New hub airport at Upper Heyford?

[whole diary]

[BerkshireBugsy]

This article, posted on the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) web site today, is relavent to this thread

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19570653

Dave

[didcotdean]

South of Abingdon, same site as where the possible reservior will go.
There is room for 4 full sized runways, plus space for a replacement of RAF^▸ (Royal Air Force) B Norton.

I posted this link on a different thread here - the 2003 LOX (London Oxford) proposal:

http://www.pleiade.org/projectzone/LOX/pdf/LOX02.1.3_airport_layout.pdf

Included not just 1 but 2 railway stations, the 'main' one having 8 platforms. I think there was also the intention to turn the A34 northbound to the M40 into a 4-lane motorway, although I'm not sure how it could be routed and a new road to Swindon. They assumed a number of developments would happen that they wouldn't need to pay for.

These days they wouldn't have to worry about the cooling towers as an obstruction as they would be gone long before this could be built.

[stebbo]

Either build a third runway at Heathrow or look at relocating it to the north west of London in Beds/Bucks as was seriously considered back in the 1960s. You could link it to the mainline from Euston or Marylebone.

I don't see Heyford or Abingdon as serious alternatives. (I recall the planes from USAF^▸ (United States Air Force) Upper Heyford as it was - mainly F1-11s and the odd B52 bomber - when my parents lived north west of Banbury in the 1970s). Heyford also has extensive underground installations to deal with as I believe there were serious refrigeration units based there to keep the specialised weaponry cool...... The communication masts at RAF^▸ (Royal Air Force) Croughton (near Heyford) are I think military installations.

By the way, why has the government announced a link from Heathrow to the GWR^▸ (Great Western Railway) mainline west of Heathrow to serve Reading and the west BEFORE it's been decided what to do about the airport problem itself?

[BerkshireBugsy]

Either build a third runway at Heathrow or look at relocating it to the north west of London in Beds/Bucks as was seriously considered back in the 1960s. You could link it to the mainline from Euston or Marylebone.

I found this reply genie lay interesting but puzzled why it would practical to link it to the chiltern line when (from memory) the Oxford line runs very close to heyford.

[stebbo]

The Chiltern line lies closest to Heyford as you used to see the landing lights from the train (I mean, of course, the late lamented Paddington to Wolverhampton via High Wycombe). It's very close to Ardley tunnel

I'm referring in my post to moving the airport to the Bletchley area which was very seriously proposed in the 1960s. I think the Wilson government canned the idea.

[ellendune]

Either build a third runway at Heathrow or look at relocating it to the north west of London in Beds/Bucks as was seriously considered back in the 1960s. You could link it to the mainline from Euston or Marylebone.

I found this reply genie lay interesting but puzzled why it would practical to link it to the chiltern line when (from memory) the Oxford line runs very close to heyford.

The Chiltern line lies closest to Heyford as you used to see the landing lights from the train (I mean, of course, the late lamented Paddington to Wolverhampton via High Wycombe). It's very close to Ardley tunnel

The Upper Heyford is in the triangle of the Chiltern and Oxford lines just South of Aynho Junction.  The village is nearer the Oxford line which has a Station.  The East end of the runway practically adjoins the Chiltern Line and the West end is about a mile from the Oxford line.

[BerkshireBugsy]

Thanks for clearing that up ellendune - having lived under one f the flight paths for the USAF^▸ (United States Air Force) aircraft (adderbury) I should have known!