Factory Tunnel

[FredW]

Hi,

It's just over half a mile east of Salford Junction on the Birmingham & Fazeley.

Fred.

[RLWP]

I'm sure I remember seeing a 70's style factory/office building over a canal somewhere near the M6, J9/10 perhaps. I think it's been demolished now. I also recall a canal, or what appeared to be a canal, that went under Picadilly Tower in Manchester.

 

Was that a part of Round's Hill steelworks?

 

Richard

[OldGoldy]

The name Birlec corresponds to that given by the C&RT guy so

there has to be somewhere that coal could be unloaded.

Fred.

 

Birlec was HERE further out from BIP, but they used electric, not coal fired furnaces.

Edited January 30, 2013 by dave69700

[OldGoldy]

Was that a part of Round's Hill steelworks?

 

Richard

 

You may be thinking of the office block straddling the cut HERE (now demolished) near J10 of the M6 on the Walsall Canal. Was IMI/James Bridge Copper Works, Darlaston Rd WS2 9XH

Edited January 30, 2013 by dave69700

[TNC]

I'm sure I remember seeing a 70's style factory/office building over a canal somewhere near the M6, J9/10 perhaps. I think it's been demolished now. I also recall a canal, or what appeared to be a canal, that went under Picadilly Tower in Manchester.

 

Is this the Kiddie?

(sorry for crap image it was grabbed from TNC BCN video)

(Edited to add better piccy)

It was over the Walsall Canal

The other canal would be the Rochdale (9)

Edited January 30, 2013 by TNC

[Hair Bear Bunch]

Yes, that's the one. I haven't been there for a long time now.

All I remember about the Manchester one is that I had to visit this office, went up in the lift to the 9th floor, and the doors opened directly opposite a large window that if you looked straight down I'm sure there was a semi derelict canal that appeared to go right under the tower. This would have been mid to late '80s I guess.

[alan_fincher]

Here:

 

http://goo.gl/maps/rt4xE

 

or here:

 

http://goo.gl/maps/tBccb

 

Richard

As an aside, I rather liked the way Google Sreet View allows you to forge forward straight through these locked gates and other obstructions!

 

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=gravelly+hill&hl=en&ll=52.507789,-1.843273&spn=0.000453,0.001032&sll=52.8382,-2.327815&sspn=11.359053,33.815918&hnear=Gravelly+Hill,+Birmingham,+West+Midlands+B23+7PF,+United+Kingdom&t=h&z=21&layer=c&cbll=52.507789,-1.843273&panoid=c1JzKzoybaAz18vi0dDyzw&cbp=12,190.16,,0,24.04

[TNC]

As an aside, I rather liked the way Google Sreet View allows you to forge forward straight through these locked gates and other obstructions!

 

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=gravelly+hill&hl=en&ll=52.507789,-1.843273&spn=0.000453,0.001032&sll=52.8382,-2.327815&sspn=11.359053,33.815918&hnear=Gravelly+Hill,+Birmingham,+West+Midlands+B23+7PF,+United+Kingdom&t=h&z=21&layer=c&cbll=52.507789,-1.843273&panoid=c1JzKzoybaAz18vi0dDyzw&cbp=12,190.16,,0,24.04

 

...and go the wrong way down dual carriageways!

[Laurence Hogg]

This "Factory tunnel" is a wartime covered loading facility. The roof is massive re inforced concrete and the "bays" underneath are where loading took place. The corrugated iron building atop is still partly painted in camoflage.

 

Is this the Kiddie?

(sorry for crap image it was grabbed from TNC BCN video)

(Edited to add better piccy)

It was over the Walsall Canal

The other canal would be the Rochdale (9)

This is now flattened and whole site is derilict as it is contaminated with copper residue etc.

Edited January 30, 2013 by Laurence Hogg

[TNC]

Yes, that's the one. I haven't been there for a long time now.

All I remember about the Manchester one is that I had to visit this office, went up in the lift to the 9th floor, and the doors opened directly opposite a large window that if you looked straight down I'm sure there was a semi derelict canal that appeared to go right under the tower. This would have been mid to late '80s I guess.

 

That would be the Rochdale 9 then!

Been navigable as a through route since 1976 and always just about navigable before that.

This reminds me of our first "Cheshire Ring" in 1977...one of the volunteers was just letting the paddles drop...we complained about this, saying the crappy old paddle gear would break. She replied "That's alright...it's an old bargee trick!" Now when ever a crew member accidently drops a paddle, there are normally comments about old bargee tricks.

