. Obviously they had a reach down the back of the sofa and found the funds to finish it and also, build the links around M25 to A12 while they were at it for good measure that did away with the slow assed jouney from M10 and A414 which i think was St Albans to Chelmsford. Long gone is that route and roads but remember it vividly. From one youtuber to another, keep up the great content!
I happened to find myself driving up the M54 from the M6 (M6 Toll, M42, M40, M25, M3) to Telford for the first time a few weeks ago, now seen it from many different angles, thanks!
It’s always a good day when auto shenanigans uploads
Another stormer of a video that as a southerner, shows somewhere that I would never go to......and now.......still will never probably visit, but thanks anyway!!!!
Wicked, Sweet, Awesome 👍
Top notch music selection throughout this video.
I have followed you since 3000 subs. I love your vids. But ending them off with Rammstein is just Lovely beyond understanding. PS. more abandoned racetracks please.
Yes, as you say..lovely!
Rammstein - Mutter (Klavier)
I do plan to do more abandoned race tracks and roads etc. Thanks for watching.. who doesnt love a bit of Rammstein!
Junction 6 was actually built as planned; the three bridges over what would have become the Western Primary are still there, but buried. There are a few photos which show them.
Loving the rammstein at the end
As a Shropshire lad you finally got around to doing "my" motorway. When they were building this motorway in the 70's it cut right through a lesser hill known as The Ercall. This was where, as a boy, I spent many hours harassing the construction works for ruining my woods.
Nice bit of outro with Rammstein melody of Mutter 👍
Thought I recognised this tune 👌🏼
When they were digging the area around Overdale the large Caterpillars churned up huge amounts of coal. Entire families using wheel barrows to collect it all day would work their way between the excavators to collect the black gold. The poor coal man didn’t sell much coal that year, my Dad filled out coal cellar to the roof, both our 30ft green houses and his garage. My Dad was talking to one of the contractors and he said it was the largest surface coal seam he had ever witnessed. All through that development us kids would traverse that dig site to get to Ketley Junior School, omg the H&S would have kittens now a days.
Nice series and when moving onto A-roads do the A3. The Kingston Bypass section is totally wacky with its frontage roads (built for trolleybuses) some of which are one way and some 2-way, some sections virtually impossible to access without local knowledge and some turn at right angle onto the main road, plus houses with driveways on slip-roads, the whole thing is insane.
That sounds crazy! I'm looking that up!
I would totally be here for a whole quarry-related series.....
3:15 nice taste in music Command and Conquer - Hell March 👍👍
Wrekin, rhymes with speakin'
Round the wrekin is also used as an expression (meaning to go the long way round more broadly, not just in a conversation) in Shropshire, to the west of the Wrekin. It seems you can go round the Wrekin heading East or West!
I get time for like 3 hours of TV a week......Each Sunday night this take 30 mins of that slot!! I'm sure this bloke would be good value for money down the pub!
Thanks for watching mate :)
Dear diary.. I just heard myself say 'oh cool' when I saw this new episode posted. I think, just maybe I need help. lol Anyhoo another great episode guys. Regards John
We're planning on setting up a helpline.
Love the Rammstein outro!
Light and sarcastic delivery of your videos is great, Jon. Makes them fun and interesting to watch but probably obfuscate the effort that goes into producing them. Keep up the great work...!
I look forward to these every week, keep ‘em coming!
As Half Man Half Biscuit once said
Half way up the Wrekin with an empty flask of tea,
A fog descends and takes away my visibility
But in this Helen Keller world, I’d still quite like to know
Why is Rod Hull alive, and getting paid as well?
I wonder if they’ll bring back National Service and the birch?
Oh, and it’s Helen Keller state…
@@leopold7562 thank you for your correction.
And I wonder, but I doubt if, they will ever bring back the Watney's Cup.
Loving this series, keep up the excellent work. This one is of particular interest because the M54 is my local motorway. I have been up the Wrekin many times and have never tired of the stunning views it gives.
Nice version of Rammstein - Mutter on the end there!
Thanks John.
Superb as usual.
Cheers as always John, have a good week 😎👍
Cheers John, excellent presentation. Love the understated humour.
Another excellent video, Jon. Many thanks.
4:56 that's round the corner from my house! I go by there on my way into town. The bit you're standing on is at the entrance to a nice walking path that leads up to a lovely park with a pond. There's also a path nearby that used to be a railway that used to serve a factory that stood where the Sinclair works is now. You can still see evidence of the old factory strewn around (and even the odd bit of rail) and if you follow the path right to the end, you come to the side of the motorway.
This series has become my Sunday treat.
