Secrets of The Motorway - M6 Part 1 - Catthorpe to Stafford

#infrastructure #m6 #motorway

Find us on:
Twitter - @JonShenanigans
Facebook - Auto Shenanigans

The largest of all the motorways in the land... the M6. I'll be upfront... we're not getting this over with in just one episode. We might be here for a while... but it's ok, we've plenty to see and do along the UKs longest motorway.

[stevehill]

The box tunnel under the M6 at junction 13 by Argos was indeed a cattle tunnel for the farm, between junctions 13 & 14 you'll find another similar underpass, in your next episode going from junction 14 just north of the junction there used to be a cattle bridge that was removed when the motorway was converted to "all lane running" (the abutments for the bridge were too narrow ---- no hard shoulder there).

[windleshamwanderer]

As a lorry driver on a 38 yrs I enjoy these films tremendously. You document the changes that i have seen over the years and highlight the "what was that for" snatched glances at infrastructure and 'almost built' or derelict features that i have seen in my travels.
I look forward to your videos, presented in your own inimitable style.
Keep up the good work.

[nickwhitney]

M6, M1 and A14. Three of the busiest routes in the country all meeting up at a mini roundabout. Since the new junction was built i have not seen congestion yet.👍

[thdayblue]

Ever thought about being the voice for a Sat Nav ? 
Imagine driving (well queuing) up the M6 and listening to John narrate what is around us. 
That would be "awesome, sweet, wicked" 🤣🤣🤣

[mrc]

Hump shunting yard. You knew exactly what you were doing. And I commend you.

[theonlywoodyshoes]

As a Welshman who moved to Felixstowe in the late 1980’s; the Catthorpe interchange was a nightmare - a dual carriageway (A14) that became a single lane (each way) underpass with traffic lights below the Motorway.

For those that knew, there was a “short cut” when heading eastbound via the villages of Newton and Catthorpe (From M6 J1) that brought you out at the traffic lights just before the underpass - omitting 15 to 30 minutes of traffic in peak times.

So much better now!

[Willisoverthemoon]

If you're interested in semi secret motorway underpasses on the M6, you've missed the most interesting one of the stretch covered here! Head southbound from J6 and realise you can't exit or turnaround at J5. Look to your left for a gap in the barriers and you'll see a step, narrow single carriageway width off slip. It takes you downhill steeply then through a tunnel that goes under both carriageways of the M6 and then underneath the parallel A452 Collector Road. To get back on M6 northbound, you'll find yourself at a right angle to the A452, with a gap in the central reservation crash barriers. Cross both carriageways in one go, not for the faint hearted as its its a quick road and you get no run up. Follow the little slip road to your immediate left on the A452, and them you find yourself on top of what CMPG officers refer to as 'Trevor's Hump' (an officer become infamous some years ago for using this spot for a quick nap during the night shift) or more commonly nowadays as just 'The Hump', due to its raised platform overlooking the M6 northbound. Then down the dip of the short sliproad back onto M6 northbound. This whole layout is for emergency service use only and is mainly used as a turnaround point to get from M6 South to M6 North, given the junction layouts make this maneuver difficult south of J6! Not for the faint hearted when performed on blue lights at speed, given how steep and narrow some of the slip roads are. Bit of a roller coaster ride.

Surprised there's no mention of the RAC control centre near J9 too, big landmark near Bescot stadium.

The Tame River runs directly under the viaduct for much of the distance between J9 and J6 as well, which many don't know.

[_chrisr_]

I remember using the Catthorpe Interchange back in the early 2000s and it was essentially a roundabout connecting the M6 to the A14. I used it a few weeks back and it is vastly improved!

[MYCROFTonX]

The best presented channel on youtube. John, you are a natural.

[gordonevans]

My dad and me were both coal miners from Littleton colliery.He worked on the locomotives taking coal to the link to the main railway network at Penkridge not the canal

[PineappleSkip]

As an Australian who visited Birmingham in the 2010s I expect the secret underpass at 10:36 would have been to let the Kangaroos jump through. Too many accidents when they jump across the carriageways.

[robin_marriott]

I used to do M1, M6 and A444 every day when commuting from Northampton to Coventry. I think it gave me PTSD.

[orwellboy]

Catthorpe was the stuff of nightmares on my commute from Cambridge to Birmingham.

[tripnick]

OK, this week's 90s TV show theme is Family Fortunes. Looking forward to next week's name that tune 👍
Also, I love the fact you leave in the outtakes, like trying to lean on the balance beam at the canal luck. I could see that coming a mile off!🤣

[jimdieseldawg]

Those bloody roundabouts at Catthorpe were a source of concentrated sphincter spasms. Brake for a stupidly tight curve, brake harder due to priority traffic on the right on the roundabout and hope that the foreign trucker in his 40-tonne artic behind you is also paying attention. I hope that the chief civil engineer is “enjoying” his special place in Hades with its excellent view of the lawyer pits.

[stephenweston]

Ah yes, the Bromford viaduct passing Fort Dunlop. All that comes to my mind is the miles of as you drove over the not-so-level expansion joints.

[matthewupward]

"For a service starion that was never built" put that on a t-shirt!!

[frankmitchell]

Listening to local radio, the Catthorpe interchange used to get a congestion warning every morning.

[adamjones]

I like the way you use your in and out remarks 😂😂😂

[robtrunley]

My guilty pleasure, thanks John, I hope you have had a good week!