A 110 Ruston Bucyrus excavating a mixture of marl and sandstone in the Keele cutting during the construction of the Birmingham to Preston Motorway (M6)

Date:: 7 Jun 1961

Location:: M6 Motorway, M6, Keele, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire; Show all locations

M6 Motorway, M6, Whitmore, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire

M6 Motorway, M6, Madeley, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire

Reference:: JLP01/08/059934

Type:: Photograph (Negative)

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Description

In the album, the typed caption below the photograph reads 'Excavating a mixture of marl and sandstone in the Keele cutting. A 110 Ruston Bucyrus diesel/electric excavator. This machine weighs 153 tons and has a bucket capacity of 4 1/2 cubic yards and is capable of excavating up to 300 cubic yards per hour. Two 4" Halco Stenwick drills can be seen drilling shot holes for the provision of blasting charges to prepare the excavation for the 110 R.B.' The Keele cutting extended from the Market Drayton Railway Line to Springpool Wood. Excavation of the site had to be roughly 25 feet in depth and structures to be built on this section of the motorway included three culverts, Structure 352, a cattle creep and Structure 354, a single underbridge at the A531.

This image was catalogued as part of the Breaking New Ground Project in partnership with the John Laing Charitable Trust in 2019-20.

Content

This is part of the Series: JLP01/08 John Laing Photographic Collection Black and White Negatives; within the Collection: JLP01 John Laing Photographic Collection

Rights

Keywords

Mid 20th Century Motorway, Mid 20th Century Road Bridge, Construction