Firstly, let me compliment you on the outro music. One of our favourite songs by Rammstein. Wonder if Til would approve???
Hilton used to be mainly farmland and woodlands and as a kid myself and my sister used to ride our horses round there, and we would go up the dirt tracks leading to the tower. When the M54 was built it cut through all the woods and fields. So sad.
It did prove very useful though, as it gave access to the motorway from Telford where there was a lot of industry. We very much wish we had gone to Telford instead of coming to Bristol..... Makes us homesick for the Midlands.
Whenever my dad did any work on the car, i.e. put now parts on or he Red-Ex'd it, he would take the car down the M54 to either run in the new part or create Batman's smoke screen. I will always remember sitting in the car watching that smoke. Sometimes the dog would be in the back seat.... she loved the car and once we were driving along when suddenly there was a cat on my lap. The cat had decided to take a trip with us!!! So we had a dog and a cat while making a smoke screen.
My husband also used to do the same run when he Red-Ex'd his car. I think it was a firm favourite for that kind of thing because you would see cars with smoke coming out. You would go up to the next junction, turn round and come back.
By the way, the word Wrekin is pronounced Ree-kin. But yes, it is a common thing in the Midlands to say, 'Oh stop going around the Wrekin will ya,' i.e. 'Get to the point'. Or 'We ended up going all around the Wrekin', if the journey was laborious and complicated.
Loving this channel Jon... My Mum used to say all around the wreaking ..... Yes i come from warwickshire originally....... oh yeah while i'm at it... The music on this channel is brilliant... loving the Rammstein at the the close...
Your content is so good.
Taking something I always thought was dull and never considered that the reasons and details behind certain decisions are now captured in concrete and tarmac monument. Fansinating stuff when you find out abit more!
The drone footage gives the series that extra lift (pun intended)!
I used to visit Oswestry from Essex quite regularly, and it looks like I'll be doing so again over the next few weeks. As much as I love a relaxed drive along the A5 (Watling Street/ Marble Arch to Anglesey), sometimes time dictated using the motorways to get round Birmingham, including the length of the M54. I always found the change from the motorway back to the A5 a bit of a sudden change of pace heading north west.
Great video as always John! Love your humour. I know the M54 well as living in Chester, the usual way for me is the A41, eventually joining the M54 and onto the M6 to head south.
Awesome video once again John. Love the work you put into these.
And once again, fantastic outro clip. Love the waving drone shots!
A totally unnecessary thing :D Thanks for watching.
Another great video John, Thank you!
Also the M54 runs right through the site of Tong Castle just to the west of the slipways of junction 3 and south of Church Pool. It got demolished (or, rather, blown up) by the army in 1953 due to its unsafe condition. The M54 was then bulldozed right through its foundations in the early 1980s...
The dramatic ending sealed it for me. Lovely.
Enjoyed this video. I've driven up the M54 so many times and did no know there were so many hidden gems!
Thanks John, I'm surprised you didn't mention anything about junction 3 as it takes you to RAF Cosford museum
I seem to remember that there are remains of a medieval castle by the Cosford junction ( J3 ) that the motorway went straight through the middle.
@@davecooper3238 Yes indeed, Tong castle. A tiny bit of surviving stonework is visible on the eastbound motorway verge. Also of note is "little Nell's grave" in the nearby Tong churchyard.
@@johndell3642 Hi John, thanks for the name of the castle. It’s given me a chance to looking it up. Also confirmed that it’s not a false memory.
Am I correct in thinking that quite a few humps & bits of stonework could be seen when the motorway first opened.
When I heard he might do a video a few weeks ago I created my own for him to copy with Tong Castle and Cosford and Little Nells Garve.. th-cam.com/video/isIaz6E6tlw/w-d-xo.html
@@davecooper3238 The gates were saved I have a video about them th-cam.com/video/ka0_kNFA9ls/w-d-xo.html
I can’t believe you haven’t gone the M60. So much to talk about. It needs two episodes. The trains that ran alongside it in Stockport. The viaduct. The connection at Bredbury where you join the fast lane.
Much more. Say Bob sent ya.
Thanks for another cracking vlog 🎉
Another excellent video mate, really well presented and researched.
Brilliant John. Simon Langford, have you watched this 👌
Brilliantly made,how to talk about mundane stuff and make it interesting and informative 10/10
Love this channel - fascinating
My request granted!! Thanks man that was great! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
No worries mate, thanks for watching!