Most of crappy old paddle gear is still there...so maybe she was right!

[FredW]

Hi,

Birlec was HERE further out from BIP, but they used electric, not coal fired furnaces.

This post has been edited by dave69700: Yesterday, 10:30 PM

Sorry,are you saying that the factory I am asking about is BIP? As for the coal,I had assumed that it wasn't necessarily used for production. Coal was used for many things in the era that I think this factory was in use,our only heating in our house was coal for example. The C&RT guy didn't mention quantities,I never thought to ask either. Going to have a look on foot today,maybe ask a local or two.

[alan_fincher]

This "Factory tunnel" is a wartime covered loading facility. The roof is massive re inforced concrete and the "bays" underneath are where loading took place. The corrugated iron building atop is still partly painted in camoflage.

I guess it depends what you call the roof?

 

The "floor" of the building over the canal may indeed be quite substantial.

 

THe building that sits on top of it, other than it is very large, doesn't look heavily constructed at all, to me.

 

The Google Maps pictures show the roof to have very large areas of glass in it - presumably very necessary, as the sides of the corrugated iron building appear to have few if any windows in at all.

 

I assume there may only be one very tall "floor" in the bit over the canal. If it actually has multiple floors, it is hard to se how any except the top one ever got much natural light.

 

EDIT: Actually it may have some low down windows along the long side that is over the towpath - it's hard to see!

Edited January 31, 2013 by alan_fincher

[FredW]

Hi,

I've been down to have a look at Factory Tunnel and there's no doubt it was a factory. The three buildings are,in fact,one area, the roofs all have glass panels for their full length. There are four apertures underneath on the off side of the canal which could have been used for loading/unloading, with rings and chains on the walls. I didn't notice any provision for loading through the floor. There are two sub stations built into the Tyburn Road side which may give a clue,they have signs saying Rover No 1 SS 1257 & Rover No2 Tyburn Rd SS 2292.Neither BIP or Birlec were mentioned by those I asked & there was a suggestion it had been a bus garage but I think that was further East along Tyburn Rd. Another suggestion was that it had been used to make ammunition for Spitfires which was loaded onto narrowboats and taken to "Spitfire Island". Unfortunately I am a bit of a Numbty & forgot to put the laptop on charge so any real research will have to wait till tomorrow. Anyway,after walking for over three hours,my main interest at the mo' is as much tea as I can swim in and a hot shower. I did take some pictures of both the outside and inside so I will try and post a couple of them.When I've worked out how,that is.

Fred

 

Hi again,

Just a quick one for Alan Fincher. You appear to be right in many of your assumptions, particularly regarding the windows and the number of floors. There is just a ground floor and it's like daylight inside from the roof lights. Also,it was suggested that the only reason it was built over the canal was " because they could".

Fred

[alan_fincher]

I did take some pictures of both the outside and inside so I will try and post a couple of them.When I've worked out how,that is.

It will be interesting to see those when you can post them.

 

It's hard to see why there would be rings and chains on the walls if boats hadn't at some stage tied up there to load or unload.

 

However normal arrangements for unloading a cargo like coal on a regular basis would normally involve some kind of grab crane, I'd have thought, which I can't really see at that location, with the solid overhead floor.

 

Yet someone you talked to said they did, so it would be interesting to know!

[Capt Ahab]

Here:

 

http://goo.gl/maps/rt4xE

 

or here:

 

http://goo.gl/maps/tBccb

 

Richard

I would usually consult the Blue Book but it dosnt cover this area.

[alan_fincher]

Not Erdington itself, but an example in Derby of what Birlec apparently made at Erdington......

 

Linky

[OldGoldy]

There are two sub stations built into the Tyburn Road side which may give a clue,they have signs saying Rover No 1 SS 1257 & Rover No2 Tyburn Rd SS 2292.

 

I'm pretty certain Rover used it as a training facility.

 

Neither BIP or Birlec were mentioned by those I asked & there was a suggestion it had been a bus garage but I think that was further East along Tyburn Rd.

 

Birlec was behind what is now a Mercedes dealership, between the B&F and Wood Lane HERE and yes, you are correct, the Bus Garage was close to Fort Dunlop.HERE

 

Another suggestion was that it had been used to make ammunition for Spitfires which was loaded onto narrowboats and taken to "Spitfire Island".

