Secrets of The Motorway - A1M

#motorways #infrastructure #a1m

The A1 and A1M needs little introduction really, along with the M1, they form the "backbone" of the country and allow us to travel up and down.. mostly without issue.

The A1 is massive... so we're looking at the A1M sections in this episode which in itself was a mammoth task and to date, the longest day we've had out on the road. 22 hours if you're wondering.

Come along on this journey of discovery where we'll be finding lots of random points of interest for you to go and explore. Or just watch the video, it's easier isn't it.

[AutoShenanigans]

Hello, How the devil are you? I hope you enjoy the film. There are three musical references to look out for this week, one of them is really tough but I'm sure someone will get there. If you're interested, filming this episode involved a 22 hour day, a new record for us and confirmation of a stupid idea. Sorry to the land owner/farmer who happens to have a viaduct in their back garden, we got a bit lost and hopped some of your gates.

[JayForeman]

I bloomin’ love this channel! Your videos clearly take a tremendous amount of research and effort and time (and petrol!)

[MinifigJez]

“I’m on it like Jago Hazard to an underground line”
Beautiful piece of scripting!

[chriscooper]

As the author of 'The Great North Road - Then and Now', I can tell you parts of that road are much older than you think. Also the farm near Bramham is called Crossroads farm because way back the farm stood right on the crossroads of the Great North Road and the Leeds-York road. Theres some photos and explanation in the book. As my day job is truck driver, I've been riding around this country for nearly 40 years and am a bit of a roads historian (geek lol). The one thing I didn't know was the Welwyn Roman Baths, gonna have to go and have a look at that now.

[burgerplace]

Great video as always however, I find the in video slides disappear too quickly and it would be good to have some arrows showing what exactly you’re talking about to allow for correct understanding, I’m usually pausing the video to orientate myself, but then I end up missing your voiceover.

[juliankent]

John, I'm absolutely flabbergasted. I'm a truck driver and I had no idea about what is around as I'm driving up and down the motorways. Keep em coming, they're awesome.👍

[seanf]

Never thought a show about motorways would make such fascinating viewing.

[Leock]

The abandoned buildings at 8:21 are very peculiar, I managed to visit the site before it was closed off and they seem to have a very interesting history. As it stood in 2021 they were being used by the farmer next door as storage and for cattle but the house was completely empty. The long building at the back had labelled rooms such as 'Explosives store'. The central building also being labelled on the door with 'Barrels'. So at some point the structure was used for military purposes but otherwise its a bit of a mystery to me too.

[olatron]

This is such a great series. As a trucker I sit up high and get to see so much at the sides of the roads - great to finally have an explanation for some of it, and some new stuff to look out for. It's a piss boring job so we need the entertainment 😅

[TigerTailsTV]

I've watched a few of these, but subbed at the Jago Hazard gag. Well played.

[Fm_]

Loved the jago reference both channels are great.

[koolstup]

Appreciate the amazing drone footage in your videos, you can’t appreciate the spectacle of these roads without it! Thumbs up for Little Chef and Happy Eater action 👍🏽👍🏽

[ibrt]

You didn't mention that the section of A1(M) at Alconbury was a prototype "super motorway", not only with four lanes, but also very straight and having features such as street lighting and overhead gantries with electronic display signs at very frequent intervals.

[chrisarnold]

Great series, love abandoned stuff, and mining and spent most of my time on roads, this is great stuff

[IanSlothieRolfe]

I used to spend a lot of time driving up and down the A1(M) in the 90's and became quite acquainted with its many Little Chefs as a result. I miss them now, their breakfasts were epic. Although having an Olympic before a long drive wasn't always a good idea, used to make me sleepy! People liked to take the mick out of their food, but I always found it to be of reliable quality and a welcome treat to keep you awake on the long miles.

[kevelliott]

Super video, thanks! I've been driving 'twixt the north east and Kent on the A1 for fifty years, and I remember all the landmarks. At one point the dual carriageway ran right past the Ferrybridge cooling towers and I remember being in a traffic jam beside them on a hot summer's day in the 60s. Sad to hear they'd all been demolished. At one point there was a derelict English Electric Lightning rather randomly parked beside the road; and the three Yorkshire RAF airfields of Catterick, Leeming and Dishforth could always be relied upon for entertainment - on one occasion I was amazed to see a string of about 4 Vulcans landing at Dishforth, about a half mile apart. They were awesome!

[ferventheat]

This is what I call dedicated and passionate. An automatic subscribe for me. The topic is of no interest but you literally take your audience on a worthwhile journey into a hitherto unknown auto history. Fabulous.👍

[SteveCopps]

I grew up in Potters Bar and well remember the demise of the Middlesex Arms and the painfully slow death of Bignall and Cutbush Garden Centre😢Thanks again Jon👍

[daveherbert]

Really interesting stuff, got the blockbuster theme, loved the Jago Hazard reference

[andrewanyplace]

The southbound exit slip road of the recently added junction 52 used to be described in Google Maps navigation directions as "(0x60505bcdc4a55f2d 2542 segments) exit". The voice guidance would read it out like that, preceding it with "hexadecimal". I reported it in October 2019 and 2 months later they responded saying they couldn't verify the edit. I don't remember when they finally fixed it, but it was months later and until they did, it annoyed me a bit every time the voice reeled it off!