I recently found this channel thanks to the TH-cam recommendations algorithm. After watching a few videos, I've subscribed. Very informative and highlights a lot of historical landmarks etc which makes it more than just about a road. It also highlights the lunacy and daft bureaucracy that exists in the UK that often results in half-baked results that in the process, destroy good agricultural land, communities for nothing. At the same time, it also demonstrates some very talented architects, road designers and sometimes, good planning. This particular video highlighted a typical attitude in the UK. There are recent calls for farmers to re-wild parts of their farms and in some cases, that is appropriate, yet when they tear down things like old munitions factories, instead of considering re-wilding these kinds of places, the automatic reaction is to create an industrial park. There was a former golf course in a previous video that had plans to become a housing estate (that apparently failed). Instead of getting rid of good agricultural land, why not put the option to reuse these places as re-wilding areas and not just the option of an industrial or housing estate. Not appropriate in every case and sometimes a poor yielding farm would be better off as an industrial park, but the country needs to become more flexible in the way things are done.
Worked in Hilton Hall until I left the company in 1999 and moved to Hertfordshire
I am constantly amazed by how many things were planned regarding motorway layout or expansion, but just simply never happened.
Great presentation and interesting stuff, Bob
You and Jago do untold research brilliant 👏
After watching a few episodes the other day it went into auto play... I now keep finding myself humming/ whistling Wish you were here!!! 😂😂😂 Thanks haha
The M54 is on my route when I travel to my parents' house in North Wales from Leicestershire. The trees and verges that have, as you stated, been placed there to hide the motorway from view also make it incredibly boring to drive on. Luckily when I've been on it is usually relatively quiet, so I can get through that bit of the journey quickly.
Always tune in every Sunday for this amazing sense of humour 🤣🤣
Wicked sweet awesome as always.
great vid to watch of the locality. Didn't realise that quarry was quite so massive, explains the lorries and muck they leave up the B5061. Love the outro that you made the effort to climb the Wrekin as that was worth a comment alone. (and I'll wager that half the folks commenting about the pronunciation haven't been up the top either!)
Keep an eye out for news on the M6N link from J1 as that is getting a mention regularly. Might actually happen.
Nice up there. Bit of a mission though!
Brilliant, 👏🏼 👍🏼👍🏼
Once again, humorous and interesting and it reminds me of an a level geography trip to Shrewsbury!
Great stuff as always
I bet the staff at HMP Featherstone got twitchy bumholes when they saw your drone in the air haha
To be fair... we don't like flying near prisons for that exact reason, however, it's all perfectly legal :)
What a find! THE BEST subject matter 👍
I finally get to see one of the motorways that I travel up part of on one of these videos woo
New episode! whoop whoop!
great info soo much more than just a road !
I'm not a petrol head by any stretch of the imagination and couldn't care less about car videos, but I love your infrastructure films.
Woohoo, my home Motorway! Another great episode, love the humour and really like the way you mispronounced The Wrekin as The Wrekin ;)
Great Job Again !
#AutoShenanigans Brlilliant John, Another great vid and a Wrekin good outro!
Passed my C+E test at Featherstone! Cheers John, keep the content coming. Better, more interesting & more relevant than anything that is being put out by the MSM. I've mentioned donations and such before, but have you looked into Merch etc ?
Cheers mate, thanks for watching. We've got "Super thanks" on the videos should anyone wish to donate, as for merch, I'm not sure it'd be worth the trouble at this stage.
The weekly motoring tour de force unleashed online. The drone footage really gives some great context to the aborted dual carriageway scheme. Thanks also for the bonus info on the never-built services by J3! Kudos for climbing The Wrekin in pursuit of artistic excellence.
Thanks for watching mate.. I wont be rushing to walk up the Wrekin again but once you're up there.. it's wonderful.
Very interesting. I lived then in Fordhouses on the Stafford road, spent a lot of time on the M54 in the 90’s, going to Telford and the other way to the M6.
My week isn't complete until I watch your video each Sunday
and I'm glad to be part of your week sir!
Epic outro & music. Thanks!
Totally wicked sweet awesome dude .
Another fantastic vlog John, as always. Love the stunning scenery towards the end. Well edited. Looking forward to the next one. *****
I tried to blag one of those semiphore signals. :(
@Toxic Tony where abouts are the semaphore signals?
@@Dave1976. In your profile picture at Poulton Station.
@Toxic Tony lol thought you meant in John's vlog. I asked network rail when they were upgrading Poulton with electrification about semaphore signals and guy said I could have 1 for few hundred needless to say I didn't bother. They told me they usually get used on other lines. Where needed
Halfway up the Wrekin with an empty flask of tea
A fog descends and takes away my visibility
Yet in this Helen Keller state I’d still quite like to know
“Why is Rod Hull alive - and getting paid as well?”
Very interesting vid, thanks.
I have an O.K. view of the 'Wreck-in' from my bedroom window so it was cool to see.