 

This I doubt. Spitfires WERE made in what is now the Jaguar Plant and were wheeled across the road onto Castle Bromwich Airfield. From here, civilian pilots (women, I think) flew/delivered them to their respective squadrons. They would not, at that time, be armed.

 

[FredW]

Hi,

Please don't ask me what I have done 'cos I haven't a clue.

Below "should" be some pictures that I took today,some not very good.I'll have to take SWMBO

up on her offer of a new camera.If you can see them,there are a couple of the inside of the

factory,not all the inside 'cos some is occupied.One picture is of what I would say was an

access to the canal with a mooring ring.There are,in fact,four of these and a few more rings,

some with chains.The brick building,I was told,was either offices or a training department and

that it was joined by a footbridge to another building that was where the car park is now.This

was either the training dept. or the offices,my source wasn't sure which was which.

I've had no luck so far with Googling the sub stations or Rover.I did suspect that maybe the

bit about spitfire ammo was possibly incorrect (urban myth maybe) but a lot of things are possible.

If Birlec was in a factory farther to the east,how,I wonder,did coal get delivered to it by barge

or was the factory above the canal somehow used by Birlec?I don't think there would have been

large amounts of coal delivered as the factory seems to have been built with access to the canal

only a minor consideration,I could be wrong there though.

Fred.

 

Hi,

Unfortunately it seems that I can only do one at a time,here's another, "maybe"

Fred.

 

 

 

I'm surprised it worked.

Fred

[John Holden]

Fred, that's reminiscent of the heavy engineering workshop I worked in in the 1970s (built in the 1950s). There is a support beam for an overhead crane running down the right hand side and support pedestals along the left. Roof lights, no windows and big huge ventilation ducts in the roof.

[nicknorman]

Great to see the interior shots, thanks for posting. Who would think that there is a canal under there somewhere!

Edited January 31, 2013 by nicknorman

[FredW]

Hi,

Thanks everyone for all your input.

I've Googled Birlec and Wikipedia gives their factory as Tyburn Road,Erdington.

A check of an OS map for 1937/38 gives an Electric Furnace Works on the site

but not built over the canal.

Alan,I remember loading at International Combustion in the early 70s when I

worked for Derby B.R.S.,sadly I didn't pay much attention them days.

[nicknorman]

It occurs to me that there must be some sort of floor below the one in the photos, since the canal access doors are below the main floor level.

[alan_fincher]

Great to see the interior shots, thanks for posting. Who would think that there is a canal under there somewhere!

Equally I kind of assumed what was up above as you passed under was disused.

 

I'm certainly not sure I expected what the interior shots show.

 

There is certainly evidence of there once having been large gantry cranes, and it would to my inexperienced eye seem not inconsistent with the idea this could be where those large electric furnaces were manufactured.

[OldGoldy]

 

I've Googled Birlec and Wikipedia gives their factory as Tyburn Road,Erdington.

A check of an OS map for 1937/38 gives an Electric Furnace Works on the site but not built over the canal.

 

 

Probably an easy way of increasing the footprint of the factory site. The 1945 historical image in Google Earth is unclear, but looks like it may have been built over by then.

 

From the Birmingham History Forum, this:-

 

BIP or British Industrial Plastics Ltd Tool Mkrs were at 147 Tyburn Rd (1940 Directory) the Birlec Works Birmingham Electric Furnaces Ltd was at 253 Tyburn Road.

 

Horsencart, has given the definitive addresses of BIP Tools and Birlec. although the British Waterways reference to Birlec (re:- storm water drainage into the canal) does give 325 Tyburn Rd.

 

Having today driven over the canal at Bromford Lane, I saw the remains of the words 'Research & Development' on the end of the building, so rightly or wrongly, I conclude that as most folk thought, Tyburn Rd has the main plant for Birlec, and Wood Lane was their R&D section. (I remember there used to be a round Birlec logo on that end wall)

 

So, unless someone goes onto BHF with info to the contrary, I hope we may have the answers, esp. where I thought the Wood Lane plant was Birlec in it'e entirety.

 

So:-

BIP Tools

http://goo.gl/maps/9bWKI (see the red A marker)

 

Birlec/BEF

http://goo.gl/maps/fmIHE

 

Birlec R&D, Wood Lane

http://goo.gl/maps/Sm63v

[FredW]

Hi,

Thanks for your input dave69700.

Your reference to BW storm water drainage for Birlec at 325,Tyburn Road would make it the factory over the canal. The office block in my photo's is number 329,Tyburn Road.

Fred.